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Unique voices

Just a random thought really. We have lost a few of these recently - Bowie, Prince.

Trying to decide in terms of ‘superstars’ who is left that has an actual unique voice rather than some stock airken waterman washes through nonsense?

I suppose Ozzie Osborne is the only one I can think of actually.  Any thoughts?

You need to look beyond the radio and the charts. I would say Rufus Wainwright is still a unique voice. St Vincent. Frank Turner (ok, not SO unique but he's very much carved out his own niche of folkpunkrock and yet the radio hardly plays him yet he's constantly touring and selling out venues); I used to really like Devendra Banhart but not followed him for a number of years but he was a pretty unique act. There are lots, you just need to scratch the surface. Unfortunately most radio programmes play the same shit over and over. Radio 6 music might be worth your ear, if you have time.  

You're right.  Not many left at all.  Maybe only:

 

Bjork

Billy Corgan

Bob Dylan

Mick Jagger

Axl Rose

Adele

Shirley Bassey

Robert Plant

Bruce Dickinson

Rob Halford

James Hetfield

Dido

Kate Bush

 

I could go on...

I meant singing voices which are (or were) unique.  Axl Rose's was iconic, but agreed he's lost his touch.

 

Dido's is instantly recognisable, so I'd say that makes her unique, wouldn't you?

Recognisable and unique are not the same thing. The OP deliberately excluded Stock, Aitken and Waterman style artists but a lot of those would also be instantly recognisable, despite being very similar.

Axl Rose is back on form, has been for about two years. 

HTH. 

 

P.S. There are loads of them, but if you listen to the radio for your music you will virtually never hear them. 

I don't think any of the performers I've named could be described as Stock, Aiten and Waterman artists.   I think all of them are unique (for what is "instantly recognisable" if not "unique"?)..

Rolf Harris. Just imagine if you were sitting there, in the dark in, say, a basement, with a blindfold on and arms and legs shackled, awaiting your fate, and you felt a sense that someone was near you. After a while you realise that there is a light but rhythmic breathing just behind you. Across and behind over your left shoulder.  Before long the breathing gets closer and you feel it against your left ear and you notice the prickle of beard hair.  The breathing changes to a noticeable pant, uh-huh-uh-hah-uh-huh-uh-hah, then he starts with the ominous song 'I've been everywhere"

 

Taking superstars to mean giant selling - with a unique singing voice

- Rhianna

- Dolly Parton

- Drake

- Eminem

-  (I don't like him but) Bono

- Paul Simon

I think there’s fvcking loads of superstars who have distinctive voices (shall we say voices that rock rather than voices that sing classically well). 

What there isn’t is many young distinctive voices to replace them. Most people selling out arenas now were doing so ten or twenty or fifty years ago. 

Maybe Eldrich's best days are behind him, but the voice on that song is massive, especially the rap at the end.

I met him and I thought he was going to be some kind of giant, but he's a skinny 5'5" bloke.

When the world is ripped asunder.

Every nation fighting every nation.

Man killing man with no exception.

Dido will bring them together.

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FFS, Badders - she had one successful album pushed massively by the corporates and ad/media tie-ins. She's a label commodity. Billy Corgan almost the same but infinitely more artistic integrity.

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Big HEH for Wang's 16:23. Oh, you pretty thing.

Soz - Badders - agree with lots of yours others - some in reply to the obvious are Dr. John, André 3000 and Laz.

In reality we won't know for at least another 5-10 years, if not 15-25 who the real new unique voices of today will be.

Fairly sure it won't be Andrew Eldritch though, fvcking great as 'This Corrosion' (first released on single in 1987) is though.

For Chambo and everyone (and it is a great choon), with love:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-RVJyNpfDk

Back to the OP, I'd give Robert Smith and Julian Cope shouts too in terms of unique voices... output voluminous but both stay pretty / very much within their own work...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNTrm67-g8Q

*waves to Skiver et al*

Copey - (slightly ;) more vocal outwith his work but all the better for that in terms of certain strands of archaeology)... and we should all walk more.

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

They're both quintessentially English and we're all the better for both of them.

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