Music: February 2008 Archives

Check out my review of Morcheeba's excellent new CD Dive Deep at URB.com.

The Daily Mantra paid our respects to Aretha Franklin at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles last night. After randomly catching The Blues Brothers on TV the night before, and shopping at Whole Foods to the sounds of "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" yesterday, when some free tickets materialized at the last minute (thanks Ken!), we took it as a sign that the Universe wanted us to go see her, and we're certainly glad we did.

After the storm in a tea cup at the Grammys, when Beyoncé referred to Tina Turner as "The Queen," which upset Franklin since "The Queen of Soul" is a title she has long laid claim too, it was notable that the Nokia Theatre master of ceremonies kicked the performance off by introducing the legendary singer as the "Empress of All Music" (top that Beyoncé).

The night's performance seemed effortless to Franklin, who didn't break a sweat as she busted out classic after classic. When you watch the Aretha wannabes on American Idol, they always make you aware when they're going for a tough note, conveying the difficulty of the feat they're about to achieve as if to highlight their skill. While our new American Idols push and strain to attain pitch and volume, Franklin's only challenge is the fight to hold back and control her overwhelming vocal power.

The true magic of a great performer lies in making it all look so easy, rather than making the audience hit the edge of their seats every time they sense a challenging note coming along as today's so-called idols do. With the finale came a gospel choir, as if to underscore the fact that Franklin's talent doesn't lie in soulless vocal gymnastics, but is born of spirituality, and impassioned pleas to a higher power to raise all our spirits to a better place.