Singers who ruined great bands

Boromedic

Yeah for sure, I liked him in Extreme but he just didn't suit VH at all. Ha, soap opera is a very apt description as well.

Sassafras

Don Van Vliet wasn't renowned for his people management. He drove apart a bunch of very talented musicians in favour of a few mediocre session guys.

DefaultM

Stevepage said:

James Labrie. I just think Dream Theater could have found a better singer.

I think it's mainly to do with the illness he got in the early 90s? Images & Words has good singing, the live at the marquee album from around the same time has some incredible singing, Awake is pretty good as well.
After that I think he got ill and it affected his voice.

I watched some 2017 live videos a few weeks ago. Oh wow. So bad. 

viz

DefaultM said:

Stevepage said:

James Labrie. I just think Dream Theater could have found a better singer.

I think it's mainly to do with the illness he got in the early 90s? Images & Words has good singing, the live at the marquee album from around the same time has some incredible singing, Awake is pretty good as well.
After that I think he got ill and it affected his voice.

I watched some 2017 live videos a few weeks ago. Oh wow. So bad. 

I thought he was amazing at least up to Train of Thought - I don't know the later albums very well. 

chillidoggy

prowla said:

chillidoggy said:

Off the top of me 'ead -

Bruce Dickenson - Iron Maiden

Burke Shelley - Budgie

Maynard James Keenan - Tool

I think Bruce Dickinson made Iron Maiden!

Budgie - now there's a band similar to Rush. (Or have I reminded you about Geddy?)

TBH, I always felt that Bruce’s voice was too strained. And Geddy Lee, well, I’m kinda ambivalent about him.

I was going to say Bono, but then that would have meant U2 was a great band, so that’s clearly not an option. Sting, for sure. Geldoff’s another one who can’t actually sing if his life depended on it.

FelineGuitars

Wow - I think for me that award goes to most modern rock and metal bands 

I hate it when a friend says check this band out for the killer guitar 

Song starts - great guitar and kick ass drums and then the singer comes in and absolutely has no voice, no range, no style and no class (or is all cookie monster vocals)

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

The Smiths. 

I don't mind some of The Smiths' music, but listening to it conjures up thoughts of Morrisey, and all his whinging, self-obsessed, self-righteous twattery, and I have to turn it off.  

Phil_aka_Pip

Opera. Overture sounds great, then the "singers" start. FFS!

ICBM

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Opera. Overture sounds great, then the "singers" start. FFS!

lol, but there is some truth in that .

BGG

Gary Cherone in Extreme ... totally shit and flat as fook live.

fandango

Jon Anderson of Yes. 

I know he's part of their sound, but as his voice is in the alto range, it's a bit high for prolonged listening. So to me he's a bit marmite.

I wonder what Yes would have sounded like with a tenor or Baritone at the microphone?

munckee

Teyeplayer said:

57Deluxe said:

Paul McCartney - everything he does now...

And before tbh; they shot the wrong Beatle (waits for explosions from the sky and fb fallout for dissing Sir Paul of the frog song).  

Victor Lewis-Smith (or someone else) said the problem with the beatles is the wrong two died.  His words not mine!

prowla

fandango said:

Jon Anderson of Yes. 

I know he's part of their sound, but as his voice is in the alto range, it's a bit high for prolonged listening. So to me he's a bit marmite.

I wonder what Yes would have sounded like with a tenor or Baritone at the microphone?

Try listening to Asia...

Philly_Q

I really don't like the harsh growled/screamed vocal style in most forms of extreme metal.  It's so well-established that it would be very silly of me to expect them to change... but it is enough to put me off bands I might otherwise like.

As for specifics... I do find Plant irritating on some Zeppelin songs.

Glenn Hughes' voice is pretty grating.  I liked him in combination with Coverdale back in the '70s, and his voice has held up well, but he's just too histrionic.

AlexC

Let's be honest here - it's the singer / vocals that let most bands down. Which is why, if you can find someone who can genuinely sing then they're worth their weight in gold. I've left about 3 bands because the singer just can't hack it. Or rather - they sound like they're hacking it.

Schnozz

I hate to say it, as I love Ronnie James Dio, but his lyrics are really naff at times

I love Ozzy Osborne even though his drug taking ruined Black Sabbath, but the original line up was just magic

Ronnie James Dio in Rainbow however... Ritchie Blackmore (also great) ruined that one

Schnozz

prowla said:

fandango said:

Jon Anderson of Yes. 

I know he's part of their sound, but as his voice is in the alto range, it's a bit high for prolonged listening. So to me he's a bit marmite.

I wonder what Yes would have sounded like with a tenor or Baritone at the microphone?

Try listening to Asia...

Well said - Asia are intolerable, but YES are one of my faves

ICBM

Philly_Q said:

I really don't like the harsh growled/screamed vocal style in most forms of extreme metal.  It's so well-established that it would be very silly of me to expect them to change... but it is enough to put me off bands I might otherwise like.

As for specifics... I do find Plant irritating on some Zeppelin songs.

Glenn Hughes' voice is pretty grating.  I liked him in combination with Coverdale back in the '70s, and his voice has held up well, but he's just too histrionic.

I can't stand most metal vocals, especially not the shouting/screaming ones.

Plant I find annoying on most Zeppelin songs, unbearable on some, but oddly less so solo.

Can't stand Glenn Hughes even in Deep Purple, he ruins quite a lot of the Stormbringer album in particular.

Moe_Zambeek

chillidoggy said:

Off the top of me 'ead -

Bruce Dickenson - Iron Maiden

Burke Shelley - Budgie

Maynard James Keenan - Tool

I honestly think Burke was perfect for Budgie. 

Moltisanti

Bruce Dickinson - Iron Maiden - I could have been a Maiden fan if not for his ridiculous vibrato and grating voice. Plus his hair in the 80s was especially gash.

Gary Cherone - Extreme - deprived the world of one of the greatest ever guitar players (Nuno) by making his work unlistenable due to Cherone's singing. I literally can;t watch a video of Extreme for more than 5 seconds without wanting to murder Gary Cherone.