Couple of posts above had me 'double taking' and getting myself in knots between Beth N-C and Mary C-C..
. Easily done..
Excellent shout for 'Sand and Water' A very nice album. My fave is 'Seven Shades of Blue'. I believe it's about the death of her husband from cancer. Stunningly inventive lyrics including a quite phenomenally evocative chorus.
Breaking the list of 5 rule, I'd also mention Iris De Ment, Mary Black, Karine Polwart and Thea Gilmore. On the soul front Carla Thomas was always overshadowed by Aretha, but did some excellent stuff herself.
Keely Smith is also underrated these days, but a great jazz/ballad singer.
I can't take to Madeleine Peyroux, or Eleanor Mc Evoy, for similar reasons. To me, both sound like they are trying to be someone else.
I have one album by Mary Chapin Carpenter and could never understand why I didn't take to it much.. Then a reviewer in one of the Hi-Fi Mags described one of her albums as
'A collection of well crafted, well recorded and well performed.. but ultimately not very enjoyable songs' That sort of expressed it for me. YMMV.