"WHY" CRITIQUE

The response to the CD so far has been really amazing — it's awesome to get mail from people you don't know (all over the world — Tenerife, Canary Islands and Germany this last week!) regarding your music. It's really odd to get mail from famous people. . .people you admire. It's all new to me. . . But I knew the day would come when I received my first negative comment. And that day has arrived! (Whoo hoo!?) On YouTube. ?

?"The iTunes version sucks. This version is great." -nvboi84, YouTube.com (regarding the studio version of "Why")

??I must confess -- my initial instinct was to remove this remark! No one wants to read negative comments about work that you pour all of your heart into. But everyone has to deal with occasional criticism and I'm pretty tough. So, instead, I clicked onto this guy's profile and saw that he was 22. Chances are he just speaks his mind a LITTLE more BLUNTLY than someone a bit older — say, my age. ;) And all he is probably really (tactlessly) saying is that he prefers the live version over the studio version. . . Everyone has the right to their opinion. . . absolutely. Candidly, I think had I heard Annie & Dave's LIVE version of "Here Comes The Rain Again" from their concerts CD before I heard the studio single, I, too could have been disappointed with the latter. Just my preference . . . (smirk) ;) ?

?You know what? I also have to admit when I FIRST recorded the studio version last year, I wasn't satisfied with it. I used to walk around NYC listening to our studio work in my iPod wondering what it was "lacking." I love Jeff's original playing and my voice in the live rehearsal version just seemed to have more somber intimacy to it. It was a one-take, explorative jam — a very special moment for us both. I was so in love with the live video, too, because, while "not a performance," I think WATCHING the song being sung adds another element that you don't necessarily get when just LISTENING to it. . . ??

So, I had to divorce my mind from the live version, go back into the studio and create something new that felt as authentic to me on that day as what we had experienced 6 months prior — I had to center myself in the moment and give it everything I was CURRENTLY feeling, not try to recreate something. I reworked the studio version, laying down a completely new vocal in the same, honest style as the rest of the album. . . . Maybe I shaped the words I especially felt a bit more to communicate what wasn't seen? Maybe it turned out a bit more . . ."theatrical?" I don't think so. If anything, maybe it's a bit more "clean" in production -- which I guess could translate to some as "detached?" But TODAY I actually prefer the studio version in many ways. I think the end builds better. I like the quiet vocal overdubs we did (almost like the voices in one's own head). I think it is different, but just as valid. In the same way any live performance varies from it's studio brother. . . Listening to the studio version, I think you'll find the same thing. And, hey, if you love the "live" version and aren't satisfied with your iTunes-studio-version, go to my website and send me a note -- I'll email you a mp3 of the live version. Thanks for listening and for your support, YouTubers. You guys are awesome. ;) -db