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Jazz vocalists which may not be as real as we think/imagine

Sure we could include all genres of vocalists,  but lets focus on jazz performers,,for instance , take Diana Krall. 
I have a  pile of cds that i do not listen to, old rock,,, 2 are my wife's she picked up as gifts, and never listened.
So I figured maybe I can use DK's as a  test reference recording.
Her 1999 and 2001, both seem to my ears her voice is somehow ~~tweeked~~ laid out with modern aids such as EQ's and such.
My Q is , can we really consider DK's voice to be The Real Deal,,, or a  perhaps a toch of  ~ The Fake if not perhaps, bordering on, fraud. 
I really can not use her cds in my testing of new tweeks, mods, , Her voice comes across wayyyy too warm = Colored = a nono for my ears. 
I am after pure cold frigid, icy clean mountain spring water. 
Anyway, justa  random thought,, what say ye? Have you noticed this quirk among other jazz performers such as Sophie Milman, which btw , i do use in  my YT vid uploads of testing reference on tweeks/mods/upgrades. 
Her voice is at least somewhat more~~ a  natural~, Just barely,,had her engineers gonea  tad too far in tweeking, I may have to  also disreagrd her cds. 
Sure you might object and claim all recordings post 1985, have these intrusions of tweeking /EQing the voice, as a  makeover. 
I don't know, maybe in the past 20 yrs things have gotten out of hand. 
So cast your vote, is DK's voice real deal,, or a  tad fake?
Can she perform unpluged as she does on high tech studio records?
mozartfan
cd318
2,636 posts
 
@edcyn,

Wow, that is something! The Capitol Records Building has just got to be one of the most beautiful iconic man made structures in the world.

I hope it lasts forever.


@mozartfan,

I bet I love that record as much as you, but you do know that's it's drenched in echo and reverb?  Patsy Cline would not sound anything like that if she was singing live in front of us. Definitely not if she was recording it today.

Sadly the era of such 'wet' recordings has long passed by. Nowadays a more 'dry' sound is preferred, and I'm guessing because it's easier to reproduce live in concert.

Fans also seem prefer a more dry modern sound, although some like k.d. lang and Lana Del Rey still seem to try to get that vintage sound on some of their recordings.

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable in the subject could help us out. 

https://youtu.be/MbnrdCS57d0

https://musicianshq.com/what-is-the-difference-between-reverb-echo-and-delay/
mozartfan OP
2,143 posts
 
Looks like you have a hidden agenda to smear the reputation of a very accomplished artist.

~~The Hidden Agenda~ is obvious, not at all obscure,. Others here and on my other topic also hestitate to over-applaud Diana's singing skills. 
**she is good, but I am looking for more than just gooD* quoted from a post on the other topic. 
Thats what i am trying to sy,,look how Grammy's awards sell out show s she had in her heyday.. , Yes we all agree, the lady has many fine talents,,But lets not get carried away. Of course I have to put some of the blame of modern voice wteeking gadgets and record engineers who may have gone a  bit far in her voice mods. 
This is my point,, in no way am I knocking her talents. She is a  fine artist,, just not  how far the positive reviews go. 
Lets be realistic. here.
Folk singers around the world never had modern electronic voice mods,, , This idea of tweeking vocals has gone too far to claim *great* next to a  recorded artists name. Consider mariah Carey,, queen of voice mods, If we heard her sing without electric mods,, we might all throw tomotoes, rotten ones at that, and demand a   refund. 
Mariah can hit  few notes, but she can't sing. Its all computerized fake notes.
aewarren
665 posts
 
I still have no idea what you're talking about. At least we have that one thing in common.
cd318
2,636 posts
 
I think it's generally agreed that pop music singers are not the be-all end-all in vocal performance. In fact some of them are hardly singers at all, nor would claim to be. Not everyone can be a Robert Plant, Josh Groban, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day, or a Karen Carpenter etc.

Opera singers on the other hand have to perform live on stage without amplification or vocal enhancements in front of demanding audiences whilst performing often difficult repertoire.

Folk/ country singers also may often sing 'naked' in front of live audiences (not so much currently) accompanied only by a guitar.

For marketing reasons record companies (and artists) seek to employ producers like Rick Rubin and Mark Ronson who have that golden touch which can turn albums into big sellers. 
 
They've both made some great records but I'd say that vocal fidelity was never the main concern of theirs. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if even artists like Andrea Bocelli didn't get the odd bit of help on his records.

It's just the way it is today, and probably always has been.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,247 posts
 
I believe some opera halls use microphones for some of the artists.  It's a contentious issue.
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