Re: KATE CHORDS?

[brownfld@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu (Kenneth R Brownfield)]

colb@ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au (Colin Burvill) dips into the proverbial can of
	worms:
[...]
>Listing through my (complete) KB album discography recently, I noticed
>that the shrill sounds of her early voice became almost 
>a (low end) whisper by her last release (this woman's work??),
>so much so that she had to import backing singers.
>What happened to her voice? 

nmehl@rm105serve.sas.upenn.edu (Nathan J. Mehl) dips deeper:
>>Well, the shrillness dropped off partly because of aging. She was, after all,
>>sixteen when TKI was recorded.  However, there's another, sadder reason why
>>she's lost her high end and has become addicted to reverb:
>>	She smokes.
>>Take a beautiful, well-tuned soprano voice.  Add tobacco.  Let marinate 
>>for several years.  Turn out onto a pan, and you have... nothing.  It's
>>a damn shame.

     Well, ok, smoking doesn't help.  But a lot of singers that I like smoke,
for instance Lynn Canfield, Yvonne Bruner, and of course Kate.  From what I
can tell from folks I know who smoke, smoking makes a voice gravelly.  And
Lynn and Yvonne's voices sound fine to me.
     Which leads me to think that while I'm sure smoking is effecting Kate's
voice negatively, it is _not_ causing the natural aging of her voice.  The
first thing to go in a voice is the high (in this case, very high) range.  I
can hear a little bit of smoke in her voice, but gads:
     1) The only backup singers on The Sensual World or This Woman's Work is
Kate Bush.  I certainly do not consider the Trio Bulgarka as background
vocals, as the Trio vocal lines don't fit into the role background or backing
vocals usually play.  They certainly aren't there to support Kate's lines,
considering a different language, the trio effect...etc..
     When someone manages to pull out some info (read as facts) about smoking
and singing, I'll listen, but Kate's voice is _aging_.  Smoke isn't turning
her vocal chords into dessicated green jell-o.  2) When you listen to her
later voice, you just can't say "It's not high and squeaky, it must be shot."
Reverb does not tack on extra high end.  Reverb fits her general plans for
the style of her last album, but reverb won't improve what it's reverberating.
     Not to fan any flames, but I think there's a point here, but we're
pretty firmly overstepping any reasonable limits.  Kate's voice is indeed not
to the point of being nothing, or really even close.  There is indeed a
noticeable negative effect, but we're talking a large number minus one.  :)
     I kinda miss the old voice, but the new one has a lot of it's own little
goosebump qualities if you adjust for the different voice.  Depends in part on
a person's opinion of the ultimate voice.  For what it sings, Kate's voice is
excellent in my book.  Can everyone imagine TSW with Kate's TKI voice?  Erk.

>Ta,
>Colin Burvill
>colb@ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au  
>128.250.20.3        
>>------------Nathan J. Mehl---------------(nmehl@pennsas.upenn.edu)----------
>>There were moments of catastrophic defeat, and moments of triumph.  The pure
>>killing purpose.  You find out what it means to lose.  Abject fear and ig-
>>nominy.  Still fighting, without the means to fight.  Deserted.  Cut off.
>>Still we wore the dandy uniform, like the dress uniform of a distant planet
>>long gone out.  Messages from Headquarters?  WHAT headquarters?  Every man
>>for himself--if he's got a self left.  Not many do.  -William S. Burroughs
-- 
							Ken.
[Mail&Info:          KTFan@uiuc.edu]       brownfld@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu
[finger KTFan\ return\ all@uiuc.edu]

To save face:  keep lower half shut.

PS: That quote is randomized, don't take it as a jibe.