The Best Live Rhiannon

[jannieC]

Originally Posted by petep9000

What I love about the whole tour, and you can even hear it on this clip, are the vocal spasms that she'd bleat out. Yes, technically it's not good singing (tearing out from her throat instead of pushing up from her diaphragm) but it was heavily resonant. It was very heavy, and she just doesn't put it out there anymore.

Listen at points 04:18, 04:25, 06:34 and 06:51 for the husky, shuddery, vocal freak-outs that she'd pepper the verses with. I don't know, I just felt it more. Felt like she was actually trying to bring us into her little mental world at the time. The new Vegas-type Stevie performances are fine for some, I guess. What the audiences today hear is Rhiannon. There's no suprise, and no one walks away from the show saying "gee, ya know she missed part of the verse" or "gee, she added a lot of 'wells' that I don't remember hearing on the CD". I just wonder if anyone is ever again going to feel Rhiannon.

P.S check out Eleschia Wright. What a hoot! Now THERE was a little soul injection into Stevie's band. Even icy Sharon was trying to keep up.

I 100% agree with everything you've posted here. I've always said that while I'm happy Stevie was able to free herself from drugs, she sacrificed a lot of her dramatic flair and intensity for her sobriety. Back then, it seemed as though she was so INTO everything. The last few shows I've been to (well, since TISL, if I'm being truthful), she seems NOT to be very emotionally present. I think she sounds great, there's just almost no spontaneity anymore. I'm sure that people will want to give examples of recent Stevie fabulousness, and I agree that there have been some performances where the old Stevie pops out, but for the most part, it's a different show now. I hope I don't sound ungrateful- I love Stevie now just as much as I ever have. It's just a new, calmer sound/show.