Glam Country

I learned something by watching Larry King tonight in prime time. What I didn't like about the Dixie Chicks was their image. I never got through the glam image, the shiny hair, the doll-like make-up, and the curvey bodies to be able to listen to their music. The image turned me off. Glam country just doesn't work as a concept. Seems Nashville or somebody has been pushing that image for a while now. I was relieved to learn the Dixie Chicks are growing up, expanding beyond that bubble gum pop image, and tackling the real world. Finally somebody is trying to do it. Way to go! I was also relieved to hear the groove in their most current effort. They said it had been called 70's, California rock. Right on! Leave that Nashville induced weak, pop, metrosexual bibble in the dust and rock something out with conviction. That is music the way I know it. I haven't had enough time to reflect about all the issues it brought up, but I was glad to realize their appearance was very much related to my last post. Glam country has never really worked, and now I must add the Dixie Chicks to my list of country visionaries. Garth, Shania, and them. (or is it they?) Seems maybe I have been missing something not checking them out. I do like Jessica Andrews and Vanessa Carlton. I like Paula Cole and Vanessa Willliams. I like the Sundays. It was interesting hearing a little of their music for the second time. It makes me reflect on a musical, the Life of June Carter Cash, that played here recently. They called that music Bluegrass, but there was no banjo, or fiddle, or mandolin. It sounded more like Bible Belt mountain music. The thing that struck me about it was everybody sung all the time. There was no orchestration to the vocal performance. You never got to hear any of the individual voices because they were having so much fun singing together all the time. This doesn't really work. Tasty choral writing, or any writing for that matter, steers clear of the homogeneous sound. Trumpet choir, trombone choir, any of them get old real fast because of the lack of timbral variation. That is the beautiful thing about the orchestra. Given the right orchestrator such as Ravel or Tchaikovsky, the orchestra breathes with freshness and life. Put in the hands of Ennio Morrocone, the orchestra is a living, breathing soul every bit as important any actor in a movie. Tasty vocals can be found many places, but maybe that is out of the concept of their music. Snoop Dog's "What's My Name" Part ll, produced by who I think was Dr. Dre, are tasty background vocals. Male, bass voices singing the hook. Man that is novel. That was Hip/Hop at its best. It sounded like to me there was a male voice down there in their mix, but that could have been any of the three girls singing in the alto range. I'll have to give them more time, now that they have aired grievances similar to my own. From this Moment On is one of my favorite songs of all time, mostly because of the duet. If that was Mutt singing with Shania, their chemistry is what produced that album. He sings well, and he pushed her to be a greater star than she all ready was. That seems to be a trend in popular music. Mariah and Tommy LiPuma, Gloria Estefan and her husband, Celine Dion. I wish I had me one. I could do the writing and the producing part, and a few others things too. There was one I met on a cruise ship. I was playing in the Showband for Carnival, and this little girl came on and sung the National Anthem at the Guest Talent Show. I was given a cryptic, faded, lead sheet and expected to provide a suitable accompaniment. That tune, but the way, is really a hymn. Hymns are strickly four voice choral writing, and unless you are Wynton Marsalis and Kenny Kirkland, it is risky to improvise. I took a few hours in the afternoon after the rehearsal and wrote a re-harmonization of the melody with a Charles Ives flavor. I had to practice it a long time. Talent Show on a cruise ship is a rare, challenging beast. The whole ship is roaring and clapping. Then you have to step up to the plate and play by yourself, a very intimate and un-rehearsed musical performance, very far apart, and through a sound system that envies a transistor radio. Well, I knew she would nail it, because she had the feeling. I followed her phrasing, and I interjected as I could my interpretation of the tune. We meshed. She was inspired by my effort, liked what she heard, and I well up in tears every time I listen to it. Later in the year on a different Carnival ship, we played together again. She was engaged this time and traveling with her fiance. The tune was "Wiping Away all My Tears." It was equally as stirring, and away she went to Greensboro, North Carolina. I won't mention her name, but I knew in my heart she had what it took to be a star singer. Talent and understanding beyond her years. Those experiences are what made the Showband, not playing Nick Thorp's sequenced production show charts with a track.