Cheers Ian. No doubt I overuse them, but given that I like to kid around and how easy it is for people to misunderstand each other on the web, I figure it's better to be safe than sorry.
Kate has a really appealing quality about her voice - heaps of charm. I love singers with that X factor like her and John Lennon. And, of course, Freddie conquered the world with a charm offensive we'll sadly never see again.
Every now and then vocalists come up with emotional performances that are often not technically impressive but have knocked my socks off, like:
John Cale's version of
Heartbreak Hotel
Marianne Faithfull singing
Why'd Ya Do it and
Sister Morphine
BB King singing anything
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sMWTqUuSh4
Melanie Safka in
Candles In the Rain
Robert Plant in
Since I've Been Loving You
Joe Cocker's cover of
A Little Help from My Friends
Elton singing
Candle In The Wind
Peter Gabriel singing
Stagnation when he was with Genesis.
Janis Joplin in
Ball and Chain
Drums are great but, deep down, great vocal performances are the ultimate for me. I'll probably get beaten up for saying this