Cornell vs. Vedder...

[rayzak]

I love 'em both, but Ed is my all time favorite front man. I could listen to him sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with a Uekelele for hours at a time.
Chris has the range, no arguing that. But Ed sings with a passion that is rare these days. He puts his soul into whatever he's singing and it brings goose-flesh to me at times.
You don't hear many people who have been to a Pearl Jam concert walk away unimpressed. They are one of the great live bands of my generation.

I also love AIC, but the 2 times I saw them live were pretty un-incredible.(...and I hate saying that).

 

[zachoff]

The Beatles version. period.

Well, yeah... This was the only song that I know of that they both did & wanted to compare apples & apples.

Anyway, here's my favorite, ever, Pearl Jam performance. Aired shortly after the Iraq War started & yeah... Brought tears to my eyes the first time I heard it.

 

[electracoyote]

Isn't this the greatest in vocal 90's awesomeness? I'm a fan of Vedder... I'll come out and say it. This is my favorite from Vedder...



I like Vedder's version more... Just do.

Normally I would say Cornell > Vedder, but from those two versions I like Vedder bedder. Cornell is seriously slurring on his version for whatever reason, and it's too slow.

BTW, Soundgarden original members back together playing some shows doing the old stuff talking about maybe recording new stuff.

 

[Gus Borden]

^^^ It's not talk any more, apparently there's definitely a new Soundgarden album coming - release date is supposed to be October 5th! Awesome, cannot wait!!

 

[JulienJeff]

Vedder all the way !!!
Well, I'm a pearl jam fan so a little biaised
but come on, his voice give me chills every time I hear it. And seeing him live gives his voice another dimension

 

[MJ5150]

BTW, Soundgarden original members back together playing some shows doing the old stuff talking about maybe recording new stuff.

I have seen various iterations of the band over the years at casual gigs in Seattle. The best of all was Matt, Ben, Kim, and Tad Doyle. Good times. They even played Jack Pepsi. It would be cool to see them make another go at it and be successful. I just hope they don't get buried by the plethora of canned music out there assaulting the airwaves.

How many of you guys out there remember Tad?

-Mike

 

[Eric Perry]

I think Cornell has a much better voice from a technical standpoint, but I've never been a fan of his for whatever reason. I'd much prefer to listen to Vedder.

I also think Staley buried both of them. For his vocal ability, pure emotion in his voice, and very odd and eerie use of harmonies (as has been said before).

 

[zachoff]

How many of you guys out there remember Tad?

-Mike

Tad was awesome. Still listen to them every now and again.

 

[MJ5150]

Tad was awesome. Still listen to them every now and again.

Right on. Gruntruck?

-Mike

 

[WhoSeyes]

I prefer chris cornell, and soundgarden.... but I would say andrew wood beat them all. and of course, without his demise pearl jam would have never happened.

+1 to Andrew!

 

[zachoff]

Right on. Gruntruck?

-Mike

I only have 8-Way Santa, but they come on my Pandora station quite a bit.

 

[MJ5150]

Gruntruck is another band.

-Mike

 

[Altitude]

I don't think a lot of people understood how much of the Alice In Chains vocal tracks were Cantrell until the latest album came out last year. And, frankly, that's as good an album as AIC has ever done, with or without Layne Staley.

As for the OP - I think Cornell and Vedder have voices more similar than different. I like Cornell's scream, when he really pushes his voice, a lot. Some have said that he's starting to have a little range trouble live these days, which is believable based on the way he uses his voice.

I enjoy both of them. Seems like Pearl Jam may be running short on musical ideas now, though.

 

[zachoff]

Gruntruck is another band.

-Mike

Oh... Nope, never heard of them. Will have to check them out though.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I don't think a lot of people understood how much of the Alice In Chains vocal tracks were Cantrell until the latest album came out last year. And, frankly, that's as good an album as AIC has ever done, with or without Layne Staley.

Someone else mentioned this and that's simply not the case. Everyone knows Cantrell did most of the backing vox. That's not disputed. What Staley did, however, was bring an interesting approach to harmonizing the vocal lines. Cantell has said on numerous occasions that that approach was Layne's doing (ie. the 'AIC sound').

And yes, while the new album is definitely one of the best things to be released in the rock genre is a long time, it definitely just follows the pre-existing formula Layne helped create. The only difference is that Jerry sings lead a ton more now - or at least is mixed up front more.

 

[Altitude]

Well, just one more counterpoint, 'cause this is pretty much a hijack already...

Everyone knows Cantrell did most of the backing vox...what Staley did, however, was bring an interesting approach to harmonizing the vocal lines.

I agree, and specifically, Staley did a lot of harmonies underneath the melody - which means two things:

1. He wasn't singing the melody in a lot of the harmonized parts, but rather a harmony, and

2. In many cases, Cantrell's was the more audible voice in those harmonies.

So, my assertion is that a lot of non-hardcore AIC fans were a little surprised at how not different the vocals sound on the new album - at least those that don't squarely feature DuVall. I was.

As for the album - it could have been a late career mail-in and it would have done well enough. I thought that many of the songs were very good, the production is first rate, and the performance is very good. I saw them live in the spring, and the performance was note-perfect to the recording, in a good way. I could tell that the whole thing really matters to Cantrell, and I respect!

Of course, think how great it might have been if Staley could have been on it...