My Favourite Female Vocalist...............

It's been a typically busy Friday evening, but not without it's high points. Tacos for dinner (used the Tesco kit but might have to revert to Old El Paso, the extra 72p is well worth the difference in subtlety and flavour of the spice blend) the pleasant sound of my wife and daughters belly laughing upstairs at something that's happening on 'Celebrity' Big Brother and my first listen in ages to 'Reading Writing And Arithmetic' by The Sundays.

Harriet Wheeler of The Sundays is by a long way my favourite female vocalist, a decision I made many years ago (Harriet was on the shortlist as a possible name for our eldest and I confess this had a lot to do with my admiration for the lovely Ms Wheeler, but I / We preferred girls names that end in Y and Emily won the vote. Good job too, as I know that I would probably be calling my beloved Em 'Hattie', 'Hatters', Hattington Chulmley' etc etc by now)

For a chap who gets so obsessively grouchy about odd pronunciation of words, it's ironic that Harriet endears herself to me even more with her own unique pronunciation. Take one of The Sundays best known songs; 'Here's Where The Story Ends' - she soothes my very soul by singing 'Ands' instead of 'Ends' and 'Tarrible' instead of 'Terrible'

As for the Sundays I do quite like their (very minimal at just three albums) stuff, even if it is a bit 'soundtrack to a dinner party in Clapham with a few Bill Nighy types talking loudly with their mouths full about what was in the Guardian today' but Harriet's golden moment is still to come, when I finally get around to putting together my Bowie tribute album (I've already got Robbie Williams' people talking to my people about him singing 'Shadow Man') I'm hoping she will agree to join the project and sing 'We Are The Dead' or maybe 'Quicksand'

Harriet and Dave of The Sundays are of course a couple and to the best of my knowledge havent recorded anything since 'Static and Silence' in 1997 having taken a break to raise their children. I hope that, forthcoming all star Bowie tribute notwithstanding, they might do just one more album before the grand-kids start arriving.

I must mention also Liela Moss of The Duke Spirit, a band we saw supporting Duran Duran a few years ago. Their album 'Neptune' which I downloaded purely on first impressions having never heard of them before that show, is brilliant and whilst she's no Harriet, her unique vocal style (earnest, innocent, bold........ errrm, quite cute actually and not unlike Grace Slick in places) puts her instantly into 'Col's Top 5 Female Vocalists'

Other contenders would include Grace Slick, Candi Staton, Debbie Harry (of course), Dusty Springfield, Francoise Hardy and Skye (from Morcheeba) to name but a few.

Another music related blog today - could be a movie one tomorrow as we are pondering going to see 'Sherlock Holmes' - whatever the day brings there will inevitably be....

more to follow,


Col