Mormons enjoy claiming that the only plausible explanation for a 24 year old coming up with "The Book of Mormon" is that he could see words whilst staring into a magic rock. I think I can do the Mormons one better.

I saw the rock band Heart the other night. Ann Wilson, the lead singer, is SIXTY FIVE YEARS OLD. And she sings better than she ever has. She would completely destroy her idol, Robert Plant (from Led Zeppelin), in a vocal competition. And her sister Nancy was also amazing, both as a vocalist and guitarist. Nancy is sixty.

What is the explanation for the total rock awesomeness of the Wilson sisters? Following Mormon logic, it can only be something supernatural. And since Ann and Nancy Wilson are not Mormons, or even Christians, that only leaves one possibility:

Satan.

The Wilson sisters have clearly made some sort of pact with Satan, whereby they keep singing and playing better with age.

There is no other explanation. Thank you Mormonism, for teaching me how to think.

Praising the witches,

T.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2014 02:18AM by Tal Bachman.

I saw them last summer at a concert near Seattle. They were amazing! It was a great outdoor concert on a warm starry summer night. It ended too soon.

I never, ever, felt that good or rejuvenated after going to any mormon musical presentation.

I would say the top musical event I attended as a mormon was seeing the MOTAB perform in the Kirtland temple. It was good, but not as good as Ann Wilson.

I had the hots for both of them when I was in HS/college.

I had the hots for both of them while on my mission in the 70's.

Now, they just don't look as good anymore.

I saw them a couple of years ago.

It was one of the greatest vocal performances I've ever heard.

Those witches ROCK!!!

According to their website, it's RAWK.

Love to have their kind of rawk in my hat.

The Wilson sisters are amazing. I always loved the fact that Nancy was a badass guitarist. (Edit: "was" should be "is a badass guitarist". Sorry Nancy!:-))

I'd like to add James Taylor and Carole King to that unholy coven of vocal wizardry. My husband and I saw them during their Troubadour tour and they're vocals were amazing! I think JT has made a Faustian pact because his voice hasn't changed since the '60's (from the recordings). Carole was in her late 60's and when she wasn't behind the piano, she was workin' that stage.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2014 08:28AM by sassypants.

maybe all the NW weed and shrooms helps them connect with their dark lord.

My brother played bass in Heart for several years, up until recently. He wasn't an original member, he's only in his 40s.

I guess seeing as how I'm anonymous that doesn't really mean much!

If anyone can correctly guess his name, I'll confirm it thereby revealing my identity.

Nope....

Ric Markmann?

I loved Heart when I was in college. I would love to see them in concert.

I took voice lessons for the fun of it during my undergraduate years. My instructor said that voices keep improving for several decades. She said that as college students, we were not yet anywhere near the full development of our singing abilities. It appears that some singers keep improving right into their middle years. You have to take care of your voice, though. Too many bad habits can send it downhill quickly. :)

One useful lesson that I learned from my instructor is that you really have to know your vocal and personality type when it comes to picking out songs. You see young artists going through this on American Idol -- sometimes they find a good match and sometimes not. I needed a lot of guidance because sometimes the music that you like isn't a good fit. It appears that the Wilson sisters found their correct niche.

Got to say that when I first heard 'Barracuda' as a kid, my world was rocked!!

I remember seeing them advertise in International Musician magazine (I think it was called) but have forgotten which guitar product it was. Seems so long ago now.

Have you seen their Stairway to Heaven cover that made Robert Plant cry? Wanna know why he was crying?*

Because his voice is thrashed. Gone. He now has zero chops. Ann Wilson is still kickin' ass and taking names and has never sounded better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5LGntzmExM&feature=kp

I'ma go watch this right now. AMAZEBALLS.


* It may have been because he was thinking, "Dammit, if I have to hear this fucking song one more fucking time..."" :>)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2014 09:26AM by dogzilla.

One of the most underrated bands in the world. I would kill to be able to sing like Ann Wilson.

Saw them in 2003 at the Pikes Peak Center with my sister who's also a fan. Ann and Nancy both look amazing, so maybe it is some kind of witchcraft. :0) I can only hope I look that good at that age.

I recommend their book. Very interesting reading! They seem like such normal people for being so gifted.

On a whim I picked up his CD "Rock Swings" which are big band arrangements of pop songs post 1980 or so. He was 65 when he made it. Awesome pipes! It probably helps that he was never a smoker which I didn't know. I was expecting him to sound like Sinatra in his "golden" years.

Pretty killer CD. The arrangements, performances, and engineering are top drawer. I always thought of Anka as the "Havin' My Baby" dude - kinda corny, but his interpretations really get inside the song.

Dogzilla

Robert Plant's voice was all but gone after 1975. Even before then, he only had his range sporadically. I attribute this to him simply not looking after his voice while on tours. By all accounts, he drank, smoked, stayed up very late, and did a lot of cocaine (depriving him of sleep). So even on the 1973 tour, he wasn't hitting a lot of his notes live.

People might say he had just matured physically. But he was already mature physically when he sang "The Immigrant Song".

By 1977's "Presence", and the accompanying tour, he'd lost his top end.

Ann Wilson I think has to be considered top three rock vocalists of all time. Robert Plant certainly had his earthshattering, influential moment of glory, and maybe deserves a spot in the top three just for that. But Ann now does it far better, and has been doing it far longer, than Robert, and why Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones don't just grab Jason Bonham and Ann Wilson (and maybe Nancy) and do a tour as Led Zeppelin, I'm not sure.

Tal Bachman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dogzilla
>
> Robert Plant's voice was all but gone after 1975.
> Even before then, he only had his range
> sporadically. I attribute this to him simply not
> looking after his voice while on tours. By all
> accounts, he drank, smoked, stayed up very late,
> and did a lot of cocaine (depriving him of sleep).
> So even on the 1973 tour, he wasn't hitting a lot
> of his notes live.

I really like the collaboration he did with Alison Krauss in 2007-2008. I think he sounds great. It shows that he can do more than just balls-to-the-wall rock-n-roll. I am sure he's had his moments of self-indulgence, but I don't think he's ever permanently fried his pipes. High range isn't everything.

I agree on Ann Wilson, though. She remains a rock diva at 60+.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2014 12:56PM by mrtranquility.

I can always tell which vocalists gave zero fucks about taking care of their voices when they get up at the R&R Hall of Fame induction shows and belt out billy goat bleats. SO sad. There was someone -- can't think of who right now -- I saw recently on a previous-year induction and as I listened/saw the YouTube video, I was all, "Man. No wonder you don't record or tour anymore. You sound like ASS." (Axl Rose maybe?)

I think style also has a lot to do with it. Not everyone sings their full range.

David Bowie is a good example of someone who partied balls out back in the day, but still sounds pretty decent. (Debatable: I haven't actually heard anything recent.) But he's got a low range and his style is very, very, very different (approximately every two weeks) now from when he first started as well. So perhaps he's just adapted to his old-man, thrashed voice (singing in a different style and range) and I wouldn't notice until he tried to sing one of his old standards and then I'd be all "WTF happened to Bowie's voice?"

Contrast that with Brian Johnson (AC/DC). Can he still wail like he used to? He was never really such a great singer as he was a great screamer, so can you really tell? Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, while neither is what I'd call a great singer, they didn't abide drugs, so they both still sound pretty... sound.

Stevie Nicks. Cokehead. Sounds like a billy goat.
Axl Rose. Also cokehead. Also no chops left. Not even half a chop. AWFUL.

I think you're on to a universal fact: cocaine (and cigarettes and booze) kills your voice. Had Amy Winehouse lived, she would have eventually sounded like shit.

Heart was the first concert I ever attended - 80's. It was grand!

M@t

Eat yer Hearts out zep.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdoaW8cLPp8

The greatest non-operatic vocal performance I've ever witnessed was Earth Wind and Fire's lead falsetto, Philip Bailey.

He's in his 60's and has been performing for 40 years, and yet his falsetto is Perfection!!

Saw Earth Wind And Fire about a year ago. The best concert of all time!!

Perfect vocals throughout.
Harmonies that you wouldn't believe.
Phenomenal showmanship from start to finish.
The whole audience lost their minds!!!

Ann and Nancy's dad was my ninth grade English teacher. He was a hoot!

I also read in the blog of a missionary here in Seattle that one of their daughters is meeting with the missionaries, but I was heartened to read that she is 'not progressing'.

Thanks for the laugh, Tal.

Rain - Ann and Nancy Wilson's dad was a career Marine corps man...are you sure he was your English teacher?

Yup, it was after he retired from the military. No question that was who he was. He had them come and perform once for my class. They were pre-famous then.

They used to play roller rink shows in Everett, WA on weekends when I was a kid....way before they got famous.

I wish I would have gone to one now that I'm older, but I didn't know who they were back then and didn't typically go to shows at the roller rink.

I probably would have felt a bad sprit there anyway....them being witches and all :)

Fun! That would have been great. A friend of mine, who is several years younger than I am, also had Mr Wilson as their teacher. The girls were becoming famous by then and he actually talked them into playing for a dance at the school.

But yeah, I'm sure you'd have felt that witchy spirit.

Joseph Smith practiced all manner of occult rituals as being a lazy con-artist; he would try anything if it promised easy rewards money, and power.

You can't be a Saint unless you believe that God chose a Pedophile to restore the fullness of the gospel. I say these things in the sacred name of the Holy Virgin Helen Mar Kimball, Amen.