Favorite "bad" singers...

D

Dogsinplastic

avuncular to no one
To clarify, bad in this case is about these folks not being well-regarded or particularly appreciated for their vocals. Usually, they aren't at all bad by any objective measure, but they tend to raise the ire of the vocal police or their voice just isn't for some folks.

The inspiration for this is that I'm listening to Victoria Williams' Loose album and remembering when a friend visited us a couple of decades ago and we were playing an album of Victoria's. This friend was actually a music fan and very good singer herself, but she had NO appreciation of Victoria's tone or timbre. Something along the lines of, "Who's this? She's awful!" or "She can't sing at all!"

So Victoria Williams is on my list of favorite "bad" singers. Others include:
- Neil Young, actually one of my favorite singers, as well as songwriters...
- Bob Dylan
- Tom Waits
- Leonard Cohen

Who you got?
 
John Hiatt, perhaps. I am a huge fan, but friends I tried sharing him or Elvis Costello with back in the day were not impressed. which adds:
Elvis Costello.
 
Well, we definitely need to add Ozzy and Lemmy to this list.


I suppose if you're thinking "Classically Trained" you could put Bon Scott on there, but I'd probably punch someone in the throat over that one. :helper:
 
I will be seeing Bob Dylan this evening in Williamsport, PA. It'll be interesting to hear his voice live on tour. I've never seen him before in person.
 
I like Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, but some people close to me say they can only take him in small doses.

Mark Knopfler and Lou Reed are two people I think get around the singing issue largely by speaking their vocals more than singing them.
 
iamjethro said:
John Hiatt, perhaps. I am a huge fan, but friends I tried sharing him or Elvis Costello with back in the day were not impressed. which adds:
Elvis Costello.
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Great examples. John's got one of those gritty voices that some folks don't appreciate...big fan myself. Elvis is a really great singer, but his music and personality aren't for everyone.
 
cuffdc said:
I like Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, but some people close to me say they can only take him in small doses.

Mark Knopfler and Lou Reed are two people I think get around the singing issue largely by speaking their vocals more than singing them.
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Lou is another great example. Love Lou and don't particularly want to hear anyone else singing his awesome songs.

Mark is an obvious choice by proxy. My dad has told me a few times about when he and some of his friends first heard Dire Straits they were wondering when and where Dylan got this amazing guitar player. When they finally found out that it wasn't Dylan, they were all quite surprised. Knopfler definitely has a Dylan-esque quality, but seems to have been a "better" singer overall. Less whiny in tone, but very similar tone and vibe.
 
Tom DeLong.
I dig this cat's style.

He looks and sounds like George McFly.
You be the judge:
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Stick around for Tom to sing his part.
 
frunobulax said:
Rory Gallagher

I couldn't get past the vocals to appreciate the guitar playing.
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The guy like this for me is Richard Thompson. Objectively amazing guitar player, but everything about his voice hits my ears wrong...can't listen to him. But this digresses from the topic of bad singers we like.
 
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