Listen to this not that…

In the spirit of the famous dietary advice with that tagline, I propose this installment for musicians
Listen to this…not that

Listen to this:

A Song for You
Donny Hathaway

NOT That:

A Song for You
Christina Aguilera with Herbie Hancock

Sorry Herbie not into it. You’re a genius but this ain’t happening for me.

Obviously Christina used Donny’s version as the basis for her own interpretation but somewhere in the middle it just became overwrought and tiresome. IMHO Herbie’s sophisticated dense jazz chords and jazz fills just sound colorless in this context. In terms of singing, for me generally, the current generation of soul based artists really need to take a lesson in restraint and taste in regards to R&B embellishment. Donny shows how to do it. Listen to it with headphones. It will go right through you.