Sinatra was hopelessly flat on most of his songs. At the beginning of each phrase he'd start off in the general vicinity of the correct note and slide around until he (sort of) got it. He and others like him fell into the "so bad they're good" category. Doesn't do it for me though. We'll just have to disagree on Joni. Like I said, music preferences are personal. Just out of interest, I can sing reasonably well. Not much of a range, dynamic or melodic, but I can certainly hear and hold a note.
She's also well thought of by music critics. Think you're talking with it out on the last sentence, tbh. Most musicians of the last 3 decades have had all manner of processing on their voices or instruments to put then on the note and on the beat. Quantisers and AutoTune are automatically used these days, which is why so much of it is too perfect and soulless.
I listen to very little music from last 3 decades. Most of what I listen to is older stuff. I'm comparing her to her contemporaries.
If you ever see any of those "classic song" programmes where they analyse recordings it shows up some interesting things. When they fade out the other tracks to leave the vocals, so many very famous singers sound horribly out of tune. It's only when they're dropped into the mix you don't hear it. For solo singers with a minimal backing discrepancies are probably more audible. anyway, small, acceptable variations in pitch or timing are what makes music "real"- it is, after all, what we hear live. It gives feeling and expression that gets lost if too much post production is applied. As I said, we'll just have to disagree over this. Mitchell's style- with the constant sliding up and down the scales doesn't appeal to everyone- but her pitch sounds pretty good to me. Or should I say sounded, as I haven't really listened since the bitch ex and I parted.
A Lovely Story From The Cheese. As you know, my youngest was in there with me on Tuesday night. You also know she put 5 records on the jukie, one of them being Steely Dan. The tune in question was 'Home At Last', which is basically a paraphrase of Homer's Odyssey. That was one of the presents I bought her for her 21st last September. I asked her if she'd started reading it yet and she said she'd read a little. However she's in the final year of her English Lit degree, so has a lot of other stuff to get through. She said she couldn't wait to get back into it. She told me that she'd never forget me reading the children's version to her at bedtime before she went to sleep when she was about 5. That's the main memory that guided her to taking a degree in English. I felt humble and proud at the same time. I may indeed be a ****, but I got those two right.
I think Carole King is better myself- but like I said, it's personal preference. It's not the sort of music I listen to a lot, but not to recognise obvious talent is either stupid or deliberately obtuse.
Yes I did, mate. It's a relief when your kids turn out to be good 'uns. Even better when they appreciate what you tried to do for them.
