A bunch of the artists I enjoy most have what may be considered as a very unconventional vocal quality. Now everyone is "unique' as are their fingerprints, to be shure, but the artists I'm thinking about are real standouts in that they are unmistakeably...well....odd perhaps. An aquired taste as their voice could easily grate on many. Maybe I should give some examples and that would be a better way to get what I mean accross:
Tom Waits comes first to mind. The little girl voice of Joanna Newsom. Those two I enjoy very much. One I just can't stand to listen to myself, Diamanda Gallas - Hey If I wanted to hear screaming like that I can just 'forget' to do the dishes a few nights in a row! Oh, yeah, Sean reminded me recently of the most bizarre, Klaus Nomi, whose mezzo soprano voice sounded more like a woman than a man. Actually Klaus was difficult to categorize himself. But actually, his voice was quite lovely as far as conventions go. So he wouldn't really qualify.
I guess what I'm saying is that these are not conventionally 'pretty' voices, yet they are engaging to many nonetheless, and certainly gifted artists, as far as those I've mentioned goes.
Defining "unique" as instntly identifiable and a sound all their own....I agree with many mentioned but will need to add Leon Russell. Not only indentifiable audibly but visually! Don't have much of his music but when I do play my tunes in random and come across his old stuff I am instantly transported back to my teen years.
It's been a while and this thread has survived a few years. I'll add a few I've learned of since last post, all of which I enjoy very much. There are a whole lot on here that I'd consider rather conventional myself, but I guess that's what makes a discussion.
John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats
Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel
Nimrod Workman (a coal miner from Kentucky - powerful an unique)
-Peter Hamill, (Van der Graaf Generator) -Robert Wyatt, (Soft Machine, Matching Mole) -Don Van Vliet,(At times sounded like Howlin' Wolf, but you'd never mistake one for the other). -Richard Butler, (Psychedelic Furs)
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