In 1995's Grace, Jeff Buckley is fantastic throughout the entire record. He has this unbelievably clear voice, that seems to be able to go as high as he wishes. It's funny 'cause I've heard a few live recordings of his, and I don't think he'd match up live to what he got on record. He was really cool live, don't get me wrong, but I just feel he was extra-inspired during the recording of Grace. And even though the entire record is amazing, my personal favorite is, without a shadow of a doubt, "Lover, You Should've Come Over" (Lilac Wine and Hallelujah are close seconds). I love how the intensity of the song grows and grows towards the end, and, well, the recording is perfect: his voice is amazing, the whole producing is just enough to not get in the way and suits the music really well. I've heard a few live version, but it's far from being the same.... maybe you had to be there to appreciate it, so it's real pity we can't be there anymore, since he drowned while swimming in a river in '97, with Grace being the only studio album he released before dying. Real pity.
The Beatles had many incredible songs, and as much as I love Twist 'n Shout, it probably wouldn't make my Top 10. But I always feel it's Ferris Bueler's (oops, I meant John's) best vocal performance. The story goes that (hopefully it's a true story), after a long time recording Please Please Me, his throat was pretty much fucked up. He just decided to go for one last song, and went for the kill: he probably had a sore throat for quite some time, but it's his rough voice and his screaming that gave life to the song.
I had a hard time picking a Led Zeppelin song. I knew Plant had to be here, he is probably my favorite Rock singer of all time. That's why picking one song was so hard. A short list of the runner-ups would be: Immigrant Song, Gallows Pole, Dazed and Confused, I Can't Quit You Baby, Whole Lotta Love, Black Dog, and Rock and Roll. Those are all amazing tunes, but I had to go with my favorite Zeppelin song ever: Since I've Been Loving You, from III.
Joe Cocker probably has the title of best Beatles cover ever for this song. Also, I guess the fact that I grew up on Wonder Years, and can't help remembering it whenever I listen to his howls, didn't hurt his odds either :-). He carved With a Little Help From My Friends out of Sgt. Peppers, arguably one of the best songs in one of the best albums ever released, and made it his own, changing it around in so many ways it hardly sounds like a Beatles song anymore. He took a great song, and turned into an epic classic. It's just brilliant.
At first I intended to do this list only with rock songs. But then I gave up on that, as I decided to add this song: Elis Regina singing Chico Buarque's Atrás da Porta live. Elis is widely considered Brasil's greatest singer ever, and, in my humble opinion, watching her live performances should be enough to clear any lingering doubts of that...
Ok, I have to admit it: I like Whitney Houston. There, I said it. I like the soundtrack to The Bodyguard, as corny as it may be. But her voice is just otherworldly, I've never heard anything like it. And the other day I happened to catch the original version of I Will Always Love You (I didn't even know it wasn't an original, but I finally understood how it could not have gotten the Oscars), which is by Dolly Parton. It's weak, really, really weak. It's hard to imagine how they could get that song and change around so much that it became what we hear Whitney sing, it's amazing. And I know there's a lot of people involved in that (producers, musicians, etc.), but her voice makes most of the different. It's just beautiful. BTW, the original Dolly Parton is pretty easy to find on YouTube, like here.
Singing practically a capella, Janis delivered one of the best songs in this landmark album, Mercedes Benz. She sings like she is performing to a full stadium, but the bare sounds of something marking the beat and her deep, husky voice, keep in our mid that she is just singing alone in the studio.
Marvin Gaye is such a sad story... He was an amazing talent, certainly my favorite Motown performer, immensely successful in all kinds of genre: good ol' R&B/Soul, pop, politically inspired masterpieces (What's Going On), and the best cheating song ever released, I Heard It Through The Grapevine. Covered by loads of people, from Creedence Clearwater Revival to Marisa Monte, it's Marvin's version (which isn't the first, btw), that stands out. His clear, soulful voice is at its best and the song is just intoxicating.There are two spots left and I can't decide who to give 'em to: on the one hand, there are too many candidates (Eddie Vedder, Freddie Mercury, Aretha, Ray Charles, the list goes on...); on the other hand, I think none has one song that stands out quite as much as the other eight that I mentioned here... so I'll stop my list here.
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