Getting "used" to Elvis' voice

shabbydoll · Post by **shabbydoll** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 9:13 pm

I'm glad the we're all special thing was defused, perhaps,perhaps not. Is special good, so far in my life no. He knows how to get his message across, see Clowntime is Over 2.

A rope leash · Post by **A rope leash** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 9:55 pm

Mr. Gorbachev came cap in hand

(20% amnesia)

from a bankrupt land to a bankrupt land

(20% amnesia)

Mr. Gorbachev and some other fella

(20% amnesia)

were taken to a show called "Cinderella"

(20% amnesia)

It wasn't an accident it wasn't a mystery

(20% amnesia)

It was calculated and the rest is history

(20% amnesia)

You don't have to listen to me
as I try to plot free will
there are promises to break
and dreams to kill

Give me strength or give me mercy
don't let me lose heart
from rage to anesthesia

(20% amnesia)

It's about what is convienently forgotten. It should be studied by all us intellexuals. Clowntime is for shooting pool. We should study that, too.

While others just talk and talk
somebody's watching where the others won't walk

Clown time is over!

Now, let's get serious...

It's not about production, it's about content. There's more in one Elvis song than in forty top-forty tunes.

"Love me when I'm gone".

Fuck you. I don't love you when you're here, and you're always here.

I do like that hip-hop "where is the love", though.

Why don't you practice what you preach? Why don't you turn the other cheek?

girl out of time · Post by **girl out of time** » Sat Jun 14, 2003 5:18 pm

my best friend in the world hates costello´s voice. she says he sounds like a sexually frustrated teenager!!!!!

costellopunk · Post by **costellopunk** » Sat Jun 14, 2003 6:21 pm

the things i like about ec's voice are things most people complain about. i love it when the man is grasping at a note he can't reach. i love both his desperate and his sneering whines. i'll take his voice in any register he chooses. nine times out of ten he finds the correct voice to hit the words with.

Post by **BlueChair** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 12:59 am

I always liked Bob Dylan's voice so maybe I'm not one to comment here, but Elvis's voice struck me as gorgeous from the beginning. Obviously it's a very unique and distinct voice, but he has an unbelievable range, and great delivery.

sulkygirl · Post by **sulkygirl** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 3:16 am

tokyo vogue wrote:oh, i love the way he sings in "20% Amnesia." you can practically hear the spit hitting the microphone.

I couldn't agree more.

Plus, his range is very similar to my own, which makes it very easy for me to sing along!

MegJS · Post by **MegJS** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 11:25 am

20% Amnesia
I adore this song and the way he sings in it too! It's unique. "So they started burying the boogeyman...", "Mr Gorbachev and some other fella..." - just love it.
Sometimes it remindes me Dissolve, just a little bit...

Pidgin · Post by **Pidgin** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 2:25 pm

What I can't get used to is other people's voices trying to talk to me when Elvis's music is playing. I simply can't filter Elvis's unique and beautiful voice out!! I can become quite annoyed with whomever I'm with and show absolutely no concern for what they have to say! Especially in the car with a group of people. They have a hard time understanding this as they know I love Elvis but I always turn him off in their presence.

So I end up doing most of my listening when I can be alone and I rarely listen with my husband (who only likes Elvis's voice on certain songs. His favorite is Indoor Fireworks)

Somehow I manage.

Monkey Girl · Post by **Monkey Girl** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 2:39 pm

Dearest Pidgin,

You poor thing.

Sounds like quite a problem.

Seems to me you should find yourself a friend that can listen along with you...no talking!

Hey, that's me!
Love,
Monkey Girl

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:25 am

No deep analysis here just a gut comment.

Elvis has advanced significantly as a vocalist since MAIT. In my opinion, he always had a great rock and roll voice, (Sneaky Feelings;Blame it on Cain;Mystery Dance) but his sensitive, crooner voice needed lot's of polish.

It's a funny thing that works for Elvis in much the same way as it works for Dylan, Waits, Tracy Capman, even Annie Lenox, and others...they have voices that polarize people...they either love them or hate them. But, their songs just don't cover well at all. When you hear someone cover "Lay Lady Lay" it sounds like a parody, regardless of the talent of the vocalist. Think of "The Piano has been Drinking" sung by someone other than Tom Waits and suddenly his voice is quite perfect, as I would argue for the others on this short list, and also for Elvis.

My wife doesn't like his country crooner or "North" Voice at all. I cannot be objective, because the songs have such an Elvis signature that his voice fits the songs like hand in glove. It is the perfect instrument for his writing.

Copenhagen Fan · Post by **Copenhagen Fan** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 2:59 am

I agree with Mr. Average. EC's ability as a singer HAS improved and continues to do so all the time. One may question his voice and say it's offbeat or grating at times for some people. But once you get hooked and the quirks of his voice then you love to hear them pop up.

Whatever you think of his voice, he is a great SINGER. He is always experimenting with his singing style and perfecting new sounds, different types of background vocal arrangements and pushing the envelope.

I'm a pretty good singer (or so I have been told) and I at times have sung a lot of EC's music, and done a pretty good job but I took a break of about 3 months. When I then tried to sing some of his stuff again, I fell incredibly short of matching Elvis. His material is tough to emulate.

Post by **BlueChair** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 5:43 am

I have always considered Elvis to be a great singer. He's got a pretty wide range.

verbal gymnastics · Post by **verbal gymnastics** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 6:08 am

I wouldn't say I've always considered Elvis to be a great singer but I do now. I think he has learned how to use his voice. He's also become very confident - you only need to see him sing Couldn't Call it Unexpected or any of the songs he sings away from the mike to know that.

I think in about 1998/99 he was guilty of over-singing but he seems to have got it right now.

ice nine · Post by **ice nine** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 8:14 pm

Hey MegJS,

Were you locked up in prison for two years, or what?

MegJS · Post by **MegJS** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 3:09 am

ice nine
to be precise for three
why?

Chrille · Post by **Chrille** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 8:33 am

Personally, I don't think his voice has ever sounded better than on MAIT. Of course, it's probably because it's very loud. In fact, all instruments on MAIT are unusually loud and raw, probably not all that well balanced, but that's what I love about it. Even though it's not my favourite album in terms of songs (although close), it certainly is in terms of sound.

Elvis Costello Fan Forum

Getting "used" to Elvis' voice

Somebody said we muffed that one...

teenage angst

Poor thing