Too much music, too little time! :D

Hi everyone, today I’d like to share a very special performance on “American Idol” that aired yesterday. Her name is Jena Irene and she sang the Elvis song “Can’t help falling in love”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZiwhFhyPgs

Now I’m not a fan of this girl, because I don’t care for her type of voice, which sounds to me like a cross between Lorde and Adele, (although I like Adele) but she really did an incredible job with this one, which is why I’m sharing. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi again everyone, here’s another link I haven’t had time to share. I’ve discovered this new artist who came into public consciousness some time last year, here in Quebec anyway. His name is Karim Ouellette. He was born in 1984 in Senegal and adopted by Quebec parents at 3 months old. Son of a diplomat, he spent his life between Senegal, Canada, France, Rwanda and Tunisia. That’s probably why he sounds like a worldly guy, in his music and his lyrics too. His latest single I’ve been meaning to share is called  “Rien ne sert de courir” (No use running):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o-QlMFzK0c

He seems to have an eclectic variety of influences and he plays all instruments and sings all vocal parts. How is that for an artist? :D I have to say I’m still chewing on some of his lyrics, trying to decide on  linear or metaphoric significance, though I enjoy most of the music. His CD “Fox” is definitely worth a listen or 2. If I remember correctly, the title song was the first single, but the one that made me notice him was « L’amour » :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YilwH1Tal_w

That’s one for the repeat button! Anyway, hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading and listening, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, I've been saving  this entry for a while, thinking I could find more info, but there's not a whole lot, aside from the Wikipedia page.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_(musical)

A few weeks ago, I was watching this PBS show on the Dave Clark 5 and all about their success that was practically as big as the Beatles in their own time. Anyway, as PBS documentaries are, it seemed very thorough and included more updated info. It turns out Dave Clark conceived a futuristic musical in the late 80's called simply "Time, the musical". From what they described, it seemed extremely elaborate, with the latest technology at the time, mixing hidden microphones, off-stage band and projection on 3-D model shapes, complete with a pre-recorded monolog by sir Lawrence Olivier! Sound impressive? Have a look:

Time The Musical Dominion Theatre London 1996 - Dave Clarke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya6SPWl6VYQ

Freddie Mercury “In my defense”, Written by Dave Clark, David Soames & Jeff Daniels

Performed by Freddie Mercury

Remixed by Mad The DJ

Original Version from 'Dave Clark's "Time: The Musical"

In the documentary, they mentionned there was an original soundtrack including Stevie Wonder, but unfortunately, I couldn't find the Stevie Wonder song on YouTube. In any case, it was interesting enough to share, so thought I would. If anything, the novelty and obscurity of it sounds cool enough for collectors with big pockets. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, today, I’m bringing a link to a relatively new, well new to me Quebec band named Gazoline. I’ve heard bits of this song for a while but only once completely on my French pop radio. The song is called “Ces gens qui dansent”, (These people who dance):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8dfaZI2xkM

From what I’ve heard on YouTube, they seem to be a band I’d put in my “scruffys” category. It doesn’t happen very often that I enjoy something from French Quebec, so thought I’d mention it. Again, from what I’ve heard on YouTube, their lyrics also fit in the “scruffys” genre and their preoccupations mostly lay in the sex, drugs and rock’n’roll mindset, but their music seems to be esthetically pleasing. :D More news later if I get to hear their album. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, today’s entry is more of an observation, although I do have a link or 2. As I’ve mentioned a few posts ago, I’ve recently discovered Pharrell Williams and actually listened to an interview he did with Oprah recently. I found out he’d been in the biz for a good while, mostly as a producer for many prominent artists. Anyway, doing a little research on Amazon, I found there was a vinyl single of the song “Happy” with an instrumental version on the B side. I checked it out on YouTube and it hit me: one of the reasons I love this song so much is that it reminds me of singer Jaimie Lidell’s 2008 album “Jim”, which I’ve mentioned pages ago. Well first, here’s the instrumental “Happy”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdSte2XWu7o

Anyway, I just felt it had the same energy as Jaimie’s “ Where’d you go”, the chorus of “Out of my system” which I’ve both mentioned before and also his song “Hurricane”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLPyvZUe-U4

I can’t say enough good things about the “Jim” album and I’m sure I’ve mentioned before how much of a feel-good throwback 70’s funk it has. Jaimie mentioned in an interview that his album might contribute to weight loss, lol but I agree. :D I’ve listened to clips from Pharrell’s album “Girl” which contains the “Happy” song, will be borrowing it from the library and will tell you more about it when I do. It doesn’t quite sound as funky as “Jim”, but certainly old school soul, so I’m looking forward to it. Anyway, that’s it for now. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, today, I’m bringing what I call a musical snapshot. It’s a song I heard for the first time yesterday, in the old sitcom “Growing pains”. It was in an episode where the Seever family was in Hawaii. It’s Christopher Cross « Swept away »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZQwf7kaFuY

I call it a musical snapshot, because Christopher Cross had a very special sound and style and as soon as you hear it, you’re thrown back to a specific time and memory. That might be something I’d like to explore in a future playlist. Christopher, through no fault of his own, will probably always be linked with the 80’s and a handful of songs. As long as I’m here, here are my 2 favorites of his. First, “Sailing”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdD3Qy5U2t0

and my ultimate favourite, linked with the soap opera “General Hospital” at the time, “Think of Laura”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02-CvtmRz6M

Phew, this brings it all back, goosebumps included... Of course, I’m a sucker for a tear-jerker, but this song is also beautiful and would be, even sung in a language we wouldn’t understand... Anyway, hope you enjoy this blast from the past. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, today, I’ll be exploring the latest album from Paul Anka. You might be thinking: Paul Anka? Well yes, he’s alive and well and still making music at 73. A dear friend told me I should check his CD  out so I did.  To be honest, my expectations were low, because on his “Duets” album, most of his partners are over 60 and passed their heyday. Instead of nitpicking on what I didn’t like, I’ll share the highlights. The version I borrowed from my local library has 16 tracks. The general feel of the album is easy-listening, as expected, With arrangements mostly surrounding the acoustic guitar with string arrangements. I’ll go with the order of the tracks. I haven’t checked the liner notes, but I’m pretty sure Paul wrote all the songs on it. Okay, the "Walk a fine line" duet with Michael McDonald/George Benson  is pleasant, in a Musak way, but Mike uses his beautiful voice to its best advantage and the arrangements are decent. The Dolly Parton duet came highly recommended and is as sweet as Dolly is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb-X9GLq7pQ

Dolly has the sweetest tone and even at 68, she knows how to put her best vocal cord forward. The arrangements are beautiful and this rendition just makes you feel fuzzy: definite keeper! :D  I was shocked to find out that Paul wrote Michael Jackson’s song “This is it”, which they duet on. The musical mix is interesting and I do enjoy Paul’s singing on it, though frankly not sure how it works as a duet. I also enjoy the “Pennies from heaven” duet with Michael Bublé, simply because I love Mikey’s voice, though I felt it was pleasant but generic. Now, “You are my destiny” with Patti Labelle is something else! The latin feel is very present in this one, with added brass and lovely string arrangements. I don’t know who produced this album, but for the most part, he/she brought out great vocal performances. All right now, my biggest surprise out of this CD was “It’s hard to say goodbye”, the duet with Céline Dion. I have a lot of issues with Céline Dion’s voice and delivery and although I can respect that she’s crazy talented and has sung gorgeous songs in her career, I am not a fan. So this duet has a 90’s R&B feel to it, underlined with a very nice string arrangement. The vocal performance is very well balanced, the song itself is gorgeous and Céline’s tessitura is controlled and actually enjoyable to me, so all I can say is kudos! :D  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQpz6pAjiZE

Wow, I seriously can’t tell you how conflicted I am: I never thought I’d put a Céline song on my blog, phew!  All right, here’s another one that surprised me: the duet of “She’s a lady” with Tom Jones. I was frankly dreading this one because the last I heard of Tom Jones wasn’t terribly flattering. The tempo is perfect on this one, though I feel the arrangement is a little bit dated-sounding to me. The “Hold me till the morning comes” duet with Peter Cetera feels like the Mike McDonald one to me: you have to enjoy the perfect sound of a beautifully distinctive voice. My favourite off this album is certainly “My way” with Frank Sinatra. There’s something very special and particularly moving in hearing Frank who sang the definitive version, (now Elvis fans don’t shout at me!) with the songwriter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP_tMa7VliY

There only seems to be the live version on YouTube.  It’s just a terrificsong... Speaking of terrific songs, on the CD I borrowed, there’s a duet of “I’m not anyone” with Sammy Davis Jr.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhEqhn-XUpA

The arrangement is quite Vegas epic, but it is an anthemic song. It’s very nice to hear Paul laying everything into it and blending very well with Sammy. Honestly, I would give this CD a solid 7 out of 10, maybe even a 7.5 or 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon. I feel it’s definitely worth a listen or 2. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Hi everyone, I’ve been hearing  this new song for about a week now and I really like it, it’s the Black Keys “Fever”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZZUY32iCzU

Their new album “Turn Blue” will be available May 13 2014. Incidentally, it has nothing to do with Peggy Lee’s “Fever”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGb5IweiYG8

There have been so many versions of this song, I think I have at least 3 myself, by Michael Bublé, Ray Charles and possibly Ella Fitzgerald, but when I think of this song, I always think of this version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoIZQh1IjI8

lol I know, I’m sorry… XD For some reason, I thought Peggy’s version was the original, but apparently   Little Willie John recorded it 2 years prior to Peggy, although Peggy rewrote much of the lyrics for her version, according to Wikipedia. Back to the Black Keys, I did enjoy their album “El camino” and if this song is representative of their next album, it sounds like they will have kept everything I liked about it so stay tuned! :D Take care and thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie QC Canada <3

Hi everyone, in honor of my friend Sylvia’s birthday yesterday and the fact that I’m still  wearing my Jacques Brel patch, :D I thought I’d dive into one of her favorite singers Scott Walker’s exploration of my friend Jacques’ repertoire. I have to tell you right now that that’s a tall order and I’ve tryed listening with an open mind. I think my biggest problem is the song translations. In general, some covers follow the outline/theme of the original, while   closer translations seem less lyrical, or maybe it’s just me.

Songs like “Funeral tango” (Tango funèbre), “The girls and the dogs” (les filles et les chiens) and “Alone” (Seul) are of the former category, while “Jackie” (La chanson de Jackie) and  “Mathilde” ar of the latter. However, Scott sang a very interesting rendition of  “My death” “La mort):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfvFa8KexRw

That was a truly heartfelt performance. Now I’m afraid “Next” (Au suivant) I feel really doesn’t translate well and that’s about all I can say about it. I did keep the best for last. These are some of Mr Brel’s greatest songs and Scott delivered those with just the right personal touch. Let’s start with “Amsterdam”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt_5nkMhhgI

…then the iconic “If you go away” (Ne me quitte pas):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weetkVfO62E

...and one I think he did a particularly good job with, “Sons of…” (fils de…)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZxUiTJVcVs

Now, as I was putting this entry together, I stumbled upon  a few other cover versions that actually pleasantly surprised me. By pure accident, I found Terry Jacks’ version of  “If you go away”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDK9I7gom-A

No big surprise that it sounds cut of the same mold as his rendition of “Le moribund” “Seasons in the sun”, but still good. Another most surprising was Neil Diamond’s version of  “If you go away”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ol6VWdldj8

I’m generally on the fence about  Neil Diamond, but thought that aside from his overly dramatic lower register, I felt his performance was genuine on this one. My last discovery, which I’ll have to explore more in depth in the future, was Judy Collins. Now I knew she had sung “The dove” (La colombe), but I didn’t know she’d sung several Jacques Brel songs. Here she is, singing ”La chanson des vieux amants”, en français, s’il-vous-plaît :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZn6q1OKbNU

That was pretty good! I do mean both her French and her rendition. Judy Collins’ voice  can be somewhat of an acquired taste, but this rendition was very well balanced, not too high-pitched and delivered with the songwriter’s intent very well. I was truly astonished, because at first, I wasn’t sure this combination would work, especially since I love this song so much I can’t see straight... Well on that happy note, I hope you enjoy some of these, thank you very much for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3