You're right Joe - that's a GREAT version - never heard it before. Talk about sparse! Thanks for the link. Plus, dude's got a cool jacket. ---------- /Greg
Not the term I would use ("scary"), but I see what you're referring to. Something about her vocals at the same time holds me back and draws me in. I like it, I like it a lot, but it's somewhat discomforting...
Christelle has to be the baddest (Best) harp player ever ! as for her vocal's ,.She's French I believe ? She sounds great !! ---------- Simply Unique Kustom Mic's By Rharley
I like the fact that Jr Wells gives SBW a shout out in that clip. And as for the first clip.. oh man, even after reading the posts here first then going on to listen to her.. I really wasnt rdy for it. But she plays good. gave it a bit of her own to,always nice to hear
Sandy, people have different ranges. I haven't heard many women who can get that kind of growl. I think there is some reverb on it and I think she is peaking the volume on the attack (to good effect).
I can sing a convincing alto in a pinch if I warm up.
A very cool rendition - very smooth and great tone. Admire her work. Junior Wells is of course classic and that version is a different one from the one I have heard on recordings. Sugar Blue does an incredible job on that song on the Blue Blazes cd.
I fluctuate between baritone and tenor ranges, I'm at 2.6 octaves, which isn't bad, but isn't good also.
I don't think it's inconceivable at all that Berthon is hitting those notes so easily -- listening to someone like Jannis Joplin in her low register, to me, would be comparable.
That said, I detect some messing around with the audio of the vocals -- light reverb. It's possible that the reverb might mask a pitch alteration, but I doubt it. Seems like a nice, raspy, soulful voice with an accent, to me.
tf, it's called me singing falsetto, ahahaha. All of the girls in the school's choir sings falsetto for soprano, and I can hit those notes cleanly if I warm up. I don't use it often though unless you catch me on a night where I'm in a soulful mood. Maybe if I did funk and soul I'd do it more.
Comparable to Janis Joplin?? I'm sorry. I like and admire some of her harp stuff, but not these vids. I think her best stuff is her non-blues stuff. SRV? Please!
Sandy, you should stop posting such things, you obviously have no way to back up such statements, either way. And, I have heard women with voices like that, and they were never men.
Wow I can't believe that comment was removed, that is exactly the reason people are sensitive about those things (because it is perceived as something negative).
And no you didn't Zack it is not physically possible, the statement is backed up by the sound of the video... ---------- WORLD CLASS HARMONICA PLAYER
No they weren't you perceived them that way because you think something is wrong with that lifestyle while I don't, that is intolerance. What is mean spirited about my statement? I won't press it anymore if you're threatening to ban me over this, shame on you though ---------- WORLD CLASS HARMONICA PLAYER
Last Edited by on Nov 14, 2010 4:22 PM
Also worth pointing out that she is using ilife on a mac to record these vids. The vocal in the first vid is clearly processed and Garageband has settings to deepen a female voice.
I think "Help Me" is an interesting performance. I like the solo from 2:30-2:50, and I like the harp lines at the very end. The vocals are indeed very deep--preternaturally deep, you might say--but that deepness is simply a part of what Christelle was trying to do here. She's pushing an edge here; flirting with "too deep for a woman." And that's precisely what I admire. Some people play it safe; some don't. She doesn't, at least in the question of vocal range. Bravo for her.
Of course the pre-fab rhythm track is nothing if not safe; it simply replicates the Sonny Boy original. Ideally I'd have preferred something less cut-and-dried. Students try to prove that they can sound just like the originals, but it's important for ambitious students to leave the student phase behind and risk actually BECOMING originals. Christelle is doing that more effectively with her vocal performance than with the rest of this track--except, notably, for the stuff beginning at 2:20, where she says (at least from my perspective), "Hey, this is ME."
"Pride and Joy" does little for me.
Last Edited by on Nov 15, 2010 12:48 PM
When i first watched Help Me, I thought she was lip synching to someone elses vocals. I still do. The audio/visual looks slightly off to me, though I guess that could be an uploading glitch.
Just my opinion.
Last Edited by on Nov 15, 2010 12:54 PM
No Sandy, your first comment said it was impossible for a woman to sound like that. Your second post you claimed she wasn't always a woman. You made a leap in logic and in one step, instead of jumping to a couple very reasonable conclusions (that she was using an effect- (she only has reverb that I can hear), that maybe women can sound like that- see the Marla Glenn video above).
You say you don't see any negative connotations to trans-gendered people; Me either, but certainly there is enough social stigma attached that throwing the term around at people, trans-gendered or not, is inappropriate. It's like kids on the playground calling each other gay. It does not erase the stigma, it reinforces it. It makes it a bad thing to be, whether you happen to be straight or gay. We all want some control over our identities. We manage what is out in public. For instance, my personal beliefs are strongly in the minority where I live. There are places I share them, and places that I don't. I don't feel there is anything wrong with my personal choices, but frankly being judged 24/7 gets annoying. I'd be really annoyed if someone started outing my choices where I didn't want them outed. I'd be really annoyed if people started outing me as have other religious beliefs, because it forces me to go out and correct the misinformation.
As someone who doesn't even use their real identity on this forum, surely you can appreciate that a harp forum might not be an appropriate setting to make claims about other people's sexuality? (The last time someone brought the subject up Rachelle Plas had to create an account just to squash the rumors about her sexual preferences.)
I'd also add, in closing, that posting to the internet constitutes publishing. The law, in general, protects someone like Adam from liability for what other people say. It does not, however, protect individuals from the contents of their own posts. Be very careful about what you post as fact if it might be seen as defamatory and libelous. It's not common, but people do get sued from time to time for what they post on message boards.
Note: I edited this post to try to make sure I stayed within creed guidelines.
Adam wrote,,, "Students try to prove that they can sound just like the originals, but it's important for ambitious students to leave the student phase behind and risk actually BECOMING originals"
This seems to be the jewel mined from the whole"argument/dis" thread. Who can deny her talent on harp? ---------- Various Musical ramblings http://www.youtube.com/user/sjeter61?feature=mhum
Last Edited by on Nov 15, 2010 1:33 PM
You could be right Mr.V, hence my qualifier. The tone of the vocal combined with the synch issue...I may well have added 1 and 1 and got 3.
Your perspective relative to the accent issue was interesting. In any case, the vocal doesn't work for me at all, and I'm a HUGE fan of gravelly voiced female vocalists. I can't articulate why, something just doesn't feel right to me..and whatever it is it hit me right away..
As for Marlene D..., listening to her is forever ruined for me by Madeline Kahn's character Lili Von Schtupp, The Teutonic Titwillow in Blazing Saddles.
Last Edited by on Nov 15, 2010 1:26 PM
Hey Sandy - World class harmonica player? Seriously? Where can we check you out?
I know Christelle very well. She lived at our house for several weeks before SPAH 2 years ago. She is a gifted harmonica player. I also agree that her best stuff is not her blues stuff. I don't want to betray any confidence but a) I suspect she watches this forum if she can afford to at the moment and b) she told me had some serious health issues in her teens that might contribute to her deep voice. Leave it alone.
Honkin, What does'nt seem right to me is that she is reading the lyric.I think that interupts the flow. I am not saying that is your issue,I'm just throwing that out there.She is great on harp.
Her voice is not preternaturally low--for example take a listen to the Canadian folk singer Ferron. I think the strong reaction stems from her accent, phrasing and intonation. Would be a great Cabaret singer per another poster. She just doesn't have a voice made for the blues, but it could be very effective in other types of music. I say good for her for putting her singing out there. Can you think of any other incredibly talented harp players who have recently done the same, and have acknowledged that their harmonica is far beyond their vocals? Maybe she's just taking inspiration from Adam.
Christelle has talent. And, like anyone, she will appeal to some and not so much to others.
At SPAH2009, she rubbed me the wrong way just about every time she opened her mouth. But, I seem to have the ability to segregate my opinion of who someone is from what they are capable of producing. I enjoyed listening to her when she had a harp shoved in her mouth. It was very obvious that she had put in a lot of time.
Historical precedent? I can easily imagine Little Walter being a prick to be around.
@verylong thanks for posting marlene dietrich singing lili marlene in german-she had a husky voice but undoubtly that of a woman-its a beautiful wartime ballad that my dad heard and sang whilst stationed in england in ww2
@ Nacoran ,..Yes after seeing it in her Video,. I went lookin for what kind of mic it was an found the video,. Your absolutely right about Amazon's unpublished price,. ---------- Simply Unique Kustom Mic's By Rharley
I had something a lot like this -- it's decent for the money, but if you have a preamp/phantom power source, don't get a USB mic. Worse quality, and tons of latency. Better to get a condenser mic for that price (for example).
Christelle emailed me yesterday with a long reply to this thread. I am posting it here. I have, however, deleted the long final paragraph in which she makes her anger at Sandy88 plain in ways that would, if she were a member, breach the forum creed. I trust that everybody here will understand why I've done that. I'm posting her email because it's detailed and thought-provoking.
Here you go: __________________________________________________
"The world is not a safe place to be" Everybody knows this saying. Every time there's a group of human beings somewhere, somehow it's unavoidable to see hatred and tensions. The little confined harmonica world is no exception and it's even worse on forums over the internet: some people are hiding behind their screens to express their hatred of the others, some chose to simply share their insights and the results of their work, some take it as a hobby, and some are using them as a way to lead their businesses (selling CDs, custom harmonicas, microphones, you name it). Since I've been implied negatively I should say "once again", I think this is my right to clarify some points:
A) My attempts to sing: 1)yes I'm french and have an accent, 2) yes I've got a particular low voice that I've always been ashamed of, and 3) yes every one has the "right" to like it or dislike it. First of all I've to clarify why I've start to post videos of me singing: during my journey in the USA last year, many people were asking to me (including Charlie Musselwhite, Vince Camiti, Gary Smith and many more...) if I was singing. Each time I answered "sorry no I don't because I'm ashamed of my voice"....Their reactions were the same: "well if you're a harmonica player only, that 'll be more difficult for you to get gigs". It has been more than a year and a half and it took me this amount of time, to go over my scares and shame of this voice I've, and believe me it has been a painful process for me.
Before developing the points 1,2 and 3, I've to say ONCE AGAIN, that Youtube is for me nothing more than a laboratory where I allow myself to experiment different style of music, but also a place to share my progress with the world, it has always been like that. Check my first videos posted in 2008 (when I was not a Audix, Seydel or Suzuki endorsee) and you'll see how much I've made progress, this is one of the reason that I don't delete the videos that I hate (and there's quite a few believe me). Singing is a new thing, but I want experiment this exactly the same way I did with the instrument.
1) The accent: from the reactions of MrVerylongusername, and some others my accent seems to be an issue but where is the golden rules saying that french can't sing? Greg Heumann and some others know my deep love for the United States of America (I'll not explain why, the list is far way too long and I want this message as short as possible), but I was born in this stupid country of France, and I've this accent and I've to live with it. I've spent some time with Andy Santana in Northern California, and Steve Krase in Houston , I had MANY discussions about the fact that I was french and have this accent, saying that it was another difficulty for me, and both were positive, that's another way to make myself special.
2) The low voice: as I mentioned in the part A, I've many times postponed to begin the work and experiments on my voice. To give you a hint on how I hate I mean really hate my voice, last year at SPAH, I was attending a Jason Ricci Master Class on how to play fast, I've recorded this on my iPhone. Several months after, I began to play this recording, and I fell on my voice because Jason was asking me how do I play fast : boom! I said to myself "shut up" and delete the file from my computer. Now you see how much I hate my voice. It has many reasons, and since Greg talked a bit about it, I've to confirm it I was sick for a long time and I still pay for it. It's very reassuring to see that WalterHarp has posted a video of Marla Glen because for me she's an example, showing that it doesn't matter what is the timber of you voice. I can name Koko Taylor and many more that have already been mentioned in this thread. I'll add some thoughts directly to Sandy88 in the part B of this message. To clarify the things about the Help Me recording, Nacoran is right, there's only a reverb on GarageBand, no other effects have been added.
3) The right to like or dislike : opinions are just like assholes everybody's got one (I'm sure there'll be reactions here). Like everybody I love when people are saying good things about my work (because THIS IS WORK) but please don't get me wrong I love even more when people are criticizing in a positive way, it helps me A LOT to make progress. Adam knows very well that I'm sharing, I've sent him probably too much music, constantly asking him what he was thinking about it, and he had always answered me in a VERY constructive way, this is the same with Rob, and it has been like that with Greg too. So you see I'm never afraid of having bad feedback as long as there's some solid arguments proving that I'm in a wrong direction. So what about some of you guys, saying bad things without providing your insight, showing examples of what I should do and a way to do it?
