Soul Music

The title of this post has actually been taken from an excellent book by Sir Terry Pratchett, which I shall talk about some other day. Today's post is a short one on what I think is good music. There are artists, and there are artists. My personal litmus test for the good ones is simple. A good artist is one who can sing well without any  of the studio backups, enhancers and effects that modern musicians use. Not to say that I do not enjoy the kinds of music which do utilize the technology. I simply believe that the talent of an artist is best seen in live shows. Take a look at Nirvana with their Unplugged version of 'The Man Who Sold The World'.

I write about this today after hearing a Florence + The Machine performance of 'Shake It Out'. The power of her voice simply grips the mind and refuses to let go, much like a Nile crocodile with a zebra before it kills and eats it (Oops, wrong analogy). Like the Kraken grips the Black Pearl before taking it to Davy Jones' Locker.( Not helping?) Like my best friend will grip the nearest human hand in the presence of a cow.(Never mind.)          

Need a helping hand?

It must be kept in mind that the song is performed without any studio enhancement ( I'm looking at you B.E.P.). Now, is that talent or what? Here is the song in question.

And when she does sing in the studio, the results simply blow one away. Try listening to this one on headphones.