Sunday, January 8, 2012

Siobhan Magnus Debut Album Review

I was able to purchase one of Siobhan Magnus' limited edition autographed CDs before the general release. The album is called "Moonbaby" and is produced by Siobhan's own independent label. I'm not going to do a track-by-track review because my ears don't hear lyrics very well, so I'm never really sure what a song is about. Also, I know that Siobhan is a bit odd, so I'm not overly concerned with what she might say, especially when she says things like, “They say a person’s first album is your emotional vomit."

For me, Siobhan's album all about one thing: Listening to her sing. Her album confirms what I've said about her since Season 9, and that is Siobhan is the most vocally gifted girl in Idol history, bar none. Whatever she wants to do with a song, she can do it. She doesn't have to cheat like some singers to do to mask their vocal limitations.

The dictionary defines talent as "natural ability." It says nothing about popularity, votes, record deals or sales. It's purely about ability. I'm not going to sit here and say Siobhan does everything better than the other girls. For instance, Siobhan's tone can be a real adventure. But Siobhan can do far more things with her voice than others can, thus she can sing a wider variety of songs, and she can go where the others can't go.

Despite being more talented, Siobhan will never be as popular as other Idol girls because she's seen, especially by many females, as odd. I saw it on the blogs during Season 9 where so many females said, "I don't get her." And because they didn't get her, they concluded she wasn't talented. That's very shallow of them, but without them, her fan base is limited. Both Kelly and Carrie have large numbers of female fans.

One thing I really like about Siobhan's recording is that although is it professional, done in Nashville, it doesn't have the slicked-up over-processed sound that the big record labels seem to favor. Siobhan actually sounds like Siobhan, instead of sounding like half software as some of the other Idols do on their albums. The big record labels seem to have lost all respect for the human voice.

In the song "Beatrice Dream," Siobhan has what I call "The Run," an astonishing rising, screaming run. As I listened to it, it sounded like she did it in one breath, but I couldn't be sure. But then, at a Scallop Festival in September, 2011, she did it live, full blast, and indeed she did it in one breath. It's an amazing 12-second run, the greatest run I've ever heard any female do. 12 seconds in and of itself is not a big deal for Siobhan. She regularly held a note in "Paint It Black" for over 18 seconds in city after city during the Idol Tour. But this is not holding one note, it's a rising, screaming run. See it on this video, starting at 2:57:

Watch It Here.

I seriously doubt any other Idol girl can duplicate this run. I think of it as a litmus test for vocal talent. If any girl thinks they are as talented as Siobhan, they should prove first that they can do this run. Otherwise, please leave the room.

Unfortunately, Siobhan ends the album with a cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U" where the backing tracks are a weak, lame, alt interpretation that completely ignores the power of Prince's brooding chords. Not even Siobhan can save this version from the abyss. Even straight Karaoke would have been better. Luckily, Siobhan sings it live with her uncle's old-school band:

Watch It Here.

In summary, you'll be hard pressed to find another girl out there who can display the vocal ability, versatility and variety that Siobhan shows on her album. And regardless of how her albums sells, Siobhan's future is not dependent on album sales. She's very popular in her neck of the woods, and people want to see her sing live. They go to see her like they would go to see a fireworks show.

2 comments:

  1. Siobhan is the best alternative to Whitney and Mariah because wannabes like Melanie Amaro and Charice are just plain ugly.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I extracted the audio from metrowest100's video of "Nothing Compares 2 U" so I could listen to it instead of the version on Siobhan's album:

    Click Here

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    ReplyDelete

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