Norah Jones a tinge short

Interesting thread.
Obviously tastes differ.
But for me there is no deniying, from a musical point of view, that Norah Jones isn't anything special as a musician, singer, song writer or anything else. There is very little complexity, texture, emotions and overall musicality in her music and the way she performs.

I have 2 of her CDs. I listened to each once.
If she wasn't who she is and couldn't afford the musicians she plays with, she would most likely not make it. There are thousands of Norahs out there. Just as good.
But if you like her, enjoy!

Some of my personal favorites are:
Cassandra Wilson, Patricia Barber, Linda Rondstat, Ella Fizgerald, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Julie London, Cesaria Evora, just to name a few.
And I won't be ashamed to add pre-Verve, early recordings of Diana Krall, when she recorded on Impulse. I still enjoy these once in a while. But her latest stuff I just can't stand.
Also, on the light, more traditional side with an added bonus of audiophile quality recording, Jacintha is pretty good. Well produced, has good voice, but can unfortunately be a bit slow and boring at times, but hey, nobody's perfect.

Question: Do women singers ever sing anything but love songs???? (yes, it's a serious question). I cannot see the appeal of listening to women singing love songs OTHER than fidelity/soundstage/recording quality/etc.

Do women singers ever sing anything but love songs?

Pat Benatar
Shirley Manson
The Go Go's
The Bangles
Suzanne Vega
Dixie Chicks
Karen O
Nina Hagen
Grace Jones

...yeah sure they do more than just sing ballads...plenty of great girls out there - not all of them are stereotypical crooners!

Patti Smith

You looking for a female vocalist that's worthy of audiophiles? Nnenna Freelon is not well known nor does she have the big marketing machine behind her. She's very much under-appreciated. Her huge talent and ability is without question as a female vocalist (in jazz as well as generally). It still amazes and confounds me that she gets so little acknowledgement here. Maybe it's because she doesn't have a big label and marketing machine behind her. For me, she ranks right up there with the best of the modern female vocalists. I've seen her live and have her recordings. She's the anti-one note.