Friday Rewind- Phyllis Hyman: Living All Alone
Whew…
What a voice! This song gives me chills every single time I hear it
Go ahead, do yourself a favor, and get lost in this tune.
This is a perfect marriage of the right voice, the right musicians, the right production, the right moment. If you listen- I mean, really listen closely- you can hear it. There’s something that lives there in the music, in between the notes.This is what being in the pocket sounds like. Furthermore, this is what being in the pocket feels like. In the case of “Living All Alone”- the title track from Phyllis Hyman’s 7th album- it’s heartbreakingly beautiful.
If you’re a woman of a certain age, everything about this tune just hits different. You can not only hear the pain in her voice that she’s singing with, but you can more than likely, in some way, identify with it.
The phrasing, the emotion, and the way she attacked each and every note- makes for the case that Hyman’s voice should have been registered as a national treasure.
It makes me mad (and sad, all at the same time) when I think about the fact that she’s no longer here with us. That in her lifetime, she never got to experience how much she was revered. A Goddess. A True Legend In Her Own Time.
Two Words: Whistle. Solo. That is all
