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| From | "David Bash" <bashpop@earthlink.net> |
| Subject | Re: Well, this should keep the McCartney Thread alive for another 1200 posts... |
| Date | Sat, 23 Jun 2007 11:15:27 -0700 |
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--- In audities@yahoogroups.com, "Alan Haber" <zoogang@...> wrote:
>
> Well, that's the most abhorrent load of trash I have had the displeasure
> to
> read in a very long time.
>
> I don't know what else to say.
>
> Alan
> http://www.purepopradio.com
> http://www.buhdge.com
While I agree that Lefsetz went about his rant in a most base and classless
manner, on a general level I do share some agreement with him: that very
often rock icons are given more leeway than perhaps is warranted. For many
years I have seen this occur with my favorite artist, Brian Wilson. I can't
tell you how many reviews I read, or comments I heard, when his first solo
album came out, that Brian "sounds just as good as he ever did" and "man, he
can still hit those same high notes that he did on 'Let Him Run Wild,"
etc...now, I love Brian as much as anyone, but please, give me a break!
Given what he had been through, both physically and emotionally, it was a
miracle that he could record, let alone produce as fine a work as that
album, but people refused to leave it at that, instead stretching the truth
beyond the boundries of imagination. Speaking of imagination, when that
album came out 10 years later Brian was now 56 years old and had gone
through even more emotional baggage (as well as cigarettes) and yet *people
were still saying the same thing!!!* Don't get me wrong, I like the album
for what it is, which is a charming disc of good, solid pop songs (although
like most BB fans I abhor the production), but a masterpiece it ain't. Then
of course when Smile came out, it was hoisted to a pedestal higher than
Mount Everest, in many ways for good reason as it was a production of
magnificent proportions. However, it was marred by one specific thing:
Brian's voice. Brian's singing wasn't nearly at a commensurate level with
the music; in fact, there were times when he downright sounded like Buddy
Hackett! But to read reviews of the album, either this was completely
glossed over or people still anointed Brian as "sounding as good as he ever
has"! I read several reviews of Smile, and while I'm often accused of being
"too nice" in my reviews, my review of Smile was the only one I know of
which strongly pointed to Brian's singing as a distinct shortcoming.
Anyway, back to McCartney. I happen to like Memory Almost Full; I don't
think it's one of his best, and it's certainly not nearly one of his worst.
One thing is certain, though: in some reviews I've read, journalists have
let McCartney skate on his pass as a legend. And when people do make the
point that he sounds like an "old man" (which he really doesn't, imho), the
usual defense is "well, he IS 65 after all". To me that's a specious
defense; all this does is point out that he indeed IS getting on in years,
and the fact that his voice has aged well for a 65 year-old doesn't mean
that, relative to a younger man's voice, it sounds good, nor does it mean
that it actually makes the grade as a voice.
I often wonder how I would respond to an album like Memory Almost Full if I
heard it without knowing who recorded it. Of course, it would be extremely
difficult to divorce myself from the trappings; likely I'd say "this must be
McCartney". But who knows, maybe I'd say "this record is like a senior
citizen trying to sound like McCartney", and I might be more apt to pay
attention to the vocal
shortcomings and not like the record as much.
--
Pop Rules!!!!!
Take Care,
David
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