Bands that singers ruin...

[Meddle]

Definitely this. I LOVE early Megadeth, but I have to be in the right mood to stand Dave's vocals.

He sounds like an angry teenager.

 

[Duckwater]

He sounds like an angry teenager.

He has always been one.

 

[HeavyJazz]

DREAM THEATER - no question! The ballads are especially torturous.

 

[xshawnxearthx]

Every band i've been in.

 

[srxplayer]

#1 for me is Rush. Amazing musicianship combined with fingernails on a blackboard type of vocals.

 

[St Drogo]

Deftones. Great music but ugh, that slow whining-childlike voice. Can't stand it.

 

[Biggbass]

STYX
KANSAS

 

[St Drogo]

I also think Ozzy Osbourne is a horrible singer.

I used to think ozzy was an adequate vocalist, nothing special but ok, on albums like my personal all time favorite paranoid. But take a listen to the last two minutes of symptom of the universe, where he really opens up his throat. Hell, take a listen to the whole sabotage album. Dude could sing.

 

[dalkowski]

RHCP. I could be a lot more into them with someone other than Anthony fronting.

But ask me, "who would you put in there?" and I got nothin'.

 

[hampulator]

All those black metal,and sub genre metal bands. Killer riffs,technical beyond belief. And then...barf,barf blaaaaaaaa, ugggghhhhhhhhh vocals

 

[bassdude51]

Rush.

and Rush.

Ha ha ha.........ain't it the truth!

At the risk of death, Robert Plant.

I think the post is about really cool songs that we can really get into and then the singer opens his/her mouth and pretty much ruins it.

But, this post is probably going the route of "lead singers that we love to dislike".

Two different subjects.

Anyway, many fantastic LZ songs but RP's vocals..........oh GOD!

 

[Bassdirty]

Oh yea..definately smashin pumpkins, rush, blind melon..staind. (well i liked his voice on the older stuff..but Gdam with the later whiny stuff....dang it)

ymmv..

 

[AuntieBeeb]

Man, to each his own, but a lot of folks here sound like they'd be content to have every rock and roll singer sound like the average American Idol finalist. One of the great things about the music of the past 50 years is how a conventionally awful vocalist (Dylan, Waits, Watt, Geddy, Bon, etc.) can stir up emotion as much (or more) as a vocal virtuoso. Like many have said, a lot of these bands wouldn't have gone nearly as far as they did with a more "pleasing" sounding singer.

I'm not going to disagree with you, I think a singer with a bit of "character" is far more interesting - stirring, indeed - to listen to than somebody with a more pedestrian and radio-friendly singing style. However, I don't know whether it's fair to call Tom Waits a "conventionally awful vocalist."

Depends what we mean, of course, but I have always believed that Tom Waits can actually sing "properly," but has chosen to go with that Howlin' Wolf/Beefheart style, partly because it's more interesting to listen to, and partly because his cords are probably shot by now. But he has been the melodic, soulful ballad singer on his first couple of albums, e.g.,:

this being the track before the title track, on which he sings like a drunk pirate. I'd say he's a good singer, just maybe a little too theatrical for everyone's tastes.

 

[Waldo19]

I think the worst for me is when a singer starts to become a parody of themselves. They end up over doing the thing that made their voice unique and interesting in the first place.

 

[seescottrock]

I'm sure I'll take hell for this, but I can't listen to Phil Collins.

Good songwriter and arranger, awful voice IMO.

I know this post is a dinosaur... but this thread was on the front page today.

I heartily disagree with your opinion of Phil Collins. I love his style.

 

[bassdude51]

I think the worst for me is when a singer starts to become a parody of themselves. They end up over doing the thing that made their voice unique and interesting in the first place.

So true! A tangent on the post but most aged rockers, whether singers or musicians are parodies of themselves and I can't stand to watch them. There are some who age gracefully and stay true to themselves but not many. Pete Townsend is true blue. Mick Jagger is a clown parody of himself!

Sorry for the tangent.

 

[richntiff]

How about the 80's hair band White Lion? They had a KILLER guitar player -Vito Bratta or something like that. Guy was amazing. Then the singer would come in with whiny, and REALLY BAD lyrics.

 

[bassinplace]

RHCP. I could be a lot more into them with someone other than Anthony fronting.

But ask me, "who would you put in there?" and I got nothin'.

Almost anyone would be better than Kiedis. Actually I think they'd be a killer instrumental band, ala Meters, just a bit more hyper.

 

[halfjackson]

Citizen Dick.

Every band i've been in.

^hahaha...

 

[Hopkins]

I do. To me Chris Cornell was the worst of the early 90's Eddie Vedder clones, and he is my entry to this annoying singer thread.

Dude just ruined Soundgarden for me, and turned the band that was Rage into boring, generic radio rock.

How did you come to the conclusion that Chris Cornell is an Eddie Vedder clone?