Rolling in the deep

Adele's original

[quote]Does Aretha's version bring something to the table that makes it better than Adele's ?

Yes, diabetes.

Aretha's best cover was "Son of a Preacher Man"

"Does Aretha's version bring something to the table"

Its last legs.

She tried to cut the line. I saw her at a sale.

[quote]Does Aretha's version bring something to the table that makes it better than Adele's ?

A buffet and a long nap.

Check out her outfit from Letterman last night. Yikes!

Yikes! r7

Sleeves were invented for a reason, Aretha!

Her performance of Rolling in the Deep on Letterman last night was magnificent and far superior to the cd version. Still, she gets my vote.

Anyone else notice Cissy Houston singing background.

re: r7

Worst case of Cafeteria Lady arms on TV in years!

My Eyes!

I heard this last night and now I can't get rid of this freaking song in my head.

Poor Cissy looks so sad.

Aretha may not have the greatest pipes anymore, but Adele is just a mediocre pop singer who banked her fame on being fat.

W&W R2

MEMO TO LADY RE:

1. Never go sleeveless again; and

2. Never sing this song again.

Thanking you in advance,

People with eyes and ears

Why do people think she sounds good on record or on Letterman?

She sounds like Frank fucking Oz from the Muppets doing an Aretha imitation.

A lot of noise online about the first verse being autotuned. Personally I think the weird "effect" stems from injudicious/sloppy use of "comping" multiple takes together into a final performance.

Love version on Letterman was much better.

[quote]Never sing this song again

memo to R16, think before you write

Fonzi Thornton, Luthers BFF was also one of the backup singers

Aretha is the queen of soul for a reason.

She poured chicken gravy all over this song and ate that bitch like it was her last meal in prison.

And sleeves. The last person who tried to publicly tell Aretha what to wear was Liz Smith, who regretted it when Aretha cursed her ass out in print a few days later.

Don't ever question Aretha.

[quote]Poor Cissy looks so sad.

I noticed it, too. She seems positively despondent and it's very distracting. I hope Aretha tells her to cheer the fuck up when she's behind her.

I like Adele. She's the kind of trashy, throat-grating, chubby, "such a pretty face," hate-my-loser-daddy white girl who always made us true coming-up-from-shit fighters feel superior in so many ways back in the day. Like so many other English girls, she thinks because her ass is fat and her daddy ran out she's got a right to sing the "bleus" with a plump pinky out as she does it.

But, yes, baby, just this once, and I shall deny it if it ever comes up again, I do, indeed, prefer Re's version. She knows her subject. Those rolls go deep in her.

Audio. Too close to Halloween for that video selection. Lupita, my Brasilian maid, screamed "Preta Jaba!!!" and ran out of the room.

She looks so creepy on that album cover. Like she's already in the casket.

It makes no sense to scotch tape a song about undying love on to the end of an angry break up song.

Adele of course, although I found the Aretha version interesting.

I prefer Aretha's non-vocal-fried rendition.

it's clear that Aretha's voice is not as great as it once was but she's by far a superior singer to the 2-octave-limited Adele. If Aretha were younger she would own this song.

... well choose for your self, who got the audience in a frenzy?

Adele singing Rolling in the Depp live at Letterman

Because general audiences are lemmings and do what they're told. They were told Adele was the new great singer.

What's hilarious is that her head voice is weak and flimsy - kind of exactly what Emma Thompson is being put down for on the Sweeney Todd discussion threads. But all Adele does is sing. She doesn't act and didn't take a decades-long hiatus from singing to sound like that.

This is as good as it gets from her.

Show them Aretha gurl!

Adele is just a pop sensation of the season, ridiculous to think she has anything over the queen of soul.

R27

Even with her limited voice Aretha sounds so much more alive.

Cissy Houston is everything in that performance. I wasn't even paying attention to Aretha.

Speaking of which, she absolutely does not sound great anymore, and hasn't in quite a few years. Though her diction, arguably, never was all that clear, really has become something else. It's no surprise at her age, good thing she still sounds distinctly like Aretha Franklin.

That said, as long as she is having fun, I am there with her every step of the way.

Aretha is a legend but her studio version of Rolling in the Deep is kinda autotuned. And her performance on Letterman, while better, showed her voice past prime I'm afraid. She was trying too hard here and there.

No one doubts Aretha could own this song in her prime, but those days are long gone. I can be objective enough to hear the weaknesses in her version and they are definitely there. Don't be silly.

That's Cissy Houston, Tawatha Agee and Fonzi Thornton on back up, Luther Vandross' posse. Anybody knows who the other two ladies on the left are?

Yeah, the band, the singers, the musicality, the ability to kill it when singing a song live. Adele will never have what Aretha had and still has.

You are so right R35, Aretha has soul like no one else.

LOL @ [r22]

R34, we're not saying Aretha is at her best. We're saying Adele at her best can't come close to Aretha now.

I am sure Adele won't be able to do some of the vocal runs Aretha does here. Anybody thinks she got anything over Aretha needs to have their head examined.

The irony part is that it's Adele, quite literally, who owns the song.

So is the Houston family so broke that they have to send Mama out on the road to make some money to buy groceries?

That's sad. She didn't even try to know the words to the song.

Aretha looks like a 72 year old legend who put a whole lot into that performance. Makes me happy.

I don't give a fuck about her arms or her dress or her cleavage. Aretha better sang.

[quote]Tawatha Agee

Interesting. She's been doing a lot of high profile stuff lately. She just finished the Dave Matthews Band tour.

I am so not a fan of Adele, but listening to Aretha's version made me appreciate her. Why the fuck would Aretha cover this? it's just tacky and screams "also ran" to cover such a huge song and not reinterpret it. I think Adele over-sings, but at least there's some passion in her vocals. Aretha? It sounds like she was thinking about what she was going to have for dessert.

I agree R43. I thought I was going to like the Aretha's live version as the studio recording was awful, but she doesn't bring much to it.

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

R45, you mean that throaty, husky, gritty sound that she falsely affected to such an extent that she had to have surgery on her heavily damaged vocal cords?

Yeah, that's a pleasure to listen to.

People who are claiming Aretha sings that song better than Adele are crazy.

Aretha used to be great, but now her voice is shot and she keeps reaching into the same bag of tricks for every song.

He is now a caricature of herself. She wildly over-sings every phrase.

And apparently doesn't even understand what the song is about, as shown by turning it into a nonsensical medley.

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

To me Aretha can do no wrong

Adele, two octave's ? you're INSANE.

Adele is only a bit over two octave range but her lower register is amazing and she has brilliant control over the dynamics of her voice.I have seen her live and it is a one of a kind brilliance.

R47

Adele is a pop singer who has an OK voice, but even as a white singer she isn't that great. She can't do complicated runs, her voice has little dexterity and she sticks to the formula when she sings live because she has no training as a live performer. Sure Aretha's voice isn't what it used to be but she still knows how to perform and excite.

You have no idea what you are talking about if you prefer Adele over a legend like Aretha.

[quote]She can't do complicated runs

Thank fucking god!

I'm so sick of pop songs being ruined by Mariah Careyish "complicated runs"!

Just sing the fucking melody, hussy!

Haha! Oh my sides!

Cissy Houston was everything hilarious. She looked like she wandered in. Did not know the words, was rolling her eyes, SOOOO disinterested. Guess she needed a paycheck.

Complicated runs ? so tacky...so Mariah

Really felt sorry for how loss Cissy Houston appears to be. Or was she just photobombing (videobombing?) Aretha?

Cissy Houston really had no more fucks to give. She was all about "What is this white shit we singing? At least when Whitney baby had us sing we got something before the show to keep us awake!"

some of you are pathetic and boring with your lily white tastes. Complicated runs are quite difficult and separate amazing singers from good singers.

and yes Adele is a 2 octave singer. Now, she's great in her range, no question about it, but her problem is her range is so limited that's why all her songs sound the same. She doesn't alter her voice because she can't. Her "Skyfall" song really showcased her weaknesses when she tried softer/lighter notes.

Anyone who thinks Adele is a better singer than Aretha is a moron. Aretha is in her 70s so of course she doesn't have all her strength and control anymore but she is still competitive with a lot of good singers and would have blown the likes of Adele off the stage if they were the same age.

[quote]would have blown the likes of Adele off the stage if they were the same age.

Yeah, whatever.

But that isn't the issue at hand. The issue is this: Which version of the song do you like better?

It is not: If magic Aretha sang this song when she still could sing would it be better than what real Adele sang?

Cissy missed the rehearsal earlier.

I doubt if the sound engineer even had Cissy's mic turned on. It looked like she didn't have a clue what was going on and she certainly didn't know the words.

It was fascinating to watch though.

This is how you don't make a fool of yourself when you sing with a legend. Little known Aussie singer Tina Arena singing live with SUPERB Donna Summer on Enough Is Enough and doing it ten times better than Steisand did in the studio! Adele is nowhere near that in control, lows, highs, vocal dexterity and interpretative skills.

God, nobody listens to high quality singers anymore!

I don't think ROLLING was a good match for Aretha. She seemed lost and flubbed some lyrics. But she started really kicking some serious ass when she went into AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH.

R61 What was funny to me is I could hear the director in the control booth saying 40 times, "Camera off Cissy."

Miss Warwick! I know you could do better than Re's mess.

[quote]She can't do complicated runs

Thank god for that. I like singers who just fucking sing the melody and not try to jam in a million notes just to show off how good they think they are. Too much flash and no substance.

Was Cissy drunk? Or high?

I think Cissy was drunk. Or high.

It really doesn't matter that Adele has quite a limited vocal range because she knows how to sing within in it.

Aretha would be wise to sing with a view to where her voice is at now.

The studio version is fucking awful. I thought this new album was on RCA. I wouldn't have been suprised if it was on Aretha's own label that it's so (no) budget. Even the album cover looks like a joke. It's sad to see a legend tarnish their image.

Did Aretha have a gastric bypass?

Cissy don't give no fuck what's going on. I love those I'll cut a bitch look she gives the other singers.

[quote]Did Aretha have a gastric bypass?

At first it was reported that she had pancreatic cancer. She eventually denied it but never did say what her health problem. So, probably, yes.

I thought Cissy Houston put Ree on her shit list after ditching Whitney's funeral.

I guess they patched things up.

Yes, Aretha chose to have a large part of her stomach removed rather than padlock the fridge after 8.

It was sad to see Cissy. She clearly forgot what she was supposed to sing during Rolling in the Deep.

I would rather the other backing singers had done ALL the singing, lead vocal(s) included.

One thing I love about Aretha is, despite her fame and ultimate legend/icon status, she is still absurdly insecure! ReRe threw a public tantrum to the media some years ago when Beyonce paid respects to Tina Turner as 'the Queen.'

So now we have Aretha whoopin' and hollerin' and showboatin' the stuffing out of "Rolling in the Deep." OMG! She OWNED it! WOOOOOO! What a SMACKDOWN of ADELE!!! YAAAASSSSS hunty!

I dunno. I think Adele's original vocal treatment of the song conveys more heartfelt pain, more simple emotional immediacy. Adele's voice is limited to be sure, but she connects on an emotional level with what she has. You got the sense that she was in a hard place, singing that song. In pain, real pain.

Whereas Aretha's like "Whoop! I can do ANYTHING, bitches, now watch me throw in a medley!"

p.s. my favorite version of "Rolling in the Deep" is the mashup video with Moby. Adele's voice is a remarkably good pairing for Moby's sound/production.

That's why it's sad to see Aretha like this. She used to be able to connect to a lyric. At some stage she got to wrapped up in the "Queen" business. It's a shame that the Queen of Soul has gone so far from being the Queen of Quality Control (67-74).

My favorite Aretha cover is "I Say A Little Prayer."

shade!

Once she started lying about having weight loss surgery I lost all respect for her. "Freeway of Love" and "Who's Zoomin' Who" we're good songs, but I don't really like anything else of hers She's kinda gross looking.

I always assumed Adele was a poor man's Dusty Springfield. What do you make of that assessment?

Until I see Adele go to the legendary Apollo Theater and rock the crowd the same way Lisa Stansfield did back in the late 80s, then I will always consider her an overhyped singer with a limited range.

R81 They are very dissimilar singers.

And Adele isn't just a singer; she also writes her songs.

It will be interesting to see how long her career is, but right now Adele is a much bigger thing (in so many ways . . .) than Dusty was.

So, no, she isn't the poor man's anything.

Dusty had more range and a much lighter touch than Adele. It's crazy how Dusty is always brought up and compared to singers who sound nothing like her (see also: 14-year-old-Lulu-with-a-head-cold Duffy)

Lawd! She looks like she's possessed and about to do a 360 with her head, R79.

Cissy looks like she might have a stroke at any second. Not funny.

She does look rather sickly. I wonder why at this stage in her life she continues singing back-up for ReRe. I know the two are close friends and she sang back-up a lot of Aretha's classic recordings, but why now? I guess Aretha asked her to do it as a favor.

Yes, she was probably asked as a "full circle" gesture.

I love R20

Cissy does not give a flying fuck anymore about anything. One of her grown adult children passed on and her youngest granddaughter married her stepbrother. Cissy has no fucks left to give. Leave her alone.

Aretha should do a live EP.

Actually think Aretha did a great job.

The difference is Adele's version is far more emotional.

Aretha does lots of hooting and hollering in her trademark fashion; Adele tears your heart out.

Cissy is drunk.

Aretha, like Barbra, is one of the greatest singers of popular music from the twentieth century.

Both of these women have been relevant for almost 60 years. Top of their game. Interesting, how most of the civilized world feels the same way.

Interesting, how artists 20, 30, 40 years their junior, admire and respect these women.

All the nasty crap thrown at them by "anonymous" posters on gay blogs speaks more of the posters than these two incredible icons.

Some very sad, lonely, unhappy people. They're more to be pitied than scolded.

What greater compliment could Aretha give our newbie adele than to record one of Adele's own songs. Aretha is 72 and to compare her to Adele at 23 is a sin.

Yes, I think Adele's rendition is more to my liking, but would never offer or verbally voice an opion of conparison. Aretha will always be a singular favorite aryist to me.

Adele's singing idol is the American, Peggy Lee. Adele's phrasing and singing style is influenced by Ms Lee. I have always considered this a good thing.

I don't see anything to compare between the truly idolised Aretha and Adele. These two women are entirely different. Aretha is a soul singer and Adele is a jaz singer in this particular instance.

I believe Aretha was paying Adele the highest compliment ever by recording this melody. I sincerely doubt Aretha ever intended to "show Adele how it's done."

[quote] Aretha, like Barbra, is one of the greatest singers of popular music from the twentieth century.

That is true Charlie, but claiming that they are at the top of their game is false. How could they be? At least Aretha has game. Barbra has more of her voice remaining. I agree that Aretha paid Adele a big compliment covering her song.

Adele is incredibly talented as a singer and a songwriter. She does only have two octaves and two semi-tones, but the people who quote that don't usually even know what it means. It refers to her modal voice with no head voice or falsetto or exclamation notes. No need to trash her voice. Garland and Gladys Knight have about the same amount of range as Adele. It's what you do with it. You never hear Garland go into head voice...

Aretha is singing almost completely in that place now. She used to soar into those places from the rest of her great voice arsenal, but she just yelps up there now with verve and great rhythm and exclamations.

Streisand has more or her range intact, but her total voice has lost it's unusual clarity and power. That's what made her Streisand. She's never been rhythmic or soulful.

Adele has a lot more to show and tell. She writes her songs. Her voice is more captivating than profound but her styling is not about imitating the big belters or gospel divas. She has a whole other derivative and is her own deal.

I think Aretha should have hung it up a while ago, but its fun to see her give it all she's got. She is always a masterful musician even when her voice can't obey.

[quote]Adele's singing idol is the American, Peggy Lee. Adele's phrasing and singing style is influenced by Ms Lee. I have always considered this a good thing. I don't see anything to compare between the truly idolized Aretha and Adele. These two women are entirely different. Aretha is a soul singer and Adele is a jazz singer in this particular instance. I believe Aretha was paying Adele the highest compliment ever by recording this melody. I sincerely doubt Aretha ever intended to "show Adele how it's done."

[quote]Adele Opens Up About Her Inspirations, Looks and Stage Fright Adele on the cover of the April 28th, 2011 issue of 'Rolling Stone.' Her mother is still her closest friend, and current roommate. Adele credits her with turning her on to Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys – she calls The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Songs in A Minor "life-defining." The other big influence was Etta James, whose music she discovered in the bargain bin of a record store. "She was the first time a voice made me stop what I was doing and sit down and listen. It took over my mind and body."

[quote] After moving to south London, she became interested in R&B artists such as Aaliyah, Destiny's Child and Mary J. Blige. Adele says that one of the most defining moments in her life was when she watched Pink perform at Brixton Academy. "It was the Missundaztood record, so I was about 13 or 14. I had never heard, being in the room, someone sing like that live [...] I remember sort of feeling like I was in a wind tunnel, her voice just hitting me. It was incredible." Aged 14, Adele discovered Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald by accident as she stumbled on the artists' CDs in the jazz section of her local music store and was struck by their appearance on the album covers. Adele states she "started listening to Etta James every night for an hour", and in the process was getting "to know my own voice."

Adele is very good in her 2 octaves but again, that's why all her songs sound the fucking same. She can't vary her voice much and it's boring.

Obviously Aretha doesn't have all of her vocal abilities now but she would have done an amazing job on this if she were younger.

I love Aretha, but the song is Adele's. She owns it.

Adele is a fat cow with a raspy voice and limited range.

Adele is subtle and jazzy and evocative and authentic. She has a voice that cuts to the viscera of millions of people who only know that it sounds good over the couch. Adele is good news for meaningful singing.

R94, aka Nippybot from Saskatchewan, how is it that you can clearly see the failures of other popular singers but never Whitney's? You can pontificate like a motherfucker about all the popular divas and longwindedly pointing out what makes them terrible singers, but with Whitney you praise her to high heavens by writing senior-level dissertations. Whitney had her flaws as a singer, Nippybot, just deal with it and move on. You'll forever remain the ultimate fanbot and never an honest critic because objectivity is foreign to you.

Streisand can sing whenever the fuck she wants to, she has nothing to prove anymore.

Is R100 some kind of weird ass stalker?

Aretha comes in at #9 on the Dance Club charts with her cover of this track! yesssssss! the QUEEN OF SOUL is back to make bitches DANCE.

Love her version

Bill Cosby

Yes, OP. Aretha is a much better singer than Adele. If Aretha were Adele's age, her version would be even better.

Aretha now has ANOTHER #1 dance song! Her version of "Rolling in the Deep" is #1 this week on the dance/club chart!

I love Aretha, there's no one like her and no one better. I like Adele, she throws a lot of emotion into what is, after all, a limited range. I'll bet she could hold the Apollo, to whomever threw out that challenge upthread. Adele is bawdy, funny, down to earth and sings with heart. That audience would love her to bits.

I'd pay good money to see either of these ladies any time. As for [italic]Rolling in the Deep[/italic], Adele owns it but I prefer Aretha's version. I'm glad it's hitting on the dance charts for her.

I had to bump this thread because the Aretha/Cissy Letterman performance popped up on my YT feed. This is so delicious and hilarious. I especially liked how Cissy totally checks out at one point. Aretha let's it be known that Cissy doesn't tour with her.

Forget about Aretha doing Adele. It's all about Cissy.

The backup singers sound good in Aretha's version. Adds some depth.

That whole album was such a random cash grab idea from Clive Davis. You could tell about 5 minutes of thought had gone into the selections and even less into the actual production on it. Very cheap, digital sounding arrangements and overuse of Melodyne (autotune). As everyone said, younger Aretha would have killed it.

It was her first album in a while that she actually went out and promoted to that extent though, and we were lucky enough to receive this mess of a performance and Cissy's amazing facial expressions.