Conference marvin::uk_music

    
    
    Annie Lenox : Rarely can sing a duff-note - very powerful
    
    
    Alison Moyet: Strong, with depth

    
    
    Sorry, a bit got missed off, somehow!!
    
    Anyway, the best female vocalist of the moment must be Kirsty McColl.
    Any album with the minimum of backing needs a good voice to carry
    it off: check out 'Kite'
                                                            Carl
    
    

    
    Yeah, Annie Lennox and Alison Moyet are both brilliant.
    
    Also very good is Gloria Estefan. Anyone who can sing live accompanied
    by only a guitar or a piano and sound great has my admiration, and
    she can.
    
    Mark
    
    

    
    Definetly Gloria Estefan for me.
    
    A vote also for Kate Bush, and Madonna (enough though she is a slut!).
    
    -Gary.

    Has to be Kate Bush.
    
    Mikef
    
    PS - Why is Madonna a 'slut'?

    
    Another vote for Kate Bush, and her leotard.
    
    Paul
    ----

    
    Kate Bush? She can't even TALK properly!! :^)
    
    Mark

    
    Mikef
    	 In reply to your 
    	 PS "Why is Madonna a 'slut' ?"
    
    	 I suggest you ask her record producers and managing director
    	 of her record company who she is alleged to have done certain
    	 favours for, on her rapid rise up the ladder of success.
    	 At least this is what I've read, but I'm not suggesting for
    	 one minute that one should believe everything one reads, and
    	 that is why I gave her a vote for one of the best female vocalists
    	 of the eighties :-).
    
    -Gary.

    I vote for Madonna.......
    
    She is a truly excellent performer.. As for favours just more hype
    giving her recognition.

    My fav. female singer is and always will be Joni Mitchell.
    
    But for 'singers of the '80s ' then I have got to cast my vote for
    
    	'Carmel'
    
    This lady has got soul. (Pun intended!)
    
    iain.

    re .9  Thanks, I hadn't known that, but I wouldn't believe it meself (
    and i HATE Madonna!).  I've no doubt tho' that if it had been a bloke
    who slept around to promote himself he would be called 'good old boy
    doing what comes naturally' or 'lucky so and so', not a 'slut'.  Food
    for thought.
    
    Yeah - I'd forgotten Carmel - is her new album any good?
    
    Mikef                                  

    
    Re .9
    
    While the phraseology used is a little strong, it is true that Madonna
    formed relationships with men who could forward her career in the
    music industry. Maybe she was just fortunate to find men who could
    do her a good turn attractive.
    
    Mark

    I just thought of another.  Laurie Sargent of Face to Face. 
    I think she's wonderful and very talented singer and songwriter.
    

    My favorite is Martha Davis (once of the Motels).  I haven't heard
    anything lately from her (after her first solo album), but she has my
    favorite voice!
    
    -Scott

    talking of "real soul" I'm surprised that Anita Baker has not cropped
    up yet, also Jean Carne is worthy of a mention. And don't forget
    Randy Crawford, even though her material has been a little bit dodge
    of late her voice remains crystal clear. oh yeah, Lisa Stansfield,
    maybe the 90's.
    

    
    
    For me the best BRITISH female vocalist around at the moment is
    Edie (sp?) Reader of Fairground Attraction.
    
    What a voice.
    
    
    Michael

    

    Edie Reader has split from Fairground Attraction, but yeah, she's
    great.
    
    RE> Madonna.
    
    Firstly, Madonna's *sudden* rise to stardom took years. It was 3 years
    between her 1st release and her first hit.  Not exactly overnight!
    
    Secondly, her relationships with these people, were for long peroids. 
    ex. She was attatched to Jellybean for 2 years.
    
    Thirdly, People have used *her* as a platform for success, ex. again
    Jellybean.
    
    
    MattyB

    Do you own shares in her or something ?

    Mmmm,
    
    D'n'A Ltd are going on sale soon
    
    (Dave A. Stewart's & Annie Lennox's agents....)

    Best female artists?
    (in order)
    
    Chrissie Hynde
    Anne Clark
    Laurie Anderson
    Kate Bush
    Natalie Merchant
              

    
    Pat Benatar
    

    The best....Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins !
    Easy....

    Re: .-1

    I second the vote for Elizabeth Fraser!

    Waaaay above the rest!

    C'mon now you guys 'n gals....
    
    whats happened to the real female singers....
    
    Chaka Khan 8 Octave range.. superb jazz/soul voice nothing can surpass
    this woman...              
    
    Caron Wheeler of Soul to Soul.... another Gem, British too... no wonder
    she got a #900,000.00 deal from CBS...!
    
    Areatha Franklin... Annie Lennox ... Anita Baker to name but a few! 
                                                                 
    What has happened to this superb standard and quality of singers?
    These days everyone seems to accept songs recorded flat/sharp or just
    sheer boring lifeless vocals...
    
    Kylie... Sonia... who are they?
                                   

    Mary Margaret O'Hara. LP: "Miss America"

    
    Another vote for Chaka Kahn.
                            
    What about Tina Turner ? 

    Can I vote for Eddie Reader?  I might have done that already though!

    
    David Coverdale should also get a vote

    One of the best female vocalists of the last decade, and the preceding
    four decades, died yesterday.
    
    R.I.P. Sarah Vaughan.
    
    Bob

I'd have to say the Indigo Girls!  If you've seen them live you'll know
what I mean!

Em

    Fran & Anna   With there brill album "Death of a thousand screems"
    
                                        

    Another late vote for ................... LIZ FRASER (Cocteau Twins)!
    
    Flop female singer of the year: Sinead O'Cannot (sp?)
    

    Annie Lennox
    Alison Moyet
    Kirsty McColl
    Enya
    
    plus, whoever sang 'Black Velvet" - I keep meaning to find out her name
    and get the album.
    

    Alana Miles sang Black Velvet.
    
    Bob

    Another late one for Liz Fraser.
    Her vocals in the version of Song to the Siren (This Mortal Coil) are
    haunting.
    Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance is also worth a mention.
    Paul

    
    	-- fading memory side-track:
    
    	I forget who else from 4AD is This Mortal Coil but I seem to recall
    	Xmal Deutschland.
    
    	- Jim

    
    I think Robin Guthrie from The Cocteau Twins was involved as well as
    other a couple of other 4AD artists (someone from Wolfgang Press rings
    a bell). 
    
    Tim
    ---

    Oleta Adams would seems to be a good choice when it comes to vocals. 
    She just needs the right songs to start shifting plastic, though that
    might not be her aim.
    
    
    matty

    Re. This Mortal Coil
    
    The personnel involved in both the TMC albums ,changed considerably
    from lots of 4AD persons on the It'll end in tears LP (Cocteaus, DCD,
    Colourbox, Modern English etc) to more session type musicians ( Alison
    Limerick, who has now released solo material and a few others).
    The 'mood' of both the albums are the same.
    There is another TMC LP due this year
    Cheers
    Paul

    Liz Fraser certainly gets my vote too - no-one can even come close,
    how she does it live I will never know - could you remember all the
    "lyrics"?
    
    p.s.anyone at the Heaven Or Las Vegas tour - superb!
    
    
    				stuart.

>                    <<< Note 562.45 by AYOV16::SROBERTSON >>>
>                            -< From The Flagstones >-
    
                                This your fave too?

    Maybe Liz deserved it in the early '80's, but not today.....
    
    I don't believe anyone comes near Sinead in terms of voice or courage.
    More would probably agree if it were not for the politics/publicity and
    possibly the fact that she's obviously not British.....though I'm sure
    that's a non issue in a file such as this, where the music,
    innovation, energy and talent are amongst the important criteria in 
    assessing an artist/band. Not to mention comparing the sterility of the 
    Cocteaus' music today (though it sounds nice) to Sinead's work. "Garlands" 
    is still their best effort.
    
    Also, as of yet, Sinead doesn't "dial up" her music.
    
                        A Cocteau Twins fan.....            
                                                

    Poor Cocteaus! They spend years honing their music to a pitch of
    perfection just to be patronisingly told that their music, though nice,
    is sterile! I wish a few more bands were as sterile as the Cocteaus,
    might persuade me to buy some more records.
    
    Yes, Sinead has a great voice, but the music... All I ever hear is the
    Prince song, and I'm heartily sick of that. What else has she done
    that's worth mentioning, if that song is, apart from making herself
    look as unattractive as possible?
    
    
    Rod

    Sinead's early single (it may even have been her first), 'Mandinka', was
    a complete stonker, uptempo with loud guitars etc. I find myself
    unmoved by most of her other songs that I've heard. A couple of years
    ago I saw an in concert video which tended to focus almost entirely on
    her face. Apart from being boring to watch, the music was nothing to
    write home about either. I still like her singing, though.
    
    Best female vocalist of the 80s, though? Well, that honour, for me, has
    to go jointly to those three perky funstresses, Bananarama.
    
    Bob

    The Cocteau Twins...STERILE !
    and from a fan !!
    
    Come on there. When I listen to 'Frou Frou...' or 'I wear your ring'
    it's like a revelation, it is. Remember 1988's "Blue Bell Knoll".
    Liz's voice reached new frontiers, I thought. Songs like 'Itchy Glow
    Bo Blow' and 'Carolyn's Fingers' were a new type of pop music.
    On the new album, they've developed that style into more personal
    songs.
    
    Lets hear it for Liz and the Twins, pushing the boundaries of popular
    music.
    
    martin
    
    

>        <<< Note 562.49 by WELMTS::GREENB "Bobby Moore was innocent!" >>>
>
>    Best female vocalist of the 80s, though? Well, that honour, for me, has
>    to go jointly to those three perky funstresses, Bananarama.
    
    Four. Their lineup changed a couple of years ago when one of them went
    off with Dave Stewart... and didn't that one (can't remember her name -
    it couldn't be (omigod) Sinead could it?) also go on to become one half
    of Shakespeare's Sister? I'm not sure which half though, coulda been
    torso, legs, LHS, RHS...
    
    
    Rod

   Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama married Dave Stewart of Eurythmics.  They
   have a son called Sam.

    Although there is no room for insult trading in a family conference 
    such as this let me nonetheless be the first to decry attempts to
    denigrate the ever-wonderful and generally improving Cocteaus without
    referencing names or anything like that and also to say that Sin�ad
    O'Connor is neither as bad as she is made out to be, nor as ugly as she
    could be, speaking as one who has seen the 1987 Anton Corbijn photos...
          
    Piers.

    I have to admit I've just changed my opinion of Sinead; I listened to
    her 1989 'Classic In Concert' on R1 a couple of nights ago (well, I
    thought, I don't know enough of her material to really form an opinion,
    give her a chance, etc.) and she was really pretty good. Not brilliant,
    but definitely a lot better, and different, to what I was expecting.
    Her singing style can be really quite moving at times.
    
    Bob

    .48  "All I ever hear is the Prince song"....."What else has she done
          that's worth mentioning"
    
    .53  "Sinead O'Connor is neither as bad as she is made out to be, nor
          as ugly as she could be"
    
    Very incisive indeed.....informed suitably to justify constructive 
    criticism....such as degrees of ugliness.....amazing!!!
    
    Liz's "Song of the Siren" is indeed wonderful, but also listen to
    Sinead's "Troy". To judge her on the single alone, is same as judging
    the Cocteau's on "Sugar Hiccup" alone. Neither are fully reflective....
    
    If you consider the Cocteau's music to be emotional, good for you.
    Sterile doesn't necessarily imply bad, just lacking emotion and
    somewhat contrived.....hasn't stopped me buying their albums.
    
    If you are going to criticise, at least stick to the music, and it
    occasionally helps to have actually heard it. (No aggro intended). 
    
                                                                

    >                     <<< Note 562.55 by FSOA::KSULLIVAN >>>
    >            -< Baldness is in the eye of the beholder..... >-
    
    
    >.53  "Sinead O'Connor is neither as bad as she is made out to be, nor
    >          as ugly as she could be"
    >    Very incisive indeed.....informed suitably to justify constructive 
    >    criticism....such as degrees of ugliness.....amazing!!!
    
    
    I nearly pointed this out at the time... but I thought it would not
    have been understood properly (that we judge males on other features
    than cosmetic).
    
    Well done.
    
    James

    Gordon Bennett!
    
    I might have guessed that remark would be misunderstood -- what I was
    tring to do was point out how the public at large (read: media) has
    spent at least as much time on Sin�ad's appearance and (admittedly
    sharp) language as they have on her music (an ex-NME reviewer writes). 
    
    If it wasn't already abundantly clear that I own all the Cocteau's
    albums and both of Sin�ad's then this is neither the time nor the place
    for me to apologise. I happen to like them -- though not everything 
    either have done, for sure (there's a Sin�ad song on the first
    album that sounds embarrassingly like Toyah, and there's a dreadful
    Cocteau's Peel session song on the CD of Garlands, so there).
    
    Piers

	Egads!

	This note is beginning to sound like MUSIC where noters act like
	"real men" & beat up on each other all the time.  I'm much more of
	a wimp & am unlikely to <FLAME ON> even if someone does insult my
	Beloved.

	Let us now, more than ever, embrace a new spirit of peace, 
	understanding, etc, etc.... :-)

-Brian (feeling very mellow, man)

    Quite right, Brian. I also thought Kate Bush's vocalising progressed
    well in the 80's from something 'nice' to something occasionally
    frightening or disturbing. I'm sure she would join us in wishing more
    peace, harmony and tolerance, too.
    
    Bob

    Lets not forget the fact that it is not necessary to like someones
    music to recognise that they have talent..and vice-versa I suppose.
    eg Sinead is a good singer, but I dont particularly like her
    material....although I nearly bought her 1st LP cos some of it sounded
    a bit Cocteau-ish...is this true.
    
    How about a mention for Virginia Ashley and AC Marias, as good female
    vocalists.
    Paul

>>    How about a mention for Virginia Ashley 

    Its Virginia Astley.

    D���



    But a good choice.

    And I think it's AC Marius! 
    
    Also a good choice.
    
    Piers

    OK Ok I might be a bit dizleksik, but Im sure it is AC Marias...cos I
    was confused as to pronounce it Marias as in Black Maria, or as Maria
    as in West side Story...such are the traumas of being in my mid
    thirties !!!
    Paul
    

    
    I agree with .11 ....
    
    Joni Mitchell - best female vocalist (I love it when Joni sings...)
    Sinead O'Connor and Mary Margeret O'Hara have great voices also...
    I also love the Cocteau's ,the Sunday's ,and the original female voice
    with the Would be's.
    
    Camille
    P.S Madonna can't sing 4 nuts - but then I suppose she does'nt need 2.