Tony Visconti Questions Adele´s Singing Talent

click to enlarge

Wed Jun 8, 2016 03:46PM

Legendary music producer Tony Visconti has questioned whether Adele´s soulful voice is the result of studio trickery.Tony, 72, who produced many of the late David Bowie´s most famous albums, including Young Americans, Low and Heroes, believes that modern production techniques are so advanced that it is impossible to tell whether Adele´s voice is naturally as strong as it sounds in her hits like Hello.
"You turn the radio on and it´s fluff - you are listening to 90 per cent computerized voices," he told Britain´s Daily Star newspaper. "We know Adele has a great voice but it´s even questionable if that is actually her voice or how much has been manipulated. We don´t know."
Last year (15), Adele did admit that her voice changed considerably after undergoing throat surgery in 2011.
"It (the surgery) does make your voice, like, brand new," she told Rolling Stone magazine. "Which I actually didn´t like at first, because I used to have a bit of husk to my voice, and that wasn´t there at first."
Tony believes that the sound of modern pop is dull, due to producers being able to perfect how performers sound, adding, "There´s a sound to pop now that is so perfect it´s boring, because everything is fixed."
The producer is appearing as a judge in the second series of U.K. TV talent show Guitar Star, where he hopes he can find musicians to shake up an industry he believes has been ruined by the bland, emotion focused TV talent contests staged by Simon Cowell.
"I´m looking for virtuosos like (Jimi) Hendrix, (Kurt) Cobain and Bowie," he explained. "There´s no fluffy back story, no: ´I lost my pet dog in 97 and that made me want to play´ nonsense.´
"No one can mistake me for Simon Cowell. Today is the worst time ever in the music industry, but Guitar Star is a step in the right direction."
Tony, who also produced Bowie´s final album Blackstar, released two days before the rock legend´s death on 10 January (16), says that an updated version of the album may soon be available.
"Maybe they will re-release Blackstar with a few of these other songs that he wrote for (stage show) Lazarus," he adds.
The new series of Guitar Star will begin airing on British TV channel Sky Arts on 14 June (16).