Finally finished RESPECT, David Ritz fantastic Aretha bio today. Highly recommended. Some delicious shade from her epic recording session of JUMP TO IT with Luther: The sessions with Aretha began with the same formality. But instead of calling me Mr. Vandross, she changed it to Vandross. From then on Id always be Vandross to her, never Luther. When I told her it was okay to address me by my first name, she said, If I call Curtis Mayfield Mayfield, I know you have no objections if youre Vandross. I wanted to establish the groove with a long instrumental intro. Aretha didnt think the listener would wait that long to hear her voice. I assured her that the listener would be hooked on the groove and would be delighted to wait. She wanted to come in sooner. I said no. Whos the one with the most hits here? she asked. Of course the answer was her. I just had one; she had dozens. But whos the one with the *latest* hit? I asked. She didnt answer. She stormed out. But then she came back. And she sang it the way I wanted it. Not only that, she came up with that whole spoken business of her chit-chatting with the girlfriend Kitty about dishing the dirt on whos drop-kicked who. She fell into the story with a coyness that suited the song perfectly. I also have to say that Aretha rode the groove like a surfer riding a wave. She rode it better than anyone could have, throwing in just the right scats and side licks that punctuated the lyrics in all the right places. Arethas not only a great soaring singer, a great gospel singer, soul singer, and jazz singer, but shes a percussive singer. By that I mean she has the sensibility of a drummer. So if a groove is slick, shell find a way to kick back and push it in the most subtle ways. Jump to It is basically a rhythm thing. For it to work, enormous vocal variations are required to keep it interesting. Aretha has variations to spare. The track was already hot, but she completely burned it up and set the studio on fire. Masters talking about masters. My favorite thing to read. 2015 - The Year Of Jump-ing To It. https://youtube/watch?v=EFTWYAmgxcM&list=RDEFTWYAmgxcM
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 01:51:27 +0000
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