Reaction to Christine McVie

[aleuzzi]

He had a genuine reaction to Christine's singing on "It's Okay With Me Baby". You could see he was quite moved by it.

And then his story about seeing "Over My Head" on Midnight Special--it was a moment of nostalgia that was more than nostalgia. By remember that moment, he was reentering it and feeling all over again the magic of encountering this woman and her voice. He also remarked that her appearance matched her voice, which I thought was interesting.

The Diana Ross comparison is a little unexpected, since the two do not sound at all alike on record or live. Still, I have always placed Ross and McVie in the same kind of category: distinctive singers whose talents shine best in the studio. They both have expressive voices and effective emotional ranges, but their voices are ultimately best suited to the isolation of a studio chamber, where the subtleties of their approaches can be foregrounded without being distorted or coarsened by live arena amplification. Moreover, both singers essentially outgrew their youthful images (pop sex kitten and English Rose blues belter) to become great ballad singers.