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Greatest male vocalists

The Groke said:
Mark Lanegan also has a great unique voice - all the gravel and 60-a-day lungs of Tom Waits, but with a softer crooning edge when he needs it - heard his voice described by some music press recently as that of a "Mournful Ogre"
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Glad someone agrees with me on this! I thought he was fantastic for the Trees back in the early 90s, with stuff like Sweet Oblivion, but also his solo stuff is good too. The recent one Bubblegum sounds especially Waits-esque, IMO...
 
chris cornell has by far the best voice in rock the man is pure class. I really like dave grohls vocals as well and serge from system of a down has a phenominal voice although it will obviously depend on your opinion of his band if you agree or not!


dave
 
Some of my favourites, many already nominated.

Gene Clark, Scott Walker, Otis Redding, Gram Parsons, Alex Chilton, Gruff Rhys, David Crosby (a better harmoniser than lead vocalist as a rule), good call on Richard Manuel, Roky Erickson, Joseph Hill. There are more.
 
Kained and Unable said:
chris cornell has by far the best voice in rock the man is pure class.
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His voice is one of the most beautiful I've ever heard. His solo album really shows what his voice is like much better than the stuff he did with Soundgarden and Audioslave. He does a French version of one of his songs, which sounds sublime IMHO.

I also love Johnny Cash's deep baritone. It makes me feel safe when I hear it and fills me up with warmth.

I think Frank Sinatra also has a lovely brown voice.

Rod Stewart may sing crap songs but I think his voice is almost perfect.
 
Kained and Unable said:
chris cornell has by far the best voice in rock the man is pure class. I really like dave grohls vocals as well and serge from system of a down has a phenominal voice although it will obviously depend on your opinion of his band if you agree or not!


dave
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Chris Cornell? He is a good singer, but I would still say mark lanegan is much more firmly in the 'great singers' list. And Dave Grohl? Are you serious?
 
Al Green
Scott Walker
Frank Sinatra
Ian Curtis
Jim Morrisson
Lowell George
Elvis
Johnny Cash
Curtis Mayfield
Stevie Wonder
Jimi Hendrix
Donald Fagan
Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons)
Michael Macdonald
 
Hmmm
Howling Wolf, Donny Hathaway, Toots Hibbert, Townes Van Zandt, Carl Wilson.

And loads mentioned already.
 
Gotta mention Freddy Mercury, not always my taste in music, but him singing live puts most other vocalists to shame. I remember when he died and they did that tribute concert with loads of other singers filling in and no-one even came close.
 
killer b said:
rakim
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A good, if unusual, choice! I ran into Rakim after hearing some of his tracks on Giles Peterson shows/mixes I got offof the net.

Although for sheer emotional "yargh"-ness, I'd still have to plump for the by-now-done-and-dusted Thom Yorke and Tim Buckley.
 
I like falsetto-y acrobatics like Jeff B and Thom Yorke and also snuggly lived-in voices like James Taylor and Michael Macdonald. I think Kurt C's is the greatest rock voice ever recorded, closely followed by Freddie M (though I hate most of his music). Love gorgeous cockneyfied sneering from Bowie, Brett Anderson and Jonny Rotten. I also love sweet soulful melodics from Marvin G and Sam Cooke. But the two voices that make me feel absolutely at home in the world are Morrissey and Stevie Wonder (I won't share you / If it's magic repsectively for hairs on the back of the neck time).
 
Tim Buckley had a better range then his admittedly talented son.

Iggy Pop is a very underrated vocalist in terms of how he enunciates. Check out how he drags his vowels on his 70s stuff. Class.

Is this a question of pure technique or vocals as in projecting something more then technique?
 
Paul Rogers had a great voice in his days with free.
Little Milton is another favourite of mine, a voice somewhere between blues and soul.
Wolf has already been mentioned but what about Muddy? and Skip James.
 
The Groke said:
Another vote for Jeff Buckly - great set of lungs on him that guy!

Although I am not all that keen on his music, there is no denying that David McAlmont has a cracking voice too.

Looking at the list above, it is obviously hard to separate "technical ability" from a voice that affects and moves you regardless of how polished it is (See Johnny Cash etc......) and indeed from the actual song/tune itself.

With that in mind I would like to add Bonnie Prince Billy aka Will Oldham - technically a pretty "poor" voice but it carries a warmth and honesty that I have found incredibly affecting across his music.

Mark Lanegan also has a great unique voice - all the gravel and 60-a-day lungs of Tom Waits, but with a softer crooning edge when he needs it - heard his voice described by some music press recently as that of a "Mournful Ogre"

My final name is Layne Staley From Alice in Chains - a really fantastic and unique sounding voice, not always apparent on their early or heavier work, but on Jar of Flies/Sap and especially on "Unplugged" he really shines through as an excellent vocalist.
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I'm a huge fan of McAlmont's work with Bernard Butler. I've got autographed copies of their CDs.

edit to add: any elvis costello fans around?
 
MightyAphrodite said:
Buckley is #1 though!!!
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Definitely. I dont care what anyone says, he's the vocal god for me. Ive been listening to his music for around 5 years and his voice still makes me hold my breath in amazement.

I have a DVD of Jeff Buckley live, now THAT is mind blowingly good :cool: :)
 
sam cooke
toots hibbert
biz markie
curtis wi the impressions
smokey
roky erikson
sizzla
gregory isaacs
buju
yellowman
fats domino
van
 
impossible to narrow it down, as there are so many great ones to choose from.
all my favourites have already been mentioned,
but i'll add Milton Nascimento and Caeteno Veloso (on a latin tip), though,
,plus i'll second Eno (his solo "song"-albums ranks with my all time favourite ones) and O.V. Wright (for deep soul goodness)...
and there's so many others i'd like to mention now, but i'm tired and my minds plays tricks on me...
 
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