Had the pleasure of getting PBS Passport, which allows you access to a ton of PBS and local PBS programming. Holy crap, it’s got a lot. Worth it for the Ken Burns stuff alone.
Speaking of, Burns has a great taste in narrators. Hearing the late John Chancellor (of NBC news back in the day) narrate the earlier stuff. Perfect fit. Sounds not too authoritative, not too newsy, and not boring (seeing how this is a post about PBS stuff, though, I have a feeling many are going to disagree). Author David McCullough worked on others, and has nearly the same sound as Chancellor. These guys are what I try to go for on my non-fiction, historical stuff, but I don’t nearly have the tone (yet) of these guys.
Peter Coyote and Keith David are the more contemporary guys for Burns, different styles, for sure. Coyote has the more “nicotine stained” voice of the two, but David has a smoother delivery. Hard to choose a favorite, although I know I’d take Keith David’s VO career in a heartbeat. He’s everywhere.
One person that did an audiobook for Stephen King that never got the recognition (strictly in VO) she deserved is Grace Slick. For one reason or another, I’ve never heard her narrate anything else. But she’s still kicking, and definitely should be heard more often than she has been.
Anyone have any personal favorites?
In other news, enjoying the newly renovated recording booth; it’s nice to be able to actually move and have ALL the equipment I have in it.
-Lee