Taxi say this platinum artist has tuning issues?

[ruthr]

Hello,In classical music (my background) it's easy to hear what is on and off pitch - but in some other styles of music it's sometimes necessary to be a bit off pitch to sound authentic. eg when they chose to release the demo of "when a man loves a woman" rather than the studio version.I've had heaps of rejections from Taxi (and some forwards and placements in libraries and on TV). And like you, I often have good reason to disagree with the reviewers (because of experiences/awards etc.)However, there are times when I think their advice is true ... I just pick that which I take on board and email taxi if I have a problem of conflicting opinions and they will review the decision. In this industry it makes sense to focus on successes and moving forward (because there are so many rejections).With best wishes for your future posts,Ruthbtw Mazz I agree with you about prior knowledge influencing opinions.

[squids]

It's true - there are many genres in which accurate pitch comes across as 'mechanical' rather than 'perfect'. Blues would be a blazing example. In this case, we could talk about the reasons why a screener didn't go for the song but what's the point? The fallback would be that it didn't fit the listing anyway. Sure, it can shock and infuriate someone who's had success with this song before when it won't fly this time but screeners are like that. There've been a lot of examples of that in this thread alone of members offering up their experiences with songs failing and succeeding with a particular screener. I think in the end it comes down to the listing and if it was nailed.....according to that screener (and most likely, that day for the screener too).Frustrating? Yep, yep, yep. Both Billg and I have issues about this; some screeners love our voices, others can't stand them and it doesn't matter if the song is great, indifferent or whatever, they can't get past that, although I think many screeners try very hard. It's human nature, I guess, to have these inborn likes and dislikes.

[yammer107]

I'm still trying to acertain from this thread whether or not this is a song Euromix actually wrote himself and personally worked with this Andy guy on (?) - or just submitted here to bait the screeners. If it is your song why are you resubmitting it to TAXI after its already been recorded by an aritst & picked up by Simon Cowls label and in mass distribution?Did something fly right over my head here - or everybody elses? Chris

[euromantix]

Jul 27, 2009, 7:04am, yammer107 wrote: I'm still trying to acertain from this thread whether or not this is a song Euromix actually wrote himself and personally worked with this Andy guy on (?) - or just submitted here to bait the screeners. If it is your song why are you resubmitting it to TAXI after its already been recorded by an aritst & picked up by Simon Cowls label and in mass distribution?Did something fly right over my head here - or everybody elses? Chris I co-wrote the song, co-produced it, and performed on it also. It was published through my publishing company, euromantix, but released through another label. Although I said he was signed to Simon Cowell, he is not any more (Sony BMG wanted him to do another covers album, whereas he wanted to do new material, so he left). Without Sony's backing, this song and the album naturally did not do as well as a major label release. I am therefore pitching the song for other opportunities. I see no harm if it were to be picked up for placement in a TV show for example, and know Andy would be delighted also.On another note, I have removed the lo-fi intro to the song, which is about all I can do at this stage, but I think that helps a lot of the comments here.Thanks for the feedback everyone.

[cmrmurray]

Interesting post. My gut reaction to the performance is that I don't like the singer's voice per se, and additionally I think there's something a little off about parts of the first verse and the first delivery of 'hear the words I say'.I add also that television talent shows are not reliable indicators that a voice is a great one. This is not to say the singer in this case is not great, but there are all sorts of factors that creep into deciding these contests, and often it is sentimental or not even performative elements that seem to win over the voters. Of course it was wise to release albums by the winner of X Factor - it would be stupid not to, as the performer has already been marketed to millions by the show - but that doesn't mean the act is one that professionals would rate highly.The matter of production comes up too, and I speculate sometimes that different aesthetics occur in the US and the UK. Euromantix, you mention Placebo - our producer recorded some of their early work, for a time he worked for EMI directly, etc etc. Everything I submit to Taxi was produced by this man. It's fascinating to note that we get high, but seldom top marks for production. It means the standard is high, and even production boils down to a matter of taste. Tipler, for his part, says he doesn't like how most modern US producers do heavy guitars.

[trispeed]

going into the 1st chorus, his voice breaks going to falsetto ( "I say" line) and it's out of tune. You needn't listen any further, that's enough to prohibit forwarding all on it's own.