Women's voices: It's hard at the end of the day

I’m not going to get through a month of Voices without Nina Simone. I’ve been in her thrall for maybe 20 years. That voice, that delivery; it’s just soul-gripping.

The song I’m sharing is Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman”, because no one captures the spirit of that piece like Simone. She had the life to do it justice.

There’s also a recording of her singing it in concert late in her life, which you might want to visit to see how she commanded the material even in ill-health. It’s extraordinary.

(And if you want to put your viscera through it, listen to her cover of “Strange Fruit”.)

My second Voice today is Sarah McLachlan. Polar opposite to Simone in many respects—ethereal, high and thready tone, a northern perspective; yet she digs into life in pretty much the same way as Simone. Neither of them takes any prisoners.

I like that.

One of my favorites is “Angel”. If you can divorce your sensibilities from the SPCA commercials that McLachlan did, and listen to it, it’s about as dark a picture of despair as they come. (Personally, when I heard the music for that ad, I either muted or walked out of the room.)

Frankly, I wonder exactly what the angel might be, but I don’t ask too many questions, since I often find myself in that dark, cold hotel room.