Good vocalists, bad material (albums, REM, u2, quote, bands)

boo boo · 01-07-2009, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucifer_sam

Peter Gabriel (post-Genesis material): I find it ironic that Peter Gabriel earned most of his fame AFTER he left Genesis with derivative pop singles. There's just not enough good material to go around. It's rather obvious that he and Phil Collins always needed Steve Hackett to succeed.

His earlier solo material is really great, his first few albums were still in the prog style, and it probably helped a lot that Robert Fripp and Tony Levin where on those albums, he started going pop in the 80s. And though I do like some of his pop material, I downloaded So and found it to be pretty boring.

Really loved that song he did for Wall-E though.

I also confess to liking Collins era Genesis.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucifer_sam

James Brown: Everyone's going to hate me for this, but I think he was an atrocious songwriter (did he write songs?). Obviously there's Live at the Apollo, but just because he could hold an audience's attention doesn't mean he's worth listening to. I give him credit; what James Brown did influenced generations of soul artists to come. I just don't think he's got anything worth hearing.

Well I can forgive you for that, when you have such appallingly bad taste I guess there's nothing you can do about it.

lucifer_sam · 01-07-2009, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boo boo

His earlier solo material is really great, his first few albums were still in the prog style, and it probably helped a lot that Robert Fripp and Tony Levin where on those albums, he started going pop in the 80s. And though I do like some of his pop material, I downloaded So and found it to be pretty boring.

The first few albums were good, but they deteriorated thereafter rather quickly. The last hip-hop collaborations that he did fucking BLEW. Basically, I feel that by the time Peter Gabriel lost its touch Genesis had as well (which coincided with the loss of Steve Hackett).

boo boo · 01-07-2009, 11:13 PM

A lot of his 80s pop is pretty unremarkable, but I haven't found it to be horrible either.

Anyway.

Steve Perry.

/Close thread.

Bulldog · 01-07-2009, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kokoboten

Cris Cornell is one of the best singers ever, but his songs suck big time, specially since Audioslave...

There's one I missed out. Great singer, as you say, not such a huge fan of his work though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RezZ

Wuhuu! Joshua Tree is fantastic. Whats your favorite song (if you have one)?

One Tree Hill is pure bliss - one of the best songs I've ever heard. It's pretty much a flawless album to be honest (in my opinion of course).

Dr_Rez · 01-08-2009, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kokoboten

Cris Cornell is one of the best singers ever, but his songs suck big time, specially since Audioslave...

Audioslaves first self titled album was pretty strong in my opinion. Cornell and Morrello did a great job together there, and TM's guitar playing is very psycadelic the entire album.

boo boo · 01-08-2009, 04:47 AM

Finally ONE non U2 hater other than myself, no, two, that's refreshing.

Seltzer · 01-08-2009, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boo boo

His earlier solo material is really great, his first few albums were still in the prog style, and it probably helped a lot that Robert Fripp and Tony Levin where on those albums, he started going pop in the 80s. And though I do like some of his pop material, I downloaded So and found it to be pretty boring.

Really loved that song he did for Wall-E though.

I also confess to liking Collins era Genesis.

Well I can forgive you for that, when you have such appallingly bad taste I guess there's nothing you can do about it.

I like Home By the Sea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucifer_sam

Art Garfunkel (solo): Absolutely stunning vocalist, but a poor songwriter.

Despite being a big fan of S&G, I've not heard much of Garfunkel's solo career - sounds like that's a good thing...

Gavin B. · 01-08-2009, 05:46 AM

Dusty Springfield was a great vocalist but most of her producers had absolutely no idea what to do with her extraordinary talents. Many of her albums were overproduced and the middle-of-the-road cover songs chosen by her producers were trite and derivative. The brillance of Dusty Springfield was that she managed to transcend the even the most cliched material and deliver heartfelt vocals.

The closest she came to a perfect album was Dusty in Memphis because co-producers Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd were brilliant producers and had the expertise at showcasing uniquely talented R&B singers.

WaspStar · 01-08-2009, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucifer_sam

James Brown: Everyone's going to hate me for this, but I think he was an atrocious songwriter (did he write songs?). Obviously there's Live at the Apollo, but just because he could hold an audience's attention doesn't mean he's worth listening to. I give him credit; what James Brown did influenced generations of soul artists to come. I just don't think he's got anything worth hearing.

Good call there. I do like Try Me (a song that's pretty unrepresenative of his style), but I can live without the rest of his stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

You know Eponymous is just a "best of" collection of their IRS years right? If you've never heard the actual albums those songs are taken from they're really worth a listen. REM's earlier albums are far superior to their later albums IMHO.

Yes, I've heard the original albums, but for me, REM is one of those bands that's best represented by a decent comp. I only mentioned it because it's the only REM album I own and listen to on any sort of semi-regular basis.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gavin B.

Dusty Springfield was a great vocalist but most of her producers had absolutely no idea what to do with her extraordinary talents. Many of her albums were overproduced and the middle-of-the-road cover songs chosen by her producers were trite and derivative. The brillance of Dusty Springfield was that she managed to transcend the even the most cliched material and deliver heartfelt vocals.

The closest she came to a perfect album was Dusty in Memphis because co-producers Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd were brilliant producers and had the expertise at showcasing uniquely talented R&B singers.

To be honest, I've never really understood what the fuss was about Springfield's voice. She sounds like another generic 60's pop singer to me.

jackhammer · 01-08-2009, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boo boo

Finally ONE non U2 hater other than myself, no, two, that's refreshing.

No. I have stated before that I like U2. Some of their stuff is awful but 'The Unforgettable Fire', 'Atchung Baby' and 'The Joshua Tree' (minus the first three tracks) are very good albums.

01-08-2009, 05:46 AM	#18 (permalink)
Gavin B. Model Worker Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,248	Dusty Springfield was a great vocalist but most of her producers had absolutely no idea what to do with her extraordinary talents. Many of her albums were overproduced and the middle-of-the-road cover songs chosen by her producers were trite and derivative. The brillance of Dusty Springfield was that she managed to transcend the even the most cliched material and deliver heartfelt vocals. The closest she came to a perfect album was Dusty in Memphis because co-producers Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd were brilliant producers and had the expertise at showcasing uniquely talented R&B singers.