Prog let down by singers

If you want a singer that sounds like opera, try Klaus Nomi. He would also be a good contender for a poll about "weirdest stage appearance".

The singer in Deux Ex Machina is the closest I have heard yet to an operatic tenor doing prog. I saw them at one of the progfests in LA years ago.

I think the singer in The Mars Volta is very good as well.

What lets most prog bands down more than the singers is the lack of a really good song. Yeah, you need instrumental virtuosity but you must have a solid composition to build on and that's what I find lacking more than anything else (if one is looking for weak points among prog bands).

One former Prog vocalist who was a refreshing exception to this rule was John Wetton. Wetton had an authoritative tone that really carried, like a natural echo or something. Greg Lake's voice was similar in this respect also. Voices like those would have been neat to hear with some of the music by Genesis, Yes and Rush....when those groups were in their prime that is.

I've criticized Peter Gabriel's failure to sing decently ('71-'73 era only) with Genesis, on a few previous posts. I've done this only because I liked their music so much, otherwise. Gabriel was a most effective showman though. Yet I was always displeased with those deep croaks 'n' grunts he used (Genesis Live), in lieu of notes.

Also: I've heard a limited amount of a recent album by Rush - I think its called Feedback or something similar - where they do covers of really old classic rock tunes. Geddy Lee's voice sounds good for a change; very level. So I'm not sure why he chose to squeak and screech during their prime years. But they did well nonetheless, obviously.

After reading some of the threads below and listening to just about everything in the archives i can only conclude that on the whole the level of musicianship far exceeds the quality of the singing in the progressive Rock genre. Sure there are some quirky singers that have a charm of their own eg. Ian Anderson,Peter Gabriel and some high pitched rock singers eg  Geddy Lee who is a master of the style but all in all there are not too many exceptional singers who have tonal qualities and technique that make them great. Jon Anderson comes to mind and the best example is when he sings a duet called chagal from change we must. Here he is singing alongside a classically trained opera singer and sounds beautiful.

Even Peter Hammill who is often held up as an example of great singing is often found floundering as he overreaches or starts off in the wrong key or hits the wrong note

Overall the general level of singing could be better