Wednesday
Feb082012
• Buddy Miller, one of the greatest harmony singers of all time.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 9:25PM I love harmony. Simon and Garfunkle, CSNY, The Eagles. All good, but none can hold a candle to The Beatles, the greatest harmony singers of all time, for all time, till the end of time. But up there with The Beatles I have to put Buddy Miller, a GREAT lead singer, one of the greatest in my book, and an equally great harmony singer. Buddy does the hard stuff, like Lennon, like Paul Simon (and you thought Art did the great harmony, right?). Because in harmony, what singers typically do is sing higher than the lead singer. You hear that all the time, ask someone to harmonize with you and they will look for notes above what you’re singing. But the most interesting notes — and the hardest to sing — are the ones below. Listen to Buddy Miller with Emmylou Harris and try to pick out his melody. No easy task. Now add his ability to follow her lead so effortlessly you’re barely aware that he’s doing it. Sure, they’ve rehearsed, but Emmylou is not going to sing a note-for-note version of her rehearsal performance. She’s going to follow her heart in the moment. And Buddy Miller does the same. I get chills every time I listen to these two sing this song. Hope you do, too.
Reader Comments (8)
Buddy's amazing. So is Emmy. And, though a different kind of take, so is this: http://youtu.be/ojsVB7idTLw
Jeff, did you get to see "Three Girls and a Buddy" when they played at Montalvo last? It was the day Michael Jackson died and it was a tremendous show. As an encore, they alll bawled their way through "I'll be there". Hope you were there, too.
Cory, the Costello take is cool. He's good to, but no Buddy, at least not to me!
Nanita, I did not see that show. Wish I had.
He sings it like he would if he were the lead vocalist to my ears - no true harmony part - but still really cool.
I prefer the contrast between Emmylou's amazing voice and that of Mark Knopfler - specially on the live CD/DVD of All The Roadrunning. He offers a gruffer contrast to Emmylou - with no hint of country twang.
Highlight of my life was seeing Bob Dylan and Paul Simon perform Sounds Of Silence together - with Dylan rumbling around beneath Simon instead of Garfunkel (yes, that is how he spells his name) floating around above. It brought Madison Square Garden to its feet!
Dave, I can see why you think that, but as a Beatles fan, I like two strong singers. Lennon and McCartney belted the hell out their parts whether the were lead or not and I like that. Maybe what I hear in Buddy is a great duet singer, but no... he's supporting Emmylou Harris, not trying to be her equal, just making her sound that much better.
Paul Simon... he's like Buddy. He's a GREAT harmony singer, but so good, he just can't be completely in the background.
Anyway, what I truly love about Buddy'r harmony part is the notes he picks and the fact that he works under the lead. Lennon did this (and Paul Simon) and the result is more than harmony, it's actual melody.
One more thing about Buddy (and Simon and Dylan): no vibrato. I fucking hate vibrato and for my next EP will have none of it!
Will seek out the Knopfler/Lou disc you reference. Have not heard it.
I like it when two voices work together in that way too. Even when Keith sang with Mick it got better!
With you on vibrato. If a singer can't hold a note without all that wavering around they should just not hold notes that long! I also hate what I call vocal pyrotechnics - the Jennifer Hudson crowd - where the melody is so messed with I can't even tell what they are saying. All the TV singing competitions are based in this style - and it sucks. Whitney Houston (sad lady!) knew when to turn that on AND when to turn it off and connect with a listener.
Be sure to get the live version of Roadrunning - much more rewarding than the studio album, although that ain't bad either. Of course the album that shines above everything else she's done is Emmylou's Wrecking Ball - produced by the amazing Daniel Lanois.
Did you mean vibrato...or reverb?
Vibrato, but reverb deserves a suspicious ear, too!