Subject:RE: [Harp-L] Kris Kristofferson playing harp with/withoutThe Highwaymen

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Thanks to you and pdxharpdog for the Mickey Raphael confirmation.
 
weeeeellll...don't disagree with you about Kris' voice (nor any of the  
others' voices) not being 'the best', but I certainly don't think that they  
'murdered' the song, since I quite enjoyed it and an awful lot of  people as well 
seemed to enjoy that particular version (over 27,000  hits on YouTube and 
counting).....but perfect vocals were never what The  Highwaymen were ever about.  
 
What was (and is) so cool about people like Willie Nelson, Kris  
Kristofferson (the remaining two), and Johnny Cash/Waylon Jennings - those now  
gone....were their song-writing, personalities and ability to 'sell' the  emotions of 
the song in live performance. 
 
 On the sped-up cover of "Help Me Make It Through the Night", they  were 
simply having fun with each other during a show.  I rarely watch one  of these 
YouTube clips without keeping in mind that it's a single  clip taken from what 
was a much longer concert, usually videotaped by a fan and  posted without 
knowledge of the singer(s)... so shouldn't be viewed as  though it 'stood alone' or 
was issued by the artist as a video.  A  song led into that song....another 
followed. Those who have the VHS/DVD's could  probably shed further light on 
the concert.  For all I know they were doing  a 'speed through' synopsis of 
several of their individual biggest hits.  Almost all artists who have survived 
for generations do this at some point in  their Live concerts...
 
Willie's still touring, even at his age...drawing huge crowds, because he  
still has an enormous following.  People don't turn out like this and  lay down 
their money out of mere curiosity...but because they  genuinely like what they 
hear.  "I" genuinely like what I hear...whether  it's slightly flat or 
not...how else to explain Dylan's appeal for 5  decades as well?
 
Some other off key people grate on my ears...Dylan doesn't...nor do any of  
these guys.  
 
 
Rita was amazing in this video (my first time seeing it), but I was paying  
special attention to Kristofferson's voice harmonizing with her, and he was  
good!
 
 Some people seem not to know just who wrote these songs and why the  
songwriter has a perfect right to sing it during a show...especially as they get  
older.  They're rightly proud of their work...since too many songwriters  were 
cheated out of their dues back in the day.  This way they get to flat  out 
declare: "I wrote this" to an audience..and is one reason (I believe)...the  
Highwaymen men were out touring to huge sell-out audiences...people were  getting to 
hear their favourite songs by the guys who wrote them.  
 
 
Kris Kristofferson has always had terrific appeal as a performer  over his 
long career. What some people reply to on his YouTube  videos are the
unnecessary negative comments.  I mean...comparing his voice and then  
Willie's version of 'Always on My Mind' to Elvis? I also thought that in  the 
YouTube comments, people were finding the 'performance' breathtaking, rather  than 
his voice, per se.  




Just as there seems to be enormous differences in 'taste' for  harp-players 
here on harp-l, there is too in what makes a vocalist 'good' or  not.  Life 
would be a tad too 'cookie cutter' for me if we all liked and  played the same 
music, so Vive la difference.
 
Personally, I'd rather listen to Kris Kristofferson/Willie Nelson/Johnny  
Carter/Waylon Jennings sing the songs they wrote (for better or worse) than  some 
studio-manufactured pretty boy (or girl) lip syncing to a big hit he  or she 
couldn't possibly follow through on in front of an audience. I  understand 
that almost anyone can be made to sound good vocally with the magic  that goes on 
in a Studio...so I'll take the real thing any time. Just  my take on it. YMMV.
 
Elizabeth
 
"Message: 10
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 08:52:36 -0500
From: "Bill Hines"  <billhines4@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] Subject: Re: Kris  Kristofferson playing harp
with/withoutthe Highwaymen
To:  <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Message-ID:  <000901c87235$84bde610$6401a8c0@HinesIBMA50p>
Keywords:  Personal
Content-Type: text/plain;     charset="us-ascii"

It's Mickey Raphael, probably there hanging with his  boy Willie. No
mistaking that hair-do, unless Lee Oskar was in town  :^)

But geez, they really murdered the song on that first link, in  my
opinion. Sounded like a midi-backing track. Real karaoke like. Just  goes
to show you, even with a powerhouse lineup, you aren't guaranteed  a
great show. Often that many superstars getting together you get  the
exact opposite, for a number of reasons. The one with Rita Coolidge  was
fabulous, thanks for that. 

Kristofferson to me was always the  epitome of "you don't have to be a
great singer to be a famous singer". You  could say that about Neil Young
and others. Kris was a great songwriter, but  to me his voice was always
like nails on a chalkboard. In the one older cut  he leans heavily on
Rita (now that girl can sing) and just does the right  thing and tries to
harmonize a little. I felt the same way about June Carter  Cash, I
couldn't stand that voice. But you see in the youtube comments  some
folks feel that Kris's voice is 'breathtaking'. Ah well, to each  his/her
own!

Bill Hines
Hershey, PA"
 
"Message: 8
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:27:39 +0000
From:  pdxharpdog@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Subject: Re: Kris Kristofferson  playing harp
with/without the Highwaymen
To:  EGS1217@xxxxxxx, harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID:
<021820081427.16064.47B995DB0009054200003EC0220288874409010B9F9D0E08980B9F@com
cast.net>

Content-Type: text/plain

It's Mickey Raphael for sure.  "





**************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living.      
(http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/
2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)