Videos: Opening Night *spoilers*

[skcin]

Originally Posted by drzubritsky

This has been my issue with Stevie's vocals for the past dozen years. While I can accept the fact she doesn't have the upper range of her youth, I see no reason why she can't vary the dynamics a bit. Some more variety in dynamics would partially compensate for the lost high notes, and provide some opportunities for new interpretations that may be just as interesting in a different way.

I wonder if the vocal coaching is actually degrading the quality of her interpretations? It sounds as if she's trying so hard to maintain vocal control that she's not varying her voice at all. I think The Dance was the last time we heard more dynamic vocals and that was before she started regular voice coaching. On The Dance, she occasionally summoned that breathy quality that has since disappeared (e.g. the "rock on, ancient queen" section on GDW).

This is not just a problem in concert but on studio recordings as well. The only vocal variation of any significance that I can recall since The Dance was that rare moment of semi-falsetto on "Sorcerer".

For sure. Monotone at times.

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

Listening to the live "Storms," I can't help but wonder whether her vocal coach is encouraging her to project from the diaphragm for every song, which is supposedly considered "proper form." But I suspect this is something you would do only in an un-mic'd setting, e.g., Broadway musical or cabaret, where singers are taught to project to the last row of the venue. Her phrasing of "Storms" strikes me as being a bit cabaret-ish- where she sustains notes that really should have been clipped, and oversinging/over-enunciating passages that should have been whispered or slurred a little bit.

But then again, maybe she is rendering a new interpretation of "Storms." The original is more of a quiet, introspective cry-yourself-to-sleep soliloquy. The live version sounds more anguished, more angry and self-flagellating, especially where she screams "...so I searched to find an answer there..." Sure one can argue that she phoned in her Pittsburgh performance for the most part, but this is the one song where she really connected with the emotion of the song.

I agree with all of this. I thought about that last night - who am I to tell Stevie how she should sing a 30 year old song today? Maybe SHE wants it to be louder, more anguished. Of course, that doesn't mean I have to like it. But instead of assuming she f*cked it up, I should be open to the possibility that this is how she wants it performed.