March 7, 2019

"The man of a thousand voices talking perfectly loud/But nobody ever hears him or the sound he appears to make..."



I was amused by this perfect version of the old Beatles song. I must have heard it before — it's from 1968 — but I don't remember. The demeanor of the female singers is downright spooky. The lines I chose for the post title interest me. It feels like a variation on  If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?:  If the man of a thousand voices is talking perfectly loud but nobody ever hears him, how can he appear to make a sound?

44 comments:

CJinPA said...

All my buddies and I listened to in high school was the Beatles, and that was 10 years after they had broken up. I had forgotten this gem.

rcocean said...

Needs less grease in that hair.


The dry look

rcocean said...

Needs less grease in that hair.


The dry look

Nonapod said...

Paul McCartney sure loved seventh chords.

Edmund said...

If the man of a thousand voices is talking perfectly loud but nobody ever hears him, how can he appear to make a sound?

Sound of silence?

MadisonMan said...

I've heard that version many times. I'm trying to remember when/where. It might have been a movie?

Churchy LaFemme: said...

This was always my favorite version of the song.

Mendes and his Brasil groups made a lot of great music. The "best of" is recommended.

effinayright said...

"If the man of a thousand voices is talking perfectly loud but nobody ever hears him, how can he appear to make a sound?"
************************************

Maybe even from a distance, you can see his mouth moving?

derp

Yogi Bear said...

Per Wikipedia

Lani Hall (born November 6, 1945) is an American singer, lyricist, author, and the wife of Herb Alpert. From 1966 to 1971 she performed as lead vocalist for Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Maybe even from a distance, you can see his mouth moving?

Blesséd are the cheese makers..

gspencer said...

"If the man of a thousand voices is talking perfectly loud but nobody ever hears him, how can he appear to make a sound?"

When you're in the state - LSD, alcohol, weed - it all made perfect sense.

I was gonna clean my room until I got high
I was gonna get up and find the broom but then I got high
My room is still messed up and I know why
'Cause I got high

I was gonna go to class before I got high
I coulda cheated and I coulda passed but I got high
I am taking it next semester and I know why
'Cause I got high
Because I got high
Because I got high

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Lani Hall (born November 6, 1945) is an American singer, lyricist, author, and the wife of Herb Alpert. From 1966 to 1971 she performed as lead vocalist for Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66.

And of course Brasil was on Alpert's A&M record label.

Here are a couple of more nice ones: Mais Que Nada & One Note Samba

Shane said...

Listening to this, it occurs to me clearly why Sherrod Brown is not running for president.

Ann Althouse said...

"Sound of silence?"

That reminds me:

"Robert Christgau , of Esquire magazine in May 1968, wrote it "shows signs of becoming a favorite of the Simon & Garfunkel crowd and the transcendental meditators, who deserve it. A callow rendering of the outcast-visionary theme, it may be the worst song the Beatles have ever recorded."

(Wikipedia)

RigelDog said...

Those dresses---ack! Horrible colors, horrible style/lines, horrible postures--and wth is wrong with the bust area of the dresses? Looks like the women weren't wearing bras and instead stuffed the tops with crinkled wrapping paper.

gspencer said...

They're called Empire dresses,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_silhouette

". . . is a style in clothing in which the dress has a fitted bodice ending just below the bust, giving a high-waisted appearance, and a gathered skirt which is long and loosely fitting but skims the body rather than being supported by voluminous petticoats."

WhoKnew said...

Nice cover, but not the best of Brazilian pop music. For that you need to listen to Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao and Astrud Gilberto instead of Sergio Mendes

WK said...

They're called Empire dresse.....

I though maybe they were both pregnant....

Enlighten-NewJersey said...

The song is not similar to a tree falling in the forest. I believe it’s saying that anything the man (fool on the hill) says falls on deaf ears because they don’t like him or his ideas. The man (the fool on the hill) in turn doesn’t listen to the others because he knows they’re the fools. An idealist with his head in the clouds disliked by others who refuse to really listen to what he’s saying. The man on the hill keeps doing his thing unperturbed by the lack of acceptance.

“Well on the way, head in a cloud
The man of a thousand voices talking perfectly loud
But nobody ever hears him
Or the sound he appears to make
And he never seems to notice”

“And nobody seems to like him
They can tell what he wants to do
And he never shows his feelings”

“He never listens to them
He knows that they're the fools
They don't like him”

TrespassersW said...

I remember the Sergio Mendez cover better than the Beatles recording, mostly because it got a lot of play on the "beautiful music" station my parents had playing most of the time.

Wince said...

The piano player reminds me of Hellboy.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

I used koans to drive my kids crazy and pass time on family road trips. But primarily to teach them to think critically. It worked pretty well but I'm stuck insisting that the tree doesn't make a sound for the rest of my life.

Wilbur said...

I was 14 in 1968. I vividly remember hearing this song on WLS.

There was such a tremendous variety of music on youth radio then; I don't think people who weren't alive then can imagine what it was like. You could hear this song followed by James Brown, followed by The Stones, followed by Johnny Cash, followed by the Caprenters. The exposure to different genres was great.

Rick.T. said...

1966 was an electic year. I am shocked there are no Beatles singles here in the top 10.

1. The Ballad of the Green Berets - Sgt. Barry Sadler
2. Cherish - The Association
3. You're My Soul and Inspiration - The Righteous Brothers
4. Reach Out I'll Be There - The Four Tops
5. 96 Tears - ? and The Mysterians
6. Last Train to Clarksville - The Monkees
7. Monday, Monday - The Mama's and The Papa's
8. You Can't Hurry Love - The Supremes
9. The Poor Side of Town - Johnny Rivers
10. California Dreamin' - The Mama's and The Papa's
11. Summer In the City - The Lovin' Spoonful
12. Born Free - Roger Williams
13. These Boots Are Made for Walkin' - Nancy Sinatra
14. What Becomes of the Brokenhearted - Jimmy Ruffin
15. Strangers In the Night - Frank Sinatra
16. We Can Work It Out - The Beatles
17. Good Lovin' - The Young Rascals
18. Winchester Cathedral - The New Vaudeville Band
19. Hanky Panky - Tommy James and The Shondells
20. When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge

Koot Katmandu said...

I guess I did not spooky. You are the word person perhaps you can clarify?

Mr. D said...

I will always associate this version with Sunday afternoon drives with my dad, listening to the easy-listening station (WHBY) in Appleton. You might get some Hugo Winterhalter or Hugo Montenegro next.

William said...

Pleasant enough to listen to, but having two hot girls sing his praises doesn't enhance the significance of the fool's suffering.

JZ said...

This sounds like the version I heard many times on the radio. So, I think everyone’s pantomiming.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Brasil 66 doing the Beatles...our daring flirt with ethnic music!

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Sergio Mendez & Fembot 66

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Needs less grease in that hair.

Yo Sergio-- every 3000 miles bring that hair in for an oil change

effinayright said...

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...
Brasil 66 doing the Beatles...our daring flirt with ethnic music!
*****************

goddamn cultural appropriation, is what it is!

effinayright said...

WhoKnew said...
Nice cover, but not the best of Brazilian pop music. For that you need to listen to Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao and Astrud Gilberto instead of Sergio Mendes
*********

and Caetano Veloso

(and why the "instead of"? Why not "also"?)

Unknown said...

The brunette is Lani Hall, wife of Herb Alpert

RBE said...

This was a constant on the radio that summer. Love it!

jeremyabrams said...

This version starts out in 6/8 time, which I don't think the Beatles used, before settling in to a straight 4. Kind of fun.

heyboom said...

Whoa, one of my all-time favorite groups! In all of it's iterations, although I must confess that Lani Hall was my crush of crushes. Got to meet her at the L.A. Festival of Books six years ago and she still looked great for her then age of 67. I was starstruck!

gilbar said...

there's a world of difference between hearing and listening

Jenster said...

This was the first version of the song i ever heard as a small child. Brazil '66 was one of the groups my father collected records of so i was constantly playing them. This was also the time 'The Fly' movie started to be shown on TV often.

Cosequently whenever I heard it I would make the association. "The eyes", "The thousand voices" "perfectly round"

when i finally heard the original, I thought it was lacking.

Funny how a child's mind works...

azbadger said...

Excellent song. Karen Phillip, the blond, was Lt. Dish during the first season of M*A*S*H

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Don B. said...

Sergio Mendes also did a great version of “Norwegian Wood.” You should look that one up too.

Roger Sweeny said...

On reason the women have a "downright spooky" "demeanor" is that they are desperately trying to make it look like they are not lip-synching; the visual has to match the recording every split second.

Lexington Green said...

I went on a binge a few years ago, listening to all of the videos in TouTube of Sergio Mendes & Brasil ‘66. They were extremely good. Samba-Pop was a genre in the 60s which is mostlynow forgotten. Lani Hall was a great singer. Their covers were tasteful and always done with a neat doin from the original. Check out their version of Wichita Lineman. Not sure what is spooky about the songers’ demeanor. Lani Hall did seem to have poor posture some of the time, slumping instead of standing up straight.