Best Prog Rock Singer

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by ridgeback, Oct 8, 2021.

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  1. dubious title

    dubious title Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ontario
    Very nicely stated.

    I believe Bruford's nickname for him was marblemouth. Starless alone is hall of fame material, for me one of the greatest vocal performances on record.
     
  2. NorthNY Mark

    NorthNY Mark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canton, NY, USA
    I could not agree more on "Starless" being one of the greatest vocal performances. Even after almost forty years of hearing it pretty regularly, it never ceases to astound me.
     
  3. Svetonio

    Svetonio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Serbia
    Honorable mention to Gabriele Marconcini


    Raven Sad Colorbox (from The leaf and the wing, 2021)
     
  4. mr.datsun

    mr.datsun Incompletist

    Location:
    London

    For what it’s worth, I’m not a genre or tag person myself, but I’m well aware of the artists that i like who repeatedly fall into prog rock’s widely cast genre net. Matching Mole are usually, if not always, grouped under ‘prog rock’, as I’m sure forum members are aware. This, despite Robert Wyatt’s personal wishes.
     
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2022
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  5. doity

    doity Forum Resident

    Jon Anderson for sure. When I saw ABWH live in about 1990 or so, his voice was identical to the record(s). Greg Lake had a change with his vocals by the early 90’s, and neither Gabriel or Anderson were very good vocalists. I always thought of Wetton as a Greg Lake knock-off so I wouldn’t even include him, though I liked UK.

    Justin Hayward? Though he would probably not refer to himself as a prog singer. Really, the list is pretty small when you think about it.
     
    MGM likes this.
  6. doity

    doity Forum Resident

    I absolutely love The Strawbs, but I could never think of Dave Cousins as a great vocalist. Unique maybe, but that is about it.
     
  7. Frank Lee Scarlett

    Frank Lee Scarlett Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    I stand by my opinion that Wetton's singing is by far the weakest link on Red, and the one thing that actually kept me from enjoying the otherwise superb album for a good while. "One of the greatest vocal performances on record" sounds like a Bizarro joke to me.
     
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  8. PhR

    PhR Forum Resident

    Location:
    Finland
    Lot of my favorites already mentioned:
    Hammill, Richard Sinclair, Wetton, Stratos, Magma singers, Steve Walsh, Collins, Gabriel etc.
    Fish is great and another I like from that era is Geoff Mann (of Twelfth Night) who also had some Hammill influence I think.

    Kim Mitchell of Max Webster is probably not your typical prog rock vocalist (or Max Webster a typical prog rock band) but I think he was perfect for their stuff with his low voice.

    Of the new bands I like Peter Brewis of Field Music.
     
  9. Tattooed Headshrinker

    Tattooed Headshrinker Accidentally Like A Martyr

    Location:
    Orlando, FL
    Gotta go with Roger Waters. If you saw him live on any of his last several tours, he sounds just like he did on the recordings. :nyah:
     
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  10. mastaflatch

    mastaflatch God's Only Nose

    I think that Derek Shulman is a good singer but when it comes to Gentle Giant, my most cherished tunes are sung by either Phil Shulman or Kerry Minnear. I like their delivery most. That being said, they're not my favorite prog rock singers.
     
  11. BirstallBlue

    BirstallBlue Forum Resident

    Jon Anderson
    Greg Lake
    Kevin Ayers
    Robert Wyatt
    Ian Anderson
     
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  12. Cledwyn

    Cledwyn Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Wales
    I've no idea who's best, but my favourites include many who've already been mentioned, such as:

    Jon Wetton
    Greg Lake
    Chris Squire
    Richard Sinclair
    Jon Anderson
    Neal Morse.

    A couple whom I don't think have come up are Eric Gillette of the Neal Morse Band and Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings. Eric has an amazing range and is great at soaring choruses, while Roine's idiosyncratic and characterful singing appeals to me. :)
     
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  13. blackdograilroad

    blackdograilroad Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon, UK
    Jon Anderson, by a country mile. Wetton is excellent but nowhere near IMHO
     
  14. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    For me it has to be Genesis era Peter Gabriel. He used his voice more than just as a singer singing lyrics, he used it as performance art, full of drama, passion and emotion. His performances on recording and in concert help defined the genre. Gabriel's progressive work was high on artistry, occasionally appropriately quirky and always quintessential.
     
    VinylCountdown likes this.
  15. Uh . . . interesting take there. To each his own, I guess.
     
  16. x2zero

    x2zero Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn USA
    Robert Wyatt
    Gary Brooker if he qualifies
     
    Marvin likes this.
  17. mbd40

    mbd40 Steely Dan Fan

    Location:
    Hope, Ar
    And Geddy Lee for his uniqueness and high vocal range when in his prime. I mean, love or hate his voice, nobody else sounded like that and it makes Rush stand out (along with the excellent musicianship of course).
     
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  18. StarThrower62

    StarThrower62 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    I love Geddy! But it's hard to listen to him strain in his later years so I stick to the old records.
     
  19. Drumaniac - R

    Drumaniac - R Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario
    Trevor did a great job on Tempus Fuget
     
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  20. Drumaniac - R

    Drumaniac - R Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario
    Does pretty well on this tune:
     
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  21. Drumaniac - R

    Drumaniac - R Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario
    Many of the singers mentioned are top shelf but if allowed only one it is Jon Anderson for me.
    Saw him live many times with Yes and solo and he delivers the goods!
     
  22. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    one of my classic faves !
     
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  23. Kevin Gilbert - likely is my favorite:

     
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  24. dubious title

    dubious title Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ontario
    "I stand by my opinion that Wetton's singing is by far the weakest link on Red, and the one thing that actually kept me from enjoying the otherwise superb album for a good while" sounds like a Bizarro joke to me.

    Totally agree. Weather or not Robert likes it, that's where his music will be lumped, he's not an American jazz musician, a folk protest singer, or a standards torch singer.

    We're not necessarily going by just technical merit here. Surprised to read opinions that Cousins is not a great singer, he's not a trained singer with a wide range and he only sings like Cousins, but he's no better or worse than many well liked rock vocalists. I like a singer who can go off the rails at times and Cousins does this style very well in addition to convincingly singing childlike folk songs and forlorn balladry.
     
    NorthNY Mark likes this.
  25. Rufus rag

    Rufus rag Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Love for Greg-The ELP era
     
    Mikewest likes this.
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