wadude
Active Member
Maybe missed her, but Ann Wilson seems to be from the Grace Slick branch of women Rock singers. Candy Givens is another. Perhaps Bjork too, from time to time. Leather lunged, clean and clear. Rock!
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Is There or Will There Ever Be Another Singer Like Ann Wilson (Heart)?
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coonmanx
Addicted to Fun and Learning
This idea that there is some best female singer... I find that laughable. There are many great and talented female singers out there and thankfully they are not all just clones of Ann Wilson. Ann Wilson was just one of many. I will see your Ann Wilson and raise you a Grace Slick. People, why not just enjoy the music for what it is instead of trying to push your preferences on someone else. Lots of great music out there to enjoy and lots of great female singers...
I was introduced to Jill Scott by Gilles Peterson on his R1 show way back in mid 2000’s, the track was “Golden” and soundtracked the summer of 2005 for me.
tmtomh
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To the OP's point - yes, Ann Wilson is, as others have noted, a singular talent: no one else sounds quite like her. Unlike some other singers, both male and female, there's a pretty unique and recognizable quality to her voice and her singing style.
But none of that means that no other female rock singer was as good as her or could sing as powerfully as her - and likewise it doesn't mean there's no one similarly good or powerful around now. So I disagree with the OP on that point.
But I do understand where the OP is coming from. Led Zeppelin was my first love musically, and I feel about Robert Plant similarly to how the OP feels about Ann Wilson - a singular talent and to me personally the best rock vocalist ever. Moreover, while I love Zeppelin, I'm actually not very much into hard rock generally and not into metal at all really. I just find Zeppelin so distinctive, and Plant so distinctive, that he/they are better than all the similar acts to me.
Where I part ways with the OP is that I feel this is just my own personal preference. One can make a somewhat objective case for Zeppelin being the best hard rock band ever - but one cannot make an objective case that Plant and Zep were so much better and so qualitatively better that no one else was like them. That level of preference is subjective to me (and anyone who might happen to agree with me).
But none of that means that no other female rock singer was as good as her or could sing as powerfully as her - and likewise it doesn't mean there's no one similarly good or powerful around now. So I disagree with the OP on that point.
But I do understand where the OP is coming from. Led Zeppelin was my first love musically, and I feel about Robert Plant similarly to how the OP feels about Ann Wilson - a singular talent and to me personally the best rock vocalist ever. Moreover, while I love Zeppelin, I'm actually not very much into hard rock generally and not into metal at all really. I just find Zeppelin so distinctive, and Plant so distinctive, that he/they are better than all the similar acts to me.
Where I part ways with the OP is that I feel this is just my own personal preference. One can make a somewhat objective case for Zeppelin being the best hard rock band ever - but one cannot make an objective case that Plant and Zep were so much better and so qualitatively better that no one else was like them. That level of preference is subjective to me (and anyone who might happen to agree with me).
Sgt. Ear Ache
Major Contributor
KD Lang could certainly belt them out. I'm a big Neko Case fan too and she can cut loose when she needs to.
Introduced me to a folktronica band called Tunng with their release “mothers daughter” way back in mid 2000s as well as countless others, I’d absolutely love to spend a weekend going through his record collection.
A mate from Glasgow knows him quite well as her music/album label has been championed by him for a number of years, she says he is an amazing encyclopaedic musical genius and one of the most genuinely nice folk she’s ever met.
Her latest album below, played a lot on his show and R6music playlist
Rebecca Vasmant - Who We Are, Becoming
Listen to Who We Are, Becoming on your streaming service
Powerful female vocals you say?
I give you Koko Taylor
I give you Koko Taylor
MattHooper
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My music history has me holding Robin Zander of Cheap Trick as the best rock vocalist ever.
Incredible vocal control, insanely versatile, able to move from manic rage vocals that put punk rock to shame right to bubble gum pop tones, even within the same song.
Of course I am not actually saying he’s the best just my favourite.
I can certainly see the case for Robert Plant as perhaps top of the mountain rock God.
wadude
Active Member
"I got a loose board and there's a hole in the crack!" (29 Ways to My Baby's Door)
wadude
Active Member
There's delivery, which is great, but to me it is better when matched with a message, either explicit or implied. I think that's where Grace Slick excelled. Not that I'm a Jefferson Airplane fanatic or anything...but whether psychedelic or political, those people had something to say! Plus, "best" is elusive. As Keith Richards said, (paraphrasing) "On some nights we're the world's greatest Rock and Roll band."
MattHooper
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I’m not sure how many other people feel this way but I often (not always, but most of the time) have a problem with people singing out of tune.
I grew up in a very musical family - we had four pianos in the house and tons of different instruments because my dad was a jazz musician and a music teacher. And when we’d be watching TV or listening to music, my dad would often comment “ out of tune” when somebody was playing out of tune or singing out of tune. I probably picked that up from him because I’ve been very sensitive to it.
Listening to singers like Karen Carpenter or Linda Ronstadt makes it so easy because they’re effortlessly in tune. I like Debbie Harry’s vocal tone, it’s unique, but her intonation could be a bit wobbly.
And perhaps because I’m pretty critical this way, I’m less than less interested in music with the vocals than I ever was. On the other hand my appreciation for a good singer is higher than it ever was.
And here comes the real bummer…
On the Internet with new musicians, I simply have a hard time being able to appreciate the singing. Because virtually all of it is pitch corrected or auto tuned. Even virtually every amateur musician with their TikTok videos…. Pitch correct pitch correct pitch correct.
Just a while back, it had happened on a video of a young trio life in 3-D, and I thought “ wow who would’ve thought such beautiful, well controlled vocals would’ve come out of those three?” at first, I was quite charmed and thought “ now there’s some naturally talented young people!”
But then, when they descended in their harmonies, especially it hit me how utterly perfect it was. And then my heart sank… Probably pitch corrected. And sure enough on the wings of Pegasus YouTube channel that analyzes performances for autotune and pitch correct, Yep that group uses pitch correction.
It’s just an absolute bummer to not know whether I can actually appreciate somebody’s real singing ability anymore.
That’s one reason why when I’m praising singers I tend to go back to the days before auto tune.
I grew up in a very musical family - we had four pianos in the house and tons of different instruments because my dad was a jazz musician and a music teacher. And when we’d be watching TV or listening to music, my dad would often comment “ out of tune” when somebody was playing out of tune or singing out of tune. I probably picked that up from him because I’ve been very sensitive to it.
Listening to singers like Karen Carpenter or Linda Ronstadt makes it so easy because they’re effortlessly in tune. I like Debbie Harry’s vocal tone, it’s unique, but her intonation could be a bit wobbly.
And perhaps because I’m pretty critical this way, I’m less than less interested in music with the vocals than I ever was. On the other hand my appreciation for a good singer is higher than it ever was.
And here comes the real bummer…
On the Internet with new musicians, I simply have a hard time being able to appreciate the singing. Because virtually all of it is pitch corrected or auto tuned. Even virtually every amateur musician with their TikTok videos…. Pitch correct pitch correct pitch correct.
Just a while back, it had happened on a video of a young trio life in 3-D, and I thought “ wow who would’ve thought such beautiful, well controlled vocals would’ve come out of those three?” at first, I was quite charmed and thought “ now there’s some naturally talented young people!”
But then, when they descended in their harmonies, especially it hit me how utterly perfect it was. And then my heart sank… Probably pitch corrected. And sure enough on the wings of Pegasus YouTube channel that analyzes performances for autotune and pitch correct, Yep that group uses pitch correction.
It’s just an absolute bummer to not know whether I can actually appreciate somebody’s real singing ability anymore.
That’s one reason why when I’m praising singers I tend to go back to the days before auto tune.
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Ever heard the Wailin Jennys, @MattHooper?
EDIT: Ideally, live -- and unamplified. They have, or at least had, a tradition of ending their shows with an a cappella version of The Parting Glass (which was also the closer on their first full length album), in small-ish venues, at the very front of the stage sans mics.
EDIT: Ideally, live -- and unamplified. They have, or at least had, a tradition of ending their shows with an a cappella version of The Parting Glass (which was also the closer on their first full length album), in small-ish venues, at the very front of the stage sans mics.
MattHooper
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I just gave that a listen, very nice thank you!
As I earlier mentioned my admiration for ABBA’s Agnetha Faltskog’s singing (OK I developed a crush on her too, which helps…) as part of my somewhat recent and fairly embarrassing descent in to ABBA fandom, I’ll post an example of some vocals I really like.
Here’s ABBA doing their hit Chiquitita. Agnetha and Frida are surely one of the best vocal blends in pop music:
I actually think I prefer the singing in their Spanish version here … maybe because I’m concentrating solely on their voices, and I also like the Spanish inflection they bring to that version.
Bit of trivia from the 1979 UNICEF concert video above: ABBA donated the proceeds of that song to various children in need foundations and apparently it became such a long lasting hit it’s still funding those programs.
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ABBA's whole package was the quintessence of pop. I mean that in a complimentary way.
Magnificent arrangements.
I vividly remember hearing Waterloo when it was new (being an avid SWL in those days helped with hearing Euro pop hits early).
Magnificent arrangements.
I vividly remember hearing Waterloo when it was new (being an avid SWL in those days helped with hearing Euro pop hits early).
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