| Boy Thomas Raker 07.02.2006 13:08 |
Last night I listened to Sail Away Sweet Sister for the first time in a long time, and forgot what a wonderful singer Brian was in Queen. Hearing '39, Long Away, All Dead, All Dead, the man was/is a guitar legend, amazing writer but his vocals and his ability to deliver a song for a 'once an album' guy were fantastic. Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Pete Townshend are among the few guitar heroes who are also renowned as singers, I'm just curious where some of the SERIOUS music fans would place Brian as a singing guitarist, based on his Queen work only as I don't think he has a voice suited to hard rock music as shown by his solo output. Thoughts? |
| Micrówave 07.02.2006 13:59 |
No offense, but I think Brian is best as the 2nd or backing vocalist. Big difference in BTTL and AW, although I would guess the studio equipment had a lot to do with that. |
| lizardmaker 07.02.2006 14:57 |
As Brian himself says on the video commentary for ANATO, he only sang the songs that he thought would lose their meaning when presented in Freddie's style. Although Brian lacks serious vocal strength and chops, the earnestness of his delivery is just perfect for things like Sail Away, Sweet Sister and 39. That said, it would have been fascinating to hear Freddie sing Sail Away, Sweet Sister. |
| rhyeking 07.02.2006 18:07 |
Studio equipment cannot make a bad singer sound good, at least not and still be recognizable as the original vocalist. Yes, recording equipment is technically better than it was 30 years ago, but the singer still has to be able to actually *sing*. Brian is a perfectly respectable singer and he definately came into his own between Back To The Light and Another World. The tracks on Another World were recorded over five years, after the Light Tour, which gave Brian what every singer needs to develop: practice. As far back as Someday One Day, Brian was good. Solo touring and recording forced him to get better, and better he became. He's certainly much better than even he gives himself credit for. He knows how to use the equipment he's got and makes the most of it. What makes a good (or great) singer? Range? Volume? Or whether your vocals are suited to the songs you sing. A song is not just the lyrics, the vocals, the high notes or the low-notes, but how they all fit together, along with every other instrument in the recording. That said, I want another solo album, and right soon! |
| jchensf 07.02.2006 22:38 |
Hi Rhyeking! I respectfully have to disagree with you. Using products like Antares Auto Tune, you can take a marginal singer and make them sound like they hit it out of the park. link Case in point, there are a LOT of current pop singers that can't pull it off live, but have sold millions of records. The producers are more computer programmers than record producers. I once saw a single song by a pop songstress that had over 300 edits in a simple 4 minute song. You couldn't do that with a 2 inch 24 track master in the old analog days. |
| john bodega 07.02.2006 22:45 |
This isn't going to make any sense, but try to stay with me: Brian May is an *incredible* singer, emotive and usually pretty good in the studio. But his voice just isn't designed for certain things. For instance, it's not quite made for the high stuff really. Great singer, not-as-great voicebox. Having said that, I loved Resurrection. :D |
| Mr. Barcelona 07.02.2006 23:57 |
I'm not crazy about brians voice, he sings a nice ballad but he lacks power. Roger is a much better singer, a man that could sing hard rock with the accasional ballad. ROTC (love of my life) he sounds like a dying animal in certain parts of the song. |
| Rotwang 08.02.2006 07:47 |
Brian has a good voice for the songs he sang with Queen. However, when he hits the higher notes his voice becomes nasally and somewhat annoying. He does have a "universal" voice that can blend with other vocalists to produce beautiful harmonies. |
| escuderodelareina 08.02.2006 08:30 |
brian is good for some songs, but he cán´t sing others tracks, for example,like the hitman (we can hear that and i´ts terrible in the demo version). but for the backin vocals was very very good.by the way; somebody listened the spanish version of another world? i´ts a shit.sorry, brian. |
| Adam Baboolal 08.02.2006 09:44 |
jchensf wrote: Hi Rhyeking! I respectfully have to disagree with you. Using products like Antares Auto Tune, you can take a marginal singer and make them sound like they hit it out of the park. link Case in point, there are a LOT of current pop singers that can't pull it off live, but have sold millions of records. The producers are more computer programmers than record producers. I once saw a single song by a pop songstress that had over 300 edits in a simple 4 minute song. You couldn't do that with a 2 inch 24 track master in the old analog days.Oh how I laughed when I saw that autotune makes you sound good. It's not that cut and dry. Heck, not even Melodyne is that good! There's a video on the Melodyne site where you see a BBC reporter using the latter to see if it can help him sound better. It was very dodgy sounding before and even after. A marginal improvement. Seek out that BBC video here - link You still have to be have a decent singer. But of course, I think what you meant is that take after take (present day and olden days) will still be better than either of those processing units. It's usually faster and headache free. No one-in-all unit is going to help JoeBloggs get anywhere. Now, Brian is a great singer. The difference between BTTL and AW is pretty huge. You can hear it in business or Wilderness. He's certainly one of the more pleasant lead guitarist gone singer types out there. Peace, Adam. |
| Asterik 08.02.2006 12:29 |
Brian's voice suited ballads definitely and his rendition of 39 is far better than Fred's live one. However he struggles on the more powerful songs- he just doesn't have the strength to carry the words. Live for example, I very rarely hear him in the mix but subtract his voice and perhaps you would notice a difference. |
| The Real Wizard 08.02.2006 12:56 |
Asterik wrote: Live for example, I very rarely hear him in the mix but subtract his voice and perhaps you would notice a difference.It really depends on the concert. He was more confident on some nights than others in the later years, but in the early years, he always sang, and their three-part harmonies were fantastic. Check out any 74-76 shows for proof, especially the Japanese recordings. |
| Last Cyborg 08.02.2006 13:56 |
lizardmaker wrote: As Brian himself says on the video commentary for ANATO, he only sang the songs that he thought would lose their meaning when presented in Freddie's style.That hits the nail on the head really. Take "Too Much Love Will Kill You", a song all about a fragile, scared vunerable man, with a complete lack of confidence or hope, basically falling to pieces... Brian's voice is perfect for that song. Freddie's so confident and powerful on the Queen version, as if he's in full control of the situation and everything's okay. Couldn't be more wrong for the song. Generally though, Brian's voice isn't really that amazing, hence I guess why his mic seems to be almost off for most of the concerts. I always think it's funny how Queen started off with Roger as the band's second singer (singing parts of Black Queen and the BBC Doin' Alright when they weren't even his songs, singing a song on Queen I where Brian wouldn't until Queen II, having his high pitched screams as predominant features of the first few albums, having his mic way louder than Brian's at the concerts) and then gradually Brian became the band's second singer instead (sharing lead with Freddie on Flash, Who Wants To Live Forever, I Want It All, Mother Love and Let Me Live, and doing most of the vocals on No-One But You, whilst Roger's only lead parts of the post GH1 albums are his verse and bridge in Let Me Live, and his backing vocals / screams etc are also much less prominant in the later albums). Never made sense to me as Roger, although very different in style to Freddie, has confidence and power in buckets, whereas Brian just doesn't. |
| Boy Thomas Raker 08.02.2006 15:18 |
Good post Last Cyborg. I loved Brian's version of TMLWKY for the reasons you stated, and hated Freddie's for the same reasons. When I saw and heard Brian sing "I'm just a shadow of the man I used to be" at Freddie's tribute, it was crushing. Brian was always the most vulnerable member of Queen, and his words had a poignancy that Freddie's would have never had. |
| gnomo 08.02.2006 15:21 |
IMHO, he can be a pretty good singer - WHEN he stops trying to sing like the Red Special and simply sings like Brian May. Of course, most rock songs will always be out of his reach, but he can be quite good even in areas one would not expect - "Teasin' Around", any? FWIW |
| Great King Sam 08.02.2006 15:28 |
gnomo wrote: IMHO, he can be a pretty good singer - WHEN he stops trying to sing like the Red Special and simply sings like Brian May. Of course, most rock songs will always be out of his reach, but he can be quite good even in areas one would not expect - "Teasin' Around", any? FWIWGlad you mentioned Teasin' Around - that is one hell of a vocal track by Brian (even though he says it kills him to sing it with such force). I love his bluesy stuff, think it's class, he's far more suited to that in my opinion (Sleepin' On The Sidewalk, Teasin' Around, Let Me Out...). Did any one hear the track he did with Jimmy Gnecco for Spiderman 2 called Someone To Die For? Great track with great guitars, and I love the guys vocals anyway, but I wonder what it could have sounded like with Bri on vocals? |
| Rik&Roll 09.02.2006 04:39 |
Brian has good singing-skills, he just lacks the VOICE of a great singer, like FM and RT are/were. Because of his steadiness and stuff, he is a magnificent backing vocalist, and always gets away with singing lead. But getting away with it is not the same as PERFORMING a song like Roger and Freddie. For instance, it took me four years to recognize the greatness of ´39. It took Live Killers. |
| Asterik 09.02.2006 05:38 |
I am in disagreeance about TMLWKY. I think Fred's vocal is magnificent- harrowing and beutiful. Funnily enough I think that song needs some power- otherwise it would crumple altogether. |
| FriedChicken 10.02.2006 15:18 |
I agree with Adam, Stuff like antares is great. And Melodyne is even better. But it can't change a terrible singer in a great singer. It can change the pitches, but you can't change a horrible sounding voice in a wonderful sounding voice. |
| john bodega 10.02.2006 22:46 |
"I think Fred's vocal is magnificent- harrowing and beutiful." Freddie turns in a magnificent performance in that song, and coming from him the song gives a different meaning (not that AIDS one that all those morons argued about years ago... jeeze) but... I don't know, there's something about Brian's version that just seems more personal. |
| Asterik 12.02.2006 06:48 |
yes I think you have a point there- I suppose it's hard to compare two entirely different singers. |
| val 29467 13.02.2006 08:44 |
I think Brian May is a very good singer, he's got a very beautiful voice, much better than Roger Taylor. Brian's voice is very sexy, listen to Driven By You, I love that song. TMLWKY: I like both versions, but somehow brian's voice is better for the song, a bit less strong than freddie's |
| FriedChicken 13.02.2006 09:28 |
I've said it before and i'll say it again Freddie sings the song brilliantly, but Brian delivers it. |
| The Real Wizard 14.02.2006 22:36 |
FriedChicken<br><font size=1>The Almighty</font> wrote: I've said it before and i'll say it again Freddie sings the song brilliantly, but Brian delivers it.Yup, agreed. |
| beautifulsoup 18.02.2006 17:15 |
I've been reading this topic, and trying to think about how to articulate my feelings about Brian's voice and singing. He's really quite talented. While I'm thinking about what to say and how to say it... I'll just say that right this moment, I'm listening to "Let me Live," and it inspired me to come in here and say that I like to hear him cut loose like that. Go, Brian! |
| TheImpossibleMan 18.02.2006 17:38 |
I think Brian is a superb singer, but his voice is too soft and tender for him to be lead vocal on anything other than love ballads or softer rocker ('39, Sail Away Sweet Sister, Long Away). Part of the reason I think he wasn't as successful as a solo artist is that he likes to write a lot of hard rock songs, but he just isn't a hard rock singer. |
| deleted user 18.02.2006 18:43 |
He hasnt got the most powerful voice in the world but its certainly unique,in a good way.Some day, one day really suited him I thought |
| Dicky Hart 18.02.2006 20:10 |
i do think brian has a good voice, certainly improved as he has got older, the touring helped with him as front man, its is. I feel, slightly ironic, for the guy who wrote the big rock tunes, he just didnt have the power to vocally get it out there,hey that was freddies job anyway, but if you have ever heard Brian speak, he is gently spoken anyway. |
| john bodega 18.02.2006 23:57 |
"he likes to write a lot of hard rock songs, but he just isn't a hard rock singer." I agree on every point there. But you know, I still like "Resurrection". Dunno why, I just do! |
| mike hunt 19.02.2006 01:01 |
Stop trying to make brian into a legit singer. Roger is a much more legit vocalist, but I admit brian is good for one or two soft songs per album. I agree he somehow pulled off resurrection. |
| The Real Wizard 19.02.2006 02:11 |
Brian's voice has its strong points and weak points, but he totally shines on Resurrection and Wilderness. Those are probably my favourite Brian solo tracks. |
| john bodega 19.02.2006 07:48 |
"Stop trying to make brian into a legit singer." Now hang about, I don't have to. He is. "All Dead, All Dead" speaks volumes compared to the weak idea that he's 'crap'. "Roger is a much more legit vocalist" Hmmm... I'd actually rate them equal, in terms of which I like to listen to. But I have to admit that Roger has a tremendously powerful voice in the upper register! "but I admit brian is good for one or two soft songs per album." I don't like listening to 10 Brian songs in a row, put it that way. I mix it up. "I agree he somehow pulled off resurrection." I concur. |
| beautifulsoup 20.02.2006 23:16 |
As I've thought about this over several days, I keep coming to the same conclusion. (Hope I don't get flamed). But Brian's voice and moreso his singing remind me of George Harrison. Wait - I'll explain! Brian's voice has (as George's did), a tenuous quality that is well suited to the lyric ballads, and his expression is often genuine *in its way,* and introspective - not over the top. I remember some thread here way back where someone described Brian's voice as sounding "American." LOL, I'm from the States, and regrettably, I have to say that I understand that comment. His vowels seem under-pronounced at times, "flat" if you will (although not entirely flat in pitch). Like Harrison. And he can stand alone as a satisfactory vocalist, depending on the song - yet works very well in back-up vocals - by not being a "stand out" - I mean, you don't end up saying, "Eck - there's Brian May's voice sticking out." (Again, like Harrison. To hear Harrison sing alone, I'm surprised that his voice blended so well with the others). JMO. Having said that, I truly do like Brian's voice on many songs. |
| john bodega 21.02.2006 09:24 |
Hey man, no flame from me, you're spot on. |
| beautifulsoup 17.03.2006 12:43 |
Holy crap. Just listened to "No One But You." (I hadn't in a while). Brian really pulled out all the stops on that third verse! Wow. Not the greatest voice ever, but as I said before, he has a genuine expression. Maybe it was the subject matter... ...but he can do it. |
| john bodega 19.03.2006 06:25 |
But of course! I've always liked his singing in that song - the last verse at LEAST shows he is more than capable. |
| RETROLOVE 20.03.2006 06:53 |
Yeah, he sound really good in "No one but you," he really could get up, at least to me he could... |
| spymyshadow 20.03.2006 10:09 |
it's hard to be reputed a good singer when working together with freddie. |
| beautifulsoup 20.03.2006 13:19 |
They are definitely different from one another, as is Roger from the two of them. They are three totally different singers, with different timbres and singing styles. Which is one reason why I *love* to listen to "Let Me Live." It's one of my fave Queen songs. |
| john bodega 20.03.2006 22:10 |
This thread should have 3 pages. |
| g2000 21.03.2006 11:47 |
I think brian is unlucky really. If he came out by himself it would be just the way he sang, no one would question it at all. But because hes in queen his voice will always be compared to freddie, which must be very difficult. I think bono has an effective voice, but if he was in the same band as freddie maybe wed be saying bonos voice is crap as well. though i do think that brians voice isnt suited to hard rock tracks. |
| john bodega 21.03.2006 23:03 |
"I think bono has an effective voice, but if he was in the same band as freddie maybe wed be saying bonos voice is crap as well" I've been saying that for years. Nah, I like some of his older music but he's gone weird of late. "though i do think that brians voice isnt suited to hard rock tracks." And I agree. Though I have to say Resurrection is an amazing achievement for him. |
| beautifulsoup 22.03.2006 00:11 |
Okay - I'm ready to branch out. Which solo effort of Brian's should I purchase first? |
| john bodega 23.03.2006 09:49 |
beautifulsoup wrote: Okay - I'm ready to branch out. Which solo effort of Brian's should I purchase first?All of them. To be serious for a moment I'm not really familiar with the Another World album. Though I hear his singing is much further developed in that album. Back to the Light is a nice album, I really like "Resurrection" and "Nothing But Blue". I'd say go for that one first merely because it's the only one I've heard much of. |
| beautifulsoup 23.03.2006 13:43 |
I've listened to snippets of both over at <<<whispers>>> QOL... ...and I've ordered both "Back to the Light" and "Another World" from Amazon. :) (And I have to say...one of the snippets, I got that definite George Harrison vibe that I talked about some posts back). |
| beautifulsoup 24.05.2006 13:15 |
Zebonka12 wrote:Yes, I'm resurrecting this thread.beautifulsoup wrote: Okay - I'm ready to branch out. Which solo effort of Brian's should I purchase first?All of them. To be serious for a moment I'm not really familiar with the Another World album. Though I hear his singing is much further developed in that album. Back to the Light is a nice album, I really like "Resurrection" and "Nothing But Blue". I'd say go for that one first merely because it's the only one I've heard much of. Zebonka12, please do become familiar with the "Another World" album. It's worth it. :) |
| john bodega 24.05.2006 13:41 |
Aye I intend to! |
| beautifulsoup 24.05.2006 16:24 |
And I've moved over to the "Brian Camp" as far as the *singing* of TMLWKY. I adore Freddie's voice and his singing (heck, he's my fave), but TMLWKY really does belong to Brian. (It almost hurt to say that, LOL). |
| john bodega 24.05.2006 23:04 |
It's funny that, but you're right in doing so. Freddie's singing is *magnificent* in that song, and in some of the verses he does sound quite emotional but - I just don't know if the delivery matches the subject matter the same way as in Brian's version. |
| clairepowell 26.05.2006 07:10 |
Stop paying him out. Sometimes I actually prefer his voice to Freddie's. Sometimes I even prefer Roger's voice (very similar to Roger Daltrey of The Who I must say). I wonder what John would sound like? I imagine him with a voice like Marianne Faithfull's. Hahaha. |
| beautifulsoup 26.05.2006 10:53 |
Heck. I appreciate them all. :) And I was making fun of myself three posts up because *I* realize that I am uber-obsessed with Freddie's voice. |