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Under-rated/over-rated vocalists

#142
Jazz Ad said:
A skilled singer without a doubt.
However, to me his voice sounds like a Disney musical, not a Motown legend.
It's the kind of voice that can lead you to Broadway, not to dancefloors or the Apollo theater.
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Considering the bands musical dirrection,I don't think his intent is for either of those.
 
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#145
Just my 2 cents because that's all it's woth because it's my opinion and we all know what opinions are like.
Over Rated: Grace Slick
Under Rated: Annie Lenox, with a very close second of Harry Nillson (Turn Up Your Radio) RIP.
Bob
 
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#146
I would also like to give kudos to those that placed Patricia Mae Andrzejewski on the under rated list. You don't graduate Juliard by being mediocre.
You won't find her on the honors list as Pat Benatar.
Bob
 
#147
buldog5151bass said:
Kind of a follow-up to my "musicians you appreciate but don't like" thread, who are some truly under-rated (and over-rated) vocalists?

I nominate Ann Wilson of Heart as most under-rated. Early Heart is so powerful. As a runner up I nominate (as I prepare to duck the slings and arrows) Meatloaf. Yes, his music was overly bombastic, but the dude had a set of pipes.

Most over-rated? Ozzy Osbourne. Heck of a front man, but not a talented vocalist at all. I remember reading an interview of Tommy Iommi, where he said there was a reason they didn't put out live albums with him as vocalist.
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2F/2F said:
Sorry, but Ann Wilson is not underrated. She is largely viewed as one of the top rock vocalists of all time, and perhaps among the very top handful of female ones. So much so, that I think she is overrated (not that I dislike her singing).

As for underrated, I would say Ozzy Osbourne. He is generally viewed as a great frontman/personality who can't really sing. I, OTOH, think his voice was absolutely incredible early on...and got progressively worse, such that it was toast by Vol. 4, and never came back. But first album Ozzy...effing hell, man. He had some real pipes on a technical level, and knew how to do something new and interesting with them. Yet he gets practically no credit for actually being a "good" singer.

Most overrated is, IMO, Ian Gillan. And a close second would be Bruce Dickinson. Both of these singers are actually quite horrible and unskilled on a technical level. And while some technically horrible singers have good musical style and taste in spades, and because of this, can sound great anyhow, both Gillan and Dickinson have neither good musical style nor good musical taste, and thus eventually musically tanked their respective bands when they joined, or soon after (I still dig In Rock and The Number of the Beast, and some other Gillan-era Deep Purple and Dickinson-era Maiden).
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I was very busy at work today so I was watching Black Sabbath live in Paris in 1970 on YouTube :smug:
Ozzy's voice was truly great then. Powerful, solid but tense. His vocals had both the technique AND the personality.
 
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#149
I can’t believe it hasn’t been mentioned yet-
Ray Gillen of Badlands was easily the most underrated/overlooked vocalists in rock. A singers singer.
For me, Ozzy sucks so much. He reminds me of a caveman except that after 70 years, even a caveman would improve at a single task.
 
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#152
HAPPY 50th ANNIVERSARY WOODSTOCK!!!
Just couldn't resist.
Also imcluded is a list you can choose from
Bob
IMG_20190816_104830.jpg
 

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