The Belgian snow rose - Lara Fabian

Excuse me for beginning this post with a little rant, but the fact that Lara Fabian isn't worshipped like a goddess, is irrefutable proof that there is no justice in this world. With that out of my chest, allow me to begin :-) . As it happened with Céline Dion, I have found it pointless to try to make some sort of biographical ‘article’ about La Fabian, mainly because every possible aspect about her life has already been divulgated, but also because it is even less dramatic than Céline Dion’s. There are no heartbreaking choices, a love that’s been sacrificed or a meteoric explosion into glory after years of misery in Lara Fabian’s life. As it happens with her music, everything about her has been a measured collection of happy moments and wise, well-meditated decisions driven by the sheer power of her voice, which reflects the unbendable strength of her determination to succeed.

Gifted with an impeccable voice that is object of significant discussion among her fans (finding out whether she is a coloratura soprano, as Hugues Gall, the then director of the renowned Opéra National de Paris, enthusiastically declared in 2001; or a mezzo, as Lara likes to refer to herself, takes a significant part of the lives of her fans), La Fabian majestically belts, gracefully chirps, delicately whispers and beautifully bares her soul both on record and across scenarios all around the world with an elegance and modesty that are both mystifying and admirable. Simply put, she is superb.

However, something strange about Lara is that she is neither mutable nor adaptable as a singer; stubbornly fixed on her vision of herself as a 'traditional' belter, she explores her art by encasing it within the confines of her voice and forcing it to find a new form of expression in every varying colour and wanton changes during performances. This places Lara in a category of her own, because she remains alien to changing trends in music or to the notion that singing in her native language is equivalent to personal and artistic freedom (as it happens with Céline Dion) – Lara is always the same, even though she definitely sounds more comfortable performing in any other language besides English.




I like to compare Lara’s voice to a blossom that combines incomparable beauty with cold, impossibly detached technical precision; which is not to say that her music is devoid of emotion – her particular feelings and experiences are what colours and gives substance to her singing, making Lara and her voice two separate entities united in their aim to please and enthrall an audience. This could be reflected in this interview (followed by an amazing performance of Lucio Dalla’s Caruso); in it, Lara mentions how her love for her mother and the closeness she has always felt with her grandmother give her singing in Italian an enormous personal value. Italian is the language or Lara’s early childhood in the beautiful region of Catania, in Southern Italy: French, Spanish, German and English would come a bit later (mind you, only a bit later), when she moved back to her native Belgium. This ability to express her own feelings through music while using her voice as a mere instrument is what makes La Fabian so incredibly special, and her albums such a wonderful experience.

However, not all things about Lara are positive. Sadly, as of late she has been indulging excessively in her insufferable (and erroneous) Barbra Streisand-inspired attempts at giving greater emotional resonance to songs by sucking all the life from them with empty, soul-less displays of perfectly melodious droning. Which is fine (my grandmother loves it), but we should not forget that Barbra has only managed to be memorable whenever she has actually bothered to perform her songs, rather than partaken in her solipsistic love for her own voice and public persona. Quite frankly, I cannot imagine anyone being capable of listening to most of La Streisand's records without falling into a coma (there are very notable exceptions to this, of course, and I shall talk about them soon enough) - what made Lara so special is that she was never afraid to show off that she is a vibrant, technically proficient performer with a wonderful, hurricane-powered voice. Not just a whispering ego with no musical taste whatsoever, which is what she seems to want to emulate for some strange reason.



And well, we finally come to the selection I’ve made for today. I hope you enjoy it and, as always, I remind you to go to buy her records. Fnac or Amazon are both good options.

Je Suis Malade/I Am Ill

The spectacular first single of the marvelous album Carpe Diem/Seize The Day (1994), this ode to desperate, hopeless love was first made a classic in 1973 by singer/songwriter Serge Lama. Few words could express how beautiful this song is, nor how utterly and most completely wonderful Lara manages to make it with almost no effort at all. Delicately, the melody navigates through sorrowful piano scales that tiredly build a melancholic atmosphere, only to be overshadowed by the instrumental and vocal explosions that take place during the choruses. The end is simply spectacular, with Lara belting away up to a deafening climax. Watch this wonderful live performance and be amazed.

Je T'Aime/I Love You

My favourite song by Lara, this was the second single (and GIGANTIC hit – so much so, it has become a classic) from her 1996 album Pure. If you just have to buy an album by Lara, this is it. Especially if like myself, you cannot be satisfied unless and album has an abundance of ballads, you are going to be delighted! However, and as impossible as it might seem, this song is far above the rest in quality – or better said, this should have turned Lara into a legend. The song delicately navigates from slow, delicate verses to the stormy choruses, which will thunder their way into your heart (oh-my-god, tell me that that display of shitty, cheesy and stupidly bad writing isn’t mine – I should just quit this blog and start writing Harlequin novels ;-P) with the force and passion of a torrential rain. If you are one of those sad persons who love to torture themselves by listening to melodramatic love songs after their relationships have ended – why do I keep letting people into my darkest, filthiest secrets? – you’re gonna love this. And if you are even remotely human, you will as well. Video of a live performance.

La Différence/The Difference

After receiving three e-mails politely objecting to the inclusion of Carola in this blog (sorry guys - the Bee Gees made me weak!), I have decided to redeem myself by including this beautiful anti-homophobia anthem, which was originally released as an independent single and included as part of Pure in later pressings (I told you it was an amazing album). It also happens to be the second biggest hit from the album – rapidly reaching the number one position in France, and staying in the top ten for over three months. There’s not much to say about this songs besides the fact that the lyrics are fabulous, and inspirational – far from being a ridiculous Kumbaya-inspired preachy, condescending mess (which is what most songs with a social message are), it just tells how gay people are normal people and, well, that’s it really. Video.

J'y Crois Encore/I Still Believe It

This is a sample of Lara’s Streisand-esque newfound style. However, it is a rather interesting ballad (that’s why I have included it :-) ), and one of the highlights of the lovely 2001 album Nue/Naked. It has a rockier sound than her previous songs, and the change suits Lara wonderfully! Needless to say, this is much more interesting than the majority of things that Barbra Streisand has ever done (the majority, but not all - let's take a moment to remember that La Streisand's high points are unsurpassable by any mortal), but it nevertheless is tinged by her style. Great song! Video.

Adagio (Italian Version)

After this overdose of French songs, what about a little touch of Italian to remind us how awesome Lara is in her mother tongue? Directly lifted from Baroque composer Tommaso Albinoni’s overused to death Adagio (Pachelbel’s Canon et Gigue is a close second, ugh!), this could have been disastrous, but Lara wisely focuses on performing it as a delicate heartbreak song and leaves all pretences of classical legitimacy aside (not because she can’t have them by the way – unlike that fat sow Mariah Carey, Lara is an opera singer first and foremost). The ending is particularly impressive, with a thunderous final belt that will leave you awe-struck. Video of a superb live performance.

Otro Amor Vendrá/Another Love Shall Come (I Will Love Again)

And I couldn’t leave without including a danceable song. You all know about this track, so I’m just going to say that Lara’s Spanish is impeccably pronounced, and she sounds infinitely more comfortable singing in it than in English. This version was a HUGE hit in Spain and Latin America (the summer of 2001 I happened to travel both to Mexico and Argentina, and it was impossible to escape from this song – it was everywhere!!!). What I like of this version is the bridge, which Lara belts at full force, unlike in the English version, which has an annoying F5 in head voice. Lovely! Video.

Jennifer López Spanish language remixes and versions

Today I've had a rather difficult and laborious day, so I've decided that the best way to relax was to come here and make another little post. :-) The object of this post is someone who is very far from the majority of singers featured in this blog (or rather, below them) in terms of talent, but she has released some truly excellent remixes and, in the past, her material was very enjoyable. Thus, as an homage to the Jennifer López of the olden days, I'm posting a few random remixes that by far surpass the original format of the songs they are meant to improve. Also included are two Spanish versions of songs from her best effort so far, the ridiculously named 'J.Lo'.

Personally, I've always thought that La López sounds extremely uncomfortable whenever has to even utter the simplest of phrases in Spanish, let alone singing (the recording sessions of her horrid dronefest Como Ama una Mujer must have been quite a show :-D - actually, I wonder how she communicates with that mummy she has for a husband... Is there a non-verbal language for necromancy? Sorry, that was a bitchy moment ;-P). Anyway, she sounds surprisingly at ease in the utterly superb Cariño, which is simply one of the most infectious (not to mention original) salsa-and-faux-R&B mash ups ever. The Spanish version of Love Don't Cost A Thing is slightly different from the original (it sounds a bit like a demo recording, in my opinion), but the delivery is so awkward that you won't be able to keep from laughing! :-D

La López redeems herself with the infectious reggaeton remix of '¿Qué Hiciste?', which injects the song with an ominous air of cold cruelty and impassioned desire of revenge that's quite unnerving, and saves it from the mediocrity of the original. Si Ya Se Acabó is given an aggressive club beat and distorted winds to create an irresistible call to the dance floor - if you can resist the urge to dance with this, you're superhuman... Or, better said not human at all! then, the Spanish version of 'Waiting for Tonight' is drastically changed by Pablo Flores, who I'm sure had making our heads spin when he addes the eardrum-assaulting percusion and bizarre electronic effects.

Well, that's all. Of course, I have to remind you to go to your favourite online store to buy Jennifer López's albums. It's not as if they were difficult to get. Maybe Amazon is a good choice. :-)


Cariño/Darling

Amor Se Paga Con Amor/Love Is Paid With Love (Love Don't Cost A Thing)

¿Qué Hiciste?/What Have You Done? (Luny Tunes Reggaeton remix)

Si Ya Se Acabó/If It's Already Over (Radio remix)

Una Noche Más/One More Night (Waiting For Tonight - Pablo Flores remix)

The conventional iconoclast - Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper’s career has been built upon defying people’s expectations of what she was willing to do, and what they thought she wasn’t capable of doing. At first, everyone assumed that she was just some little Betty Bop caricature in punk-ish Marilyn disguise – an idea that seemed to be confirmed by the cutesy, unsubstantial songs that she cheerfully screeched with her deceptively girlie soprano voice. But even then, she refused to play the role that had been assigned to her by showing some of the considerable complexity and depth that lay underneath the bright colours and loud teenage anthems that shone at the surface. Or to speak in a clearer fashion, Cyndi is a superb songwriter capable of retelling the daily tragedies that afflict people’s lives in a way that makes them sublime without falling into pretension. Simply put, Cyndi is awesome.

And it is thanks to her qualities as a songwriter and her desire to explore and expose the seemingly banal mysteries of daily life that Cyndi has managed to carve a place for herself in the pantheon of unfairly ignored and misunderstood artists. Flexing her highly versatile voice to suit every imaginable situation and mood, traveling across all possible styles and genres (often within the same song) and posing awkwardly like a feral child fighting against the constraints of adulthood, Cyndi has managed to fool everyone into thinking that she is just a joke, when in reality she is a world class singer capable of awe-inspiring displays of vocal virtuosity, as well as a crafter of deeply moving, yet surprisingly understated songs.



Lauper has led a life that’s as shocking within the limits of what’s socially acceptable as is her music: not very much at all. What has always truly set her apart from other singers, though, is the fact that her music has no lofty purposes, nor does she aim to produce ‘works of art’ for the sake of vanity. She just explores whatever she wants at her own pace, and always tries to bring something very personal into the process. From the joyous female empowerment anthems of her début She’s So Unusual to her latest ventures into trip hop, pop standards and acoustic rock, she has always taken just the bare bones of every concept and song she comes across with, and filled them with the flesh of her own experiences and imagination. Long before Madonna found an exclusive God that could help her to convince the world that her music isn’t rubbish because it’s spiritual, or Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan decided to disguise their utter banality behind Stevie Nicks’ veil of faux neo-pagan mysticism, Cyndi was addressing deeply troubling matters from a very human point of view, talking about reality in a particularly pedestrian way that’s truly lofty because it presents everything as it is. Exceptional by means of simplicity seems to be the rule with her.



So, after having gone through minimum wage jobs, forgotten gigs at seedy bars, an unstable career the increases in quality of which have invariably translated in decreased public interest and support from her record company, Cyndi has finally settle into middle age with a very loyal following and the realization that critics, that strange race that takes everything at face value in their attempt to find depth in all things, have always been able to recognize her exceptional talent and the true reason behind her unfairly attained outcast status: she is just herself.

To end this post, I’d like to remind you to go to buy Cyndi’s records at Amazon. Enjoy! :-)

I’m Gonna Be Strong [’95 Version]

This amazingly beautiful and deeply moving ballad shows Cyndi at her best; from the soft, almost fearful beginning to the explosive end notes, her qualities as a vocalist are wonderfully showcased. Personally, whenever I hear this song the image of a breaking dam appears in my mind. I know that this is bizarre (that’s how crazy I am ;-P), but the emotional devastation that’s reflected in this song, which ends in furious waves of emotion that wash up the remainders of a past life that shall never return as it was, and sinks into a barren calm after a few instants, is a good simile. Video.

Shine

I really love this song! It’s a very peculiar dance number that combines a heavy percussion line with an airy, delicate background full of small details that build a bright, luminous picture. I also like a lot the changes in rhythm and cadence of the verses, which are given touches or reggae the first time around, and then explode into a kaleidoscope of violins that evoke a forest at spring. It’s one of Cyndi’s most interesting songs, mainly because it’s neither rock nor dance, but has elements of both genres in abundance. Not to mention that the lyrics are gorgeous. From her album of the same name, finally released in 2004!

Insecurious

This is an interesting track mainly for one reason: it’s a songwriting collaboration between Diane Warren and Desmond Child, but sounds nothing like the things that they normally do. It’s a very cheerful and bouncy rock song that seems to want to recapture the sense of teenage rebelliousness that La Lauper’s early songs had, and the lyrics seem to reflect that by presenting some rather awkward word play that wouldn’t be out of place in a child's first attempts at writing poetry (ugh!). Overall a very enjoyable song, it’s definitely one of the highlights in her album A Night To Remember (1989).

Water’s Edge

This is one of Cyndi’s most beautiful and curiously enough, commercial ballads. It’s also one of the only two occasions in which her trip hop and techno heavy album Shine slows down the pace and gives us ballad lovers a bit of a treat! It’s very, very melancholic and sad, with a soft, slow melody that delicately rises in the chorus, like little waves of soft rain in a cold day. Needless to say, this ought to have been a hit, but unfortunately the album didn’t receive even the smallest amount of promotion. Video of a live performance.

Ballad Of Cleo And Joe

There’s more to this song that meets the ear (:-S – gosh, ‘witty’ writing seems to be the norm with me today ;-P). Seriously, underneath the cold, aggressive beats and bizarre Middle Eastern-inspired ornamentation, there bubbles a sense of desperation and incertitude that’s only magnified by Cyndi’s cries and the subject matter of the song, which opposes the grim reality of an underclass gay man’s life to the illusory world of lights he enters every night as a drag queen. The video remix is hilariously cheap and tacky, with a heavily pregnant Cyndi dancing in front of what looks like rubbish bags while dressed as a disco ball! I told you she was fabulous! :-D

The true Queen of contemporary music - Donna Summer

Even though I have already dedicated a post to Donna Summer, I just thought it’d be great to write a little more about this amazing (and, for the most part, unfairly ignored) singer. Let me begin by saying that Donna is a vocal heavyweight champion – if there were singer catfight tournaments (yay! :-) ), Donna would just trounce almost everyone else to a bloody throat. To be fair, we’d have to say that she’s the Mike Tyson of singers… only with class and without the bewildering stupidity. This said, it would be worth noticing that Donna hasn’t had a true hit in more than a decade, but that nevertheless is irrelevant to (us) disco fanatics, because Donna is The Diva par excellence and ought to be worshipped, because most things in contemporary music stem from what she did in the 70’s. And there’s nothing more to say about it. Uh-huh.

LaDonna Adrian Gaines was born in Boston amidst a very religious family who loved music and actively participated in the church choir. Which I guess explains why, as a teenager, Donna joined a rock band called The Crow, whose sound was largely based in Janis Joplin’s cringe-inducing ‘singing’ style, with which she butchered many a terrific song after swallowing enough drugs to make an elephant speak Aramaic – or die of an overdose, ahem. When the band failed to make any significant impact, Donna decided to drop from college, pack her things and leave for Germany, where she had been promised a lucrative recording contract. Soon enough, Donna became a musical theatre star, performing in everything imaginable from Hair to Porgy and Bess.
She also married a theatrical producer named Helmut Sommer, from whom she took her artistic name, and sang hundreds of demos that would become hits for many other performers of the time.



Soon enough she met Giorgio Moroder, who produced her first European hits and one day convinced her to record the ‘song’ that would make her known to international audiences: Love To Love You Baby. Initially seen as a joke -understandably, I’d say- they didn’t want to release it until a friend of Giorgio (who was either deaf or completely stoned) told him it was marvellous. They believed the hearing-impaired druggie’s advice, and the song became a huge hit on the strength of the second dullest orgasm in history - as Jane Birkin and incest-loving weirdo Serge Gainsbourg had already taken the 1st place for themselves with that horrid pool of vomit, 'Je T’Aime… Moi Non Plus'. However, after that Donna went on to record some amazing material that was worthy of her exceptional voice, and many of her songs were enormous hits that have rightly become timeless classics. Others, such as the then groundbreaking 'I Feel Love', are credited with giving birth to techno music.

Unfortunately, Donna wasn’t happy with her image because it wasn’t Christian-clean, so she decided to take an abrupt turn in 1980, as the disco movement was being strangled by people with no taste whatsoever. This change, which could have been equivalent to career immolation for anyone else, gave Donna the creative freedom to indulge herself and helped her to survive the disco debacle. Which she did with very uneven results – while some of her efforts are quite sublime, especially when she delved into dance pop and rock, her R&B and funk attempts are quite unpleasant to the ear, and ought to be treated with caution by anyone who has a minimal degree of respect for their auditive health. And maybe for this reason, Donna slowly but steadily fell under the mainstream’s radar, only to be briefly resuscitated from her 'nostalgia act' status in 1999, during a spectacular VH1 special.



Thus, we come to the tracks I’ve selected! At last! :-) If you want to read more about Donna, visit my previous post about her. If you need to buy her records (and you know you do), go to Amazon.

MacArthur Park

This is one of Donna’s greatest hits ever – one of the four massive number ones that are part of her career’s many highlights. It is also one of my favourite songs ever, as long as she is the one performing it, of course. The best thing about it is that it showcases her exceptional vocal range quite well, since the melody is quite difficult. In fact, it does so to such degree of perfection that it makes one forget about the pointless lyrics, enabling us to concentrate on the amazing horns and Donna’s soaring high notes. Video of a spectacular live performance.

Hot Stuff [12” Version]

This is, again, one of Donna’s greatest classics and a very special track, because it indicates the precise point in which she began to break away from the purely disco sound that had characterized most of her work until the album Bad Girls, from which this song was taken. Or maybe we could say that it proves how versatile disco music is in reality by successfully fusing what is an aggressive rock song with disco’s basic 4/4 beat. Not only is this fabulous, but it shows the how innovative Donna and her producers really were. Video from her VH1 special.

This Time I Know It’s For Real

What can be said about this song? It is pop perfection. It takes the very best elements of 80’s pop music and displays them all in a three and a half minute journey to Paradise (oh, how I love my cheesy comments – not ;-) ). Anyway, I truly recommend you to give a listen to this, especially because it is easily some of the best music that Stock, Aitken and Waterman ever produced. Video.

I Will Go With You (Con Te Partirò) [Hex Hector Extended Mix]

At first I wasn’t sure about posting this song, because even though I like the original, this remix has some instrumental clutter that is frankly unnecessary and becomes annoying after a while. Still, the main body of the song is simply sublime, and Donna emerges victorious at the end of this spectacular melodic tour-de-force, which few people can even dream about touching. If you like dance music, you’ll love this – after you pass the weird and tinny first part of the song. Video of a spectacular live performance.

No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) - duet with Barbra Streisand

This is the 12" version of the legendary duet with The Streisand, to which I've already dedicated an entire post. I just thought it was pertinent to add it for the sake of completeness :-).