Singing On Key ?

Dick Wood · Post by **Dick Wood** » 17 Mar 2008 8:21 am

It is a sad fact that so many of todays so called stars typically aren't really singers more so than faces and bodies that Nashville has spit and polished and electronically enhanced what they don't have naturally.

I think most of us come from a time when singers really could sing live and dead on key in front of live audiences on TV.

Recently I ran across this Youtube cut of Engelbert singing with nothing more than a piano and notice where the microphone is placed.

What power for a man of 70 and he sang on key.

I know it's not country and there's no steel but I hope you enjoy it as I did.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7ag0UCPIcVo&feature=related

John Roche · Post by **John Roche** » 17 Mar 2008 9:14 am

Here is the same clip, but listen right at the beginning where he talks you can here his voice in the background, he is saying "This is proof that sometimes the package is more important than the contents"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hEfRr88_0U

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 17 Mar 2008 11:05 am

Dick, good example. Englebert is a real singer. So is BJ Thomas. T Gram Brown is another. I went to an Englebert concert in the eighties and came away a believer. Monster voice. Very impressive world class entertainer.

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 17 Mar 2008 1:38 pm

I think the Iglesias clip is likely a fake too, but sorry John I don't completely understand what you're saying... WHO says, "here is proof...etc.", Enrique? I don't hear Enrique saying anything, I hear the video's voice-over guy saying something in a language I don't understand, is that what he's saying? If the announcer is saying that, doesn't that mean he's saying that the video is purporting the bad singing to be authentic, as "the packaging is more important than the contents"..? What else could that mean? And if Enrique said it, it would mean he did it on purpose to prove "packaging is more important the content..."

As far as music being in time with the lips, I don't know how anyone could expect that, youtube is notorious for being out of sync, and when putting together a piece of video it's quite common to put one audio source over a similar piece of video, and from what I understand this "bad singing" was an audio-only recording, so the producers of this clip would have edited the audio over the video of Enrique singing, since it's a video clip and not radio... and actually on the bad-singing part I think the audio matches with the video extremely well, for a fake, although as I said it could be and most likely is a fake.

Interestingly, one of the comments says the Enrique explained that it was a joke... now that doesn't seem likely to me either, but who knows.

I'm not trying to say it's real, just that I don't think I've heard any valid explanations yet for its being a fake.

Mike Shefrin · Post by **Mike Shefrin** » 17 Mar 2008 2:01 pm

I once played steel in a country band in Spain, and the girl singer in the band had a limited range. Whenever we did "Blue Bayou" she could never hit that high note at the end of the song, nevertheless she insisted on singing it in that key anyway. I remember watching all the faces of the rest of the guys in the band just before she got to that note. We were all cringing in fear because she always sang ( or rather shrieked) that note incredibly loud and way out of tune.

John Roche · Post by **John Roche** » 17 Mar 2008 2:57 pm

Jim, when he talks at the beginning of the clip, the voice over is saying "This is proof that sometimes the package is more important than the contents"
Enrique is not saying that
but if you listen with headphones you will hear Enrique singing in the background,,

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 17 Mar 2008 3:35 pm

OK then, that's what I thought you were saying, but I don't understand how that is evidense of this being fake. To me, that is saying just the opposite.

"This is proof that sometimes the package is more important than the contents", means to me, "This is proof that image is more important than actual ability", which supports the supposition that the bad singing recording is real at least on the part of whoever made the video clip. How are you interpreting it?

And I don't see how Enrique singing in the background during the voiceover means anything at all, either.

Not trying to be argumentative John, just trying to understand your point. Been a long weekend, maybe I'm just a little slow today.

John Roche · Post by **John Roche** » 17 Mar 2008 4:22 pm

Jim, The guy who has faked this used some of the video
to superimpose his voice over Enrique's voice to say,"the packaging is more important than the contents"
Enrique is not saying that he is singing something else. he just made it look like that Enrique is saying
that, but in fact Enrique is singing on that bit of video not talking...

John Roche · Post by **John Roche** » 17 Mar 2008 4:34 pm

Mike Shefrin ,where in Spain did you and when did you play. what were the band called?

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 17 Mar 2008 4:43 pm

OK John. I'm sure I see what you're saying, I guess the problem for me is, as before, that it makes absolutely no sense to me.

First, you don't know that that "the guy who faked it" faked it, or put it over the video to "prove that the package is more important than the contents", do you? Where did they say that? Second, the only way it would prove that "the package is more important than the contents" would be if the STAR actually sang badly. Editing faked bad singing by someone else over a star's singing and saying that it proves that package is more important than contents, proves nothing and makes no sense.

I consider proof to be an admission from someone, a witness to its being faked, or some kind of technical aspect which proves it was faked. So far I see none of this.

Again I'm not saying I believe it's real. I have not and will not make a judgment without good evidense one way or the other and so far I haven't seen any, only suppositions based on what appears to be flawed logic, unless there's more being said that you haven't mentioned, that supports your position.

I don't understand that language, so if at any point they said something like, "here, as an example, we've recorded and dubbed-in some seriously off-key singing over Enrique to illustrate how the package is more important than the contents"... then that would do it and be sufficient proof that it's really not him.

Did they say that? If they did, just say so and it's case-closed as far as whether or not it's real or faked.

And even then, I still don't see how that would prove "the package is more important than the contents", so again it makes no sense.

Mike Shefrin · Post by **Mike Shefrin** » 17 Mar 2008 5:08 pm

John Roche-

I played in a band called Xisca (pronounced Chisca in Catalan)and the coyotes in Deia, Mallorca Spain, which is where I made my home from 1981-1991. I can't remember exactly what year I played in that band but it was in the late eighties. It was kind of an interesting band. The guitarist was Juan Graves and the bassist was his younger brother Tomas Graves, who are the sons of the late, great poet Robert Graves, whom you may have heard of. I played with many different musicians including my good friend Kevin Ayers (of the Soft Machine) who lived in Mallorca during that period. Those were amazing times that I won't forget.

....................................................................................................................Mike

John Roche · Post by **John Roche** » 18 Mar 2008 12:51 am

Mike Shefrin. thanks for the info, I live on mainland Spain about 30 miles south of Alicante . the name of the band you played with Xisca is a girls name, but not a Catalan word but a Valenciana word,

John Roche · Post by **John Roche** » 18 Mar 2008 12:52 am

Jim, you must have missed the link I posted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hEfRr88_0U