To borrow my own analogy: there were many fine male singers in the golden age with tone, talent and technique - but if it was about putting all those qualities in the 'service of emotion', Sinatra was your man. And what else is a torch song meant for but to create emotion?
Peter, I'm think this applies to the discussion here, as it involves the "maturing" of the artist.
Anyway, I am the son of a very good jazz saxophonist, but didn't inherit his ear, so I don't really listen to much music outside of the car.
But we do have XM radio and one channel my wife and I will both listen to is the Sinatra channel, and the most striking thing I have noticed is how his singing changed over the years.
To my ear, his instrument was much better in the early years, but he wasn't "The Chairman of the Board." He had the tone and and talent.
In his second "career," after being a movie star, his command of technique was AMAZING, even if his tone and talent had eroded.
Maybe that's where Doak and Brauer are headed. They'll slowly mature into accomplished artists, whose technique is so finely evolved that it won't matter how old they are.
K