Female Singer/Songwriter Thread

[Roy Munson]

Lucinda Williams must enter this discussion. She is a truly unique artist who defies categorization. Her music is earthy and sensual.

If you have the opportunity to see her live by all means do so.

[odellthurman]

[ QUOTE ]
Lucinda Williams must enter this discussion. She is a truly unique artist who defies categorization. Her music is earthy and sensual.

If you have the opportunity to see her live by all means do so.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lucinda Williams is fantastic and deserves a longer post. Go for it.

[Rick Nebiolo]

[ QUOTE ]
Lucinda Williams is fantastic and deserves a longer post. Go for it.

[/ QUOTE ]

In a late night attempt to motivate someone with more time check out Right In Time, Drunken Angel and World Without Tears.

[odellthurman]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Lucinda Williams is fantastic and deserves a longer post. Go for it.

[/ QUOTE ]

In a late night attempt to motivate someone with more time check out Right In Time, Drunken Angel and World Without Tears.

[/ QUOTE ]

No time to do a long Lucinda Williams post at work today, but here is an article from the excellent music magazine, No Depression, that focuses on what most people consider to be Lucinda Williams' best album - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - http://www.nodepression.net/issues/nd16/lucinda.html

And Lucinda singing "Joy", which is a song that from time to time has gotten in my head and caused me to listen to it over and over and over and over on my iPod - http://youtube.com/watch?v=p1B4Q0hugV8 - I caution you beforehand so you can't blame me if it causes you to go similarly insane.

Lucinda Williams is one of the greatest female singer songwriters of all time, and that's not an exaggeration. She is a genius.

[whiskeytown]

I expected to see two names on here I haven't seen yet -

I'm amazed no one mentioned Patty Griffin yet - she's an EXCEPTIONAL singer-songwriter

If you want testimony from other female singer-songwriters, it comes in the form of covering tunes - and she's had a lot of folks covering her stuff

Wikipedia lists Linda Ronstadt ("Falling Down"), the Dixie Chicks ("Truth No. 2," "Top of the World," "Let Him Fly"), Bette Midler ("Moses"), Mary-Chapin Carpenter ("Dear Old Friend"), Jessica Simpson ("Let Him Fly"), Martina McBride ("Goodbye"), Melissa Ferrick and Missy Higgins ("Moses"), Emmylou Harris ("One Big Love"), Bethany Joy Galeotti ("Blue Sky"), The Wreckers ("One More Girl"), Joan Osborne ("What You Are"), Solomon Burke ("Up to the Mountain"), and Miranda Lambert ("Getting Ready"). Kelly Clarkson performed "Up to the Mountain" with Jeff Beck on the Idol Gives Back episode of American Idol, - and I guess Kelly preformed it here in Minneapolis last week.

I'd say Patty has about 2 or 3 of the top 25 most played on my IPod - mostly from her first acoustic album where it was just her/guitar. Her cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Stolen Car" is one I used to listen to on repeat during my darker Jameson days - I'll refund the .99 cents of anyone who buys it on Itunes and isn't fully satisfied. The song itself makes you almost feel like a fugitive when you listen in the dark.

- the myspace link has some good retrospective work - but you can also check Youtube stuff here

Patty has some great lyrics and is a phenom. singer - her first album was a stripped down demo - one voice/one guitar, that would blow your mind. She sorta got shuffled around a bit the first couple albums but now she's on Dave Matthews' label.

Recommendations - Living With Ghosts, Children Running Thru, and 1000 Kisses - (for starters)
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And of course, Gillian Welch

- severe Americana that makes you feel you're back in the 1920's - I have a version of her doing Pancho and Lefty that I've also left on repeat about 50 times - Gillian has some great imagery in her lyrics and one song in particular - a 12 minute epic called "I Dream A Highway" contains some of my favorite lines of all time at about 50 bpm

Oh I dream a highway back to you love
A winding ribbon with a band of gold
A silver vision come arrest my soul
I dream a highway back to you.

Which lover are you, Jack of Diamonds?
Now you be Emmylou and I'll be Gram
I send a letter, don't know who I am
I dream a highway back to you.

I'm an indisguisable shade of twilight
Any second now I'm gonna turn myself on
In the blue display of the cool cathode ray
I dream a highway back to you.

I wish you knew me, Jack of Diamonds
Fire-riding, wheeling when I lead em up
Drank whiskey with my water, sugar in my tea
My sails in rags with the staggers and the jags
I dream a highway back to you.

Gillian's also been covered by a host of songwriters - and you can see more of her at the Youtube, of course

Recommendations: - Time the Revelator and Soul Journey.

RB

[Stagger_Lee]

Here is a better link for you whiskeytown http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...;search=Search

[whiskeytown]

thank you - yes I boneheaded it again - 3 out of 4 ain't bad.

rb

[TomE.]

My favorite female singer/songwriter, Joni Mitchell, and my favorite song from her:
Both Sides Now

I remember when this song came out, it was being played on the AM stations my mom would listen to. Even though I was fairly young when it came out, the message and the images it invoked stuck with me to this day.

Later, Joni recorded with Jaco Pastorius, notably on "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter", then with Pat Metheny, Jaco, and Michael Brecker on "Shadows and Light", a live album. These are my favorite Joni cd's.



In the late 80's - early 90's the NPR station out of Wayne State University in Detroit, WDET, had a national show called "Cypress Avenue" hosted by a guy whose name I can't recall, but he had one show devoted to Richard and Linda Thompson. Linda isn't the main songwriter, but there's no doubt she shared in the lyric writing. Apparently, during the recording of "Shoot Out the Lights" in 1982, the songs were written in response to the separation they were going thru. Anyway, here is "A Heart Needs a Home":
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5upiUrUw0Jk A Heart Needs a Home


And now, some great songs with excellent female leads that I just feel like sharing:
Elizabeth Fraser/Cocteau Twins - Carolyn's Fingers

Annie Haslam/Renaissance - Carpet of the Sun
Note: this isn't best Renaissance song, although it does display Annie's vocal range. I was looking for "Can You Hear Me". If you can find this song, absolutely give it a listen.

[Dominic]

here's a one-hit wonder female singer songwriter I love:


Anna Nalick

Her Breathe (2AM) is an absoultely gorgeous song I can replay over and over and not grow tired of.

Here's the video:

Breathe

Her lyrics are a bit "20-something girl-writing-deep-poetry" but they're sung so beautifully it works.

Makes me wonder why we never heard from her again!

[Rick Nebiolo]

[ QUOTE ]
here's a one-hit wonder

[/ QUOTE ]

Anna Nalick's Wreck of the Day is a strong CD from track 1 to 11.

~ Rick

PS It there a CD selling site that generally provides better sample cuts than Amazon?