Ever since I spent an entire years worth of money I saved from delivering newspapers (included the coldest day our city has ever experienced as well as during the worst blizzard our city has ever experienced - schools were closed for an entire month!) and bought me the best Yamaha stereo I could afford, I've maintained my passion as an audiophile. I have a Yamaha RX-V1 receiver with, well, let's say a mid-line set of Wilson floor standing speakers and, when I have to keep quiet, I listen to my music through a set of Sennheiser HD 800 headphones. My music is my indulgence and self escape. I even have speakers around my pool area that are powered by an old Carver Audio M-1.0t amp that is capable of reaching full rock concert sounds outside.
Anyway, enough about my obsession with quality audio equipment. In the last couple of weeks I've had some time while sitting with my father to listen to a bit of music. That got me thinking. Who has the best tone and vocal quality for a female singer? After listening to the highest quality sampling that can be had, I firmly have Sheena Easton and Karen Carpenter at the top of my list. With the high quality audio equipment, I can really tell which singers need "a little electronic help" to sound good and which ones really are amazingly good. To be fair, I do have a high respect for Celine Dion and the 'old' Whitney Houston as well. I'll admit that I just flat out do now enjoy listening to Aretha Franklin or Tina Turner sing. They are sort of like Bruce Springsteen of the female singers; have a following but technically just can't compare.
Clearly there is no "right" or "wrong" answer. I'm asking, to be honest, to see if I can be introduced to, or re-introduced to, some top quality female singers. I'm going to only link to Sheena and Karen Carpenter so my intro to this thread isn't too long. I may be mistaken, but I'm reasonably sure I was at the Sheena concert that is linked while I was in college. I was in the 2nd row from the stage and I was in heaven. She'd just come out of her squeaky clean image to be a little edgy after her time with Prince and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy Sugar Walls from the 2nd row, but I do not consider it a song to demonstrate her vocal prowess. There are so many from Karen Carpenter that I just picked one where she was also the drummer in the song; making it harder to be 'pitch perfect'. I'd forgotten that she referred to herself as a top quality drummer who could also sing.
Write-ins and additional names are not only allowed, but requested. Just remember that I'm looking for outstanding gifted vocalists, not screamers or leads who have to have backup singers at all times. So, with that intro, here are the first two I mentioned and a poll that begs to have write-ins in your posts.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRnGv9l8UD8&feature=related"]You Could Have Been With Me[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR1ujXx2p-I"]Merry Christmas Darling[/ame] Yes, I know it's July, but I love her vocal quality in this song. Here is another by her, interestingly enough, one written by Paul Williams. Remember him? Did you know he wrote Rainy Days and Mondays, We've Only Just Begun, I Won't Last a Day Without You performed by the Carpenters as well as many top hits such as Evergreen, Old Fashioned Love Song, and many others. I hear he's now been sober and clean for 20 years and a sort of autobiography is in the works about him. Anyway, another Karen song displaying her perfect voice [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjFoQxjgbrs"]Rainey Days and Mondays[/ame]
Anyway, enough about my obsession with quality audio equipment. In the last couple of weeks I've had some time while sitting with my father to listen to a bit of music. That got me thinking. Who has the best tone and vocal quality for a female singer? After listening to the highest quality sampling that can be had, I firmly have Sheena Easton and Karen Carpenter at the top of my list. With the high quality audio equipment, I can really tell which singers need "a little electronic help" to sound good and which ones really are amazingly good. To be fair, I do have a high respect for Celine Dion and the 'old' Whitney Houston as well. I'll admit that I just flat out do now enjoy listening to Aretha Franklin or Tina Turner sing. They are sort of like Bruce Springsteen of the female singers; have a following but technically just can't compare.
Clearly there is no "right" or "wrong" answer. I'm asking, to be honest, to see if I can be introduced to, or re-introduced to, some top quality female singers. I'm going to only link to Sheena and Karen Carpenter so my intro to this thread isn't too long. I may be mistaken, but I'm reasonably sure I was at the Sheena concert that is linked while I was in college. I was in the 2nd row from the stage and I was in heaven. She'd just come out of her squeaky clean image to be a little edgy after her time with Prince and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy Sugar Walls from the 2nd row, but I do not consider it a song to demonstrate her vocal prowess. There are so many from Karen Carpenter that I just picked one where she was also the drummer in the song; making it harder to be 'pitch perfect'. I'd forgotten that she referred to herself as a top quality drummer who could also sing.
Write-ins and additional names are not only allowed, but requested. Just remember that I'm looking for outstanding gifted vocalists, not screamers or leads who have to have backup singers at all times. So, with that intro, here are the first two I mentioned and a poll that begs to have write-ins in your posts.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRnGv9l8UD8&feature=related"]You Could Have Been With Me[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR1ujXx2p-I"]Merry Christmas Darling[/ame] Yes, I know it's July, but I love her vocal quality in this song. Here is another by her, interestingly enough, one written by Paul Williams. Remember him? Did you know he wrote Rainy Days and Mondays, We've Only Just Begun, I Won't Last a Day Without You performed by the Carpenters as well as many top hits such as Evergreen, Old Fashioned Love Song, and many others. I hear he's now been sober and clean for 20 years and a sort of autobiography is in the works about him. Anyway, another Karen song displaying her perfect voice [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjFoQxjgbrs"]Rainey Days and Mondays[/ame]
