Kari Bremnes
Looking for good recordings of female vocals I have not yet tried...
Most of my listeing is female vocals and classic Jazz. I have enjoyed current and older female singers. I have most of Billie Holiday through current Diana Krall and Julia Fordham. I enjoy good voices mainly acoustic. It would be helpful if it is music I can sample online. If the backing is mainly loud elctronic I would likely pass. Thanks for your thoughts and experience.
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The quintessential female jazz singer is Peggy Lee. Check out the album The Ultimate Peggy Lee, it is recorded very well and her style is so unique and subtle while extremely effective. Songs she made popular, 'Why dont you do right' with Benny Goodman, 'Fever' in 1958. She wrote and produced , 'I don't know enough about you'. Many more including the classic, 'Is that all there is'. Just a very under rated songstress from thr 40s and 50s. Many say she was the female version of Frank and I agree. Adding morr fuel to the fire they are reportedly to have hooked up frequently. Not surprising. |
+1 (I'm partial to NJ's "Come Away With Me" and "The Fall"). +1 for Alison Krauss/US "Live". Incredible recording and her voice is heaven-sent. I might also suggest Patricia Barber. Her recordings are well-engineered and she has one of those "smokey" jazz voices. Not to mention some very wellp-written pieces. |
Try Sophie Zelmani. Specifically the track called 'All About You' on the Soul album. You'll swear Sophie and the players are in the room with you. And it's only Redbook CD quality. I can only imagine how good a hirez version would sound. You can also try Lake Street Dive's 'Obviously' album. Rachel Price is a very soulful vocalist and this album has some catchy and clever tunes. Rachel, if you read this please get the Lake Street Dive posse down to S. Fla. |
Eva Cassidy 'Live at Blues Alley' Proof positive She could sing any song, any genre, better than almost anyone. Emmy Lou Harris 'Spyboy' Maybe the best album she ever made. Jewel 'Have A little Faith In Me' from the 'Phenomenon' soundtrack. She morphs into Janis Joplin halfway through the song as her band channels 'Big Brother & the Holding Company. Amazing. Totally worth finding.
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Thanks for the thread @Jusam. The problem with such engaging threads, especially those asking for favorites, is that the become too long to read to the very end before you respond unless you have hours and hours. I think that is a testament to the pent up passion you gave tapped into as well as the depth and breadth of the subject. I got hooked on female vocals a few years after I dropped out and began widening my horizons beyond acid rock, early heavy metal, and male singer songwriters like Neil Young and Jackson Browne. I heard some old girl group singles on FM radio that I had dismissed when they debuted on AM in the sixties. The Dixie cups, the Ronettes, The Crystals, The Chiffons, Barbara Lewis. You know the drill. Or maybe your parents would. So many years of collecting wonderful female vocals. If you like belters, I would agree with Brandi Carlisle, and I would add Joan Osborne and Nicole Atkins. Not that many others listed here are not treasured parts of my collection. Dusty Springfield has always been a favorite, but Son of a Preacher Man is much lower on my list that You Don't Have to Say You Love Me. |
Some great stuff here, grooving to Linda Ronstadt and Sophie Zelmani. Don't think I saw any mention of Joan Baez, great acoustic folk or with a band in the '70s. Also love Aimee Mann, such a great songwriter. And in the guilty pleasures category, there's Barbra Streisand - Guilty, a vocal classic, great big belting. Just picked up The Story of My Life: Lea Salonga Live from Manila, her voice is just clear as a bell and so emotive. And was rocking out to Evita recently with Patti Lupone, powerful as well and such a great actor, a shining performance. |
@bdp24 , Which of Ms. Welch's albums do you recommend as an introduction? I know The Harrow & The Harvest is pretty popular. |
