Jimmie Dale resonates when he sings about writing love songs when he should have just strummed his guitar.

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The wry, dry voice belongs to the great Randy Newman, who's usually at his best when he sings about how much life sucks.

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When he sings, "We're going to be alright" on "Stop for Her, " we believe him, even though he clearly has a specific audience in mind.

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When he sings the classic song of betrayal called "Perfidia, " he sounds like he's reliving a rejection from long ago and feeling it all over again.

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Ms. MARIA ANGELA BOZIO (Resident, Mantova, Italy): (Through Translator) When he sings, he moves us in ways some of the best singers are unable to do.

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Hadfield's earnest voice and unique perch in space brings a moving immediacy to Bowie's verses, and when he sings, "I'm floating in a most peculiar way" while actually floating, it's a powerful moment.

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Whether or not he is going to get a hit outside of New Hampshire will be known shortly when he sings his tune in South Carolina and Florida over the next two weeks.

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It's that air of tragedy that makes "The '59 Sound" seem like more than a simple rock barn-burner: When Brian Fallon sings, "Ain't supposed to die on a Saturday night, " he captures the way a summer night behind the wheel can positively burst with youthful abandon, ever-present danger and fragile promise.

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