Favorite Music of 2006: Female Vocals

It's time for me to start declaring some winners now that I've been spending time closely listening to most of the new music that I've accumulated over the course of this year. I'm going to start with a relatively simple category, namely female vocalists. Looking over my list of nominees as well as a few others that I didn't bother to include, I see a decided bias toward male singers. I've been aware of this oversight for awhile now, and I've been working to balance out my collection by carving out more room for women vocalists. So my larger collection has grown to include what I consider a decent sampling of some of the more well-regarded performers of recent years: Aimee Mann, Jewel, Sia, Beth Orton, Sheryl Crow, Natalie Merchant, Tori Amos, Eva Cassidy and a few others like P.J. Harvey and Liz Phair. I leave Enya to my wife and daughter, though I don't mind her as background music. I also picked up a Sarah Brightman CD ("Harem") off the $1 bargain pile the other day but haven't listened to it yet. There are others that I'm aware of - Fiona Apple, Dido, Loreena McKinnit (who was referenced by Bilbo the other day), etc. Of course, pop singers like Christina Aguilera, Shakira, Beyonce and Fergie are in my collection as they climb to the upper reaches of the Billboard hit charts, but I don't listen to them "seriously." And I confess that I have nearly complete collections of CDs from both Madonna and Britney Spears, which I regard as cultural artifacts, the significance and value of which transcends the actual music contained therein. And I should also mention the harder-rocking women like Patti Smith, Shirley Manson, Alanis Morrisette, Chrissie Hynde and Debbie Harry. And also the great women whose pipes grace the soundtracks of ambient trip-hop artists like Massive Attack, Portishead, Sneaker Pimps, Tricky, etc.

So enough of that name-dropping. My concern is, what recordings by these or other artists were released in 2006? I seem to be lacking in variety here so I apologize for that, but here are my finalists:

1. Beth Orton - Comfort of Strangers: I first heard Beth's singing when she guested on a couple of early Chemical Brothers tracks ("Where Do I Begin" and "Alive Alone.") In recent years, she's moved away from the electronica crossovers and collaborations and is now pretty much a soft rocking folkie. Her voice is distinctive and to some a bit too affected, so even though I like her style, this effort is a bit too low-key to get the nod, but it merits a mention.






2. Madonna - I'm Going to Tell You a Secret: A live CD from her most recent tour that offers some interesting new takes on a few of her older hits, but one has to be a fan or at least familiar with her more recent albums in order to appreciate the music. And since a lot of people dropped off the Madonna bandwagon in the early/mid-90's, there's limited appeal for this product. So it's not my winner either.




3. Jewel - Goodbye Alice in Wonderland: I like Jewel's earnest and sometimes hokey takes on spirituality and the Bigger Meanings of Life, and her voice is so amazing and clear when she hits those long notes. I also enjoy her stage and performing persona, though I can also see how it might grate on some peoples' nerves - like my wife's. :o) There are some good cuts on this new album of hers, but I really enjoyed the more pop-oriented direction she took on her previous CD (O304) and this one feels like a retreat into safer, predictable territory. So it won't win.




4. Here's my winner: Saint Etienne - Tales from Turnpike House: Saint Etienne is an alt/indie/electronica/danceclub oriented act that's been around for quite awhile (fifteen years or so) but I just discovered them this year. This is considered to be a "mature" work for them, on the quiet, dreamy and soft side compared to what they've done in the past. I really like the mood and feel of this disc, which is apparently a concept album of sorts, stories about contemporary Londoners who live in the same building or something like that. I haven't listened closely enough to the lyrics to pick up on a story but I guess it's there to be discovered. The vocalist's name is Sarah Cracknell, fyi. I'm picking this partly because of the joy of new discovery and partly because I've already taken too long to think about this and type it all in. So look for Saint Etienne and let me know what you think. And please suggest other great female singers that I haven't mentioned here.