The Human Voice, Divine
54 of my favorite vocalists from all genres of music and one song or moment that defines them. |
| 54 |  | Iron Maiden
Powerslave
Singer: Bruce Dickinson
Song: Powerslave |
| 53 |  | Toto
Toto IV
Singer: Bobby Kimball
Song: Rosanna |
| 52 |  | Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Singer: Stevie Nicks
Song: Rhiannon |
| 51 |  | Simon and Garfunkel
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Singer: Art Garfunkel
Song: Scarborough Fair |
| 50 |  | Kate Bush
The Kick Inside
Singer: Kate Bush
Song: Wuthering Heights |
| 49 |  | Skunk Anansie
Post Orgasmic Chill
Singer: Skin
Song: We Don't Need (Who You Think You Are) |
| 48 |  | Bat For Lashes
Two Suns
Singer; Natasha Khan
Song: Glass |
| 47 |  | Edge of Sanity
Crimson
Singer; Dan Swano
Song: Crimson |
| 46 |  | Queensryche
Operation: Mindcrime
Singer: Geoff Tate
Song: Suite Sister Mary |
| 45 |  | dredg
El Cielo
Singer: Gavin Hayes
Song: The Canyon Beside Her |
| 44 |  | Jimmy Barnes
Freight Train Heart
Singer: Jimmy Barnes
Song: Too Much Love Ain't Enough |
| 43 |  | King Crimson
In the Court of the Crimson King
Singer: Greg Lake
Song: Epitaph |
| 42 |  | Delerium
Karma
Singer: Sarah McLachlan
Song; Silence |
| 41 |  | Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin IV
Singer: Robert Plant
Song: When the Levee Breaks |
| 40 |  | Johnny Cash
American IV: The Man Comes Around
Singer: Johnny Cash
Song: Hurt |
| 39 |  | Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
Abattoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus
Singer: Nick Cave
Song: There She Goes My Beautiful World |
| 38 |  | The Doors
The Doors
Singer: Jim Morrison
Song: The End |
| 37 |  | The Dillinger Escape Plan
Irony Is a Dead Scene
Singer: Mike Patton
Song: When Good Dogs Do Bad Things |
| 36 |  | Karnivool
Themata
Singer: Ian Kenny
Song: C.O.T.E |
| 35 |  | maudlin of the Well
Part the Second
Singer: Toby Driver
Song: Laboratories of the Invisible World |
| 34 |  | Evergrey
In Search Of Truth
Singer; Tom Englund
Song: Mark Of The Triangle |
| 33 |  | Iced Earth
The Dark Saga
Singer: Matthew Barlow
Song: A Question of Heaven |
| 32 |  | Dio
Holy Diver
Singer: Ronnie James Dio
Song: Holy Diver |
| 31 |  | Lacuna Coil
Comalies
Singer: Cristina Scabbia
Song: Comalies |
| 30 |  | Steven Wilson
Hand. Cannot. Erase.
Singer: Ninet Tayeb
Song: Routine |
| 29 |  | The Cure
Disintegration
Singer: Robert Smith
Song: Disintegration |
| 28 |  | Depeche Mode
Music for the Masses
Singer: Martin Gore
Song: The Things You Said |
| 27 |  | Tom Jones
Delilah
Singer: Tom Jones
Song: Delilah |
| 26 |  | Pain of Salvation
The Perfect Element, Part 1
Singer: Daniel Gildenlow
Song: Used |
| 25 |  | A Perfect Circle
Mer de Noms
Singer: Maynard James Keenan
Song: Orestes |
| 24 |  | Ra
Duality
Singer: Sahaj Ticotin
Song: Taken |
| 23 |  | Alice in Chains
Jar of Flies
Singer: Layne Staley (RIP)
Song: Nutshell |
| 22 |  | Ulver
Bergtatt - Et eeventyr i 5 capitler
Singer: Garm (Krystoffer Rygg)
Song: Capitel I: I Troldskog faren vild - "De ventede Tøsens Hiemkomst" |
| 21 |  | Sigur Ros
Agætis byrjun
Singer: Jonsi
Song: Ny Batteri |
| 20 |  | Radiohead
In Rainbows
SInger: Thom Yorke
Song: Nude |
| 19 |  | Elton John
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Singer: Elton John
Song; Goodbye Yellow Brick Road |
| 18 |  | Marvin Gaye
What's Going On
Singer: Marvin Gaye
Song: Inner City Blues |
| 17 |  | Prince
Purple Rain
Singer: Prince
Song: Purple Rain |
| 16 |  | David Bowie
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
Singer: Bowie
Song: Five Years |
| 15 |  | John Barry
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Singer: Louis Armstrong
Song: We have all the time in the World |
| 14 |  | The Who
Quadrophenia
Singer: Roger Daltry
Song: Love Reign O'er Me |
| 13 |  | Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald: Gold
Singer: Ella Fitzgerald
Song: Airmail Special |
| 12 |  | Nina Simone
Pastel Blues
Singer; Nina Simone
Song: Sinnerman |
| 11 |  | Enya
A Day Without Rain
Singer: Enya
Song: Only Time |
| 10 |  | Dead Can Dance
Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
Singer: Lisa Gerrard
Song: Summoning of the Muse
Impossible to pigeonhole, Dead Can Dance were some weird entity from another era and Lisa Gerrard was like some siren voice from ancient times. In the late 90's and 2000's she started composing film scores for movies such as Whale Rider, Gladiator, The Insider and Baraka and her voice gave these movies an evocative and ethereal quality. |
| 9 |  | Peter Gabriel
So
Singer: Peter Gabriel
Song: Red Rain
In all honesty, there's so many amazing vocal performances from Gabriel in his Genesis days right through to his solo work but Red Rain is my personal favorite. |
| 8 |  | John Barry
Goldfinger
Singer: Shirley Bassey
Song: Goldfinger
The Welsh diva. What a voice. As the first female singer of a Bond theme, she paved the way for all the female singers who followed her. But none have bettered her. Goldfinger is her most iconic moment. |
| 7 |  | The Gathering
How to Measure a Planet?
Singer: Anneke Van Giersbergen
Song: Travel - "...and I wish you knew...your music was to stay forever...and I hope"
Anneke has one of the most perfect voices ever and was my first introduction to a female vocalist in a Metal band. The Gathering were never content to stick to one style and their metamorphosis begun with How To Measure A Planet. Anneke went onto lend her unique voice to Devin Townsend amongst others but for me "Travel" is her defining moment. |
| 6 |  | Bjork
Vespertine
Singer: Bjork
Song: Aurora - "from twilight, to twilight"
Really hard to choose a favorite off Vespertine, but if I had a gun to my head i'd choose Aurora and Pagan Poetry. Bjork's voice in Aurora takes flight like Northern Lights dancing over the Arctic. |
| 5 |  | Jeff Buckley
Grace
SInger: Jeff Buckley (RIP)
Song: Corpus Christi Carol
The imagery from the Old English lyrics of this song bring to mind a medieval era and with Jeff's haunting falsetto it remains an evocative and nostalgic piece of music. Those final notes that Jeff hits are just incredible. |
| 4 |  | Queen
A Day at the Races
Singer: Freddie Mercury (RIP)
Song: Somebody To Love
I could've chosen the quintessential Queen track "Bohemian Rhapsody" but I just felt like choosing a song out of leftfield and Somebody To Love soars with Freddie's vocal performance. |
| 3 |  | The Devin Townsend Band
Accelerated Evolution
Singer: Devin Townsend
Song: Deadhead - "will you save me...babe"
Rivals "The Death of Music" as Devy's zenith. Some of the notes he hits on this song were mind blowing enough back in 2004, and then to think that he sings this song even better live a decade after it's release shows how special he really is. |
| 2 |  | Devin Townsend
Ocean Machine: Biomech
Singer: Devin Townsend
Song: The Death of Music
The final 30 minutes of this album could arguably go down as one of the most emotional ever recorded. Funeral and Bastard set the stage for Devy to unleash all of his inner demons and it all culminates in The Death of Music. Those final few wails that he sings are not of this world... |
| 1 |  | Soundgarden
Badmotorfinger
Singer: Chris Cornell (RIP)
Song: Jesus Christ Pose + Room a Thousand Years Wide (tied)
Too tough to choose between these two songs so flip a coin really. Both songs are Chris at his absolute peak, hitting notes that routinely leave my jaw hanging on the floor. Truly a vocal performance for the ages and one of music's greatest talents gone far too soon. |
|
