Lots of my favorites in there, Elanor, but I zoomed right on this one:

 

 

I have not heard "Moonlight Shadow" in years, although I used to have the Mike Oldfield album that it appeared on.

 

Mendalla

 

Awesome! Isn't Maggie Reily great! I love that song. All the songs she did with him. We're Mike Oldfield fans over here, have Ommadawn, Tubular Bells iii, Five Miles Out, Discovery and The Complete best of. ANd my son likes him a lot too.

I'm also an Oldfield fan and used to own several of his albums on cassette, but I'm in a weird spot vis a vis my music collection: my cassettes have mostly "died" but I haven't replaced them with cd or mp3 yet. I pick up new recordings periodically, but haven't really done much replacement of old stuff.

 

Mendalla

Good stuff,

 

How about Nina Simone, Desperate ones, or Nina Hagen, New York New York?

 

Or this one?

 

 

 Miriam Makeba!!!!

 

 

 

 Dame Joan Sutherland....

Ah, some unfamiliar names there, except Nina Hagen. She's wild, wacky and fun, a crazy German! I like "Get Your Body" with Adamski. What do you think is her best song?

Three of our Mike Oldfield albums are on tape still, luckily still playing, one on lp, and one on cd, so we're the same here, not making much of a concerted effort to replace tapes en masse!

Saul, That backing up song was pretty funny. How'd they get all those news reporters dancing and lip sincing?! OK, yer pulling my leg with the others too aren't you! I had a listen to Nina's New York. It doesn't get more awful!  

 

Mike, I see your Aretha side showing! ; ) Truely a healthy, earthy, full and rich voice. I like the Voice of Mother Africa comment. I know both those songs. Thanks for that.

 

A serious inquiry: I have yet to find my favorite recording of Shubert's Ave Maria. I prefer it in Italian. Any suggestions?

I was serious about the ninas.  I like Nina Hagen, especially New York New York.  Nobody can do it like her.

 

 

 For some really hard rocking female vocals, try the Finnish band Nightwish.  Their origional singer, Tarja, has a great voice, very origional for the genre in which it is used,

 

 Here is another one for you. The voice is epic, the music rocking, the visuals....well theyr'e right up your alley!  More Nighwish, my new favorite band.

 

Mike, I am liking the Joan Sutherland. I found a lovely recording of Ave Maria by her too.

 

Saul, Oh, Sorry!  

 

Ooo, I like the Nightwish. She's a great singer! Cool! Love the red coat~ Thanks : ) Scandinavia comes out with great bands doesn't it.

 St. Vincent (Annie Clark) from Texas. Not only can she sing, she can play.

 

 

 

 

Actually I didn't like the second Nightwish song so much, I guess I have my limits on heavy. Still a great singer though.

 

PG, Interesting song, not like anything I've heard before.

 Sweet Honey in the Rock:  Ella's song:  

   

 

Tracy Chapman: Fast Car: 

 

Kd Lang : crying: 

 

Vienna Teng: CityHall : 

   Green Island Serenade: 

 

Ella Fitzgerald: Misty: 

 

 

I took a listen to your playlist Elanor - very interesting. I even added a couple of songs to my playlist.

 

How about some Enya - here's a link to Only Time:

 

I also like this song by young Aselin Debison:

 

 

Okay, it's a bit hoky and sappy, but I've always liked it.

 

 

and this one

 

Thanks ladies. Lots to check out there. Enya, yeah. I seriously considdered her sister Maire Brennan of Clannad, now called Moira for some reason. They sound quite similar to each other at times. "I Will Find You" from Last of the Mohicans by Clannad is a good example. I like Enya too.

 

 

You might check entries for the Peking Opera. I really don't like the Chinese style of singing for women. But, who Knows? Somebody must like it.

When I was 12, my father took us kids to a classy church because where we lived was, as he said, just a low class of bums, and the new church had a much higher class of bums.

So every Sunday, I'd go, and i'd listen to the soloist, Joan Sutherland.

I hope I'm doing this right. If not I'll just say I'm trying to get "Firework" by Katy Perry and "Warrior" by Scandal. Firework is not only a beautiful song but it has such a beautiful, powerful message too. It's become a favorite and I imagine it always will be. It's so right and so powerful. "Warrior" is just a really cool song I've always loved.

I really like this idea. I'm going out of town but next week I may try and really add to the list.

 

 

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This is one of my favorites, I like both the artists that are singing, and I like Janis.

 

 

 

I glanced at females who have the most songs in my Media Monkey

Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Mahalia Jackson, Edith Piaf, Nina Simone, Tracy Chapman, Joan Armatrading, Jewel, Pink, Amy Lee, Judy Collins, Dinah Krall, Dido, Annie Lennox, Elkie Brooks, Dolores O' Riordan....

 

I am rather ecclectic, me thinks

 

Nothing wrong with that, SG (says the ape who listens to both Beethoven and AC/DC with delight).

 

Mendalla

 

There is only one Joan Baez.

I like to think my list is fairly varried. : )

 

Wow Graeme, That wouldn't be an April fool's joke would it? If not, then, Wow!

 

SG, I allmost put Etta James on my list, but watched several live versions of At Last that left me rather sour faced, so I left her off alltogether. I used to love that song, but since have an unhappy memory attatched that has spoiled it for me. Another singer I thought of but didn't end up searching, was Patsy Cline...

 

OK, I'm going to start loading songs now.

Oh PilgrimsProgress, get me started on folk.....Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Ani DiFranco, EmmyLou Harris, Gillian Welsh, Janis Ian, Patty Griffin, Odetta

And don't forget Laura Nyro!

 

 

I love her singing "Jesse Come Home" and "I Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer"

It's quite true. In the early 1950s, Joan Sutherland was the soloist at Erskine-American United Church in Montreal.

graeme

Pinga: enjoyed the Vienna Teng, lovely singer. I'll remember her name. Fast Car always reminds me of being shipped off to Germany when I was 15, and the alienation of that age. She too is a wonderful signer. I even gave KD another try, but I still don't like her! The Ella is really nice; smooth, rich, deep, classy, honest, clean clear voice. Yup. I also considdered her. I like 40's music... I also quite like the Julie London recording of Misty.

 

Waterfall, the Beth Nielsen is nice.

 

 

 

Graeme, Lucky you! Gosh!

 

Jon, The Scandal reminded me of Pat Bennetar. I only barely remembered it. I must have heard it last a long time ago.

 

I'd never heard about Joan Sutherland's time in Montreal before, so thanks for that, graeme. Some Dame Joan to enjoy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mendalla

Many thanks. I wish I had known more about music in those days. I knew some because my father sang and loved opera. But I still had no idea I was listening to anything but a good singer.

There was a girl from Halifax who was making big waves forty years ago. She was on the Don Messer Show, and she married Don Herron, if I recall correctly. I knew her at the time, and she was quite full of herself. Oh, Catherine MacKinnon.

Well, what you learn on Wondercafe - I had no idea "our Joan" sang as a church soloist in Montreal!

 

My favourite at the moment is a duet - k d Lang and Jane Siberry singing "Calling all Angels".

Next, is Judy Collins singing "The Rose" and "Song for Bernadette".

Joan Baez singing "Simple Twist of Fate", "Stones in the Road", "Forever Young".

k.d.Lang singing "Love is Everything".

Janice Ian singing "At Seventeen".

 

And after a couple of drinks..........

"The Power of Love" by Jennifer Rush (she sure could belt out a tune!)

 

And, because I was once a "Sound of Music" tragic - for the sake of nostalgia - "Climb Every Mountain" with Julie Andrews.

 

Now there's a singer that I don't think is on Elanor's list - Jane Siberry. I first got into her back in the eighties with songs like "Mimi on the Beach" and "Map of the world, part 2". Still listen to her on occasion. The duet with k.d. is amazing. k.d. covered a Siberry song (or maybe 2?) on Hymns of the 49th Parallel as well.

 

A couple other favorite Siberry songs: 

 

 

 

 

Mendalla

 

Mendalla,

Really liked "It Can't Rain all the Time" - thanks for bringing it to my attention.

You can't get Jane Siberry cd's in Sydney - the record shop has to order them in. If I have some Canadian dollars left over after this trip I'll buy a few cd's to take home with me.

Any suggestions?

 

That Norma piece is fantastic eh? Too bad it's rather quiet, but I love the Druidry theme in there too.

 

Aww, Climb every mountain... : D I was looking at the love song with the Captain in the garden, "Something Good", watched Edelweiss from the movie, and pondered choosing The Sound of Music, it's so wonderful. She not only sings beautifully, she speaks beautifully too!

 

I thought about Jane SIberry, then I think I forgot! There are truely so many singers out there. I love One More Colour, really love that song. It's one of my joyful childhood memories songs, that and Raspberry Beret and Back on the Chain Gang... I have just highlights from one of her albums, might have been the "best of", and really like The Walking and Constantly, Red High Heels, and I adore Bound by the Beauty (I wrote the lyrics to that in my "bible")... I also have a song of hers on the Hector Zazoo SOngs of the COld Seas collection called She's Like the Swallow, which is lovely. I don't see it on Youtube, not the studio recording anyway. That live one I don't like.

 

I'll check out those songs later Pilgrim... We had a nice recording of At Seventeen by Jan Arden here, which I appreciated. ANd another song about packing her bags and just driving and driving which I liked, a song I used to hear a lot when I lived in ALberta.

 

My suggestion is to visit Jane's website . It appears that she's basically inviting people to download what they like and pass it around. Looks like all her albums are there (as .zip files containing the mp3s) along with mp3s of some standalone songs like It Can't Rain All the Time (which is from the soundtrack of the movie The Crow, by the way).

 

http://www.janesiberry.com/home/music.html

 

IOW, I've got me some serious downloading to do.

 

Mendalla

 

I adore Regina Spektor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pxRXP3w-sQ

 

Oh oh and Amy Millan!  I could seriously go on for years..

 

 

Hello Young Glass. Welcome to Wondercafe!

 

Arrogant, good to see you again. We can always tease you out with a music thread!

 

I'll check out those new song links later, I'm currently uploading my first slideshow to Youtube (and real proud of myself)  : )

 

Mendalla, thanks for that link. Jane Siberry for all!

 

I'm pleased the thread has seen so much interest. I had a great time choosing my fave female voices, and am enjoying many more shown here. It's a joy to share a subject I love with others. However I won't even mention my plans to do a fave male voices playlist!! Not yet anyway!

Ah Pilgrim, The Judy Collins is beautiful. I like that version of the Rose better than the one I've allways known.

 

Arrogant: That was really nice. I liked it. Good to hear some of her. ; )

 

YoungGlass, that Regina Spector was nice too. It got me thinking of scenes in films where the character has laughed at misfortune, such as the Tapestry episode of Star Trek NG, where Captain Picard understands why he had to be impaled through the heart in his youth, and thus live the rest of his life with an artificial heart, because his boldness, and tenacity made him a better man. The singer reminded me of Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan.

Rather than flood the thread with links I'll just name some of my favorite female singers than come to mind off the top of my head.

 

Amy Grant

Joan Jett

Pat Benetar

Blondie (Debbie Harris)

the Go-go's

Ke$ha

Cindy Lauper

Stevie Nicks (both solo and with Fleetwood Mac)

Pink

Lita Ford

 

I'm sure there's a bunch more but these come to mind right away.

I LOVE ROCK N'ROLL!! OOW! love it! : )

 

Love Blondie too, I always liked that Lita FOrd song with Ozzy Osbourne, though he freaks me out! I was also thinking about Stevie Nicks...It's her that sings Magic Man isn't it? That's a geat piece of vocal work.

I don't think there's been any mention in this thread of the two Broken Social Scene alumnae. Lesley Feist (who normally goes by just her last name) is best known for her song "1,2,3,4", which Apple picked up for an iPod commercial, but is actually a very busy and talented singer-songwriter while Emily Haines fronts the increasingly popular indie/alt-pop band Metric. Both terrific singers and songwriters. I'll add some videos later.

 

Mendalla

 

A couple of years ago there was a free concert in Victoria on the August long weekend (BC Day). The co-headliners were Sarah McLachlan and Feist - incredible! Feist had an artist on stage who was constantly creating scenes that were projected onto screens beside the stage - just beautiful! With opening acts like Colin James and Burton Cummings it was probably the best concert I have ever been to.

 

Hold it there. You saw Sarah McLachlan, Feist, Burton Cummings and Colin James for FREE?!?!?

 

That is definitlely  

 

Sigh. Must go to confession now. Serious case of envy happening.

 

Mendalla

 

LOL - Sometimes living in a provincial capital has its' benefits!