The Swingle Singers - Blackbird (Lennon/McCartney) Live November 2009

[yvflyboy]

Breath taking... what more can be said.... They have so much vocal control. And yes the soprano eases in to the lovely notes without any force or by having to push it. Theres no loss of pitch, its truly lovely.

[jeronimomenezes00]

Sadly the soprano couldn´t make it to thhe B bemol. Made it one octave down. They are good. But not as they should.

[joluciodasilva]

@jeronimomenezes00 Actually that part was re-written in the late 80s... It is now in the sheet music as an octave lower. As I didn't join the group until 2006, it was never written that way for me!

[jeronimomenezes00]

@joluciodasilva So happy you gave me this feedback! Let´s then talk to the arranger!!! Why change the arrange so drastically? I would agree with a simplified version, for the "mortals", but it is so beautiful to listen to the version with the high B bemol! As an arranger, I would make it optional, as for me it makes much more sense on the higher octave. Dramatically speaking the arrange goes "one octave down" with this change, in my humble opinion.

[johnnypie]

Man, i must be getting soft in the heart, this is so beautiful, thanks to the original poster, merci

[ehelwagen]

I have heard them live a couple of times in my life. I think that one of them had a cold the last time I heard them live!!

[looow]

oh my god so beautiful. :O

[avarix98]

omg the soprano's voice is so angelic <3___<3

[Crusher75060]

Beautiful. I would love to hear them live. I'm going to start looking for them right now. :)

[pavelkoller]

I like it, it is realy great voice. one more, like it from Prague Czech rep.

[homoignobilis]

I bought my first Swingles Singers album, their first one in the U.S., doing all Bach. Knocked me right out. Now I own all their recordings and they never fail to amaze me, especially with Lennon's "Blackbird". Forget Take Six, Boys 2 Men, The Bobs, DaVinci's Notebooks and Acapella. Ward Swingle was here first. The Swingle Singers are still the best.

[mebbio]

@homoignobilis Hi. You cannot look at Swingle Singers as a unit. They had many lines up. The best one was at the end of 1980/beginning 1990, with Rathbone, Parry (then M.Williams) D.Porter Thomas, A. Busher, H. Cairncross etc: great singers, incredibly beautiful arrangements (the worst from Ward Swingle...). The today Swingles are outclassed by the Real Group, Idea of North, Bolyki Brothers, and others. I heard them twice live recently and was rather disappointed, albeit a great sound engineer

[JeddyAC]

@mebbio boring....

[joluciodasilva]

@mebbio Sorry to hear that... Many people actually say the opposite, as the group used to be much more 'raw' and there repertoire was too limited... But each to their own. At least Ward himself is happy with the current line-up!

[mebbio]

@joluciodasilva First of all, good and informative reply, thank you. No doubt: they are still a top group. Now 3 of my perplexities if you allow me: 1) this group lacks the creative power of the Rathbone's/Parry group. 2) They did not reach the best compromise between their tradition and technological novelties 3) The bass has an "impersonal" sound (compare with Nick Garrett or David P. Thomas), so there is a bizarre balance between the natural (wonderful) women voices and the equalized bass.

[thremtopod315]

3:17

YES

[gejopari]

Sometimes great beauty makes me cry.

This made me cry.

[fentellez]

Black Bird + I Will

[mattmandg]

Unbeilevable arrangement.

[pbj4toast]

Isn't that soprano a jewel? They all blend so well, a real treat to hear.

[joy96815]

Thanks! Really enjoyed it!

[musicfanBRA]

Absolutely wonderful! They mixed Blackbird + I Will, one of the sweetest songs by the Beatles. Thanks for sharing this gem!

[joluciodasilva]

@musicfanBRA Thank you! It's one my favourites to sing :-D

[rentasop]

Beautiful, simply beautiful.

[SongstaForLife]

i sang there once!

[maharishi3]

What can i say other than absolutely brilliant!

[gotrice4rodney]

this is by far my favorite cover of Blackbird. period.

[joluciodasilva]

@verrru thanks!

[verrru]

Ou my...what a soprano! Listening to this is real pleasure..

[songbird0001]

I originally thought the King's Singers could do a great job of an a capella Blackbird. I'm not ashamed to admit that I was wrong.

What a treat to listen to such a great blend of voices!!

Still love KS but Swingle Singers have got my attention!

Thank you so much for this ^_^

[danilodemori]

@songbird0001

The recording of the King's Singers is very beautiful ... but listen to Jojo and Willy soloing this arrangement is something which draws tears. The few moments of Kevin soloing are also equally magical!

And the Swingle Singer's arrangements written by J. Rathbone are some of my favorites!