A "Unique" Voice...


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.

I'll leave it at that...any others come to mind?
jax2
Mary Margaret O'Hara, Hazil Adkins, The Amazing Delores,
Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Lila Downs, R.L.Burnsides, "Little" Jimmy Scott, Blossom Dearie, James "Blood" Ulmer.

Wasis Diop, Jack Bruce, Tony Joe White, Catfish Keith, Rockie Charles, Sekou Sundiata, Abed Azrie, Lydia Mendoza, Freddy Fender, Nicola Walker Smith, J.B. Lenoir, Jessie Mae Hemphill.

Not a clinker in the bunch.
You want unique? Try William Shatner on his ''Has Been'' CD http://www.shatnerhasbeen.com/ ...it's more like a monologue, but it's very effective...like the magazine Performing Songwriter wrote: He has battled Klingons with his bare hands, he has sold margarine, he has travelled the universe ! Otherwise, this cd is no joke. Most of the underground songwriting community think this is a pretty solid and interesting effort....light years away from the usual boring, sterile, 5-female vocalist cd rotation line-up in audiophilia land, only used to ''show-off sound system audio tricks. ( you know, the Barbers and Kralls of the world...) Try it with an open mind.