The beauty and power of musical restraint. Comparisons of A Great Big World and Dan Fogelberg.

Music Wed - More frequently than I care to admit, a song will capture my attention, and I can listen to it repeatedly, each time drawing out something new and interesting to me, whether these little "discoveries" come from the tune, melody, lyrics, production or artist performance.  A Great Big World's "Say Something" has become one of these haunting, obsessive songs for me. (http://youtu.be/ApHmlRl1aKU) - I particularly love the duet version featuring Christina Aguilera. Her vocal control and restraint are remarkable, and at least the latter is not a quality you usually associate with Xtina, the great diva. In this restrained performance, she reminds you that she is oh so talented, and to me, far superior to Mariah Carey. I love the simple, austere arrangement of this song, both musically and vocally, and the lyrics are plaintive and heartfelt. Cool new song, and it made me immediately think of two songs which, at least in the versions I prefer, are stripped down meditations on the difficult, but critical, task of finding and then keeping love alive in a romantic relationship. Dan Fogelberg is an artist who died prematurely of prostate cancer, but over a period of 35 years commencing in the early 1970's, Fogelberg was a prolific artist who left us with a lasting body of music that is beautiful to the ear and soothing to the soul. His songs are small literary works which are wrapped in beautiful melodies (I mean, who else has ever rhymed "consumed" and "exhumed" in a love song!). I think most of his studio work was overproduced, so the tender and dark beauty of his songs is lost in a producer's overkill - but his acoustic live versions of these same songs are as sweetly and quietly electric as "Say Something". Here are two gems from Dan's 1991 concert tour - "Make Love Stay" (http://youtu.be/SaXGydWdEvg), and "Believe in Me" (http://youtu.be/ZE28NxXQ5R8). Note how he lingers on the notes and draws out the words in both songs, and he does so without being flashy or obnoxious, even though his vocal skills are clearly abundant. Rather, he seems to be coaxing out all of the truth and emotion from his sincere and thoughtful lyrics. If you have never listened to Dan Fogelberg, you will not get a better introduction to him and his music than these songs; if you know him only from his pop records which dominated the charts in the 70's and 80's, these two live performances will open up to you a whole new side to his music and to him as a performer; and, if you are like me and have been a longtime fan, then these 22 year old videos will be a rare and pleasurable treat. . . . Enjoy!