55th Annual Grammy Awards Review 2013

Review of the live performances at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards Show held on February 10, 2013.

Katy Perry arrives at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards
Katy Perry arrives at the 55th annual Grammy awards

After last year’s Grammy Awards I said I wasn’t going to watch it anymore. It’s long, it’s tedious and the speeches are almost universally boring. But it’s those moments when an artist really nails a live performance or when something truly meaningful is said during an acceptance speech that brought me back to the grammies once again this year. I always like to see if I can decide if a performance is live or if it’s just a fancy lip-synch dance number. So I watched the show hoping for an amazing performance or even a great joke or memorable acceptance speech. The show was broadcast on February 10, 2013 and this is how the whole night went down.

This year’s awards were hosted by LL Cool J and kicked off with a performance by none other than Taylor Swift. I guess they wanted an entire show to recover from a bad performance if need be. Continue reading “55th Annual Grammy Awards Review 2013”

55th Annual Grammy Award Nominees 2013

The 55th annual Grammy Award nominees in the top categories. Brodacast on February 10, 2013.

Bruno Mars Performing
Bruno Mars will perform at the 55th annual Grammy Awards on Febuary 10, 2013.

The Grammy awards will be broadcast on February  10, 2013. These are the nominees in the most popular categories for the 55th annual Grammy awards.

Record of the Year

  • Lonely Boy – The Black Keys
  • Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) – Kelly Clarkson
  • We Are Young – Fun. featuring Janelle Monae
  • Somebody That I Used To Know – Gotye featuring Kimbra
  • Thinkin Bout You – Frank Ocean
  • We Are Never Getting Back Together – Taylor Swift Continue reading “55th Annual Grammy Award Nominees 2013”

54th Annual Grammy Awards Review 2012

Review of the live performances at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards Show held on February 12, 2012.

Adele Performing at the 2012 Grammy Awards
Adele Performs At The 54th Annual Grammy Awards

I said I wasn’t going to watch the 54th Annual Grammy awards this year. I really hate the industry love-fest they have. But I love to hear how live bands and singers do on awards shows. It’s always fun to try and guess who’s lip-synching and who has the chops to pull it off live. So how did the performers fare at the 54th annual Grammy awards show? Let’s break it all down here.

The show took place on February 12, 2012 and opened with Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street band. Bruce looked excellent and he’s keeping himself in great shape. His voice was strong although maybe not as cutting as in the past. The band sounded great though. It was sad to see him without the great Clarence Clemons. Bruce did a live performance and it was a great way to start the show.   Continue reading “54th Annual Grammy Awards Review 2012”

53rd Annual Grammy Awards Show Review

A musician’s review of the 53rd annual Grammy Awards television broadcast held on Febuary 13, 2011. Including a select list of winners.

Lady Gaga Dancing At The Grammy's 2011
Lady Gaga Dancing At The Grammy's 2011

   I said I wasn’t going to watch the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards this year but I just couldn’t help myself. One of my favorite live musicians of all time, Mr. Jeff Beck, was up for a couple of awards so I tuned in to see if he won. It was held on Febuary 13, 2011 and  I do have to say I DVR’d the whole show because I just couldn’t fathom sitting on my couch for three and a half hours watching lame acceptance speeches directed at people I neither know nor care about. As usual, I’m looking primarily at the live performances that were featured on the 2011 Grammy Awards show.     Continue reading “53rd Annual Grammy Awards Show Review”

Jeff Beck – Les Paul Tribute 2010 Grammy Awards Video

Video of Jeff Beck and Imelda May performing How High The Moon at the 2010 Grammy Awards.

  In my review of the 2010 Grammy Awards I talked about an excellent live performance by Jeff Beck and Imelda May.  Here is the video of Jeff Beck and Imelda May performing the Les Paul/Mary Ford classic “How High The Moon” at the 2010 Grammy Awards. I really think it’s cool that Jeff picked up a Les Paul guitar to play this tribute since he is such a genius on the Fender Stratocaster. Jeff also does a great job copping some classic Les Paul licks during the song. Imelda May simply has a beautiful voice and she nails the vocal on this song.

   I do believe that Les Paul deserved about four times as much time for a tribute than he got on the Grammy’s. I don’t think the recording industry would be what it is today without Les Paul’s amazing innovations in recording technology as well as guitar craft. I hope you enjoy watching this performance as much as I did.   Continue reading “Jeff Beck – Les Paul Tribute 2010 Grammy Awards Video”

2010 Grammy Awards Review

Review of the 2010 Grammy Award show with a focus on the live performances.

Pink Performs At 2010 Grammy Awards
Pink Performs At 2010 Grammy Awards

   The 2010 Grammy Awards were a very interesting spectacle this year. At times it was entertaining, at times it was boring and predictable. The live performances overall were actually quite good and there were some great ones as well as some real duds. Since this is Live Musician Central, we’ll be reviewing the live performances more than the actual winners.

   One of the best performances of the night for me was the Les Paul tribute by Jeff Beck and Imelda May. Their performance of the Les Paul/Mary Ford classic “How High The Moon” was simply excellent. Jeff’s guitar was one of the few lead guitars that was actually properly mixed for the evening. Another of my favorite performances was Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige singing Bridge Over Troubled Water. Andrea Bocelli’s voice was simply amazing.   Continue reading “2010 Grammy Awards Review”

Grammy Awards 2010 Preview

The 2010 Grammy Awards will include an interesting cross-section of live performances.

Shakira
Shakira Performs At The 2007 Grammy Awards

   The Grammy awards are coming up this Sunday January 31, 2010. They’ll be shown on CBS at 8PM ET/PT and just like last year, I’m sure they’ll disappoint. Every year I watch the Grammy’s and then vow that I’ll never watch them again. Let’s face it, since music distribution has gone so heavily digital and hit songs are basically just hits in a certain niche, the Grammy’s just don’t hold the same allure as they used to have. I guess an indication of all the niche markets is the fact that there are over 100 categories for for Grammy awards. So if you’re into rock and roll, you should get about 10 minutes of enjoyment out of the Grammy awards.

   I guess it’s just how the music industry is that everything is categorized and marketed to a certain audience. The Grammy’s, after all, is as much a celebration of targeted marketing as it is a celebration of musical creativity. The Record Of The Year category is loaded with the top sellers for 2010. But great albums like “It’s Blitz!” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are crammed into their own niche. So congratulations Lady Gaga, you have been marketed very well this year. Good luck winning the Grammy for your silly song “Poker Face”.    Continue reading “Grammy Awards 2010 Preview”

2009 Grammy Award Show Review

Review of the 2009 Grammy Awards show.

  

Katy Perry - Where's she hiding that banana?
Katy Perry - Where's she hiding that banana?

   In recent years I had given up on watching the Grammy awards so I was determined to watch this years show. The one thing that I’ve always enjoyed about the Grammy awards is the live performances by the nominees. As a live musician myself I enjoy seeing who can pull it off and who can’t. I always find it interesting that the weakest performances of the night come from the current years pop sensation. This year the weak performance award has to go to Katy Perry. She’s sort of cute but she has to hate the fact that her big hit is about a faux lesbian encounter. She looked quite uninspired although I did laugh out loud when she came riding down to the stage in a gigantic banana! Ha ha! Phallic symbol alert for Katy. I’m sure it was intentional.

   Another performance that had me scratching my head and saying “What the hell?” was the pairing of the Jonas Brothers with music legend Stevie Wonder. I’m sure glad Stevie is blind because watching the Jonas Brothers pretend to be rock gods was stomach turning. I felt so sorry for the poor Les Paul Custom guitar that Jonas boy was beating on and pretending to be playing. It was sad really. Miley Cyrus was also quite irritating although Taylor Swift sounded quite good. There’s something about Miley’s voice that’s grating to me.

Continue reading “2009 Grammy Award Show Review”

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