  | 20 All Time Greatest Hits By James Brown. Songbook for voice, piano and guitar chords. 80 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. (HL.306004) See more info... |
Update 9/6/07:
I have posted a list of links to news and remembrances of Pavarotti after his death early Thursday.
Well, they CAN be compared, but so can apples and oranges- that doesn't really get you anywhere. For me what was startling was just how free and full of life Brown was in comparison to Pav. It reminded me of the videos of Grappelli and Menuhin, where I enjoyed G's playing so much more. It's sad when we classical players sometimes forget to be free and expressive, and to look as if we must just possibly be enjoying ourselves...
ReplyDeleteHow fascinating! Thanks for this, Chris.
Even though it seems James Brown is the one who wears the better game face, there's no denying the mutual respect between the two of them in this fine performance, unlike the unfortunate Nessun Dorma Pavarotti did with Ian Gillan, where P's disgust is palpable.
ReplyDeleteI actually think that this duet is remarkable. Surely if you're a strict lover of classical music, you'd say Pavarotti's voice is so much more powerful and technically superb than James Brown's. But I think that music is valuable in its variety as long as it carries ideas and emotions - this is the meaning of art. This one piece mixes black and white, the jazz'n'soul with the classical music. I love it.
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