Top 16 Rock Vocalists Who Inspire Me

Originally published here: http://shutter16.com/wp/2011/07/20/top-16-rock-vocalists-who-inspire-me/ 1. Brent Smith (Shinedown) – While I’m not too keen on the over-produced sound on their newest album, I can’t deny that Brent Smith is a fantastic singer. He’s just as great live, too, which is pretty rare these days. I just wish the band would go back to a more raw, rock-oriented sound rather than the fuzzy, homogenous radio mix. 2. Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave) – I’m not sure I can think of a vocalist with versatility like that in the hard rock genre who can top this guy. He has a bag of tricks for vocal effects from smooth to raspy and everything in between, great control, and a killer range. I’ve heard he’s not so good live, but not having seen him myself, I will maintain my illusions for now. 3. Phil Collins (Genesis, solo) – … So he’s on the lighter side of rock. So sue me. Some people may judge me for this choice, but YOU try to sing “Against All Odds” with that kind of flexibility and control that’s still drenched in emotion. If you can do it better than Phil, then judge me. 4. Glen Phillips/Todd Nichols (Toad the Wet Sprocket, Solo/Lapdog) – Since we’re talking about the lighter side of things, I’ve got to admit that I still think Toad the Wet Sprocket’s album “Dulcinea” might be my favorite album ever recorded. I have to put both of them on here instead of just Glen, the lead vocalist, because the harmonies are one of the things that makes this band’s vocals as amazing as they are. However, Glen and Todd both have some wildly large vocal ranges and write some of the most well-thought-out vocal lines and lyrics with which I’ve ever had the pleasure of singing along. 5. Maynard James Keenan (A Perfect Circle, Tool, Puscifer) – When most people think of Maynard James Keenan, they think of Tool. I like Tool, don’t get me wrong, but the melodies in A Perfect Circle are what really get to me about him: the power, the range, the beauty of controlled dissonance. That, and the fact that he can write lyrics in Tool that are so hateful and disgusting and turn right around and write something as beautiful as “3 Libras” just baffles me. 6. Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver) – I don’t want to be one of those drug pushers, but I must confess that I thought his work with STP was better before Scott went to rehab. “Core” was one of the first albums I ever bought that I listened to from start to finish just about every time, singing along to every word. “Purple” was like that, too, and some of Velvet Revolver’s songs kicked a lot of ass as well, but it’s been pretty hit or miss for STP since “Purple.” Still, he put on one of the best live shows of any major label band I’ve seen in the past 10 years of concert-going. 7. Aaron Lewis (Staind) – If you listened to Staind’s first album “Tormented,” you would probably wonder how the hell they got a record deal with that assault on the ears, but Aaron Lewis has come a long way since then. Finally shedding his self-flagellating, angry shell for some more muted melodic rock, the “Break the Cycle” album has some of the most breathtaking vocal lines I’ve ever heard. Compare “Epiphany” off that record to “Self Destruct” from their first record, and you’ll see what I mean. 8. Amy Lee (Evanescence) – No surprises there, I’m sure, if you’ve ever heard my band tattermask. Amy Lee finally grabbed the idea that Lacuna Coil had made underground headway with and brought female-fronted melodic metal into the mainstream. Of all the vocalists here, she inspired me the most, personally. She proved that female singers can succeed at metal without screaming like banshees. 9. Brad Delp (Boston) – Back before the days of Autotune and digital pitch correction, Brad Delp was squealing out high notes and sounding awesome doing so. It’s hard to respect modern day vocalists who rely on digital effects to make their high notes pop when people in the ’70s and ’80s could do it organically. Not only was his high range impressive, his lyrics were insightful and his melodies fun to sing. 10. Steve Perry (Journey) – Another throwback artist with an impressive upper range, Steve Perry wrote some of the biggest ’80s power ballads of all time that are still all over the classic rock radio–and Family Guy’s karaoke episode. 11. Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace) – Unlike other artists, Raine Maida fearlessly did something different with his voice that no one else was doing–super-high, nasal falsetto. Maybe not everyone digs the sound, but his voice is definitely distinguishable from the rest of the pack. He has a lot of control, bending his voice all over the place and trying a lot of unconventional things with odd pitch intervals and controlled dissonance. His lyrics, too, are intelligent, cryptic, and make a lot of cultural and literary references that not everyone would catch, which I love. He also helped write write and produce some pop songs for two of my favorite female vocalists: Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson. Not only do I respect his choices as a vocalist, I can appreciate his choices as a producer as well. 12. Chris Daughtry (Daughtry) – Remember when American Idol was still American Idol, a competition to become a singer as opposed to a sideshow of fame-rabid freaks? That’s when Chris Daughtry was on the show, and I actually watched. He lost, but I don’t even remember who actually won that season, yet I own Daughtry’s CD. Getting fame and fortune without all of the red tape… I think that’s a “win.” 13. Alanis Morrisette (Solo) – Whether or not she knows what irony actually is, it’s Alanis’s “You Oughta Know” that let the rocker inside her come out to play. Such an angry song with one hell of a power-wailing chorus, that’s the one that impressed me. Even after belting it out a thousand times, I still love that song. I think some of her other work, including her hilariously melodramatic cover of Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps” was pretty good, too. 14. Brandon Boyd (Incubus) – I like how distinctive Brandon Boyd’s voice is and how those fifths harmonies he does are so classic for that band, yet never get over-used. I’ve also found myself connecting very deeply with his lyrics, especially to “Drive.,” what a great song. 15. Layne Staley/Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains) – This is another duo where the harmonies between two equally awesome voices are what really make the band. It hasn’t been the same since Layne passed on, but that’s what CDs are for. I’ve always admired the duet in the song “No Excuses” as a standout piece for having extraordinarily different melodies working together to create a bad-ass vocal line, and I love the three-part harmonies for which Alice in Chains is famous. 16. Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) – Last, but not least, on my list is one of the most talented musicians in mainstream rock today: I admire so much about Dave Grohl and his holistic approach to music. On Foo Fighters’ first CD, Dave played all the main instruments himself. Despite somewhat simple beginnings as a singer/songwriter with the verse-chorus-verse debut album, Dave Grohl has blossomed into a singer who goes beyond conventional rhythm and song layout patterns and seeks to weave together all the parts of the song instead of just embroidering vocals on top of everything else. I’m definitely going to be seeing them on their tour this fall. They’ve changed astronomically since I saw them in 1995, I’m sure.