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Famous bands with bad singers

#42
Van Halen with David Lee Roth. Great showman but very mediocre singer.

AC/DC with Brian Johnson. I'm an AC/DC fan but Brian's voice sounds like someone trying to strangle a cat! It worked on Back in Black but hasn't held up well over the years.

I agree with treekiller about Stevie Nicks. I never could stand her voice. But Fleetwood Mac also had Christine McVie who has a wonderful voice.
 
#43
treekiller said:
(...)
Fleetwood Mac(Stevie Nicks era) Zappa said it best when he said her voice "sounded like a monsoon whistling up an aardvarks a-hole".
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Well, Zappa was no singer himself... pretty terrible actually, in all respect - he sang like a cartoon character. I still can't work out whether that guy was really serious. Pitty if so, cool if not ;)

So were some of the worshipped. Andreson/Squire choir was quite forgettable. Froggy scream...lots of frogs, everywhere...
 
#46
Rockmusician said:
Pearl Jam: Eddie Vedder has one of the worst voices I have ever heard. He has no range, is often flat and off key.
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I think they've been intentionally making bad music since the Ten album to see who would still buy it in efforts to "foil the man's plans to exploit them"...

In other news after Scott Weiland cleaned up he hasn't sounded right since... STP sounded better when he was strung out. :hmm:
 
#56
gjbassist said:
AC/DC with Brian Johnson. I'm an AC/DC fan but Brian's voice sounds like someone trying to strangle a cat! It worked on Back in Black but hasn't held up well over the years.
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true - I always want to hold my throat when I hear him. there is that aspect of his voice that sounds like he's hurting himself.

like watching a youtube vid of a guy getting stabbed in the leg - you want to grab your leg to say, ah - it's still ok :hmm:
 
#57
Just to clear up the whole James Labrie/Dream Theater thing ... while I agree most live recordings of his sound flat and just generally horrible and most of their more recent recordings have his voice lacking the luster it had on say Images and Words, which is IMO his best vocal album, BUT he did rupture his vocal cords in 94 after his second album with Dream Theater. So guys, cut him some slack as he is a key element of DT.

*massive Rush fangirl rant*

Seriously? Geddy Lee is in no way a bad singer!!!
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Oh hey Fassa! Youre the universal guardian of all things Geddy arent you :ninja:
 
#59
It's amazing that most of the same bands and singers I thought of were already mentioned. It shows that musicians know the difference between good and bad singers even if the general publice does not know.

Can I add some that are just plain bad singers (with or without a band)? Even with studio and live effects on their voices, it does not make them better.

Black Eyed Peas
Kid Rock
Sheryl Crow
Neil Young (any band lineup) - And, I like his songs but he really can't sing
 
#60
Bassist_Scott said:
Not reall a band per se, but..... John Mayer is a killer guitar player but his slobering voice drives me up a wall. Does he wear a bib when he sings to suck up all the druel?

Joe Elliot of DL. His voice and abilities are pretty much shot as well.
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IMHO John Meyer is a good artist, who at the same time open the younger audience eyes and mind into blues, but, I don't know is it his voiceor guitar playing or what, but everytime I'd watch my John Meyer Trio DVD (with Pino &SJ), the things that annoy me is him.
 

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