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Why is Jim Reeves a "dead end ???


tonequester

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The title says it all. The man died in 1963. Does anyone compare ? I realize that styles have changed, but where is that quality baritone. If anybody can suggest somebody to listen to, I'm all ears ! I have to admit that I am one who bemoans the "New Country". The singers all sound the same, and over-produced as well. For pure vocal ability who can touch Reeves. Also, the late Lefty Frizzell is more fresh and innovative than anyone today, 50 years later. I listen to more and more blues because "New Country": SUCKS ! All comments welcome,....tonequester.

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Pretty much the Zeitgeist principle, I would say.

 

These are the days of the so-called "global community", which is fast-paced and competitive, and where the working man or woman has access to a voice, through global media. For many people, the ability to drown out the opposition and get your message across physically, is what counts today, and it is reflected in most art forms. Aesthetics tends to be secondary.

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I'm in a dance band that plays a huge variety of songs. Probably close to a thousand tunes in our catalog. Among the many tunes we do are the following Jim Reeves tunes: He'll Have to Go, Am I Losing You, Four Walls, Welcome to My World, and Blue Side of Lonesome. We specialize in tunes going back as far as the 50's and beyond, whether Rock, Country, or all manner of Variety. Jim Reeves and many of the other great artists may be gone, but their music lives on.

 

Bob

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I don't think appreciating Jim Reeves' vocal abilities is "subjective" at all. Through the ages certain criteria have been commonly agreed upon when it comes to good singing. No less an expert than a reviewer for a British Opera magazine called Reeves -- a country/pop vocalist -- "the greatest male singer of the post-war era." This from an OPERA critic. But don't listen to Jim's early honky tonky hillbilly stuff which so predominates these days because it has passed into the public domain and labels are recycling it. He became known for his smooth, velvet baritone and polished style. You need to hear him at his best. I'm the producer of a new 8 CD set called "The Great Jim Reeves" that you can read about in Billboard magazine last Friday (the 615 column), or the Sunday World in Ireland newspaper, or Country Music People in the UK. It has gotten worldwide press. We isolated his vocals, remastered his tracks and then combined them with tasteful new instrumentation, using 31 world-class musicians, including current members of the Grand Ole Opry band. I also wrote a 672 page book called "Jim Reeves: His Untold Story." I agree with you that there ARE good singers around, but NOBODY sounds like Jim. He is the only artist in the history of recorded music to have scored 34 charted hits AFTER his death in a 1964 plane crash, knocked the Beatles off the top of the British charts in '66, and had hits for 20 years after he died. Plus I've released previously unissued tracks. See: http://www.jim-reeves.com

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Midtod. Glad you are furthering the listening experience of Reeves. I grew up listening to him, for my dad is a great fan. In my "book", only Lefty Frizzell and Ray Price compare, and the styles are completely different. It's amazing what the human voice can emote !..........tonequester.

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I've not knowingly heard Jim Reeves. Robert Goulet is about the only baritone I can think of. Maybe that Casanova soul guy - can't recall his name. I agree about that subjective BS. People have a lot of turds to sell. (it's rumored there's no way to dress 'em up) Upper management consortiums always have legal crews. You have the rights to enjoy anything and cultivate any demographic and you can basically have musical fraud under the auspices of subjectivity. BAU. nuthin' new.

- welcome to civility. :D

 

Me; I'm a believer in musical standards. They've been proving it gets better and better for centuries.

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