Most of the time, I listen to music like I imagine a demolition looks at any building… I imagine it in pieces, take it all apart, and try to figure out how to make each individual sound that I hear. Sometimes I can’t even hear the song as the sum of its parts, and definitely most of the time I barely notice the vocal. Pretty dumb for a guy who makes exclusively pop/vocal songs, I often think, so recently I’ve made a point of going back to listening to songs where the vocal stands up and makes me listen. Here are a few of those…
1. The Beatles – “Oh! Darling”
We all know Paul McCartney can do almost anything, but it always blows me away to hear how he can take his usually sweet voice and give it so much grit and authentic power.
2. Prince – “Kiss”
I can’t even describe what this sounds like… Tiptoe-ing from lilypad to lilypad that are the size of a chocolate square?
3. Massive Attack – “Teardrop“
The melody and the performance were made for each other.
4. Curtis Mayfield – “Baby It’s You”
I just believe everything he says, just because of how he’s singing it.
5. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep“
This is one of the best voices I’ve ever heard. Every sound and nuance is right.
6. Janelle Monae – “Come Alive (The War of the Roses)“
I love how Janelle Monae makes singing sound easy. She’s stratospheric in range, acrobatic in her rhythm, and it all all sounds so liquid, so fluid.
7. Pink Floyd – “The Great Gig in the Sky“
Clare Torry, the singer who got called in to “sing something” over a track that Pink Floyd had already recorded, came up with this.
8. Sinéad O’Connor – “Jackie“
This is one of [Dragonette singer/songwriter] Martina [Sorbara]’s favorites. But then again, so is almost anything that Sinéad wrote.
9. Niki & The Dove – “DJ, Ease My Mind“
This is such a lovely plea, and the melody has such great space.
10. Riz Ortolani feat. Katyna Ranieri – “Oh My Love“
This is from the Drive Soundtrack and I just love how earnest, and flawed, this vocal is. I have listened to this song more in the last year than any other song in my library.