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Which singer to pick?

Better voice or writing lyrics

  • The singer with the better voice

    Votes: 136 88.9%

  • The singer who writes lyrics

    Votes: 17 11.1%
  • Total voters
    153
#21
i voted "better voice" but in practice: i've always made decisions based on the other qualities/issues (see ThinCrappyTone 's post). i've also been lucky enough to deal with some great singers --- some better than others --- any one of which could do the job at hand.

also: saabfender and Joe Nerve cover issues to consider.
i wouldn't need 'steller' in either category if the cat brought "undeniable presence" to the game.

but a cat who can sing well and write = best choice per the OP. good luck with your decision! :thumbsup:
 
#22
A great singer can turn and weave any words into a beautiful melody/piece of music. Would you rather be on stage with someone who can sing well or someone who writes good lyrics? If the singer isn't good, no one is going to listen anyway. I voted better singer. But, mainly any vocalist who has confidence and knows their voice and how to control it gets my vote all the time. I voted "better singer". But to me, that means what I just said about control and confidence.

Some of my fav vocalists aren't "the greatest" vocalists in the pop sense. I love guys like Chino Moreno and Kurt Cobain of course, guys that know how to use their voices with confidence in a way that's not commercially "acceptable" in a lot of circles. I know Nirvana is huge. But it's just an example. Deftones, I can rarely understand what Chino is singing but God do I love how he sings it and how the band sounds with him. If you know how to write and compose good harmonies and melodies, just goes to show you, you don't have to Freddie Mercury to be great. IMO anyway.
 
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#23
Even a drummer can write lyrics (Ask Geddy). If your lyrics are good (ask someone else, don't trust yourself), then go with the better singer. If your lyrics could use help, get the lyricist.
 
#24
If the difference between singers really is only slight, go with the lyricist. Unless you're playing death metal or something similar where a particular vocal sound is crucially important. Lyrics will make the difference between people liking your band and people loving it and telling all their friends about it. The kind of love a great lyric can inspire is not to be underestimated.

I'm assuming there that the lyricist is just slightly less good than the other and not straight up terrible. And again, for certain metal styles (I'm thinking death metal or maybe black metal) the right vocal sound might vastly outweigh lyrical content.
 
#25
The ability to write lyrics generally improves the more you do it. There isn't a whole lot that can be done if someone doesn't sing well. Sometimes vocal lessons can help but not always. A good singer singing bad lyrics is much more tolerable for the audience than a bad singer singing great lyrics.
 
#29
Always get the best singer you can because it often makes or breaks that kind of band. I'll put it this way: When I'm scanning on the radio, sometimes I'll stop on a song that has great drums or guitar riffs. I'll have my finger poised over the scan button waiting for the vocals. When they come in and they are lame, instant skip.
 
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#31
Tommygun_ted said:
So we're auditioning singers for our metal group, and we've narrowed it down to two people. We're going to vote as a band to decide, but just curious what you guys would go for. Both singers are local, have gigging experience, play an instrument and there for understand what the rest of the band is doing, and seem like decent, easy to work with guys. The dilemma is, one singer isn't as strong, but has a lot of experience writing lyrics, where the other singer has a slightly better voice, but doesn't write lyrics, or at least hasn't yet. I can write lyrics well enough, and I think there is enough creativity within the group to come up with something, but which would you guys go for? Again, not going to be making a final decision bassed on the feedback here, just curious as to what you guys would do.
Click to expand...
Better voice! No one will know or possibly care when they are on stage belting it out if they are a writer or not!! IMHO
 
#35
Elvis - never wrote a song.
Pavarotti - never wrote a song.

The whole "singer/songwriter" concept became 'a thing' in the folksinger-oriented 60's and while it brought us Joan Baez, it also brought us Dylan - which begat Springsteen - both of whom are famous for songs made hits by other people. And that was when you could actually hear and understand lyrics...

Is anyone really listening to cookie-monster lyrics - even if they want to?
I don't like metal but I don't mind if some do, and I know a lot do - especially here.
But as genres go, well-crafted lyrics are pretty far down the spectrum of elements that define the metal experience.
If the riffs and the overall sound is there, lyrical content is (IMO,of course) icing on the cake.
Go for the cake.
 

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