A few years ago I went to DelFest in western Maryland, and I get their emails. Today I got a recording of Sierra Hull, who is an amazing mandolin player, and a lovely singer. But she has one of those “too sweet” voices that doesn’t do it for me unless she’s singing with a man. I feel the same way about Allison Kraus. She has a lovely voice, but it’s too sweet. It’s more enjoyable when she’s singing with Robert Plant, or some other guy.
Here’s an example of what I mean. Listen to the parts where Sierra is singing by herself, and compare that with when she’s singing with the fiddle player.
You can hear the same in “Compass” with Darrell Scott.
If you’re familiar with Allison Kraus, compare any of her songs with duets she does with dudes, like “How’s the World Treating You” (James Taylor), “Rich Woman” (Robert Plant), or to some extent in “Whiskey Lullaby” (Brad Paisley). Although she also sounds good with Dolly Parton in “The Last Word in Lonesome is Me.”
I generally agree. I think the thing that makes it less appealing to the ear is the “thinness” rather than the sweetness, though women singers who sound like this do sound sweet. Add in the male vocals, even softly as in this video, it adds another layer, which just sounds better. Women with richer voices can sound just as pleasant, but better on their own than the “sweet” kind.
As an aside, a year ago this week I saw Sierra Hull in concert with Bela Fleck and a handful of other top contemporary bluegrass artists (including Sierra Hull’s husband Justin Moses, who is the fiddler in your video). It was quite the treat.
Also, the Plant/Krauss album Raising Sand is my all-time favorite music album.
Yes, “thin” might be a better way to describe it.
Have you listened to Raise the Roof?
I’d agree the lead singer’s voice has a “bright” tone to it…which makes it sound somewhat thin with certain vocal/musical arrangements. Yet, it was beautiful. I was actually surprised by the quality of the female singer’s voice after reading your description…better than expected. But, the blend/harmony of the two voices together gave the song a richer texture.
That said, every song or genre isn’t for every voice. Voices with a darker tone might sound better with the song featured in the post. I couldn’t imagine the lead singer in the post performing a song like “Never Enough” from The Greatest Showman or “I’ll Never Love Again” from A Star is Born . Her voice doesn’t have enough grit and gravitas to give those songs vitality. Yet, I could easily hear her performing songs such as Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” or “Here You Come Again” and making them very enjoyable.
So maybe it’s not a matter of a voice being too sweet, per se. Maybe it’s a matter of ensuring a given voice is paired with a vocal/musical arrangement that features it best.