From tonysounds@yahoo.com Tue Feb 10 04:42:08 2004
Subject:Re: [CWSG]Grammys...change of direction?


It sounds like semantics to me. I'd rather work with a Paul Rodgers any day of the week than with a Xtina Aguillera. Xtina being the singer, right? Technical prowess is one thing, but if it doesn't communicate, it's a waste of talent and time. Chick Corea with the Foo Fighters was a great example. He's got technique most pianists dream of. I was excited to see what he was going to add to the Foo Fighters. Frankly, he should have played the intro, and then gotten out of the way. In this case, the "singer" should have let the "vocalist" take front and center.

Elton vs Bruce Hornsby? Hmmm. Again, Bruce has technique and a lot of talent, but I'd rather listen to 70s era Elton. And to bring this back to the topic of our group, I'll apply this same thinking to organ. Joey D? A MONSTER. But I am touched more by Booker T & The Mgs, and by Jack McDuff. Joey D is a "singer"....and those other guys are just "vocalists." Nah, the rationale just doesn't work.

Art is about communication. And what really rates an artist is their ability to reach and touch people. Most people really don't care about technique...at least not at the cost of communication. Then again, I may be totally out of my depth here. Watching the grammies, it seems EVERY "singer" now learns how to ride a rollercoaster with their larynx before they learn how to drive a car. I'm not the biggest Foo fan out there, but I was much more impressed by Grohl's SINGING than I was by Xtina, Beyonce, Celine Dion or Justin Timberlake. No offense to those other vocalists, but they don't communicate to me. And like it or not, 200 hundred years from now, they're not going to be talkinb about what a great artist Beyonce, Justin, Celine or Mariah were, they're going to be talking about Harrison, Zevon, Dylan and Springsteen.

A race car driver is a race car driver...all the technique in the world won't keep you from crashing if you don't learn what to do with it.

T

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