Hey everybody welcome back again to Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy where the proof is in the singing.
I'm continuing my series on taking isolated vocal tracks, I'm doing a tutorial, a vocal analysis,
talking about the recording process, little back stories about the artist etc. Next up is James
Taylor, the song is called "Fire And Rain". You guys know the song but if you wouldn't mind
before we get started, please like and subscribe to my channel that would be cool
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interested in everybody talking about it, it's pretty interesting forums over 20,000 people in
there talking about this stuff. So let's get back to James. Now James is an incredible character
because it's one thing to be a singer-songwriter and write songs for other people but it's another
thing to have such a legendary, timeless piece like "Fire And Rain" still be with us to this day and
still be venerated and cherished and played on a lot of radio. So now the songs you know is, is a
tragedy and there's a lot of songs like this that have been written about tragedy and the problem
about tragedy is that it cuts so close to home in our hearts that we relate to them in such a way
that they stay with us for quite a while so this song is no exception, there's obviously other
songs like "Tears In Heaven" and just all kinds of songs about, even the BeeGee's have a song called
"Tragedy" so but, and their whole life, the whole BeeGees story of the family was quite a tragedy so
we see that in a lot of these pieces where they stay around, they linger for a long time because
they're so relatable. So because they're relatable and his voice is relatable, his song writing itself
is relatable, we're gonna just dive right in. So here's James. Take it away James, here we go.
Now right out of the gate, here is such an unassuming, gentle, warm, disarming voice
right. So he's telling a story with such a purity about it and such an honesty about it, you know
it's something he experienced. Now I'm not saying other artists don't sing songs that are written
by other people and they can internalize those and channel those songs into, relating to the story
as well but there's just such a simplicity to it and so like I said it's so disarming.
Listen to it again so immediately within the first couple lines you're like wow I'm in his story,
he's already in my mind right. Check it out.
So it didn't take him long for the first verse or
a couple of verses, bam he's drawn you into a story and he didn't do it by screaming at you or jumping
up and down or waving a flag, he just shared his heart and I think that's genius, that is the genius
of artistry, that's the genius of songwriting, and his voice is so unassuming it's not like he's
wowing us with all these trills and licks and everybody's singing a high note, no. In fact this
song is so relatable and so (sings) right. Okay so let me, let
me show you something. Here's James (sings)
right. Now if I was trying to showboat a little bit it'd be
(sings)
right. All of a sudden I'm showing off so much and trying to wow you with my voice so to speak, that I
take away from the story right. So there's an art, artistry in his doing this and I'm not saying he
could even do what I just did the other part or maybe he could, but it's so unassuming and it's
so gentle and it's so sincere, that you're taken right into the story without being distracted by a
clever vocal all right, let's continue. Here we go.
Right have you ever been so distraught in your life
where you know he's singing this song he's going, I have this crazy pain in my heart
so much sorrow and so much just, I'm just so upset and I don't even know who to talk to, I don't even
know who to share this with. I know I have to kind of externalize to get it out you know get,
unearth it but wow and you're going I can totally relate that you know. I'm so upset I wrote this
thing down and I can't even remember like why I'm doing this I'm just, I gotta do something because
I'm gonna go nuts because I'm in such you know horrible depression or whatever. So let's continue
here we go. I think that's really interesting all right.
Now when I think of songs like Christina Aguilera's "Hurt" I think it was, I think
that's the one where she wrote the song about her dad, I think about, how often we take people for
granted. You know David Gates I think also in, in one of his songs I'll think of it in, fact I
did a version of it and I'll, I'll release it soon. I haven't released that song yet but it's not
"Diary" I'll think of what it is but, but you know think about like Christine Aguilera's "Hurt".
You know we take people for granted and by the way I didn't mean to turn this into some big preachy
thing but I think it's really important because he did, that's his intent of the song, is that we take
people and things so much for granted that they may not be here tomorrow. Have you lost a loved
one, have you lost a parent, a brother or sister, you know mother, grandparent whatever and they
may have like you never thought that you know you always just thought you'd see them again and so he
hammers this point home and it's really prescient and really important I think as an artist trying
to communicate a value that we should take a listen to it, take it seriously. I do because I do
value the the sanctity of life.
See he's calling on something beyond himself, in his
case Jesus, and he's expressing that you know there's got to be more to life than this, I've got
to be able to pick myself up and, and, and. So again amazing that in such an unassuming voice, in such
a you know, you wouldn't expect it in the least of places like this, in the way it's being presented
that it could have such an impact, don't you think. Like someone whispering in your
ear rather than yelling at you. It's pretty cool.
Now I heard an interview of him where he talked about
this part of the song and his heroine addiction and it was a really, it was a five-month rehab
process that he went through that he over, he beat heroin and so not only is the song about
losing a loved one, not only is this song about needing you know to find something to
pre-occupy his mind and this and that whatever just to kind of whatever, just got to get minute
by minute that's there's an AA thing you know just one day at a time and all these different
you know amazing helps so to speak for, for people to get through stuff like
this, he shares and he wears his heart out on his sleeve and even shares it in interviews
that this whole part of this section of the song was about this horrible heroin addiction that
almost killed him and he called out to Jesus to help save him and he attributes that in the
song which I think is really cool also. So let's continue.
Okay. Now another thing is he's using symbolism. You
know I've seen fire and I've seen rain and I've seen lonely days I thought would never end but
it never dawned on me that I'd lose you and never see you again. What a trip, like plucked out, just
stripped out of life right out from before him and how we all can relate to that and that is
such a genius in the artistry of writing. I want to point out something else too while we're here.
I want to go back to the top, I'll remember where this is but I want to go to the top
and show you his accompanying guitar playing too as it goes through it
because while it's, it's pretty tricky and fancy and some of it's a little repetitive
but that's also the nature of the song, but I want to point this out because he's also
a really good guitar player too. I was able to get the tracks and put these together but check this out.
So he's, he's, as, even though he's got a command of his instrument, his guitar,
he knows where to step on the gas and where to pull back and to play for the song, rather
than stepping on the vocal right. So it's almost like it's one person, it's the vocal
and the guitar that come together as one so he sings the line and then he shows you a little
flash here and then he comes back, shows you a little more flash and just how creative he is
in doing that. So anyway I thought I'd point that out. Here's the next part coming up here.
Anyway James Taylor man.
So in other words there's things in your life that it just goes, no matter what
you can't escape it it's just, it's a yank on life of going uh-huh, you're gonna see this and you're
gonna look at this and face this and deal with this, whether you like it or not and we
all go through that and he's expressing that here. Now to make us look at it which is cool.
Okay now I want to point out something else. If you notice too, we did a, I did a video I think it
was when I did the Cutting Crew right "I Just Died In Your Arms" I think that was right, and I
talked about different lyric tenors and different voice types that have this kind of sound
where it's just almost monotone, like I said very unassuming, very, but his pitch is spot-on and I've
actually seen him twice on, not in person, on two different tv shows and his pitch is always spot-on.
Kind of reminds me a little of Jerry Rafferty too you guys remember "Steelers Wheel" and you know
he also (sounds) you know (sings)
Remember that song. Okay very
similar kind of approach, very unassuming, very great songwriting but very great in the pitch
even though it's kind of little on the monotone side, it holds your attention. Let's continue.
Interesting note choices.
See so, so he's got these really jazzy things that he does too. So it's not just really
straight. Check it out.
(sings) right you know almost seems like a trumpet line doing that line, it's pretty cool.
Anyway gang I'm actually loving this series, I hope you guys are liking it as much as I am. I'm
just trying to go through you know a lifetime of my information, you know not just vocal
singing information, there's obviously that but also and by the way he doesn't support that great
but that's okay because again singer - songwriters they don't really need to
because they're not really projecting that much and they're just selling a story but
you know it's to take these epic pieces share my life story, my experiences with you
in hopes to help to make you a better singer, just appreciate the art of music and the things that
I'm appreciating in the process. So thank you for joining me and definitely check out my next video.