This part has always stuck out a little to my ears too. It does sound a
little flat, though I think the main reason for this is the wide vibrato
that Joni has for this note. She's singing a D, but the vibrato means
it's wobbling between D and C#. The overall impression is that it sounds
a bit flat - you expect it to be spot on the D, but it's varying between
D and C#...
Joni is singing a harmony here - she has three voices going at this
point, and they all have quite strong vibrato. The harmony she's singing
is actually a simple one, a plain major triad (D F# A) so I don't think
it's anything in the harmony that makes it sound odd, it's mainly the
wide vibrato on all voices, but especially the main voice, that makes
the pitch sound a little off.
I agree with the some of the other comments people have made - Joni's
pitch is usually excellent. There are places where she deliberately lets
her voice fall away, and the pitch can be a bit out ("and your
loneliness" etc), but this is nearly always because she has a particular
expressive effect in mind. In other places, her wide vibrato (especially
when singing her harmony) can make the pitch seem a little off. But in
most cases, she's spot on whether singing a single line or a harmony.
I especially love the sound of her recent mature, smoky voice when it's
overdubbed as a harmony. The sound of her voice(s) on the chorus of
Turbulent Indigo is a great example!
Howard
> Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2002 18:21:14 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Catherine McKay
> Subject: Re: Bending notes, off pitch, etc.
>
> - --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> >
> > But has anyone else thought that Joni was just plain
> > FLAT on the last, drawn-out "awaaaaaayyyy" from the
> > chorus of "Peoples' Parties?"
> >
>
> If it's the same awaaaaaaayyy I'm thinking of, isn't
> she singing harmony with herself at that point? I
> think she has a very tight going on harmony there, one
> of the more unusual ones (not a maj third or a perf
> 5th, for example). Plus the bending of the notes as
> well. I don't think she's off pitch, I think she just
> has one of her more unusual harmonies going.
