Exactly how good of a vocalist was Axl compared to the greats?

[Iron MikeyJ]

Bruce DIckinson, Freddie Mercury and Bon Scott are higher in my list but Axl was pretty decent. One of the best for sure. But yes, it depends on taste, for example, for me Mick Jagger is not that good.

I really like Bon Scott, he was ac/dc imo, but I always felt axl was an improved version of Bon. Axl in his prime had more highs and better lows. I think Axl sounds better on whole lotta rosie than Bon does. Of course im talking about prime axl.

On a side note, Steve Perry always gets left out. Journey are not one of my favs, but as far as pure vocilists go, he can give em all a run for their money. Honestly I think he might even have a higher range than freddie.

Edited August 17, 2013 by Mike420

[Young_Gun]

Mike Patton on anyone's list?

[ClaudeF]

Still one of the best. Not just because of his range but because of what he does with it.

[trqster]

This Axl Rose had the power, the range, the control to go head to head with anyone back in the day.

[Eu4ic]

Axl should be on the top10 list of the best voices in Rock. Without thinking too much I can come up with a bunch of names of singers in rock who have both Technic (how you control your voice and your range) and charisma, like: freddie, bruce, bach (one of the most underrated singers in rock/metal), dio, halford, plant, tyler, gillan...given Axl's prime, he definitely deserves a spot among the greatest of all time.

The thing is, as a singer myself, I think what makes someone a great singer is not only what they could do in their prime, but how they maintained that high level of quality throughout their career. That is when Axl loses ranking, in my opinion. I'm not bashing Axl's voice or whatever, but he was never consistent, even during his heydays, just watch any bootleg from '91 and then another from '92/'93 for proof. On the other hand, guys like bruce, freddie, bach, dio and tyler managed to keep on a good level of quality, regardless of age, drug addiction, mishandling of your instrument at some point of their career and so on - that is why I think these guys deserve to be ranked higher than Axl, since the talk here is being the best SINGER not the best FRONTMAN. As a frontman Axl only loses to Freddie!

PS: I give more credit to singers who are able to sing stuff other than rock and roll. Take Sebastian Bach for example: the guy is a truly metalhead born to sing metal, but take a listen to the things he sang in Broadway and you'll be astonished! Being a great rock/metal singer doesn't necessarily mean you can do well on broadway for instance - I don't think Dio would do a good job in a gig like this - and I respect a lot more those who can do things other than only rock/metal because they are good SINGERS not only good ROCK SINGERS.

I think consistency is overrated. Axl is about challenging things and doing things differently. Most guys find their style and stay with it, but that's what artists DONT do. If I mention '02 voice, '06 voice, '10 voice, people know what I mean. It adds a mystique and artistic credibility to Axl as a vocalist. My money is that Axl can do whatever he wants, still. Since rocking his ass off in '10 and not having any dates set up for a triumphant return to the US, he was bummed and played it safe for a couple years, but from what I heard I think he can still lay down IRS-level tracks with practice. Also I think its unfair to compare Axl to Freddie because the former looked up to the latter, who is also deceased, which complicates things.

Edited August 17, 2013 by Eu4ic

[Sigh]

Rose v. Jagger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzZXXCDakjY

[Pinball Wizard]

Axl should be on the top10 list of the best voices in Rock. Without thinking too much I can come up with a bunch of names of singers in rock who have both Technic (how you control your voice and your range) and charisma, like: freddie, bruce, bach (one of the most underrated singers in rock/metal), dio, halford, plant, tyler, gillan...given Axl's prime, he definitely deserves a spot among the greatest of all time.

The thing is, as a singer myself, I think what makes someone a great singer is not only what they could do in their prime, but how they maintained that high level of quality throughout their career. That is when Axl loses ranking, in my opinion. I'm not bashing Axl's voice or whatever, but he was never consistent, even during his heydays, just watch any bootleg from '91 and then another from '92/'93 for proof. On the other hand, guys like bruce, freddie, bach, dio and tyler managed to keep on a good level of quality, regardless of age, drug addiction, mishandling of your instrument at some point of their career and so on - that is why I think these guys deserve to be ranked higher than Axl, since the talk here is being the best SINGER not the best FRONTMAN. As a frontman Axl only loses to Freddie!

PS: I give more credit to singers who are able to sing stuff other than rock and roll. Take Sebastian Bach for example: the guy is a truly metalhead born to sing metal, but take a listen to the things he sang in Broadway and you'll be astonished! Being a great rock/metal singer doesn't necessarily mean you can do well on broadway for instance - I don't think Dio would do a good job in a gig like this - and I respect a lot more those who can do things other than only rock/metal because they are good SINGERS not only good ROCK SINGERS.

Great post. Bach is a great vocalist and has very impressive range. He even bagged out Scott Weiland for having no range hehe. Is it possible to maintain the vocals as one gets older or is it just a fact that they deteriorate in time?

The vocal chords as well as the respiratory system do deteriorate with time, so yeah the vocals change as you get older. But you can minimize the effects if you take care of yourself, if you exercise your body and all...there's a guy called Ted Neeley, he played Jesus on the Jesus Christ Superstar, the original film (the original soundtrack was sung by Ian Gillan) in the 70's. The guy is 69 years old now and still has an awesome voice! But he probably takes care of it really well...

Axl should be on the top10 list of the best voices in Rock. Without thinking too much I can come up with a bunch of names of singers in rock who have both Technic (how you control your voice and your range) and charisma, like: freddie, bruce, bach (one of the most underrated singers in rock/metal), dio, halford, plant, tyler, gillan...given Axl's prime, he definitely deserves a spot among the greatest of all time.

The thing is, as a singer myself, I think what makes someone a great singer is not only what they could do in their prime, but how they maintained that high level of quality throughout their career. That is when Axl loses ranking, in my opinion. I'm not bashing Axl's voice or whatever, but he was never consistent, even during his heydays, just watch any bootleg from '91 and then another from '92/'93 for proof. On the other hand, guys like bruce, freddie, bach, dio and tyler managed to keep on a good level of quality, regardless of age, drug addiction, mishandling of your instrument at some point of their career and so on - that is why I think these guys deserve to be ranked higher than Axl, since the talk here is being the best SINGER not the best FRONTMAN. As a frontman Axl only loses to Freddie!

PS: I give more credit to singers who are able to sing stuff other than rock and roll. Take Sebastian Bach for example: the guy is a truly metalhead born to sing metal, but take a listen to the things he sang in Broadway and you'll be astonished! Being a great rock/metal singer doesn't necessarily mean you can do well on broadway for instance - I don't think Dio would do a good job in a gig like this - and I respect a lot more those who can do things other than only rock/metal because they are good SINGERS not only good ROCK SINGERS.

I think consistency is overrated. Axl is about challenging things and doing things differently. Most guys find their style and stay with it, but that's what artists DONT do. If I mention '02 voice, '06 voice, '10 voice, people know what I mean. It adds a mystique and artistic credibility to Axl as a vocalist. My money is that Axl can do whatever he wants, still. Since rocking his ass off in '10 and not having any dates set up for a triumphant return to the US, he was bummed and played it safe for a couple years, but from what I heard I think he can still lay down IRS-level tracks with practice. Also I think its unfair to compare Axl to Freddie because the former looked up to the latter, who is also deceased, which complicates things.

I get your point and I agree. One of the things I like the most about Axl is his ability to sing with "different voices", but when I said consistency I meant "sounding good and on key" for the most time. In 91, for instance, Axl's voice was all over the place, he had the pipes and the breath control and the rasp, but no key at all, in 92 and 93 all those things were more balanced...

But yeah, I get your point and I agree!

[axlsalinger]

For me it comes down to Axl and Freddie. Someone made an interesting point about frontman vs. singer, but I don't like to separate them. Axl in his prime was right up there though. Plant, Jagger... You start to run out of names pretty quick. I really like Bon Scott era ACDC but I'd still put him a tier below. Mike Patton is definitely underrated. He can literally sing flawlessly in any style or genre.

[GnR Chris]

At his peak, Axl Rose was peerless.

[realpoti]

Mike Patton on anyone's list?

This. Patton can shit on both Freddie and Axl and that's saying a lot. Cornell also ranks in the top, but you can't compare him with Patton.

[Facekicker]

Facekicker likes Axl because his voice came from a well of despair and anger deep in his stomach unlike any singer Facekicker has ever heard before or after

[bran]

ronnie james dio is my all time favorite, the guy could do anything. he was singing doo wop in the 50's southern rock in the 1960s and 70s and metal from the 70s until he passed away.

axl is really high on my list. the guy's range and power were remarkable. it is all a personal taste it really is impossible to make a list, but like anything else usually the same 10-20 names get thrown around just in varying orders on peoples personal lists.

[MEXzilla]

it is all a personal taste it really is impossible to make a list, but like anything else usually the same 10-20 names get thrown around just in varying orders on peoples personal lists.

[realpoti]

I never got into Faith No More I felt that band was competing with Red Hot Chili Peppers which to me is not in the same ball park as GnR. I might seem very harsh and probably in the minority big time but Freddie Murcury was just never great to me I get he is a very technically great singer but his material with Queen was weak to me. I think he got the treatment of those good artist that sadly past away too soon like Cobain,etc. in turn get so much hype I just don't get it. I find Axl in his heyday to walk around most singers in rock history too me he is indeed a giant amongs men. He had everything a front man should have range from high to extremely deep and it sounds unique too. He didn't just hit a certain type of note he sounded great doing it.

Patton isn't all about Faith No More. Actually, that's where he did his shittiest vocal work (listen to The Real Thing). The guy can go from Mondo Cane (italian music with orchestra) to Bungle (avant-garde), Tomahawk (alt rock), Lovage (trip hop), Dillenger Escape Plan (mathcore) and Peeping Tom (pop). Already worked with Buckethead, Zorn, Bjork, Norah Jones, Kaada and tons of versatile artists. Hell, even those monsters from I Am Legend were dubbed by him. It's more a matter of taste when you talk about your favorite, but Patton exceeded any barrier when it comes to being technical.

[Eu4ic]

Pinball Wizard, I appreciate your civility, good sir. Good points you've made, also.

And, Mike Patton is great. I love the first fantomas album and enjoy Bungle, Secret Chiefs also. "Easy like Sunday morniiinnn', Yeeeaaaah!" He can really sing, and is experimental. "Falling to Pieces" is one of my favorite songs and videos, period.

Edited August 18, 2013 by Eu4ic