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rogerthat View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Best Prog Singer?
    Posted: July 04 2017 at 10:21
Originally posted by Blacksword Blacksword wrote:

Also, lets not forget Chris Thompson of Manfred Manns Earth Band. Great singer.

Haven't heard, at least not attentively.  Will do.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2017 at 10:19
Also, lets not forget Chris Thompson of Manfred Manns Earth Band. Great singer.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2017 at 08:53
Originally posted by Blacksword Blacksword wrote:

Originally posted by micky micky wrote:

Greg Lake and Justin Hayward run laps around pretty much anyone else out there for pure vocal ability and are the two 'prog' vocalists you will find, and high up there, on any respectable list of great vocalists, prog or not.


I may have already posted in this thread, of my respect for Justin Hayward, but I certainly agree about Greg Lake too.

These two men are 'actual' singers IMO. They could turn their voices to numerous styles, have excellent intonation and timbre and are generally excellent vocalists prog or otherwise, as you say. I feel the same about Freddie Mercury.

Regardless of what one thinks about the music, their technical ability is head and shoulders above the likes Gabriel and Jon Anderson IMO.

Agreed especially with that last sentence.  I don't know why the prog world rates Gabe and Jon so highly as singers.  If it's only for influence, ok, but for pure singing ability, there are better singers in prog as in 'non prog' music.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2017 at 02:36
Jon Anderson, Greg Lake and David Gilmour
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2017 at 00:14

David Byron (Uriah Heep)

Greg Lake

Fish

Ian Anderson

Peter Gabriel (however, it is funny that his 70s voice sounds like that of Phil Collins)

Peter Hammil

When it comes to female vocals, Sonya's from Curved Air, but the Renaissance's noteworthy too  

And from non-English:

Aldo Tagliapietra Le Orme

Jean-Luc Martin - Mona Lisa



Edited by Blaqua - July 04 2017 at 00:26
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 03 2017 at 22:47
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I never post anything anywhere without doing more than basic research, often in depth.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 03 2017 at 22:21
I have great fondness to Peter Nicholls(IQ) voice...  Gets better with age!!..
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 03 2017 at 22:07
Actually, when I first heard In the Court, and knowing very little about King Crimson and The Moody Blues (besides having heard Nights in White Satin before), I wondered if perhaps it was the same singer... of course, I looked it up and it wasn't so. And yeah, I love both, though for me Lake never topped his performance from Epitaph.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 03 2017 at 04:56
Originally posted by Blacksword Blacksword wrote:

Originally posted by micky micky wrote:

Greg Lake and Justin Hayward run laps around pretty much anyone else out there for pure vocal ability and are the two 'prog' vocalists you will find, and high up there, on any respectable list of great vocalists, prog or not.


I may have already posted in this thread, of my respect for Justin Hayward, but I certainly agree about Greg Lake too.

These two men are 'actual' singers IMO. They could turn their voices to numerous styles, have excellent intonation and timbre and are generally excellent vocalists prog or otherwise, as you say. I feel the same about Freddie Mercury.

Regardless of what one thinks about the music, their technical ability is head and shoulders above the likes Gabriel and Jon Anderson IMO.

I was listening to ITCOTCK yesterday, and truly what is a sight to behold is the delivery from Greg Lake. It's better than anything he did with ELP, really. The text (which is poetry) combined with his sweet, powerful voice is something special, never replicated. Powerful, a monument. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 03 2017 at 04:33
Originally posted by micky micky wrote:

Greg Lake and Justin Hayward run laps around pretty much anyone else out there for pure vocal ability and are the two 'prog' vocalists you will find, and high up there, on any respectable list of great vocalists, prog or not.


I may have already posted in this thread, of my respect for Justin Hayward, but I certainly agree about Greg Lake too.

These two men are 'actual' singers IMO. They could turn their voices to numerous styles, have excellent intonation and timbre and are generally excellent vocalists prog or otherwise, as you say. I feel the same about Freddie Mercury.

Regardless of what one thinks about the music, their technical ability is head and shoulders above the likes Gabriel and Jon Anderson IMO.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 03 2017 at 04:10
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 02 2017 at 20:32
Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

Originally posted by Dellinger Dellinger wrote:

Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

Originally posted by Dellinger Dellinger wrote:

Yeah, I love those two as well. Firmly among my favourites. Too bad Jon is rather love him or hate him for many. I'm strongly in the love him camp, but many around him would say they rather dislike him, or he's the reason they find it difficult to get into Yes.


Not that I hate him as such but I don't see him as anywhere near as talented as Annie as a singer.  As a singer-songwriter, of course, he is so very influential for prog. 


I don't know technically how good Anderson's singing might be. At least as far as high notes I understand he must be able to achieve some impressive ones (at least for a man)... but there's something so unique about his voice that I can't help but love. And angels voice, as some have described it (though he has also been described as an elf on helium). Annie's voice of course is unique as well, so pure and beautiful. Another unique one that I can't help but admire is Francesco di Giacommo... he's on a league of his own.


He is able to go pretty high for a man but that's because his voice doesn't sit in a natural 'male' register (as is obvious even from his spoken voice).  My problem with him is he is kind of a one trick pony, just maintains that helium like quality throughout.  There are no shades or contrasts in his voice.  Annie has a great 'dark chest voice-light head voice' contrast which she uses very effectively.  In a song like Touching Once/Midas Man, she highlights the former and say the vocalise of Things I don't Understand highlights the latter. She can go full throttle at a note or sing it softly almost as a whisper. Jon lacks that kind of range which makes his singing very monotonous for me.  This sits even more oddly with Yes's music which is dynamic and full of energy compared to the slower and more stately Renaissance.


Lack of variation has never been an issue for me with Yes... since I find Anderson's voice so beautiful. But perhaps the backing vocals from Squire, and even Howe (or on other albums, Rabin) help a lot. But yeah, I guess when he sings alone it is notorious that some different vocals are needed (he's no Peter Gabriel - whom I don't particularly like - nor Peter Hamill, but neither does he need to be).
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 01 2017 at 23:07
My favorites:

Jon Anderson
John Wetton
Peter Hammill
Greg Lake
David Bowie (if he counts)
Peter Gabriel/ Phil Collins (tie)


Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - July 01 2017 at 23:08
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 01 2017 at 21:13
Originally posted by Dellinger Dellinger wrote:

Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

Originally posted by Dellinger Dellinger wrote:

Yeah, I love those two as well. Firmly among my favourites. Too bad Jon is rather love him or hate him for many. I'm strongly in the love him camp, but many around him would say they rather dislike him, or he's the reason they find it difficult to get into Yes.


Not that I hate him as such but I don't see him as anywhere near as talented as Annie as a singer.  As a singer-songwriter, of course, he is so very influential for prog. 


I don't know technically how good Anderson's singing might be. At least as far as high notes I understand he must be able to achieve some impressive ones (at least for a man)... but there's something so unique about his voice that I can't help but love. And angels voice, as some have described it (though he has also been described as an elf on helium). Annie's voice of course is unique as well, so pure and beautiful. Another unique one that I can't help but admire is Francesco di Giacommo... he's on a league of his own.

He is able to go pretty high for a man but that's because his voice doesn't sit in a natural 'male' register (as is obvious even from his spoken voice).  My problem with him is he is kind of a one trick pony, just maintains that helium like quality throughout.  There are no shades or contrasts in his voice.  Annie has a great 'dark chest voice-light head voice' contrast which she uses very effectively.  In a song like Touching Once/Midas Man, she highlights the former and say the vocalise of Things I don't Understand highlights the latter. She can go full throttle at a note or sing it softly almost as a whisper. Jon lacks that kind of range which makes his singing very monotonous for me.  This sits even more oddly with Yes's music which is dynamic and full of energy compared to the slower and more stately Renaissance.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 01 2017 at 21:07
Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

Originally posted by Dellinger Dellinger wrote:

Yeah, I love those two as well. Firmly among my favourites. Too bad Jon is rather love him or hate him for many. I'm strongly in the love him camp, but many around him would say they rather dislike him, or he's the reason they find it difficult to get into Yes.


Not that I hate him as such but I don't see him as anywhere near as talented as Annie as a singer.  As a singer-songwriter, of course, he is so very influential for prog. 


I don't know technically how good Anderson's singing might be. At least as far as high notes I understand he must be able to achieve some impressive ones (at least for a man)... but there's something so unique about his voice that I can't help but love. And angels voice, as some have described it (though he has also been described as an elf on helium). Annie's voice of course is unique as well, so pure and beautiful. Another unique one that I can't help but admire is Francesco di Giacommo... he's on a league of his own.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 30 2017 at 23:53
Originally posted by Dellinger Dellinger wrote:

Yeah, I love those two as well. Firmly among my favourites. Too bad Jon is rather love him or hate him for many. I'm strongly in the love him camp, but many around him would say they rather dislike him, or he's the reason they find it difficult to get into Yes.

Not that I hate him as such but I don't see him as anywhere near as talented as Annie as a singer.  As a singer-songwriter, of course, he is so very influential for prog. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 30 2017 at 20:40
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 30 2017 at 20:06
Yeah, I love those two as well. Firmly among my favourites. Too bad Jon is rather love him or hate him for many. I'm strongly in the love him camp, but many around him would say they rather dislike him, or he's the reason they find it difficult to get into Yes.

Edited by Dellinger - June 30 2017 at 20:08
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 30 2017 at 14:45
Wow, what an ancient thread! I'll go with the Jon and Annie. Still.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 30 2017 at 14:18
Lets do one male & one female:
  •   Jon Anderson
  •   Annie Haslam
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