Best Vocal Performance

callaway92 · 12-10-2015 9:38pm #1

Headphones on at the mo - Relaxing enough now.

In the mood for good, yet different music with cool voices.

This topic usually is responded to with rock/heavy metal songs for obvious reasons, but the one performance I haven't ever gotten sick of after all years is the below. Beautiful song.

Lauryn Hill was phenominal in her prime (as were Fugees in general)

It's a pity there is no video of the performance available from what I can find. This was also a B Side to Ready Or Not if I'm not mistaken.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdInmqzl0tU

DrumSteve · 12-10-2015 9:44pm

Dio - Holy Diver.

Eyes of a stranger - Queensryche

Tbf though, rock/metal vocalists generally are among the best though if you're looking for something smoooove as Richard blackwood would say, try some Donnell Jones.

12-10-2015 9:46pm

This is so heartfelt that I nearly feel the pain.

12-10-2015 10:10pm

Ane Brun - Oh Love

Azalea · 12-10-2015 10:13pm

Tina Turner - River Deep Mountain High.

12-10-2015 10:17pm

I always come back to this one especially for the ending
duno if it's what OP meant but popped into my head
srs skill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od368OEUZ_8

also the sheer fcukin speed hampson managed to sing the section from 4:17 onward here, with diction, always has me in awe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZLAeUDLnxs

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5 · 12-10-2015 10:24pm

Yeah both artists are pretty low hanging fruit for this kind of thread but those two tracks in particular really do show just how good they are/were

12-10-2015 10:30pm

Elizabeth Fraser, ex Cocteau Twins, has since worked with Future Sound of London and Massive Attack...

http://youtu.be/qZe4Yqwbnhg

For Forks Sake · 12-10-2015 10:35pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJEfd_4oXks

Links234 · 12-10-2015 10:39pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_xTet06SUo

Freakin' amazing!

NachoBusiness · 12-10-2015 10:43pm

Anyone remember the little girl with no front teeth on Britain's Got Talent back in 2007, whose thunder was stolen by Paul Potts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWNoiVrJDsE

Well, she's all grown up now (has teeth and everything) and I think she has one of the greatest voices I have ever heard.
A superstar in the making for sure, and she writes her own stuff too..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH28_VW28bY

SonicBoom87 · 12-10-2015 10:46pm

Kraftwerk - The Robots Live @ their Minimum Maximum tour

AnonoBoy · 12-10-2015 10:51pm

Yello - The Race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4QbJRAWvRU

Nothing to do with vocals - just wanted to hear it.

NachoBusiness · 12-10-2015 11:03pm

Eddie Vedder's vocal performance on Black was excellent. Especially on the line (3m45s):

"....I know you'll be a star, in somebody else's sky, but whhyyy, whhyyy, whyyyyyyyyyyyyy can't it be, ohh can't it beeeee miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine...."

Spine chills....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ChbxMVgGV4

Rothko · 12-10-2015 11:22pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLnVOyhqSi8

the evasion_kid · 12-10-2015 11:23pm

In love with this girls voice...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuwvYsqLtuk

PARlance · 12-10-2015 11:39pm

Joanna Spoiled Value wrote: »

Yeah both artists are pretty low hanging fruit for this kind of thread but those two tracks in particular really do show just how good they are/were

One of Amy's favourites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZjzgmBshqA

link not working: http://youtu.be/vZjzgmBshqA

Chain Smoker · 13-10-2015 3:28am

Patsy Cline - Crazy
Fairly obvious choice, I guess, but it's pretty outstanding. One of the best singles of all time and it's entirely driven by her voice (everything complements it perfectly, mind)

Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman
Put anyone else singing this with that much going on behind them and it'd be a bit ridiculous. Best delivery of an opening line ever too.

Michael Jackson - I Want You Back
The arrangements are pretty damn fantastic to the point that I've got an instrumental version fairly high up on my most played tracks, but the vocals are heartbreakingly good.

Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds
Yes, I know his Sun sessions stuff is arguably better but I really love how close this whole song (especially the vocals) comes to being a bit ridiculously overwrought but never actually falls off the edge. Those backing vocals are pretty damn lovely too.

Cass Elliot and Michelle Phillips - California Dreamin'
The female vocals, obviously. How they are arranged to go with the male vocals is fairly damn fantastic too.

Michael Stipe - Country Feedback
Jeez, I'm really throwing him to the wolves by including him with all of the above, but I think Stipe's a pretty fantastic vocalist, had his own distinct singing style and really knew how to maximise it (up until about 2000 or so anyways). This is definitely my favourite of his non-mumbling vocal efforts though.

Andre 3000 - B.O.B.
Wanted to include a hip-hop one that wasn't just a "best verse" one but his verse is just ridiculously perfect for the beat here, an absolute assault that makes perfect use of his southern drawl.

Also, I can't find the original version of Marvin Gaye's I Heard It Through The Grapevine on YouTube

mynameis905 · 13-10-2015 4:08am

One of the all-time greats and criminally overlooked.

MJI · 13-10-2015 4:54am

Links234 wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_xTet06SUo

Freakin' amazing!

That's class

osarusan · 13-10-2015 7:33am

Probably a stereotypical answer, but this is just so powerful.

Gyalist · 13-10-2015 8:25am

The Rev. Al Green takes the Apollo Theater to church...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lus8OTnLo7w

Kerrydude1981 · 13-10-2015 8:26am

There was a better quality video but it seems to have been taken down off Youtube

Powerful performance though

Full video here

https://vimeo.com/28290379

SonicBoom87 · 13-10-2015 7:36pm

Ms Franklin's performances are always top notch

Schwiiing · 13-10-2015 8:01pm

Threddie needs moar Freddie

philstar · 14-10-2015 5:32pm

Sting - The Police - Roxanne

bnt · 14-10-2015 6:02pm

The 1980s ... weird, but good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-hJFoSgXfM

Benteke · 14-10-2015 6:05pm

Never gets old

ardinn · 14-10-2015 6:25pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bF6QipA3iQ

PressRun · 14-10-2015 8:12pm

Another artist Amy Winehouse loved was Donny Hathaway. He was certainly one the most intense vocalists I've heard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dko6eQl4w2s

Amy Winehouse herself was a top-notch jazz singer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpj9iOX2Qvo

D'Angelo is probably one of the most talented artists making music today. A 'less is more' sort of vocalist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtZWO3HgRdA

I was pretty blown away by this Jill Scott performance the first time I heard it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6jo1giiD6U

Master of the Omniverse · 17-10-2015 8:56pm

Best vocal performance.bono and the men live on jools Holland.can't rember the name of the song,anyhow it came to the chorus where on the single he let's rip and I'm watching and waiting thinking Jesus,he's just not going to be able to pull this off live and not only does he nail it better than in the studio but he gives it a vocal twist and it gave me goosebumps.a bit like when sinead oconnor sang Dylan's a change is gonna come live on the late late and I swear she actually transported me and my girlfriend into a parallel universe where change had all ready taken place.

Gyalist · 17-01-2016 11:18pm

Aretha Franklin shows that she's still an incredible performer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ca5Xd_usG8

smurgen · 17-01-2016 11:35pm

Portishead live in NYC.that is all.

Ideo · 17-01-2016 11:39pm

On the phone so can't embed a video but Gladys Knight had an incredible voice - she's fantastic in this live version of midnight train to Georgia http://youtu.be/suu2x5AOJTk

Birneybau · 17-01-2016 11:41pm

Especially towards the end where Iggy just loses it...

Or:

Could pick a lot of Scott Walker songs.

Ulysses Gaze · 17-01-2016 11:50pm

Lot's of hard rock and metal ones but some non-metal ones would be:

Oh and one grunge one...

Probably Chris Cornell's finest vocal performance

Dravokivich · 18-01-2016 12:18am

Louis Armstrong, but too many to choose from. So the ever so hopeful wonderful world wins it for me.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E2VCwBzGdPM

Andre 3000 · 18-01-2016 12:26am

Nas on Illmatic. To this day peerless in every way.

dexter647 · 18-01-2016 12:29am

Turn off the lights and turn up the volume and lock thread...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIw0ewEsNHs

18-01-2016 12:32am

dexter647 wrote: »

Turn off the lights and turn up the volume and lock thread...

Shrek ruined the Buckley version for me, I can only listen to the Cohen original now without picturing a green ogre.

RDM_83 again · 18-01-2016 12:39am

More stripped back than most of the examples here but very raw

Tigger · 18-01-2016 12:40am

Freddy

Not even a queen fan but he had a crazy range and used it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p4MZJsexEs

And only live should count; studio is not vocal performance

18-01-2016 12:43am

Ah **** people they're so many, anyway.

https://youtu.be/mnOkWIICPSQ

Tigger · 18-01-2016 12:48am

Schwiiing wrote: »

Threddie needs moar Freddie

I'd have posted this if it wasn't already

marienbad · 18-01-2016 1:11am

The ever improving Jonas Kaufman singing Ombra Di Nube (Shadow of a Cloud) - one of those tunes I just can't get out of my head

https://youtu.be/4NQiec4q9o8

pocketse · 18-01-2016 1:15am

Nice thread.

Seems to be a bit of Eddie Veddar on here. This one always get me. Also love the orchestration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqAP5ZA2Lkg

Robsweezie · 18-01-2016 3:51am

Rebecca black - Friday

Best Vocal Performance

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