| re: Tyce Album and Concert Review | |
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Posted by: |
Jacqueline 04:55 pm UTC 03/18/17 |
| In reply to: | re: Tyce Album and Concert Review - Steve10086 11:24 am UTC 03/18/17 |
| I have noticed exactly the same thing about the way he ends words and drops notes. > The cost of the recording is irrelevant when considering > Tyce's voice. He seems to have an aversion to holding > notes, and ends words with very weird sounds. That's my > problem with this CD. > > > > > First of all, I'd like to highlight that Tyce's album is a > > major achievement. Before comparing it with Bonnie Tyler, > > Celine Dion and MeatLoaf, one needs to remember that the > > total recording cost of Tyce's album is probably less than > > one minute on "Bat Out Of Hell 2". In that context, Tyce & > > team have created a fantastic album, which shows great > > potential for future projects. > > > > On the main CD, my favorite tracks are generally the > > upbeat songs, especially "Holding Out For A Hero" and "I'm > > Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us". The tracks which I found > > the least engaging were "Heaven Can Wait" and "It's All > > Coming Back To Me Now". These tracks are by no means bad, > > but I would have preferred a different sound on them. One > > of best aspects of the CD is Zak Lloyd's stunning synths, > > although the guitars by Nicky James, Mike Smith and Max > > Rich are also fabulous. Anyway, I think a more synth-based > > sound on "Heaven Can Wait" would have made it stand out > > more compared with previous versions. Now it's a nice > > track, but it lacks the originality of some of the other > > album tracks. > > > > In fact, I would have traded "Heaven Can Wait" and "It's > > All Coming Back To Me Now" for a full rock band recording > > of one more upbeat song, e.g. "Peel Out", "Ravishing" or > > "Faster Than The Speed Of Night". I think any of these > > songs would have sounded awesome in a Zak Lloyd > > production. In general, I think Tyce's voice and > > performance style work the best on a lot of the more > > upbeat tracks. It's no coincidence that he rose to > > "Stein-fame" with his live performance of "Bat Out Of > > Hell" at 54 Below. It's in these types of songs that I > > think he can flex his vocal chords the most. I would have > > preferred "Hero" to have mostly upbeat tracks, and maybe > > 2-3 ballads. > > > > On the acoustic CD, "Holding Out For A Hero" and "Anything > > For Love" are my favorites. Again, these tracks are the > > ones that differ the most from the feel of the original > > versions. I've never cared for "Everything Is Permitted" > > or "More Than You Deserve", but the acoustic versions are > > nice nonetheless, and IGLHFBOU, IACBTMN and FCOL all sound > > great in Tyce's acoustic versions. Excellent piano by Zak > > Lloyd, especially on the breathtakingly beautiful > > recording of "Hero" (both full band and acoustic version). > > This is also one of Tyce's finest vocal moments on the > > album. The quality of the vocals range from good via very > > good to spell-binding. If I'm not mistaken, vocals were > > recorded over many months, which may explain some of this > > variation. > > > > Here are my track-by-track comments: > > > > HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO - Definitely the stand-out track on > > the album. The piano intro is haunting, and the backing > > tracks compliment Tyce's excellent vocals perfectly. Once > > the guitars kick in, the adrenaline rush is inevitable. > > What a rocker! And after about 3 minutes, there's the > > "through the wind and the chill and the rain". This is one > > of the best non-Steinman produced parts of a Steinman song > > I have ever heard. Absolutely awesome! > > > > HEAVEN CAN WAIT - Nice version, but would have preferred a > > more synth-based arrangement to make it more original > > compared with previous versions. > > > > I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T COME BACK - Fantastic intro and > > synths through the entire song! The whole upbeat part is > > awesome. "Bless all the girls..." is also really good, but > > the sound could have been a bit more different than the > > MeatLoaf version, which was one of my few production > > highlights on "Deadringer". > > > > LEFT IN THE DARK - Some of the synths, especially in the > > chorus, are very lovely, but it's difficult to match Jim's > > original version. Still many great moments in this > > version! > > > > TOTAL ECLIPSE - Also a highlight on the CD. Excellent > > production by Zak and great vocals by both Tyce and Alex > > Nester. Nicky's guitars are also excellent. > > > > IACBTMN - Nice version, but again, I would have preferred > > a more synth-based arrangement. It's difficult to match > > the Celine/Steinman and Meat/Raven/Child versions. > > > > IGLHFBOU: The second single! Fantastic intro and synths > > throughout the entire song. The vocals by Tyce and Alex > > fit perfectly to the backing tracks. I never liked the > > song that much when I heard the original version, but now > > I really like it! This is definitely my favorite version > > of this song, and I think it sounds much better than the > > dated original recording. > > > > OBJECTS: Another highlight on the CD. Terrific production > > and vocals by Tyce and Mia Moravis. The synths are great, > > although some of them seem a little "bright" considering > > the heavy topics of the song. I'm a little torn about the > > "wo-ho-wo-ho" after 4:46. It sounds fantastic, but maybe > > there's too much of "I've been through bad times but I've > > moved on" feeling to them? Still undecided about that. > > Another excellent guitar performance by Nicky and Max on > > this song. > > > > BRAVER: Superb intro. I had no idea which song was playing > > the first time I heard the teaser. The rest of the > > production is also really good, although the "say a > > prayer" part feels a little rushed. Towards the end of the > > song, everything comes together beautifully, and the > > vocals (esp. Alex's raw emotion) and arrangement provides > > a perfect climax to an excellent album and a brave take on > > some of the best songs ever written. > > > > Below I also attach my Facebook post about the NYC concert > > and the great nights with the HERO crew before and after > > the concert. > > > > Cheers, > > Jimmy > > > > ---------------- > > > > Earlier this week I had the great pleasure of seeing two > > excellent shows in NYC. The first one, Tyce Green's > > awesome launch concert for his Steinman album "Hero" on > > Thursday, was a thrill ride and an upgrade compared with > > his already excellent performances at 54 Below in 2015 and > > 2016. I also had the pleasure of meeting a lot of the > > great people behind the album, e.g. Tyce Green, Zak Lloyd, > > Nicky James, Alex Nester, Alex U'Ren, Van Dean and Mia > > Moravis. > > > > On Wednesday night, I met up with Hero musicians Zak Lloyd > > (production/arrangement), Nicky James (co-production) and > > Alex U'Ren (mixing) for Guinness and gossip. Well, the > > evening was mostly dominated by Zak's outrageous sense of > > humor. "Animal House on a cocktail of vodka, steroids and > > Viagra" won't quiet cut it, but it's the best description > > I can come up with... ;-) > > > > On Thursday night, I headed over to the Cutting Room for > > Tyce's show. I was handed a copy of Tyce's album from Van > > Dean, who's the President of Broadway Records. Their cast > > recording of "The Color Purple" revival won the 2017 > > Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album, so it's great > > that Tyce's album could be released on their label. > > > > Alex Nester started off the show with an excellent cover > > of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing", as well as a couple > > of very nice original songs of hers. Shortly after that, > > Tyce and the band entered the stage with an excellent new > > version of "Braver Than We Are". Two of the other > > highlights during the evening were "Holding Out For A > > Hero" and "I'm Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us". It is > > unfair to compare productions from different eras, but the > > original 80's productions of these two Steinman songs have > > not stood the test of time quite as well as most of the > > other ones. "Hero" in particular is very impressive, > > especially the "through the wind and the chill and the > > rain", which didn't quite get the attention it deserved on > > the original version. In Tyce's version, it stands out as > > one of the best non-Steinman produced parts of a Steinman > > song. As for "Both Of Us", I've never been a fan of the > > song and especially not the non-Steinman production on > > "Dead ringer". Tyce's version has a darker edge, which I > > think suits the lyrics better. This is definitely the best > > production of this song, and I think Tyce's versions of > > "Hero" and "Both Of Us" are both more appealing to most > > younger audiences, which was one of the reasons for > > recording them in the first place. Other highlights during > > the evening were "Braver" and "Objects", with perfectly > > balanced backing vocals by Alex Nester and Mia Moravis. > > Alex also provided terrific vocals for several other songs > > in the show. > > > > As for "Braver", the intro is superb, and I had no idea > > which song I was listening to the first time I heard the > > teaser. I must admit that the "Say the prayer" part is a > > bit rushed, though. "Braver" has been one of my favorite > > Steinman songs, ever since I first heard it as "Something > > Of This Masquerade May Follow" from the 1986 "Confidence > > Man" recording, later reappearing as "Draussen ist > > Freiheit" in "Tanz der Vampire" in Vienna in 1997. > > However, the element that really elevated this song to one > > of Steinman's greatest for me was the addition of the "Say > > The Prayer" part in the Stuttgart production in 2000 (I > > saw the show both in Vienna and Stuttgart). > > Recording-wise, Karine's original demo is still my > > favorite version, and it would have been foolish to try to > > recreate it (like Paul Crook kind of tried to do with > > Meat's version). Tyce & team did the right thing to do > > their very own take on "Braver", and it holds up as one of > > the best non-Steinman produced recordings of a Steinman > > song, which is a fantastic accomplishment considering the > > tough challenge from Desmond Child and others who had much > > greater recording budgets at their disposal. Whether we > > like it or not, if the songs are to live on, they must be > > non-Steinman produced in the future. After the show, a few > > of us (including radio personality Tony Bates) went out > > for drinks and a meal. A very memorable evening! | |
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