Big-hearted, booming Welsh show-stopping singer Tom Jones (not his real name, I just learned, so BigSteve was not joking in our recent Last Man Standing) may go from “0 to 60” in intensity quicker than any other singer in (relatively) modern music. There’s a special approach to his burst of intensity that I feel exemplifies a certain type of male singing. It’s as if he takes a guttural scoop toward any material put in front of him. You can hear it on the opening lines in one of his early hits, “It’s Not Unusual.” Jones comes right at the listener like a firm handshake:
There’s no denying Jones’ aggressive approach to such a swinging song, but what makes him special is his ability to dig in on a tender waltz-time ballad like “Delilah.”
Excuse me if this thread has been talked over ad nauseam.
I was driving back from a meeting the other day when “Sympathy for the Devil” came on the radio. Now, I dig this song for a number of reasons, mostly the guitar solo (number 2 in my book) and the general direction of the “evil Stones” lyrics.
But what struck me on this listen was how hard Mick was working that song vocally. Here’s the band just churning away, nothing too special, but Mick is literally putting the whole band on his back to bring out all that song has to offer.
Which got me thinking…is Mick the best lead singer in rock? He certainly doesn’t have the best voice. Here’s my hypothesis. Since the Stones play a lot of blues-saturated music, they often don’t stand out too musically and melodically as say…Zeppelin. So Mick has to work twice as hard. And he does on almost every Stones song I can think of.
Ok, now stay with me. I’m no means a Stones fanatic, and I’m sure the Hall will school me here. But the Stones play great stripped down, sloppy rock. Same drum beats, same bass lines, and we’ve already talked about whether they even need a second guitar. (Yes, I’m generalizing.)
So what makes most Stones songs what they are owes 90% to Mick, no? Which got me thinking of other lead singers. Surely the Who and Zepp had more in their arsenal than just their lead singers. And even lead singers I love — Costello — had back-up musicians which more than filled the holes and brought on smiles in their own right.
It’s been a few years now, hasn’t it, since Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl added a full-on beard to his Look, and his band’s popularity has only continued to soar. Nevertheless, watching the GRAMMYS last night I remembered an unwritten rule I meant to write down about 10 years ago, while watching another band led by a thickly bearded singer who also wore glasses. I’m going to write it down now, and I urge lead singers the world over to consider this:
A recent comment in another thread by misterioso regarding my usually intense dislike of any “football anthem”-style song by The Jam (eg, “Billy Hunt”) got me thinking about singers I usually like who nevertheless have a certain vocal range or affectation I consider a “danger zone,” an area that usually saps their vocal superpowers, or at least my ability to enjoy their singing voice. Paul Weller sounds like he’s vomiting mud whenever he sings one of those hooligan chant songs. I’m curious to hear whether you share my feelings over the following singers’ vocal range or affectation danger zones, whether you find other zones to be hazardous to your enjoyment of their voices, and whether you want to identify another singer you like who has a a clearly dangerous vocal range of affectation.
As an example of what I’m talking about, although I will not include this singer in my list, because he’s got too many danger zones for my tastes, as soon as David Bowie slips into his “Anthony Newley” voice (eg, “Stay”) I’m most likely lifting the needle. To my ears, that is an incredibly unpleasant vocal affectation from a frequently enjoyable singer. He has other vocal affectations that have been known to spoil the party for me, but that one is really annoying.
Another example is Jim Morrison‘s voice almost any time he tries to “rebel yell.” For a guy with a deep, manly voice, he’s got one of the worst rock yells in history. Listen to him try to exhort his bandmates into a solo on “Break On Through” or “L.A. Woman.” I am willing to give Morrison plenty of rope, in part because he’s so unintentionally funny, but it’s sad hearing him attempt to do a rebel yell. Another rough-voiced singer who suffers from this weakness is David Johanssen. He can push it so far on those New York Dolls records and sound pretty good for a guy with a lousy voice, but push it one step too far and he sounds as phony as he would in any of his future performance guises.
Following are a few singers I like a lot so long they stay clear of their danger zone, at least as I hear it.
