Jeez, can't the Grammys get a little danger and excitement going once
in a while (other than uninvited rappers at the lecturn and "Soy Bomb," of
course)? As my girlfriend would say succinctly: "Bored."
You know the awards show is dull when:
-- An opera singer and a Latin hunk bring down the house more than the
rockers;
-- Sheryl Crow and Shania Twain outrock Aerosmith;
-- An extended segment on movie soundtracks ... is this the Grammys or
the Oscars?
The night wasn't without its odd segments:
-- Did my ears deceive me, or did Joe Perry tear off a riff from "Walk
This Way" at the end of the Diane Warren song? If so, too bad they didn't
follow through and bring the house down.
-- Did someone forget to mike the violins behind Aerosmith?
-- Was the outfit Shania Twain wore onstage too tight, or was she
afraid the platform she stood on would blow up if she moved? Talk about stiff
...
-- What was with the black goggles Twain's band wore?
-- Bono looked really off-balance when he was performing during the
Kirk Franklin song ... like he was, "My word, I'm the only white guy here."
Other observations:
-- Don't let Celine Dion sing with opera singers. It was bad enough
her chirping with Pavarotti on her last CD.
-- Speaking of Pavarotti, he sang like he had something to prove ...
like he didn't want to get upstaged by Aretha Franklin again.
-- Someone shoulda kicked Clapton off the stage and let B.B. King perform
by himself. B.B. doesn't need the help.
Still there were some fine moments. As expected, Vince Gill's "If You
Ever Have Forever In Mind" was grand and moving. And the Dixie Chicks and
Lauryn Hill seemed genuinely moved by their wins.
And best moment:
"If you listen to these real close, you can hear Garth Brooks play
baseball."
-- Vince Gill holding the little gramophone up to his ear during his
Grammy acceptance speech.
Ron Warnick
NP: Cisco (great, great stuff!!!! Thank you, Jeff Wall!!!!)
