random memes }

Brooke Ramel

Walked over the local food court for lunch a bit after noon on one day last week. Weather was hot, humid and oppressive - the quote about "mad dogs and Englishmen" came to mind (not that the dog minded the weather in the least).

Entering the outdoor eating area, walked past a singer (between songs). Listened while waiting for and eating my lunch. Did not expect much - the occasional music sponsored by the food court ranges from mediocre to moderately painful.

This time was a little different. The singer was Brooke Ramel and the songs I heard were a number of my favorites. The singer tended to use a high/forced/breathy/little-girl sort of voice, which - at least in this place - sounded muddy, indistinct and uninspiring. Maybe this was partly due to the outside acoustics. Maybe this sort of singing sounds better indoors or in a studio.

Brooke

Between songs the singer's natural voice had more of a range and was much more interesting. On a couple occasions the singer would slip out of the high/false voice, and the lower tones would carry clearly and reverberate very nicely in the open area. About this point I was feeling rather frustrated, as it sounded as though her singing voice if she just relaxed a bit might well be very good indeed (as in raising the hair on the back of your neck good) - instead of the muddy mess I was hearing.

Will be really interested in other times Brooke will appear.