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Post by Ivory Fair on Jul 7, 2002 13:46:56 GMT -5
Yep Jane, and the phrase, "too many chiefs and not enough Indians" comes to mind.
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Post by janebse on Jul 7, 2002 15:12:06 GMT -5
Ivory,
I just don't know what to do. Everything you said in your last posting reflected my exact thoughts. And I thought I was the only one in the world who had those thoughts.
I believe Otis was being interviewed when he used the term "back" and "front" tenors. I'll do a little research about the exact reference. I thought that the front tenor was the one who did the lead while the back tenor provided a sort of shadow or depth quality in the harmonizing. But that is merely just thinking aloud. One music critic referred to the intricate harmonies of Otis.
Your thoughts on "For Lovers Only" are my exact thoughts. I too play the same guessing game.
Otis and some other musical person, perhaps Cornelius Grant or lmaybe even Smokey, said they always wished in the earlier years they could record "I Want a Love I can See" with a stronger beat. When he got the chance, Otis did so. I too think the present recording of "A Love I can See" is much better.
Diva,
I think we expect a tall man to have a deep voice. But then both David and Dennis were 6' 3" tall and both were tenors, albeit with rougher sounds than Otis.
It reminds me of the first time I heard the great Jack Nicklaus, the golfer, speak. He has a high voice, and I expected a baritone at least.
And while I'm on voices, on that LOST AND FOUND album, Eddie sings one song (Pillow, I think) in his natural voice. And his talking voice had the same timbre as David and Otis. (Listen to Temptations LIVE at the Upperdeck when they say their names.) What I am wondering about is how Michael Jackson got stuck in that high voice when others did not. Many people hear Jackson talk and think he is a woman. (No snide remarks here) I heard him talk about the abuse of black artists by the recoring companies on television last night.
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Post by DramaLJDiva on Jul 7, 2002 16:25:14 GMT -5
Hey FUF, I have heard Otis sing "This Guy's In Love With You", but not the LIVE version. I have the Tempts and Supremes LP, and he sounds good on that song. JANE, I love how Eddie introduces himself on the Upper Deck CD, "Eddie Kendricks, Eddie Kendricks." Have you heard how he talks on "Street Gold"? [/SIZE]
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Post by Ivory Fair on Jul 7, 2002 17:02:06 GMT -5
Jane, I think you'll find a LOT of kendrid spirits here.  ........ So "back" and "front" may be an Otis term? LOL! Now it makes sense, he says the funniest things sometimes.  I know what y'all mean about people and their voices. I've NEVER thought Blu's voice suited his body. |
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Post by AKA THE FUF on Jul 7, 2002 20:18:09 GMT -5
janebse, good ole Ebay. It may be on cassette but I know they do sell the album. I recently purchased an am/fm turntable from QVC. All my old lp's are in good condition so I'm able to play them, including the one in mention.
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Post by Cadeho on Jul 7, 2002 20:23:57 GMT -5
Janebse, when people online want to talk to me I usually tell them I sould like Michael Jackson  . I often feel like I missed out on a rite of passage that most guys go through. Believe me it's an awful feeling to be called ma'am on the phone or in drive-thrus but the joke's on them ;D . Ever since I was 14 I was worried about it because I would get teased and yeah my voice doesn't match how I look. At times I hate my voice. Some people have found it "cool" and my doctor told me it was "youthful"  . I wasn't too happy with that. Oh well the good part about it is although my normal voice lacks the normal bass guys have... I can add it and sound like a different person. I can also go higher. So I do like the range I have. I have thought about trying to sustain one of my deeper voices but it's uncomfortable to do it for long periods and I don't know if it's harmful to my voice. I'm more comfortable with how I normally speak and well I have to live with it and I guess everyone else does too. Now... if only I were a great singer.... |
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Post by Dbaby on Jul 8, 2002 11:46:50 GMT -5
O-Town Ivory?  Hahahahahah! No, just kidding. I don't like it when people put down the type of music I lisiten to. But..... HAHAHAH! |
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Post by Ivory Fair on Jul 8, 2002 11:56:51 GMT -5
Hey! Leave O-Town Alone!! "Whomp! Whomp!"  I'm gonna marry Trevor!!!  Even if I AM old enough to be his mamma!  It's pretty sad when you want to go to an O-town concert but you can't take your 15 year old friend with you because she thinks the group is for babies! ha ha |
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Post by Cadeho on Jul 8, 2002 16:37:50 GMT -5
Ivory, ROB THAT CRADLE!!!
Ok I want to know when we're putting together our own group? So that Otis won't have any problems, let's call it The Snoitatpmet.
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Post by janebse on Jul 8, 2002 20:12:58 GMT -5
When Eddie says his name twice on the Upperdeck Live CD, he is doing so beause the band was so loud, and he felt that he had not been heard. Eddie said his name too quickly; the band had not yet stopped from the intro. So he said it twice. But, ah, he could have said it four or ten times for me.
On Street of Gold, I hear Eddie's Alabama accent. Since Eddie and Paul were 17 (or so I read) when they left Alabama, they really had the southern accent. Melvin and Otis moved to Detroit at a young age,and their more northern accent reflects that. David may have left home early and moved around singing. He does not have the strong southern accent that Eddie does.
I've only heard Paul speak once. And he really is a baritone with a beautiful sound. Perhaps I'll hear him talk more on some of these missing videos I am seeking.
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Post by Ivory Fair on Jul 8, 2002 20:38:18 GMT -5
LOL! @ Cadeho Jane, you don't think O and Blu sound sothern? I think O's Texarkana drawl is half of his charm. And Blu's about the only one I will allow anyone to call "Bama." 'Cause he was!  |
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Post by Cadeho on Jul 9, 2002 4:00:52 GMT -5
Janebse, true Al didn't have as a distinctive voice as Paul but I do think he can easily be mistaken for Eddie. I am probably the weirdest one here since I listen to the Al years over and over trying to see where I can hear him or not or if it's Eddie. Just from listening to "Isn't She Pretty" when Al says "She's a natural born doll now" he's not doing any high notes and is closer to what I suspect is his natural voice and that voice sounds awfully close to Eddie's on the original "Camouflage"... and it sounds almost the same on "May I Have this Dance." Now to me, the voice on Camouflage to me is not as easily identifyable as Eddie as his voice is on the earlier song "Dream Come True." then the next song recorded after "Camouflage" is "Slow Down Heart" where Eddie is very noticable in the background and this voice is like what he used in "Dream Come True." It's too close for me to tell between "Camouflage" and "My Pillow." "My Pillow" would be evidence against my argument that it may not be Eddie on "Camouflage" but there is still a difference in the voices in the songs. Ok even if "Camouflage" is Eddie, what do you think of "May I Have this Dance"? When I first heard a clip of it before I got the album, I immediately didn't think it was Eddie. I'm confusing myself on the issue . |
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Post by janebse on Jul 9, 2002 10:34:42 GMT -5
Music experts, music historians, etc. have said that Eddie's voice is on both versions of Camouflage and that Eddie used his natural voice on Pillow. They also say that Eddie's voice was "maturing." I think that means he was developing his singing voice, and that you see the natural progression of someone developing. Much like a writer finding his own style. Or an artist.
And that alone may be the reason you sometimes wonder if it is Eddie or Al.
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Post by janebse on Jul 9, 2002 10:46:17 GMT -5
I looked at the picture of Ivory's boy band and thought, "No, they're not the Temptations." The classy style, the elegance is simply not there. However, they're not as sloppy looking as BOYS II MEN or some of the other groups.
I think when the Temptations come out, they should look dignified (not stuffy, but with dignity), like class, like elegance, like what they are --the best in the world. And the best in the world should be beyond any current fashion but always have style. When they walk out, I want them to exude quality--the group everyone tries to emulate but cannot.
Ah, how wonderful! The best in the world.
Of course, they should have sex appeal too. The Cary Grant of the mlusic world. Or the Fred Astaire.
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Post by janebse on Jul 9, 2002 12:38:17 GMT -5
About accents:
Ivory,
I've read that Otis went to Detroit when he was two and that he went to Detroit when he was nine. Either time period would have affected his idiolect. (personal dialect). Melvin too.
I'm an Alabamian so I recognize the Alabama dialect. Of course, it has so many variations and the city dialects are so different from the rural dialects that there is no such thing as ONE Alabama accent.
I've heard all the Classic Five plus Dennis talk. NONE of them had or have what we call a rural or country southern dialect. That accent is so strong you couldn't cut it with a knife.
Actually Dennis sounds much more country southern than the Classic Five. I am making that distinction because southerners do. City folk certainly don't talk like country folk.
In some of their songs they sing "sho" for sure. But I think it was written that way. For none of the Tempts sang songs with the same kinds of consonant sounds that "sure" has in that way. Southerners don't put "t's" on the end of a word or "ing" on the end of a word. But singers are taught to articulate so they can be understood, and the Tempts had a vocal coach.
I heard Eddie talk in 1991, and he had the soft sounds of a southerner, but he had far, far less of a southern accent than Jimmy Carter. Eddie's speech sounded like that of an educated southerner. And so did the other Classic Five. In Jimmy Carter you hear the rural Southern accent.
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