Well, i decided not be too ambitious and start with something small. Here it is:
Alicia Key’s “If i Ain’t got you”
What more can i say? With more than 30 million copies of her cd sold worldwide, 12 grammy awards sitting at home collecting dust(3 more and she could use them as bowling pins) and thats the result of only four albums! Wow. (its amazing what wiki can tell you).
Definitely one of the best R&B/Soul singers i’ve heard (others including Mariah Carey, Beyonce, whitney houston etc). A small looking girl with a huge booming voice. And the best thing of all, she actually composes her own music! Definitely a huge advantage compared to most mainstream soul singers.
Nice, simple intro to the song, making use of all the major and minor 7ths that she can find. Nothing fancy, allowing the notes to descend one by one. The key to this song in my opinion is the 6/8 rhythm(its my fave rhythm) giving it a very groovy yet soulful feel. [in case you don't know what 6/8 is, it is basically music in 6 counts]
I have to admit, she did a great job on the piano. Nothing dressy, but try playing in 6/8 and singing at the same time, it ain’t easy. Her vocals are of course undeniable amazing, especially all her smooth swinging R&B notes on words like “some, things, define”… just yummy.
But i would have found a few notes just a little restraining, like on the first line of the chorus “some people want it ALL”. I checked with other videos of her performing this song live and i didn’t find those restraining notes. Perhaps she didn’t do her warm up or something. But most importantly, i actually liked those notes, even though they were imperfect. (sounds like some singing technique actually)
Well in summary: A well composed song, a great singer, inspiring lyrics and an excellent performance.
No music-to, No dream-to
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