[Tango-L] Screaming Tango singers

[Shahrukh Merchant]

Went to see a Tango show tonight ... Corporación Tango's "Vibraciones 
del Alma." Perhaps I'll post a review on that later, but mainly was 
wondering (again) about the extremely unfortunate habit amongst 
contemporary Tango singers, of "belting" their lyrics, often practically 
to the point of screaming them.

None of the singers of the Golden Age seemed to need to do this (and 
they had arguably weaker amplification equipment); on the contrary, they 
were far more convincing in expressing the melancholy and 
bitter-sweetness of the lyrics of their Tangos "pensively," rather than 
screaming them like an infant having a tantrum (albeit in better tune).

But the audience (Argentine, foreigners, Tango dancers, non-dancers, 
doesn't seem to matter) seems to love it. Or is it that they have been 
conditioned into applauding automatically the louder he sings?

Is there no contemporary version of a Roberto Ray (just to pick one of 
my favourite Tango "crooners," though I could have used almost any of 
the classic singers as an example)? Is it an ego thing with the 
contemporary Tango singers that they feel they have to overwhelm every 
other instrument? Is there even anyone else on Tango-L who feels this 
way (or who LIKES the "belting" style, which would actually be better in 
some ways so I can try to understand the phenomenon ... even though I 
doubt I will actually start to appreciate it)?

Shahrukh