The Voice (Bobby McFerrin album)
Occupation
The Voice is a solo album of the singer Bobby McFerrin. The album is considered a landmark in the history of jazz. It is the first jazz album of a singer without accompaniment or without a technical doubling his voice at all.
The album
Unlike the debut album of the singer, a conventional studio production with backing band, was his second album The Voice during a series of solo concerts, which denied McFerrin from 17 to 26 March, 1984 in Germany.
Stylistically tied McFerrin here to predecessors such as Jon Hendricks on to emancipate " the human voice on the context of the accompanying instruments ." He was there both " governor and innovator of a wide-ranging tradition. " His voice he summed up as the body's arrested, sat circular breathing as well as a shock to the throat or chest, and extremely rapid jumps register. " Once, unwanted background noise such as breathing, smacking, bubbling became members, coloring constituents of expression. " It McFerrin continued the staff stylistics of the original artist for the song that he quoted and commented in vocalizations. He sings in the aesthetics of the Beatles Blackbird arpeggioartig with the art of the Baroque style brisé both the guitar part and the vocal part, whistles, mimics the beating of the wings of the bird, and even makes an echo device after. In I Feel Good, he satirizes the screams of James Brown, only to take over the brass figures and breaks of the original, which he continues in his improvisation. Another highlight of the album is, according to the Rolling Stone his original "I'm My Own Walkman ". In A-Train, he goes into a " fabulous parody " of Scattens from the scat.
Title list
Unless otherwise indicated, text and melody by Bobby McFerrin.
Reception
The Voice was seen as a " sensation". Allmusic awarded the maximum five stars and recommended the album " without restrictions". The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide rated the album as well as its predecessor with four stars. Robert Christgau feels despite the virtuosity and the game wit some passages musically little outstanding: So he knew more inspiring solos Donna Lee.