Some would say Florence Ballard was a stronger singer than Diana Ross in the early Supremes, but Diana had the more "pop" voice so...
― Josefa, Friday, 9 February 2018 17:02 (six years ago) link
It was years before I learned that "Candy Says" is sung by Doug Yule. He makes such a great job of it that I'm tempted to say I prefer his voice to that of Lou Reed.
― the word dog doesn't bark (anagram), Friday, February 9, 2018 9:38 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
i used to play this game with my friends called "doug or lou?" with my friends, skipping through tracks in itunes.
still blows my mind that he's singing lead on "who loves the sun", "new age", "lonesome cowboy bill", "she's my best friend" and "candy says" !! dead ringer if there ever was one.
― budo jeru, Friday, 9 February 2018 17:11 (six years ago) link
er and " oh! sweet nuthin' "
― budo jeru, Friday, 9 February 2018 17:16 (six years ago) link
tom and/or sally. if jon is considered lead.
― scott seward, Friday, 9 February 2018 17:19 (six years ago) link
Mills and Stipe for the second question
― alpine static, Friday, 9 February 2018 17:27 (six years ago) link
i think, don't know about y'all
corin tucker's voice is distinct from everyone's, including carrie brownstein's
― mookieproof, Friday, 9 February 2018 17:32 (six years ago) link
hearing Karl Bartos sing "The Telephone Call" was pretty surprising - he's no great singer of course, but the fact that a guy in that group could sing at all...
― frogbs, Friday, 9 February 2018 17:35 (six years ago) link
utterly distinct: colin newman and graham lewis of wire.
― new noise, Friday, 9 February 2018 17:36 (six years ago) link
David Lovering in Pixies
― flappy bird, Friday, 9 February 2018 17:37 (six years ago) link
for distinct I'd say Devo, no one on the planet sounds like Mark Mothersbaugh
― frogbs, Friday, 9 February 2018 17:38 (six years ago) link
And not only did Noel wrote ther biggest hits, his voice is better (I find Liam’s croaky voice annoying as hell after a couple songs) and he proved to be far more professional and commited to his fans.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Friday, February 9, 2018 7:41 AM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
in the live forever documentary they show clips of noel singing wonderwall, he originally intended to do the lead vocals on the track. then it cuts to liam doing it. it's night in day in terms of quality, liam was just a far better vocalist (yes his voice has an annoying and abrasive quality)
― khat person (jim in vancouver), Friday, 9 February 2018 18:44 (six years ago) link
I'm very surprised that people can't tell Yule's and Reed's voices apart.
― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Friday, 9 February 2018 18:47 (six years ago) link
agree about Corin Tucker
― I will finish what I (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 9 February 2018 18:49 (six years ago) link
Agree about Stipe/Mills as distinct (NOT that Mills was the better singer). What about Mike Love/Brian Wilson?
― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Friday, 9 February 2018 18:52 (six years ago) link
Him with the gravel voice off Gomez - where 'better' is a relative category. And they sound completely distinct.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Friday, 9 February 2018 18:55 (six years ago) link
I'm trying to think of a rock band with more than one singer of the same sex who sound utterly distinct from each other and I'm having trouble.
Husker Du
― flappy bird, Friday, 9 February 2018 18:58 (six years ago) link
Lee & Thurston in SY
that's not as extreme as Husker Du though, Mould & Hart are a world apart
― flappy bird, Friday, 9 February 2018 18:59 (six years ago) link
Him with the gravel voice off Gomez - where 'better' is a relative category. And they sound completely distinct.― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Friday, February 9, 2018 6:55 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Friday, February 9, 2018 6:55 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Ian Ball > Ben Ottwell (the gravelly one) > Tom Gray
― Full of bile and Blue Nile denial (Turrican), Friday, 9 February 2018 18:59 (six years ago) link
Animal Collective ?― AlXTC from Paris, Friday, February 9, 2018 3:42 PM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― AlXTC from Paris, Friday, February 9, 2018 3:42 PM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Nah, they all sound whiny, American and shit.
― Full of bile and Blue Nile denial (Turrican), Friday, 9 February 2018 19:01 (six years ago) link
the grateful deadthe bandthe byrdsthe beatlesthe wailers
― marcos, Friday, 9 February 2018 19:04 (six years ago) link
ah i see the band was already mentioned
― flappy bird, Friday, February 9, 2018 1:59 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
the production on even the cleanest Du records is so muddy that it can be hard to tell them apart, even though I agree that their voices are different.
― hoooyaaargh it's me satan (voodoo chili), Friday, 9 February 2018 19:04 (six years ago) link
nobody would call Ronnie Lane the lead singer of the Faces, but you can always tell when he's singing instead of Rod lol
― hoooyaaargh it's me satan (voodoo chili), Friday, 9 February 2018 19:05 (six years ago) link
extreme metal bands, black especially i think, will often have e.g. one growly and one shrieky vocalist : )
― j., Friday, 9 February 2018 19:06 (six years ago) link
fleetwood maccrosby stills nash & young
― marcos, Friday, 9 February 2018 19:07 (six years ago) link
I feel I've posted just enough to go out on a limb and suggest you're not entirely rational when it comes to the productions of Animal Collective, Turrican.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Friday, 9 February 2018 19:08 (six years ago) link
Billy and James in the Pumpkins sound utterly distinct but that feels unfair because there are literally only 8 of out 150+ songs where James sings lead in all of the Pumpkins' discography (original run obv)
― flappy bird, Friday, 9 February 2018 19:08 (six years ago) link
that's not as extreme as Husker Du though, Mould & Hart are a world apart― flappy bird, Friday, February 9, 2018 1:59 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalinkthe production on even the cleanest Du records is so muddy that it can be hard to tell them apart, even though I agree that their voices are different.― hoooyaaargh it's me satan (voodoo chili), Friday, February 9, 2018 2:04 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― hoooyaaargh it's me satan (voodoo chili), Friday, February 9, 2018 2:04 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
i don't agree at all, and it's not even delivery. i was actually listening to flip your wig last night and lamenting how fucking awful the drums sound, and i noticed how distinct even their screams are. yeah obviously they wrote very different kinds of songs, but grant had a much fuller, rounded, warmer voice than Mould's bark. like compare him being mournful on 'hardly getting over it' to 'green eyes,' i can't see anyone mistaking those for the same person.
― flappy bird, Friday, 9 February 2018 19:11 (six years ago) link
yea I can't tell the AnCo singers apart
― frogbs, Friday, 9 February 2018 19:13 (six years ago) link
FWIW all my favorite The Band songs are the Richard Manuel songs, don't know if that counts.
― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Friday, 9 February 2018 19:14 (six years ago) link
xp yeah as an AC superfan their voices are not in any way 'utterly distinct' from each other. i could pull out extremes of their respective vocal styles and deliveries, but even I can't make out who's who in something like 'who could win a rabbit' or the chorus of 'summertime clothes'
― flappy bird, Friday, 9 February 2018 19:15 (six years ago) link
I guess David Palmer had a "better" voice than Donald Fagan
― President Keyes, Friday, 9 February 2018 19:21 (six years ago) link
Fagen
― President Keyes, Friday, 9 February 2018 19:22 (six years ago) link
― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Friday, February 9, 2018 6:47 PM
"Couldn't tell Lou Reed from Doug Yule" was an MES taunt. It was supposedly about Bowie
― Dr X O'Skeleton, Friday, 9 February 2018 19:25 (six years ago) link
The Who - Townshend's voice obviously suits some songs much better than Daltrey's, Entwhistle's voice works better on tracks like 'Whiskey Man' and 'My Wife' than Daltrey's would have done, and Moon's theatrical character driven delivery is perfect for 'Bellboy' etc..
― 2018 has to be better (snoball), Friday, 9 February 2018 19:37 (six years ago) link
Also there's Queen - Mercury, May, and Taylor are very different sounding singers.
― 2018 has to be better (snoball), Friday, 9 February 2018 19:39 (six years ago) link
The singers of Animal Collective don't distinguish themselves from each other by the timbre of their voices largely because of the way they're recorded and produced-- lots of layers. They are such polar opposites when it comes to melody-writing and text-setting tho that I always find them easy to tell apart
The Cars are the first band I thought of when I saw this thread title
And I always prefer the female vocalist to the male vocalist except in the case of Blonde Redhead
― flamboyant goon tie included, Friday, 9 February 2018 19:54 (six years ago) link
They are such polar opposites when it comes to melody-writing and text-setting tho that I always find them easy to tell apart
right, and this is a pitfall to look out for itt. separate songwriters in bands may write very different types of songs but still have similar voices. imo the test here is if you can tell the singers apart when they're harmonizing or singing in unison, i.e. Mould & Hart in Husker Du, who always sound distinct even when they're singing the same melody at the same time.
― flappy bird, Friday, 9 February 2018 20:01 (six years ago) link
― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Friday, February 9, 2018 2:14 PM (forty-nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
The Band said they considered Manual to be their lead singer, but it always seemed to be more of an even split. For example, on the self-titled album Manuel sang lead on 5 songs, Helm on 4, and Danko on 3
― hoooyaaargh it's me satan (voodoo chili), Friday, 9 February 2018 20:06 (six years ago) link
The Cars are weird because Orr seemed to have two distinct singing styles, one that sounds really different from Ocasek and one that sounds pretty similar (e.g. on Candy-O)
― soref, Friday, 9 February 2018 20:22 (six years ago) link
Madness : Chas vs Suggs.
i love it when Chas is in charge.
― mark e, Friday, 9 February 2018 20:25 (six years ago) link
Cats eyes - Rachel is a more versatile and engaging singer than the horrors guy
― kolakube (Ross), Friday, 9 February 2018 20:25 (six years ago) link
"I'm trying to think of a rock band with more than one singer of the same sex who sound utterly distinct from each other and I'm having trouble."
Don't think Bob Weir sounds all that much like Jerry Garcia. Back in the 60s early 70s the Dead used to do more gang singing also adding in Phil, but that faded a way as time for the most part as time went on.
― earlnash, Friday, 9 February 2018 20:31 (six years ago) link
first act to occur to me after seeing the thread title was Tears for Fears, and how they started out with pretty much a 50/50 lead vocal split between Curt and Roland on the Hurting before Curt is gradually edged out over the course of the next two albums despite having the better voice
― soref, Friday, 9 February 2018 20:33 (six years ago) link
Both Andy McLusky and Paul Humphreys are average-cabbage singers (whose voices I adore) but I'd edge Paul out over Andy some days
― flamboyant goon tie included, Friday, 9 February 2018 20:44 (six years ago) link
Not really pertinent to this original question but I love that chronologically the first voice you hear on a Neu! record is two-and-a-half albums in and it is Michael Rother whispering and simpering pathetically, only for Klaus to start screaming endlessly and perfectly a track later
― flamboyant goon tie included, Friday, 9 February 2018 20:48 (six years ago) link
any of the wilburys songs not primarily sung by orbison
― mookieproof, Friday, 9 February 2018 20:50 (six years ago) link
Joe Goddard > Alexis Taylor in Hot Chip, especially as Taylor has gotten slightly worse since their second album
― Haribo Hancock (sic), Friday, 9 February 2018 21:05 (six years ago) link
The Flaming Lips should let Steven Drozd sing lead on more songs
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Saturday, 10 February 2018 16:48 (six years ago) link
they'd certainly be less irritating without wayne
― global tetrahedron, Saturday, 10 February 2018 17:00 (six years ago) link
Joy Division
― brotherlovesdub, Saturday, 10 February 2018 17:03 (six years ago) link
No
― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Saturday, 10 February 2018 17:05 (six years ago) link
I suppose you are the expert. Well argued. I would delete my comment if I could but my humiliation will just have to live on.
― brotherlovesdub, Saturday, 10 February 2018 17:06 (six years ago) link
https://senselessramblingsofthemindless.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/butthurt.jpg
― Hi diddley dee, hen fapper's life for me (Neanderthal), Saturday, 10 February 2018 17:22 (six years ago) link
Massively butthurt. How could I not be with that take down! Fortunately taste isn’t subjective.
― brotherlovesdub, Saturday, 10 February 2018 17:29 (six years ago) link
Jeez, dude. I wasn't pulling rank or even making an argument, just expressing a more-or-less irrational but strong personal disagreement on that particular opinion. 2xp
― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Saturday, 10 February 2018 17:31 (six years ago) link
Hook sounds a bit like Chris Rea here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U08U2RbqFi8
― soref, Saturday, 10 February 2018 18:20 (six years ago) link
while obv not the case overall, I do think oates's gives his all to songs like 'friday let me down' whereas hall would sleepwalk his way through it, so theres usually an oates banger on each of their albums. Also noticed between song like this, 'youve lost that loving feeling' and 'alone too long' that poor old oates seems to live quite the lonely existence :(
― yermawsjawsonmahbaws, Saturday, 10 February 2018 18:59 (six years ago) link
ZZ Top. Bassist Dusty Hill tends to sing a song or two per album and has a much higher, cleaner voice than Billy Gibbons.
― grawlix (unperson), Saturday, 10 February 2018 19:06 (six years ago) link
I know Suzanna Hoffs has the more distinctive voice, but I feel like Michael Steele and the Peterson sisters have prettier voices.
― LeRooLeRoo, Sunday, 11 February 2018 16:31 (six years ago) link