singemonkey wrote
Sandy Denny's a little different though, wouldn't you say Bob? A couple of my colleagues are pretty serious gospel singers, and one of them told me that there's a big difference between the American and classic styles of singing. Classical, he says, you go straight for the note. Hit it square. In the American style - influenced heavily by African music and field hollers and all that, you move up to the note.
Some years ago I read Paul Simon describing Art Garfunkel as a great gospel singer. The interviewer goes "huh?". Simon says something like "WHITE gospel. Methodist rather than baptist."
This made intuitive sense since I was in choirs at various points in school - following the classical tradition - but I now sing mostly blues derived stuff which is all American. Sandy Denny is much more in that classical tradition, I'd say.
Not sure if it's classical. She was a self taught singer, initially operating in the British folk scene. I just cited her as somebody who had all the power etc but didn't just warble endlessly up and down the scale, didn't just open up the pipes, didn't just go for the high notes just because she could. But then you could say the same of Dionne Warwick (I think I did)
It's just a different approach to singing. I don't think it's necessarily anything to do with a soul/classical divide because there have been plenty of negro singers, coming out of that soul or whatever tradition who have not gone for all the vocal bling.
I have to say though, the singers can't entirely be blamed. At least not in all cases. They're extremely commercial artists, and the choices of the studios with regard to their fans often hides just how good these people are. I heard a Whitney Houston doing a song written by Wyclef Jean and I finally understood why she's so revered. She was absolutely magnificent.
Daugher of Cissy Houston, niece of Dionne Warwick.... there's some singing DNA there and there's no doubt that she has great pipes and technique. It may be a production/fashion issue - or partly so.
Christina Aguilera didn't have a producer telling her how to sing The Star-Spangled Banner, but she started so young and that stuff has probably been drummed into her head by now. I wonder if she knows another way to sing.
I think the pity of all of this is that the payload of the song gets lost in all the histrionics. OK... when you're learning your trade singing nonsense like "Genie In A Bottle" then maybe the songs don't have much of payload anyway, or are designed as vehicles for vocal excess.
