Top prog vocalists?
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Topic: Top prog vocalists?
Posted By: giantenemycrab
Subject: Top prog vocalists?
Date Posted: October 27 2007 at 21:36
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I know there was once a topic about this, but now I think it has been deleted so I decided to make a new one :) Who's, in your opinion, the top prog vocalists? Jon Anderson and Peter Hammill are two that stand out in my mind. I've been listening to a lot of Zachary Stevens from Savatage recently. I think he is quite good. And for that added dash of controversy, James LaBrie also tops my list.  What says you? |
Replies:
Posted By: SgtPepper67
Date Posted: October 27 2007 at 22:57
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My favourites are David Gilmour, Greg Lake and Peter Gabriel.
------------- 
In the end the love you take is equal to the love you made... |
Posted By: ProgBagel
Date Posted: October 27 2007 at 23:00
| Greg Lake, Jon Anderson, Ian Anderson, James LaBrie, Daniel Gildenlow and Adrian Belew. |
Posted By: Genesister
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 00:10
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Daniel Gildenlöw also tops my favorites. |
Posted By: Flucktrot
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 01:16
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Daltrey tops my list....though in prog Russell Allen absolutely dominates...he is incredible
------------- Thank you, God of Rock, for this chance to kick ass |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 01:36
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Gabriel, Lake and De Giacomo.
Iván ------------- 
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Posted By: WalterDigsTunes
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 01:58
| Hammill, Belew and Gabriel for me. |
Posted By: Teh_Slippermenz
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 02:07
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Peter Gabriel Ian Anderson David Gilmour Jon Anderson John Wetton Annie Haslam John Ford Derek Shulman Greg Lake There. |
Posted By: Harry Hood
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 02:41
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Fish (not the young Marillion-era Fish, but the old angry drunk Fish that we know and love today) Dio King Diamond Gene Ween And the greatest prog vocalist to ever prog... Perry Como! ------------- 
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Posted By: Ahmadbarqawi
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 02:48
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without a doubt: Geoff Tate & Vincent Cavanagh of “Anathema” & there is this guy: Jeff Martin of the Canadian band “The Tea Party”; he’s one of my favorite vocalists of all time, they’re not considered “prog” but I think his voice should not be unnoticed… & oh Jorn Lande… he’s a monster ------------- {Flashlights shade shrunken views Of a red demon’s foxtrot in brews Guns & flowers crown morning news Panic-stricken guilt now ensues} |
Posted By: Cheesecakemouse
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 03:27
| what about Dagmar Krause? of Henry Cow and Slapp Happy, I only discovered her amazing voice recently - crazy and over the top and very german, I think she may of influenced Kate Bush. |
Posted By: mrcozdude
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 04:02
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David Gilmour,Robert Plant & Mike Patton ftw! ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/cozfunkel/" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Zargus
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 06:15
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Peter Hammill, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hestings, Jon & Ian Anderson, Maynard James Keenan, Eric Bloom and Albert Bouchard. ------------- 
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Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 06:25
BOC is not prog! How dare you mention them in the same breath as real prog vocalists!   (I hope it was clear it was intended as a joke....  )At last someone mentioned Richard Sinclair, one of the greatest vocalists ever - prog or not. He's one of my personal favourites together with Greg Lake, Ian Anderson and Geddy Lee. |
Zargus wrote:Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 06:53
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absolute top: Peter Gabriel
runner up: Jon Oliva - Zac Stevens is good (one of the best in fact) but Jon blasts him out of the water
followed closely by: David Gilmour, Peter Hammill, Mike Ĺkerfeldt , Kevin Ayers, Jane Relf, Mariusz Duda, Heather Findlay, Rod Evans, Ian Gillan, Maynard Keenan, David Sylvian, Kate Bush and Diamanda Galás
Non Prog: Nick Holmes, Aaron Stainthorpe, Fernando Ribeiro, Pete Steele, David Bowie, Becki Clark, Tori Amos, Filippa Giordano, Enya and Yma Sumac... ------------- What? |
Posted By: Philéas
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 10:09
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1. Peter Hammill 2. Cedric Bixler Zavala ...and then it gets harder to decide on who to list. |
Posted By: TGM: Orb
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 13:55
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Clear top: Greg Lake. Even if he sometimes manages to screech rather than sing on the Tarkus album, he's still by miles the best vocalist I've ever heard. Peter Gabriel and John Wetton are other favourites. I'm quite fond of Boz(?)'s vocals on Islands, but I haven't heard enough from him to make a decent judgment. I don't particularly like Jon Anderson's style, since it comes off as pretentious and incredibly random at times. He's got an exceptional voice, but he doesn't use it that well. |
Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 15:16
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Peter Gabriel, early Fish and Daniel Gildenlow are always at the top of my list. ------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005 
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Posted By: King of Loss
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 16:56
| Daniel Gildenlow, Peter Gabriel, Roine Stolt, Neal Morse, Steven Wilson, Mikael Akerfeldt, Hasse Froberg. |
Posted By: cynthiasmallet
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 17:00
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Peter Gabriel, Fish, Pye Hastings, Ian Anderson, Captain Beefheart etc. ------------- Would you like to watch TV, or get between the sheets, or contemplate the silent freeway, would you like something to eat? |
Posted By: darkmatter
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 17:05
| My favorite are Maynard James Keenan (although more for his work with APC), Steven Wilson, and Mariusz Duda. |
Posted By: paolo.beenees
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 17:39
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Well, apart from Jon Anderson, I'd go with some Italian vocalists: Demetrio Stratos, Francesco di Giacomo, Aldo Tagliapietra and Nico di Palo.
(But the most beautiful voice ever was Jeff Buckley's... I know it's not prog, but I had to write it! Missing you...) ------------- 
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Posted By: keiser willhelm
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 17:49
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Daniel Gildenlowe, Mike Patton, Greg Lake. non prog, im a very big fan of Layne Staley and Chino Moreno.
------------- http://www.last.fm/user/KeiserWillhelm" rel="nofollow - What im listening to |
Posted By: SilverEclipse
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 18:00
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David Gilmour and Jon Anderson
------------- "and if the band your in starts playing different tunes, I'll see you on the dark side of the moon" |
Posted By: ghost_of_morphy
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 19:52
| Peter Gabriel, without a doubt. The guy is so versatile.... |
Posted By: prog4evr
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 22:46
Agree on Anderson and LaBrie. Also, Peter Gabriel, Ian Anderson, Steve Walsh (Kansas), Neal Morse, and (yes - better as he has become older) John Wetton...
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Posted By: william314159
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 22:48
| p gabes all the way |
Posted By: sircosick
Date Posted: October 28 2007 at 22:50
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Steve Winwood, Adrian Belew.... there are a lot moment, but for now, those are singers I really, really like :)
------------- The best you can is good enough... |
Posted By: jimmy_row
Date Posted: October 29 2007 at 01:01
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off the top of my head. the order isn't exact but close... 1. Steve Walsh
2. Demetrio Stratos
3. Peter Gabriel
4. Freddie Mercury
5. Peter Hammill
6. Francesco di Giacomo
7. Ian Anderson
8. Mikael Akerfeldt
9. Peter Nichols
10. Christian DesCamps
11.David Byron
12.Phil Collins
13.Aldo Taglapietra
14.Jon Anderson
15.Maynard James Keenan
16.Leonardo Sasso
17.Captain Beefheart
18.Claudio Canali
19.John Wetton
20.Thjis van Leer
------------- Signature Writers Guild on strike |
Posted By: keiser willhelm
Date Posted: October 29 2007 at 01:47
how could i forget freddy mercury?!! he sits atop my list, thank you for reminding me 
------------- http://www.last.fm/user/KeiserWillhelm" rel="nofollow - What im listening to |
Posted By: SolomonsMarbles
Date Posted: October 29 2007 at 01:51
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Klaus Blasquiz, Jon Anderson, Adrian Belew, Greg Lake, David Gilmour and Roger Waters. And the assortment of black men that Frank Zappa's hired over the years. |
Posted By: Tapfret
Date Posted: October 29 2007 at 02:09
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Hard to rank, except number 1:
1. Francesco Di Giacomo
...the rest
Freddie Mercury (Queen was prog before News of the World, my opinion and I stand by it)
Cedric Bixler-Zavala
Ian Anderson
Mike Patton
Daniel Gildenlow
Adrian Belew
Annie Haslam
Christian Vander
Peter Gabriel (more for his presnce than his voice)
My least favorites:
Despite my love for progressive technical metal...I don't really enjoy any
 .James LaBrie is particularly annoying too.
------------- https://www.last.fm/user/Tapfret" rel="nofollow">  https://bandcamp.com/tapfret" rel="nofollow - Bandcamp |
Posted By: Tapfret
Date Posted: October 29 2007 at 02:10
George Duke would stand out amongst those. ------------- https://www.last.fm/user/Tapfret" rel="nofollow"> https://bandcamp.com/tapfret" rel="nofollow - Bandcamp |
Posted By: jimmy_row
Date Posted: October 29 2007 at 09:18
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looks like I forgot Annie Haslam, Steve Winwood, and Justin Hayward. Hayward would definately be in the top 5 or so. ------------- Signature Writers Guild on strike |
Posted By: Norbert
Date Posted: October 29 2007 at 09:26
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In no particular order:
Peter Hammill
Jon Anderson
Francesco Di Giacomo
Peter Gabriel
Daniel Gildenlöw
Ian Giilan
Steve Hogarth
Buddy Lackey=Devon Graves
Freddy Mercury
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Posted By: king_pin
Date Posted: November 01 2007 at 11:18
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Daniel Gildenlow, Russel Allen, James LaBrie, John Arch, Carla Kihlstedt, Devin Townsend, Jon Anderson, Peter Gabriel, Ian Gillian, Sharon den Adel etc. ------------- nou... mag ik het niet nog een keertje overdoen? |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: November 01 2007 at 13:11
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Greg Lake
Chris Thompson
Peter Gabriel
Peter Nicholls
John Wetton
Annie Haslam
Steve Hogarth
Christina Booth-Murphy
Dave Gilmour
Roger Waters
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Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: November 01 2007 at 13:27
Gosh, that's a cookie monster? Fantastic!!! for mentioning my fellow Roman Francesco Di Giacomo, who gets mentioned all too rarely - same as the late Demetrio Stratos. I also forgot to mention Cedric B-Z, and another great Jimmy Row listed as one of his favourites... Steve Winwood, who has a special meaning for me. |
Posted By: FunnyWays
Date Posted: November 01 2007 at 14:41
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Freddie Mercury (has to be the best singer ever, depends if its prog if its in the list)
Peter Gabriel
David Gilmour
All of Gentle Giant (when doing harmonies together)
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Posted By: Lukey45
Date Posted: November 02 2007 at 12:55
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Greg lake, and thom yorke if he counts. which i assume he does. ------------- Blue Lights Are Better |
Posted By: dwill123
Date Posted: November 02 2007 at 13:21
| Wow not one vote for Alex Ligertwood. |
Posted By: Jecht
Date Posted: November 02 2007 at 13:55
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Daniel Gildenlow (Pain Of Salvation) - nothing to say, just ideal to me
Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad, The Devin Townsend Band, etc.) - well he is much more than a musician anyway) Mariusz Duda (Riverside) - vocals make at least a half of riverside atmosphere Mikael Akerfaldt (Opeth) - emm, it's Akkerfaldt, that's alredy enough) Warrel Dane (Nevermoe) - they are much more progressive than a a lot o bands registred on site, so go to hell)) I also like Dane's vocal twin - Oddleif Stensland from Communic, eventhough music is different Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) - once again nothing new could be said about such a person) Tom S. Englund (Evergrey) - very emotional and sometimes desperate... when someone says that progressive is just about techincs i turn on Evergrey) Stu Block (Into Eternity) - just a lot of variety well, that is all a i could remember at the time sorry for my terrible english)) |
Posted By: Lonely Progger
Date Posted: November 02 2007 at 18:00
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P.Gabriel, Fish & gildenlow are among the best i believe listen to gabriel on "Up" his voice seems to get better with time ------------- Lost in the south of france: " Le rock progressif ? C'est quoi cette connerie? " |
Posted By: ten years after
Date Posted: November 02 2007 at 22:48
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Peter Hammill stands out in my opinion. Peter Gabriel, Greg Lake and Roger Daltrey will also figure toward the top of my list.
A few names that haven't (I think) been mentioned yet and would surely be top 20 are:
Brian Ferry - Roxy Music's first 3 (maybe 4) albums are magnificent prog rock and Ferry's vocal contribution is all class.
Christian Descamps - up there with Hammill and Gabriel for theatrical expression
Sonja Kristina - Curved Air deserve far more attention than they get. Even the best Female vocalists often sound forced in a hard rock context but Kristina was perfection from first to last.
Chris Farlowe - Its a great shame than he didn't do the vocals on Colosseum's first two albums and he demonstrated this by his vocal performance on their come-back tour.
Edgar Broughton - Menacing, moody and magnificent. BTW why is the EBB not in the archive? they were one of the earliest and among the very best prog rock bands.
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Posted By: sean
Date Posted: November 04 2007 at 14:04
| Mike Patton is my favourite, after that it gets harder, but i like Russel Allen, Greg Lake, Steven Wilson, Mikael Akerfeldt, Jon Anderson, James Labrie, Tony Kakko, syriaK and Leilindel from Unexpect, Hansi Kursch are just a few that come immediately to mind. |
Posted By: herring
Date Posted: November 06 2007 at 14:19
| My favorits are Peter Hammil, Peter Gabriel and Ian Anderson |
Posted By: Nucleus
Date Posted: November 06 2007 at 14:37
| Jon Anderson, Greg Lake... after that it's tough |
Posted By: Floydian42
Date Posted: November 07 2007 at 15:24
| Gabriel, Anderson, YORKE... |
Posted By: heyitsthatguy
Date Posted: November 07 2007 at 18:11
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hmmm can't think of order but I'ma just gonna throw down a few Peter Gabriel (most likely number one) Cedric Bixler-Zavala Daniel Gildenlow Devin Townsend Steve Wilson Thom Yorke Maynard James Keenan Mike Patton Mikael Akerfeldt ------------- 
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Posted By: Drew
Date Posted: November 07 2007 at 18:13
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This is an area where I FOR SURE feel newer prog has its advantages. I mean- all the classic bands like YES, Genesis, and KIng Crimson- the vocals ARE the weakness.
(ducks) ------------- |
Posted By: Tuzvihar
Date Posted: November 07 2007 at 18:27
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In no particular order: Francesco Di Giacomo (Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso) Gianni Leone (Il Balletto Di Bronzo) Czesław Niemen Marek Grechuta Józef Skrzek (SBB) János Kóbor "Mecky" (OMEGA) Freddie Mercury (Queen) Geddy Lee (Rush, why hasn't he been mentioned before?) Damo Suzuki (Can) Richard Sinclair & Pye Hastings (Caravan) EDIT: how could I have forgotten Peter Hammill?!!  ------------- "Music is much like f**king, but some composers can't climax and others climax too often, leaving themselves and the listener jaded and spent." Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: Soul Dreamer
Date Posted: November 07 2007 at 21:00
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1. Jon Anderson (Yes)
2. Annie Haslam (Renaissance)
3. Steve Hogarth (Marillion)
The rest in no particular order:
- Peter Gabriel
- Fish
- Mariusz Duda (Riverside)
- Alan Reed (Pallas)
- Robert Amirian (Collage, Satellite)
- Tarja Turunen (Nightwish)
- Francesco Di Giacomo (Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso) ------------- To be the one who seeks so I may find .. (Metallica) |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: November 08 2007 at 08:03
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In no order..
Peter Gabriel Justin Hayward Annie Haslam Kate Bush Jon Anderson Phil Collins Steve Wilson Peter Hammill |
Posted By: toolis
Date Posted: November 08 2007 at 08:12
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Ray Alder (Fates Warning/Redemption) and Geoff Tate (Queensryche)... and of course Keenan... ------------- -music is like pornography... sometimes amateurs turn us on, even more... -sometimes you are the pigeon and sometimes you are the statue... |
Posted By: ten years after
Date Posted: November 09 2007 at 22:57
I have always thought Caravan's vocals to be a bit on the weak side. IMO, that soft (deliberately feeble) singing style was the downfall of a number of otherwise fine bands: Cressida, Blonde on Blonde and Marsupilami are three that come to mind.
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Posted By: A B Negative
Date Posted: November 13 2007 at 10:45
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I first heard this singer on Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports LP, then on his version of Elvis Costello's Shipbuilding. Working backwards, I discovered his solo albums and his work with Matching Mole and Soft Machine.
He is, of course, Robert Wyatt. I could happily listen to him sing the phone book. ------------- "The disgusting stink of a too-loud electric guitar.... Now, that's my idea of a good time." |
Posted By: progcabaretdoll
Date Posted: November 18 2007 at 12:09
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My ultimate prog vocalist has gotta be Gabriel.
I like Robert Wyatt's voice too, just not as much as I love Gabby's.
I guess Jeff could do prog if he wanted to. I thought Mojo Pin was prog-like, or is it only me?
Jeff and Tim Buckley: Two of the most beautiful voices ever.
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Posted By: ecstacy
Date Posted: November 24 2007 at 10:19
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i think Greg Lake is best ,, i liked his voice ..
------------- http://www.seriestube.com/ - TV Series || http://www.xivio.com/ - FREE 3D CHAT, AWESOME || http://www.livesteaua.com/ - Live Videos |
Posted By: tanis573
Date Posted: December 08 2007 at 03:46
| Frank Bornemann |
Posted By: Abstrakt
Date Posted: December 08 2007 at 03:56
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Without order:
Py Hastings - Caravan
Peter Gabriel - Genesis
Robert Wyatt - Soft Machine, Matching Mole, Solo
Roine Stolt - The Flower Kings
Ozzy Osbourne - Black Sabbath (Only in 1969-70, his voice got worse and worse after that)
Peter Hammill - Van Der Graaf Generator
Derek Shulman, Kerry Minear - Gentle Giant
And more...
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Posted By: Man Erg
Date Posted: December 08 2007 at 04:03
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James Litherland - Colosseum / Mogol Thrash
Peter Hammill Peter Gabriel Barbara Gaskin - Spirogyra Robert Wyatt Pye Hastings Richard Sinclair Kevin Ayers Roger Chapman - Family / Streetwalkers etc. Sandy Denny - Fairport Convention Dolly Holmes - Emtidi Jenni Schucker - Broselmaschine John Wetton Colin Goldring - Gnidrolog Sonja Kristina - Curved Air Renate Knaup - Amon Duul II ------------- 
Do 'The Stanley' otherwise I'll thrash you with some rhubarb. |
Posted By: kenmartree
Date Posted: December 11 2007 at 02:29
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In order
1. Gabriel Women voices are so different so a separate list
2. Freddie M. 1. Lisa gerrard
3.Steve Hogarth 2. Happy Rhodes
4. Greg Lake 3. Kate Bush
5. Steve Wilson 4. Natalie Merchant ( I know it's pop but what a
haunting voice)
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Posted By: Mecropolis2112
Date Posted: December 11 2007 at 21:16
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In the first position for ever: 1- Peter Gabriel (specially in genesis) 2 and nexts- Fish , Jon Anderson, Ian Anderson, Greg Lake, Steve Hoggart, Geddy Lee... etc ------------- [Me˘яřpřlis] |
Posted By: ES335
Date Posted: December 12 2007 at 09:30
| Jon Anderson, Captain Beefheart, and since she is working with Robert Plant she must be prog, so I'll say Alison Kraus. |
Posted By: Jok3r
Date Posted: December 15 2007 at 22:01
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Mikael Akerfeldt
James LaBaire
Stu Block
David Gilmour
Russel Allen
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: December 15 2007 at 22:08
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hmmm... 1. Greg Lake 2. Peter Gabriel 3. Annie Haslam 4. Jon Anderson 5, Peter Hammil 6. Ian Anderson 7. Richard Sinclair (  )8. Renate Knaup-Krotenschwanz 9. Geddy Lee 10. Francesco Di Giacomo ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Nash
Date Posted: December 16 2007 at 19:31
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1. Peter Hammill
2. Jon Anderson 3. Robert Plant 4. Peter Gabriel 5. Greg Lake ------------- http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/191/sydbarrettg.jpg/" rel="nofollow"> 
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