Greatest Female Vocalists - Number Four
As you know, I am counting down my top five female vocalists of all time. Have you figured out my number ONE yet??
Number FIVE was Sinead O'Connor. You can check out that entry here.
Number FOUR:
Anne Wilson
Popularly known as the fat chick from Heart, Anne Wilson's voice is hair-raising and sexy. Blessed with a five octave range, she can rage over the fierce guitar rock of her early years with Heart, or cascade over smooth instrumentals and acoustic arrangements as she has chosen to do in later years. She represents a slew of female vocalists with powerful voices and limited artistic range - Patsy Cline, Pat Benatar, Celine Dion - simply because I love the POWER of her voice the best.
Here is Anne Wilson flying effortlessly over the gravelly guitars of "Barracuda" :
"Alone" might be her most famous vocal performance. At once haunting and steely, capped by an agonizing scream in the final minute, she perfectly captures the song's utter sadness. Here she is singing that song twenty years after she recorded it, this time in a duet with Carrie Underwood. Notice how well Carrie does next to her. And yet, the effect is like a tornado destroying a village in the middle of a hurricane.
While I freely admit that Anne Wilson's voice is not as versatile as some of the others on this list (versatility is a trait I love), her voice is still one of the great instruments of modern music.
Have you figured out number ONE yet??
posted by sammyray @ 8:13 PM
21 comments
21 Comments:
Jarboe, dude.
By far one of the most haunting female singers ever. Her solo stuff is cool, but when she was with the Swans, she was golden in my book.
The most fucked-up I've heard has to be Diamanda Galas, though. One of the few people that needs no backing music to make a creepy fuckin' record.
Well then, based on that I'll change your #1 to Stevie Nicks.
Sinead under Anne Wilson? Oh no you di'int.
I don't have a favourite female vocalist.
You know why?
@ Reverend - I agree. Awesome picks.
@ SCorpios - I definitely did. Sinead is probably a more well-rounded artist than Anne, but Anne has a voice that is smoother and more pleasant. Sinead goes uncomfortably for the juggular too often, and sometimes she screeches more than sings. Anne's voice, on the other hand, hits me in the balls every time.
@ Suspect - why is that? Are you going to make some sort of gay/straight joke?
Because female vocalists suck.
Show me a female vocalist who can sing as good as Freddie Mercury or Chris Cornell, and I'll show you a sex-change operation patient.
I didn't see the pic in the last post.
BBLLLLLLECCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Suspect, you must be INSANE!!!! Is it because women play a subservient role in Indian culture that makes you feel this way? I cannot imagine any other rational reason for you to say that...
Did you even PLAY any of the clips I have provided with the first two examples???? LISTEN to them - it's impossible to claim that after listening to them. IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!
I am truly shocked that you can feel that way.
The Chain Smoking Queen Latifah can outsing most any man.
"Sinead goes uncomfortably for the juggular too often, and sometimes she screeches more than sings. Anne's voice, on the other hand, hits me in the balls every time."
Then I guess I like taking it in the throat. Sinead's got more emotional depth than Anne Wilson, and the lyrical quality of, say, "Three Babies" crushes "Bebe Le Strange" or "How Do I Get You Alone".
Anne & Nancy bottomed out after "Dog & Butterfly". Sinead might be crazy, but at least she's still evolving artistically. Perhaps you're commenting on vocal skills alone, but the whole package makes the artist, and the singer's only as good as the song.
Oooohhh...Scorpio's looking for a fight!
I agree that Anne Wilson's day has passed. However, Anne Wilson was singing songs when Sinead was shitting her diapers.
Anne's voice is definitely the prettier instrument, and more powerful. I think Sinead's voice is very powerful, and I think she also uses her gifts more creatively. But on the whole, Sinead does not hit me in the gut the way Anne does.
I think you should be applauding me instead of arguing...most people would never even put Sinead in the top five.
"I think you should be applauding me instead of arguing...most people would never even put Sinead in the top five."
Well I did applaud you until you went and got all Midwest FM radio on me.
Anne Wilson has a pretty voice. Loved the Heart guitars. Still love "Crazy on You", "Magic Man", and "Barracuda". Then they got cheesy hair extensions and fell apart. I've not heard one redeeming peep from Anne (or Nancy) since 1980, and Scorpios hold grudges.
Sinead might have been in diapers during Anne Wilson's prime, but I bet Sinead's life experience is a far deeper well. And I don't think you'll hear her duetting with Peter Cetera anytime soon.
I've not heard one redeeming peep from Anne (or Nancy) since 1980, and Scorpios hold grudges.
They were in the Lovemongers back in the 90's & did wonderful accousticals.
Thank you for the rational thought, Skinny! You're absolutely right about that - of course, Scorpio doesn't listen to that, in order to keep her street cred.
You continue the argument for Sinead. I obviously agree that Sinead is a powerful, emotional singer.However, Anne Wilson had a pretty interesting life also (I mean, c'mon, she went through those drug years - I am sure she had some wild times), and to say that somehow Sinead is this deep ocean of experience while Anne is a mud puddle is unfair.
I might remind you that we haven't heard anything from Sinead in several years also, and except for about a two year period, she has meant nothing to music. Sure, she's made albums, but they have not sold and nobody listens to them. You should think about that before you use the "what has she done for me lately" argument against Anne.
"Sure, she's made albums, but they have not sold and nobody listens to them. You should think about that before you use the "what has she done for me lately" argument against Anne."
Sinead released an album last year, but that's irrelevant. A lot of genius artists can't sell records. Is that a comment on their talent, or on the vile music business at large? The latter. If you want specifics on how much it costs to promote and sell an album these days, let me know. Very few labels take the risk anymore, and a lot of good albums get shelved if they don't sell 100,000 copies in the first 2 weeks. This is a very sensitive subject for me. To think an artist's merit should be based on sales is total fucking bullshit.
My street cred. Hmmm. No idea what you mean by that. I'm drawn to artists who have balls and are willing to wear their hearts on their sleeves. Plain and simple.
Again, nothing against Anne Wilson or your taste, I just happen to think she wasted her voice and got lazy, or completely lost her muse.
I've never met Anne Wilson, but I've read interviews with her. She's skin deep.
I have met Sinead and she's an incredibly fearless, thoughtful and well-spoken individual. I have infinite respect for her, and have had since I watched her get booed offstage at Madison Square Garden right after the SNL Pope-shredding incident.
Yes, Scorpio, I agree that an artist's worth should not be measured in album sales or relevance to popular music. Of course, YOU are the one that started that argument by implying that Anne Wilson has done nothing in popular music in several years ... which skinnylittleblonde already proved wrong.
Since you have not had an out of body experience in Anne's presence as you did in Sinead's, I think we should not compare them as people, agreed?
The one thing that seems to be escaping you is that we are talking about two singers from different GENERATIONS. Let's see where Sinead is ten or fifteen years from now, when the arc of her career equals where Anne's is right now.
The thing that baffles me is that you try to convince me that Sinead is consumed with being an artist, while Anne is lazy and has wasted her talents....and yet Sinead has spent the better part of ten years becoming a joke with her nun thing, and then becoming a lesbian, blah blah blah, instead of making viable music.
"Out of body experience?" Please.
Did I say that?
I watched her get booed offstage at the Madison Square Garden Bob Dylan tribute concert because she'd torn up a picture of the Pope a few days earlier. An audience of Bob Dylan fans reacting to freedom of speech. Go figure. Fucking hypocrites.
She stared them down, never sang a word, then walked to the side of the stage, threw up, and went right out the side door. I always thought Bob Dylan should've gone onstage and defended her, but he did nothing. (Wise move...it probably would've ruined his chances for Victoria's Secret and IPod commercials years later.)
I stated early on that Sinead is nuts. No argument. But she was largely made nuts by this hideous business. Additionally, she's been very outspoken about her abusive father, her distrust of the Catholic Church, her numerous abortions outside of her native Ireland where birth control was not even available...that's the life experience I was talking about.
I'm not trying to convince you that Sinead is "consumed with being an artist". I happen to believe people are born artists, whether they choose to be musicians or mailmen. I don't see it as being generational at all.
And yes, sorry...I can't separate vocal skills from artistry. I think you need them both to put a song across.
Maybe we have our signals crossed ... an artist - to me - is someone who sings as well as writes a song...someone with some sort of overarching vision. A vocalist is someone who sings and interprets songs. He/she has some artistry, as in the way they interpret the song, for example. But I do not consider them artists. Typically, vocalists front bands, where the artists vision can come from someone else in the band, or from the band as a collective.
Sinead is an artist. She is one hell of a vocalist, which places her high on my list. However, I am here only concerned with her vocal abilities and her skills as an interpretive singer.
Anne Wilson is a vocalist, not an artist. And she is one hell of a vocalist. Emotion courses through her performances. She rarely write her own material, and I wouldn't say she has an artistic vision, per se ... she tackles the music she loves, but I don't think she has any grand statements to make.
If we had songs that we wanted sung, and we had to choose one of these two vocalists to sing it, I would prefer Anne to Sinead due to the pure fire and passion of her voice and style. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR BOTH. However, Sinead can be too much for a lot of songs.
Does that clear it up a little? If this was a list entitled "Greatest Female Artists of all Time", then we would have a problem. Anne Wilson would not be here. Neither would Tina Turner, for that matter.
This list is entitled "Greatest Female Vocalists". Quite a bit of a difference.
Yeah, ok. You started off by mentioning Sinead's "voice and vision"...not just her voice. I was just questioning the same in Anne Wilson. Fuck me for being too detail-oriented.
Maybe next you can list the 5 most annoying people who leave comments on your blog. If I'm not at least #3, I'll have plenty to say about that as well. ;-)
Scorpio, you're not annoying me. I love a good fight.
Then list Alanis Morissette next.
Well first off whoever says that Ann Wilson (and there is no E at the end) is a washed up has been since the 80's, must have been living on another planet. Sinead Oconner is not even in the same league as Ann Wilson in my opinion. Someone said something about singing others peoples material? Well Sinead sang a Prince song...that's some credibility. To say Ann isn't as deep as Sinead is absurd. Ann always had to struggle with her weight, and cruel people that cant see past that to her voice. She is a rock singer. Pure emotion. I have seen her live so I know what I am talking about. How does tearing up a picture of the Pope help her music? It was a publicity stunt because she is childish. Tearing up a picture doesn't take too much creativity. Ann is a living legend, and has sang for over 30 years and still tours and performs. They also put out a new album called Jupiters Darling and it is an amzing return to their roots. I will leave Sinead to her picture ripping.
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