Growing up in a house that had more than it's fair share of Big Band music playing it would be hard not to be influenced by Frank Sinatra. The greatest exponent of Swing singing there has been. Swing is very under-rated. Technically very difficult to do as well as Frank did it. You only have to have witnessed Robbie Williams attempt to realise that just because you have Sinatra's band behind you it don't mean a thing. As in It don't mean a thing if it aint got that swing.
What track to pick though. In the end I chose one that I like singing. And I aren't much good at it either. More than a song, you can picture the scene as he goes through the verses. You can seethe bar, the smoke, the slouch on the bar and the bottle of scotch just by the empty glass.
Ol' Blue Eyes might never be back but whilst people appreciate great singers he'll never disappear either.
In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning.
2 comments:
Actually, I thought Robbie Williams made quite a good job of it. Not all the tracks on the album worked, but some did... and worked very well. The duet he did with Sinatra with "A very good year" (I think it's called that) was really well done.
I thought.
He sang them well enough but he couldn't swing them. It's just not a style that most singers manage. There used to be a duets album by violinists Yehudi Menhuin and Stephan Grappelli. No matter how they tried, Menhuin could never play offbeat and Stephan never in strict time. It wa the same thing with Robbie.
Post a Comment