Sunday 21 August 2011

Annie's Song.


Hullo ma wee blog,

Don't tell my lovely G, but I may have feelings for another woman. Don't worry, it's not what you might think, but I have to confess I do love Annie Lennox.


Over the last couple of weeks I have been suffering from terrible insomnia.  During my night time sojourns to the internet I've spent a lot of time listening to music on the laptop while I've either been reading or checking out the latest from the blogs I follow.



During that time I have rekindled my love affair with Annie Lennox, rather – with her voice. I've always loved the quality of her voice, which I feel has a rare perfection. I thought she had tremendous range and clarity and also I thoroughly enjoyed most of the music she was making at any time. She is a great singer/song-writer who can create some beautiful, intelligent lyrics. Oddly, for someone like me who loves live music and has been to numerous concerts over the years she's one performer I have never seen. She's often on my playlist through the night and I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting old favourites as well as the more recent material from her. Her voice if anything, has grown richer over the years and I was struck once again by the beautiful clarity that she has. While her voice was always pure she now has a richness to it that could be lacking in the past. I occasionally felt that her voice was so pure that it would veer into a kind of brittle clarity that was cold and steely, perfect for some somgs but not for others. Despite that, her voice has always had such an alluring hold over me that I found her irresistible to listen to. As well as that voice and creativity, I appreciate her emotional intelligence, humanity and her political views.  She would be one of those welcome dinner guests you'd love to sit around a dinner table with and share a few glasses of wine with as the conversation flowed.

I hope you like these examples of what I have been trying - and probably failing - to explain adequately.



See you later.

19 comments:

Owen said...

Dear Alistair,
I've been a bit remiss about blogging of late, for the reasons which you apparently well understood whilst gazing at disappearing Magic Chouffe beer, and dastardly delicious desserts of herculean composition...

Without any doubt, your straight from the heart comment of "Damn you sir! Damn you! {Blunders off salivating}" is one of the finest comments ever received over the last three years of blogging... rarely have I laughed so heartily. Even my parents (in their 80's) communicated their delight with your choice words. A comment does not have to be written in volumes like War and Peace in order to convey a clear message; your "Damn you sir!" is worthy of Shakespeare, you have succeeded in delighting me, and I thank you for that. I hope to slowly begin getting back up to blogging speed after the summer break...

Ah, and I do hope as you blundered off drooling that you did not slip in a puddle of saliva and do yourself any injury, I would certainly not want to have been the cause of any untowardly accident...

Be well, good sir,

Your Damn-ned blogging correspondent...

Owen said...

PS oh yes, and I can see why Annie Lennox has been on your playlist, quite enchanting, one could almost drool over her voice just as easily as over a seaside dessert...

Alistair said...

Owen, – shucks you've got me blushing now!

Damn you Sir. Damn you!

Cheers.

diamond dave said...

One Annie Lennox fave I've been listening to as of late is an old Eurythmics tune, "I Need You". If you've never heard it before (I suspect you have), check it out on Youtube. That song is where I really fall in love with her voice.

Other fave female voices of mine include Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt, Natalie Merchant, Sarah McLachlan, Chrissie Hynde... to name a feww.

Alistair said...

Double Diamond Dave. – Ah, yes another great track too.

And check, check, check on the list except Natalie Merchant but I have a sneaking suspicion I should go and check her out! And to name a few more; Janis Ian, Patti Smith, Judy Tsuke and Suzanne Vega.

I see we share a liking for Pink Floyd too...

diamond dave said...

If you're serious about checking out Natalie Merchant, look up her performance on David Letterman of "Build A Levee" on Youtube. Great song, great voice, and beautiful woman.

Alistair said...

Just had a look at that - and another track called 'Motherland' - and you're right. Fabby voice.

One for my collection.

Thanks Dave.

Antares Cryptos said...

I completely agree.

And she never sold out to "the fame". The music is complex enough that I'll be listening to it decades from now.

Antares Cryptos said...

P.S. Sorry you're still suffering from Insomnia, I can't imagine.

Alistair said...

Timeless, I agree absolutely...

and thanks.

Cheers.

Indigo Roth said...

Hey Alistair! I too have a fondness for the vocal talents of Ms. Lennox. But they're no substitute for sleep, and I hope that part of your day settles down very soon. Indigo

Alistair said...

Hullo Indigo, Thanks - I'm working on it....

DB Stewart said...

Here I go again with the long lost brother feeling. Annie Lennox's voice cuts right to my core.

Alistair said...

Dear Long-lost,

So glad we found each other again.


......about that million bucks you owe me.....?

Rebecca S. said...

Don't tell my husband...I love Annie Lennox too. And I always will ;)
She was always a favourite and when I saw her perform at the Grammy's a couple of years ago I was completely blown away...again!

Jane said...

Hm, something kind of weird's going on here! Check out the new choir song we started to learn the night after you wrote this post Al(this is our first full sing through of it, after about 20 minutes of teaching)..
http://www.youtube.com/user/heartylass28#p/u/3/GexO4vw-wBw

Alistair said...

Not bad at all!!!

Great song choice.....

Philip Gorman said...

I have connected with the voice and energy of Ms. Lennox from the very first song I heard as a child and still to this day consider her my favorite female singer. This is saying much as I love the female voice and have many that I quite enjoy. There is a quality of her's that speaks to my soul and to my mind. Her album Bare, to me, was an amazing naked and raw emotional portrait of a human being in pain and tranformation. I admire her charitable work and see this as an extension of the love she has for humanity. I have been blessed to see her live twice so far and look forward in the opportunity to do so again.

Alistair said...

Thanks for the comment Philip. I, as you can tell from the post, feel the same way. I hope you enjoyed the tracks I chose and that you get to see her again sometime. I'm fair jealous!

Drop in anytime.
Cheers,
Alistair

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