Other Female Singers

JohnFB said:
From the "Live at Daryl's House" series of in-house jam sessions - where at lot of big time players show up - here's Diane Birch...
(yes, Daryl is Daryl Hall of Hall and Oats)




Click to expand...

Well, there's an instantly familiar voice - Daryl Hall, that is. I hadn't heard of Diane Birch.

I like the fender rhodes sound on the above performance. I also like the harmonies.

Diane Birch definitely has a distinctive voice. She's tuneful, too, live, it seems.

I read that Diane Birch combines influences from doo-wop and soul with other styles. 'Nothing But a Miracle' is also definitely heavily influenced by 1970s middle-of-the-road. It sounds more 1970s than 2000s, which, I think, is a very good thing.

I enjoyed the performance.
 
newkarenfan said:
First post!
Contrary to the first few responses I read here, I tend to listener to a lot of male artists. Outside of that, the only other female vocalists whose voices that have caught my attention are Amy Lee (Evanescence), Joan Baez, Tatiana from Jinger, and a smattering of musical actresses though I don’t think quite belongs in this thread.

Karen in my opinion, and like a lot of other people have said, sounds like a voice that sings specifically to you. It’s very personal, and in turn the lyrics provoke a more emotional response. Not to mention she has an angelic quality to her that enhances it. To me, Amy Lee is more of the ‘angelic’ quality that i see in Karen. Even in the harder rock songs of Evanescence, she stands out and really makes me appreciate it as more than just a hard rock song yknow? Immediately snaps my attention and I listen intently to every word she sings, kinda like Karen. Joan Baez kind of lacks that angelic quality so instead, she really has the quality from Karen where it sounds personal. Though I think folk songs just tend to have that vibe and make you feel that kind of way. Tatiana is definitely like, a unique voice in the way Karen’s was haha.

Aside from these three and the few musical actresses I like (and Karen ofc), a lot of female vocalists seem to sound the same to me so I tend not to listen to them haha.
Click to expand...
Welcome, newkarenfan.

I have heard of Evanescence but don't remember hearing them or Amy Lee. I will have to check them out.

I tend to like voices that are more on the bass end than the treble end. I like a lot of female artists and a lot of male artists. For female artists, I tend to go for contraltos, or, at least, women with lower, more mellow voices. I do agree with you that there are a couple of styles that radio and record companies now seem to go for in women, meaning that a lot of women, especially in the last 25 years or so, tend to sound pretty much the same. There's the high-pitched, cutesy sound, which I don't like, and the belter, so-called 'Diva' sound that you hear a lot on the 'Wanna Be a Star'-type shows like 'The Voice' and '______ Idol', which I also don't like and am totally tired of.

There are a few other things that I look for in music. I obviously like melody, harmony and clever musical arrangements, hence Carpenters. However, I also love imaginative lyrics, so enjoy indie bands and artists from the 80s and 90s and a lot of the more progressive artists from the 60s and 70s, or those who had something strong to say - and there were a lot of them, at that time. In keeping with this, I enjoy artists who write about my geographical area, as I can obviously relate strongly to the way of life in my own area. I will sometimes forego focusing on melody and musical depth if the lyrics are really good or atmospheric or speak of something extra-imaginative or different.

But, yes, the female vocal sound that is most pleasant to my ear is the warm, deeper, rich sound of a lot of the contraltos who we know so well, one of whom is mentioned quite a lot on this site. Luckily, there have been a lot of recorded contraltos down through the ages, especially from the 1940s to, say, the 1980s, so there are a lot of female artists, for me, to enjoy.
 
Last edited:
I really enjoy Ellen Foley's album, "Spirit of St Louis". It was produced by Mick Jones, of The Clash, and the other members of The Clash play on the album and co-wrote some of the songs with Mick Jones. (E.g. Joe Strummer co-wrote quite a few of the songs).

The album goes through a range of interesting styles. The song below isn't necessarily representative of the album.

I wanted to post "Theatre of Cruelty" but couldn't find it on Youtube.

"Shuttered Palace", below, is a charming song. There are others on the album that are more unusual and interesting.... although I am very fond of "Shuttered Palace".

As you would know, Ellen Foley is the female voice on the late Meat Loaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", from "Bat Out Of Hell".

"Bat Out of Hell" by Meat Loaf - what an iconic album!

 

Paying tribute to Karen Carpenter is ‘the honor of my life.'​

Singer Carla Williams:
"The story of this new project began about three years ago when she and Michael Omartian happened to meet as guests on the same Nashville TV show. Omartian is a multiple Grammy winner whose work, particularly as a producer, has paired him with major artists such as Clint Black, Rod Stewart, Whitney Houston and Dolly Parton."
---
"The classic “Close to You” features the Nashville Strings. Four other tracks: “Superstar,” “Goodbye to Love,” “Hurting Each Other”
and “Yesterday Once More” were recorded at Abbey Road, where the London Strings were brought to bear."
---
"The biggest criticism thrown at the Carpenters’ music in their heyday was the lush sweetness of the arrangements, which some found overly sweet and gauzy. It didn’t hurt their popularity at the time, and Williams and her producers have stuck to the original template.
Many of the tracks run from four minutes to four and a half. There’s just a lot of everything: Strings, intros, outros."
"The idea seems to have been to give Carpenters fans a lot of what they like, rather than worrying about tightening it up for potential airplay."
---
"She hopes it’ll be well received by the Carpenters faithful."

More (with video):
www.al.com

For Carla Williams, paying tribute to Karen Carpenter is ‘the honor of my life’

Alabama singer's tribute album recorded partly at famed Abbey Road studio
www.al.com www.al.com
 
GaryAlan said:

Paying tribute to Karen Carpenter is ‘the honor of my life.'​

Singer Carla Williams:
"The story of this new project began about three years ago when she and Michael Omartian happened to meet as guests on the same Nashville TV show. Omartian is a multiple Grammy winner whose work, particularly as a producer, has paired him with major artists such as Clint Black, Rod Stewart, Whitney Houston and Dolly Parton."
---
"The classic “Close to You” features the Nashville Strings. Four other tracks: “Superstar,” “Goodbye to Love,” “Hurting Each Other”
and “Yesterday Once More” were recorded at Abbey Road, where the London Strings were brought to bear."
---
"The biggest criticism thrown at the Carpenters’ music in their heyday was the lush sweetness of the arrangements, which some found overly sweet and gauzy. It didn’t hurt their popularity at the time, and Williams and her producers have stuck to the original template.
Many of the tracks run from four minutes to four and a half. There’s just a lot of everything: Strings, intros, outros."
"The idea seems to have been to give Carpenters fans a lot of what they like, rather than worrying about tightening it up for potential airplay."
---
"She hopes it’ll be well received by the Carpenters faithful."

More (with video):
www.al.com

For Carla Williams, paying tribute to Karen Carpenter is ‘the honor of my life’

Alabama singer's tribute album recorded partly at famed Abbey Road studio
www.al.com www.al.com
Click to expand...
REALLY Nice interview and she and Cliff Richard sound great on Hurting Each Other! I'll be buying this.
 
GaryAlan said:

Singer Carla Williams: "The biggest criticism thrown at the Carpenters’ music in their heyday was the lush sweetness of the arrangements, which some found overly sweet and gauzy. It didn’t hurt their popularity at the time, and Williams and her producers have stuck to the original template.​

Many of the tracks run from four minutes to four and a half. There’s just a lot of everything: Strings, intros, outros."
"The idea seems to have been to give Carpenters fans a lot of what they like, rather than worrying about tightening it up for potential airplay."
---
"She hopes it’ll be well received by the Carpenters faithful."

More (with video):
www.al.com

For Carla Williams, paying tribute to Karen Carpenter is ‘the honor of my life’

Alabama singer's tribute album recorded partly at famed Abbey Road studio
www.al.com www.al.com
Click to expand...
In all the hundreds of articles and reviews about Carpenters’ music that I’ve read from the ‘70s, I don’t remember once reading a criticism about Richard’s arrangements.
 
^^I will locate some examples for you !
Richard's talents (style) as arranger were definitely not appreciated in the 1970s by everyone.
 
I'm not at all a fan of Karen "sound-a-likes" and "wannabees" but there seems to be a lot of respect here for the Carpenters in general, and Karen in particular, and knowledge of their history and music - and while Carla doesn't sound too much like Karen (except she's an alto, or maybe contralto, too) she does have a nice voice and does a good job covering the songs - definitely would like to hear the full version of each one - nice seeing Billy Dean again after much time - he had some good Country hits back in the 80s, I think...
 
Another Son said:
Welcome, newkarenfan.

I have heard of Evanescence but don't remember hearing them or Amy Lee. I will have to check them out.

I tend to like voices that are more on the bass end than the treble end. I like a lot of female artists and a lot of male artists. For female artists, I tend to go for contraltos, or, at least, women with lower, more mellow voices. I do agree with you that there are a couple of styles that radio and record companies now seem to go for in women, meaning that a lot of women, especially in the last 25 years or so, tend to sound pretty much the same. There's the high-pitched, cutesy sound, which I don't like, and the belter, so-called 'Diva' sound that you hear a lot on the 'Wanna Be a Star'-type shows like 'The Voice' and '______ Idol', which I also don't like and am totally tired of.

There are a few other things that I look for in music. I obviously like melody, harmony and clever musical arrangements, hence Carpenters. However, I also love imaginative lyrics, so enjoy indie bands and artists from the 80s and 90s and a lot of the more progressive artists from the 60s and 70s, or those who had something strong to say - and there were a lot of them, at that time. In keeping with this, I enjoy artists who write about my geographical area, as I can obviously relate strongly to the way of life in my own area. I will sometimes forego focusing on melody and musical depth if the lyrics are really good or atmospheric or speak of something extra-imaginative or different.

But, yes, the female vocal sound that is most pleasant to my ear is the warm, deeper, rich sound of a lot of the contraltos who we know so well, one of whom is mentioned quite a lot on this site. Luckily, there have been a lot of recorded contraltos down through the ages, especially from the 1940s to, say, the 1980s, so there are a lot of female artists, for me, to enjoy.
Click to expand...
Back when Evanescence's single, Bring Me To Life came out, I got so sick of hearing it on the radio that today I still change the station when it comes on.
Where I work, they had this one station on and that station would play many songs 5 or 6 times in the workday and this song was no exception.
 
By the way, evidence in support of my view that Richard Carpenter's talents as an arranger were
NOT fully appreciated during the 1970s is easy to locate--the Grammy nominations !
Five nominations--NO wins--for his arrangements:
Close To You
Superstar
Flat Baroque
Sing
Calling Occupants.

Source:
www.imdb.com

Richard Carpenter - Awards - IMDb

Richard Carpenter - Awards - IMDb - Awards, nominations, and wins
www.imdb.com www.imdb.com
 
GaryAlan said:
By the way, evidence in support of my view that Richard Carpenter's talents as an arranger were
NOT fully appreciated during the 1970s is easy to locate--the Grammy nominations !
Five nominations--NO wins--for his arrangements:
Close To You
Superstar
Flat Baroque
Sing
Calling Occupants.

Source:
www.imdb.com

Richard Carpenter - Awards - IMDb

Richard Carpenter - Awards - IMDb - Awards, nominations, and wins
www.imdb.com www.imdb.com
Click to expand...
Close To You was up against the powerhouse song Bridge Over Troubled Water so that is not a surprise.
I'd take Superstar over all of the other nominees for 1971. I do not know who the nominees are for the following three songs so I have nothing to compare them to.
 
By the way, how it is that We've Only Just Begun was not considered boggles my mind.

Here is the 1978 comparison:
Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist
The nominees:
  • Barbra Streisand - Love Theme from A Star Is Born
  • Joao Gilberto - Besame Mucho
  • The Carpenters - Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft Lyrics
  • George Benson - Nature Boy Lyrics
  • Sea wind - The Devil Is a Liar
 
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GaryAlan said:
By the way, How it is that We've Only Just Begun was not considered boggles my mind.

Here is the 1978 comparison:
Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist
The nominees:
  • Barbra Streisand - Love Theme from A Star Is Born
  • Joao Gilberto - Besame Mucho
  • The Carpenters - Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft Lyrics
  • George Benson - Nature Boy Lyrics
  • Sea wind - The Devil Is a Liar
Click to expand...
Barbra was the winner for that year. One thing the song had going for it was it was fresh off an Oscar win and a Number 1 single.
Occupants was not a good sized hit and that probably was its downfall.
The other three are unfamiliar to me and probable were also to the Academy.
Close To You was the bigger hit so that may have put a damper on We've Only Just Begun for consideration.
 
Wasn't sure where to post this, and given the voluminous content here it's probably already been suggested, but...

Was listening to Sirius 70's on 7 and heard Roberta Flacks Killing Me Softly with his song and half way through the song, I started hearing Karen singing it. I think she'd have crushed this song.

I have no idea if this song was offered to the Carpenters, and even if so, perhaps it was too similar to Superstar to have fit in at that particular time, but I am 100% convinced Karen and Richard would have smashed it out of the park.
 
There's a long story about that song. Look it up on Wikipedia where the whole set of details is laid out. Suffice it to say here that the song involved Don McLean, Lori Lieberman, Charles Fox, Norman Gimbel, and Roberta Flack and an airplane ride.

 
David A said:
Wasn't sure where to post this, and given the voluminous content here it's probably already been suggested, but...

Was listening to Sirius 70's on 7 and heard Roberta Flacks Killing Me Softly with his song and half way through the song, I started hearing Karen singing it. I think she'd have crushed this song.

I have no idea if this song was offered to the Carpenters, and even if so, perhaps it was too similar to Superstar to have fit in at that particular time, but I am 100% convinced Karen and Richard would have smashed it out of the park.
Click to expand...
Richard mentioned in an interview in the 80's that he was offered a song Roberta Flack ended up having the hit with... I *think* it was this one. The question to Richard, if I remember correctly, was framed in "the one that got away."
 
Chris said:
I've always thought of Karen when hearing that one! Roberta does a flawless job with it, but I think it would have been perfect for Karen. I'm sorry we didn't get to hear her do it.
Click to expand...
I have that on a 45 rpm with photo sleeve from the movie, love that song but it does require a quiet ambiance to appreciate its beauty.
 
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