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Would you say Rick James is a Great singer? I mean, would you say his voice is melodic and pleasant to listen to like Marvin, El's or Nat King Cole? "Lack of home training crosses all boundaries." | |
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I don't think that's what he was aiming for. His voice was powerful sometimes, I suppose, but the songs/arrangements always seemed to be the focus. | |
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I don't know what would qualify as "Great", but I think he had a very strong & rich tone that was thick with texture. And he always brought it, never dialed it in. Plus he had a strong grasp of melody, harmony, phrasing... so yeah, I'd say he was pretty great. But then for me, every "singer" has their area, and Rick was good at creating his space, and bringing you into it.  | |
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exenn said: ... the songs/arrangements always seemed to be the focus.
...that's a good point.  | |
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exenn said: I don't think that's what he was aiming for. His voice was powerful sometimes, I suppose, but the songs/arrangements always seemed to be the focus.
No actually Rick really was aiming to be a great singer. He saw himself as a balladeer. Seriously, I'm not kidding. I think he had a tremendous voice, so yes I'd say he was a great singer. | |
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I never really thought about it. I've loved RJ since backinthaday, and I just enjoyed his music- but I never thought, "Ooh, Rick can sing!"
I think he had a very powerful voice that fit the heavy groove of his music.  "Love Hurts. Your lies, they cut me. Now your words don't mean a thing. I don't give a damn if you ever loved me..." -Cher, "Woman's World" | |
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funksterr said: exenn said: I don't think that's what he was aiming for. His voice was powerful sometimes, I suppose, but the songs/arrangements always seemed to be the focus.
No actually Rick really was aiming to be a great singer. He saw himself as a balladeer. Seriously, I'm not kidding. I think he had a tremendous voice, so yes I'd say he was a great singer. Especially on songs like Happy and Fire and Desire. He's croonin' on those joints. And actually on some of the fast ones such as Fire It Up and SuperFreak etc. | |
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Yes and he is underrated. Listen to his ballads, he can sing. Prince believes he is a musical prophet that has been chosen by Jehova to guide his fans to the "truth". | |
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Rick had a great voice
it really fits on all of his tracks very emotional with his delivery You're so glam, every time I see you I wanna slam! | |
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Rick was influenced by Eddie Levert. He voice always fit well in his songs.
He wasn't a Johnny Mae oops I mean Johnny Gill type of singer or a Luther but he showcased his voice well in his songs. He never tried anything vocally that was out of his element. And considering he felt the heat from Prince at least he didn't try to bust out in a falsetto. [Edited 8/13/09 9:29am] "The first time I saw the cover of Dirty Mind in the early 80s I thought, 'Is this some drag queen ripping on Freddie Prinze?'" - Some guy on The Gear Page | |
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just listen to "When Love Is Gone" off of "Fire It Up" or "Fire & Desire" (although Teena owns it with her performance) If it breaks when it bends, U better not put it in! | |
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I will say that he definitely had a unique voice, and I suppose I could stand to revisit some of his ballads, since I mostly know him for his party anthems. | |
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Superfreak!   
Ohh purple joy oh purple bliss oh purple rapture! REAL MUSIC by REAL MUSICIANS - Prince "I kind of wish there was a reason for Prince to make the site crash more" ~~ Ben |
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moderatorRick had an awesome voice. His Ballads like "Fire & Desire", he was all over the place. A very strong chest voice! I actually think he was an underrated vocalist, perhaps because the Funk was usually the focus of the music. | |
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Absolutely not. I am sorry, but I always had to control my laughter when I heard him "belting" it out and sounding all pompous. He was just not my cup of tea in that regard. He always seemed to be trying too hard. LOL "Be glad for what you had baby, what you've got..." | |
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What is a chest voice? You mean he's a tenor? "Lack of home training crosses all boundaries." | |
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Yep. "Love In The Night" shows the different sounds of his voice. Andy is a four letter word. | |
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Rick James is that DUDE!!!!!
Motown should put out a "ballads" collection on him!!!!! | |
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His voice is perfectly suited for his funk cuts, for many of his slower cuts it doesn't however work always that well. You can easily hear that he knows how to write an R&B ballad, but to my ears it's almost as if he were always writing them for someone else than himself (well, considering his personal history that wouldn't be a surprise). For the occasional mid-tempo number, like "Glow", he could pull off really nice vocals though. [Edited 8/14/09 13:19pm] | |
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scriptgirl said: What is a chest voice? You mean he's a tenor?
It just means you're using your chest to form your voice, as opposed to just using your larynx and mouth. "Chest voice" is more powerful, "head voice" more frail - falsetto vocals for example would always fall under the latter category. You can feel the difference quite easily on the bodily level as well. The pressure can be localized either on your chest or more or less inside your mouth. | |
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Extremely powerful voice, but maybe not a great singer.
Better than me, though! | |
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.. [Edited 8/13/09 7:49am] | |
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novabrkr said: scriptgirl said: What is a chest voice? You mean he's a tenor?
It just means you're using your chest to form your voice, as opposed to just using your larynx and mouth. "Chest voice" is more powerful, "head voice" more frail - falsetto vocals for example would always fall under the latter category. You can feel the difference quite easily on the bodily level as well. The pressure can be localized either on your chest or more or less inside your mouth. Great explanation. I couldn't figure out how to word it. | |
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I just think Rick wasn't the greatest R&B balladeer ever because, frankly speaking, he wasn't a terribly sensitive man.  | |
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minneapolisFunq said: Rick had a great voice
it really fits on all of his tracks very emotional with his delivery This. I love his vocal delivery on the ballads too. | |
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scriptgirl said: I mean, would you say his voice is melodic and pleasant to listen to like Marvin, El's or Nat King Cole?
H-E-L-L to the N O! But there's a rich tone in his voice that's very similar to Eddie Levert's. But he doesn't really sing he usually just puts a lot of emphasis on his syllables. The texture of his voice is lovely but I don't think he ever had the ability to actually sing. | |
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what do you mean, he just put a lot of emphasis on his syllables? "Lack of home training crosses all boundaries." | |
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The one little thing is he and Teena made VERY prominent use of vibrato.
You know Beyonce' and Christina make use of runs? (Melimas) Well, Rick and Teena had that with the vibrato. "The first time I saw the cover of Dirty Mind in the early 80s I thought, 'Is this some drag queen ripping on Freddie Prinze?'" - Some guy on The Gear Page | |
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okay, what is vibrato and isn't chest voice your lower register, then? "Lack of home training crosses all boundaries." | |
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scriptgirl said: okay, what is vibrato and isn't chest voice your lower register, then?
It is like the sound Peter made with the Aaron Neville megaphone. http://www.youtube.com/wa..._RZ0t6JHF0 "The first time I saw the cover of Dirty Mind in the early 80s I thought, 'Is this some drag queen ripping on Freddie Prinze?'" - Some guy on The Gear Page | |
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