This thread is for you all to pick and discuss your favourite, greatest vocal performances and we are discussing an individual song or maybe LP but not careers.
I’ll kick off with Linda Womack on the LP Love Wars released with her husband Cecil Womack tracks like Catch And Don’t Look Back, Baby I’m Scared of You and Woman are just effortless. Linda hasn’t maybe had the career she could have had in my view subsequent Womack & Womack records except maybe parts of Conscience never came close but Love Wars is a record I play constantly and have done since my mid teens.
Linda was the daughter of Sam Cooke and step daughter of Bobby Womack who then married Bobby’s little brother Cecil so a real if slightly unusual family vocal pedigree but the duets on Love Wars with Cecil where just brilliant.
And if you care about such things Love Wars was mastered by Bernie Grundman and sounds incredible on a decent record player.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Musst Musst (song and album). Listen to it if you haven’t.
Strange, ecstatic, a pure voice unencumbered (for most of us) by any comprehension of the lyrics.
Second pick Leonard Cohen on ‘You Want It Darker’. Technically he really cannot sing any more. He is dying. He knows it, so do we. Faith, doubt etc. An achingly amazing performance.
Saw Peggy Seeger sing it in a folk club. It was written for her by her husband, Ewan MacColl, who was a fine singer himself. He sang Dirty Old Town which no-one could do better.
Did Otis make a bad record? It’s hard to single one out but this track taken from Otis Blue, Otis Redding Sings Soul is just on a whole other level to other male vocalists.
Another singer not usually in peoples greatest singers is Paul Weller and although probably my least favourite of his first three solo records his vocals on Stanley Road are faultless.
