There's a wee debate going on in another thread between mercuryking - who calls freddie the greatest singer ever - and thomasquinn, who disagrees.
So it got me thinking (and I don't care if its been done before) - what are YOUR opinions on this?
I personally think its freddie, but I'm not at all broad minded when it comes to music.
So, whilst Freddie may be everyone's favourite, I'd like to know who you think could be actually be regarded as the greatest?
The floor belongs to you :)
Can this question really be answered? Is there THE greatest singer? Because in my opinion this comes down to few factors: range, tone, technique and other aspects of a voice. There might be people with extraordinary range but they simply don't have "that acuity, spike" or however you call it, which might be this tone that is particulary likable about the voice - the grit, the smoothness etc. Some people might prefer this, some that. But is there a perfect combination of all technical aspects of voice in one person? For some people the word "best" might also associate with "iconic". I don't consider Freddie the best vocalist on the Earth, but since he's so iconic, since I love his gritty voice, his vibrato, pitch etc, for me he's my favourite singer. He has that magic that grabbed me, while some technically better vocalists don't seem to have that effect on me. I consider Freddie one of the best out there though, certainly not the best that has lived (who's the best anyway??) but he's definately mentionable in history books.
People have different characteristics in voice. But which is better and which worse? Not sure. I guess at the end of the day that might come down to each individual's personal preference of how the perfect voice should sound. I, however, would never use the word "best" or "the greatest", but *one of the best*. Hope I made sense. My opinion might be invalid though because I'm quite narrow-minded when it comes to music.
Some good vids.
^ yep, I get you mouse rapist, and of course there are several factors to consider. But what I'm looking for is, for talking sake, what would make Matt Monroe better quality than Sinatra, Michael Jackson more enjoyable to listen to than Billy Joel, or Susan Boyle drone over Toyah Wilcox? Those names are just thrown in obviously, but basically, what floats yer boat, and why?
For me basically, it's that magic that gets you the first time you hear something. It just happens that you suddenly feel this urge to replay this bit which you think sounds amazing, for some reason. I prefer gritty singers and power. Fred has it when he wants to add it and it's great! I particulary like Michael Jackson too because of how contrasted his voice can be. He is generally known for his smooth and high voice and sweet falcettos. He does that beautifully. But there's this rocker side of him. Great grit and power in songs like "Earth Song", "We've Had Enough", "Morphine", "Man In The Mirror", "Give Into Me", "Dirty Diana". He isn't the best vocalist either (really great one though, I'd like to add), but he's unique given his tone and contrast. He could actually speak baritone if he wanted to but for some reason he said "I don't like it down there, I like it up there", that was his style.
As to why exactly some set this spark in me and some not, I cannot explain. That doesn't make them worse singers though.
IMHO, there's no such thing as a single greatest singer, as there are so many factors, some of them mutually contradictory, that make up good singing. Some songs / styles require things from a singer that would be awful in another style (can you imagine a 'talking blues' being sung by an operatic tenor, or Bohemian Rhapsody by an old blues guitarist with a vocal range of 2/3rds of an octave?). It's the same problem as choosing the 'best' rock guitarist, or the 'best' jazz saxophonist - it's a matter of personal preference, context and selectivity.
The above is why I can't accept a phrase like "Freddie was the greatest singer ever" as fact.
Mercuryking wrote:
If you can't understand why Freddie is the best singer of all time, then you know nothing about singing or music AT ALL.
Gotcha. Thanks for informing me of this, Mr. Supreme Music Expert. I shall make sure to come to you next time I have an opinion about music and am not sure if it's correct or not.
No problem, don't hesitate. You can ask what you want and maybe eventually you won't need to ask anymore and then understand why he is the best singer ever.
Probably the wrong place to say this, being a Queen forum and everything -
But seriously, I listen to Queen multitracks and I have to be realistic and say that Freddie didn't always have what you could describe as an 'attractive' voice. It's hard for me to articulate what I mean by that, but what I'm getting at is that crapping on about who the best singer is - it's meaningless if that singer isn't applied to good music.
Ronnie James Dio was as good as Freddie, you can take that to the bank. But the guy did not have a Bohemian Rhapsody. He spent most of his decades-long career making music that was basically naff - exceptions, obviously, are littered throughout, but that's how it was on balance.
All this 'greatest singer' nonsense - I love it. There were/are singers who can go higher, lower, louder, quieter, and do it with more control than Freddie did. These pissing matches about who is 'better' usually leave out the important matter of how that skill is applied to making actual music. Old Fred had a very imperfect instrument that wasn't always reliable - it's what he effing did with it that matters.
That's funny because I've always thought Freddie's loud S's are part of what makes him - for all of the great tribute singers that copy him (they do exist), I don't think I've ever heard one that got that sound right.