Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Farrel: Vocal Powerhouse

Today I was listening to one of my all time favourite tracks by the Rolling Stones, entitled "Gimme Shelter" off the 1969 album "Let It Bleed". Undoubtably one of the strongest "message" songs ever written and released on the last album Brian Jones featured on. If you don't know about the song, or the album I advise you to research as soon as possible. Merry Clayon's vocal on the track is out of this world and I must say that Lisa Fischer's live version with the Rolling Stones at Paradiso. Anyways, let me get to Farrel. 

I always look around youtube for covers of the song and I happened to stumble upon her cover a few hours ago. Needless to say, when I see a singer using an instrumental, instead of a band or just a guitar, I'm not impressed. However, fifteen year old (at the time) Farrel's version blew my head off. I never imagined the song with a full female vocal and I must admit I really liked it. All I kept thinking was "Why doesn't this girl have a band?" Of course, people ask me the same question and I have my personal reasons, so I'm not in the right position to judge her for that. She's a strong singer with lungs of steel and I am so glad she put them to the test on "Gimme Shelter". I heard Keith Richards tell a story in an interview a couple years ago about him and John Lennon. Well, the two of them used to hang out and John, was particularly fond of hanging out with the Rolling Stones so he could be a "Stone" for the night. During one of their discussions Keith pointed out that the Beatles rock but the Stones rock & roll. Well, I think Farrel can rock & roll, and her voice is so right for this song! Check it out!


Absolutely fantastic. If only she could get a decent band to back her up. Musicians can be so fussy and hard to work with nowadays. But if Mick & Keith could do it, I think anyone can. Let's hope Farrel gets something together, in terms of a band. I looked through her other videos and found a bunch of covers, some with friends on an instrument or two, and some with instrumentals. Let me note to guitar lovers out there that she has a cover of "The A Team" (Ed Sheeran), where a man accompanies her on a Gretsch Falcon. One of my favourite guitars.

She has some good covers up and a few that I wasn't too fond of but one that I really liked was of Aretha Franklin's classic "Natural Woman". Aretha Franklin is a classic for big voiced people out there. And I think that Farrel does a damn good version, considering her age and the fact that she's using an instrumental! The dynamics of her voice are so powerful and inconsistent that they give this song a great sound and vibration. When I say "inconsistent" I don't mean her vocals vary between good and bad (as that is purely subjective). I mean that her vocals can go from powerful and loud to quiet and contained. I was curious what microphone she was using on the track, since it fit her voice so well. I'm guessing it's the classic SM58, which is perfect for people with dynamic voices, but I could be wrong, it could be another dynamic microphone. Have a listen and check out that sound!


Farrel has got such a strong voice and it sounds just right with "big" songs. That's why I wasn't too fond of a couple covers she did where it seemed that she was trying to control her voice and keep it steady. If you're born with a big voice and you can blow it out the way she does, you should really use it. Imagine if Janis Joplin tried to sound like the Beach Boys, wouldn't that be a loss? In any case, Farrel's so young she can really do whatever she wants and experiment here and there.

And, talking about experimenting, it seems that she's done just that with her originals. I listened to an original of hers called "Party", and I wasn't too crazy about it. Not because it isn't rock & roll, but because of the production. Her vocals are pushed forward in the verse and pulled back in the chorus, which sounds a lot better, but overall the song sounds very compressed. Quite honestly, I think it's a brave thing to release a song of your own and be open to the world's opinions. During my time in recording studios and during my whole experience with writing my own "stuff" I came to realise that real instruments are incredibly important. There was a time when they were almost "extinct" from popular music but I feel that popular music nowadays tries to incorporate reality into the electronic sound. Bruno Mars, for example has a whole lot real instruments on his recordings, and that makes it so much more exciting. To come to a conclusion on "Party", I feel like it's a good song that doesn't fully represent Farrel, and I was little disappointed about that but then again it's her first EP so, who knows what's next... Anyways, listen to "Party", which is a little reminiscent of J-Lo's more recent albums, and feel free to disagree with my comments about the production side of it. In any case, I'm very glad I came across Farrel today, and I'll be keeping an eye on her! Check back tomorrow for another fantastic artist!


Alex Hamel

3 comments:

  1. Seems to have some voice indeed. :) But the dancing looks kinda silly to me - tries a bit too hard there...LOL IMHO she should concentrate more on the singing, instead of that visual aspect. ;)

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    1. It's a matter of taste really. I personally think she "moves like Jagger". It is a performance in any case!

      A.H.

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  2. Yup, I guess there will be a lot of people that will like those moves too. :) Hehe...

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