By Michael Wilkinson
I am sitting listening to samples of a CD on the web that will be released in the next couple of weeks. I am quite surprised at what I am hearing at the moment. The CD is a Duets CD by Reba McEntire. The songs on the CD are similar to something she would release on her own, but when her powerhouse voice is paired up with the artists on the CD, it becomes something that sounds completely different. She has artists like; Leann Rimes, and Brooks and Dunn on the CD, who are both fellow country artists. But she also has people like Justin Timberlake and Carole King on the CD as well, and that seems to give the CD a whole new and fresh sound.
It’s amazing that two artists from very different genres can come together and blend their voices so seamlessly. I’m just using the CD Reba’s Duets as an example because that’s what I’m listening to right now. It happens in many different situations. There are many other CDs that do the same thing. For example, there is the CD Rhythm, Country and Blues, which brings together country artists with people like Patti Labelle, B.B. King, and Aaron Neville. This CD shows that rock and R&B artists can also blend very well with country artists.
I’ve always said that music is music and it doesn’t matter what “genre” a song is, it’s still only music. I think the example of these two CDs is a real good sign that music is just music, and it doesn’t matter what instruments you put in a song-- it can be almost “interchangeable”. It’s really all the same. There are only so many instruments that can be used, and there are only so many time signatures that can be used. Along with that there are only so many sharps and flats that can be used in a song.
Michael Wilkinson mikesmusic@shaw.ca
www.berklee.edu Berklee School of Music
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