Songbook- song lists from volumes I-IV

Well, keeping with the whole 'We want Ace to be the new Constantine' thing, I think he should do 'My Funny Valentine'. Better song for him than 'Someone to Watch Over Me', which is slightly out of his reach, anyway.

Is there a grunge band that covered this? I'd like to see him do 'Don't Get around Much, Anymore', just because I really like the song, and his voice would fit it.

I see him doing this or 'Kiss to Build a Dream on' just because with the latter, you can put some soul/R&B into it. Or he could do Michael Buble's version of Smile - very 'big band'.

I'd give her your Ace choice of 'Someone to Watch Over Me.' She would probably do a good job on it.

Yeah, this seems to fit her well.

She'll nail anything from the list - this is her comfort zone.

Good choice. This or 'Don't Get Around Much anymore' would suit him. Or even 'Blue Skies'.

I'm really looking forward to next week's show. I am probably the only one, but 'Standards' and 'Broadway' are my two favorite genre's of music. I hate to admit it, but I actually own all the Rod Stewart Standards CD's.

I know....I know.......

I agree with this 100%. I suspect she was taught to sing much more 'legit' but has the skills under her belt which allow her to fabricate these pop tricks to make her seem more current and pop idol-ish.

This whole boy-band style of Ace's has got me thinking Manhattan Transfer, which got me thinking A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square. The thing that's troublesome about Ace is that I think he hears the songs in his head in a certain way but just doesn't have the chops to accomplish what he hears, which means he'll mostly murder whatever he tries.

I also thought Makin Whoopee would be good for her (What's a whoopee?) and had exactly the same thought about S'wonderful, that she just couldn't get the word game into her tiny little mind.

Age is what made me think the idea of a 'crush' would be innocent and young enough for her to play honestly.

I do think he could pull of a number of the tunes, Don't Get Around Much, etc as you said. But having a gist of his musical background and tastes leads me to think he'd immediately be drawn to the Louis Armstrong.

He'd never get the subtlety of that masterpiece. Forget the phrasing, he'd never get it. It needs a musician. It needs Elliot.

Anyone who has listened to the two jazz standards Elliott has done- Teach Me Tonight and Moody's Mood, know he can sing a straight tone and do it well. Kenny Rogers was a moron for mistakenly assigning this trait of oversinging to Elliott, when it's clearly Katharine that has the problem being frugal with her syllables. He'll sing these songs the way they're meant to be sung. Whether or not those blandishments are natural for Katharine, they seem to be a staple of her performance, along with shrieking and delivering every line like she's trying to reach the blacony of the Majestic Theatre without the benefit of a body mic. If anyone's going to deliver a standard with everything on it, including anchovies and the kitchen sink, it's gonna be

Ain't that big a theater, pardner. I well muffled fart can reach the balcony, unless Phantom is still playing. Then, even the smell won't get there.

Semi-seriously, Elliot often has trouble sustaining single pitches. To explain the why and under what circumstance is technical and probably more of an answer than you want or need right now. I teach voice and diagnosing vocal problems is what I do these days. Listen to the end of this last week's selection. He's hunting all the available legal pitches at the end of the song for one pitch and vowel combination that feels good and that he can hold on to. That's what most of this phony florid crap is about. Most of the diva-divers couldn't sustain a note and keep it interesting if their lives and fortunes depended on it, which it does. So they just keep moving and hope the rubes don't notice.

The Other Mickey

If anyone's going to deliver a standard with everything on it,

* Ace - the boy is beautiful, but he just can't sing - I'll say 'Blue Moon' so he can do his falsetto one more time and leave

* Taylor - 'Makin' Whoopee' or 'You Send Me' or 'Don't Get Around Much Anymore' ('Baby It's Cold Outside' would be great with but it has to be a duet)

* Katherine - 'Someone to Watch Over Me' (one of my favorite songs) or 'S'Wonderful' or 'Nevertheless'

* Kellie - 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered' or 'I've Got a Crush on You'

* Elliott - he can do anything in this series - his voice, IMO, was made for this - 'I'll Be Seeing You' or 'As Time Goes By' or 'The Way You Look Tonight' (another of my favorite songs)

* Paris - 'My Funny Valentine' or 'What a Wonderful World' or 'But Not for Me'

* Chris - Nothing. From what he has shown us, there is nothing he can sing from this genre