BEST VOCAL TRACKS

10 tracks with exquisite vocal performances

The vocals may not be the most obviously musical part of a track, but it’s the bit we all remember and sing along to. It has enabled ‘one-man bands’ to play to rooms of thousands of people with only a guitar in their hand or a piano at their fingertips and is what gave Elvis Presley, Freddie Mercury and Aretha Franklin their status as some of the greatest musical communicators in history.

Here, we have chosen 10 songs with exquisite vocals by exquisite vocalists, that are perfect to test your system – whether it’s for their brooding baritone or their dynamic pyrotechnics.

PJ HARVEY ON BATTLESHIP HILL

You could fit more than a handful of artists’ vocal ranges between PJ Harvey’s. At one end of her repertoire is the angsty alto growl that steers the organ on Down By The Water, and at the other the angelic high-pitched wailings during On Battleship Hill where she does her best impression of a soprano choirboy. The juxtaposition of the deep baritone running beneath it makes for a great comparison, too.

NIRVANA WHERE DID YOU SLEEP LAST NIGHT?

Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged performance in New York is a go-to album in our test room for many reasons. Aside from showcasing the diverse range of Kurt Cobain’s vocal, and its unerring faithfulness live, the slow-burn build from muttered country drawl to anguished shriek is a great examination of the dynamic subtlety of your system.

DAVE STREATHAM

One of the most salient voices on the British music scene, the south London rapper comments candidly and with brutal sincerity on the country’s societal issues, and his own personal, painful experiences within it. The rawness and vulnerability in his delivery is utterly compelling and Streatham, where he grew up, is representative of the way his clever wordplay naturally ebbs and flows with a tempo.

KATE BUSH TOP OF THE CITY

One of her best vocal performances at her 2014 Before The Dawn London shows is also one of the most accomplished executions she’s ever committed to tape. Her ability to near-whisper one line into the mic and belt down the next in true rock-queen guise is fully to the fore. The original The Red Shoes album version beats 2011’s Director’s Cut, which features a more restrained vocal delivery.

NINA SIMONE STRANGE FRUIT

While Simone’s dramatic cover of Abel Meeropol’s sobering protest poem (most famously performed by Billie Holiday) doesn’t show off her vocal dexterity as well as many of her numerous hits, it is a triumph of low-level dynamic craft. The most insightful kit should reveal few static moments in both her execution and the piano accompaniment.

CLANNAD CAISLEAN ÓIR

What better than a lush production of enchanting Irish-tongued balladry to test the sheer scale and openness of your system? The echoic, ethereal choir of Celtic band Clannad should fill your soundstage without dominating the soprano that it frames.

FRANK SINATRA IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR

It wouldn’t seem right for a list of vocalists to ignore Sinatra’s distinct baritone. Here in 1965 (before the deeper, smokier quality that defined his delivery later on) it’s light, free-flowing and pliable, often moving along with rubato, and demonstrating the dynamic gusto and rhythmic diction he was well known for.

JONI MITCHELL CAREY

At the other end of the of the frequency scale is Joni Mitchell’s high-pitched, featherlight vocal, here depicting her anecdotal appreciation of a hippy cave-dwelling commune. A decent system will capture her vocal acrobatics across several octaves, her impeccable self-harmonising and the subtle timing discrepancies within the breezy, buoyant tempo. You’ll know how unerring your system is when it’s playing Joni Mitchell. You’ll just know.

LOU REED CONEY ISLAND BABY

Lou Reed has a penchant for straight-laced, seemingly aloof storytelling. But where he’s often easy-going, his vocal can also morph into impassionated outbursts – with Coney Island Baby there is, at times, dynamic attack sufficient to make you sit up in your chair. With a largely undemonstrative acoustic and drum mix faintly colouring the canvas around it, Reed’s classic low-range vocal really is centre stage.

THE STREETS BLINDED BY THE LIGHTS

The vocal equivalent of walking with your head down and hand in your pockets, Mike Skinner’s deadpan rambling raps are not only witty and slick here, their poetic step makes them solid a test of timing against the backdrop’s jagged beat.