Musicians Who Can't Sing - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Cristi wrote:

MikeEnRegalia wrote:

Cristi wrote:

Hercules wrote:

OK - let's lob a few hand grenades:

Ian Anderson (since c2010) - I saw him in concert and he was atrocious. He was great in 1984, though.

James LaBrie - that'll upset a few people, but he's the main reason I can't listen to Dream Theater (but not the only one).

Roger Waters - I just can't stand his voice

Dave Lawson (Greenslade)

I think all singers you mention here can sing, it's just that you dislike them.

When it comes to James LaBrie, although he is an extraordinarily good singer, I've seen him live a couple of times and he was not able to hit the notes properly. Good singer, terrible live singing. Unfortunately!

LaBrie is hardly the worst singer in progressive metal, but being one of the most famous, he gets the most flak.

Well said! It's a perfect example of the Tall Poppy Syndrome, where talented individuals who stand out by achieving success are often subjected to unfair criticism and resentment. Confused

MikeEnRegalia wrote:

That's pretty neat and thanks for sharing that. I once played around with auto-tune stuff back in 2005 because I liked the watery/warbly effect it made. I can't sing worth sh*t, so this gives me some ideas. I'm likely to use it to make my singing even worse than it already is, and I would do that on purpose. Sort of like trying to make it sound like I'm singing from inside a burrito or a bag of pretzels.

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Floydoid wrote:

Dare I mention Bob Dylan - for all his genius as a musician and seminal composer... his singing always sounds slightly off key to me.

Hi,

I think there are other things at play here. Bob is known to get bored and change the lyrics, so changing with his moods and "singing" it whichever way he wants each night is no big deal for him.

This was one of the reasons why in the late 60's and early 70's Bob's bootlegs were so huge ... everything was different in one way or another.

So, expecting him to "sing" something within a style/idea that we want to see, isn't going to happen. Bob sings/speaks his lyrics in whatever way they make sense for him. That would be something vastly different than not being able to sing.

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

Anyone bashing Yoko will need to turn in their pans.

Bandcamp

Nogbad_The_Bad wrote:

I agree, Bob is being Bob, he's performing what he wants to perform & we appreciate it or not. I know a lot of people don't like his singing but he's the artist.

There' an objective component to the criticism (he sings out of tune) as well as a subjective (I like it or I don't like it). The fact that he's BOB DYLAN doesn't change the former.

...

There' an objective component to the criticism (he sings out of tune) as well as a subjective (I like it or I don't like it). ,,,

Hi,

Bob is not the only one that sings out of tune and makes it work. Neil Young is another. Robert Wyatt is another. Out of tune is based on one musical design ... and in many other cultures, where they also have music, they sing differently than the conventions we think, and expect, to define what singing is! Sometimes it is easier to say Mick Jagger can't sing as well, but he is excellent at telling you what his words mean and stand for ... and you don't forget it!

Reminds me of a comment in Robert Wyatt's book about Syd ... when a guitarist involved in the 2nd album, asks Robert what key Syd was in. Robert's reply? He don't know the chords or the keys ... he just plays!

Music, is much more than what we think it should be!

Edited by moshkito - January 12 2024 at 10:28

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

^ Some of it is opinion, some is not. A musician either hits a note, or not. Sometimes sloppiness can be intentional, I can grant that. I've heard the claim that Yoko Ono does not sing, but that it is "avant-garde screaming". In which case I guess anything goes. But even then, it is BAD SINGING. She has, to my knowledge, not demonstrated that she can sing well. That sets here apart from accomplished vocalists, like for instance Mike Patton, who can scream and growl atonaly but then also sing perfectly clean, hitting every note precisely as it is intended.

TL;DR: Yes, she is still a bad singer/musician. Feel free to point me to a recording which you think demonstrates otherwise.

Edited by MikeEnRegalia - January 15 2024 at 03:49

I'm sorry, it's simply bad. If you are one of those people who cannot ever criticise any artist, well, I won't comment any further since that will lead us down the road of anger and name-calling.

Or let's say it in the words of my favorite TV series:

^Why Madonna?

MikeEnRegalia wrote:

I'm sorry, it's simply bad. If you are one of those people who cannot ever criticise any artist, well, I won't comment any further since that will lead us down the road of anger and name-calling.

Yes that was horrible. But regardless of the can't or can sing-discussion, I quite like Yoko Ono's imperfect singing. I'm picky when it comes to vocals in my own way, but lot of vocalists I really like doesn't sing conventionally "perfect". The two first sides on Approximately Infinite Universe is quite lovely. I guess you won't enjoy it as much as I do, but maybe you'll be at least a little surprised.

Edited by Saperlipopette! - January 15 2024 at 07:09