Ӣ The Silver Lining: The Songs Of Jerome Kern
Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap
[RPM Records/Columbia Records]
Ӣ Shadows In The Night
Bob Dylan
[Columbia]
Ӣ Stages
Josh Groban
[Reprise]
Ӣ No One Ever Tells You
Seth MacFarlane
[Republic]
Ӣ My Dream Duets
Barry Manilow (& Various Artists)
[Verve Music Group]
This is crazy! One of her best in years! The other’s do not compare. I have both seth’s and Barry’s and they do not stand up to It’s the girls……..
Well, all of the nominees in this category have a “gimmick” of sorts, as Bette would have also, singing classic girl-group standards. However, her snub seems all too blatant in light of the fact that her “gimmick” was far superior to the others:
Tony Bennett: At 89 years old, the guy has lost has vocal prowess, and he actually lost it decades ago. I’m always miffed at every Grammy nomination and award he receives, as it’s become a bit of a joke that no matter what he does, his nomination is obligatory in the world of Grammy. His voice crackles, he strains to hit any note, and he’s always been considered a second-rate Sinatra, whose vocal talents were far superior to Bennett’s at the same age (any age, it doesn’t matter). I could never figure out why Grammy is so in love with Bennett. Everything he does gets nominated. And he usually wins. Keeping with the theme of “Broadway”, Tony’s likely to walk away with the statue again.
Bob Dylan: Bobby decided to go the Rod Stewart route, and sing “crooner classics” such as “Some Enchanted Evening” and other staple standards. It didn’t work. His screechy, raspy voice does not lend itself to that genre of music–but, because he’s a rock God, he gets nominated for veering out of safe-space territory, into the realm of the execrable. His album rates the lowest on Amazon with an unusually inexcusable 3.6 out of 5 stars. Most people ranked it 1 out of 5 stars, which is a big miss for the big D. If any entry needs to be tossed out of this nomination category, sadly, this is the one. I’m still a Dylan fan, as I’m sure Bette is also, but this effort was a major league head scratcher, in addition to being a pretty big fail. If you’re an Amazon Seller and your product averages a 3.6 out of 5, your product is usually yanked for sale. Seriously, go on Amazon and try to find lower scores. They’re hard to find.
Josh Groban: The guy has singing chops, and his gimmick is singing all Broadway tunes. Streisand did it a couple decades ago, a couple times, with great success, so let’s continue to repeat the gimmick. It’s working this year with Tony Bennett, and actually it’s been done so many times, that it’s become the Grammy Magic Bullet. And, speaking of Streisand, her latest Duets album didn’t get nominated either. I guess Bette’s in good company when she got the same snub that Barbara did. More about that next, but I do have to thank Grammy for not nominating Aretha Franklin in this category–at least they got one right.
Barry Manilow: Well, I guess we can all be a little happy for Barry. However, his Duets album didn’t stack up to the critical success or acclaim that Babs received for her Duets album, which wasn’t nominated. And the gimmick was clever, but pretty thin–singing alongside previously recorded standards from famous vocalists. Isn’t that what they call karaoke? Also, only 11 songs on the CD? This was a sing-along–kind of like what we all do in the shower when our favorite old standard gets played on the radio, while we’re getting the suds out of our ears. I do like Barry, but his vocal accompaniments really added nothing to the originals. Bette, at least, had quite a few “wow” moments on “It’s the Girls”, such as her heart-wrenching, vocally perfect version of “Waterfalls”.
Seth McFarlane: So, the funny guy can sing. Let’s give him a Grammy nomination. Another gimmick, of taking old standards, and re-singing them fairly well. This CD sold practically zero, with zip marketing, and a few rabid fans raving over how wonderful it is. I like Seth as a person, a personality, and a comic. However, his voice is paper-thin, with little range, and anyone out there probably has a relative or friend that can sing just as well.
In summation, I guess if John Wayne were alive to record a Broadway album, he’d get a Grammy nomination, too.
P.S. I’d even like to quibble with a couple other nomination choices: Taylor Swift’s “Style” or “Shake It Off” were so much better than “Blank Space”, and Pentatonix’ “White Winter Hymnal” was also superior to their nominated “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”. Grammy really got it wrong this year–even when they chose some of the right artists.
Fabulous summation. I love reading you. xx
So sick of the snubs. She deserves EVERY award. I have a feeling her and her team do not campaign like the other artists. Shame because it truly is an A+ album. Every track is a gem.
You’re right. Bette has never been a campaigner…not even for the The Rose Oscar. The only time I remember her playing the game was with the release of For The Boys and that probably really soured her.