World renowned vocal group, VOCES8 prepares the Paul Simon classic, 59th Street Bridge Song/Feelin' Groovy arranged by Emily Dickens in rehearsal at the Gresham Centre in London.
And this, it says, is just a rehearsal? Wow. Thank you Voces8, for your amazing quality and versatility, then as now, 8 years later. Thank you Emily for your arrangement and joyful lead vocals. Wonderful, heartwarming music.
a really great feeling for this little groove that my parents were already listening, and through the years with Voces 8 with a small cloud of modernity. Congratulations friends! and thank you again for your amazing concert in Pierrefonds with the Madrigal of Compiegne. Cordially. I hope see you next time.
the girl that does the solo is a cute as a button...she hits a high note and then a higher note then she stands on a stack of phone books and tip toes and hits a higher note.
Maybe I'm just a crank, but this piece and Slap that Bass just don't feel like they have any swing. All the syncopations are perfectly executed, so you miss the "laid back" feel which is the whole point of the song.
I know what you mean. I think it's one part crank, one part missing the laid back feel of the original, and one part... something else. Having switched back and forth between singing sacred and "secular" tunes before, the difference is pretty immense. When coming from sacred repertoire, it always felt like we were "swinging" more than we actually were, and there wasn't enough "swing" in the groovy pieces. That said, it seems like this take voces8 (5?) does a decent job of having fun with the piece, and I felt they got some "swing" in there, even if it was "too perfect." Maybe it's difficult for that calibre of musician to execute imperfect rhythm...?
I agree. I love what Voces8 can do with sacred and folk music, but this just doesn't work for me. The original and the Harpers Bizarre version are so quaint and quirky, light and sunny. "Hello lamppost, what'cha knowing / I've come to watch your flowers growin'" That's more than swing, that's psychedelic whimsy, and charm which this too perfect version can't render.
