I recently absconded the radio station’s copy of the latest “Rolling Stone’, the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” issue. While you could argue endlessly about who belongs on that list and who doesn’t (don’t get me started), one thing struck me; the panel seemed to favor the more, um, idiosyncratic vocalists of the past fifty years or so. So you see Lou Reed, Bob Dylan and Bjork on the list. Now, I love those voices, but they represent a fairly extreme end of the spectrum, and, with all the Christmas music in the atmosphere, it’s the other end of the spectrum that concerns me.

There’s an unwritten understanding in modern music that a sweet, pure voice is somehow inauthentic. Somehow not expressive and honest enough. But, really, if a choir of angels were to descend upon you, right now, would you expect them to sound like Tom Waits?

Which brings me to the question: If the angels (or Bodhisattvas, for my fellow Buddhists) did appear, in all their celestial glory, who WOULD they sound like? Whose voice, to you, carries a feeling of light, inspiration, and otherworldly beauty? I stumbled downstairs this morning to watch Sarah McLachlan on “Private Sessions”, and I’ll be damned (pun intended) if she doesn’t sound like the “Angel” she sings about. Hers is the sort of music you turn to not when you feel angry, or ready to rock, or just plain horny. You turn to Sarah when you need comfort, calm, and reassurance.

And it’s what provides that musical hand-on-the-shoulder, for each person, that interests me. For my sister, it’s the Everly Brothers. One listen to “Devoted to You”, and you have to agree; they really do sound like angels. Wonder if they ever recorded a Christmas album?

For me, the usual musical suspects fill the heavenly bill. The Byrds, with their choirboy harmonies, sound positively angelic to me. Roger McGuinn alone has an achingly pure, soaring timbre. Combine that with the velvet texture of David Crosby (hey, we’re talking voice, not personality here), and Gene Clark, throw in some clanging church-bell guitars, and you’re in an ultra-cool, psychedelic Southern California chapel. Is it any coincidence that the Byrds literally rocked the Bible on “Turn Turn Turn”? What other rock group could brings the book of Ecclesiastes to the top 40?

On “Eight Miles High”, the Byrds sound like the angels of the Apocalypse.

But to me, the ultimate pop music angel is Brian Wilson. Brian never abandoned the inherent sweetness in his music—in fact, as rock became harder and louder in the late 60’s, his output became even more tender. The original title of the legendary unreleased “Smile” album was “Dumb Angel”, which is, I suspect, how Brian sees himself.

But long before the otherworldly (and brilliant) weirdness of “Smile”, Brian constructed the most angelic of sounds: “Don’t Worry Baby”. The lyrics of the song are far from spiritual, or even meaningful—a guy is wimping out before a drag race, and his girlfriend is telling him not to worry, because she knows everything will turn out all right.

So it’s clearly not the lyrics that summon the archangels from their heavenly abode. It’s the harmonies. Technically, it’s a bass E, a G sharp, and a B. Brian sings a falsetto B an octave higher than Al Jardine’s.

But how does it FEEL? Here’s my point; the open-throated “ahh” that kicks off the song feels like warm sunshine, spreading slowly over your face. Maybe through stained glass. Somehow, before even getting to the (relatively banal) lyrics, Brian manages to convey reassurance, healing, and affection. All this in the first seventeen seconds of the song. I wish I could find a bootleg of “Don’t Worry Baby” without the lead vocal. I’d probably listen to it for a couple of days straight.

Coincidentally, the Byrds’ arrangement of “Mr. Tambourine Man” is actually based on “Don’t Worry Baby”.

Other angels among us: Mahalia Jackson, John Lennon (when he wanted to be), Christine McVie, Freddie Mercury.

And should you think this whole subject is silly, remember what Chesterton said:

“Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.”