Showing posts with label Queen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Queen. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Greatest Rock Frontmen

This list has been the toughest one for me to select and sort out the best amongst the best. Me being a vocalist too, feel that without a great frontman in a band a live performance cannot live up to the expectations of the crowd. Though how much good the music is but if the frontman is poor the crowd will hesitate to indulge themselves with the band. The list basically focuses on the stage performances done by these great vocalists and not on their vocal abilities.

I have also attached some of their live performances for all you rock fans to get some glimpses of some of these immortal artists who taught us How To Rock !


6. Roger Daltrey ( The Who) - Till date people want to rush to a concert of The Who not because of their music( no doubt about their music, Its legendary) but because of Daltrey's Stage performance which is still the same as it was during the 60's. He had been an icon for many modern rockstars and classic rockstars like Bono, Steven Tyler etc.













5. Bono (U2), Jimi Hendrix - I am compelled to put these rockers together because it was very difficult for me to exclude one frontman from these 6 sorted out vocalists. Coming to hendrix, he had been an on stage legendary rocker. People preferred to listen his live performances rather than his studio recordings because of his crazy and wild acts of guitaring on stage. When it comes to Bono, there is only one thing that is ignited in a concert of U2 among of all ages and that's: Emotions. Every concert of U2 has got an emotional touch. Bono is the man who can easily bring out tears in eyes of each of his fans.








4. Bruce Springsteen- Well, I earlier had completely forgot "The Boss", but my really kind friends notified me in the "Comments Section" below. Well, any such list without Bruce Springsteen would never be complete and creditable, and I honestly agree to that too. Bruce has been a great entertainer on stage, and he seems to have such ounces of energy , that its really difficult to get your eyes off him for even a moment. He bangs on his guitar so hard, and the audience is simply dancing to his tunes all the time ! The guy is simply a GOD on stage. What a pity I forgot to mention him !









3. Jim Morrison ( The Dorrs)- The poet, the legend, the icon and the greatest star. I think this man was the most weird performer and it was his weirdness only that became an acclaimed style. Girls were fond of his doped behavior and his hairstyle and his high IQ level. He was a versatile man and every kind of person adored him. Some liked him for his intelligence, some for his high doping attitude and some for his weird and censored acts on stage.











2. Freddie Mercury ( Queen) - What more a crowd would want if the vocalist himself is singing " we will rock you" for them. He had a unique quality of charging up the crowd and compelling them to sing with him. Definitely there had been a huge loss in the entire rock history by losing a man who had so much of versatility in music and frontmenship.










1. Elvis Presley / Mick Jagger (The Rolling Stones
)- No comparisons with any other frontmen for these two rockers! They deserve this position For sure.

About Mick Jagger, I know he is not a great vocalist like Freddie Mercury and Roger Daltrey but when it comes to performance, then he is a God. The toughest job in a concert of The rolling Stones to handle the crowd. The crowd in their concert has always been huge and each person in the crowd had only one desire : to jump onto the stage and hug Mick Jagger!!






And Finally, about Elvis Presley : The King of Rock n Roll ! The man who started it all ! He had a really versatile voice and left his mark on almost all genres known, notably Rock n Roll, Blues, Pop, Country and Ballads. Right from his start, He has created innumerable records in terms of Concert Audience, Album Sales and Ratings. Not only as a Rock n Roll frontman, He is also known for his enchanting personality and has been honored with various Lifetime Achievement Awards too. He Set The Trend That Others Now Follow !
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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Greatest Rock Songs

Well this might gonna be the most controversial list but i'm ranking these songs according to its originality, musicality, creativity, instrumentality, impact and according to my music knowledge. Here it goes, the Greatest Rock songs that every rocker should listen and know about the musical depth of it.


10. Smoke On The Water(1972), Deep Purple- Well definitely I would say its not the greatest work done by this band. There are many other songs where they have showed their great musical abilities and skills but this song has really left the greatest impact on the rock generation, dont know why other songs were not able to do that. Whenever I talk about Deep Purple with people, they just start their talks about smoke on the water and specially the guitar intro. Though the song is excellent but i've ranked this song because of its guitar riff and a well balanced composition.

9. Smells Like Teen Spirit(1991), Nirvana- The Greatest song of Nirvana and one of the most memorable song for the rock history. The only part of this song which I admire is the drumming. Guitaring and vocals are fine as the solo of this song is not an exceptional one. The song gained much fame after Cobain's death. This song entered the alternative rock in the mainstream. The song has been critically acclaimed for its alternative charm and the lyrics. Overall, this song deserves to be on top ten.

8. Time(1973), Pink Floyd - Sometimes I find myself in a different world while listening to its intro. Honestly this band's musical sense is unbeatable. They have everything in this what a rock song should be compiled of. Gilmour's outstanding solo, Water's amazing lyrical work and the best part, the intro of the song makes it a great psychedelic rock song. This song has dominated the charts for over 14 years. So now you think why this song deserves to be on the list of top ten songs. Just listen to it guys and know about the greatest composition ever done by Pink Floyd.

7. Hotel California(1976), The Eagles- Two things that I really like about this song, the guitar and the vocal performance. No comparison in guitaring as one of the greatest guitar songs ever released and overall this song is a lovely masterpiece done by The Eagles. A great composition of country rock. The song's lyrical performance is well done. It topped the charts for abour 8 weeks in the early 1977. This song has now become a guitar lesson and its taught to every guitar learner.

6. Imagine(1971), John Lennon- When I say "Rock" the things that comes in my mind is a guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and vocals. But this song is quite different. I ranked this song because Sir. Lennon worked for a cause and made a change through his music. This simple song has left a deep impact on the world and Sir. John Lennon is the god for every human being. I wish this world could be the way Sir Lennon wanted. Not only for me but for the whole world this song is one of the most influential one. I want to rank this song at no. 2 but i'm ranking on the basis of everything not only on the basis of lyrics or impact.

5. Light My Fire (1967), The Dorrs- This song recieved success in many countries. The song is mostly Keyboard dominated having a very extensive solo. Lyrically very poetic, musicaly one of the finest and a great male vocal performance by the legendary Jim Morrison. This song rocked the charts everywhere and the cover version of Jose Feliciano's recieved grammy in 1969 for best male vocal performance and for best new artist. One of the best compositions of "The Dorrs".

4. Freebird (1973), Lynyrd Skynyrd - This Song featured on the debut album of this band and was the most successful song released by them. definitely its the best soft and hard rock comfination song. The song starts with a soft intro and ends with a long fast guitar solo. Its so energetic that I'm compelled to rank it on 4th as 95% it defines the rockabilty of a song. A heavy work done by the band members in this song. Their fast guitar solo is not notable only for their speed but for their musicality and its one of my favourite too. a song that every rocker must listen.

3. Like A Rolling Stone(1965), Bob Dylan- Lyrics, Lyrics and only Lyrics. I have mentioned earlier that I'm ranking the songs on the basis of everything not only on a specific field but I'm ranking this song only because of its lyrics. You will have to listen to this song for several times to understand its quality. I didn't like this song when I heard this song for the first time. I found Dylan's voice quite irritating but when I heard this song for about 15 to 20 times then I realised the lyrical ability that Dylan Showed. A simple song but a deserving rank.

2. Bohemian Rhapsody (1975), Queen ---- Well There's no one who can create a composition like Bohemian Rhapsody. The most unique song in the entire rock history. There are many rock songs where there is a sudden scale change or a sudden change in their music but no song is like Bohemian Rhapsody and that's why I have listed it at 2nd position. A unique song with unique lyrics and sound. I dont think the rock generation will get a song like Bohemian Rhapsody in future. An unforgettable song.

1. Stairway To Heaven (1971), Led Zeppelin- Just listen and know by yourself. I dont have to write on this legendary song. You know it or you will know it after you listen.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Freddie Mercury- The Greatest Rock Vocalist


The greatest rock vocalist of all time, no special technique used and no formal training done by this man but still he is considered as the greatest rock vocalist and the greatest male voice of this earth till date. Born on 5th September 1946 in Stone Town, Zanzibar and died on 24th november 1991 leaving a worldwide impact. His original name was Farrokh Bulsara. He had done his schooling in St. Peters located at Panchgani Near Mumbai(India) and his first school band was named as "The Hectics" where he played keyboard and vocals. He's Favourite subjects were History and English. After he had done his schooling he then moved to United Kingdom where he formed the band Queen with guitarist Brain May. He changed his name from Farrokh Bulsara to Freddie Mercury in UK to avoid discrimination.


This man is an inspiration for all the vocalists. Without having any legal training how can a man sing like this? Next to impossible but Freddie did it. He was best known for his voice throwing capability and the power that he had in his voice that made every song a superb song. He was one of the greatest live rock artists. Some of his greatest songs where he showed his best vocal abilities are Bohemian Rhapsody, Who Wants To Live Forever, Somebody To love, Under Pressure, Barcelona, Love Of My Life, Dont Stop Me Now, We Are The Champions etc. He had a vocal range of 4.5 octaves. His speaking voice was in the baritone range but most of his songs were of the tenor range.

The best song where Freddie showed his highest vocal ability is Bohemian Rhapsody where he showed an unusual style of singing. Starts with a clear and soft voice and changes to a choir singing with Brian May and Taylor where he shows his voice power and then again ends with a pleasant clear voice which is the most difficult part to sing. This song included too much of dubbing in its recording but its highly notable because of the excellence of Mercury's vocals.
Covering Freddie's songs is not only tough, but next to impossible. Even If you have a wide vocal range and you know too much of techniques, still it wont help you. I have heard many vocalists who can copy voices of legendary rockers but I have heard no one who can sing like Freddie Mercury. The way Freddie used to throw his words while singing, that was one of his greatest style and vocal ability.

One thing more that I would like to share about this legendary rockstar is that whenever he used to perform in a concert his vocals never gave up. In many Concerts of different bands after an hour or so the voice of the vocalist sounds tiring and is not able to manage his voice well but In the concert of Freddie Mercury you could never feel this. The way he starts at the beginning and the way he ends up the concert, after a long duration of performance his voice texture remained the same. You can never feel any tiredness in his voice. Thats what makes him an exceptional vocalist. He is also considered as one of the most influential Asian rockstar.

There's still no one who can challenge the voice of Freddie Mercury, and might never be too!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

10 Greatest Rock Songs Of The 70's

Now this may be a controversial list, but I've been completely honest with it. So , here are the 10 greatest rock songs of the 70's that every rock fanatic should have heard. These songs are ranked on the basis of their originality, skills and creativity and not on the basis of their popularity. During the 70's there was indeed a huge competition and sorting out 10 songs out of thousands, was quite a herculean task. Here goes:

10. Love Reign O'er Me-

One of the finest compostions ever done by the Who. Most of the people would not agree with me and would instead want 'Don't get cooled away' over here, but this song's composition is unchallengeable and obviously the quality of Roger Daltray's vocals' is outstanding in this one. Daltray's vocals have changed this song into a power-packed masterpiece and why not, its the best rock vocal performance song till date. Keeping the vocals part aside, the intro of this song is also unique. All of the instruments had been used at their best. A fabulous song all together!



9. Highway Star-

During the 70's era, Deep purple rocked the charts but it was 'smoke on the water' which made them heavily famous because of its riff and the song was related to an incident that happened with Frank Zappa. But I consider 'Highway star' as one of the most skillful songs of the 70's. The skillful keyboard solo by John Lord, an exceptional guitar solo by Blackmore and a tight vocal performance by Gillan. This song proves to be a great hard rock piece and very few hard rock bands are there having such exceptional keyboard solos.

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8. We will rock you/We are the champions -

The anthem of the 70's and till date. They definitely rocked it in every concert and in every song. And this song has definitely rocked the 70's. Not only the 70's, even now, everybody sings this song and its the most common and amazing Rock Anthem ever.



7. Dream on-

I would say this is the best song of Aerosmith. They rocked the 80's and gave huge hits but I dont think any of their hits can be compared to 'dream on'. One of the finest lyrical, vocal and instrumental piece ever. A different song that emerged during the 70's with a great message; that's why I ranked it 7th in this list of the greatest rock songs of the 70's.



6. La Villa Strangiato-



5. Free bird -

One of the longest guitar solos in rock history. The song goes on and on and on, so fast that I feel they shouldn't stop! Boundless energy and enthusiasm fills the song completely. I 've heard many long guitar solos in many other songs, which start sounding monotonous after a while, but 'Free Bird' is sheer magic. It makes me go crazy everytime I listen to it.



4. Hotel California-

Now this is one song that every guitar player dreams to cover. Well yes, the acoustic version of this song outplayed its original studio recording. A wonderful intro and an amazing guitar solo! The guitar plucking in this song throughout is also commendable. The bass is also worth a mention. It deserves to be at No.4 for being a "Complete Composition" in terms of the instruments which are actually ahead of the vocals.



3. Bohemian Rhapsody-

How about this question : Is there any band out there that can create a song like Bohemian Rhapsody? For me, it is the most unique song in the history of rock. I'm probably at a loss of words on this one. An excellent masterpiece of of Freddie's wonderful vocals. Creativity, uniqueness and originality: this song has got everything. The Guitar Solos and the synthesizer are also very touching. What more can I say. Freddie rules !



2. Comfortably Numb-

A Wonderful Composition altogether and you can feel some kind of magic as the song progresses . While listening to Gilmour's solos, I just travel into a different world. I can feel the pain, the joy and the agony while listening to his solos. This is undoubtedly his best guitar solo. So are the vocals so mesmerizing.



1. Stairway To Heaven-

Now this one certainly needs no description. Simply the best!


Special Mentions :-

Born To Run-Bruce Springsteen, Brown Sugar- Rolling Stones ( I Really Wanted to include these two, but then, I also found it hard to remove any of the above songs in the list! ), Black Magic Woman-Santana, Fleetwood Mac- Go Your Own Way and Lots More.





*** Solo Players Like Eric Clapton and the likes have not been included in this list.