Continuing from yesterdays post about gravelly singers hittin’ the baritone, Cyd The Squyd harangues further today: 

#5: Eddie Vedder: ‘Society’

In this song from the soundtrack for the movie Into the Wild, Eddie Vedder takes a significantly different approach as compared to the groovy, Grungy songs he writes for his more popular band, Pearl Jam. Keeping the instrumentation to a bare minimum, he focuses more attention on his story-telling. His folksy yet somber singing brings out the poignancy of the socio-political issues at stake within his lyrics. Truly heartwarming.

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#4: Marko Saaresto (Poets of the Fall): ‘Late Goodbye’

The fluid resonance of Saaresto’s honey-hued tones is effortlessly ensconced within the acoustic setting. With perfect control on reverb and pitch, he is able to create an aura of escapism, which unfortunately, ends all too soon. Fortunately, Poets of the Fallhave consistently produced many, many good songs that one can never get tired of hearing.

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#3: Xavier Naidoo: ‘Bittehörnicht auf zuträumen’

A German artist that I only recently discovered by accident, I haven’t come across even a single song of his that I could criticize. His live performances are even better than his recordings.In this particular video, one can see how he is thoroughly enjoying himself as he feels the music run through his veins. Accordingly, by simply listening to him sing, Naidoo is able to transfer his enthusiasm and his enjoyment to his audience, with his soft, soulful singing. 

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#2: Chetan Shashital: ‘Saigal Blues’

The beginning of a new wave of Indian fusion. Not much needs to be said about the musical mastery in the original, but this live acoustic version allows one to fully witness Chetan Shashital’s vocal prowess, especially considering the difference in the sounds of his spoken words and that of him singing the ‘desiBlues’. In a word: epic.

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#1: Javed Bashir (MekaalHasan Band)

Finally, the most mind-blowing vocal performance I have witnessed yet, complemented by an amazing arrangement of technically proficient musicians. Sadly, JavedBashir is no longer with MekaalHasan Band, having parted ways in 200. However, the memories of his time with the band will continue to live on with me forever. For that matter, I have selected two of their very best songs from their first album, ‘Sampooran’. The sheer depth and range of Bashir’screscendos shows how one need not look further than our own subcontinent for musical excellence.

It is a real pity that this Pakistani band doesn’t come here (Mumbai) very often; else I wouldn’t miss a single concert.

‘Ya Ali’, a genuine tour-de-force: 

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‘Darbari’, an instance of vocal virtuoso: 

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In conclusion, one can see how and why the singer is arguably the most important part of any musical ensemble. If it is so easy to get carried away, even for a cynic like me, is it any wonder why women can’t help becoming (obsessively) infatuated with deep male voices? 

Cyd The Squyd. Cannot. Stop. Writing. Check out his obssession on Facebook