The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

CarlosV wrote:

New Yorker wrote: I also loathe vocalists screaming at the top of their lungs barely an eighth of an inch from a microphone, which for me is the vocal equivalent of the electric guitar.

The description above fits all the acoustically recorded singers, so start throwing away your Carusos ...

Maybe Caruso's recording method required the singer to be in close proximity to a recording horn, but there is one major unquestionable difference - T-A-L-E-N-T
Which is why his recordings are still cherished more than 100 years later...

Anything that uses the F word is trash in my book!edisonplayer

CarlosV wrote:
The description above ["screaming"] fits all the acoustically recorded singers, so start throwing away your Carusos ...

Well, it certainly doesn't apply to Amelita Galli-Curci, for one. "Screaming," as used here, is the equivalent of someone "yelling" at you, typical exaggeration (otherwise known as hyperbole) for merely disagreeing or remonstrating in a normal tone of voice. But remember, opera singers need to be heard in the galleries of enormous theaters, without electronic amplification, and you can bet that if you could have stood directly in front of Caruso as he sang "Celeste Aîda" in the opera house, your ears would still be ringing from sheer power of the voice. It's impressive enough coming out of my XI!

CarlosV wrote:

New Yorker wrote: I also loathe vocalists screaming at the top of their lungs barely an eighth of an inch from a microphone, which for me is the vocal equivalent of the electric guitar.

The description above fits all the acoustically recorded singers, so start throwing away your Carusos ...

Sorry, but I beg to differ. No doubt Caruso had to sing loudly, but I've never heard him scream.