11/05/24
October 29, 2009
Tim McCarver Sings: "As Tim McCarver is fond of saying, 'A picture is worth a thousand words,' and in the process of listening to an entire great American songbook, your brain will take you away to anywhere between three and seven pictures, idylls and reveries that tap into the collective unconscious memory of what it meant to walk amidst Eden."-- a review of the new album, Tim McCarver Sings Selections from The Great American Songbook
I agree, BI, that McCarver is going for a Sinatra delivery. Obviously a huge influence. But I listened to all of the samples from the release and came away with the impression that his delivery is a little monotonous and leaden. And he is a bit pitchy sometimes.
His voice is pleasant enough but I can't get over the fact that it is so clearly like his speaking voice. It's almost distracting. I was expecting him to say something blatantly obvious and banal about baseball and instead he sang about why he'll remember April..
posted by THX-1138 at 11:23 AM on October 29, 2009
Can the man who once Eye-Racked his way through saying "El Doo-Kway" on air a million times handle a song like Bay-Sa-Me Mucho?
Part of me wants to find out and part of me doesn't.
Watch out, McCarver haters, if this thing takes off, he'll end up doing 50 weeks a year in Vegas and Fox will hire Buck Martinez to replace him.
posted by beaverboard at 11:45 AM on October 29, 2009
It can't possibly be any worse than Bob Dylan's new Christmas album.
posted by Ufez Jones at 01:10 PM on October 29, 2009
Watch out, McCarver haters, if this thing takes off, he'll end up doing 50 weeks a year in Vegas and Fox will hire Buck Martinez to replace him.
Do you promise? Anything that gets rid of McCarver would be worth it. Martinez isn't great, but he is still an improvement over McCarver. At least I could watch a game without having to mute the sound and listen to the time delayed radio broadcast.
Maybe we could do like the Scientologist do with L. Ron Hubbard books and go out and buy a bunch of the CDs just to ensure it stays on the best sellers list.
posted by Demophon at 02:49 PM on October 29, 2009
Please lord, do not allow me to hear this. Ever. I'll do my part if you do yours.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:57 PM on October 29, 2009
Please make it stop, please! Oh, the humanity! My heads hurts just having his voice in my mind! Are there any pills which will let me forget this?
posted by jjzucal at 10:58 PM on October 29, 2009
he does the song justice and Sinatra would be proud.
Sinatra would rip off his head if he was still alive. He's probably rolling in his grave over your comment. Have you no respect for the dead?
McCarver is good only in comparison of how bad most expect him to be. Here's a review that gives it 3 out of 5 stars. Then again, not sure how reliable it is. It goes on:
Tim McCarver was a heck of a baseball player and is, despite the fact that many of you find his broadcasting annoying, a fantastic color analyst who teaches us more about the game with each passing telecast.
posted by justgary at 12:14 AM on October 30, 2009
Everyone has their own opinion about sports, music, politics, religion you name it. Just because some people aren't a fan of McCarver's broadcasting doesn't mean that his singing is bad.
I'm not a fan of every song that he sings but apparently someone felt that he was good enough to make an album with him doing some actual singing.
Unlike some of today's so-called artists that use technology to make them sound half-way decent but are really horrible singers, McCarver does surprisingly well but again, that's just my opinion.
posted by BornIcon at 08:36 AM on October 30, 2009
Just because some people aren't a fan of McCarver's broadcasting doesn't mean that his singing is bad.
And just because he's not bad doesn't mean he's comparable to one of the Gold Standard singers of the 20th Century either. It's disappointing that every time a decent athlete appears in a sport, ESPN has to ask if they're the greatest of all time or if a recent game was the best performance ever. So it is with anything else: we're insistent now on things being either The Worst Ever or The Best Ever. It's fine to say McCarver's a decent singer. The little I've heard seems ok, but it's no more remarkable than half of a town's choral society members. If he didn't have a career in sports, do you think he'd have an album deal?
posted by yerfatma at 10:02 AM on October 30, 2009
And just because he's not bad doesn't mean he's comparable to one of the Gold Standard singers of the 20th Century either
Whoa! Slow down a bit speedy, I never compared McCarver to Sinatra. I just said that when he sings a Sinatra song, he does it justice.
No one will ever be another Chairman of the Board but there have been decent singers that's emulated Ol' Blue Eyes before and have done a decent job. McCarver just so happens to sing one of my favorite Sinatra songs and IMO isn't as bad as people seem to think.
posted by BornIcon at 11:06 AM on October 30, 2009
This reminds me of the whole Paul Potts phenomenon. I heard his take on Nessun Dorma and thought it was fantastic. Then I went back and took a listen to Pavarotti singing the same selection.
Holy shit, Pavarotti is in a different universe. That fat man could yodel.
Since I'm never actually going to listen to this, I'm assuming a similar arrangement.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:46 PM on October 30, 2009
I actually heard some of McCarver's singing on the Dan Patrick show and he is very good. McCarver has a smooth, velvety voice and when he sings one of Frank Sintra's hits, he does the song justice and Sinatra would be proud.