“The Fool” by SATE – A Song Feature

 

     SATE’ single “The Fool” reminds us of the reasons we will never tire of hearing Aretha Franklin’s “Ain't No Way.” There are certainly more differences between the songs than there are similarities. But the similarities are what make SATE’s and Franklin’s songs powerful and memorable. Both songs are driven by lead vocals that reach out and pull the listener into the emotion of the message; and both would be praiseworthy based solely on the lead vocals. However, the addition of backing vocals that are simultaneously soulful and operatic bring the two songs together, while separating them from other songs on our playlists.
 
     In “Ain't No Way,” the contrast of lead and backing vocals is best appreciated at the 3:12 mark (the Soundcloud stream is included in this post). The voice belongs to Crissy Houston, the mother of Whitney Houston. For the single of SATE, we are most impacted by the 60 seconds that begin at 2:22. From the credits, it appears that the soulful/operatic backing vocals are from Marla Joy.
 
     “The Fool” is the title track from SATE’s recently released sophomore album, which is accessible at https://stateofsate.bandcamp.com/album/the-fool. SATE also released a short film (included herein) that has a focus on the title track. The press content explains:
  “The album is connected to her love for the Tarot and is named after the hero of the Tarot deck, ‘THE FOOL!’ The album is an anthem for anyone who has dared to dream and work towards their greatest self. If you love dirty rock, powerhouse vocals with punk-blues attitude, you will dig it.”
 
     The single begins with a psychedelic instrumental build that leads to the captivating voice of SATE, who is based in Toronto, Canada. As the song progresses, the instrumentation is intelligently varied from being almost nonexistent to having a force on par with the lead vocals.
 
     “The Fool” by SATE

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Website: https://stateofsate.com/
Bandcamp: https://stateofsate.bandcamp.com/