Anyone who's heard the Magnetic Fields, the Gothic Archies, or the Future Bible Heroes knows Stephin Merritt's voice (he's also responsible for The 6ths which features a revolving lineup of guest-star singers). His low and sad voice fits his sardonic song writing like a glove.
Anyone who's had the pleasure of seeing him perform live knows that his voice seems quite out of place coming out of such a small man. I don't intend to say that short people can't generally sing well. (Paul Williams is, I believe based upon Love Boat appearances, a small man as well, and whether or not you like his song writing he has a fine voice as well. Then there's the charming Davey Jones of the Monkees. Can I stop now?)
The second song I heard from him was the Furture Bible Heros song "O! What a Dream It Was," which I found on the 12 Tales CD (I later found out that it's actually a song from the Welcome To The Dollhouse soundtrack). This is the song that drove me to track down Merritt's catalog of work. Based on that song I was expecting a rather tall, dark figure in a trench coat and a heavy brow. Sort of the Peter Steele, from Type-O Negaitve, type if you will.
But size, I don't suppose, is the point here. The guys got a really cool voice. It sits somewhere near Johnny Cash's low singing, without Mr. Cash's tremelo. In fact I've had people mistake the more country ended Magnetic Fields songs for Cash songs. I don't think anyone who really knows either artist will have this problem, but the point is that Merritt's voice has that same iconic quality to it. A voice that never seems to fail me.
Buy the Magnetic Fields' latest CD, I, from Amazon.com
Buy 12 Tales from Amazon.com
Buy the Welcome to the Dollhouse Soundtrack from Amazon.com
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