The vocal take was technically right and emotionally wrong.
Good pitch. Good timing. Good distance from the mic. Completely dead. I tried saturation, slapback, a plate, a narrow telephone band, and the only thing that helped was singing it again after walking outside for twenty minutes.
There is a kind of cleanliness that flattens the throat.
Current rule: if the vocal sounds expensive before the song sounds true, delete it.
The better take clips once. I am keeping it.