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Post by kachinadoll on Jul 15, 2011 15:41:02 GMT -5
My very unpopular opinion has to do with Hold On too. I like it. A lot. <--- No, that's not the unpopular opinion. But I think he needs to go darker with his vocals. It needs to be desperate. A prayer said on the way through hell. I want to hear pain and fear and the final, ragged shred of sanity in his voice until maybe the last couple of lines. A blind man crawling from one touchstone to another until he finally finds the edge of the inferno. He's hiding a bit when he sings it and that makes it seem trite. <--- Unpopular opinion. It's as if he doesn't trust what he's singing, but you can't make a very convincing case for faith with half-measures. He needs to give himself up to the song or drop it from his repetoire. And I really, really don't want him to drop it. What do you think of his performance of Hold On from Billy Bob's? I thought he brought something new to his performance of this song that I really liked, maybe not quite to the extent you'd like to see, but he really takes the song to an emotional height that I found to be very moving. When I first heard the song, I thought the lyrics were kind of trite, mostly because of the commonly used phrase "Hold On," not necessarily because of the other words. But the theme is something that everyone can relate to, whether it's been used in the past or not. A big move in the right direction. Of course, I think he was mostly enjoying himself and trying to show his hometown fans a good time at Billy Bob's, so he may have been reluctant to go that far there, especially given that he hadn't done it that way before. But I still want more. Hold On needs to be Jealous Guy, not Don't, even if that means we won't get to hear it as often. Maybe he knows that and that's why we haven't heard it much even though it's a big fan favorite. I'm starting to sound too much like Kara DioGuardi for my comfort, but this song just sort of nags at me. I know there's greatness there and I need to hear it.
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Post by kachinadoll on Jul 15, 2011 15:48:35 GMT -5
Love the visual (!) but Im not convinced the lyrics take me where I need to go in order to experience such deep emotion. Possibly the reason why he doesn't sound convincing. The lyrics briefly touch on tragedy then on to resolution - doesn't give the listener time to appreciate the intensity of the struggle. Lyrics need some re-tooling, IMO. If it were a poem, I would agree with you, but it's a song and performance is a big part of it. In this case, the biggest part. I believe he has the chops, but I think he may be reluctant to expose himself that much on a regular basis.
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Post by kachinadoll on Jul 15, 2011 15:56:25 GMT -5
Hmm interesting thought. I didn't really think about the song to much I just listen to it once or twice and never again. But perhaps you are right. I think a way to do that would be to take away the band and do it acoustically. I definitely agree that it needs to have a stripped-down feel. The right sort of lighting would go a long way, and keep the band's involvement very subtle; nothing should pull focus from Casey. But it may need more drama in parts than just an acoustic can provide, even with Casey playing. Maybe he should break out that cello again.
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Post by boudica on Jul 16, 2011 7:51:21 GMT -5
What do you think of his performance of Hold On from Billy Bob's? I thought he brought something new to his performance of this song that I really liked, maybe not quite to the extent you'd like to see, but he really takes the song to an emotional height that I found to be very moving. When I first heard the song, I thought the lyrics were kind of trite, mostly because of the commonly used phrase "Hold On," not necessarily because of the other words. But the theme is something that everyone can relate to, whether it's been used in the past or not. A big move in the right direction. Of course, I think he was mostly enjoying himself and trying to show his hometown fans a good time at Billy Bob's, so he may have been reluctant to go that far there, especially given that he hadn't done it that way before. But I still want more. Hold On needs to be Jealous Guy, not Don't, even if that means we won't get to hear it as often. Maybe he knows that and that's why we haven't heard it much even though it's a big fan favorite. I'm starting to sound too much like Kara DioGuardi for my comfort, but this song just sort of nags at me. I know there's greatness there and I need to hear it. Hold On just isn't that kind of song in my opinion. The topic is to general I think you need something more personal. I think it would rather be a Don't song. Now Show me a bridge, that I think is Casey's personal equivalent to Jealous Guy.
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Post by waternymf on Jul 16, 2011 18:55:36 GMT -5
Boudica, you're on a roll Labeling Show Me a Bridge as Casey's "personal version" of Jealous Guy was right on! It's beautiful in lyrics and melody and Casey captures the emotion as he did in JG - 'see it on his face Production of Show Me a Bridge is something Im anticipating - should be amazing! Could (should) be up there on the list of #1 singles IMO.
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Post by waternymf on Jul 16, 2011 19:14:50 GMT -5
It was mentioned earlier that Casey was likely playing to his fans/family/friends in TX at Billy Bob's and having a good time: one thing that overshadowed a couple of his performances was that he was (IMO) so giddy that it affected the overall mood of some, e.g., Use Me Up - that's an R&B song and I thought his voice was too high-pitched and the dancing around gave it a playful feel, which it's not. Those who know me know Im a R&B freak so Im a little touchy but I think his mood spilled over into other songs, too. In the long run, TX is a "gimme," he must have been overwhelmed with feelings so - YAY for him However, I would LOVE to hear him re-play Use Me Up with the feel of, say, Drownin' On Dry Land or any of his other sexay songs. People are really diggin' on his soul/R&B covers, and why not? To me, it's his niche (don't tell anybody...).
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drewj
Full Member
TexOz
Posts: 245
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Post by drewj on Jul 18, 2011 1:28:53 GMT -5
It was mentioned earlier that Casey was likely playing to his fans/family/friends in TX at Billy Bob's and having a good time: one thing that overshadowed a couple of his performances was that he was (IMO) so giddy that it affected the overall mood of some, e.g., Use Me Up - that's an R&B song and I thought his voice was too high-pitched and the dancing around gave it a playful feel, which it's not. Those who know me know Im a R&B freak so Im a little touchy but I think his mood spilled over into other songs, too. In the long run, TX is a "gimme," he must have been overwhelmed with feelings so - YAY for him However, I would LOVE to hear him re-play Use Me Up with the feel of, say, Drownin' On Dry Land or any of his other sexay songs. People are really diggin' on his soul/R&B covers, and why not? To me, it's his niche (don't tell anybody...).
I watched Bill Wither's Use Me over the weekend & man, was that groovy! I especially liked the drummer's all-smile swagger.
ITA about the mood. And I notice that with Casey on some of his recent gig - where if he is totally enjoying the crowd or the set he tends to look giddy even if the song was slow. If my recollection was right, it was during Till My Guitar (I think this was during CMA but I hafta dig back) that I saw him laugh at the end. But it wasn't much of a distraction. It was a short (and noted) observation I had.
On the other hand, I would like Casey to get really crazy with Green Light Girl ala I-Got-Mine-crazy on Billy Bobs. Loved it but not as much as when he does DMUMM. Still the riffs is a killer. Casey can definitely parallel DB2 when it comes to licks.
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Post by boudica on Jul 18, 2011 8:35:29 GMT -5
I must admit I was waiting in great anticipation for the Use Me thing, the whole weekend after Billy Bobs, because everyone was going on and on about it. When I eventually got to see it, it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. I just came to the conclusion that it was difficult to capture that on video. You dont get to see the keyboard player, bass player and the drummer. You dont even see all of Casey's guitar playing in the two different videos that I watched. So I just think it is perhaps something that you need to see live to really appreciate. The melody of the song is very groovy, dare I say almost reggae, so I didn't see it as an seductive song, I thought it was suppose to be a playful song. drewj, I agree Casey could get more into Green Light Girl. But then again I think I only watched it once. With both of these songs it is difficult for me to say as I dont know the songs originally. I will say though, yeah I know this is suppose to be the unpopular thread, however I just love Casey's Drowning on dry land from Billy Bob's I listen to it a lot. I love the builtup of the song, and I especially love his voice at the end, it is full and ... I really dont know how to describe it, I just know it is addictive. The other day I wanted to compare Casey's version of the song, and there was one version that pop up on youtube next to Casey version. Lol Casey is soooooo much better! www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9nkx00OSXU&feature=related
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Post by bigmjfan on Jul 21, 2011 23:22:55 GMT -5
I am so frikin angry right now. Maybe I need to go to unpopular opinions lol
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Post by bigmjfan on Jul 21, 2011 23:24:19 GMT -5
oh that is where I am at.
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Post by momof4boys on Jul 26, 2011 12:46:18 GMT -5
So, I'm new here, but love,love,love me some Casey James. I have a question though. I don't know where I saw it, so ofcourse it could be a load of crap, but IS Casey dating some brunette girl from his hometown? There is little out there about his personal life, but after reading some of the threads, it just got me to wondering;) I suppose this isn't an "un popular" opinion, but I guess it might be if he is in fact with someone A girl can day dream right?
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Post by Meems Wide Awake on Jul 26, 2011 13:02:32 GMT -5
So, I'm new here, but love,love,love me some Casey James. I have a question though. I don't know where I saw it, so ofcourse it could be a load of crap, but IS Casey dating some brunette girl from his hometown? There is little out there about his personal life, but after reading some of the threads, it just got me to wondering;) I suppose this isn't an "un popular" opinion, but I guess it might be if he is in fact with someone A girl can day dream right? Oh! Hi there welcome the boards! I really don't know! If I'm not mistaken this "rumor" was from last summer , & it was about pre-idol , not now! I don't know! I guess it's his own personal life , it remains private & it should . this is why we don't discuss these stuff on here
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Post by waternymf on Jul 26, 2011 13:06:50 GMT -5
Aw, at the unpopular thread, can't we talk about stuff like that? btw, WELCOME momof4boys (God bless you for that:) )
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Post by Meems Wide Awake on Jul 26, 2011 13:14:08 GMT -5
Aw, at the unpopular thread, can't we talk about stuff like that? btw, WELCOME momof4boys (God bless you for that:) ) Awww! but that's our only "rule" on here! Believe me , I don't want things to get awkward on here! ( we already have many examples before .... so we don't want to corrupt these forums too )
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Post by bigmjfan on Jul 26, 2011 13:41:45 GMT -5
Yeah I dont need to know anything about Caseys personal life. Now in the future if we find out he has gotten married or engaged I think it is fine to give him a shout out and say congrats. But that kind of stuff ruins things for me.
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