Nearing the end of my current series of Superstar Battles, but I have some more great pairings which I plan to call 'Cover Ups' - different versions of some wonderful songs; some popular; some not; some superstars; some little known outside diehard fan bases. Today it is my proud pleasure to post two of the most exquisite vocalists- both multiple Grammy winners - one country; the other impossible to categorize; although she has dipped into country, as well as pop, folk, blues and even synth pop! I speak of Trisha Yearwood and Jennifer Warnes. The song here is Jude Johnstone's sublime 'The Nightingale'.
Trisha Yearwood entered my radius in 1995; when unheard, I ordered via catalogue a long player of hers called 'The Song Remembers When'. I was not sorry for the purchase. It was love at first listen. Country music was a genre that at the start of my pop culture submersion in the mid 70's was flourishing but not deemed hip or something to crow about! With the advent of disco, and then 80's pop, I by and large abandoned country music. I had loved Anne Murray, Crystal Gayle, Dolly Parton and Juice Newton, but it was several years before reconnecting to the genre in the mid 90's. The Australian country music scene had always been a force to be reckoned with and around the time I discovered Trisha, I also explored Aussie artists like Troy Cassar Daley, Jane Saunders, Gina Jeffreys and the Kernaghan siblings and later Beccy Cole and Melinda Schneider and of course Keith Urban.
There is a purity to Trisha Yearwood's voice that immediately endeared me to it, and I guess the ingredient to country music that has made it so popular and resonant is the 'storytelling' and so often the compositions engender that artistry. Trisha and her Producers have always selected some of the finest songwriters for her to interpret and in some cases cover. I went simply gaga for Ms Yearwood, finding her albums pre 1995 and then buying everything since! Alongside Juice Newton, Trisha is my all time fave country singer and one of my most beloved overall. Her forays into pop have been equally welcomed - and her Sinatra tribute LP 'Let's Be Frank' even made the Jazz Charts. Of course I adore 'How Do I Live' which garnered Trisha another Grammy and a worldwide hit, but there are so many great recordings bearing her name: 'Song Remembers When', 'Lying To The Moon', 'You're Where I Belong', 'Believe Me Baby (I Lied) and her first major hit 'She's In Love With The Boy'. 'The Nightingale' can be found on Trisha's 1993 album 'The Song Remembers When'.
Jude Johnstone is a singer/songwriter in her own right, and has provided hits for artists as diverse as Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, Laura Branigan and Jennifer Warnes who has the battle here with Trisha Yearwood. 8 years after Trisha's rendition of 'The Nightingale', Jennifer recorded it for her 2001 LP 'The Well'. Such is the reverence that artists have for the composer Jude Johnstone, when the latter released her own set in 2002, appearing as sessions singers, were Bonnie, Trisha, Jennifer and Jackson Browne among others. It is a really beautiful song that Jude composed and with Trisha and Jennifer; two quite differently treated recordings.
Jennifer Warnes entered my world in 1977 thanks to her breakthrough hit 'Right Time Of The Night' (on my channel) and although she has had a most sporadic output remains in my Top 10 most loved singers; perhaps because she is a boutique artist and not a mega selling, saturated voice on the radio. Jennifer Warnes is a quiet achiever. In addition to her Grammy and Oscar winning duets, and countless soundtrack and compilation albums she has contributed to, Jennifer is one of the most respected session singers in the industry, but has only released 9 albums in her 50 years of recording. But it's not the quantity, it's the quality and Jennifer is all of that and more!
Trisha Yearwood's take on 'The Nightingale' is perhaps more conventional but it is pure magic and her stunning voice just highlights the music and lyrics as only a superlative storyteller can. Jennifer's version is fleshed out more; contains more interludes and features the guest vocal of one Blondie Chaplin, a renowned South African session singer and guitarist. There is a more bluesy and folk feel to Jennifer's version and it also has a hymn like quality to it; slightly gospel too - quite a different production to Trisha Yearwood's.
For me, this one goes to Trisha, even though I simply adore Jennifer Warnes. The dynamism and power of Trisha's vocal just gives me goose bumps and I never tire of hearing it. It is apples and oranges comparing two such different and distinctive vocalists, but ultimately this exercise is more about showcasing and sharing music I love and singers I revere.
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