your opinions on these vocalists?

a lot of vocalists never get much of a mention in polls, so i'm wondering what you think about some, or all of these ones?

phil lynott[thin lizzy]
phil mogg[ufo]
allan clarke[the hollies]
eric burdon[the animals]
justin hayward[moody blues]
robin zander[cheap trick]
alice cooper
mike patton[faith no more]
lemmy[motorhead]

 

phil mogg[ufo] - one of the most underrated in my opinion. Just listened to Phenomenon on vinyl the other night - melodic hard rock at its best.
eric burdon[the animals] - one of my favorites.

 

I don't know that Lynott was a great vocalist per se. I do know he sang with a ton of passion and was a top notch frontman.

 

And cool lyrics too.

 

Indeed.

 

Well I like them all. I mean, they're rock singers, you know, I don't want them crooning or anything, but that's the fun of rock- it's mostly energy and guitars and balls.

Of the ones listed my favorite are Lynott and Lemmy. Sure it's because I love those bands' music but I love them in large part because of the gruff, menacing energy of their singer. Perhaps there is something to the fact that both guys also play bass.

 

Justin, Phil and Eric have what I consider to be 'golden' voices, I think they're all terrific and irreplaceable.

 

I think Robin Zander is one of the greatest rock singers of all time. I also really like Mogg, Lynott and Lemmy.

 

Answers embedded in the question...

 

They each did what their band required, which is good enough. None of them are what you'd call technically gifted singers, but each made up for their shortcomings with character and presence. Of the bunch, I like Burdon the best (for his early albums with the original Animals, and off and on in his solo career) for his soul (which was great when it was 'on' and bad when it was 'off') Zander always had an interesting leer in his voice that was always understated but always there, which gave him some personality and suited Cheap Trick's best stuff well. Lynott had the right attitude, which is palpable in his voice, even if he might have sounded anonymous with another band. Lemmy is Lemmy; he's no great singer, but his role has never called for one. There would be no Motorhead without him, so he is what he needs to be. The sheer fact that Alice Cooper's early singles still sound good, even without the macabre stage antics to back them up, is testament to both the original band (which was good) and the vocals. However, a wonderful singer, he is not. I've always found Hayward too bland for my tastes, and Clarke too (I almost hate to say this) Graham Nash-ish, which is to say precious in his phrasing, but they do suit the context of their bands well enough. I haven't heard enough by the other two to comment.

The beautiful thing about rock music is that you really don't have to be able to carry a tune in the conventional sense. I'm still not sure Mick Jagger knows how to sing. However, he knows how to project attitude, have presence, and bring out the best in a band. Most of those guys on your list are the same, I sure wouldn't want to go up to Lemmy and tell him "dude, you can't sing". They were what the bands needed. They are weak enough vocally that none have had much success with solo careers; they needed the bands too. But they are good at what they do. Rock and roll suits this kind of skills set more than any other musical genre. Showing off technically precise multi-octave voices is for pop music.

 

Rock stars in general aren't great singers.

Justin and Eric are probably the top 2 of that list.

 

I think Eric Burdon's voice is incredible and unique. Just a great, full, gritty tone. I gree up with Faith No More and Mike Patton is one of the best, though he's become a caricature of himself and I've slowly lost interest in what he's doing. I like Justin Hayword's singing a lot as well.

 

Robin Zander and Mike Patton are among my favorite vocalists. Zander is one of the best rock singers and Mike Patton can do almost everything with his voice.
Lemmy is not a great singer but has a very particular voice and of course Lemmy is in the pantheon of Rock.

 

phil lynott[thin lizzy] - Never liked him. He sounds like he's full of himself. No offense intended, just my gut reaction.

phil mogg[ufo] - Pleasant but unremarkable. He's got a good AOR voice.

allan clarke[the hollies] - Freaking monster high end voice. Wonderful.

eric burdon[the animals] - Never liked him. Worst of the wannabe-Chicago-blues English guys.

justin hayward[moody blues] - Also wonderful, not a freak of nature like Allan Clarke but a great voice.

robin zander[cheap trick] - Not my favorite but a good voice.

alice cooper - One of my personal heroes so I can't pretend to be objective. One of my absolute favorite voices in rock, surprisingly versatile.

mike patton[faith no more] - Never heard him.

lemmy[motorhead] - He's as good as he needs to be. Suits the music perfectly.

 

phil lynott[thin lizzy] - great, soulful...instantly recognizable.
phil mogg[ufo] - terribly underrated...both as a singer and a lyricist.
allan clarke[the hollies] - not too familiar with
eric burdon[the animals] - great growl, but not too familiar with
justin hayward[moody blues] - not too familiar with (been meaning to rectify that)
robin zander[cheap trick] - solid...tries a bit too hard to reach for notes
alice cooper - very cool back in the day...better in studio than live
mike patton[faith no more] - disappointing...great voice when actually singing (ie From Out of Nowhere) but his worship of the horrible Anthony Keides (sp?) ruins him.
lemmy[motorhead] -

 

I will mirror what had been said before me. Rock singers don't necessarily need to sing that well. But they need to fit with the music and songs around them. Lemmy is a great example of that.

Having said that, Robin Zander's voice is pure silk.

 

Of those, I'd have to say Eric Burdon has the best voice.

 

Eric and Justin kind of stick out for me.

 

robin zander[cheap trick] - solid...tries a bit too hard to reach for notes

Isn't that what a REAL singer should do? I positively hate that live, when a band tones & tunes everything down a notch to make up for a singers shortcoming's live. I know now that Zander isn't the singer he once was but in his youth he was highly underrated and in my top 3.

 

Out of the lot I like Phil Mogg best , Eric Burdon a close second , Allan Clarke has a good voice, too,only know one song by Motorhead and Cheap Trick each and none by FNM,
the rest are ok...

 

I'll weigh in on who I'm most familiar with:

eric burdon[the animals]- for a brief period a guy who had it all. Bluesy low voice, but with John Lennon attitude. A shame his life fell apart.
justin hayward[moody blues]-the right guy for the right band.
alice cooper-a really versatile vocalist in his prime. Never a great "singer", but had enough theatricality to his voce to make his music rise above being "just" rock music. Unfortunately, for commercial reasons he became a charicature of himself, and based on recent live footage I've seen, his voice isn't as good as it used to be.
mike patton[faith no more]-one of my heroes as a kid. I don't care for everything he does, most especially his "solo" work, but he's versitile and can actually sing. He's been stuck in a rut creatively since the late 90's, but the same could be said for most people past their prime. I can totally understand why someone wouldn't like him, but I think he's great.

 

IMO Mike Patton has an amazing voice and if he wanted it he could be hugely popular as a mainstream rocker. Pretty much his entire career has been spent dodging the mainstream. Probably the closest he's come to exhibiting his conventional talents are in the cover songs he's done in the studio and live...eg. Easy or War Pigs. (I've also seen him live doing Loverboy's Working For the Weekend and Alan Parson's Time with Mr Bungle.)

 

Only going to comment on the few that I can really talk about.

Allan Clarke was a complete monster of a singer. Stunningly emotional, powerful, quite macho, and dare I say it - soulful.

Eric Burdon: Quite possibly the best british (male) soul singer of them all. Even taking into account Steve Marriott (and also Reggie King)...the absolute guvnor. Watch this:



Justin Hayward: Not in the same league but with a fantastic range. My Dad, who's a pretty fantastic singer himself, has always rated him.

 

I love them all. I don't think Alice Cooper gets enough credit for his singing. Listen to " I Never Cry" or "Only Woman Bleed" for romantic balladry or "Helly Hooray" for balls out rock

 

Big fan of Justin Hayward. His voice may crack once in awhile but other than that he still sounds really good in concert. He still seems very shy and humble on stage like he is surprised he has millions of fans.