unambitious and plain compared to what Nina Hagen. You left out Gordon Lightfoot a good Canadian slagging must contain some lightfoot.
DF ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2002 7:28 PM Subject: Re: The unambitious Canadian voice > In a message dated 04/12/2002 00:10:28 GMT Standard Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > << I wonder what it is about Canada that seems to spawn singers who are > vocally "unambitious" - that is to say, untrained and more vocally raw. There > are so many who could be placed in this category: Jane Siberry, Loreena > McKennitt, Sarah McLachlan, Bryan Adams, Shania Twain, Alanis Morrisette. > > There are exceptions, most notably the ear-rupturing ranting of Celine Dion. > Anne Murray and k.d. lang are other "crooners" of the north who also appear > to be vocally ambitious. >> > > Fascinating post, Andrew, not least for the interpretive difficulty it throws > up: how does one define "ambitious" and "unambitous"? Obviously, a voice > that we may find unambitious isn't necessarily "bad" [and yes, this is all In > The Opinion Of The Listener, blah blah blah] - Much as I loathe Shania Twain > and find her records unspeakably bland, I would be hard pressed to claim that > she has a bad voice. > > I find the use of "ambitious" and "unambitous" hard to fathom - what exactly > was Joni on about? I've heard Streisand's voice described in many ways, from > sublime through majestic to histrionic - but ambitious?? As time goes by, > I'm becoming more inclined to take everything Joni says about other > performers with a pinch of salt! > > I can see your point about many of the most prominent Canadian singers > having, shall we say, plain voices - in addition to those you mention, Bruce > Cockburn would fit that bill. > > On the other hand, surely nobody would describe Mary Margaret O'Hara's voice > as unambitious! And where would Kate & Anna McGarrigle and Ron Sexsmith come > into it?? > > Azeem in London > NP: More extraordinary Portuguese music > > On the other hand
