Re: Rating songs and singers

Date: 16 May 2003 14:48:26 -0700
Newsgroups: rec.music.rock-pop-r+b.1950s
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email-address-deleted (Bruce R. Gilson) wrote in message news:<email-address-deleted>...
> I find it much easier to rate an individual recording than a singer's
> whole repertory. I think the best way to do it is to grade them, sort
> of like what you got in school, on an A to F scale with C being
> "barely passing":
That's pretty much how I go about it as well. A singer who gets
straight A's (with maybe a half a dozen B's) is going to be ranked
much higher than a singer who gets maybe a half a dozen A's, but tons
of B's and C's.
> "A+" means a song I'd buy a whole CD for if it had only that one and
> nothing else I liked. (In most cases that's only theoretical: most A+
> songs are by artists who did enough other stuff I like that any of the
> "greatest hits" type CDs would have a lot more that I like as well as
> the A+ song. But in theory I would buy a CD for that song alone.)
In theory I would as well.
But I would describe my A+ rating a little differently. This grade is
reserved for songs that are *both* flawlessly perfect *and* an
integral part of our culture: GOD BLESS AMERICA, Kate Smith; WHITE
CHRISTMAS, Bing Crosby; TENNESSEE WALTZ, Patti Page; I BELIEVE,
Frankie Laine; CRY, Johnnie Ray; MONA LISA, Nat "King" Cole; QUE SERA,
SERA, Doris Day; RIDERS IN THE SKY, Vaughn Monroe; STRANGERS IN THE
NIGHT, Frank Sinatra -- you know, HUGE, legendary, era-defining hits.
> "A" means a song that I'd like enough to get just a few of them on a
> CD.
An A would mean a song that is every bit as perfect as the A+ songs,
but wasn't quite as large a hit. I'M JUST A POOR BACHELOR by Frankie
Laine, MOUNTAINS IN THE MOONLIGHT by Johnnie Ray, A LASTING THING by
Georgia Gibbs, etc.
A- would be a song that's still perfectly executed, but somehow
doesn't come across on such a mythic scale or isn't a full-blown
religious experience -- perhaps because the lyrics and/or arrangement
don't quite transcend genre limitations as fully and overwhelmingly as
they might. Frankie Laine's YOUR HEART, MY HEART, Georgia Gibbs' WAIT
FOR ME DARLING, Eddie Fisher's MANY TIMES, etc.
B+ would be songs that might have been on the A or A- level (top notch
genre or genre-transcending), except for the existence of a minor flaw
in its conception or execution. For example the Big Band instrumental
interlude in COOL WATER by Vaughn Monroe and The Sons of the Pioneers
keeps this otherwise flawless gem from receiving an A -- it instantly
transports the song from the Old West landscape it had, up until that
point, created resituating it directly in the 1940s.
> "B" means a song good enough that, if the majority of the tracks on a
> CD were _at_least_ this good, I'd buy it.
B means a very good song, well mounted and executed, but basically
"filler." A lot of Frank Sinatra's repertoire would fall into this
category. Georgia Gibbs had her share of B material, and even Frankie
Laine sang one or two of them.
B- means slightly subpar genre/filler. Gibbs' SOMEBODY BAD STOLE DE
WEDDING BELL, for example -- but still enjoyable.
C+ would be a song I might listen to, perhaps even sing along with, if
it came on the radio -- but I'd never purposely play it.
> "C" means a song that I really don't _dislike_, but don't much _like_
> either.
Yeah, that's pretty much it for C.
THERE ARE NO POP STANDARDS THAT RATE BELOW A C. In fact, there aren't
even any pre-1954 songs that rate below a C (at least, I've never
heard any).
C- through F are reserved for Rock 'n' Roll and Post R&R songs
(although there are very few early R&R songs that fall below a C.
C- denotes a song that I'd probably flip the dial on.
D+ is a song that I'd definitely flip the dial on.
D is a song that I actively dislike -- I may even get a headache if
forced to sit through it.
D- would be sheer torture to hear.
> "F" is a song I hate and would do anything to avoid hearing.
F is a song where I hate it with all my heart and soul and would like
to have every copy of it eradicated lest I, or someone I care about,
might accidentally happen across it when in a public space.
Ranking artists:
Frankie Laine is an A+ artist who got a very high percentage of A+ and
A material: THAT LUCKY OLD SUN, I BELIEVE, OLD ROCKIN' CHAIR, CRY OF
THE WILD GOOSE, JEZEBEL, JALOUSY, THE SWAN SONG, SNOW IN LOVER'S LANE,
BOWIE KNIFE, WANTED MAN, ON A MONDAY, CARELESS LOVE, ROCKS AND GRAVEL,
THE KID'S LAST FIGHT, THE TARRIER SONG/DRILL YE TARRIERS, OLD SHOES,
WALKING THE NIGHT AWAY, REMEMBER ME, I'M JUST A POOR BACHELOR, WILLOW
WEEP FOR ME, ONE FOR MY BABY, THE GIRL IN THE WOODS, HUMMINGBIRD,
SWAMP GIRL, and many, many more.
Frankie Laine is the *only* double A+ singer (A+ voice and
consistently A+ material) in my book.
Johnnie Ray was an A+ singer (he didn't have Frankie's vocal ability
-- but he had the raw emotional power to make up for it) who also go a
good amount of A+ and A material: CRY, TELL THE LADY I SAID GOODBYE,
THE LITTLE WHITE CLOUD THAT CRIED, MOUNTAINS IN THE MOONLIGHT, LOTUS
BLOSSOM, PATHS OF PARADISE, LOOK HOMEWARD ANGEL, A SINNER AM I, etc.
Nat Cole was probably a B singer (on a technical level), but his voice
is just so infinitely likeable that he rates somewhere between A and
A+. Most of his songs were A and B level fare, though he's had at
least a half dozen A+s. His music is generally a little too soft for
my tastes, but he's got to be up there at the top.
Patti Page and Kay Starr are A to A+ singers with material to match.
TENNESSEE WALTZ, CHANGING PARTNERS, CROSS OVER THE BRIDGE, MAMA FROM
THE TRAIN, ALLEZ-VOUS-EN, SIDE BY SIDE, ROCK AND ROLL WALTZ, WHEEL OF
FORTUNE, CROCE DI ORO, ALLEGHENY MOON, etc.
Doris Day is an A singer who got slightly less good material A and B+
(and a handful of A+s).
Georgia Gibbs is an A+ singer who got largely A and B material (only
one A+).
Frank Sinatra and Perry Como were A singers who did mostly B material,
whereas Eddie Fisher is an A+ singer who did cut mostly B songs.
Elvis Presley was a B singer whose material varied widely.
Little Richard is a C singer.
Bob Dylan is a D.
Ray Charles is a C except when he massacres a Frankie Laine number --
in which case he makes me want to puke (yeah, I've been scrolling over
some of Bruce Gilson's old -- and I do mean OLD -- postings).
Joe Cocker is an F no matter what he "sings."
Wynonie Harris was a ... uh ... well ... if I ever hear a complete
song by him (and Bruce Grossberg's, Dean's, and the rest of the R&B
crew's favorites) I'll let y'all know.