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From "John L. Micek" <jlmicek@verizon.net>
Subject Re: Duffy
Date Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:21:50 -0500

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>I would say Duffy's talent could fit in Dusty's pinky fingernail. No 
>comparison there whatsoever, other than to say the former is perhaps trying 
>to capture something that came naturally to the latter.  Is Duffy better
> than her contemporaries? Say...Fergie? Definitely. Lilly Allen? I think 
> so. Amy Winehouse? If Winehouse doesn't kill herself, she could rule the 
> roost.

It probably is more appropriate to place Duffy in the broader context of her 
contemporaries -- Winehouse and Adele. Fergie's not an apt comparison -- she 
belongs in the pop firmament with Gwen Stefani and Christina Aguilera and 
that ilk. And, to my way of thinking, Lily Allen may not be an apt 
comparison either, since she and Kate Nash seem to belong to what I'll call 
a more 'confessional' school of songwriting. So she has to be judged among 
the practitioners of the new Northern Soul.

I'll preface my remarks by noting that I put "Rockferry" in my top 20 of 
last year's records, along with Nash's "Made of Bricks." I love Duffy's 
voice, and do find it reminsicent of Dusty Springfield's. But to try to draw 
direct analogues between the two of them is foolhardy. You can't put an 
acknowledged legend beside a young vocalist with one album to her credit. It 
does both of them a disservice and puts a tremendous burden on the younger 
artist that she can never hope to live up to.

Of the three, Adele is probably the most naturally talented vocalist, and I 
love "Chasing Pavements," though I found the rest of the record a little 
lugubrious. I also enjoyed "Back to Black," but sometimes I wonder if Mark 
Ronson won't someday outclever himself with his production style. Certainly 
that record wouldn't have been the document it was without the presence of 
the Dap-Kings, who classed the proceedings up measurably.

In interviews and performances, I've found Duffy the most personally 
enagaging. She's bright, funny and friendly, and that has gone a long way 
toward winning my affections. The fact that she looks like a young Bardot 
doesn't hurt much either -- to be blunt. But that's not the sole yardstick 
I'm using to measure her with. For my money, when it comes down to songs, 
"Mercy," and "Warwick Avenue," were two of the catchiest nu-soul tunes I 
heard last year.

I'm not sure how personally committed Duffy is to continuing to record in 
this style. In interviews, she can be evasive and non-committal about the 
whole business, leaving open the suggestion that the record was largely 
shaped by Bernard Butler's personal whims and a legion of A&R men. I'll be 
curious to see where she goes once she has a few more records under her 
belt. She and Adele both seem like they have tremendous promise. As much as 
I appreciate Winehouse's talent, I fear her demons have probably overtaken 
her.

John Micek



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