Ross Ballard, WV audiobook meister, praised nationally
Ross Ballard, the leader of WV’s only audiobook company, has been leading the nation with his super-high quality versions of WV, and other, books. ForeWord magazine recently published this survey of the new super-high quality audiobooks now available. Unfortunately, the WV media have refused to pay any attention to one of our own. Hopefully many more West Virginians will learn about Mr. Ballard and MountainWhispers.com.
Quotes:
“While a narrator is the quintessential key to a great audiobook, other elements can certainly improve its quality. MountainWhispers.com Audiobooks turns soundtracks and sound effects into an art form.”
“Gone are the days when narrators trudged through the text like a mule. Now, talented actors and narrators tackle nonfiction audiobooks with zeal.”
“While narrator Ross Ballard II drives the story with his light southern drawl and distinctive vocal characters, the addition of sound effects and a full twelve-song soundtrack give this audiobook a par excellence rating.”
Can You Hear Me Now?
The Rising Standards of Audiobook Publishers
by Lance Eaton, ForeWord Magazine
Twenty years ago, audiobook enthusiasts could be spotted by the large
clunky cases of cassettes they carried. Rather than purchasing audiobooks
at prices often two or three times the cost of their hardcover
counterparts, listeners borrowed from libraries or even rented them like
videos. Typically, audiobooks were read in a monotonous, droning, and
sometimes inconsistent voice. However, the Digital Revolution drastically
changed the standards of audiobooks. Listeners can place dozens of hours
of listening on their MP3 players, CDs, flash cards, iPods, and other
newer technologies. Now, as a multi-billion dollar industry, audiobook
publishers have realized that quality (of sound) and quantity (of hours of
listening in relation to price) will drive listeners back to their
products. Professional actors, elaborate sound studios, and talented
directors are now commonplace features for many audiobook publishers.
Actors such as Ian McKellen, Glenn Close, Sissy Spacek, and many others
have narrated audiobooks.
Like many niche markets though, the independent sector pushes the
boundaries of the industry. In recent years, these economically peripheral
players have played central roles in the expansion and direction of many
trends. Many have been recipients or finalists for Audie Awards, the
industry’s awards for excellence. These publishers work toward providing
the listener the highest quality sound possible, and in most cases, they
deliver.
Many new publishers will go the route of the classics to establish
themselves in the industry. Because of copyrights and the market risk, a
classic can be both cheap and a generally safe investment. It works on the
same principle that sends people to see Shakespeare repeatedly: different
performances yield new interpretations.
In this vein, Parmenides Audio has released its first audiobook, The
Essential Homer (978-1-930972-12-4), abridged versions of the Iliad and
the Odyssey narrated by the translator Stanley Lombardo and award-winning
actress, Susan Sarandon. While these epics have been abridged by about one
third, Lombardo provides listeners with a brief summation of omitted
chapters and sections. His translation proves exceedingly accessible to
the common reader, while the philhellene may find it a bit watered down.
Lyrical and bass-filled music transitions listeners from one section to
the next. Sarandon reads each book’s introduction and chapter summaries
while Lombardo delivers powerful and tension-filled narration with a deep
but edgy voice. Though she reads competently, Sarandon’s acting talents
seem almost wasted on the summarizations.
With a mix of male and female voices, Poets Look at Eternity (Level 4
Press, 978-0-9768001-8-7) delivers a range of poems from Shakespeare and
Ezra Pound to lesser-known poets. While poetry anthologies have generally
been frowned upon by the industry, editor William Roetzheim has placed his
entire Giant Book of Poetry anthology in audio format by turning each
theme into its own individual audiobook. Rather than overwhelming the
listener with hundreds of poems, each themed audiobook averages about
sixty poems, spanning only one or two CDs. But again, what makes these
audiobooks compelling is the dramatic and emotional readings by the
narrators. Poetry was always an aural medium, and so these anthologies
return poetry to its natural form.
Single-narrated audiobooks have also come a great distance. Forest
Whittaker took home the Oscar for the cinematic portrayal of the Ugandan
dictator, Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland in 2006. However, Mirron
Willis’s narration of the audiobook (Blackstone Audio, 978-0-7861-5848-5)
by the same name surpasses Whittaker’s performance. Following the exploits
of Nick Carrigan, a Scottish doctor who unknowingly becomes a trapped
member of Amin’s entourage, the fictional tale reveals the sweeping acts
of atrocities performed by or on behalf of the dictator. In addition to
narrating the first-hand account through Carrigan’s eyes, Willis must
establish a slew of vocal characters, including the aggressive and
African-accented Amin and the timid and Scottish-accented Carrigan.
Through all fourteen hours of this audiobook, Willis maintains an
intensity and sincerity in his narration that few screen actors could
match.
While a narrator is the quintessential key to a great audiobook, other
elements can certainly improve its quality. MountainWhispers.com
Audiobooks turns soundtracks and sound effects into an art form. Their
latest production, “Crum: A Novel” by Lee Maynard and Meredith Sue Willis
(978-0-9717801-9-4), follows the story of a nameless teenage narrator who
finds amusement, love (or at least lust), and trouble in the small
backwater town of
Crum, West Virginia. While narrator Ross Ballard II
drives the story with his light southern drawl and distinctive vocal
characters, the addition of sound effects and a full twelve-song
soundtrack give this audiobook a par excellence rating. The mix of blues
and country songs on the CD soundtrack and played in the background
throughout help portray the tension of the town’s love-hate relationship
with its youth.
Tears of a Tin God by T. Ray Gordon (Apex Audio Theatre) returns listeners
the world of old-time radio. Originally written by Gordon as a radio play
before his death in 1961, this, among seventy other scripts, never made it
to air. Producer and narrator, Richard Sellers has released this and other
works by Gordon as audiobooks. With a deep stern voice, Sellers commands
the narration of this science fiction tale that poses the question of
whether or not love can overpower godhood. When professor Mark Kendall is
inducted to an alien race with unimaginable power, only his wife Susan is
left to convince him not to destroy the humanity. With lightly sprinkled
sound effects, a full cast, and occasional background music, Sellers does
impressively well for such a small publisher.
In addition to capturing adult audiences, many audiobook publishers are
targeting youth with appealing and accessible titles such as Star Beast by
Robert Heinlein (Full Cast Audio, 978-1-933322-74-2). This tale of
companionship introduces listeners to John Stuart and his alien pet
Lummox, an enormous beast that has been a companion to the Stuart children
for generations. But John and Lummox’s relationship is challenged when
Lummox’s actions throw them into a series of events with intergalactic
repercussions. This production includes more than thirty cast members with
David Baker providing the story’s narration. Full Cast Audio has
specialized in providing fantastic and award-winning books for young adult
listeners.
Nonfiction in audiobooks has been pushed to greater standards and
expectations too. Gone are the days when narrators trudged through the
text like a mule. Now, talented actors and narrators tackle nonfiction
audiobooks with zeal. Here again, Blackstone Audio proves to be a
forerunner in providing unabridged nonfiction with skillful narrators who
command the text and grab hold of listeners. Gullible’s Travels: The
Adventures of a Bad Taste Tourist by Cash Peters (Blackstone Audio,
978-1-4332-0071-7) is the ultimate travel guide for people who want to
experience the very worst that the United States has to offer. Whether it
is the
Museum of
Bad Art, the
Witch
Museum, or
Graceland, Peters revels in
the tacky and absurd. With more than a decade of radio experience, Peters
is also the obvious choice to narrate his audiobook. His jubilant and
animated English-accented voice cannot help but pull listeners into his
adventures. His light-hearted tone dominates his reading to the point
where listeners easily imagine a big goofy smile on Peters face while
reading this.
While listeners of Guilible’s Travels may never need to visit the places
he discusses, Jane’s Smart Guides are the perfect audio tour guides for
exploring a variety of destinations. The conversational manner of Jane
MacIntosh in Jane’s Smart Guides: Fra Angelico: San Marco (Context Audio
Guides, 978-097690523-3) provides listeners with a welcoming walking tour
guide of Fra Angelico, a convent in the heart of
San Marco, Italy. The
small booklet included provides listeners with a floor plan and tips on
getting the most out of the convent and this audio guide. Both the beauty
and the bane of the Smart Guides is that their product line thus far has
covered different and unique places of art rather than the more typical
art centers.
The Truth About Lies by Andy Shea and Steve Van Aperen (Bolinda Audio,
978-1-74093-862-4) may not turn every listener into the perfect lie
detector, but James Wright’s hearty and aged English-accented voice will
certainly facilitate more learning than one’s own reading. Like any good
narrator, Wright provides timing and emphasis-something not all readers
can do. The audiobook examines how and why people lie as well as some key
attributes to look for in a liar. Additionally, Shea walks listeners
through several case studies of previous known (or suspected) liars.
Granted, Wright’s impersonations of such people as Bill Clinton and George
W. Bush are comical at best, but his primary function to vocalize the
intent and meaning of the text certainly is not.
Audiobooks first came to fruition as a medium for the blind. American
culture, for the most part had already made the leap from sound (radio) to
visual (television/videos) in their constant desire for entertainment.
Those first audiobooks might have been well-narrated but that tended to be
a matter of happenstance rather than purpose. However, in the late
eighties and early nineties, as cassette and CD players became portable
handheld devices and commonplace in vehicles, audiobook publishers found
new thriving markets. As digital technology becomes cheaper and more
accessible, publishers have found themselves realizing that price alone
will not induce customers but the quality of their productions will.
Nowadays, popular narrators have a following of listeners and rarely does
a narrator read a book without the lead of a director. In some ways,
audiobooks have reach a pinnacle point as an entertainment medium where,
like Hollywood, a culmination of elements and standards must blend
together to create an audio blockbuster.
