The Smiley Smile Message Board

Out of all the singers/bands :) there are so many but  my choice would have to be Colin Blunstone (The Zombies) because of his distinctive breathy vocals. I have yet to hear anyone elses voice in the music game that can top his.

These are my 3 examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27uvVtCTiWc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afrdo2qneoI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn4tHfejkX0

Tom Waits for sure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wfamPW3Eaw


Brian Wilson '61-'7? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNV-eve42M0

Skinhead Rob  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz1NhJERxG4

ur fucking with me right? lol u cnt be serious lol

I think stacko is deadly serious, Tom Waits may not have what is considered a 'good' voice but the heart and soul that he pours into his performances is amazing, same goes for Janis Joplin (as mentioned in the Top 5 albums thread). Billie Holiday would be another who does not have great range and technique but her phrasing and style are quite wonderful. Ever notice that singers like Mariah Cary and Celine Dion possess incredible range and technique but they suck due to the lack of passion in their voices, when I hear those two sing I simply don't believe what they are singing.

Sade has a pretty unique voice that's pretty haunting :). (to add a woman with a distinctive voice) Amy Winehouse has an incredible voice as well,i didnt check out her music til it was a week before her death i was so suprised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfC6CCtZjxk

Harry Nilsson!

Vine Street http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mu3wtJmn4Y&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL0558A69FBA20FD91

Remember (Christmas) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TisqJTlSQgs (and if you ever needed to see a man in a dracula costume mime along to a song, well, here it is)

As Time Goes By (sang live, a rarity for him) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwAZG2mXDKo&feature=related


and many more, guys got a great voice so he's a good interpreter and he's a great songwriter too (Remember is his, but Vine Street was written by Randy Newman)


I know picking a man with a 5 octave range for my favourite singer doesn't really help my case, but you so need to get the idea that sheer technical ability is the key thing to look for in singers out of your head. It is about feeling and what they bring to songs. Billie Holiday is the supreme example, because while people can sing the blues better technically than her, no-one can sing the blues like Billie Holiday.

If you don't get it, think which of these is the better performance?

Billie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg56e725LLk
Some random http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDx5MCBnj8M

Elvis Presley.

Only one example needed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CMlYVu9J4g

this is a better example of elvis's beautiful voice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_uN4WNpABY

Please listen to rubys arms/ christmas card from a hooker/ take me home/waltzing matilda. These songs make me cry, THAT for me defines a good singer, somebody that sings with a heart and truthfullness behind the voice...Just like Daniel Johnston or Joanna Newsom etc. Tom Waits Is always In tune, he sounds gruff and worn out but that's the magic of It. He sings about having his heart broken, about drowning his sorrows at bars, begging to be stabbed.. If his voice was sweet and unaffected the songs would still be beautiful, but I'd have a harder time believing the things he Is singing about. His songs can be a lullaby or a knife In the heart.

I like Nick Drake and Judee Sill the best I think.

Nick's Drake http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP3eHMWFEkM

Judee Sill..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP8DjFhxy60&feature=related

ok nick drake does have a gorgeous voice but judee hmmm not my cup of tea :) lol

Oh come on, Judee Sill's voice is incredible.

Ella.

Freddie Mercury, No Doubt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MDfYwYHr1Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNsEEvRMtGI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KY8Z69Oowc&feature=related

omg i straight forgot about freddie :p he has an powerful and overwhelming voice. i just wish he sang some beautiful songs instead of all the power driven loud ones.

Nah. That is good, though.

Freddie had an amazing voice. Another guy I've been listening to during the holiday break has been Luke Kelly from the Dubliners. Unreal talent for making other peoples songs his own.

you didn't like my example?

He likes it fine, he just doesn't think it's better!

I am fond of this, as a song and a performance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8jnKFQuoHc

Do we have an elvis thread? Mr. Eder's quite the authority on him....

David Crosby could be among the best.  Such a subjective topic. 

Examples?

Byrds

Solo

CSN

CN

I would agree Elvis has the best singing voice of all time.  He had nearly endless power in his voice, but could also sing something as soft as a whisper.  He could sing Rock, Blues, Gospel, Country, Jazz and anything else he wanted to.  He could do something like "Are you Lonesome Tonight" with minimal instrumentation, or he could be on stage in Vegas singing with a rock band, two backup groups, and a small orchestra like on "American Trilogy" and still sing above all of it. 

Simply the greatest of all time. 

now that was an excellent example :) ..grrrr i envy you for mentioning it :/ lol

I think it's hilarious yet entirely appropriate that you chose that video to support the fact that Brian Wilson is the greatest singer.

Sandy Denny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLv5kR4jrTo

David Crosby

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn-HxtyaB18

Carl Wilson, and I don't need on this forum to provide examples, but here's one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qmrf103iQA&feature=related

Cheers
Nick

i love soft vocals and carl has those strong soulful vocals...not my taste....even though he did a few of my favorite bb songs.

Just to stir the pot...

Andreas Scholl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk8QZsKAuMI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk8QZsKAuMI)

Roberto Alagna:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpiBI1wOavI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpiBI1wOavI)

Nicolai Gedda:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAEkrBbEELo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAEkrBbEELo)

Renata Tebaldi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs4suiAABy0&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs4suiAABy0&feature=related)

Steven Page:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4fVxPg3Lw8


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMpHtF5RPh8&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBFvFr3Whg&feature=related

I'm not in the least able to objectively name the single best singer but I gotta agree with Newguy regarding Colin Blunstone. Very beautiful unique voice with jazzy intonations.
My 3 examples would be "This Will Be Our Year" (fave cut off "Odessey & Oracle"), "World of Glass" (under the alias "Neil McArthur"), "Twelve Twenty Nine" (ditto):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI2lTwY0Jx8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR782qub7No
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXoB6JE5aeo

I'll throw in Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, Glen Campbell, Blondie Chaplin, Terry Adams, Al Anderson, Joey Spampinato, Frank Gadler (esp. on "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YubAfn_qPok)), Karen Carpenter, Elton John, Mick Jagger, Manfred Mann, Connie Smith, Roger Waters, Kirsty MacColl, Eric Burdon, Ray Davies, Peter Daltrey, Zooey Deschanel... The list goes on.

I like your pick of Roger Waters  :)

His voice doesn't really fit the traditional view of a great singer but the way he uses it is amazing, doing things not many other singers could really pull off. His vocals on The Wall are so pained and emotive!

My favorite singers would come down to Carl Wilson, Colin Bluntstone and Levon Helm of the Band. Carl takes it for me because of his versatility...I have never heard a bad vocal performance by him. Shitty songs like Problem Child are made so much better by just his singing on it.

Listen to Levon here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOi0tC00Luc

The guy could really put his heart into a song.

edit: another good Levon vocal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RjqcTsxx-8

 No contest........ Roy Orbison

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x2tG4X0cdc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x2tG4X0cdc)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pra6ezRMejg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pra6ezRMejg)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbxsmcT7GOk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbxsmcT7GOk)

Yeah...he was amazing.

"Best" is a trickier term than "favorite," implying technical proficiency. So that's unfortunate, especially in the pop world, where character counts for so much. In fact, most of my favorite singers aren't technically all that impressive. Yes, on one hand I'd offer 1970s Freddie Mercury, 1960s Brian and Carl Wilson, 1960s and 70s Stevie Wonder, Prince, etc., but on the other I'd say Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Lou Reed, David Ivar Herman Dune, John Darnielle, and other technically unimpressive singers. So, my answer is ... I give no answer. Sorry (not actually sorry) for wasting your time. Enjoy your day.

...the many moods of... the captain.

Darlene Love!

He's a Rebel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tloHnOtq_l0

A Fine Fine Boy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWHoI3W8pns

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV8x7H3DD8Y

I 1st noticed him on "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk", liked the voice straight off. Since then, Roger is my favorite Floyd; "The Wall", both music & clips, is darkly beautiful.

Re Levon Helm, I agree that he has the best voice in the Band, but overall, they're just not my cup of tea (lack of upbeat songs).

WAT.
Upbeat songs by The Band for your listening pleasure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Y987Uf1wY (This is the greatest. And the greatest!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa-RtZ71WfQ (first 4 are upbeat)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOwwJ8WONVc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzWUWMC4oPQ