I thought it was very elegant with some interesting modern harmonies. A great melody with great words by FS Key. It may be a "difficult" song as an anthem. But isn't that how it should be? We should have to work at that song as hard as we have to work at freedom and democracy. And the Battle of Fort McHenry was no picnic!
Hmmm...I don't think the large chorus does this song any favors. The live mix was OK, bit not very punchy.
The ending was good, the way it kept climbing, but the last note undercut all of that. I know few singers have the range for it, but the last note of this arrangement should have been octaves higher.
I think the high-wire act of trying to get to the last notes is part of what makes this song so thrilling. I don't see how it was a drinking song, it's hard enough to sing sober.
My favorite version is the Whitney Houston version- I don't care if it comped in the studio or whatever, she at least gives the impression of having the range to sing the whole song full out.
Well you know what? Maybe we'd hate you right back if you took any pride in your own country.
Are you serious? No, it's not a very good song to be used as a national anthem. If they had been smart they would have used America the Beautiful which is in every way a better choice, beter song, better lyrics, and more representative of the actual country.
I thought the Williams job was well done. Truly, it's hard to impress a new musical imprint upon this piece. It's hard to restructure or reharmonize it. I think Williams' approach of interjecting new material in the beginning and about 2/3 of the way through was a great decision. I also liked the new minor changes in the chorus near the end.
For the hell of it, here's the version orchestrated and conducted by Toscanini, which has always been my absolute favorite version. You will hear that even he did not do much as far as concocting a new version; he decided instead to bring out what he could from the original. The national anthem starts at 9:00.
