Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

8. Patty WatersSings

What I love most about the voice is that it is the only human instrument. Its ability to express the most subtle colors of mortal emotion is unparalleled to any other musical medium. In Patty Waters, I feel this instrument wound ever so tightly to her own inner turmoil. Her voice falls out of her, like a great big sigh. Even with a sustained, tuned exhale, you understand her almost instantly. It’s heartbreaking in so many ways, the quieter she gets the prettier she gets, yet at the same time you know the closer she is to a whisper is her yielding to the end. She’s very difficult to listen to when you’re not in a right way, her voice is the salt to a fresh cut.

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