Susan G
Curious which female singers/voices (current or not so) those of you who don't like Adele do like.
Thanks-
-Susan
I love the female voice, regardless ... and how it's used is the issue. And it has nothing to do with the song itself!
This one is for you Susan!
A few examples:
Renate - Amon Duul 2 - The one no one will EVER give enough credit to. She can sound like a **** and next song is as soft as anything. She can do opera as well as hard/harsh rock. And she can belt the venom like nobody ("Mozambique") will EVER try!
Kate Bush - With an incredible range, few women have done with music what she does, and one only needs to sit and listen to "50 words for snow" to find out what an original singer and writer she is. By far one of the best in my book.
Grace Slick - In the early days. One of the most distinctive voices, and her harmonies and addons to a lot of stuff with both Airplane/Starship were excellent, and it has been said that she was even better in concert, as long as she was not ripping something or other.
Janis Joplin - All you need is "Cheap Thrills"
Sandy Denny - One of the purest and pretties voices ever to grace music in my book. The late singer left behind a legacy that is quite far and away, something that most folks hope to live for and do one day. Must listens, are "Reynardine" and "One More chance" with Fairport Convention, and her renditions of Bob Dylan material is even better.
Shakti Yoni/Gilly Smith - The "astral voice" in GONG. She has a tremendous voice, but always chose not to "sing" in the normal style. Instead she vocalized sounds and moments that added a 3rd dimention to GONG, that most bands did not have. It took the "rock" out of the male hands (look at the folks here!!!!) and added a female touch to the music that made it exciting and invaluable as an experience.
Renata Tebaldi - The one soprano that took me away in "Turandot" and her duets with Birgit Nillson were legendary, and sold the opera that could nto be staged but once in a lifetime because of its size and opulence. And they both stood up above and beyond the orchestra and everything else.
There are very FEW pop singers that I enjoy listening to, as most of the material is not designed to showcase their talents, but Mariah Carey is a sort of Pavarotti with her voice, and I did not find that good enough ... buy comparison, there were folks that had power and they also had softness alongside of it ... compare the Tosca arias, but at least 3 or 4 tenors, and you will find Gigli's the best one because it is so emotionally charged. That's an example and in many ways, I do not find Mariah emotionally charged at all. Celine I like, but is almost similar for me. Lots of pipes and poor songs that do not show her person. Instead showcase the voice ... which to me is boring without the SOUL behind it.
On the lesser known side of things, there have been in the past, a couple of things that Julianne McDuffie has done, which I really like, and once I wrote to her regarding that ability and how I hear it. She never replied, as I think she probably thought what I said was crazy, but it was a way to use what she was doing, in a manner that was more towards what I call "the other side" of music, that is not pop music, and does not lean towards the "song" format. I think this threw her off, as to ... what the heck is he saying?
Bapu and Craig, have their opinions, but they like to place comments for the sake of comments, not because they have anything to say about it. If they DID have something to say, it would be said and stated, not with a throw away line. But how quaint and boring ... some folks don't understand someone, and the best they can do is comment on the sly, instead of finding out how/why.
I do NOT do that to music or any of the arts. The arts for me, you could say, are sacred and I may not enjoy this or that, but I will always respect it. Like I say, I do not care for Loretta Lynn and her work, but her voice and feeling was not out of line or style. Same goes for Mr. Folsom's prison blues.
NP: LIVE's version of "Walk the Line" (what a huge wow that is!)