"From the voices of Angels"

[Meanmistreator]

One thing I 've noticed over the last couple of years is the diversity in opinions regarding what constitutes a great singer. As I may be a little "longer in the tooth" then some....I thought I would get your input.

What were some of the vocalists that shaped what you listen to today? And who do you consider to truely be a vocal God?
I grew up with some great voices, for example;Brad Delph/Boston, Steve Walsh/Kansas, Tommy Shaw&Dennis Deyoung,The Great Ronnie James himself, Tony Martin comes to mind, Joe Lynn Turner and Paul Rodgers. I think you get the point. When it comes to music, the vocals are very important to me, so a great deal of these vocal "stylings" started me down the road to what I listen to today.
Today voices like Kahn, Russell, Jorn, Alder, Anders Engberg (current fav) , and many others make my daily play lists.
So, who started you down this long road?

(Geoff Tate, when he was better than today)

 

[J-Man]

Well as i am most definetly "longer in the tooth" than most everyone on this forum, one vocalists that comes to mind that shaped what i listen to today is the legendary Arthur Lee from the 60's band LOVE. Great vocalist who put his whole soul into everything he sang. Then from the 70's Brad Delph, Steve Walsh, and of course Freddie Mercury. From the 80's it has to be Ronnie James Dio, and Marc Storch, and then Kai Hansen.

Todays vocalist on my list are: LANCE KING, KHAN, SIR RUSSELL, OLIVER HARTMANN, JOHN WEST, MARCO HIETALA.

 

[Troy the nomad]

Some great names so far,( Mercury, Walsh, Dio ). Halford's a given; for some lesser known,
Dave Meniketti of Y & T and Frank DiMino of Angel. Todays standards, Russel Allen, Jorn
Lande, Eric Rosvold, Tom Englund, and Floor Jansen.

 

[LunaTEKKE]

70's / Early 80's - Dennis DeYoung, Ann & Nancy Wilson, Steve Perry, Steve Walsh, Lou Gramm, and Ian Anderson (not really “Angelic”, but definitely memorable)

80's - Ronnie James Dio, Rik Emmett, Geddy Lee, Don Dokken, Rob Halford, Geoff Tate, Joe Lynn Turner, Michael Olivieri

90's - Tom Mallicoat, John Arch, Ray Alder, James LaBrie

From the last few years, I would add Mike Baker and Russell Allen to the list. The most recent vocal performance to really knock me on my butt was Michael Eriksen on “The First Chapter.” Seeing Circus Maximus at the Pre-Party will definitely be a highlight of my ProgPower experience!

Oh, and I'm sure that as soon as I hit the "submit reply" button, I'll think of someone I missed...

 

[Yngvai X]

I'm really picky when it comes to singers. For metal, I like guys who sound like they have some balls in their pants and sing with a very aggressive harsh tone in a more baritone/low tenor, along the lines of:

Peavy Wagner
Warrel Dane
Chuck Billy
Jens Carlsson
Piet Sielck
Hansi Kursch
Matt Barlow
Paul D'Anno
Chris Boltendahl

And then for more "traditional" metal stuff I like guys like:

Bruce Dickinson
Daniel Heiman
Russell Allen
Rob Halford
Ronnie Dio
Ripper Owens

When it comes to the really clean operatic style, no one matches Bruce IMO. Most "melodic metal" guys throw their voices up into the stratosphere and come off like pussies, when Bruce does it, he does it with power and authority, like he's going to tear your face off, not serenade a fair maiden. Thats the reason I like Daniel Heiman a lot as well, I get a similar vibe from him. And when Halford and Ripper do it, they sould evil and venomous.

And then as far as growlers go, I like Mikael Akerfeldt and Peter Tagtgren the best. And Mille Petrozza as well, although he doesn't growl, the guy's got the best voice ever for thrash.

 

[TheWhisper]

First time I heard 'Man On The Silver Mountain', it put chills down my spine. I had never heard anyone with such a great voice sing with such power, yet melody. So, RJD is my fave hands down.

Paul Rodgers
Glenn Hughes...
Steve Perry
Freddie Mercury...
Ian Gillan
Rod Stewart
Ann Wilson
Pat Benatar
David Coverdale
Geoff Tate
Rob Halford
Jon Oliva
Ray Gillen
D.C. Cooper
Roy Khan
Russell Allen
Jorn Lande
Joe Lynn Turner

 

[13ShadesofGray]

omg, you want long in the tooth? Ask a vocalist about their vocal influences.

For me, there are a few criteria that all need to come together for me to go "Whoa".

Talent - Some people are just born with it. When the below mentioned items meet up with natural born talent, something truly magical happens. These are the voices that you hear and just *know* they were meant to share their talent.

Uniqueness: Whether that be their tone, their vibrato or the way they utilize breathing techniques. Cookie cutter vocalists don't cut it with me

Phrasing: If you have soul in your voice... this is where it will show. I've worked with vocalists who adhere to strict rules about phrasing (each stanza and/or line HAS to have the same number of syllables), which usually leads to everything sounding contrived and forced. Personally, I would much rather hear a more fluid line, sung with *real* emotion, than a forced, staccato type approach. Ray Alder is a master of extending lines formed from short sentences and/or words and building some insanely beautiful melodic lines from them.

Technical Ability/Skill - This is where the line is drawn between a "singer" and a "vocalist". Russell Allen... his skill is damn near unmatched. It's more than obvious that he really works on his craft. Some people can sing, but don't push themselves to be better/more than what they were before. Vocalists never settle for good enough, and it shows.

A few who capture all these traits and who've influenced me, personally:

Male: Ray Alder, Ray Gillen, Tony Harnell, Geoff Tate, John Sykes, David Coverdale, Eric Martin, DC Cooper, dUg Pinnick, Jeff Keith, Elton John, Steve Perry, Elvis Presley, Luther Vandross

Female: Ann and Nancy Wilson, Karen Carpenter, Tori Amos (First 3 albums), Mariah Carey (NOT the newer material), Leather, Aretha Franklin, Sarah McLachlan

 

[booB]

Although I have my favorites, I can't really say any vocalists "shaped" my listening habits... if I like something, I listen to it, regardless of the vocal style. On the melodic extreme, I like D.C. Cooper, and on the "other" extreme , I like Quorthon (the black metal voice, not so much the "clean" voice). I also like tons of stuff in between.

 

[Kenneth R.]

it's pretty much been covered.

I will add, however, those not mentioned yet so far:

Dan Swanö, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Krystoffer Rigg (Garm)

 

[BenMech]

FYI: Lucifer was an angel too

No idea who i'd add as far as singers who got me started.

Maybe Steve Perry, maybe Geoff Tate. Maybe Doug Pinnick or Geddy Lee or Freddie Mercury. Hell, it could have been Jon Bon Jovi.

 

[Yngvai X]

Shit, I forgot, The Man: Devin Townsend.

 

[Kenneth R.]

Lou Gram (sp) of Foreigner also kicks much ass

 

[DreamNeonBlack]

Holy crap my list would be a mile long!!!!

Being a singer, I have to agree with Colleen Gray in her above post.

There are so many, but here is a partial list for me in no order.

Warrel Dane
Fish
Steve Hogarth
John Arch ( I mean come on , his work borders on super human )
Ray Alder
Devin Townsend
Sarah McLachlan
Geoff Tate
Bruce Dickinson
Rob Halford
Tori Amos
Linda Perry ( everyone should own her first solo CD InFlight )
Robert Lowe
Messiah Marcolin
Micheal Kiske ( I wish they could make a pill to fix whatever is wrong with his brain and get him back to the music he did so well )
Tom Mallicoat
Alan Tecchio

Ok, I'm going to stop now before I use up all of the internet.

 

[J-Man]

I have to agree with Colleen on this, but my above list still stands as far as male vocalists go. As far as female vocalists.

Grace Slick
Ann and Nancy Wilson
Tarja Tureneon
Nicole Bognar
Colleen Gray

 

[Meanmistreator]

Although I have my favorites, I can't really say any vocalists "shaped" my listening habits... if I like something, I listen to it, regardless of the vocal style. On the melodic extreme, I like D.C. Cooper, and on the "other" extreme , I like Quorthon (the black metal voice, not so much the "clean" voice). I also like tons of stuff in between.

I guess it really depends on the person, what drives you as an individual. For me, vocals are first and foremost. I consider myself "very" picky when it comes to the music (vocals) I listen to. One of my few buddies that listens to stuff (prog/power) that I like, says " that I miss out on a lot of good music because the vocals aren't what I'm looking for.
And he's right. You take a band like Evergrey, which has it all, it's dark, heavy, melodic, and they have Tom. But, you put a different vocalist in there with half the talent, and I don't care how good the music is, it doesn't work for me.