JazzRocks
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Post by JazzRocks on Mar 2, 2011 8:59:03 GMT -5
A House is Not a Home has been sung so often on Idol. Here's Anwar Robinson from S4. It's live from the Idols Tour so the quality is not good. Cassie - what do you think? Btw - I like James very much - mannerisms and all.  |
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Post by cassie on Mar 2, 2011 11:21:52 GMT -5
A House is Not a Home has been sung so often on Idol. Here's Anwar Robinson from S4. It's live from the Idols Tour so the quality is not good. Cassie - what do you think? Thanks for sharing. Parts of it I liked a lot. In the beginning, I like his tender tone and easy singing. It sounds simple and heartfelt, and the sound is warm and inviting. Parts of it I did not like so much. that riffing style is very popular, particularly with soul and R&B. When it is on, it is marvelous. When it is not on, it leaves me cold. Riffing well is very challenging. You are taking off from the melody and working up and down the scale, hitting notes along the way that should be complimentary to the base note and the backing instrumentals. It should be free-flowing and extemporaneous. But, you have to know in your head where you are going with the run, and exactly which notes you want to hit. Sometimes a singer seems to get a little lost and tentative about what note he is gliding to next, and lands in between the notes, producing something that is muddy and off pitch. It's a very difficult skill and few excel at it. I think it takes a lot of practice. I would say that this guy hasn't quite mastered it yet, but, he may. That's just my opinion --- since you asked. YMMV. |
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JazzRocks
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Post by JazzRocks on Mar 2, 2011 11:40:15 GMT -5
Thanks for your quick reply!
He may have by now since that was more than 5 years ago. I don't know since I don't follow his career, but I loved the way he sang it on the show. Can't find audio or video of that however.
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sugaree
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Post by sugaree on Mar 2, 2011 11:45:14 GMT -5
I LOVED Anwar. He was a music teacher (I think in NYC) of young children. Never figured out why he didn't make it further in the competition.
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JazzRocks
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Post by JazzRocks on Mar 2, 2011 11:53:56 GMT -5
I LOVED Anwar. He was a music teacher (I think in NYC) of young children. Never figured out why he didn't make it further in the competition. IIRC he got to #7. |
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Alison
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Post by Alison on Mar 2, 2011 12:05:34 GMT -5
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JazzRocks
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Post by JazzRocks on Mar 2, 2011 18:07:34 GMT -5
Interesting. I never knew he was gay and I don't think most people thought of him as gay at the time. Remember he was on Carrie's season & there was also Bo and Constantine. So not too surprising that he didn't win. But he should have been higher than #7. |
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Post by rihannsu on Mar 3, 2011 0:09:03 GMT -5
Why do so many people go crazy if a singer (i.e. Siobahn, James) wails out super high notes? When did that become the measure of a great singer? Granted, a large range is impressive and unusual. But, I would hardly call that the hallmark of an extraordinary talent. I keep going back to the comment Adam made about singers who brag about their high notes: "But, does it sound good?" Interesting cassie. I'm one of the few (here anyway) that got a little tired of Adam doing the high note screams on AI. Although I recognized that he was one of the few I've ever heard that could scream/wail on pitch and that he still sounded like he was singing (for the most part) and not really screaming. I began to feel that he was doing that because he could and because he thought that was what people were impressed with and what they wanted to hear. IMO, even the judges got a little used to it and a little tired of it. Unfortunately, a lot of AI watchers in my acquaintance will not buy his album because they think it is all about those "screams". My husband tells me to turn off the FYE album because of that and the fact that he doesn't like the techno/electrtronic stuff (but that's another story). In fact there is only one friend who "got" Adam and wants to see/hear anything I show her from youtube, etc. What got me to appreciate the rock wail was WLL on AI. He sounded sooooo much better than Plant (who I do not like to listen to - at all) and ironically pretty much all I listen to on radio is classic rock. There are a few "Led Zepp for an hour segments" where I turn the damn radio off.
Don't know if it was ever brought up in our fan community, but I have the impression that those rock wails are what turned a lot of people off. Not the AMA's, not the being gay, but the fact that not everyone likes to hear that sound. Same goes for other artists that do it. I have a music geek friend who told me flat out not to bother sending him an Adam cd because he can't stand to listen to the wails/screams whether they are on pitch or not. I sent him Adam acoustic cd with some AI performances (FG, thank you very much) that I loved. He conceded that the songs were sung beautifully, but still said that he would never buy an album by Adam, but would wait for me to pick songs he might like.
I think you have a valid point about many people NOT liking the "wailing." My sister is a classical singer and pretty much says that about his singing. I guess one reason that I feel fine about Adam doing it is that it sounds so effortless most of the time. So many others sound like they are working hard and straining. That prejudice that people have toward the rock wail is similar to the prejudice that many have toward the OTT gospel style of Jacob Lusk or Fantasia Barrino for that matter. Fantasia is a hell of gospel singer but that style is nowhere near mainstream which is why she never had the huge sales that other idol winners did. I can appreciate Fantasia's gospel style performances as being fantastic for the genre but it is not a style that I am drawn to for regular listening. I also couldn't really stand the rock wail style vocals in general until I heard a few singers who could really nail those screams appropriately, like Steven Tyler. ST is I think the one that I first connected with and only because I came across something that showed him doing some amazing jazz scat and his voice in that context finally clicked for me. Also it has to make sense for the song not just be there to show off. I have to believe that the singer is really feeling it that way and not calculating a dramatic effect. Come to think of it I didn't really appreciate hard rock music at all until I found people like Plant, Daltrey and Bowie who actually had legitimately strong voices. I've never got what was so great about the Rolling Stones cause I never was all that impressed with Mick. |
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aloha
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Post by aloha on Mar 4, 2011 16:33:22 GMT -5
Cassie, forgive me if you've answered this question before.Perhaps you can just cut and paste? Or just point me to the page where I can find it..
Is vibrato natural to a singer? What makes it happen? I assume training can help a singer manipulate it.. but if it's not there to begin with can it be learned?
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Post by cassie on Mar 4, 2011 17:15:48 GMT -5
Cassie, forgive me if you've answered this question before.Perhaps you can just cut and paste? Or just point me to the page where I can find it.. Is vibrato natural to a singer? What makes it happen? I assume training can help a singer manipulate it.. but if it's not there to begin with can it be learned? I have been asked what vibrato is, but not what causes it. As I understand it, it is caused, naturally, by the vocal cords naturally vibrating or oscillating --- slight differences in the movement or tension. Some say that all singers have the capacity for a natural vibrato, but because they do not sing properly with the right support, they may not achieve that sound. Others say some have a natural vibrato and some do not. There are a variety of techniques taught to create and control vibrato, some of them good, some of them not so good on the voice production. Working with a good coach is important. Adam certainly seems to have complete control over his vibrato. He can sing a straight tone and then gradually add the vibrato when he wants it and to the degree he wants. Sometimes he chooses a very slight fluctuation in the pitch with a rather fast oscillation. Other times it is more pronounced and wide. But, I have never heard him do the too fast vibrato that sounds like a goat bleet, or the too wide, slow vibrato that is referred to as a wobble. Like so many things, he gets it just right. |
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