[78-L] Strange Fruit

Julian Vein julianvein at blueyonder.co.uk
Sun Jul 19 13:03:43 PDT 2009


Taylor Bowie wrote:
  > You won't get any trouble from me,  Yves.  I think the happy and upbeat
> things she did from about 1935 through 1941 are the best Holiday records of 
> all.  Now I MYSELF might get in trouble because the only one from that era I 
> don't like is her much-praised version of "Summertime" which leaves me as 
> cold as a Chicago winter.  I just don't think she "gets" the song in the way 
> that she "got" other somewhat somber songs of the same era,  e.g. "I'll 
> Never be The Same" and the little-played "If You Were Mine."  In fact,  her 
> "serious" interpretation of "Summertime" is almost a preview of what 
> happened with "Strange Fruit."
> 
> Taylor 
-----------
I don't like her "singing the blues", which seems to me to come out 
somewhat stilted. Her ballads are more imbued with blues than her blues.

"Summertime" gets dangerously close to a "Mammy" song.

      Julian Vein


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