Speaking of soul. Joan Osborne has a new CD, "How Sweet It Is". It is a collection of covers, mostly soul and Motown standards. The title song and "I'll be Around" are passably good, and she nearly channels Stevie Wonder in "Love's in Need of Love Today". But if you're going to sing and Aretha Franklin classic like "Think", you need to sound at least as good as she does. It's not a good thing to suffer in comparison. I nearly drove off the road listening to her take on Edwin Starr's "War". The original was full of anger. "War! What is it good for?" Starr practically spits the answer "Absolutely Nothin'!" Osborne sings these passionate lyrics as though War were some kind of one-night stand that didn't work out. I have been a major Joan Osborne fan and she gave one of the best live shows I've seen. She has a great and soulful voice as she has proven in the past, especially on "Spider Web." On this, however, she or her producer pulls every single punch. I wanted to hear her scream or spit once in a while, not merely sigh.

Then there's the ridiculous - Rod Stewart singing "The Great American Songbook". It was playing in the Barnes & Noble and I had to find out who was trying so hard and failing so completely. The very first cut was "You Go to My Head". When you've heard Billie Holiday sing the definitive version, Stewart's becomes merely pathetic. He sounded like a drunk woman trying to imitate Louis Armstrong while smoking unfiltered Camels. He sings "Someone to Watch Over Me" and I was hoping it would be either a voice coach or an anesthetist. Stewart had no feeling for the songs, neither their obvious passion (missing), nor their superb timing (completely lost), nor their wonderful melodies. While I've never liked Rod Stewart (Maggie Mae excepted), he's never been this laughably bad.
3:16:35 AM    Comments?()