Worst vocalists of all time?

The Pontiac

starbelgrade wrote: »

Some of the best vocalists are actually the worst singers - Dylan, McGowan, Ian Brown have been mentioned. It's true that as singers, they have limited vocal ranges, but they manage to convey so much more than conventially "good singers".

A good vocalist is one whose voice is unique, as opposed to a good singer, who could either be a finalist in X-Factor or a performer in a West End musical, and both equally as forgettable.

And anyone who thinks Morrissey, Bono or Mercury - some of the most instantly recognisable voices of their generations - are bad vocalists, seriously needs their hearing tested.

I agree with everything you said, except I don't think Bono is a good singer. I always hated his voice anyway. Morrissey and Mercury could definitely sing.. but Bono?? Maybe it's just me, but I just don't like the sound of his voice. Bono himself doesn't either by the way.

wobblyknees

<Ollie> wrote: »

I agree with everything you said, except I don't think Bono is a good singer. I always hated his voice anyway. Morrissey and Mercury could definitely sing.. but Bono?? Maybe it's just me, but I just don't like the sound of his voice. Bono himself doesn't either by the way.

Not being smart as I'm not a big U2 fan at all, but you don't think this is an example of a good singer?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euGFdZ5UUuI

Jazzy

lilly allen doesnt sing. she talks over music made by someone else and claims the credit

DigiGal

wobblyknees wrote: »

Bollox, I heard her sing live on the x-factor and she was amazing.

Bollox...X factor is a tv show....i saw her live live, I was doing stage for the BEP gig and she was ****e.

MmmmmCheese

Ozzy Osbourne for sure.....He's a good frontman and all but how did he get to where he is when there's tons of other unrecognised singers who can actually sing?

rainbow kirby

Ke$ha. Just **** off.

Parsley

wobblyknees wrote: »

Bollox, I heard her sing live on the x-factor and she was amazing.

autotune can be used live too...

ascanbe

starbelgrade wrote: »

Some of the best vocalists are actually the worst singers - Dylan, McGowan, Ian Brown have been mentioned. It's true that as singers, they have limited vocal ranges, but they manage to convey so much more than conventially "good singers".

A good vocalist is one whose voice is unique, as opposed to a good singer, who could either be a finalist in X-Factor or a performer in a West End musical, and both equally as forgettable.

And anyone who thinks Morrissey, Bono or Mercury - some of the most instantly recognisable voices of their generations - are bad vocalists, seriously needs their hearing tested.

Spot on, on all points.
Cant' understand why McGowan is often cited as a poor vocalist; for the songs he wrote he was the perfect vocalist.
I'd consider him a great singer, when he was in his prime.
Maybe some people have only heard him as he is now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=421pZgg-vlY

ejmaztec

You'd have to go to the far reaches of the Universe, to find someone, or some "thing" as bad as this fecker.

Wacker

brummytom wrote: »

Did Luke Kelly have a good voice? He managed to pull off those songs pretty darn well

I'd say he had one of the finest voices ever myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTBC7ckTWpo

brummytom

Wacker wrote: »

I'd say he had one of the finest voices ever myself.

I'd agree - he could go from singing a fierce rendition of Kelly the Boy from Killan to a beautiful, lamenting version of Peggy Gordon to a ridiculously quick-faced, passionate round of Rocky Road to Dublin

Fantastic voice.

These two (as well as Scorn Not his Simplicity) shine out to me as being just amazing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x7zgIAWzuM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa7birRBmNM

Amazing


Anyway, on topic (but linked to my post); I was listening to George Murphy last night. I was cringing. He's like a twelve year old trying to do a very bad Luke Kelly impression. Painful

wobblyknees

DigiGal wrote: »

Bollox...X factor is a tv show....i saw her live live, I was doing stage for the BEP gig and she was ****e.

Parsley wrote: »

autotune can be used live too...

Hook line and sinker.

The Pontiac

wobblyknees wrote: »

Not being smart as I'm not a big U2 fan at all, but you don't think this is an example of a good singer?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euGFdZ5UUuI

Maybe. It's hard to describe, but when I hear him sing it's like his voice is the same when I hear him talk. It's a very personal thing I think, and maybe he is indeed a great singer. I just don't like his voice though. And it's very evident (the 'thing' I don't like) in this song..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmSdTa9kaiQ

Karl Hungus

While Death Metal mightn't be everyone's cup of tea, there's a lot to be said for a vocalist who can pull off that style, and the ability to do that properly without ****ing up your voice is a talent in and of itself. They do what they do because it suits the music in texture, tone, power and aggression. Being able to do a distorted vocal style certainly isn't something to criticize a vocalist over either, they have a lot of control over their voices and breathing, and Death Metal vocalists can often pull off other vocal styles quite well. For example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY5LRReFYus

Just because you don't like the style doesn't make the type of person who uses that style any better or worse than a vocalist who's style you prefer.

wobblyknees

brummytom wrote: »

I'd agree - he could go from singing a fierce rendition of Kelly the Boy from Killan to a beautiful, lamenting version of Peggy Gordon to a ridiculously quick-faced, passionate round of Rocky Road to Dublin

Fantastic voice.

These two (as well as Scorn Not his Simplicity) shine out to me as being just amazing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x7zgIAWzuM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa7birRBmNM

Amazing


Anyway, on topic (but linked to my post); I was listening to George Murphy last night. I was cringing. He's like a twelve year old trying to do a very bad Luke Kelly impression. Painful

I had that same cringe reaction once as well. He was on some music show and did a version of working class hero. It was pretty crap to be honest.

vicecreamsundae

starbelgrade wrote: »

Some of the best vocalists are actually the worst singers - Dylan, McGowan, Ian Brown have been mentioned. It's true that as singers, they have limited vocal ranges, but they manage to convey so much more than conventially "good singers".

A good vocalist is one whose voice is unique, as opposed to a good singer, who could either be a finalist in X-Factor or a performer in a West End musical, and both equally as forgettable.

And anyone who thinks Morrissey, Bono or Mercury - some of the most instantly recognisable voices of their generations - are bad vocalists, seriously needs their hearing tested.

i agree that all those you named are good vocalists, but i don't think just having a unique or recognisable voice makes someone a good vocalist. a voice can be unique and still awful. [cough joannanewsom cough].

DigiGal

wobblyknees wrote: »

Hook line and sinker.

No not hook line and sinker


Preformers are more likely to use autotune@ a TV show preformance as it is a saftey net for good preformance, which makes sure most pitch mistakes etc are covered however most FOH engineers will object to an artist using autotune for a tour and at the O2 as far as i was told by the monitor engineer, there was no autotune being used during the majority of preformances, it was quite obvious during songs like rock your body that it was and during other preformances that it wasn't and i picked up on numerous pitch mistakes, and just general well...it wasnt great


Also I saw her rehearsing during soundcheck and i was very unimpressed

Thomas828

Jimmy Somerville of the Communards is one vocalist I could not stand.

bonerm

Perspective.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM6loclCSxo

WindSock

starbelgrade wrote: »

Some of the best vocalists are actually the worst singers - Dylan, McGowan, Ian Brown have been mentioned. It's true that as singers, they have limited vocal ranges, but they manage to convey so much more than conventially "good singers".

Yeah, you're right there actually. I prefer a good 'vocallist' to a good 'singer'.

It is great for a front person to hit notes and sound good, but not when it sounds like any other old crap that they have put their voice to. I'd rather there was a genuine feel to their songs even if it means they sound like a rusty old chainsaw or a cat getting dragged through a field of babies, rather than some diva warbling out a scale to excercise their vocal chords.

W.Shakes-Beer

that new gee bag Ellie Goulding, sounds like she's being fiddled by a poltergeist (??).

I have to listen to her every 10 minutes in work

Me being an old skool Deep Purple kinda guy, this makes me sick.

Scarinae

Jazzy wrote: »

lilly allen doesnt sing. she talks over music made by someone else and claims the credit

Oh god yeah I hate those 'talking in an annoying accent to music' songs

marcsignal

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

Johnny Rotten - Sex Pistols

shame on you CrazyRabbit........

..oh the shame

you'd wanna hear Richard Butler from the Psychedelic Furs...

Dull and Boring

Madonna is pretty bad but then again I'd prefer to go see her in concert then someone like Leona Lewis who is labelled generally as a great singer yet she has fcuk all personality and is not entertaining to watch perform......although if you go to a Madonna concert you risk a leotard situation:( Why does she wear them:(

MrStuffins

ejmaztec wrote: »

You'd have to go to the far reaches of the Universe, to find someone, or some "thing" as bad as this fecker.

I'm not joking here when i say thats not bad!

Annoying, but not bad "singing"

Degag

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

90% of all Death Metal singers.

What do you want them to sound like? Fucking Pavarotti?

MrStuffins

Degag wrote: »

What do you want them to sound like? Fucking Pavarotti?

In fairness, some of them Do sound like they're f*cking Pavarotti!

Gerard.C

PeterIanStaker wrote: »

4 pages without Fred Durst, terrible frontman singer rapper and all - round dickhead. He sounds like a lobotomised monkey.
And he cant play guitar to save his life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MI-_jWAmlE

You just dont get it

Korvanica

the_barfly1 wrote: »

Jedward?

I cant believe it took 41 posts for this... shame on you all!!!

DrumSteve

PK2008 wrote: »

....and deffo Ronan Keating

Itsch amasching how you can schee right in my heart

Argh!!!

He sings like i'd always imagine Triple H would.

Jaxxy

Rhianna. She sings through her nose and her voice does my HEAD IN.

wobblyknees

DigiGal wrote: »

No not hook line and sinker


Preformers are more likely to use autotune@ a TV show preformance as it is a saftey net for good preformance, which makes sure most pitch mistakes etc are covered however most FOH engineers will object to an artist using autotune for a tour and at the O2 as far as i was told by the monitor engineer, there was no autotune being used during the majority of preformances, it was quite obvious during songs like rock your body that it was and during other preformances that it wasn't and i picked up on numerous pitch mistakes, and just general well...it wasnt great


Also I saw her rehearsing during soundcheck and i was very unimpressed

I was being sarcastic in the first place! Out of interest, I think I seen her singing live in the auditions, and she sounded pretty good then. Are you saying she is a bad singer or just has a few pitch problems?

wobblyknees

JaxxYChicK wrote: »

Rhianna. She sings through her nose and her voice does my HEAD IN.

+1000000

I thought it was only me!

Nodin

JaxxYChicK wrote: »

Rhianna. She sings through her nose and her voice does my HEAD IN.

Now in fairness, if you turn the sound off, you'll find she sounds great.

OxfordComma

A lot of really amazing vocalists aren't particularly "good" singers, at least not by conventional standards, but their voices really suit the music. Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Shane McGowan, Ozzie, Johnny Rotten, Thom Yorke, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Morrissey, Michael Stipe, and more modern artists like Jonsi from Sigur Ros, Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bon Iver or Win Butler from Arcade Fire are all good examples of this. Personally, I think a lot of people who are "good singers" tend to be boring and forgettable.

And to all those who said Freddie Mercury's one of the worst - shame on you

Sanjuro

Korvanica wrote: »

I cant believe it took 41 posts for this... shame on you all!!!

Most people either don't consider them singers, or are probably pretending they don't exist.

Jammyc

Anthony Kedis HANDS DOWN!

Despite being somewhat a fan of the Chilis, any live version of Otherside is just

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcZqGi9A8Us

Handsome Bob

In terms of critically acclaimed and worshipped artists? Neil Young I would have to say. There's only one man who I can accept who talks his way through songs and that's Johnny Cash.

Elliemental

Duffy. She sounds like Daffy Duck.

MmmmmCheese

Jammyc wrote: »

Anthony Kedis HANDS DOWN!

Now thats just plain wrong!

CreepingDeath

Matthew Bellamy - Muse

orourkeda

1fahy4 wrote: »

A lot of really amazing vocalists aren't particularly "good" singers, at least not by conventional standards, but their voices really suit the music. Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Shane McGowan, Ozzie, Johnny Rotten, Thom Yorke, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Morrissey, Michael Stipe, and more modern artists like Jonsi from Sigur Ros, Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bon Iver or Win Butler from Arcade Fire are all good examples of this. Personally, I think a lot of people who are "good singers" tend to be boring and forgettable.

And to all those who said Freddie Mercury's one of the worst - shame on you

Whats the difference?

Darksaga87

Priest's.

fairycakes

Uriah Careful Topic wrote: »

And of course Bruce Springsteen is terrible

Isn't that right Pete

What Bruce is a legend!!!

WindSock

orourkeda wrote: »

Whats the difference?

A vocalist puts their voice to the music. It may or may not be singing or even in key. Plenty of examples on the thread of such.

pookie82

Conor Deasy from the Thrills.

OutlawPete

The worst vocalist of all time is also the greatest songwriter of all time.

walshb

Hey, nobody has to like Westlife as a band, but ti name Shane or Mark as bad is plain wrong. Those guys can sing.

Irish? It has to be that drunk, Mary Coughlan, who the **** told that
woman she could sing?

Bob Dylan wasn't all that good.

Best vocalist? Overall I would say Freddie Mercury or Elvis Presley.

pookie82

OutlawPete wrote: »

The worst vocalist of all time is also the greatest songwriter of all time.

Burt Bacharach?

walshb

Bono isn't the worst, but I wouldn't call him a naturally good singer. Very average voice.
He gets by, but not close to the greats like Mercury.