Released in 1990, David Cassidy's self-titled album includes the hit "Lyin' To Myself". The album was seen as a comeback to the recording scene, at least here in North America where his previous release dated to 1976 with "Gettin' it in the Street".
Is it me or is his voice different on this album? Granted, his vocals take a backseat to the drum machine as they did on "Romance", but he sounds different here. His phrasing, if this is the right term for what I mean, is different, no? For example, in the song "Labor of Love", he emphasizes and stretches out the "uh" sound in "love" whereas he used to stress the last syllable in words. In "You Remember Me", the vocals are halting and abrupt. I think his voice sounds good on "Stranger in your Heart" but again, unexpected syllables are accentuated ("giv-En", "l-uh-ver" at 1:06) and the effect isn't as pleasing to the ear. Same thing on "Boulevard of Broken Dreams": his voice tumbles down on vowels (e.g. hero that w-s, walk a-l-ne) and the effect is anything but natural.
His vocals seem to lack the instinctive expression that made them so previously warm and alluring. Was this vocal style change prompted by the harder rock on this album or something else? Voice lessons perhaps?
Would love to read from those who have the vocabulary to express what I'm sure I'm not imagining.
Monday, September 28, 2009
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Both of these songs are prime examples of what happens when you take a wonderful singer and bury his voice behind a bunch of synthesizers and drumkits. The first one, "Stranger", also has a lot of reverb on his vocals, and they're mixed in with the background singers, so you're not really hearing what he really sounds like. Richard Marx did the same thing back then and made a lot of money, so I'd bet that was what they were going for.
It's just a crying shame that so few producers have ever had the sense to let the man's naked voice shine through. Take that Japanese import "David Cassidy Classic Songs", for instance---apparently Cassidy himself was opposed to releasing that material because it wasn't polished enough or something, but to me it's an interesting example of what he's capable of as a singer. You can hear him going places that aren't "safe" hit territory. So few of his records took chances like that. More recently, "Then and Now" has a very light touch on the production, so there are a number of really nice songs on there where you can really hear him sing. In my opinion, if he did a whole recording like that with good new material, he could take his music career to a whole other level.
Reverb and background singers, is it? Yuck. Does Richard Marx have a good voice? Didn't like his stuff back then and just listened to his hit "Right Here Waiting" and don't find much depth to it.
Glad you mentioned DC's Classic Songs - I was debating whether or not to get it. I like his version of "Hurt So Bad" but I've been listening to the samples on Amazon and I don't like his voice on the other tracks. I agree with one of the reviewers: he sounds like Cher with a head cold.
I don't know abuot all of Richard Marx's stuff, but I always liked this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THNPmhBl-8I
To me that's very much like what David Cassidy was trying to do at one point. I can definitely imagine him singing that!
I don't have anything against the genre, as much as I hate the production. These producers get in those recording studio booths and mess with the levels, add a little reverb here, a lot more bass there, and pretty soon you have something that sounds packaged and fake. I don't want a prepackaged David Cassidy. He sings just beautifully on his own, thank you.
Thanks for your input, SLK. The Richard Marx link you posted doesn't work - it links to a funny clip from a BBC2 show though so thanks for that. To which song of his were you thinking?
I agree that David's singing doesn't need all that overproduction. His natural voice can be achingly beautiful. If anyone should be doing a cappella albums, it's him!
There's an idea: instead of all those disco/dance remixes of PF hits, pare them down to their essence and give us PF unplugged :)
The Marx song I was thinking about was "Should Have Known Better". Nice melody, very catchy. Cassidy is a better singer than Marx, of course, but that seems to be the kind of song he wanted to record back before his blond new wave period.
An "unplugged" Partridge Family album sounds interesting, and would probably sound even better than some of the original recordings---but what I really wish for is some new material. Something in the Jackson Browne/Daryl Hall/Bonnie Raitt kind of vein. Something bluesy, or more R&B, or even rock & roll, but something with heart, and a few ragged edges, where I can hear the man sing.
I think the best thing for David Cassidy the musician would be to spend a couple of years in Austin, Texas, soaking in the music and the music culture down there. He used to like the blues and rock & roll once. He's very far from his roots now.
Sorry for rambling. I'm frustrated with the man. Thanks for doing your blog---you're honest and you have good ideas!
OMG, you are so right about this Marx song. It would have been the perfect fit for DC in the 80s.
You're not rambling so no need for apologies. If we don't discuss his recording career, who will? ;) I'm also frustrated with the man. I've only rediscovered him in the past 5 or 6 months and he's practically all I've been listening to since. If you take away the remixes and greatest hits, his repertoire is too small for my liking. Really itching to hear something new. I just ordered "Then and Now" and his two last RCA ones. I think I'll just be missing "A Touch of Blue". Do you have all his albums?
I don't have any of his recordings! When I was a kid, I used to have all the Partridge Family albums and his first two solo albums, but they all disappeared over time, and I probably wore them out anyway.
I've been thinking about downloading several songs, though. From what I've heard on the Internet, the "Then and Now" cd sounds like the best one he's done---you can hear him sing, and the song selection is pretty good. Hope you like it!
Well, if you think about buying a whole album, doubt you'd have any regrets with "Dreams...".
When this album came out in 1990, it was the album I had waited 20 years for him to make. I LOVE this lp and think it's his very best one. NO PF songs, no tech altered voice, just his own as it was. And doing ROCK music, I could not ask for anything more! And we didn't have to call stations to beg them to play Lying To My self, this was on regular rotation play every hour (!!) on radio stations. I got 2 cassettes, 1 vinyl lp (from Germany) and 2 CDs of the album and the 12 inch vinyl of Lying To Myself. I know I am in the minority (most fans like him doing pop) but I cannot praise this Enigma album enough! The concerts he did to support it were fantastic.
- Just David Fanclub (est 1974)
Thanks for your comment, Barbara. I have read amazing feedback on that concert tour. But really, his voice isn't altered here? What was the B-side to Lyin' to Myself, btw?
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