Billy Joel at the Super Bowl

[Aftab]

I'm a big Billy Joel fan, so I was excited when I heard he was singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl.

So the day comes and they announce him, and he's sitting at a piano - OH HOW SWEET IS THIS GONNA BE!?!?! - I thought.

Then he started singing, and the pitch correction started kicking in - and hard - totally ruining the performance! The adjustments were so 'off' that you could hear it harshly bouncing the pitch of his voice around - like that effect in that Cher song and countless others.

Now, I can understand in a studio session using it to manipulate pitches, save time, fix a note here or there, etc. But in a live setting, with a musician like Billy Joel - I mean come on! The guy may be past his prime, but he's still better than most - and definitely not one to need correction for his vocal pitch. So what if he flattens a few notes? It's live!

Very lame.

[Dan Gould]

I can hardly tolerate Billy Joel these days, and had no idea that he was singing the national anthem, but it doesn't surprise me they'd try to fix his voice. What I've seen of him in the last few years, its obvious he's lost more than a little vocally.

[alocispepraluger102]

looks like the nfl(through cbs) gave up going for younger demographics for moldy oldies.

Edited February 6, 2007 by alocispepraluger102

[Man with the Golden Arm]

otoh i thought Prince kicked some serious jamesbrownattheapollo style ass!

[Scott Dolan]

Prince did indeed kick ass.

[Jazzmoose]

I can hardly tolerate Billy Joel these days..

Same here, although to be honest, I like him as well as I ever did.

[Scott Dolan]

Now that wasn't very nice, Moosely.

[Jim Alfredson]

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN... Billy Joel-bot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYIMmi7JtHc

[Jim Alfredson]

This is a killer version, but some think it was lip-sync'd:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STKSdLm2r8k

I once read that Whitney was almost impossible to double-track (ie, recording a vocal take at least twice to impart some natural "chorus" effect to the voice) because her control, pitch, and vibrato was so good that the overdubbed vocal would sound exactly like the previous vocal take and it would sound like one take.

She used to have some pipes!

[Free For All]

This is a killer version, but some think it was lip-sync'd:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STKSdLm2r8k

I once read that Whitney was almost impossible to double-track (ie, recording a vocal take at least twice to impart some natural "chorus" effect to the voice) because her control, pitch, and vibrato was so good that the overdubbed vocal would sound exactly like the previous vocal take and it would sound like one take.

She used to have some pipes!

John Clayton did the arrangement. I'll bet he made a nice taste for that one.

Some very cool reharmonizations in it IMHO.

[Rooster_Ties]

How about this one??

[Jazzmoose]

How about this one??

That was fucking incredible!

[Rooster_Ties]

How about this one??

That was fucking incredible!

The length of some of his phrases is occasionally variable (at least to my ears, based on the music-bed he's singing over), so I also think it's also amazing that he ultimately kept in synch with the music-bed.

I mean, it doesn't sound like live musicians backing him to me. And at times I wondered if it was even just percussion only, or with some sort of static pedal-tone underlying the whole thing. But near the end, there are definitely chords (or at least the roots of chords) in the music-bed, that follow (or rather, lead) what he's singing.

In ANY case, it certainly is fucking incredible!!

(Though my father-in-law would have absolutely hated it. )

Edited February 8, 2007 by Rooster_Ties

[zen archer]

i remember watching this !.

Best version i have ever heard !

[Free For All]

The length of some of his phrases is occasionally variable (at least to my ears, based on the music-bed he's singing over), so I also think it's also amazing that he ultimately kept in synch with the music-bed.

To my ears it was a canned drum beat accompanied by a live keyboard player who followed Marvin's phrasing.

[JSngry]

Marvin Gaye was one of the best singers of the 20th century. Period. The world is a poorer place without him.

[JSngry]

The length of some of his phrases is occasionally variable (at least to my ears, based on the music-bed he's singing over), so I also think it's also amazing that he ultimately kept in synch with the music-bed.

Ok, I've been wondering about this for quite a while, so I finally sat down & counted/charted bars & chord changes. The two A-sections are consistent at 14 bars (8+6) and follow the same progression (at the same rate) each time through. The bridge is 10 bars (it's on track to be 8 until bar 7, when he opens up the phrasing & makes what would usually be a 2 bar phrase into a 4 bar phrase. That sort of expansion fits right in w/what had been going on in the A-sections.

The final C-section, is in two halves. the first is 8 bars, and it's in the second where things get a little slippery. Sounds like Marvin suddenly decides to add a few beats before getting into the "and the home..." line (not a goof, but a spontaneous "feel" thing). That causes this section to resolve on the 7th bar instead of the 6th, which would have been in keeping with the length of the two A-sections, 8+6.

So yeah, Marvins' phrases are variable (but then again, Marvin was a phreaking master of phrasing - I've put together a CD of all the officially released versions of the Bobby Scott material, and the differences are RADICAL from take to take, year to year), but there's a symmetry & consistency to the accompaniment that leads me to believe that the arrangement was fixed in advance - and that there was a live keyboardist on hand to cover that extra bar towards the end.

It's an amazing performance, & I've known a few people over the years who tear up at just the mention of it. But that's the kind of guy Marvin was. He could do that to you.

Edited February 8, 2007 by JSngry

[Jim Alfredson]

I miss Marvin.

[rockefeller center]

This link to a Marvin Gaye clip has been posted before and has nothing to do with the topic at hand but I post it anyway: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KC7uhMY9s

An excerpt from the recently released DVD of some of Marvin's greatest live performances on TV and film, "Real Thing: In Performance 1964-1981," This live performance comes from the long out-of-circulation 1973 film, "Save The Children" with James Jamerson on bass.

Edited February 8, 2007 by rockefeller center

[Quincy]

The length of some of his phrases is occasionally variable (at least to my ears, based on the music-bed he's singing over), so I also think it's also amazing that he ultimately kept in synch with the music-bed.

To my ears it was a canned drum beat accompanied by a live keyboard player who followed Marvin's phrasing.

This track (audio only) is included in The Master 1961-1984 boxset. It's one of the main reasons why I bought the set (available at yourmusic.com.) The booklet to the set says the following:

"The night before, Gordon Banks had hooked up "Sexual Healing"-sounding drum track. Initially, Gaye had tried to get out of the commitment and asked Luther Vandross to replace him. "I was flattered that Marvin called," Vandross told me, "but I refused. I couldn't see a way to sing the song in my style. But Marvin found his courage and did just beautifully."

I too saw it when watching the game, and it blew me away. I was so happy to see it was available on disc (I just found out last year), and to see the youtube clip this morning made it!

[Scott Dolan]

I know this will paint me as a sour prude, but I dislike anytime one does the national anthem in a different way than it was written. I know that's pretty bizarre coming from someone who loves Jazz (especially considering I appreciate the more "out" forms of it more), but it just irritates me for some reason. Can't explain it.

Although I can trace it back to a time I heard this rap trio do it before a basketball game.

*boomp.....bshick.....boomp.....bshick* "Yo yo yo, we gonna send this one out to the homeland, baby. Awwwwww yeah, layin it down for the you ess of AY!!".....

Embarrassing.

Edited February 8, 2007 by Scott Dolan

[Jim Alfredson]

This link to a Marvin Gaye clip has been posted before and has nothing to do with the topic at hand but I post it anyway: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KC7uhMY9s

An excerpt from the recently released DVD of some of Marvin's greatest live performances on TV and film, "Real Thing: In Performance 1964-1981," This live performance comes from the long out-of-circulation 1973 film, "Save The Children" with James Jamerson on bass.

That just gives me shivers up and down my spine. Just as relevant today than when it was released, imo. Maybe even more so.

[Big Wheel]

I know this will paint me as a sour prude, but I dislike anytime one does the national anthem in a different way than it was written. I know that's pretty bizarre coming from someone who loves Jazz (especially considering I appreciate the more "out" forms of it more), but it just irritates me for some reason. Can't explain it.

Although I can trace it back to a time I heard this rap trio do it before a basketball game.

*boomp.....bshick.....boomp.....bshick* "Yo yo yo, we gonna send this one out to the homeland, baby. Awwwwww yeah, layin it down for the you ess of AY!!".....

Embarrassing.

It's just a silly English drinking song anyway.

[Scott Dolan]

Alright, that's a good point.

[Quincy]

This link to a Marvin Gaye clip has been posted before and has nothing to do with the topic at hand but I post it anyway: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KC7uhMY9s

An excerpt from the recently released DVD of some of Marvin's greatest live performances on TV and film, "Real Thing: In Performance 1964-1981," This live performance comes from the long out-of-circulation 1973 film, "Save The Children" with James Jamerson on bass.

Thanks for that! I just ordered it. Link to what the DVD includes.