Why are we arguing about whether she's a good singer or not?

I'm not certain if I've ever actually heard her sing as I don't listen to pop music at all. (As a bluegrass musician friend once said, "The field of unpopular music is wide open.") And my taste doesn't, in general, run towards singer/songwriters.

But from what I've heard, she has a wonderful voice. And she needs to take care of it if she is to continue touring or recording.

I would imagine she's still being treated by the celebrated laryngeal surgeon Dr. Steven Zeitels, who helped her through the crisis with the vocal cord polyp that hemorrhaged a few years ago. He's treated a number of celebrities -- including Mudcat celebrities Tom Hall (Curmudgeon) and Kendall Morse (Kendall). If anyone can help PRESERVE Adele's voice, it will be Dr. Z. He truly understands how important voice and vocal quality is, not to just singers (although someone once said his waiting room is like the green room at the Met), but to anyone who uses their voice -- teachers, sales people, writers, the clergy...indeed, ANYONE. Without a voice, one's life changes dramatically. And for a singer, it's devastating.

One can't sing their way through a vocal cord crisis. Talking can permanently damage the voice. She needs to rest her instrument (and receive therapy) or she could lose her singing voice completely.

So what's the problem here? From what I gather, she has a beautiful powerful voice, enunciates well, chooses interesting and complex material. Why are we debating the value of differing genres of music? It's all a matter of personal taste.

As far as accents go, back when Curmudgeon was performing at The White Horse Pub at the Nereledge Inn in North Conway, New Hampshire back in the '80s, we became friendly with Paul Ross, English rock climber, who was at that time living in the area and hanging out at the pub. Tom's singing confused Paul -- he said Tom sounded like a Brit, but he couldn't quite put his finger on the exact accent. That was because Tom had learned the songs (of the British Folk Revival) from recordings of English and Scots singers -- who came from different parts of the island. Part of it, I'm sure, was intentional -- to sing like a singer he admired. And part is surely UNintentional, just a part of learning a song from a recording.

Linn