John Jacob Niles -- singer, folksong collector and composer: "I Wonder As I Wander," "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair." Could go from baritone to counter-tenor in blink. |
I can't believe no one mentioned Odetta>
A truly unique and powerful voice. |
If you like obscure and dark metal, King Diamond is one of a kind, I also vote for Lane Staley, poor guy RIP |
Matt Johnson, lead singer of The The... |
Antony and the Johnsons
Jana Hunter
Devendra Banhart
Of course, Thom Yorke
Kevin Drew of BrokenSocialScene |
Thom y recommended Devendra Banhart -- yeah, I second that. Also Kevn Kinney. And on the jazz front, Blossom Dearie. And has anyone mentioned Iris Dement? |
The very first response was Iris Dement. |
Jeff Mangum-Neutral Milk Hotel & Matthew Houck-Phosphorescent. |
Natalie Merchant's voice is not necessarily "ugly", but I could see how a lot of people would not like her. It's interesting to compare her early albums to her later work. Her unique style of enunciation is now exaggerated to the point that she is very difficult to understand... but I like her nonetheless.
As far as "ugly" goes, a good example is bluegrass icon Ralph Stanley, who is the embodiment of the the popular bluegrass axiom which holds that "bluegrass is best sung from the heart and through the nose!" |
Mark Sandman, Tom Rapp, John Cale, Brian Ferry, Johnny Cash... |
Rod Stewart
Bob Dylan
Johnny Cash
Billie Holiday
Neil Young |
Doug Martsch - Built to Spill
Wayne Coyne - Flaming Lips |
Joan Baez! I know... I think she qualifies though, regardless how she may be judged ultimately. I like her earliest recordings and think her considerable intelligence made it possible for her to interpret folk songs in a fresh and interesting way for the times she offered them to. |
Mari Boine,
Rokia Traore
Geoffrey Oryema
Susan Deyhim |
Mary Margaret O'Hara, Hazil Adkins, The Amazing Delores,
Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Lila Downs, R.L.Burnsides, "Little" Jimmy Scott, Blossom Dearie, James "Blood" Ulmer.
Wasis Diop, Jack Bruce, Tony Joe White, Catfish Keith, Rockie Charles, Sekou Sundiata, Abed Azrie, Lydia Mendoza, Freddy Fender, Nicola Walker Smith, J.B. Lenoir, Jessie Mae Hemphill.
Not a clinker in the bunch. |
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You want unique? Try William Shatner on his ''Has Been'' CD http://www.shatnerhasbeen.com/ ...it's more like a monologue, but it's very effective...like the magazine Performing Songwriter wrote: He has battled Klingons with his bare hands, he has sold margarine, he has travelled the universe ! Otherwise, this cd is no joke. Most of the underground songwriting community think this is a pretty solid and interesting effort....light years away from the usual boring, sterile, 5-female vocalist cd rotation line-up in audiophilia land, only used to ''show-off sound system audio tricks. ( you know, the Barbers and Kralls of the world...) Try it with an open mind. |
John Hiatt - good voalist, great songwriter. Teaming with Nick Lowe, Jim Keltner & Ry Cooder - what a group (Little Village). |
Returning to the original intent of this topic (unusual vocal quality), I haven't seen anyone mention Beth Orton, a favorite of mine. Her latest is a gem. |
How could I have missed this thread...?!
Let's see aside from Tom Waits there is:
From my far past:
Glen Danzig (Danzig) - Forget about Johnny Cash, Rubin produced better singers before
Andrew Eldridge (Sisters of Mercy) - And he's back with his favorite drummer
Geoff Tate (Queensryche) - Operation Auditory Crime
Bono (U2) - One ?
Syd Barret (Pink Floyd) - Astronomy Vox Domine
Roger Waters - Not amused to death ?
Jim Morrison (Doors) - Even Oliver Stone thought about that one...
From my other worldly side:
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - if it has to be devotional...
And some unique female voices:
Cassandra Wilson - Tupelo Honey
Natalie Merchant - See Cruz' comments
Sinead O'Connor - Nothing compares...
Dolores O'Riordan (Cranberries) - No need to argue...
And my all time favorite female voice:
Eddie Reader of Fairground Attraction - It's got to be "Perfect"
I'll know that one from a hundred voices :)
Oh, well. Maybe not quite according to Marcos intentions, there might be some pleasant voices included above.
Enjoy!
Rene |
Nelly Furtado.
Noosha Fox.
Marianne Faithfull.
Yma Sumac.
Bon Scott. |
Well, to be honest, I like the 'special' voice of Marianne Faithfull, smokey, raw, used... Barb Jungr is another chanteuse that I can highly recommend. Great voice, wonderful sense of humour. A great entertainer. Then again, Chris Isaak is one of my favourite male singers, as is Vitas, the Russian 'singing wonder'. |
Ian Dury, Roger Waters, Rod Stewart, Chris Cornell, Seal, Prince, Michael Stipe, Thomas Dolby and Ferdie Pacheco. |
Wow, unless I missed it, this thread went on for a year without a mention of:
Bjork |
Janis Ian, Pheobe Snow, Rod Stewart, Burl Ives, Burton Cummings, Allison Krause, Tiny Tim, Willie Nelson, Gordon Lightfoot....i'll think of more as soon as I post this. |
With documentary title in parentheses:
Jandek (Jandek on Corwood)
Wayne Coyne (Fearless Freaks - The Flaming Lips)
Daniel Johnston (The Devil and Daniel Johnston)
Benjamin Smoke (Benjamin Smoke) |
I think Steve Forbert sounds exactly like Eric Clapton especially in that song that goes..."meet me in the middle of the day let me hear you say everything's ok..." |
Ferron, Toni Childs, Greg Brown |
The first ones that came to mind in terms of actual "unique voices" and not "unique vocal presentations" were Macy Gray, D.C. Dart and Nick Gilder. Unique vocal presentations would open up quite a few more doors...
I'm sure that most of you have heard Macy Gray before and i'm surprised that nobody mentioned her. I don't really like her stuff, but her voice does stand out from the crowd.
D.C. Dart sang for a couple different "punk" bands. His voice reminds me of a cross between Curly from the Three Stooges and a young slapstick Jerry Lewis. No real singing skills to back that "amazing" voice up, so it was strictly a matter of loving D.C. or hating him.
Nick Gilder sang "Hot Child In The City". Remember that song? A lot of people thought it was a woman singing, but it wasn't. At least, i think Nick is a "man" by most traditional definitions : )
As for Miner42's input, i'll have to check out Little Village. I've heard the name before, but never realized who was in the group. Hopefully, their output matches their credentials, as that should be one helluva band !!! Sean
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In recent years, Antony of Antony and the Johnsons is the most incredible voice I have heard. Hard to describe but has been compared to Nina Simone. His last album I am a Bird now is a really good album. |
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Here are a couple I don't believe anyone has mentioned but most would agree have distinctive voices: Patricia Barber and Tom Russell. |
Bjork, Snoop dog (in same sentence? :)). Eminem, Christina aguilera, Stevie nicks, Sting comes to mind. Unique. You can tell, 'they' are singing/rapping |
dave thomas/pere ubu...roger chapman/family....terry reid.... |
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Karen Dalton, try "In my Own Time" an incredible folksinger. |
I vote for Bjork and Goldfrapp. Although many copy catters have come up since Goldfrapp's ' Felt mountain".. |
All of the vocals on Beat Farmers "Pursuit Of Happiness". If that ain't "ugly" (in a strangely enjoyable way), I am at a loss. |
Kasey Chambers
Emiliana Torrini
Zulya
Montserrat Figueras
Cristina`Branco
Iren Lovasz
Eivor Palsdottir
Souad Massi
Nynke Laverman
Kirile Loo
Antje Duvekot
Mariam Motassian
Lisa Ekdahl
Mari Boine
Maria Ana Bobone
Jane Siberry
Patricia Kaas |
Colin Meloy of The Decemberists has a "nasally" voice you either love or hate. I love it. |
family's roger chapman.....the strawbs' davis cousins |
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Johnnie Bower (Toronto Maple Leaf's goalie in the 60's) singing Honky Honky the Christmas Goose. His first and last recording. Thank you Johnnie.
Billie Holiday. The Bee Gees. |
Geddy Lee, hard to believe he hasn't been mentioned yet. |
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Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and Aretha Franklin |
Linda Perry of "4 Non Blondes" fame. |
Robert Smith of The Cure. Whether you love him or hate him, you know when you here him. Undeniably unmistakable. |
Adrian Belew of King Crimson and other fame. |
