Interactive Poll: Emotional songs (female singer)

Cristi wrote: TCat wrote: Cristi wrote: Videos removed for space Pussycat - I must say that I really like the sound of this one.  Nice, retro and the orchestration is spot on with some really great vocals arrangements.  It brings back some great memories of the early, show-y pieces from the 70's but it is very tastefully done.  This one is a contender. Doro - This is pretty typical of the 80's hard rock hair glam music.  Not my style and too typical. Dido Dragan - Again not my style.  Not a fan of the ultra-vibrato. Of Atlanta - Not too bad, again it has that retro sound, but it sounds a bit dated where the Pussycat track is more timeless sounding even if it brings back the early 70's feel. both Pussycat and Atlantis songs are from the 70s.

Snicolette wrote: Lewian:  Broadcast “You Can Fall”  Discordant sounds at the start, bells and whongs, clangs.  A steady rhythm builds and VERY EERIE keyboard comes in, dang, I love that.  Wow, I can’t even describe what happens when the vocals come in, and the music underpins it.  Her harmonies with herself are amazing.  Very dark, menacing piece, but one I find truly the most striking so far.  Chills here, too.  Good ones.  Rainbirds “Two Faces”  Keyboards begin the piece.  Very quavery lead vocal, I can see why this was so big in the 80’s.  I like this one, too, but that first one got to me the most.  Bjork “Joga”  Again, haven’t really listened much to her, so even if it’s out of competition, do want to give it a good listen.  Live setting, with orchestra in the pit.  Very emotional song, she is very theatrical and it is truly a very moving and also theatrical performance.  Brava!

Now, this seems to be a kind of a tricky poll theme: what's emotional for one is not necessarily emotional for the other. And many choose (fall back on?) very well known and/or classic artists... As such not a problem of course, but I'd prefer to explore some, to me, new/unknown artists. Anyway, my thoughts regarding the suggestions on page 1:

jamesbaldwin: Tiziana Ghiglioni brings us a modest kind of easy listening jazz. Beautiful singing, but somehow it doesn't touch me at all. Two songs by Ginevra di Marco: I know Ederlezi indeed from Kusturica's film, a very beautiful song, very "balkan-y", but unfortunately she tears sometimes to yelling instead of singing. On Vedrai vedrai she finds the perfect balance for her voice, imo - I like her singing her much much better. And it is a beautiful song, bare-bone piano-voice! I very much like Tori Amos, in general, she's a great singer/songwriter with a wonderful voice, and she displays it here. The song is maybe a bit too conventional to really convince, though.

The Anders: Idioter by Katinka (thanks for the lyrics!). Very much a complaint. Her singing, and the rather spare playing, convey the sadness and the restraint anger in a very well executed way - you feel this is going the wrong way, but it stops before something fatal happens, leaving the listener worried! Wonderful song and the command/mastery of keeping this tension in an eerie balance is quite impressive. Great choice!

chopper: Kate Bush, of course, is one of the best. I love almost everything she has done, from the more poppier to the more experimental things. She has to be in this poll, but she's too well known for me to be a contender. Susanne Sundfør's song is beautiful too. Love her singing on this one, but on some little moments she's overdoing it. Great song (but the ending on this "edit" is a bit awkward).

I prophesy disaster: Helium Horse Fly with Adrift starts off with an electric guitar painting the uneasy we are diving into. The singing that joins adds to this feeling. Then a post-rocky "explosion" and we've laid down the formula of the song. I love this interplay between instruments (and voice), but somehow the song lacks the emotion it may want to convey - it is more creating an ambience... And maybe a bit too predictable in its structure.

MortSahlFan: Curved Air bring us a solid 70s rock song, very nicely played and sung (and I love the violin!), but it is not something that attracts much of my attention or that I find emotional. Illusion, with Madonna Blue, give me a similar impression. Nice vocal harmonies here, and great piano playing. Very nice to the ears, great build-up of the song, but nothing that really touches me or makes it stand out. Pleasant to hear, though and I prefer this one over Curved Air.

Logan: Catherine Ribeiro wants to love someone... Now this is a strange case for suitkees: I love this song, but not the singing, which from the start fatigues me. Does it sound too forced, too over-(something)? Not sure how and why... Edda Dell'Orso with Morricone grabs me much more, but it is much too short! We want more! Jane Jarboe with Swans displays her singing abilities in this piano voice dominated piece. It's nice, but somehow keeps me out of it... Nico with her typical fragility in her voice and the eerie music is always fascinating - and often discomforting - but maybe too well known to be a contender for me. Great choice though for this theme.

Raff: Regarding Kate Bush, see my remarks above - Pull Out the Pin is indeed another example of the great Kate, although I think she has done some more emotionally charged songs than this one. With Joni Mitchell we have another Great of the Greats. I really love this song, it's wonderful, but she too has done some songs that move me more than this one. Alexanderplatz sounds very dated, but Milva brings it in a perfect way. Maybe too perfect? It lacks something to really convince me or touch me... Of these three, my choice would be Joni.

Hiram: Lau Nau with Juokse sinä humma, this is a great discovery: I really love this song. The folk roots are clear, but that guitar makes the horse sound very panicked before the song moves to an uncomfortable comfortable end. Wonderful. This would also be my choice because PJ Harvey and Sonic Youth are too well known to me, but these are great songs too.

Easy Money: Now, what a great choice to bring in Billie Holiday! This really is a heart-wrenching song. Not sure I've heard it before. This one will be difficult to beat, if I would go for the known artists.

Gentle and Giant: I hesitated to put up something by Sinéad O'Connor, but I considered her much too well known. This is just a brilliant song, brilliantly sung, by a brilliant artist.

Progishness: Now this is a selection of great classic artists! But somehow Annie Haslam's voice has never really connected with me. Neither does this song (despite Dvorak!). Regarding Curved Air I have the same remarks as re. their song above. She has a great voice, but the song does not really move me. With Janis Joplin and Doris Day we have two other very great singers with two too well known songs to be a contender here for me, but they definitely have their place in this poll (yes, that's not fair...).

JD: Another Great of the Greats: Edith Piaf. This song is just a reference for all of the world, I guess. What can we say more...?

moshkito: Sandy Denny with Fairport Convention, is another classic! Great song, wonderful playing, great singer. This has everything to be perfect... and it is.

Snicolette wrote: Kees had mentioned if he'd known he'd have saved someone....that would have been Heather Nova, who I shared a long while back, with her "Island," song.  Always gives me chills.  I decided to go a bit proggy this time, since we can, and two of these are artists I was going to bring to "lesser known prog," if we did another of those.  And I'd considered quite a few that were brought already to this poll, great selections of ones I've heard (and doubtless, also the ones I haven't). I do try to offer up lesser-known artists, as well.  That being said, I find all three of these very moving, which for me equals passionate, for different reasons.   First is Offa Rex, essentially The Decembrists, but with Olivia Chaney on lead vocals.  I suggested an add to PA of this band to Prog/Folk and they were indeed added, I so wish they'd do another recording. "The Queen of Hearts" Next up, The October Project, which is where I first heard Mary Fahl, and I've brought her several times to these polls.  Some say they shouldn't be included in PA, I liked the band regardless, as long as it had her in it. Hopefully they are not too overly well-known here.  "Bury My Lovely."   Thirdly is Chasing The Monsoon, an act from Wales that, in my opinion, got far too little attention for this gem of a release, late in 2019.  "Love Will Find You," Lisa Fury at the mic.

suitkees wrote: Cristi: Pussycat! Ha, Dutch glory! They're part of the soundtrack of my youth; they scored hit upon hit in our country. Nice, but very poppy. Doro, sorry, but this is imo just a very bad cover of such a great and emotional song when it was done by Procol Harum. This one is too cringy to my fragile ears. Dida Dragan on the other hand is wow! A typical late 70s, 80s pop orchestration (production sounds more mid 80s), not very original, but in service of this wonderful voice, full of emotion indeed. Great discovery! Atlantis bring a rather conventional pop-rock tune, but very well done. It can't top Dida Dragan, however.

Edited by Cristi - May 29 2021 at 05:51

^^ Yes, I definitely do; she's quite impressive on this one !


Edited by suitkees - May 29 2021 at 06:00

page 3 and beyond...

dwill123: Oh, you're a sentimental guy... Maybe I am too... Another bunch of great, and very well known singers! Gladys Knight's Bond song is beautiful, but I wouldn't qualify it as the most emotional of the three. I very much like Anita Baker, but Roberta Flack's song is in my opinion the most outstanding, thanks also the the restraint of it, both musically as in her singing. Wonderful!

Tigerfeet: Three artists of who I don't remember having heard anything before, and all three are great to hear! Anneli Drecker with a Tim Buckley: Wonderful playing and singing, but it in some way it just doesn't capture me enough. Maura O'Connell has a great voice too, but this song is maybe a bit too conventional pop-rock (with a bluesy touch) to get me, so it is Angel Snow's  (do I know her?) Coals and Water that steals the show here. Beautiful acoustic arrangement and both the songwriting and her singing are very convincing and melancholic; great voice!

Ronstein: Steven Wilson with Nina Tayeb. I really love her voice and singing, but somehow I have a problem with Steven Wilson's music; it all sounds so predictable, unimaginative that for me it becomes a chain of clichés... and unfortunately, this one is not an exception. Perfectly performed, but devoid of emotion, for me. Sandy Denny on the other hand is really a great one! Maybe even stronger than the Fairport one put up earlier... Very touching. Regarding Kate Bush, see my earlier remarks. Can't do anything wrong, but here it is not necessarily the emotion that prevails. Cara Dillon, I think, is a discovery to me. Great voice indeed, on both songs. The first one has a very Irish flavour and is very captivating. Much more than the unsurprising pop-rock on the Mike Oldfield track, which lacks the emotional charge of the former one. (I also like Sailor Boy by Cara Dillon that chopper put up!)

Raff: Milva's Jenny dei Pirati is maybe not intended as a submission of an "emotional" song for this poll, but I like it's theatricality! Sade is a wonderful choice for a late submission... I actually do not really remember this one, but I loved her known hits of that period. What a fantastic voice and what a great song. This is probably my preferred one of your suggestions.

suitkees wrote: Oh, why not last weeks' runner up of the Eurovision Song Contest. She knows how to convey some energy and emotion... (Sorry, you cannot vote anymore...) Barbara Pravi - Voilà (English translation of the lyrics here)

Lewian wrote: This one is too well known in prog circles and out of competition, but I'm not sure anything else moves me as much as this (this specific live version, I mean).

Edited by jamesbaldwin - May 31 2021 at 03:11

Seen the overwhelmingly positive feedback for my late addition to the list, I'm happy to nominate Sade's "Is It a Crime" as my pick for this poll.