With all the talks of politics...

and who deserves to be the Democratic nominee, I have become disenchanted with the whole lot! What with the media and press' constant embellishments and need to sensationalize everything for the sake of ratings, and not for the journalistic ideals we the people deserve. No one is an exception, not Fox, not CNN nor MSNBC. ('cept maybe Mr. Anderson Cooper for reasons which are clear to most)

Where was I, oh yes, patriotism! I looked around YouTube to be inspired again amidst this whole debacle, and found several renditions of our National Anthem.

*side track: some facts about the national anthem*

Our National Anthem was formulated from a poem written by a 35 year old lawyer named Francis Scott Key who witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore which lasted all through the night, and saw a torn and battle worn weary but still flying flag in "...the dawns early light". The music itself was based on a British drinking song "To Anacreon in Heaven" which was attributed to John Stafford Smith. A lot of singers would find that the song is very demanding with its long sustained notes and many peaks and valleys of range. The song often takes so much concentration on the vocal side, that most forget the lyrics, hence the need for pre-recording by even professionals in fear of such a disastrous event. A Jazzy version was performed by Jose Feliciano during the 1968 World Series at Tiger Stadium, which in fact was the first time artistic liberties were taken with the song. Marvin Gaye sang a soulful rendition during the 1983 NBA All-Star game a year before his death. Roseanne Barr generated a veritable firestorm of acidic criticism with her version in 1990, which wasn't the only time someone had to apologize for their bad performance or disrespect of the song. Steven Tyler had to as well when his ad lib at the 2001 race didn't bode well with the audience/spectators. He replaced "...home of the brave." with "...home of the Indianapolis 500." (trying to fit in all those syllables was a crime in itself, Steven)

In my exploration I found this beautiful version, crafted/arranged by the amazing Mr. David Foster, and sung by a phenomenal woman! The way this song was done was so justified that it deserves top shelf! It should be the standard! Not so much frills, sung in the way I believe it should be sung (with utmost respect to the original arrangement), without overt runs it was a delight to be heard. From the way it made my heart rate palpitate on overdrive and fill with pride, to the way the voice made goosebumps raise up on my arms easily enough to be mistaken for braille (and it would read "WOW!"). The sheer vocal talent of this singer help catapult this song to a pedestal it surely deserves (at least in my book). She sung it full voiced with no use of the head voice (also known as falsetto) for the high and critical notes, just with some good ol' belting, and the fact that it was sung live is a testament to the fact that some artists are good on record, and then there are those who just have it! And she definitely has it!

So, inspired to feel more patriotic and give my perspective of this presidential race a much needed jolt of enthusiasm, I present you David Foster's production of The "Star Spangled Banner" sung live at Super Bowl XXXIV by the wonderful Miss Faith Hill.



P.S. You thought I was going to say Whitney Houston, huh? Come on, admit it! For the most part it's overly praised and people just follow suit to what others think, lemmings come to mind when people comment on it! It was also pre-recorded and not live when it was performed at the Super Bowl. I love me some Whitney and her magnificent voice, but for me, Faith takes the gold.