Peter Forte: Promising Sound

I hope you all enjoyed the wonderful Melanie Wehbe yesterday and ready for another beautiful youtube artist I'd like to introduce you to! I only discovered Peter Forte this morning and have to say that his last name is so fitting to the power of his vocals. They're so strong, not only dynamically speaking but emotionally. They are rich with a certain raspy quality that only gives more depth to his already fascinating voice. For the first time on this blog, I'm writing about a youtube artist who hasn't uploaded any original pieces, not for any other reason except that I feel he has got some original material under his belt that he might not be ready to let out yet. Hopefully, if he does, he shares it soon because I have a feeling it would be tremendous. I'll update you if he does.

Well, the cover of his that caught my attention was of Michael Jackson's masterpiece "Man In The Mirror, of the 1987 album "Bad". For once in my life, I heard someone really nail that intro on an acoustic guitar, which most people tend to skip when playing the song on acoustic guitar. Not only did he keep the rhythm tight with his melodic approach to the guitar but he really followed the song and let the song unravel vocally. As I've written before, I truly admire artists who get out of the way of the music and let it just happen. There are too many artists who try to control the song, the sound and the feeling. Even if there are minor mistakes at times, they are "good" mistakes that add to the honesty of the song. Listen to Peter's cover now and make sure you watch the video to catch his little capo change at 2.44. Truly amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOoXx4jzrpg

I really love the way he approached the song and although you hear him getting tired towards the end of the song, you also hear him press himself to an extreme that gives the sound more urgency and honesty. One guitar, one voice and no editing tricks. This is a true artist who could probably knock the socks off most artists signed to major record labels these days. Now, my question remains, can he write good songs? I have a feeling he can and hope we find out. Now, the next cover of his that caught my attention was quite different but equally brilliant. It was of Oasis' "Champagne Supernova". It was uploaded a little earlier than "Man In The Mirror" and features him on piano, as well as guitar. The recording is quite a bit clearer and his vocal approach is much more gentle than his the Michael Jackson super song. I used to watch American Idol, and found it extremely corny when a judge would say "You chose the perfect song!", and I'm no judge but I feel that "Champagne Supernova" is such a perfect song to show off the details of his vocals. You hear so much detail in his raspy sound and every crack in the lyrics that gives the song so much power. Feel free to disagree with me, but have a listen and see what you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j1u72Nrc44

Such a great cover and the video is good too. I forgot to mention with "Man In The Mirror" that Peter must be using a good microphone since he can really put pressure on his vocals and they don't distort. Every singer out there has a particular voice and finding the right microphone can be a tough job but I feel that Peter's microphone is good enough for his youtube covers. I only hope he comes up with some originals and promotes himself a little more because he's definitely got something to him! Check him out on Facebook (Peter Forte Music) and listen to his Valentine's Day upload there! Check back tomorrow for another fantastic artist and don't forget that you can now find "Youtube's Underground Music Scene" on Facebook where updates and videos are posted daily!

Alex Hamel