The Susan Boyle phenomenon has me doing the Snoopy Dance of Utter Delight, just like everybody else.
What really tickled me is the fact that she's raised visibility for one of my favorite British songbirds: Elaine Paige, whom I've adored since I snapped up the original Chess concept album in the mid-80s.*
In 1993, Britain's The Independent said of Paige's vocal style [that's her own quote at the end]:
'Of all the singers who've sung ["Memory," from Cats], none has matched Paige for uplift and intensity at that big modulation into the final chorus. When the voice really opens up at the top, the tone is so bright and focused and penetrating that it sounds just like a pure belt - straight from the chest register. It isn't, of course. And this is where we get technical. The trick, the skill, is in disguising the natural break between the chest and head voices: 'Whatever kind of singer you are, you should never be able to hear the gear changes. One voice - that's what you strive for. It's really a matter of strengthening the head register so that when you move from the chest into the head voice and start mixing the two, the quality of sound is just the same.'"
Susan Boyle has the same kind of pure transparency between head and chest, and that is no small feat. I am tickled as a trout to hear her sing.
So, if my North American OS friends have never heard of Elaine, nor heard her sing, here you go. I've rounded up a few videos so you can get it all in one place. Because I'm dedicated TO YOU.
(Don't miss the non-Elaine bonus track at the end...)
Memory (Cats)
I Dreamed A Dream (Les Miserables)
Nobody's Side (Chess)
Mountain Duet (With Tommy Korberg) (Chess)
I Know Him So Well (Chess)
And finally, the big Thank You Gift for sticking around this long!
You may think you've never heard of Chess...and yet, I assure you, if you were conscious in the mid-80s, you know at least one song from the work, which was composed by the two "B's" in ABBA--Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderssen.
The plot of the album/musical is a deliciously over-the-top Cold War drama; Russia and the U.S. go head to head in the Big Chess Match! The American is an Asshole! His assistant (Elaine) is conflicted! The Russian is Hot! Love Blooms! Defection! Oh crap, he's MARRIED?!
The context for this song, which has puzzled more people than it ever had the right to: The arbiter of the Chess match is cynical about the neutral host city and uninterested in indulging in its pleasures: He's just there to make sure the game is clean.
One Night in Bangkok (Murray Head) (Chess)
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Comments
Enjoy.
Go forth and scamper.
You are both a great pleasure and a endless treasure surpassed only by your stunning beauty and superior intelligence. I bow before your graces for I am but a simple man. I feel unworthy in you presence.
BTW, Never heard of Elaine Paige. Where have I been? (I told you I was simple) She is phenomenal. Thanks for the wake up call, VR.
PS. I have been outside several times today and Cartouche didn't even have to tell me. Nanner, Nanner.
Look at Michael, everybody. He has snivelling and cringing down to an art form!
:-D
Emma, I cannot tell you how I am jealousing that you got to see Elaine do Evita. Damn.
Hatcheface and Silkstone--I adore Susan's purity. She came by her voice honestly and didn't go crazy (yet) training and overtraining. I've read that Elaine trains every day, which is actually critical for somebody who belts like she belts at the high end (proper technique protects the vocal cords), but Susan's clean, elegant delivery is marvelous, and I plan to get in line to buy her first CD.
Linger away, JK. :-)
(Seriously---this was great. All new to me)
rated.
And you really hit the nail squarely - talking about chest and head voices. There’s real work in there. My wife does session-singing, and one thing you do not want to hear are all the warm-up exercises to lube those gear shifts.
Rated
Betty Buckley: A wonderful Grisabella, but I've never felt the need to purchase anything she's recorded.
The only American female working in this genre whom I love as much as Elaine (i.e., have donated a few bucks to her bottom line) is Audra McDonald. And because she's an alto, there's really no comparison.