My advice to Jane Monheit...

Rob Babcock · « **on:** 8 Jan 2006, 10:49 am »

Jane, you are a beautiful girl with a wonderful voice, but please don't do any more songs that Holly Cole has done first.

MaxCast · « **Reply #1 on:** 8 Jan 2006, 12:39 pm »

Ha, I don't hava any Holy Cole yet, but somehow I get your drift.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #2 on:** 8 Jan 2006, 09:09 pm »

I was chilling out last nite with "Come Dream With Me," certainly a pretty good album in its own right. When I'll Be Seeing You came on all I could think of was how much better I liked Holly Cole's version. Then when I played Blame It on My Youth there was no contest. Monheit is beautiful, and she has a very very nice voice, but...Cole just sings with "experience," she doesn't just sing a song, she inhabits it. You believe every word Cole says when she's singing, you forget it's just a song!

mca · « **Reply #3 on:** 8 Jan 2006, 09:43 pm »

Rob,

If I were to go pick up a Jane Monheit album, which one would you recommend?

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #4 on:** 8 Jan 2006, 09:49 pm »

Probably "Come Dream With Me" or "Never Never Land". Although she has a new album that I don't have yet. She really does have a wonderful voice, just a little different style.

On a related note, I was listening to DK's "The Look of Love" last nite, too, and honestly it's been moving up my list as of late. I used to like her older stuff better, but I've begun to appreciate that one. Her newest one may be her finest, however.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #5 on:** 8 Jan 2006, 09:56 pm »

Quote from: Rob Babcock

On a related note, I was listening to DK's "The Look of Love" last nite, too, and honestly it's been moving up my list as of late. I used to like her older stuff better, but I've begun to appreciate that one. Her newest one may be her finest, however.

Must be Elvis having a good effect on her....

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #6 on:** 8 Jan 2006, 10:01 pm »

I don't have that one yet, but maybe I'll pick it up today.

And yes, I think DK's collaboration with hubby Elvis Costello has been a brilliant one. I was worried that it would ruin her style/sound, but so far it's been great.

Except that she shouldn't have settled for him while I am available!

tonyptony · « **Reply #7 on:** 8 Jan 2006, 11:03 pm »

I used to be a bigger Monheit fan than I am now. While I agree with everything said here about her, what really turned me off was seeing her live in concert. Yes, she's pretty, but she is so affected on stage that I almost got sick with her combination of put on coy looks and all of the other moves that she did which looked completely manufactured. It kind of got me thinking about her singing, and it occurred to me that neither was being done with any honest emotion. That was enough for me.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #8 on:** 9 Jan 2006, 02:38 am »

Well, I had the new one in my hand when I saw it contained a duet with Micheal Buble. That sorta took me somewhere I don't want to go, so I didn't buy it.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #9 on:** 9 Jan 2006, 03:00 am »

Jane...

[/list:u]

Quote

Well, I had the new one in my hand when I saw it contained a duet with Micheal Buble. That sorta took me somewhere I don't want to go, so I didn't buy it.

[/list:u]

fabaudio · « **Reply #10 on:** 9 Jan 2006, 03:08 am »

lonewolfny42

It's not midnight yet. Isn't it kinda early for you to post?

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #11 on:** 9 Jan 2006, 03:12 am »

Quote from: fabaudio

lonewolfny42

It's not midnight yet. Isn't it kinda early for you to post?

But the sun's down.....

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #12 on:** 9 Jan 2006, 03:21 am »

Holly's still lookin' pretty good to me.

gonefishin · « **Reply #13 on:** 9 Jan 2006, 05:21 am »

Hi Rob,

Jane's singing and her voice always sounded like she's more of a trained opera singer who comes out with jazz albums. It's as if you can hear the beauty in her voice(on her albums)...yet it belongs somewhere other than jazz.

That said...I'm also a big Holly Cole fan. (now don't get offended here

) But to me...her singing is like a fungus. For starters...she sings like a bad cabaret singer in a 70's disco lounge. She may have emotion...but she's also got the abundance of emotion and unpolished voice that together screams bad cabaret sound. Yet, for some reason her CD's have spread like a fungus in my collection. There's just something about her voice. Huh...maybe I should search out cabaret singers

But yes...I agree with what your saying

dan

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #14 on:** 9 Jan 2006, 05:27 am »

Maybe her flaws are why I like her, Gonefishing. I notice that too, a vaudeville quality to some of her songs. And there's a sly sardonic wit to the interpretations. While I sometimes wish she'd do more "serious" stuff, if she did she'd end up sounding adult-contemporary, like DK sometimes does. I can't explain why I love her so much, but it's scary how often I find one of her CDs in my player!

Monheit does sound very technical, very trained and polished. While her voice is beautiful and enjoyable on its own terms, she's very different from Cole.