I came across this isolated vocal track of Marvin Gaye singing the classic “I Heard it through the Grapevine.” What an incredible delivery. Soul, presence, confidence, and “all-in.” Singers, welcome to school.
Over to you: What makes this singer so compelling?
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Oh, I didn’t know it was possible to do that (muting a part) —
Yes, with advanced audio engineering tools.
I think he’s compelling because of his expressiveness. What I took note of while listening is that he is totally aware of timing . . . there are some long pauses where he is waiting to come back in, without any instrumental background, and it’s evident he must be counting the beats or just so in tune with the song that he knows exactly when to re-enter. Another compelling singer I was listening to recently is Mahalia Jackson, singing “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” — there is instrumental background music but it seems minimal and insignificant; when you hear her sing, what really comes to the forefront is the WAY she sings the song– full of expression 🙂
Thanks, Diane. To be clear, he performed it with a track (or live band, I’m not sure). This video isolated his voice and muted everything else.