greatest rock frontman in last 25 yrs
 

I would give axl rose the nod as the best rock frontman in the last 25 yrs. Granted he's vanished the last 10 and counting but what he did for gn'r is amazing

Um 25 years? since 80 huh? Axl was damn good without a doubt but we should define what a frontman is before we go off slapping it on people who may not deserve it.

Everyone post a rule:

1. utility: a lead vocalist who has the ability to fill in multipple positions should get a boosted rating as opposed to a singer who can only sing.

2. Idealogical: Must have considerable song writing ability, and a strong variance on his material.

If everyone is to post a rule then when will we start to discuss the actual topic?:laughing:

3. attittude: must think and act like the coolest/baddest MF on the planet.

my 2 cents -
Axl was OK but obviously lost it, at some point his ego took control and now he's just an idiot - also GnR ain't done squat since Slash and the crew bailed.
David Lee Roth was the penultimate frontman for a while and then his ego took over, also his lyrical content was very one dimensional
Rik Emmett of Triumph - under rated and mostly unknown - great singer and guitarist with good tunes - not enough attitude
****ie Barrett from MMB - this guy is a frontrunner. He has all of the qualities and still has cred - got popular and then told the record company to blow.
Tim and Lars from Rancid (neither one is really the frontman) - cred and attitude and a variety of song subjects - but thier tunes pretty much all sound the same.
Scott Weiland from STP and VR - has the chops and the attitude - now if he can just stay off the smack......
OZZY - has all the goods but looks like a fat penguin waddling around the stage.
James Hetfield from Metallica - has the talent and attitude - nah F*&K them.
There's a lot more , maybe later......

are you kidding? they censored the short form of Richard? how f%#king retarded.

Well Ian Curtis qualifies by 5 and a half months

Frank Black




Close the thread

Axl's good but James Hetfield is way better... dealt with alot of shiiit too

4. Command: Must be able to grab the audience by the throat, put foot on said throat, and hold them captive for entire duration of the show.

Well, I am probably only semi-qualified to give an opinion on this, since I don't know too much about today's music. I'll preface this by saying I am only going on the bands I have actually seen live.

At one time, Steven Tyler was the quintessential frontman. He could say "Eat your chair", and people would do it. Unfortunately, he evolved into a charicature of...well, himself.

David Lee Roth has been a clown all his life, but it was his pairing with Eddie Van Halen, that enabled him to show his one-man circus to the world. He was never a great front man, in my opinion, because he always put himself before everything, even his audience.

Roger Daltry was a great front man, in his day. He had it all. Leather lungs, good looks, and a boy next door charm that captured the women, and an a$$ kicking side that captured the imaginations of the guys.

Ozzy was drunk when I saw him. LOL. So, I can't really say much about him. I will say this for Ozzy...when he left Sabbath, he was smart enough, for the next 10 years, to have young gunslingers on lead guitar. Randy Rhodes was great, and innovative, but in my opinion, Jake E. Lee was better. Ozzy, somewhere down inside, knew he couldn't carry it all by himself. Hence, the lightning quick youngsters. A distraction, or whatever you'd like to call it.

I'll say, Robin Zander had the crowd in the palm of his hand all three times I saw Cheap Trick. There was nothing flashy or overly spectacular about him. He just related well with his audience. Drew them in, and made them feel as though they were part of the show.

Ted Nugent, whom I've seen 4 times, didn't so much include his audience, insomuch that he snatched them up and beat them over the head with his guitar. I enjoyed it, though. Thank you sir, may I please have another. The great thing about Ted is, while he was never innovative (much), and never varied or strayed much from what made him top dog from 74-77, he remained true. One guitar, eight Marshall cabinets, and no effects in between to clog the signal. Here's my guitar, I'm going to play it. Loud. Dig it?

Obviously, the greatest front man of all time, was Freddie Mercury. If there is such a thing as doing what you were born to do, Freddie was the prime example of that. Onstage, he was personable, haughty, bold, shy, blatantly over the top, and wonderfully understated. He knew who to be for each and every song. He never forgot the fact that there were anywhere from 20 to 50 thousand people looking at him. Freddie made the audience an intricate part of the show. Oh, yeah, and he could sing a little bit, as well. He was a wonderful showman, and I am fortunate to have seen him live.

great observations jr - another killer frontman that barely qualifies for the 25 year window is Peter Wolf from the J. Geils Band. Great performer.

Well, I only went with ones I'd actually seen live. I've been to literally hundreds of shows in my lifetime, but those were the best I'd seen, frontman-wise.

I was tempted to include Paul Stanley and Bruce ****inson, but having seen them several times on the same tours, I knew most of their music banter (nyuk nyuk nyuk) was scripted, and varied little from night to night. Which can probably be said for most, I don't know.

Hahaha, you can't say the d word, shame on you. :rofl:

You should go with Bruce DingDonginson instead. ;)

I'm sorry. I was under the impression that this thread was a forum to discuss great front men. There's no need to become indignant simply because one's opinion varies from yours.

Being a talented pianist and a gifted songwriter doesn't make one a great front man.

I have seen Axl Rose live. Twice. He was arrogant, sounded horrible, (perhaps that had something to do with the cigarette in one hand and drink in the other) and couldn't care less about his audience.


What exactly does Axl Rose stand for? Arrogance and egotism, at the cost of a musical career. He's where he belongs. In obscurity.

I think the statement "When Axl did show up you got the greatest show of all time" speaks for itself. Great frontmen show up every night.

i say josh homme and kurt cobain

James sings about as well as Marilyn Manson looks.

/\ thats your opinion, AXL blew alot, and half the time didn't show the **** up. Hetfeild got ****ing torched and went back out the next night. GnR was asked to do a 3 hour set the night he got burned and they quit because they coudln't do it.

I don't feel like being friendly or diplomatic anymore. St. Anger does not disquilify Metallica from being one of the greatest bands ever. If you said "Hey guy, Axl just got burned on stage, can you play a 3 hour set" they wouldn't think twice about it.

I don't care if you don't like his voice, your constant condemnation of that bad is unwarrented and is as untrue as opinions get.

Interesting. It seems this is exactly what your were doing to not just myself, but everyone in this thread, because we all failed to fall at the alter of Axl Rose.

I wasn't criticizing you, anyway, friend. Merely pointing out the truth about Rose. You're certainly entitled to your opinion. Please allow myself, and others who took the time to answer your question, the same courtesy.

Perhaps you should have titled this thread "Who's your favorite frontman", rather than "Who's the best frontman". That would have been more accurate as to your reason for starting it.

Sorry if I've upset you. It certainly wasn't my intention.

I wasn't negotiating my support for axl in that comment. It had nothing to do with axl. Why is it that Hetfield got torched? It sure as hell wasn't becuase he forgot the lyrics. And speaking of lyrics, they aren't exactly fantastic audio poetry. Also, his tone doesn't suit the music, there is no harmony. I wouldn't mind James if he didn't try and shout down the music. And St. Anger isn't that bad, the style isn't all that much different from their earlier stuff. Where does St. Anger come from anyway? I didn't refer to it...

I know I reiterate that "vocals" opinion frequently, but if I dislike his voice than that should at least be taken into account. It isn't like i am the only one. If we come to the conclusion he is the greatest, then I won't argue, it was my two cents. Twas just commenting on why I do not feel James has been thee greatest.

I'll cease use of that opinion as of now ok? I didn't mean to twist your undies:)

Much to my colossal dismay Bono. I think he is a tosser and should clearly be assassinated

:confused:

Kurt Cobain. He was a great songwriter and every show seemed to be amazing, his voice was awesome and Nirvana was awesome. Even if they're overrated, I think Kurt Cobain was an amazing frontman.

uuhh,, dave grohl? lol

I have to agree with lighterflight, Axl was a great live frontman, original, charasmatic and electric, at least when he actualy showed up(or wasn't kicking your ass for having a video camera ;)), though of course i am refering to a certain period, the late 80s and the UYI years, his voice is pretty damn shot now.

Thanks for being objective on this(sarcasm), but i disagree with you here, Bono was a amazing frontman, live especialy, i dont think hes as much of a prick as some say he is, i remember when he was sick as a dog, but refused to cancel U2s upcoming live shows and disapoint the fans, he would continue to perform even with a nasty cold, and he actualy did a decent job even though his voice was pretty ****ed up.

Thank you.
I'm close to tears.

But I'll mention the usual ones: Liam Gallagher, Kurt Cobain, Iggy Pop, Jack White, Thom Yorke, Damon Albarn...so much more. Chris Martin and Bono for sure.

Yes, the topic was simple. Who is the best frontman in the last twenty five years. It's not an exact, by the numbers subject where a definitive answer will be produced. It's a subjective topic, one which will recieve several views, from several people, with several different musical tastes.


You're certainly entitled to your opinion. In the same vein, I stated mine. You think Axl Rose was the best. I don't. Just because it's your opinion, that does not make it my truth. My truth is that Axl Rose is an egotistic drunk, with a very limited vocal range. Perhaps an octave, and that is stretching it. He sings from his throat, not from his diaphram. Anyone can do that.

As far as the bashing, I could easily refer back to your bashing of Metallica. But then, let's not wade into the hypocritical waters, shall we?


I won't discuss it any further, though. I haven't been here long, and I don't post often, but when I do, I only post about topics of which I have some knowledge and/or experience. I enjoy this site, and I won't partake in any sort of disturbance that may erupt. I am sure the site moderators have better things to do than babysit you and I while I pick you apart. I have already humored you long enough.

As far as my 'high class typing skills' and 'high school big words', I see nothing wrong with taking the time to make sure I speak clearly and spell correctly. Being well mannered and polite towards others is something I always strive for. Unless, of course, someone needs a dressing down.

Some of you GD people are unbelieveable with your two faced turn around.

Your tone and content make it sound as if you posed a perfectly calm and civil argument. You came out of no where with an insult about something that had about as little to do with the thread as possible while clinging to the topic by its teeth. You came out of nowhere with a sucker punch to further your own agenda of a band. Im sorry, I don't buy your lie sir.

I'd like to also voice support for jr., who, as far as im concerned, did nothing wrong.

To the man who said Nirvana, Kurt = Great frontman, Their shows however were hit or miss, and they weren't all great. Im gunna g out on a limb and assume you didn't see every show.

You have got to be kidding me. Two Faced? It was a calm and civil argument. I asked reasonable questions, posed reasonable points and left it at that. I didn't slander you and because I had then realised my opinion on his voice was annoying to you I offered to cease it. And it had EVERYTHING to do with the thread and topic. If the guy can't f*cking sing it then it sure as hell ain't browny points towards being the greatest frontman is it. Get off you're self righteous cloud and come back down to earth. Not everyone has to argue in the same pompous state as you

Can't We All Just..............Get Along? :(

Sorry. *thoroughly pissed off* *big breaths* *calmed*

This was a whole post from you. Your right, look at all those points.

That is not the post I was refering to.

its the one i was refering to, what problem would i have with the first one? And the orignal attack from me was clearly rooted in that post

you see, this is rock n' roll man.

How about chris cornell or maynard james keenan

=)

You win.

Love them both, but something tells me neither would be the greatest, as much as I would like one of them to be.

Anyway lets get back to the purpose of this thread, this is my list...However this one includes frontmen from all eras, not just the past 25 years.

1.Elvis Presley
2.Freddie Mercury of Queen
3.Jim Morrison of The Doors
4.Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones
5.James Brown
6.Steve Tyler of Aerosmith
7.David Lee Roth of Van Halen
8.Roger Daltry of The Who
9.Bruce Springsteen
10.Little Richard
11.Iggy Pop of The Stooges
12.David Bowie
13.Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin
14.Jimi Hendrix
15.Bono of U2
16.Bruce Di<kenson of Iron Maiden
17.Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam
18.Maynard James Keenan of Tool
19.Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath
20.Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols
21.Axl Rose of Guns N Roses
22.Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull
23.Zack De La Rocha of Rage Against The Machine
24.Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane
25.Alice Cooper
26.Jerry Lee Lewis
27.Bob Marley
28.Kurt Cobain of Nirvana
29.Peter Gabriel of Genesis
30.Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd
31.Bon Scott of AC/DC
32.Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac
33.Perry Farrel of Janes Addiction
34.Prince
35.Chris Cornell of Soundgarden/Audioslave
36.Rob Halford of Judas Priest
37.Bob Dylan
38.Screamin' Jay Hawkins
39.Janis Joplin
40.Elton John
41.James Hetfield of Metallica
42.Morrissey of The Smiths
43.Ann Wilson of Heart
44.Layne Staley of Alice in Chains
45.Buddy Holly
46.Thom Yorke of Radiohead
47.Paul Rodgers of Free
48.Brandon Boyd of Incubus
49.Peter Hamill of Van Der Graff Generator
50.Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers

Rate my list from 1 to 10. :D