Your Favorites - Female Vocals

[David Meek]

Hi gang,

With all the "trivia" and "one-hit" and other cool threads going around, I thought I'd try to start a new series of threads on various favorites. If we get enough action, I'll see about making a master list of the top 20 of each or some such. How about starting with female vocals? Which women have voices you can listen to over and over? Some of my favorite ladies' voices (and their associated groups, if applicable) are:

Amy Lee - Evanescence
Annie Lennox - Eurythmics
Linda Ronstadt
Sarah Brightman
Sarah McLaughlin

[Kevin P]

All of the above, Dave. I recently became an Evanescence addict myself.

Others I really like include:

Diana Krall
Dido
Norah Jones (her first CD)
Suzanne Vega

Runners-up but still worthy of mention:

Ann Wilson (of Heart)
Natalie Imbruglia
Enya

I'm sure I'll think of others...

[David Meek]

I recently became an Evanescence addict myself.

Yeah, I'm just waiting in anticipation of a new album! :yesnod: I haven't heard anything, but that doesn't keep me from hoping....

[Kevin P]

Yeah, I'm just waiting in anticipation of a new album! :yesnod: I haven't heard anything, but that doesn't keep me from hoping....

I thought Fallen was new? I guess not. I started hearing "My Immortal" on the radio within the past month or so, and grabbed the CD.

According to Amazon, it was released in March 2003? Maybe they are due for a new album...

[RJW1138]

My faves:

Dido
Enya
Georgia Hubley - Yo La Tengo
Holly McNarland
Justine Frischmann - Elastica
Kelli Dayton - Sneaker Pimps
Kim Deal - Pixies, Breeders
Kristy Thirsk - Rose Chronicles, Delerium
Margo Timmins - Cowboy Junkies
Mary Timony
Miss Angie
Nina Persson - Cardigans
Sarah Harmer - solo, Weeping Tile
Sarah McLachlan
Skye Edwards - Morcheeba
Tegan and Sara Quinn - Tegan & Sara


Awesome one-off's (don't know much else from singer):

Sinead O’Connor on Massive Attack's "100th Window"
Liz Fraser (Cocteau Twins) - Massive Attack, "Teardrop"
Lisa Gerrard (Dead Can Dance) - Gladiator score
Leigh Nash (Sixpence None the Richer) - Delerium, "Innocente"

[David Meek]

Hi Ryan, welcome to The Guide. :welcome:

I haven't heard some of your ladies which is cool. I'm always on the prowl for new artists to look into.

P.S. How's the weather way up North?

[Kevin P]

Liz Fraser (Cocteau Twins) - Massive Attack, "Teardrop"
Leigh Nash (Sixpence None the Richer) - Delerium, "Innocente"

Two more ones I like. :T I'm not familiar with the others you posted.

[MattCXII]

Yes to all of the above.

Also check out Leigh Nash - Charmed Life
- With Every Breath (Sixpence None the Richer)
- Need to be Next to You (Sixpence None The Ricker)

There is something about a females voice... it's my primary choice of music.

Also try Morcheeba... Aud19 was right... unique and very open voice.

[David Meek]

I started hearing "My Immortal" on the radio within the past month or so, and grabbed the CD

My Immortal and Bring Me Back To Life both were on the soundtrack to Daredevil which really jump-started their climb.

[George Bellefontaine]

My faves ? Gosh, there are so many, and some will probably predate many of you. Anyway, here's a few:

Ella Fitzgerald
Margaret Whiting
Helen Forrest ( Forrest & Whiting were strictly big band singers)
Judy Garland
Doris Day
Peggy Lee
Rosemary Clooney ( the later years)
Dinah Shore
Vera Lynn
Patsy Cline
Linda Rondstadt
Anne Murray
Dusty Springfield
Nancy Sinatra
Bonnie Raitt
Sarah Brightman
Diana Krall
Norah Jones

[RJW1138]

Hey everybody, thanks for the welcome. I've been lurking here for several months now, but finally felt tempted enough by this thread to jump in. I love good female vocalists, and want to spread the word and learn some more.

David, the weather's actually been pretty incredible here lately. It's only 1C right now, but should be going up to 9C by this aft. October and November have been the mildest we've experienced in a long time, I'm sure. It could easily be -15C by this time of November. It has gone sub-zero a few times, but has always rebounded with more nice weather. It snowed once in October, but that didn't last long, and it STILL hasn't come back. This is pretty incredible, though it probably won't last much longer. In the meantime, yay global warming! ....(?)

Matt, I guess I'll have to check her out more. I absolutely adore her voice on Innocente, but the only SNTR song I've ever heard was "Kiss Me", which turned me off from wanting to pursue them. But, I'll check out those tunes you mentioned and hopefully I dig them.

[David Meek]

Ryan, I'm glad you took the plunge. Keep your eyes open for other threads in this vein....

-15C? Brrrrrr.

[RJW1138]

Remembered another:

Miss Angie - This little-known sweetie makes christian tunes with trite lyrics, but the music's awesome and her voice is soooo sultry


Sure, -15C isn't much fun, but have you ever experienced -38C? Now THAT's Brrrrrr. Yup, us prairie Canadians are insane. I'll never understand why our uncestors settled this land...or why the heck WE still stay here.

[DelRay]

Natalie Merchant is one of my favs. Stevie Nicks too.

[dave]

David I will definitely support this idea of yours good move!!!
heres my contributions,

Eva Cassidy
Kate Wolf
Natalie Merchant
Lana Lane
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Kathy Mattea
Allison Krauss
Jennifer Warnes
Peggy Lee
Cheryl Wheeler
Bonnie Raitt
Nanci Griffith
Lorreena Mckennitt (Irish Singer) very cool

[H.Donald]

I tend to listen to the more sultry females,therefore.....
Sade is the queen...also Tracy Thorn from Everything but the Girl...the song "like the desert miss the rain" is one my deserted island songs.
Cassandra Wilson,Diana Krall,Meshell Ndegeocello all find their way into my cd player.

[MattCXII]

That's why I tend to enjoy the southern point of Ontario. -38... what's that? Heh.


QUOTE=RJW1138]Remembered another:

Miss Angie - This little-known sweetie makes christian tunes with trite lyrics, but the music's awesome and her voice is soooo sultry


Sure, -15C isn't much fun, but have you ever experienced -38C? Now THAT's Brrrrrr. Yup, us prairie Canadians are insane. I'll never understand why our uncestors settled this land...or why the heck WE still stay here.[/QUOTE]

[Chris D]

I too have become an Amy Lee fan. I bought the Seether album with her singing the duet "Broken" just for that song. (the rest of the album isn't very good)

Weren't those Evanescence songs in Daredevil, not Spiderman?

[David Meek]

Oh, of course they were Chris. ops: Post corrected.

[Bam!]

Good thread David! :T

Fo' Me!

Ofcourse Nina Simone....

Sade

PAtty Barber

Holly Cole

Dido...fo' sure!

[Kevin P]

This is a great thread. Now I have a ton of new female vocalists to check out! There goes my CD budget for 2005.

[David Meek]

This is a great thread. Now I have a ton of new female vocalists to check out! There goes my CD budget for 2005.

Hehe, my work here is done. :B

[David Meek]

C'mon Burke, don't be shy....

[kmak]

Sarah Rulz

[Andrew Pratt]

Enya
Holly Cole
Sarah Brightman
Celine Dion (some of her earlier works like Power of love etc)
Lorreena McKennitt - Dave she's actually Canadian and grew up just south of me.
Diana Krall
Norah Jones
Andrea Corr (of The Corrs)

[David Meek]

Sarah Rulz

Which Sarah? Or all of them? :

[kmak]

There's only one Sarah in my universe....McLachlan.

[Glen B]

I'm always on the prowl for new artists to look into.

By all means check out one of my favorites, Marilyn Scott, a talented singer-songwriter who has worked with a number of top-flight artists over the years, yet seems to be unknown to a lot of people. Following is a link to Marilyn's website. Clicking on the "music/video" link on the home page will take you to full-length samples of selected tracks from each of her albums.

http://www.marilynscott.com/mscott/index.html

[David Meek]

Thanks Glen! :T

I wish there were more artists that would allow you hear more than 15-20 seconds of their music.

[John Holmes]

Great thread!

There are a ton of great ones for sure. But I do find myself listening to a lot of Teena Marie, Sade, and Patti Labelle.

Glen,

This Marilyn Scott is very nice! Thanks for the link. She has a great sound.

[jimmyp58]

I am truly struggling at naming a female vocalist. Shania Twain comes to mind (but not necessarily for singing ability :T ).

[Burke Strickland]

What? No one has mentioned Madonna, Dolly Parton or Britney Spears? :>)

Of course not. Rather than seeking recognition for singing talent, they're competing for "greatest hits" (repeat "greatest hits" three times in a row). :>)

Here are a few female vocalists who haven't already been mentioned as favorites, but who have certainly earned mention as some of mine:

Joan Baez (first lady of folk, Bob Dylan's occasional duet partner, and purveyor of unforgettable songs including 'The Night They Drove Ole' Dixie Down", "Diamonds and Rust", "Hello In There", "Bangladesh", and many more.)
Rita Coolidge (often overlooked and under rated -- has transcended genres with consumate musicianship. She did one of the James Bond theme songs -- "All Time High" -- which would be an affecting song even if it had no movie association.)
Emmylou Harris (except for the James Bond theme, ditto the above, only more so. She's not just some country singer -- she's a birdsong from paradise. Her Grammy-winning album "Wrecking Ball" is a good place to start if you are not familiar with her work and want "big sound". The follow-on live album "Spy Boy" has a more "acoustical" sound -- instrumental backup not as studio-"overproduced" as on "Wrecking Ball".)
Patricia OCallighan (If you've missed her almost operatic renditions of Leonard Cohen's songs, then you owe it to yourself to catch up with her.)

Some other favorites:
Judy Collins (She's done some deeply affecting work that holds up well today, in addition to some superficial pap that I skip over. She owns "Clouds" aka "Both Sides Now", even though she didn't write it, and her version of "Suzanne" got more listeners for Leonard Cohen's tunes than his gravelly voice ever would. :>) She also brought "Send In The Clowns" to a wider audience, although I prefer several other artist's versions. An early hit was a country-ish tune, "Sometime Soon", which has been covered more recently by Suzy Boggus.)
Janis Joplin (I stiill remember where I was when I heard she had overdosed -- ironically it was just after listening to her timeless cover of "Me and Bobby McGee". Her passing was a tragic loss, but her gutsy, passionate, music lives on.)
Joni Mitchell (A quirky genius. "Songs to Aging Children Come" played during a funeral was the most moving scene of the movie "Alice's Restaurant". She probably wishes people would think of her when they think of "Clouds" aka "Both Sides Now". She wrote it, as well as "Chelsea Morning" and many other songs made popular by others.)
Jane Monheit (She dares to start her second album with "Over The Rainbow", and a few measures into it, you won't even be thinking about anyone else's version (at least not for the duration of her performance). She also covers some of the same songs as Holly Cole and although both are jazz stylists, their approaches are quite different. While I think Holly Cole is the more accomplished performer overall, both are well worth listening to.)

Perhaps a bit more pop oriented:
Fiona Apple (the inventiveness of Rickie Lee Jones without the annoying repetition) :>)
Paula Cole (lots of Coles in the music business; she's another one worth checking out.)
Thelma Houston (did someone say "disco"? She made it sound like music.) :>)
Joan Osborne (first album "Relish" only -- several of the songs are real gems, including "St. Theresa", a stunning rendition of Dylan's "Man in the Long Black Coat" and her breakthrough hit "One of Us". Unfortunately, she completely changed direction after that initial album. I gave away the second album which I had purchased without prior listening based on the appeal of the first one, and never bought the third.)
Patty Smith (Seems like she's been around since day one of the psychedelic movement, but she's still rocking, stronger and more accessible melodically and lyrically than ever. Her "People Have the Power" was a highlight of the "Best of Sessions at West 54th Street -Vol 1" DVD.)

... and just to let you know I've read the previous posts, here are a few ladies who you guys have already given their props and all of whom are represented in my collection (some of the others named in prior posts are in my collection too, but are not on my "most played" list, so I don't list them as "favorites". The ones below are.):

Holly Cole
Patricia Barber
Dusty Springfield
Jennifer Warnes
Linda Ronstadt
Lorreena McKennitt
Sarah McLaughlin
Ella Fitzgerald
Judy Garland
Norah Jones
Allison Krauss
Nina Simone
Ann Murray
Peggy Lee

Is that all there is? :>) Lot's of great talent there... and endless hours of listening enjoyment.

Burke

[Bob]

What he (Burke) said

[David Meek]

Well said Bob, well said! :B

One other lady I'll add to the list is Oleta Adams. I first heard her on a Tears For Fears album called Seeds Of Love where her voice simply captivated me. A year or so later, she put out a solo album called Circle Of One which was an overall pleasing effort with one stand-out track - a poignant, beautiful cover of Get Here (orginally done by Brenda Russell). If you haven't heard her, don't wait too long to try. . . you won't be disappointed.

P.S. I'll never understand how so much "voice" can come out of such a petite person.

[Glen B]

Natalie Merchant is one of my favs. Stevie Nicks too.

I liked Natalie Merchant while she was a member of 10,000 Maniacs. She was the reason why I bought their CDs. But now, since she has gone solo her stuff is just too "weird" for me (for want of a better word). I just can't warm up to her music now.

[David Meek]

Stevie Nicks, too

Completely forgot about Ms. Nicks. She's the vocalist on a couple of my audio "test tracks", too. :roll: