James Taylor

[sachmo63]

Watching James Taylor singing God Bless America at the Inauguration is one of the most beautiful things i've ever seen.

[Markus]

It was. Started a little shaky but sure was nice.

[Caboose66]

I could watch/listen to James Taylor sing the phone book as long as he was pickin' along with it. Saw him in concert a couple of summers ago which was on my "bucket list". Outstanding!! If you've not seen him live, look for an opportunity to do so.

Dean

[allenhopkins]

Good singing all around: Taylor, Kelly Clarkson, Beyonce, gospel choir from Brooklyn. Got a little weary of some of the arrangements: "Hey, bet you were expecting the 'five chord' here, but let me thrown in a flatted thingumajig instead just to surprise you!" But overall, top-notch.

Remember the Cafe controversy from four years ago, when the string quartet with Yo Yo Ma et. al. was "bow synching" to a recording? Guess that wasn't an issue today.

[45ACP-GDLF5]

Watching James Taylor singing God Bless America at the Inauguration is one of the most beautiful things i've ever seen.


Really?? You don't get out much do you?

[jaycat]

Really?? You don't get out much do you?

Aw, let's give him a break. Not everyone has seen this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOd64IqJJ1c

[rb3868]

James Taylor just seems like an extremely down-to-earth person. and he's sold 100 million + albums. I was 15 when I first saw him - a benefit concert for Harry Chapin's World Hunger Year at Detroit's Olympia Stadium. It was him, Chapin, John Denver and Gordon Lightfoot with Lightfoot's guitarist Terry Clements the only other performer on stage. wow, what a show that was

[sachmo63]

45ACP, sorry should have pm'd you for YOUR advice............................!

[journeybear]

James Taylor did do a very nice job, even with the altered chords and finger-picking patterns, which suited the old war horse yet presented it in a fresh way (and why have there been no requests for tabs ... yet? :)) ). Beyoncé did a fine job too - I especially liked how she pulled out her ear monitor and winged it. She clearly has a fine voice and ear, and doesn't need much if any help. The other two ... well, yes, choir directors and vocal arrangers sometimes go overboard trying to find new ways to present extremely frequently performed material, and the choral arrangement went pretty far off course, even if it ended up back on track. Listeners ought to be able to recognize the song at most points of it. Kelly Clarkson's version was also hard to follow, in much the same way. I'm in favor of sticking to the melody, even if you're singing three verses, even if you're trying to make it special for a special occasion. But overall, this was an enjoyable experience, and perhaps "thought-provoking" is a good way to characterize the alterations. ;)

[Cheryl Watson]

I always love to hear/see James Taylor. He's one of my favorites. I have failed to see him live in concert, but I will one day. It's hard to sing in the cold and his mic maybe needed a touch of reverb or something to sweeten it. His guitar stayed pretty much in tune which is miraculous in that cold weather.

[shortymack]

I didnt catch his performance but I did see Beyonce hack the national anthem. Why some singers do that always hits a nerve with me. Im all for artist interpretation on any song EXCEPT for the anthem. It should be respected and sung as it is written IMO.

[jmp]

Apparently the news is reporting that Beyonce lip-synced the national anthem.

[Cheryl Watson]

Apparently the news is reporting that Beyonce lip-synced the national anthem.

This makes sense because her vocal was very sweetened while James Taylor's voice sounded more like a raw, live vocal performance.

[farmerjones]

This is how hep i am: i found out through this thread JT was even performing in Wash.

But all this also prompted me to go to jamestaylor.com. The Cat has free online guitar lessons! To which he, himself gives away all the goods under an HD camera. Is re-infatuated a word?

[eadg145]

Well, it's certainly possible that Beyonce was lip-syncing the national anthem. I was even wondering as I listened, since it was so sweet sounding. However, I'm quite sure she was actually singing it, as I could see her throat moving exactly in sync with her vibrato. It's possible they sent something different over the speakers, but I do believe she was singing it. I'm certainly no Beyonce fan, and I moaned when she was introduced, but I was really impressed with that performance and now have a little more respect.

As to James Taylor, be sure you go see him live if you can!

[re simmers]

I found America the Beautiful, but not God Bless America.

I can't say he's bad, but not much better than average. Ronan Tynan would have been my choice. Just a matter of taste!

Bob

[Eddie Sheehy]

Really?? You don't get out much do you?

Would you have stated that if you were using your real name? Easy to hide behind a user id.

[Eddie Sheehy]

Yep, Bed, Bath, and Beyonce were all lip-synching...

[rb3868]

The marine band was faking it. I don't think Beyonce was lip-synching. If she was, it was the best job of it I've ever seen. I've looked at video of it three or four times since I heard that rumor

[Bernie Daniel]

The marine band was faking it. I don't think Beyonce was lip-synching. If she was, it was the best job of it I've ever seen. I've looked at video of it three or four times since I heard that rumor

The entire number band and singer were pre-recorded -- it's not a rumor it was confirmed.

[journeybear]

I've seen differing reports. Some say she was live but the band was not; some say the band was live but she was not. It seems to me it's a pretty simple question that can be explained with a straightforward answer. When one isn't forthcoming one can't help but be suspicious. Hard to believe no one seems to know exactly what went on, or at least is willing to say so. Yet. I haven't seen a report from a reliable source confirming what happened one way or another. Yet. I'm sure it will all be sorted out soon enough. Until it does, I am not ready to consider Perez Hilton a reliable source.

[foldedpath]

The latest from the NYT and NPR is that the Marine band was "band syncing" to a pre-recorded track, and Beyonce had recorded a safety track on Sunday night before the event, in case it had to be used. The Marine Band doesn't know if she was live or not (they weren't running the PA), and apparently nobody from the Beyonce crew is sayin'. So there you go... for now, until someone clears the air.

FWIW, she's scheduled to sing at the upcoming Superbowl halftime show, and it's standard practice (now), to lip-sync there, with so much money on the line. One would assume it's something she has practiced.... whether or not it was used at the Inauguration.

Sources:

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/marine-band-confirms-beyonce-inauguration-performance-was-pre-recorded/?hp&gwh=B31DDF568861C32649BC75CAA16660FA

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/01/22/169992779/beyonces-national-anthem-was-pre-recorded-marine-band-says

P.S. I enjoyed seeing and hearing James Taylor's performance. Sweetly sung, without all the melismatic warbling that's so popular now.

[45ACP-GDLF5]

Would you have stated that if you were using your real name? Easy to hide behind a user id.


YES I would have, and I'm not hiding. I've had this user id for several years now. It's an option here and there are a LOT of members that don't use their real name. Get used to it.

[nrand]

James Taylor just seems like an extremely down-to-earth person. and he's sold 100 million + albums. I was 15 when I first saw him - a benefit concert for Harry Chapin's World Hunger Year at Detroit's Olympia Stadium. It was him, Chapin, John Denver and Gordon Lightfoot with Lightfoot's guitarist Terry Clements the only other performer on stage. wow, what a show that was

Speaking of down to earth, I had responsibility for one of JT's touring shows when he came to Melbourne around 1990. In my job there I got pretty accustomed to massive egos making excessive demands on everyone around the place. JT came in one afternoon with a gunny sack over his shoulder, came up to me and asked, 'Hey man, can you tell me where I can find a washing machine?'
It was the first and only time I met a touring star who washed his own clothes, and I worked with hundreds.
His performances were stunning yet simple; one of only two solo artists I ever saw who could hold an audience of 15,000 for two hours without an overblown production. The other was Diana Ross.

[Steelee]

Some folks like James Taylor: some like listening to Meatloaf.

I watched the Inaugural on TV - America The Beautiful - one man, his voice and his guitar - simple, sweet, melodic, and like America - beautiful.

The man has turned his life around from drugs and alcohol and near destruction, to a man of peace and a committment not only to music but to many social causes.

Does anyone else remember his first Apple album?

[Steve Ostrander]

I saw JT and his son Ben on tour in East Lansing a couple years ago. I enjoyed him very much. He has a very dry sense of humor.
A year before that he was on tour with Carole King. That would have been the ultimate show for my wife, who loves Carole King. Me, not so much.....

[mandocrucian]

Good 40 minute long interview with JT on Charlie Rose last night. Watching it on a repeat right now. Will tape it when one of the the other DC area PBS stations airs it at noon. (One of the advantages - staggered airings - of getting four different PBS stations: MPT, VPT, WNET, WHUT)

[EdHanrahan]

Does anyone else remember his first Apple album?

Yikes!! You just took me back to the winter of '69, hanging with a bunch of friends and ...

[Laird]

Yikes!! You just took me back to the winter of '69, hanging with a bunch of friends and ...

I was only a kid, and more into The Monkees and The Beatles, but I'd caught up by '73 and loved me some JT. I do want to recommend a book I read last winter about his second album, Sweet Baby James (as well as some other notable albums): Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970, by David Browne.

http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Rain-Beatles-Garfunkel-Taylor/dp/B00ANYA7VU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358975174&sr=1-1&keywords=1970

When I was listening to CSNY Deja Vu in the mid-seventies, I thought it was the best thing ever. Reading this book (and about the dysfunction involved in recording Deja Vu) helped me appreciate Stills' brilliance as an arranger/multi-instrumentalist, but it also sent me back to the first CSN album, which is a classic.

It's hard, I think, to appreciate how ground-breaking some of these albums were without a sense of what else was being played on the radio at the time, before FM took off.

[journeybear]

Yikes!! You just took me back to the winter of '69, hanging with a bunch of friends and ...

... just knocking 'round the zoo, on a Thursday afternoon ... :whistling:

[Mike Romkey]

James Taylor is a wonderful songwriter and performer. I take his pronouncements about politics every bit as seriously as I do George Clooney's thoughts on bluegrass.

[rb3868]

JT came in one afternoon with a gunny sack over his shoulder, came up to me and asked, 'Hey man, can you tell me where I can find a washing machine?'
It was the first and only time I met a touring star who washed his own clothes, and I worked with hundreds.

Clapton regularly goes to laundromats when he is touring. He's said it helps him feel grounded.


His performances were stunning yet simple; one of only two solo artists I ever saw who could hold an audience of 15,000 for two hours without an overblown production. The other was Diana Ross.

one from each end of the "self-importance" spectrum

[yankees1]

James Taylor is no doubt a very good singer but--------------after listening to his music all night/every night as the pot heads used their water bongs I can no longer listen to any James Taylor music ! :)

[Eddie Sheehy]

The first vinyl album I bought was "Sweet Baby James". i still have it. Although the second one was Jethro Tull's "Stand Up"... no accounting for taste...

[GTison]

Did they have a mandolin in the band?

[Jeffff]

Hey! Stand Up was a great record... for it's time and place.

Context is everything..:)

[journeybear]

The first vinyl album I bought was "Sweet Baby James". i still have it. Although the second one was Jethro Tull's "Stand Up"... no accounting for taste...

Yeah, really. One of those is great, full of insightful songwriting and inventive musicianship. The other ... well, it's all a mater of taste. :popcorn:

BTW, this just in. Sorry, all I got was the first page. I suppose one can improvise the rest:

97360

[belbein]

James Taylor just seems like an extremely down-to-earth person. and he's sold 100 million + albums. I was 15 when I first saw him - a benefit concert for Harry Chapin's World Hunger Year at Detroit's Olympia Stadium. It was him, Chapin, John Denver and Gordon Lightfoot with Lightfoot's guitarist Terry Clements the only other performer on stage. wow, what a show that was OMG, I would have loved to have been there. Though to my mind Lightfoot hasn't really stood the test of time as well as the others. But maybe it's a no-shipwrecks phase I'm going through.

[Mike Romkey]

"Stand Up" ... yeah, that was one of my first! I loved that bit of Bach....

[Steve L]

OMG, I would have loved to have been there. Though to my mind Lightfoot hasn't really stood the test of time as well as the others. But maybe it's a no-shipwrecks phase I'm going through.

This is all a matter of taste and opinion, but I think Gordon Lightfoot as a singer and a songwriter is heads and shoulders above Harry Chapin or John Denver (who are both quite good). I have a lot of respect for James Taylor, but if I had to choose between seeing him or Lightfoot, I'd go for Lightfoot.

[AlanN]

For all the JT talk here, did he ever have a mandolin on his records? Seem to recall Dawggy played on one...

[EdHanrahan]

Whoa again! You guys just keep taking me back...

Opening ceremony of the '88 Winter Olympics in Calgary on TV, and suddenly there's a duet by locals Gordon Lightfoot & Ian Tyson, just my favorite singer of all time!

[JEStanek]

Didn't we do this 4 years ago as well?

ka-sHA74N40

Jamie

[Laird]

This is all a matter of taste and opinion, but I think Gordon Lightfoot as a singer and a songwriter is heads and shoulders above Harry Chapin or John Denver (who are both quite good). I have a lot of respect for James Taylor, but if I had to choose between seeing him or Lightfoot, I'd go for Lightfoot.

I listened to an awful lot of Gordon Lightfoot as a young'un--even had a dream once, literally, based on "The Canadian Railroad Trilogy"--but the one time I saw him live in Portland, OR, he was so obviously not excited to be there that it ever after spoiled him for me. Really, just going through the motions, and even then not with any conviction.

Hearing him mentioned now takes me back, though, to those heavenly summer days spent hitching across Canada in the late seventies. Maybe I'll give him another try.

Just listened to samples of songs I remembered fondly. Where did all that syrupy orchestration come from?! Interesting what our memories edit out.

[journeybear]

Didn't we do this 4 years ago as well?

This stuff does keep coming back. And will continue to do so until someone from the Beyoncé camp speaks up. The longer it takes for that to happen, the more likely it seems that there is something to hide, or the more the notion that there is something to hide gets support. In recent talk show appearances by Aaron Neville and LeAnn Rimes the question came up and both expressed a sort of "Who cares?" opinion. I just looked at the footage again, and I can't see anything to indicate she was lip-synching. In football terms, after reviewing the tape, there is no enough irrefutable visual evidence to support overturning the call, so the ruling on the field stands. For the time being, of course. ;) Either way, she did a fine job, whether it was live or whether the producers of the event ran the pre-recorded track - in which case she showed an additional talent in lip-synching so perfectly. It’s too bad this sort of speculation diverts attention away from what was a stirring performance, however it was done, and even if it came close to stepping over the bounds between accurate rendition and overdoing the interpretation. Generally I prefer the latter, and she was pushing it with the interpretation, but I was willing to let it slide. And still am … for now. ;)

Amid all the hub-bub, people have been running lists of previous gaffes in this area, with the Yo Yo Ma deal being mentioned (I missed that before, somehow) and Milli Vanilli on top of everyone’s list, deservedly so. That was an intentional fraud, after all, that went way too far. My favorite is Ashlee Simpson on Saturday Night Live a few years back. It says “Live" right in the show’s title, dearie! :))

5RrLAgi_mBY

[mandocrucian]

Hey! Stand Up was a great record... for it's time and place.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__f7TJa6zgu4/S-VoKQUxnXI/AAAAAAAAAf4/ni7nG2HZIz8/s1600/jethro_tull_stand_up.jpg
It still is a great record. (And still gets rotation time in my car deck.)

I had my old LP copy jacket (with the inside pop-up) autographed by Ian and Martin during the Broadsword Beast tour. (Dave Pegg got me and my brother comped in and backstage)

[Steve Ostrander]

Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970, by David Browne.



Read that. Right now I'm reading Miss O'Dell by Chris O'Dell.

As for Jethro Tull, my partner and I play Mother Goose and Reason for Waiting. The timing on Reason for Waiting gives me fits.
Ian plays some mandolin, as well as Dave Pegg.

[tmsweeney]

I saw JT for the first time in my life at Tanglewood last year

a few times he started singing and nothing came out - but when it did it was a voice to be reckoned with
at any rate it was great show
James himself admitted he only has like 12 tunes - everything else is just a variation of one of those - hey "Style is based on limitations-John Hartford"

some of our younger friends consider JT elevator music - ( alas youth is wasted on the young)
truth is JT was one record my parents could appreciate - they didn't care to much for Neil Young or Black Sabbath

I do remember hearing him do Joni Mitchell's Woodstock on the Howard Stern Show several years ago
I didn't know who it was but when he started singing I recognized the voice and had to pull over - powerfull stuff

Now James is also a fantastic guitar player ( I'm not a huge John Denver fan - but if you watch him play he was also quite a talented guitarist)

I guess people who love him don't want him to fade - but the years are showing
if I look as good as he does at his age - I'll be happy
so if he starts shaky or sounds a little rough - I'm the last one to criticize - to be up there working and giving the 200% + that he does is impressive enough and I hope inspiring to all the musicians out there.

[Astro]

OK tired of reading all this without a link to what we're talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-aop2UzOzY

No pretense. Starts playing within 5 seconds of getting the guitar on. Plays live in the cold in front of the President of the US and 300 million people on National TV. Leaves within 2 seconds of finishing with his usual shy bow.

Fine job JT.

If only you'd played mando you could have been somebody.:)

[re simmers]

Lightfoot has so much emotion and feeling in his lyrics, melodies and his voice. In comparison, Taylor is elevator music.

On one live recording Taylor throws in the "F" word to get the crowd's emotions up.....pretty weak. Maybe he spent too much time doing laundry.

Bob

[John Kinn]

That's a great performance. The Olsen sounds great too.

[John Kinn]

That's a great performance. The Olson sounds great too.
Oops: Double post. Sorry. But Olson was spelt in the Norwegian manner the first time..

[Laird]

OK tired of reading all this without a link to what we're talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-aop2UzOzY

Thanks so much! I'd been looking for a video. Sweet and simple.

[mandocrucian]

In comparison, Taylor is elevator music.

Let us all know what Tony Rice thinks after you tell him that!

[mandocrucian]

Check out this "elevator music"...."Shenandoah" (http://www.openculture.com/2013/01/tom_waits_and_keith_richards_sing_sea_song_shenand oah.html)

http://www.amazon.com/Son-Rogues-Gallery-Ballads-Chanteys/dp/tracks/B00AITV2NM/ref=dp_tracks_all_1#disc_1

[dcoventry]

James Taylor is no doubt a very good singer but--------------after listening to his music all night/every night as the pot heads used their water bongs I can no longer listen to any James Taylor music ! :)

Wow, I so sorry. I DID NOT see you in the room!

[lukmanohnz]

I've been following JT's music since 1969 when my big sister bought the Apple album. I learned to play fingerstyle guitar by studying and figuring out JT's songs. I own every album, can play nearly all of his classic tunes by heart, and usually include several of his songs in my set whenever I perform. He's an American treasure. I loved his rendition of America the Beautiful at the inauguration - classic JT. As another posted, he grabbed his axe, kicked it off without a moment's hesitation, nailed the vocals and intricate guitar arrangement in front of the President and the enormous crowd - a consummate pro.

I've seen him numerous times in concert - every time he raised the bar. The best studio musicians in the business play in his band and he's still a sought-after guest artist by new up-and-comers. I also saw Gordon Lightfoot in concert once as well. I've always loved his music as well. He performed solo for the entire set, keeping a sold out audience in rapt, silent attention (except when we were applauding between songs). Two amazing artists, each with his own style, a huge catalogue of amazing songs, and millions of adoring fans. "Elevator music - I'd rather this - I'd rather that...." How about "so glad you enjoyed that so much. Here's something similar (or different) that I liked and maybe you would as well." Sheesh.

[Steve L]

I listened to an awful lot of Gordon Lightfoot as a young'un--even had a dream once, literally, based on "The Canadian Railroad Trilogy"--but the one time I saw him live in Portland, OR, he was so obviously not excited to be there that it ever after spoiled him for me. Really, just going through the motions, and even then not with any conviction.

Hearing him mentioned now takes me back, though, to those heavenly summer days spent hitching across Canada in the late seventies. Maybe I'll give him another t

Just listened to samples of songs I remembered fondly. Where did all that syrupy orchestration come from?! Interesting what our memories edit out.

I think the string charts on Lightfoot's records are actually rather good. Considering many of them were written by Nick DeCaro and Randy Newman, this isn't very surprising.

[journeybear]

Thanks for the link, Astro. Here 'tis:

j-aop2UzOzY

[ald]

Does any one play any JT's tunes on mandolin? I know Marc Woodward worked a JT songup into a mandolin tune once (tune without the words) but I wonder if someone (Marc in particular) does any of the classics like You've got a friend, I've seen rain....

[Jesse Harmon]

My friend was named after one of his great grandfathers, Zebulon Vance, who was a governor of South Carolina during the civil war. When I was reading the James Taylor biography it mentioned that one of James great grandmothers teamed up with Gov. Zebulon Vance to try to save a returning civil war soldier Tom Dooley from hanging. I have taught that song for years out of a childrens book and it was a kind of epiphany to think that I had some kind of weird present day connection to Tom Dooley through my friend Zeb and James Taylor's music. Sadly my friend has since passed from this life. I now have a more realistic idea of Tom Dooley and think of Tom's plight in a more realistic way whenever I teach the chords and strumming. (Don't know the exact number of "greats" involved) Hope you don't mind this little digression.

[Wesley]

The one time I saw JT is was the original tour with Carole King when Tapestry was new. We were lucky enough to open for his brother Livingston one time and you could never find a nicer more down to earth performer. I'm guessing the two brothers are a lot a like.

[Jim]

Didn't watch the inaguration ( never do) JT did a fine job on America the Beautiful. In Colorado many Pot heads were firing up their "Water Bongs" for this performance too:grin:

[journeybear]

This is a good example why I love VCRs. I tape this sort of stuff and then scan through later to watch the parts I want and skip the parts I don't. Thus I have been able to watch the Beyoncé segment a few times and remain sure she sang live. Well, fairly sure ...

Still waiting for a definitive determination beyond a shadow of a doubt. So much speculation and the lack of a statement from Ms Knowles or a representative leads me to think that logic should preclude what my own eyes and ears are telling me. Then there's this, (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1700725/beyonce-inauguration-lip-singing-audio.jhtml) in which an audio engineer has analyzed the performance, comparing two videos of the event, and concluded "at least half, if not all of what we were hearing is her [live] vocal." Partially live is an even weirder conclusion than that it be one or the other. :confused: It's an interesting read all the same.

But now something else has reared its ugly head that irritates me much much more - people in the media taking pot shots at her. This morning on CBS' light news and entertainment show "CBS This Morning," their performance segment "Second Cup Café" featured a performance and chat with a Josh Doyle, singer with a guitar, in a salmon shirt and black vest. Apparently he won a contest sponsored by Guitar Center to find the best singer-songwriter in America, beating out some 17,000 others - even though he is originally British (he has lived in the US since 2001, and his mother is from Ohio). He didn't impress me much one way or the other (neither here nor there), just typical overwrought S-S soul-searching, and certainly not country by sound or looks (the hosts pushed that and said he was based in Nashville), and I wouldn't have thought twice about this.

But after he finished his song, the hosts came over for the chat, and what should pop out of the female host's smirking mouth but, "That wasn't a 'Beyoncé,' right? Just making sure. You were singing live." :disbelief: What the hell is that? :mad: Has it been established that Beyoncé was indeed lip-syncing and her name can be turned into a pop culture term for it? Even if so, is it necessary to mock her in this way, using this opportunity to take a cheap shot at someone who isn’t in any way involved with the current proceedings? Why put the musical guest on the spot, or divert attention from him? While we’re at it, did she not trust her ears to determine whether he was actually singing? (Well, that would be a consideration if she were being serious, but how could she be.) If she can’t tell what is real or phony-baloney, she should take a look in the mirror, and ask herself honestly if she sees a responsible credible journalist or a PR shill, bent on schmoozing the latest quasi-talented wannabe. She went on to note the difference between his speaking and singing voices – the one quite British, the other, as she put it, sounding like he could have been from Alabama. He did not, not by a long shot, have any sort of drawl or twang in his singing voice; she was probably told to say that by her producer. Again, this speaks to her being less than a responsible credible journalist. But you know how it is - give some people a forum in which to speak and they will just go on and on and on ...

Sorry to go off in a rant here, but people trying to make points for themselves while taking cheap shots at an easy target really piss me off. I do wish someone form Ms Knowles camp would address the issue once and for all to settle the matter.

I see my time on the soap box is over. Thank you for your time and attention. Next!

[mandocrucian]

The whole Beyonce thing is just so stupid and irrelevant - a concocted "controversy" in the ongoing corporate psyops campaign towards the retardation of the citizenry. Real or lip-synched? WHO CARES? The whole event was just a show-biz theatrical production....a reenactment of the actual legal swearing-in ceremonies of the day before. Is there any really difference in a reenactment and lipsynching the vocals. Hey, the show biz inaguration might as well been lipsynched to a recording of the real swearing in! Better yet, actors' recorded voices could be substituted......"justice" Peter Cook (ala role in Princess Bride) and James Earl Jones?

http://content6.flixster.com/question/53/90/39/5390396_std.jpg
Is that a real bulge in the bass player's trousers, or is it an aluminum foil covered cucumber?

[re simmers]

AGREED. The voice of Morgan Freeman would be good as a narrator as the events move along.

Bob

[shortymack]

Is there any really difference in a reenactment and lipsynching the vocals.

Is there a difference between the truth and a lie? Same thing when you compare actually performing to what ever you want to call it. I dont know how anyone actually justifies and likes it when 'artists' not only fake it but throw in licks and scales that are not a part of the anthem. Just sing it and sing it correctly. Can you tell thats a peve of mine? :)) At least JT has the integrity to actually sing, and sing the song the way it was written even though it isnt our anthem, good for him!

[Laird]

The whole Beyonce thing is just so stupid and irrelevant

I haven't paid enough attention to know if it was stupid or not, but I can tell you without having paid any attention that it is certainly irrelevant to me. Pop music ceased to be of any importance to me around 1974--about the time I discovered FM radio. It makes me cringe to even realize that I know who she is . . . though as far as I know I haven't heard her sing.

[foldedpath]

Is there any really difference in a reenactment and lipsynching the vocals. Hey, the show biz inaguration might as well been lipsynched to a recording of the real swearing in!

Okay, well now y'all are just asking for it... .(skip to 1:50 for the Beyonce part): :grin:

fpwhA-LdOHo

[journeybear]

True enough. I neglected to preface my rant with "Not that I really care, but ..." or "Who cares?" or some such proviso. Indeed, it really is a lot of huffin' and puffin' over nothin'. I'm still curious, though ... :whistling:

But I was much more offended by the "newscaster's" shabby behavior than whatever Beyoncé may or may not have done or not done. It was not her place to weigh in on something she knows nothing about nor has been determined to a certainty one way or another, and upstage the guest's moment in the process. Rude!

[Pasha Alden]

Hi folks, despite being in SA I also enjoy James Taylor. Wondered, does he pick on the mandolin? never new that, only heard the guitar, naturally that is beautiful This just as a question, a point of interest. If so, I am going to download some James Taylor right away.

[Laird]

Hi folks, despite being in SA I also enjoy James Taylor. Wondered, does he pick on the mandolin? never new that, only heard the guitar, naturally that is beautiful This just as a question, a point of interest. If so, I am going to download some James Taylor right away.

Not that I know of--but I believe I read that he added the banjo to Neil Young's "Old Man" (as he and Linda Ronstadt had bumped into him in Nashville and were asked to provide backing vocals).