Singers

For tonight I'll just revert to the old standby of list-making. I am not used to writing to myself, but the SB is nowhere to be seen, so it's a situation of "what can I think of to talk about"? There are a million subjects, but I'm tired from getting to bed late and then getting up early for church, so I need something easy. I do not wanna talk about politics, that's for sure. :)

Well, a list is easy. It's probably also pretty boring, too, but here goes.

Favorite singers. That's a good one, since I was just talking about singing last night (and we had good singin' in church this morn; our song came off real well).

I've been thinking about who my favorite rock singers are, and I kind of surprised myself because I don't have a lot of hard rock or metal singers in my Top Ten. The more I thought about it, I thought that singers affect me just as guitarists do - or any instrumentalists really. It always comes down to feeling, and in the case of singers, their phrasing and vocal tone comes into play, not to mention their lyrics. I dislike talking about the technical side of music, however. It's simply all about which singers affect me the most, and for many years now, I have had my own personal Holy Trinity of rock singing. You surely have your favorites, too, and even if they might not coincide with mine, you know what I mean because your favorite singers blow you away in one way or the other.

A quick disclaimer : For me, with any list I make involving rock music, I do not include Beatles.

Beatles are their own separate category, or they might dominate a lot of spaces on any given list.

Here's my Holy Trinity of Rock Singing :

My favorite singer is no surprise : Greg Lake. He is everything I would aspire to be if I could become a great singer. Deep Vocal Power, richness, delicacy and incredible clarity and pitch (as noted last night). I think the first time I heard him sing was on "Jerusalem", the opening track on "Brain Salad Surgery", and I was knocked out from the get-go.

The next two singers of my Three are in no particular order. Both are incredible in their own ways.

Doug Pinnick and Rob Halford. If you wanna know why, just listen to "Sinner" or "Exciter" by Judas Priest, or "In The New Age" or "Mission" or pretty much any song off the first six albums by King's X. Both of those guys can bring it, with overpowering lung power and control. Both can pin your ears back and make your hair stand on end.

So that's my Three. Now for the rest of My Top Ten.

I'm mega tired, so I think I am just gonna list 'em, with maybe a selected album to go with each.

The remaining singers are in no particular order.

Todd Rundgren. Nobody ever sang with more feel. "A Wizard A True Star".

Peter Hammill. The Shakespearean Vocalist of Van Der Graaf Generator. According to Johnny Rotten, a big fan, Hammill greatly influenced Bowie, as Hammill's early VDGG albums slightly predated DB's. My favorite Van Der Graaf album is "Godbluff", with some of the greatest lyrics and progressive, poetic vocals ever recorded, I think.

Jon Anderson of Yes. Talk about lyrics. Talk about unique phrasing and arranging. Everything about Jon Anderson is musical genius. Without him you have no Yes (get it? "No" Yes? Man, I'm a laugh riot). JA is one of a kind, nobody sounds remotely like him. Album : "The Yes Album".

Russell Mael of Sparks. Now here is another guy who sounds like nobody and nobody sounds like him. He did, however, influence the multiple-tracked vocal stylings of Queen, which you can hear on "Bohemian Rhapsody". Russ Mael was there first, and Freddie would have told you so too. RM sings in an almost exclusively falsetto style, but has great range nonetheless. What's more, he is as great in concert today as he was in 1975, so rare for a rock singer. He literally doesn't miss a note as he closes in on 70 years old. Album : "Kimono My House".

David Gilmour. Here is another guy who sings in the manner I would most like to emulate, the clear, choirboy style. When combined with his majestic guitar playing, it's got a soaring effect. Album : "The Division Bell", my favorite album of all-time.

The late, great Chris Cornell. Now there's a guy I would never try to emulate, lol. I wouldn't have a throat left. He must have had one of the all time natural gifts for rock singing because he could belt it like few others, and also get way down low and hypnotic, all with that slightly raspy tone and incredible control. Talk about a big-league singer. Maybe Robert Plant and a couple of others are in the same ballpark for hard rock vocals, but not many. Album : "Superunknown" (another of my very favorite records).

And finally, to round out my Top Ten : Alice Freakin' Cooper.

The original shock rocker who was doing it before most metallers, and with a theatricality that was, and still is, unique to The Coop. Nobody sounds like AC; you know it's him from the moment he opens his mouth, and while his raw vocal power is legendary (and even a little scary), he also has great tonal control. As harsh as he can get, he never sounds ragged or off key. He always tuneful, and can even croon you a ballad or two. Album : "Billion Dollar Babies".

So there you have my Top Ten Vocalists.

If I was gonna do five more, they might be........off the top of my head:

Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music.

David Bowie.

Eric Johnson.

Joe Lynn Turner (the best Blackmore singer, I think).

And maybe.......Elton John. Yep. Talk about a guy with a major-league natural gift. Elton has that bluesy tone while still singing with just a touch of English choirboy. And his phrasing is as good as it gets.

Well, that's all for tonight. It's not easy writing for, and to, myself. We will see if the SB comes back.

I hope so, but until then, I will try to think of things to write about.