This is obviously my opinion, but it’s from a whole lot of experience. I have a bias towards female singers and female sentiments, but there are a few men mixed in here. Take a look. I’m also not strict about the definition of singer/songwriter. I remember when I was in radio the music nerds would debate over whether Elton John was a singer/songwriter since he wrote the music but not the lyrics. I don’t care. Here, Alison Krauss, who does write songs, is singing a cover, two singers who don’t write are covering Sting, who is a singer/songwriter but I like these versions better. There was also a debate over whether a performer who used a group name rather than an individual name for their work could be called a singer/songwriter, since the name is a singer’s name. Again, I could care less and include several bands who write amazing songs. So, you can buy the disks and duplicate the sequence, or you can learn about a few tracks you don’t already know, or if you already have them all, you can try my sequence if you want, or you can just read my comments and learn a thing or two about the songs and artists. (The numbering is the track sequence of my mix, not a ranking of the songs. They’re all awesome.)
- Not a Pretty Girl — Ani DiFranco — Not A Pretty Girl — 1995
One of the strongest songs ever written. Ani is always articulate and powerful, and this song is an earthquake. I could quote some of the lyrics to show you how amazing they are, but which ones? I’d end up quoting the whole song to you. And though they stand well on their own, much of the power undeniably comes from her forceful delivery. I lead with this one for a reason. It is in a class of its own. - Who Will Save Your Soul — Jewel — Pieces of You — 1995
I realize I may annoy a few people with this one. Jewel’s choice to live in the pop sphere and her occasional girlie-voice lines make her unacceptable to many folkies and feminists. But if you see her in interviews, you quickly discover she is brilliant, and she explains openly that she makes pop music so that more people get exposed to her politics. I would imagine this explanation also applies to the girlie-voice stuff though I haven’t heard her say it. She learned to perform as a teen girl in Alaska bars, so I assume that being sexy was the best way to get the audience’s attention. If you’re anti-Jewel, stop and read the lyrics to Save Your Soul, and ask yourself if you’re being fair to her. For this mix, I use a wonderful live bootleg identified as “Live In Stockholm,1997″ — but the album version is great too. - Making Pies — Patty Griffin — 1,000 Kisses — 2002
Patti Griffin can make awesome powerful rock, fun eccentric country, or like this song, a perfect folk story song. I find it hard to listen to this song without crying, not because there’s one devastating line, but just because it paints a picture of the quiet futile life so many live. It’s so rich. The first time I heard this song, it was live, before Griffin had recorded it and I think they overproduced the album version, though it’s still wonderful. So for my mix I use a poor quality bootleg I found on the net, which captures the emotion better, but I have no idea where to find it. - Angel From Montgomery — Bonnie Raitt & John Prine — The Bonnie Raitt Collection — 1974
Bonnie Raitt has been in my life since my early teens. I was always captivated by the fragile power and undeniable sexiness (are those the same thing?) in her voice. Most people finally discovered her 20 years into her career with the chart-topping 1989 Nick of Time. John Prine is one of the great songwriters. In 1974, they combined to perform his song Angel From Montgomery and made an instant classic. - Closer To Fine — Indigo Girls — Indigo Girls — 1989
They can be VERY corny, I know, with their stridency, but the fact remains their harmonies are beautiful and they’ve got attitude. It’s even better to watch them. (OK, I’ll admit it; I was kinda in love with Amy Ray too.) Before Sarah McLachlan made it safe for mainstream America, the Indigo Girls were blazing the trail for a women’s folk revival in NPR-land. - Landslide — Fleetwood Mac — Fleetwood Mac — 1975
One of the most beautiful and touching songs ever written, and I don’t think too many would disagree with me. It is just exquisite. Stevie Nicks wrote this song in her early 20s, when she thought all her plans in life had come to nothing, just before she joined Fleetwood Mac and became a megastar. She recorded it with them as a Fleetwood Mac song, so ironically this singer/songwriter creation about personal failure became a blockbuster hit for a 70s supergroup. But it’s all her, with that wonderfully scratchy beautiful country voice. It really is remarkable. - Baby, Now That I’ve Found You — Alison Krauss — Now That I’ve Found You — 1995
Alison Krauss was first recognized as a teen for her fiddle playing, but she’s also one of the best bluegrass singers around. She has written many beautiful songs of her own, but this cover highlights the beauty of her voice better than any of them, and she does a nice little fiddle solo too. A light bluegrass remake of the other 60s pop hit by The Foundations (best known for their classic Build Me up Buttercup) she makes the song her own. - Fields of Gold — Eva Cassidy — Live at Blues Alley — 1996
Sting annoys the hell out of me, but he’s also written some of the most beautiful songs ever. Here’s one of them, done perfectly by Eva Cassidy. There is a fact that has nothing to do with the song, but I really can’t avoid bringing it up. Eva Cassidy spent a decade struggling with the industry’s inability to figure out how to package her. She pulled from jazz, blues, pop and folk genres and performed covers. (Much like Norah Jones.) The only recordings from this decade are a handful of tracks collaborating with others. Finally, out of frustration, her producer/ex-boyfriend recorded her performances at a local DC club and self-published this album, Live at Blues Alley. Cassidy wasn’t that happy with it and took a job painting murals at Maryland elementary schools. A few months later, she discovered she had advanced bone cancer and within a few more, she was gone at 33. I swear you can hear the tragedy in her voice, but maybe I’m putting that into it, considering she didn’t even know at this point that she’d be gone just 10 months later. - Fragile — Holly Cole & Jesse Cook — Vertigo — 1998
Wow. Holly Cole is probably the best jazz standard stylist today, with a penchant for doing unexpected non-jazz songs. This Sting cover pairs her with one of the leading young flamenco guitarists, the mind-blowing Jesse Cook in a lush mix of intense guitar and smooth vocals. (Much of Cook’s work is ruined by cheesy New Age production, but here and in a few other places, where his guitar is upfront, it is wonderful.) To be consistent I have offered the link above to the Jesse Cook album this track can be found on. But I’d much rather you explore Holly Cole. The best place to start is Girl Talk, or if you want a sampler, you clould start with The Best of Holly Cole. - Babylon — David Gray — White Ladder — 1999
One of the only men in the mix, but hardly a macho voice. Take two parts Glenn Campbell, one part electronic loop sequencing and powerful lyric writing, and you’ve got British alt-folk sensation David Grey. This was his first American hit, and it is still his best song. It formulaically but unashamedly builds to climaxes that make it near-impossible not to start belting out the lyrics along with him. I don’t mind being manipulated. It’s pure fun. - Trouble In My Head — Melissa Ferrick — Willing To Wait — 1995
One of the cleverest and most thoughtful songwriters, with a strong but intimate voice that grabs your heart in its fist. And if you see her live, you realize that she is also an amazing guitarist. This track is old, from her mid-90s major label work. She self-publishes now. I just happen to love this song above all others. But make sure to buy her newer material too so she gets all the profits: www.melissaferrick.com. - Possession — Sarah McLachlan — Fumbling Towards Ecstasy — 1993
Is it too much to say: The song that changed everything? In the world of female singer/songwriters, there is before Fumbling Towards Ecstasy and after. True, the early 90s saw lots of major label-signed female folk artists, including the Indigo Girls and Melissa Ferrick, and McLachlan’s own first two albums. But this record, which upgraded the production to full pop lushness, and roped in influences from folk to Enya, changed the rules, and established that a female folkie could go Top 10. Oh, and the song. I find it very hard to listen to Possession without crying. It is wrenchingly powerful. If you’ve ever passionately felt love and loss, this song will speak to you. - Anything But Down — Sheryl Crow — The Globe Sessions — 1998
In female roots rock, Crow has done the best job of mixing in enough pop to become a superstar. Unfortunately she crosses the line quite often, losing whatever richness the roots gave. Her least commercial and thus best album is The Globe Sessions, supposedly named after the fact that it grew out of jam sessions rather than an antiseptic recording studio. You can tell. I wish she’d stop trying to be a pop star and put out more records like this, as she obviously can. I can put this album on repeat and leave it on all day. That’s extremely rare. - Essence — Lucinda Williams — essence — 2001
The queen of uncompromising, powerful female roots rock: Williams’ gravelly and sensuous voice tears through you with personal and painful lyrics. Sound like fun? Trust me, it is. Lucinda Williams is one of my favorite artists across all genres. I could have picked one of a dozen tracks. This one is a little more unusual than many, a little more clever than some. (Lucinda Williams’ history with the Grammies highlights her odd career. She got Country Song of the Year in 1993 for Mary Chapin Carpenter’s cover of her “Passionate Kisses”, then Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1998, and finally Best Female Rock Vocal in 2001 for another track from this album.) - Temporary Guest — Thalia Zedek — Been Here And Gone — 2001
When you listen to a Thalia Zedek song, whether solo or with her band Come, you enter her aural landscape. Her guitar playing ebbs and flows in a lush layered wall of sound that is reminiscent of Neil Young, but without the freneticness. Her straining, pushing but strong and confident voice is a work of art. You can close your eyes and lose yourself to the sounds or pay attention to the intelligent lyrics. Either way, you will be affected. - Trouble — ColdPlay — Parachutes — 2000
Part of a specific breed of British rock that is all about songwriting, all about a shy awkward male singer with a low-class accent imperfectly singing a perfect pop song —with the clear influence of Pink Floyd, the Kinks and other predecessors — so the result is far more complex and nuanced than it would have been if sung perfectly. The Brits seem to have a patent on the process — so much so the genre is called Brit Pop — and recent sensation Coldplay is one of the best ever at it, and this is their best song. - Karma Police — Radiohead — OK Computer — 1997
Perhaps the best band to ever take on the Brit Pop genre, and with much more creativity and daring than most: From their first single, Creep, with its crashing grunge/noise rock guitar riff and aggressive cursing, Radiohead established themselves as above and apart from the rest. Their recent venture into ambient did it again. They have many brilliant songs, but this one from their most acclaimed album, midway between the early and recent work, is the perfect construction of the Brit Pop song, and it is certainly one of their best songs too. - Wise Up — Aimee Mann — Magnolia soundtrack — 1999
Magnolia is one of the best movies ever made. This and several other Aimee Mann songs were the inspiration for the movie and the anchors of the film itself. They also happen to be unbelievable songs — better than anything she’s done before (Til Tuesday or solo work) or since, though it’s all good. Wise Up in particular is so clever and powerful that it’s kind of hard to listen to. Wow.
© 2004 Philip F. Rose
