What singers best convey the raw emotion in the lyrics of their songs?

In my song Alive, I would describe the raw emotion as blunt.

I express how I want to feel Alive. I also express how 'I feel Alive', expressing how I've learned to feel good about myself.

The vocals aren't really that great. I don't like listening to the song a lot and if I do, I might chuckle a bit. But, it's me and it's the best recording I could come up with when I recorded it.

waltzing wrote:

seattle prattle wrote:

A big shout out for Levon Helm, singer and drummer for the Band.

I saw Levon Helm perform a few years before he passed away, and hearing him sing The Weight might have been my peak musical experience.

I've got to say, that;s the song that does it for me in capturing the spirit of The Band, and my first inclination was to post a link to that song (!!!), but the best production quality for their recordings it;s hard to beat The Last Waltz (not to mention the appeal it would have for the uninitiated), but their version with the Staple Singers therein just does not live up to the original, imo.

That band and that song in particular just epitomize such an epic in American music (they are Canadian).

Thanks for mentioning that and it strikes me how appropriate a band this is for a holiday weekend.

I'd love to hear it.

DO you have a video you can share?