"Ain't Got No (I Got Life)", probably my no.1 favourite Nina Simone song:
"Feeling Good":
Gotta love Nina.
Showing posts with label Nina Simone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nina Simone. Show all posts
Wednesday, 27 May 2015
Tuesday, 26 May 2015
"Black and Blue"; "Strange Fruit"; "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free"
"Black and Blue"- Louis Armstrong:
"Strange Fruit"- Billie Holiday:
"I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free"- Nina Simone:
Bonus:
Nina Simone's rendition of "Strange Fruit":
"Strange Fruit"- Billie Holiday:
"I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free"- Nina Simone:
Bonus:
Nina Simone's rendition of "Strange Fruit":
Friday, 22 May 2015
Sunday, 17 May 2015
"Whatever Lola Wants"
This version is perfect:
The original's sung by Gwen Verdon in Damn Yankees.
Other renditions include Ella Fitzgerald, Janice Hagan, Della Reese, Carmen McCrae, Natacha Atlas, etc.
___________________________________________________
Generally speaking I'm not really fond of Sarah Vaughan's singing; at least after listening to a dozen songs, I hardly feel anything, albeit recognising her talent, and don't really warm to her as to Nina Simone or Billie Holiday. However, her rendition of "Whatever Lola Wants" is the best, and the only one that seems right. She sounds sexy, seductive and decisive. Her performance has everything needed for this particular song: the confidence that she's in full control of herself and "little man", the decisiveness heard in the way she enunciates each word without "dragging" until lines such as "Recline yourself, resign yourself, you're through" and "You're no exception to the rule/ I'm irresistible you fool/ Give in", when her drawl sounds playful and seductive... Other singers sound either too soft, too light, too nice or simply not foxy. It's not only the way one sings but also the kind of voice that matters. Can you imagine Billie Holiday singing this? She's the one that is tormented, abandoned, abused, bereaved. Even when she sings playfully, her voice is thin and frail. Nina Simone? This woman has spirit and can be forceful, and she sure is hypnotic, but her deep, man-like voice doesn't have that inviting, enticing quality for Lola. Regarding Ella Fitzgerald, her pure, sweet, silvery voice is, I think, unsuitable.
Gwen Verdon's version is just... odd. I'm not even talking about the video yet.
Your thoughts?
The original's sung by Gwen Verdon in Damn Yankees.
Other renditions include Ella Fitzgerald, Janice Hagan, Della Reese, Carmen McCrae, Natacha Atlas, etc.
___________________________________________________
Generally speaking I'm not really fond of Sarah Vaughan's singing; at least after listening to a dozen songs, I hardly feel anything, albeit recognising her talent, and don't really warm to her as to Nina Simone or Billie Holiday. However, her rendition of "Whatever Lola Wants" is the best, and the only one that seems right. She sounds sexy, seductive and decisive. Her performance has everything needed for this particular song: the confidence that she's in full control of herself and "little man", the decisiveness heard in the way she enunciates each word without "dragging" until lines such as "Recline yourself, resign yourself, you're through" and "You're no exception to the rule/ I'm irresistible you fool/ Give in", when her drawl sounds playful and seductive... Other singers sound either too soft, too light, too nice or simply not foxy. It's not only the way one sings but also the kind of voice that matters. Can you imagine Billie Holiday singing this? She's the one that is tormented, abandoned, abused, bereaved. Even when she sings playfully, her voice is thin and frail. Nina Simone? This woman has spirit and can be forceful, and she sure is hypnotic, but her deep, man-like voice doesn't have that inviting, enticing quality for Lola. Regarding Ella Fitzgerald, her pure, sweet, silvery voice is, I think, unsuitable.
Gwen Verdon's version is just... odd. I'm not even talking about the video yet.
Your thoughts?
Saturday, 16 May 2015
The importance of emotions in singing; or Listening to today's singers' cover versions of some songs from the past
1/ Mika- "Ain't Got No I Got Life":
Notice in the comments several people declaring that this is better than the original.
I used to like Mika, but this version is a failure. Here's why: the song is clearly cut into 2 parts, the 1st one is sad, with a kind of sadness bordering on despair, the 2nd one is hopeful, because there is a humorous touch and because "the speaker" asserts her freedom and love of life and will to live. From "What have I got", there's a noticeable shift in Nina Simone's singing- before, she brings pain, anger and resentment into her voice, afterwards, as she declares that despite lacking all those things she still has things that can't be taken away, especially life and freedom, she becomes animated, passionate, spirited. I don't see that in Mika's performance. He's happy and cheerful throughout all of the song, which clashes terribly with its spirit (though I should note that it's also the band's fault, not only his). The whole point is lost. This is a hopeful song, but not a happy one. Mika's performance is thus light, shallow, superficial.
2/ Christina Aguilera- "At Last":
"At Last" is also covered by Beyoncé:
This is the most famous version, also my favourite:
The talent of Christina Aguilera and Beyoncé is undeniable, but in this case Etta James is much superior. If there's something lacking in Beyoncé's performance (feelings, I mean), Christina Aguilera, much as I admire her and like some of her songs, completely ruins "At Last". She focuses too much on showing off her voice and drawing people's attention to what she can do with it, that she destroys both the melody and the emotions of the song. I listen to music not to be impressed by singers showing off their vocal abilities. Singing should be about expressing, not impressing. Thanh Lam, Sam Tsui, a former classmate of mine named V, those American Idol/ The Voice/ [Britain/ America...]'s Got Talent contestants...- they all ruin music without knowing it.
This leads to another topic: melisma (http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/wo-o-o-whoa-stop-oversinging/). Whitney Houston is 1 of the few singers who bend and stretch notes and do "vocal gymnastics" without sacrificing the song. She does it naturally, unaffectedly, and still has feelings. Most can't do so.
3/ Another example of oversinging- Claudia Rose performing "Misty Blue":
Here is Dorothy Moore's version:
My favourite is Ella Fitzgerald's version:
There is more melisma in Dorothy Moore's version than Ella's, and when Claudia Rose sings, she abuses it so that not only does she lack emotions but the melody is no longer recognisable. Other people like this, perhaps. I don't.
Notice in the comments several people declaring that this is better than the original.
I used to like Mika, but this version is a failure. Here's why: the song is clearly cut into 2 parts, the 1st one is sad, with a kind of sadness bordering on despair, the 2nd one is hopeful, because there is a humorous touch and because "the speaker" asserts her freedom and love of life and will to live. From "What have I got", there's a noticeable shift in Nina Simone's singing- before, she brings pain, anger and resentment into her voice, afterwards, as she declares that despite lacking all those things she still has things that can't be taken away, especially life and freedom, she becomes animated, passionate, spirited. I don't see that in Mika's performance. He's happy and cheerful throughout all of the song, which clashes terribly with its spirit (though I should note that it's also the band's fault, not only his). The whole point is lost. This is a hopeful song, but not a happy one. Mika's performance is thus light, shallow, superficial.
2/ Christina Aguilera- "At Last":
"At Last" is also covered by Beyoncé:
This is the most famous version, also my favourite:
The talent of Christina Aguilera and Beyoncé is undeniable, but in this case Etta James is much superior. If there's something lacking in Beyoncé's performance (feelings, I mean), Christina Aguilera, much as I admire her and like some of her songs, completely ruins "At Last". She focuses too much on showing off her voice and drawing people's attention to what she can do with it, that she destroys both the melody and the emotions of the song. I listen to music not to be impressed by singers showing off their vocal abilities. Singing should be about expressing, not impressing. Thanh Lam, Sam Tsui, a former classmate of mine named V, those American Idol/ The Voice/ [Britain/ America...]'s Got Talent contestants...- they all ruin music without knowing it.
This leads to another topic: melisma (http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/wo-o-o-whoa-stop-oversinging/). Whitney Houston is 1 of the few singers who bend and stretch notes and do "vocal gymnastics" without sacrificing the song. She does it naturally, unaffectedly, and still has feelings. Most can't do so.
3/ Another example of oversinging- Claudia Rose performing "Misty Blue":
Here is Dorothy Moore's version:
My favourite is Ella Fitzgerald's version:
There is more melisma in Dorothy Moore's version than Ella's, and when Claudia Rose sings, she abuses it so that not only does she lack emotions but the melody is no longer recognisable. Other people like this, perhaps. I don't.
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
"How Deep Is the Ocean"- Billie Holiday
In the previous post I shared the wonderful version by Ella Fitzgerald. Here is Lady Day's performance:
My 1st reaction was being appalled.
At the moment I'm slightly confused, but it now appears to me that perhaps Billie Holiday's rendition isn't meant to be what I thought it wasn't. Let's talk again about "Love Me or Leave Me"- the lyrics being almost the same (except for an extra stanza at the beginning of Billie Holiday's version), Billie Holiday and Nina Simone perform it differently and ultimately say different things. The former, by singing it slowly and with agony and "dragging" some notes, focuses on the torment of uncertainty; the latter, with that bravado and quick tempo, instead asserts her sense of self, her independence, and refuses to accept the man's behaviour and the indefiniteness of their relationship, in a sense similar to Doris Day's "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps".
Now let's talk about "Lover, Come Back to Me":
The words are "Lover, come back to me", but she doesn't sound like she means it at all. Jazz, we know, is a performer's art rather than a composer's art- as a singer Billie Holiday cannot change the lyrics, but within the constraint she's free to choose the way to sing it, and sings it playfully, ironically rather than seriously, sincerely, sadly. In spirit it's more like "Baby, I Don't Cry Over You", also by Billie Holiday. That undermines the sadness and longing in the lyrics. Instead, she's playing with it, mocking it.
Go back to "How Deep Is the Ocean". Sung by Ella Fitzgerald, it's a beautiful, romantic love song. Like anyone can fall in love with Lady Ella. Hear how her voice flies, or flows, with the music. When Billie sings it, however, she sings with that kind of abruptness and lack of deep feeling that sounds like questioning and at the same time makes all the comparisons seem like a laundry list, and thus the whole song becomes shallow, commonplace, banal.
My 1st reaction was being appalled.
At the moment I'm slightly confused, but it now appears to me that perhaps Billie Holiday's rendition isn't meant to be what I thought it wasn't. Let's talk again about "Love Me or Leave Me"- the lyrics being almost the same (except for an extra stanza at the beginning of Billie Holiday's version), Billie Holiday and Nina Simone perform it differently and ultimately say different things. The former, by singing it slowly and with agony and "dragging" some notes, focuses on the torment of uncertainty; the latter, with that bravado and quick tempo, instead asserts her sense of self, her independence, and refuses to accept the man's behaviour and the indefiniteness of their relationship, in a sense similar to Doris Day's "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps".
Now let's talk about "Lover, Come Back to Me":
The words are "Lover, come back to me", but she doesn't sound like she means it at all. Jazz, we know, is a performer's art rather than a composer's art- as a singer Billie Holiday cannot change the lyrics, but within the constraint she's free to choose the way to sing it, and sings it playfully, ironically rather than seriously, sincerely, sadly. In spirit it's more like "Baby, I Don't Cry Over You", also by Billie Holiday. That undermines the sadness and longing in the lyrics. Instead, she's playing with it, mocking it.
Go back to "How Deep Is the Ocean". Sung by Ella Fitzgerald, it's a beautiful, romantic love song. Like anyone can fall in love with Lady Ella. Hear how her voice flies, or flows, with the music. When Billie sings it, however, she sings with that kind of abruptness and lack of deep feeling that sounds like questioning and at the same time makes all the comparisons seem like a laundry list, and thus the whole song becomes shallow, commonplace, banal.
Monday, 11 May 2015
"Love Me or Leave Me"- 2 renditions
Billie Holiday:
Nina Simone:
Other versions: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=love+me+or+leave+me
The coolest thing about jazz is that it's a performer's art more/rather than a composer's art, and each singer performs a song in a different way. Completely different, unrecognisable. Over the past few days I've listened several times to Nina Simone's version, which is very good. Then I listened to Billie Holiday. And it sounds like a Billie Holiday song. Like her other sad songs, this one feels personal and uniquely her own, as she brings into the performance her own pain and insecurities and doubts, and sings like she's moaning and crying and lamenting. Whose voice can go as far as Billie's in conveying, expressing such agony. And it feels just right. Just perfect. As though that's exactly the way to sing it. As though there's no other way to render it.
Not that I turn my back on Nina. Those thoughts appear only whilst I'm listening to Billie Holiday. These 2 singers have different approaches to the song, in terms of tone, tempo... Besides, though it's hard to say why, I feel like in Billie Holiday's performance the most important part is:
PS: Besides Peggy Lee's and Doris Day's, I've also listened to Ella Fitzgerald's take on this song. She may be the Queen of Jazz, but in my opinion she loses here. That equanimity of her singing is wonderful in many other songs, but Billie Holiday beats her in this case (as Nina Simone beats her when it comes to "My Man's Gone Now").
Nina Simone:
Other versions: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=love+me+or+leave+me
The coolest thing about jazz is that it's a performer's art more/rather than a composer's art, and each singer performs a song in a different way. Completely different, unrecognisable. Over the past few days I've listened several times to Nina Simone's version, which is very good. Then I listened to Billie Holiday. And it sounds like a Billie Holiday song. Like her other sad songs, this one feels personal and uniquely her own, as she brings into the performance her own pain and insecurities and doubts, and sings like she's moaning and crying and lamenting. Whose voice can go as far as Billie's in conveying, expressing such agony. And it feels just right. Just perfect. As though that's exactly the way to sing it. As though there's no other way to render it.
Not that I turn my back on Nina. Those thoughts appear only whilst I'm listening to Billie Holiday. These 2 singers have different approaches to the song, in terms of tone, tempo... Besides, though it's hard to say why, I feel like in Billie Holiday's performance the most important part is:
"Love me or leave meIn Nina Simone's performance, on the other hand, it is:
Or let me be lonely
You won't believe me
I love you only
I'd rather be lonely
Then happy with somebody else
You might find the night time
The right time for kissing
But night time is my time
For just reminiscing
Regretting
Instead of forgetting with somebody else"
"There'll be no oneThat is, I think they ultimately don't say the same thing. May even be opposing. And strangely, both renditions work. Beautifully.
Unless that someone is you
I intend to be independently blue
I want your love but I don't want to borrow
To have it today and give back tomorrow
Your love is my love, there's no love for nobody else"
PS: Besides Peggy Lee's and Doris Day's, I've also listened to Ella Fitzgerald's take on this song. She may be the Queen of Jazz, but in my opinion she loses here. That equanimity of her singing is wonderful in many other songs, but Billie Holiday beats her in this case (as Nina Simone beats her when it comes to "My Man's Gone Now").
Sunday, 10 May 2015
Saturday, 9 May 2015
"Summertime"
Ella Fitzgerald& Louis Armstrong:
Billie Holiday:
Nina Simone:
Those are my favourites. I've also listened to the (original) opera version. Other versions are Sarah Vaughan, Norah Jones, Janis Joplin, James Cooke, The Zombies, Billy Stewart... Personally I don't like them much, but love the fact that they are completely different.
Which rendition do you like?
Billie Holiday:
Nina Simone:
Those are my favourites. I've also listened to the (original) opera version. Other versions are Sarah Vaughan, Norah Jones, Janis Joplin, James Cooke, The Zombies, Billy Stewart... Personally I don't like them much, but love the fact that they are completely different.
Which rendition do you like?
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