chick singer songwriters

This is my personal collection of favorite female singer songwriters.
Recently added: Carrie Rodriguez, A Christmas Plexo, Grace of my Heart, Jazz collection, Kylie, PrarieHomeCompanion, The country gals collection and an update on Keri Noble.

Thanks for visiting

Eric

Please visit my other websites:
www.esearing.com Web Development and Photography
www.biz-story.com small business success stories and resources.

Carrie Rodriguez

Found this gem by listening to A Prarie Home Companion.

Carrie has a way of sliding into words with a bit of country twang mixed with a bit of beatnik pain. Some of her "poetry" could use some work but her style is effective. She also can play a variety of instruments. She's the kind of artist you wouldn't mind hearing perfoming at a country western bar or even a book store, only to find out later that she's opening for Martina McBride.

Carries website: http://www.carrierodriguez.com

Seven Angels on a Bicycle

Amazon Price: $10.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

The Trouble With Humans

Amazon Price: $16.98 (as of 10/12/2008)

Let's Leave This Town

Amazon Price: $16.98 (as of 10/12/2008)

Texas

Amazon Price: $17.49 (as of 10/12/2008)

Jazzy, Blues, NewAge, and Mellow

This grouping's artists a few of my favorite Jazz or new age/lighter sounding women. Many are pianists. Sometimes you just want to layback and drift off and be carried into another plane.

Patsy Cline - The Definitive Collection

Not sure if Patsy's style can really be considered Jazz but her style is bluesy and sometimes mournful. She was a ground breaker for women in the music world.

Amazon Price: $9.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

Come Away with Me

Norah is a lovely soft voiced artist with plenty of talent. Her first album "Come away with me" had 5 top 40 hits. Her music is often featured in movies, and she will be starring in "My Blueberry Nights" with Jude Law, Rachel Weisz and Natalie Portman an all-star cast in acclaimed international director Wong Kar Wai. Learn more NorahJones.com

Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 10/12/2008)

The Look of Love

Beautiful renditions of classic Jazz favorites and some of her own works too.

Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 10/12/2008)

Amarantine

Does this woman ever age? Enya has released her latest album which interweaves vocals, instruments, and echos. Her sound has not changed much from her popular albums of the 80's.

Amazon Price: $10.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

Four Women: Nina Simone Philips Recordings

I have not listened to much Nina Simone but her style runs the full gamut from quiet and soft to raw and harsh. She takes some getting used to. References to Nina's Music often appear in movies for dark fem-fatal characters (i.e Bridget Fonda in "point of no return" uses Nina's music to calm herself down after a killing spree). A great addition to any collection. Take a few minutes to read her bio at ninasimone.com

Amazon Price: $49.98 (as of 10/12/2008)

Kylie Minogue

Kylie has been a fabulous international entertainer. She often remakes big hits in her own style. This Australian beauty is also a breast cancer survivor and will be re-launching her showgirl tour in late 2006. She is also a advocate for several worthwhile causes.

Kylie has over 30 hits on the international charts and even has a few in the top 10 in the US. Learn more about her at kylie.com

Kylie: Naked

by Jenny Stanley-Clarke

Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)

Kylie

by Kylie Minogue

Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)

Fever

Amazon Price: $10.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

A prarie home companion

I just SAW "A Prairie Home Companion" last night. I have long been a fan of the radio show even though I disagree with GK's politics. Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin were fabulous performers singing old style gospel and songs of woe in the 1950's style. Lindsay Lohan was not only stunning to look at but her song at the end of the show was very well done. Not exactly singer songwriters but excellent performances by a talented group of women.

Martha Davis (Motels and Solo)

Martha Davis and the Motels hit the top 40 shortly after the new wave craze of the 80's. Other popular bands of the time were "a flock of seagulls", "Duran Duran", and a similar sounding "QuarterFlash".

Davis' songs have an unusual mix of alternative + moodiness +ballads . But Martha really shined on her solo album "Policy". Unfortunately it got no Radio Play nor can I find it in the usual channels. I have the vinyl edition but no turntable. If you can find her album buy it. Else the Motels All Four One is a good addition to any collection. The Motels released a new album in 2003 - "So the story goes".

You can catch an interview with Martha Davis at: http://www.womanrock.com/features/martha_davis.html

All Four One

Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)

No Vacancy: The Best of the Motels

Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)

All I wanna do is have some fun with Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Crow has a sultry voice, relateable lyrics, and an easy pop sound that one rarely tires of. She is easy on the eyes too.

Some trivia - She was a backup singer for Michael Jackson and dated Lance Armstrong of Bicycle Racing Fame. She has a love of horses. Her latest collaboration musically is with Sting.

Sheryl's website: » sherylcrow.com

Wildflower

Amazon Price: $22.99 (as of 10/12/2008)

Tuesday Night Music Club

Amazon Price: $9.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

C'mon, C'mon

Amazon Price: $9.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

Grace of my Heart

Movie review

I was channel surfing past the Sundance channel the other night and came across a movie I couldn't turn away from.
"Grace of my heart " is the story of a songwriters life in the 1950's -1970's. There is speculation that the main character Denise Waverly played by Illeana Douglas bears close speculation to the life of Carol King. One song in the movie which is Denise Waverly's first attempt to sing her own music is a moving piece written by Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello, "God give me strength". I bought the Bacharach/Costello album for this song alone. This is a must see movie for fans of chick singer songwriters. Here is a more professional review. http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=136158

Grace of My Heart

Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 10/12/2008)

Painted from Memory

Amazon Price: $9.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

Carol King - an early memory

Available at Amazon

Tapesty was one of the earliest albums I remember as a child. My mother even bought it so it must have been huge at the time. I remember jumping around to "I feel the earth move under my feet" and being saddened by "its too late, though we really did try to make it".
I purchased tapestry as an adult and still enjoy all the songs. I also found some free downloads of her newest works at downloads.com.

Carol's voice is little raspy but strong and her piano pounding style is what separtes her from other female artists. When she plays or sings a note she means it.

Tapestry

by Carole King

One of my earliest favorite albums. Contains great hits:
I feel the earth move
Its too late

Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)
List Price:

Carole King - Her Greatest Hits: Songs Of Long Ago

Amazon Price: $10.99 (as of 10/12/2008)
List Price: $11.98

Writer

Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)
List Price: $9.98

Sarah McLachlan - Lillith fair and a new sound

Sarahs voice is strong and passionate. I first heard "Fumbling Toward ecstasy" just before she became a top 40 star. Her music spoke to the mood that I was in at that time of my life, even though her lyrics were much darker than my circumstances. Many of her songs represent the feelings of a lifetime. She sings as if she has a mature soul.

Surfacing

Amazon Price: $8.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

Amazon Price: $13.98 (as of 10/12/2008)

Afterglow

Amazon Price: $8.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

Mirrorball

Amazon Price: $10.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

Websites Featuring Chick singers or songwriters

chicksingernight.com Created by a long time web acquaitance who has his fingers on the pulse of serveral large cities and thier nightlife. Many amature singers who may one day be a star.

Keri Noble - Beautiful and emotional new artitst

I heard a disc jockey at a local radio station play snippets of artists he felt should be in the top 40 but aren't. The 30 seconds of hearing one of Keri's song made me buy the cd.

Keri's songs are of love, loss, and difficult relationships. You will identify with many of her songs if you have had more than one infatuation or relationship in your life. If you meet a beutiful woman with Keri's songs in parallel to her life story, run away quickly.

Keri's style as a pianist is tremendous. She can play in a wide range of styles from soft and quiet, classical, or uppeat toe tapping rythms. "Bartender" has become one of my favorites which showcases her piano playing abilities. You can hear snippets of her songs at her website www.kerinoble.com.

UPDATE June2006 - Keri has a new pre-release album out and her website has been updated. Available at her website.

Fearless

Amazon Price: $38.49 (as of 10/12/2008)

Fearless

Amazon Price: $10.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

Mary Chapin Carpenter - story teller

MCC is a little bit country and little bit folk but her sound can even crossover into pop. Her songs are accompanied by her unusual guitar rhythms. She has a fun story telling style that draws you into her songs.

"Come On Come On" was her 3rd album and had great hits including "I feel lucky". An anthem for anyone wanting an excuse to skip work and buy a lottery ticket. "he thinks he'll keep her" should be a wake up call to inconsiderate husbands and wannabe housewifes as well. "I am a town" will force memories from deep in your soul if you ever lived in a small town.

Come on Come On

Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)
List Price: $9.98

Stones in the Road

Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)
List Price: $9.98

The Authentic Guitar Style of Mary Chapin Carpenter (Play-It-Like-It-Is)

by Mary Chapin Carpenter

Amazon Price: $13.22 (as of 10/12/2008)
List Price: $16.95

The country gals

A small collection in the country pop crossover category

There were quite a few female country artists and groups that became popular in the late 90's and early 2000's. They were not only excellent performers but fashion trend setters and culture shapers. Some were political, some influenced hairstyles, and others introduced a simple glamour back into country music and society.

I only included my top 5 favorites below but there are many more story tellers and tallented female singers in the pop country category to explore. Others in my collection include Trisha Yearwood, Jodee Mecina, Allison Krauss, Deana Carter, Patty Loveless, LeAnn Rimes
and Pam Tillis.

Come on Over

Shania - As close to a perfect 10 as I've seen. Her songs are simple love ballads and have a fun play on words. Her fashion and sense of style helped her cross over from country to pop and re-introduced glamour into the music world

Amazon Price: $11.99 (as of 10/12/2008)

Reba McEntire - Greatest Hits

Cute perky red head who sings, acts, plays guitar, and entertains us all. She can spin a story and make you listen all the way through. Even her videos were story based and make her one of country and pop's biggest stars.

Amazon Price: $9.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

Breathe

Faith Hill - Oh to be Tim McGraw. I first saw Faith at a country fair and craft show in rural Georgia. She wore nicely fitting blue jeans and a white ruffly shirt. But her songs reached me that day and I promptly bought her cd. Breathe is a more mature album than her firsts.

Amazon Price: $9.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

Evolution

Martina - She'll knock you over with the strength of her voice. Her hair styles have been copied by hollywood starlets. Another story teller she makes you think about things that may make you a little uncomfortable or want to fall in lover with her. She even has a great patriotic cd available.

Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)

Wide Open Spaces

I debated whether to put this trio in or not as I am aware their politics are very polarizing. However their music can not be denied as quality country. Story tellers, fabulous musicians, and even unfashionable trend setters. Natalie wrapped in a texas flag while pregnant was a look copied by Walmart. If you oppose their politics, Amazon has a lot of used CDs for as low as $3.

Amazon Price: $8.97 (as of 10/12/2008)

The current collection

These female artists were popular at one time or another and touched my life in various ways. It usually involved a new girlfriend, woman rejecting me, or a relationship ending. I had a tendency to turn to music during those times.

Rapture

I saw the most beautiful blonde in a suzuki jeep at the drive in teller. I stalked her to her place of work and showed up with a dozen roses and asked her for a date. She accepted. I bought this album about the same time and I still enjoy the memories and emotions each time I listen. "it will always be this way".

Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 10/12/2008)