I’m sooooo afraid….

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by Phil

PS Darklinensuit, have you heard Carly Simon's vocals lately? I love her dearly, but her voice is all but gone I'm afraid - just check out either of her last two albums for proof of this. On the other hand, Linda Ronstadt can still control her voice like no other - she truly is magnificent.

Yeah... Carly's voice... it is not remotely similar to what it was even ten years ago. I wonder what happened? She was still singing like a bird in 2000, but by 2005 her voice dropped an octave and now she can't even sing in tune anymore Nevertheless, I love love loved her 2008 album This Kind of Love, even though she basically sighed through most of it. I jumped at the chance to see her on the Lilith Fair tour this year, but sadly she had to cancel because of a broken foot that happened, um, weeks ago. For some reason I can't help but wonder if it was more likely due to the fact that she simply can no longer sing in concert without embarassing herself, and the broken foot was a convenient out. I've seen/heard/attended some of her recent performances and... . Of course this makes me worry about the state of Stevie's voice since they are similar in age, but the difference is that Stevie has been touring almost incessantly for the past 40 years and she has taken voice lessons and exercises her voice. Accordingly Stevie's voice has held up. By contrast, Carly pretty much stopped touring after 1981 and has only done concerts sporadically (but then again, she has recorded/released twice as many albums!). As the old saying goes, you use it or lose it!

As for Stevie's new album, I am fully anticipating a very highly polished "sterile" sound not unlike Lindsey's last couple of albums. I think anybody expecting Bella Donna 2 will be highly disappointed; without Roy Bittan and Benmont Tench on board, it would be impossible. I suspect it will sound like John Shanks' work on TISL- big, full, atmospheric... but with more acoustic guitar and strings. Musically I think we should expect soaring, majestic choruses featuring lots of high, wailing vocals from Mama herself- even if it means having to tweak things electronically. I would also not rule out the possibility of some R&B elements- something Mama has never done, even though she flirted with the possibility (Dallas Austin, Rodney Jerkins). And there will also be at least one semi-acoustic number ala "It's Only Love" (something he has done on a number of Eurythmics records). Given the degree of collaboration, I think this will be Stevie's most consistent album; however, it will also be the least Stevie album since so much of the songwriting and production has been given over to others. If anything, in the ten years after her last solo album, I would be most disappointed if she stagnated or didn't evolve in any way. Change is good! As long as she can put out an album and proudly sign her name to it, I am happy with it.