VOCAbuLarieS

Bobby McFerrin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 6, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: EmArcy
• ASIN: B00303WR3M
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,262 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

"There is something almost superhuman about the range and technique of Bobby McFerrin," says Newsweek. "He sounds, by turns, like a blackbird, a Martian, an operatic soprano, a small child, and a bebop trumpet." But despite the undeniable uniqueness of his gift, Bobby's music is always accessible and inviting. When he invites his fans to sing along, as he almost always does, few can resist. Inclusiveness, play, and the universality of voices raised together in song are at the heart of Bobby's art. Bobby McFerrin was exposed to a multitude of musical genres during his youth--classical, R&B, jazz, pop and world musics. "When you grow up with that hodgepodge of music, it just comes out. It was like growing up in a multilingual house," he says. Bobby McFerrin continues to explore the musical universe, known and unknown. Drawing on all genres, demonstrating matchless improvisational skills, he never fails to dazzle. He never seems to run out of new ideas, and he loves having no clue what's going to happen next. Ask him where he went to school, and he just might tell you that he is a graduate of MSU: Making Stuff Up. "Music for me," McFerrin says, "is like a spiritual journey down into the depths of my soul. And I like to think we're all on a journey into our souls. What's down there? That's why I do what I do."

Product Description

2010 release from the 10-time Grammy Award winner/vocal innovator, his first new release in eight years. Like his #1 worldwide hit song 'Don't Worry Be Happy' and his multi-platinum duo album, Hush, with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, VOCAbuLarieS is based on Bobby's experiments with multi-track recording and his ceaseless exploration of the potential of the human voice. VOCAbuLarieS is Bobby McFerrin music for the 21st century. A collaboration with the composer/arranger/producer Roger Treece, VOCAbuLarieS features over fifty of the world's finest singers, recorded one at a time and in small groups to create a virtual choir made up of over 1,400 vocal tracks.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars McFerrin's Masterpiece, April 13, 2010

By 

Brian Whistler (Forestville, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: VOCAbuLarieS (Audio CD)

Over the course of a career spanning three decades, Bobby McFerrin has worn many hats. From fronting his band on his debut album, to the pyrotechnics of his amazing live solo performances, his choral work with Voicestra, duos with Chick Corea and Yo Yo Ma, (not to mention simultaneously singing with and conducting symphony orchestras,) McFerrin has demonstrated a restless and far ranging musical intelligence which is constantly in search of new musical turf to explore.

Seven years in the making, "Vocabularies" is certainly the most ambitious McFerrin project to date and may very well be his magnum opus. For it is on this album that virtually all of McFerrin's wide-ranging musical interests are brought together in perfect balance. In a way, all of McFerrin's prior output has led up to this moment, the realization of a lifetime of artistic achievement.

I have always felt that the one thing missing from McFerrin's writing was the ability to take his fresh ideas and fully develop them harmonically and compositionally. Fortunately for all of us, McFerrin has found the perfect collaborator in composer/arranger and conductor, Roger Treece, whose prodigious gifts give McFerrin's ideas the harmonic and developmental lift they so deserve. The two worked together closely, first gathering McFerrin's ideas from past albums, recorded improvisations etc, weaving them into substantial compositions that average about 10 minutes in length.

Each piece is a journey unto itself, in which African, Eastern European, jazz, Western classical, R&B and pop elements bump up against each other, blending and recombining in a constantly shifting kaleidoscope of harmony and rhythm. Singers were brought together from various disciplines including world, classical and R&B to form a versatile virtual choir, facilitating the ability to create unprecedented choral timbres. I'm told that there were over 1400 vocal tracks in all. Lyrics were written in everything from Arabic to Zulu, comprised of 15 languages. While there are moments of Bobby's signature playful improvisations, for the most part the album is comprised of through composed music.

Superficially, this album hearkens back to the vocal complexities of Medicine Music, one of Bobby's most satisfying efforts, in which he overdubbed his voice to create an a cappella chorus which employed a minimum of percussion to augment the grooves. In a way, " Vocabularies" is a sort of "Medicine Music" on steroids. In fact three of the seven tracks on this album are re-workings of songs off of that album. But it's as though they've gone from black-and-white to color, from animated short to epic film. Consider the opening track, "Baby." Conceived as an innocent nursery rhyme with an African folk feel in its original form, here it is turned into a convoluted harmonic maze, constantly modulating and playfully cavorting, yet always returning to its original motif and key. The result is a feeling of expansive and deep childlike joy that is the hallmark of McFerrin's best work. Throughout the album, McFerrin's voice can be heard weaving and ducking, sometimes coming to the foreground for a moment, but the focus on this outing is clearly on the compositions, not Bobby's virtuosity.

Other highlights include "Say Ladeo," a joyous romp with an infectious chorus that comes as close to a pop tune as anything gets on the album. It's a pretty thing that would be a pleasure to hear on the radio, although in this day and age it is unlikely that a gorgeous a cappella confection such as this will hit the top 40 (as "Don't Worry, Be Happy" once did,) even in the pared down version found on YouTube.

Another surprise is the elegiac "Brief Eternity", the album's closer. It is a serious piece of Western classical music, supported here by string orchestra, winds and harp. Treece's impressionistic orchestration evokes Debussy's Nocturnes, especially "Sirenes", occasionally bringing to mind contemporary composer John Tavener's chorale sonorities. A spiritual longing permeates this lush piece, rising to quiet ecstasy in its satisfying finale.

The most profound piece for this listener is "Messages," a tour de force which effortlessly serves up elements of Eastern European, Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Western classical in a rich contrapuntal stew, seasoned with odd meters and exotic percussion. It is in this sophisticated composition that one begins to hear what may be a glimpse into the future of music in the 21st century, a future in which separate world music traditions come together as equals, each having its own unique voice, blending into a unified chorus in perfect harmony.

Considering the state of the world today in which civil discourse is becoming archaic, a world in which nations squabble with one another like ill tempered children, where the heart of barbarism still shapes the body politic in many parts of the world, Bobby McFerrin has given us a profound vision of a utopian society in which all members are respected and valued, a future where beauty and peace reign supreme.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerhouse choral music, April 11, 2010

By 

David Reiley "Principal Research Scientist, Y... (Berkeley, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: VOCAbuLarieS (Audio CD)

Bobby McFerrin is a musical genius, and this album continues to demonstrate that fact. His compositions and improvisations go beyond what anyone previously thought the human voice could do. Relative to the previous albums I've heard by him (Circlesongs, Beyond Words), this one has fuller orchestrations and a much larger chorus. I'm reminded of Bach, Mozart, and Manhattan Transfer, mixed with joyous African rhythms and harmonies (think Lion King) and scat singing. McFerrin's own solo vocals feature his clear, flutelike falsetto.

Listen to this album, but also make sure to watch clips of McFerrin's vocal improvisations on YouTube. Better yet, try to see him in concert. We saw his live performance last night in San Francisco, and it knocked our socks off. His musical improvisation reminds me a bit of Robin Williams playing the genie in Aladdin - the performance is eclectic, eccentric, surprising, joyous, virtuosic and beautiful. Kudos to McFerrin for finding his amazing voice, creating something entirely new, and moving us to pure ecstasy with his music.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bobby McFerrin's VOCAbuLarieS!, May 9, 2010

By 

MRC (Valley Village, CA. United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: VOCAbuLarieS (Audio CD)

This is a brilliant vocal album. The arrangements by Bobby McFerrin and Roger Treece are stunning. The time and effort put into making this project come to life brings wonderful rewards for the listeners. The sound quality is amazing. Hearing these voices sing these arrangements is thrilling. The level of excellence in their intonation and musicianship is inspiring. I would recommend this recording to anyone in music education at any level. I would recommend this to anyone who simply enjoys the sound of the human voice. This CD has passion, commitment to excellence, and pure musical joy.