10. Bjork- "All is Full of Love" If I believed in angels, they'd sound like Bjork. And they'd be singing this song. Her vocal talents and down-right weirdness have made her a critic's darling since she fronted The Sugarcubes, though they've never been more beautifully displayed as they are on this track.
9. Jeff Mangum- "Two-Headed Boy"Does Jeff Mangum have a great voice? No. Quite frankly, it's barely passable for a lead vocalist. However, on "Two-Headed Boy," Mangum utilizes what prowess he has to turn a downright dirty song into a wonderful paean to young lust.
8. Burton Cummings- "These Eyes" What you have here is Canada's greatest vocalist and wearer of Canada's finest moustache on display. Cummings' vocals combined with his keyboard playing deliver a heartbreaking homage to relationships gone sour. The chorus alone can bring tears to your eyes.
7. David Bowie- "Lady Stardust" Ah, young Bowie and Ziggy Stardust. He's an icon in both music and fashion. Mr Bowie works his upper register for all its worth in his tribute to Marc Bolan, one of Rock N' Roll's most under-appreciated yet highly influential figures.
6. Carl Wilson- "God Only Knows" The French horns that open "God Only Knows" pave the way for Carl's anodyne delivery of Pop's greatest love song; a love song that begins with "I may not always love you." Brian Wilson was originally slated to take the reigns, but decided that Carl would sing it better, so he took the low end for the harmonies. That decision was possibly his greatest.
5. Maynard James Keenan- "Eulogy" Oh, Maynard. From the first time I heard you on the way to Six Flags Great America in 1993, I knew you were something special. I had never heard a voice like yours before. You hit your stride with the second track from Aenema, a great tribute to Bill Hicks, comedy's most vitriolic voice. The way you scream "Goodbye!"still blows my mind 15 years later.
4. Chris Cornell- "Call Me a Dog" Chris Cornell's voice may be able to shatter bulletproof glass. But for "Call Me a Dog" from Temple of the Dog's only album, he sings with soul and emotion like his name was Smokey Robinson. The whole album is a tribute to Andy Wood, Cornell's former roommate and lead vocalist for Mother Love Bone.
3. Jeff Buckley- "Lover, You Should've Come Over" While Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" gets all the pub, "Lover, You Should've Over" is his answer to those who foolishly said his voice lacked soul. Those people were stupid. The only thing missing is Buckley's falsetto, which is simply unbeatable.
2. Freddie Mercury- "Somebody to Love" You can take your pick from just about everything Freddie sang over his career, you really can. Freddie CANNOT be touched when it comes to Rock vocalists. The most impressive thing about this tune is that Freddie sang EVERY MOTHERFUCKING WORD on this track, harmonies and all. And he was kind enough to play one hell of a piano throughout as well.
1. Sam Cooke- "A Change Is Gonna Come" The list was a countdown to this performance. Sam Cooke is THE VOICE, and anyone who says otherwise can get fucked. Cooke's posthumously released masterpiece about wanting social change and equality is the greatest three minute, thirteen second gift you can give your ears. The worst part is that Sam didn't live to see the deserved accolades the song has received since its release. But at least he gave the non-deaf a wonderful gift: his voice.
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