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Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
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Posted: September 22 2015 at 14:42
SteveG wrote:
dr wu23 wrote:
ps: anyone who chooses Peter Hammill must immediately see an audiologist to have their hearing checked.
Hamill is my favorite prog lyricist. As long as I read them.
I like his lyrics also.....but for me he doesn't have a great pure voice though I like his passion, etc.
btw....two of my friends offline like VDGG but they also get annoyed by his vocals. It has always amazed me how so many here think he's a good vocalist.
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin
Joined: September 03 2006
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Posted: September 22 2015 at 19:43
dr wu23 wrote:
SteveG wrote:
dr wu23 wrote:
ps: anyone who chooses Peter Hammill must immediately see an audiologist to have their hearing checked.
Hamill is my favorite prog lyricist. As long as I read them.
I like his lyrics also.....but for me he doesn't have a great pure voice though I like his passion, etc.
btw....two of my friends offline like VDGG but they also get annoyed by his vocals. It has always amazed me how so many here think he's a good vocalist.
Interesting. Would say voice or rather tone is only one of the aspects that make a singer great. But arguably the most important one. It is impossible to determine who has the best or worst tone because it's very subjective. But as a singer I certainly have never found his tone INTERESTING. It's more what he does with his voice but yeah it can be plenty overwrought at times too. And it seems I am supposed to overlook that to only focus on his experimentation and I generally have a problem with this line of argument. So I have given up. I like their music actually but the singing is overbearing, gets on my nerves after a while.
Joined: June 18 2009
Location: Mexico
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Points: 12732
Posted: September 22 2015 at 21:41
I think Peter Hamill could have been a great singer in a traditional way if he had put his mind in doing so, but he was too much into his experimentations and theatricality and whatever he was doing. There are moments in which he shows a really beautiful voice, but it's mixed within all those other things he was doing.
Joined: June 18 2009
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Posted: September 22 2015 at 21:51
ten years after wrote:
Some others, not mentioned so far, who deserve consideration:
Christian Descamps
Sonja Kristina
David Byron (if only Heep had covered Heart of the Sunrise)
I have only heard The Magician's Birthday album, but indeed there were some very beautiful vocal moments from Byron. I should get a bit more from Uriah Heep. Perhaps he has not been mentioned before because they are not really a band that pops into you mind when talking about prog. I might also add Dio here, he was a really wonderful singer... but once again he was more into hard rock than prog.
Joined: September 10 2010
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Posted: September 22 2015 at 22:09
Dellinger wrote:
ten years after wrote:
Some others, not mentioned so far, who deserve consideration:
Christian Descamps
Sonja Kristina
David Byron (if only Heep had covered Heart of the Sunrise)
I have only heard The Magician's Birthday album, but indeed there were some very beautiful vocal moments from Byron. I should get a bit more from Uriah Heep. Perhaps he has not been mentioned before because they are not really a band that pops into you mind when talking about prog. I might also add Dio here, he was a really wonderful singer... but once again he was more into hard rock than prog.
Dillenger,
Rain is one of my favorite songs on the album you mentioned above, knowing that you like Magicians Birthday, I think you'll like Demons and Wizards album too, a lot (original with Byron on vocals) especially this track:
Joined: September 10 2010
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Posted: September 22 2015 at 22:21
Dellinger wrote:
ten years after wrote:
Some others, not mentioned so far, who deserve consideration:
Christian Descamps
Sonja Kristina
David Byron (if only Heep had covered Heart of the Sunrise)
I have only heard The Magician's Birthday album, but indeed there were some very beautiful vocal moments from Byron. I should get a bit more from Uriah Heep. Perhaps he has not been mentioned before because they are not really a band that pops into you mind when talking about prog. I might also add Dio here, he was a really wonderful singer... but once again he was more into hard rock than prog.
Dillenger and everyone else who might have any doubts about their prog heritage, pls have a listen to this track and whole album too. This is my ultimate favorite track from the same titled album (also my fav album from them), this track UH only ever performed 3 times live on stage due to it's complexity
Joined: October 21 2007
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Posted: September 23 2015 at 03:06
Dellinger wrote:
I think Peter Hamill could have been a great singer in a traditional way if he had put his mind in doing so, but he was too much into his experimentations and theatricality and whatever he was doing. There are moments in which he shows a really beautiful voice, but it's mixed within all those other things he was doing.
That's *why* he's a great singer rather than any bloke with a nice voice. He could do spellbinding straight vocals when it was appropriate.
As a full package solo performer I don't think there's anyone in the prog world who's as distinctive a self-accompanist and singer or anyone who's got as much good material to make the use of that.
Joined: September 03 2006
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Posted: September 23 2015 at 11:23
Yeah, a singer should experiment anyway. Plenty of people to sing nicely. Jacqui McShee or Maddy Prior aren't far off Annie Haslam for voice but what they don't have in their repertoire is stuff like reproducing (sort of) the effect of rapid guitar shredding on the sixth octave (Ashes are Burning live). I don't have a problem with Hammill's experimentation and probably wouldn't be very much interested in his singing without it. I do have a problem (musically) with the juxtaposition of very British theatricality with far out instrumentation; doesn't work for me. IMO if you are going to have very theatrical vocals at the centre of the music, you should tone down the music a bit to make it an easier swallow. With Hammill and Jackson tugging in opposite directions it gets too much (for me).
Joined: June 18 2009
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Posted: September 23 2015 at 22:14
rogerthat wrote:
Yeah, a singer should experiment anyway. Plenty of people to sing nicely. Jacqui McShee or Maddy Prior aren't far off Annie Haslam for voice but what they don't have in their repertoire is stuff like reproducing (sort of) the effect of rapid guitar shredding on the sixth octave (Ashes are Burning live). I don't have a problem with Hammill's experimentation and probably wouldn't be very much interested in his singing without it. I do have a problem (musically) with the juxtaposition of very British theatricality with far out instrumentation; doesn't work for me. IMO if you are going to have very theatrical vocals at the centre of the music, you should tone down the music a bit to make it an easier swallow. With Hammill and Jackson tugging in opposite directions it gets too much (for me).
Oh... but I love Peter Hamill and David Jackson from VDGG, I wouldn't know whom to tone down. I think Jackson does on the sax what Hamill makes with his vocals. What does put me down with VDGG is when they go with the extreme cacophony... and well, I don't really like all of their songs, sometimes they do get too noisy, however, when they are good... they are really wonderful.
Joined: June 18 2009
Location: Mexico
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Points: 12732
Posted: September 23 2015 at 22:23
TGM: Orb wrote:
Dellinger wrote:
I think Peter Hamill could have been a great singer in a traditional way if he had put his mind in doing so, but he was too much into his experimentations and theatricality and whatever he was doing. There are moments in which he shows a really beautiful voice, but it's mixed within all those other things he was doing.
That's *why* he's a great singer rather than any bloke with a nice voice. He could do spellbinding straight vocals when it was appropriate.
As a full package solo performer I don't think there's anyone in the prog world who's as distinctive a self-accompanist and singer or anyone who's got as much good material to make the use of that.
Joined: June 18 2009
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Posted: September 23 2015 at 22:31
Kati wrote:
Dellinger wrote:
ten years after wrote:
Some others, not mentioned so far, who deserve consideration:
Christian Descamps
Sonja Kristina
David Byron (if only Heep had covered Heart of the Sunrise)
I have only heard The Magician's Birthday album, but indeed there were some very beautiful vocal moments from Byron. I should get a bit more from Uriah Heep. Perhaps he has not been mentioned before because they are not really a band that pops into you mind when talking about prog. I might also add Dio here, he was a really wonderful singer... but once again he was more into hard rock than prog.
Dillenger,
Rain is one of my favorite songs on the album you mentioned above, knowing that you like Magicians Birthday, I think you'll like Demons and Wizards album too, a lot (original with Byron on vocals) especially this track:
Yeah, it's Demons and Wizards the album I was thinking about getting next. That song does sound nice. I don't particularly remember Rain, but it sounds like it should be one of those I liked better on Magician's Birthday, I guess I'll check it out later. I'm also interested in the live album that was released at about the same time of this two albums, to get a preview of what they had done up to that time. As for Solisbury Hill, I do remember listening to it some time ago on YouTube, but proggy or not, it didn't really do much for me.
Joined: September 03 2006
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Posted: September 24 2015 at 02:20
Dellinger wrote:
rogerthat wrote:
Yeah, a singer should experiment anyway. Plenty of people to sing nicely. Jacqui McShee or Maddy Prior aren't far off Annie Haslam for voice but what they don't have in their repertoire is stuff like reproducing (sort of) the effect of rapid guitar shredding on the sixth octave (Ashes are Burning live). I don't have a problem with Hammill's experimentation and probably wouldn't be very much interested in his singing without it. I do have a problem (musically) with the juxtaposition of very British theatricality with far out instrumentation; doesn't work for me. IMO if you are going to have very theatrical vocals at the centre of the music, you should tone down the music a bit to make it an easier swallow. With Hammill and Jackson tugging in opposite directions it gets too much (for me).
Oh... but I love Peter Hamill and David Jackson from VDGG, I wouldn't know whom to tone down. I think Jackson does on the sax what Hamill makes with his vocals. What does put me down with VDGG is when they go with the extreme cacophony... and well, I don't really like all of their songs, sometimes they do get too noisy, however, when they are good... they are really wonderful.
Well, have more of Jackson for the chaotic tracks (sax is wonderful for that) and more of Hammill for the more straight up tracks. Like Lake has less to do on Schizoid whereas the music is toned down for Epitaph to let Lake's vocals shine. Of course it could be argued they wouldn't be VDGG if they did that but that sums up why they polarise listeners.
Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
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Posted: September 24 2015 at 02:48
Really hard question as I like Bryan Ferry , Pete Hammill and Kerry Minnear but then you have the likes of Greg Lake, Chris Thompson and Justin Hayward who are much more 'traditional'. I also like Peter Nicholls and Steve Hogarth quite a lot. That just male vocalists! Females - Obviously Annie but also Christina (Magenta) , Sonja Kristina and Maddy Prior are lovely.
I guess Peter Gabriel might be the best just for 'I've Got Sunshine In My Stomach..' . That's as soulfull as it gets in prog.
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Posted: September 24 2015 at 09:16
Dellinger wrote:
- Jon Anderson. Really love his unique voice. Yes has showed with the last two singers that Anderson was more than the pitch and the high notes.
Meant to respond to this earlier but couldn't find the time and it slipped my mind. The pitch is one of the main reasons why he's so unique. He's a man with a mezzo's pitch! It's evident even when he speaks that he's not faking it, his voice IS that high. My guess is that Benoit David/Jon Davison may have been trying to project that pitch artificially because Yes has such a huge market. In David's case it certainly seemed to end up in problems. Also he has a pretty supple voice and what I have seen is male rock singers struggle to sing like that, you know with so much melody. The women can do it and I have found Corinne Drewery (Swing Out Sister) to vaguely evoke Jon Anderson and I doubt she was influenced by him in the slightest.
Anyhow, the most convincing Jon Anderson impression I have heard was not any of the other Yes singers but Steve Hillage on Khan. Especially the song Stranded.
I'm not sure I'd call either of them 'prog singers', but the combined vocals of Dead Can Dance beat just about any others out there. Brendan Perry is my fave but not by much. Lisa Gerrard is astonishingly beautiful in her delivery as well
Also, Demetrio Stratos!!!!!!!!!!
“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
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SteveG wrote:
