Midnight Oil

FW: [Powderworks] Jim's singing

Kate kate@dnki.net
Wed, 14 May 2003 07:50:05 -0400


Is this going to be a studio band or are they going to perform live?

In live performance, the lead singer's vocal quality and all of that 
frequently takes a back seat to stage presence and ability to read and work 
a crowd.  The lead singer presents the band to the audience and also 
mediates the band's interactions with the audience mood, etc.  Jim seems 
pretty at home in his little niche behind Bonesy and a stack of amps ... I 
don't think he could carry the front end even if he were one of the three 
tenors.  Not a bad thing, mind you - Jim is who he is and he does what he 
does very very well.

Meanwhile, Bones takes solos and feeds off of crowd interaction in a major 
way, and Rob has a certain sort of stage presence that is clearly evident 
even from behind the drum kit.

At 06:28 AM 5/14/03 -0400, Jonathan & Julie Hart wrote:
>While song singers are weaker technically, most of them have some sort
>of vocal affectation which makes them stand out of the crowd, so to
>speak.  Sadly, there seems to be a proliferation of Eddie Vedder clones,
>who I consider a weak singer *Prepares for flame*
>
>I think Jim's voice would not be powerful enough, nor unique enough to
>capture people's attention.  I don't think the songs on Fuzzface would
>get anyone's attention, save us Oily fanatics...
>
>IMHO, Rob and Bones are much better suited to sing lead...
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Bjorn Blomquist [mailto:bjorn.blomquist@mbox301.swipnet.se]
>Sent: May 14, 2003 5:21 AM
>To: 'Jonathan & Julie Hart'; 'powderworks'
>Subject: SV: [Powderworks] Jim's singing
>
>
>
> > Jim's voice, while good, is IMHO definitely not good enough
> > to be a lead singer.  He doesn't have enough power in his
> > voice.  When he sings lead, it sounds like he's singing with
> > his throat as opposed to with his diaphragm.  It works for
> > Smash the Wobbleboard, but otherwise, I don't think it's suitable.
>
>You've got a point here. To be a lead singer doesn't necessarily mean
>that your voice suits *every* type of song. If Jim writes songs for
>himself, like Fuzzface, then he'll likely be able to sing them himself.
>That's not necessary for songs he's written for Midnight Oil, as Peter
>would sing them. But IF Jim was Oil's lead singer, I guess we would have
>got used to his singing as well. A singer, good or not, always "sets the
>tone" for his/her band. What makes you recognise a band is its lead
>singer.
>
>So even if Jim is not the best singer in his band, I still say that
>there ARE many lead singers with weak voices like him. In pop music it
>doesn't always seem very important what your voice sounds like, as long
>as you're singing "from your heart"...
>
>Bjorn
>
>
>
>
>
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