Gramm vs Perry listenability

[StoneCold]

How can anyone EVER tire of Perry's voice? Absolutely never for me.

The "emoting" that happens on some of the tunes is what bugs. FTLOSM has that. ROR as well.

Journey's best music is when Perry isn't backing himself. ROR and TBF are chock full of this. Yes Perry's got one of the best voices out there but it takes away from the "band" aspect when the others don't get to sing with him.

I never hear Gramm "emote". Maybe 'cause he sang fewer ballads. I don't hear Gramm backing himself in the way Perry does. Gramm just sings it straight ahead and it sounds great.

[Matthew]

How can anyone EVER tire of Perry's voice? Absolutely never for me.

The "emoting" that happens on some of the tunes is what bugs. FTLOSM has that. ROR as well.

Journey's best music is when Perry isn't backing himself. ROR and TBF are chock full of this. Yes Perry's got one of the best voices out there but it takes away from the "band" aspect when the others don't get to sing with him.

Are you talking about Perry's layered backing vocals? I wouldn't say they 'emote' nearly as much as his lead vocal tracks...and even his lead singing became much more simple and direct on ROR and TBF than the insane warbling of his early years.

I never hear Gramm "emote". Maybe 'cause he sang fewer ballads. I don't hear Gramm backing himself in the way Perry does. Gramm just sings it straight ahead and it sounds great.

He has to sing 'straight ahead' because his voice - much as I love it - is much more limited than Perry's. So I wouldn't say it's an artistic decision by Gramm. He's just making the best of what he's got.

Anyway...most people in the UK would prefer Gramm to Perry as well for this very reason, Stonecold. Over here I think Perry has always been seen as an 'acquired taste'.

[Michigan Girl]

Very tricky....never tire of Perry~ EVA!!!!

[annie89509]

Very tricky....never tire of Perry~ EVA!!!!

lol, it is a trick question, I was going to pick Perry, too until I started reading.

This is a Journey board, what didya expect the answer to be? Of course, you'll have the occasional Perry Detractors voting against the grain just because ....

To be fair, Lou Gramm has (or had - no idea about now) an excellent voice. I bought Foreigners GH cd before any Journey records and way before I became a loon. Like Matthew says, SP is "an acquired taste."

[conversationpc]

He has to sing 'straight ahead' because his voice - much as I love it - is much more limited than Perry's. So I wouldn't say it's an artistic decision by Gramm. He's just making the best of what he's got.

What do you mean by "more limited" because I don't hear that at all. I think Gramm's vocals in their days were nearly equally as flexible.

[annie89509]

I never get tired of Perry's voice.

You really ARE a loon, huh Niggles?

I'm stone cold sober, now too...

Um...were you the one to call ProgRock "Proggles"...?

I've got Mr. Pereira in my Sig....nope; never get tired of him:

No, that wasn't me. "Niggles" became "Niggles" in January during the Frontiers show at Ram's Head.



Nora, I REALLY like your sig... how could we ever get tired of that???!

Well, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

Donna...that's you?

Nice to put a "face" to the name....

Well said, both of you. I never get tired of looking at Nora's sig, hehe

[musicfan17]

Count me as another who miss-read and voted incorrectly. While SP is a vastly superior vocal talent to Lou Gramm...I find that I tire of Perry's crooning much, much quicker than Lou's straight ahead vocal style. So I voted for Gramm, which was a vote for Perry. Again...Steve was/is the more talented vocalist by far and Journey is in my top three all time favorite bands, but given the choice to listen to Lou for four hours or Steve Perry...I'd take Lou Gramm.

Now Jimi Jamison and Billy Nickell (Cold Driven) I could listen to all day and never get tired of hearing them sing.

[StoneCold]

Very tricky....never tire of Perry~ EVA!!!!

lol, it is a trick question, I was going to pick Perry, too until I started reading.

This is a Journey board, what didya expect the answer to be? Of course, you'll have the occasional Perry Detractors voting against the grain just because ....

To be fair, Lou Gramm has (or had - no idea about now) an excellent voice. I bought Foreigners GH cd before any Journey records and way before I became a loon. Like Matthew says, SP is "an acquired taste."

No trick question. I expected Gramm to be less popular but a legitimate topic.

Example, Mariah Carey has a great voice but I can't stand listening to most of her stuff for all the acrobatics. People compare Perry to Cooke all the time because of Perry's emoting. Perry does it more than Cooke ever did IMO.

Gramm's voice is distinct and unlike any other artist before him. If you listen to what he did on that Beatles clip posted here a few months ago, its a great example. He could sing anything and make it great and enjoyable.

Here it is again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM1vZLh2RrQ

Count me as another who miss-read and voted incorrectly. While SP is a vastly superior vocal talent to Lou Gramm...I find that I tire of Perry's crooning much, much quicker than Lou's straight ahead vocal style. So I voted for Gramm, which was a vote for Perry. Again...Steve was/is the more talented vocalist by far and Journey is in my top three all time favorite bands, but given the choice to listen to Lou for four hours or Steve Perry...I'd take Lou Gramm.

Now Jimi Jamison and Billy Nickell (Cold Driven) I could listen to all day and never get tired of hearing them sing.

This is exactly my point here. NoMoCroo(ning).

[finalfight]

Love this one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W06fvBwD ... re=related

[JeremyP]

Lou had a lot more strength in his voice than Perry. I can't imagine Perry singing Juke Box Hero. I think Lou had the generally more ear-pleasing tone as well. Perry's early voice always sounded a bit shrill to me. As far as backing vocals, I prefer it when both guys harmonize with other people...as great as they are on lead vocals, they just don't sound great harmonizing with themselves. Contrast that with Mercury who had the ultimate combination of power and great tone and sounded excellent layering his own backup vocals.

[ProgRocker53]

Count me in as one of those who don't particularly enjoy a singer layering over his own voice, most of the time.

Kind of takes away from me enjoying ROR, Delp, and Soto sometimes.

[annie89509]

Lou had a lot more strength in his voice than Perry. I can't imagine Perry singing Juke Box Hero. I think Lou had the generally more ear-pleasing tone as well. Perry's early voice always sounded a bit shrill to me. As far as backing vocals, I prefer it when both guys harmonize with other people...as great as they are on lead vocals, they just don't sound great harmonizing with themselves. Contrast that with Mercury who had the ultimate combination of power and great tone and sounded excellent layering his own backup vocals.

Jeremy, not ragging on you, but you are also a poster that once stated you preferred SA's singing over SP's. In fact, you used the same description -- "more ear-pleasing tone" -- as your criteria of preference.

For sure, music-listening is subjective. I guess you just never "got" it from SP, heh? When I think back to all the music and singers I am familiar with and listened to over the years (I'm in my 50th decade), SP trumps them all. Mind you, I didn't really "know" him (and his catalog) until 2005. Now, all my record collection might as well be given away or thrown in the trash as it has gathered dustballs. The only music I ever play now is SP's singing, and I listen to him every single day. Okay, so I'm a loon -- and proud of it!

[JeremyP]

Jeremy, not ragging on you, but you are also a poster that once stated you preferred SA's singing over SP's. In fact, you used the same description -- "more ear-pleasing tone" -- as your criteria of preference.

The best and really, only, criteria to judge singers when it comes down to it. Wouldn't you agree?

For sure, music-listening is subjective. I guess you just never "got" it from SP, heh? When I think back to all the music and singers I am familiar with and listened to over the years (I'm in my 50th decade), SP trumps them all. Mind you, I didn't really "know" him (and his catalog) until 2005. Now, all my record collection might as well be given away or thrown in the trash as it has gathered dustballs. The only music I ever play now is SP's singing, and I listen to him every single day. Okay, so I'm a loon -- and proud of it!

I definitely "got it" regarding Perry. I enjoy every album, Journey and solo that he's put out, as well the David Pack, Jeff Golub, and Guff guest star projects. I am definitely a fan. I'm just not immune to hearing qualities presented by other singers that I happen to enjoy more.

[annie89509]

Jeremy, not ragging on you, but you are also a poster that once stated you preferred SA's singing over SP's. In fact, you used the same description -- "more ear-pleasing tone" -- as your criteria of preference.

The best and really, only, criteria to judge singers when it comes down to it. Wouldn't you agree?

For sure, music-listening is subjective. I guess you just never "got" it from SP, heh? When I think back to all the music and singers I am familiar with and listened to over the years (I'm in my 50th decade), SP trumps them all. Mind you, I didn't really "know" him (and his catalog) until 2005. Now, all my record collection might as well be given away or thrown in the trash as it has gathered dustballs. The only music I ever play now is SP's singing, and I listen to him every single day. Okay, so I'm a loon -- and proud of it!

I definitely "got it" regarding Perry. I enjoy every album, Journey and solo that he's put out, as well the David Pack, Jeff Golub, and Guff guest star projects. I am definitely a fan. I'm just not immune to hearing qualities presented by other singers that I happen to enjoy more.

So SP is not your favorite, that's cool. I don't know what it is or how to describe my emotions when I started delving into his/Journey's catalog. His singing and vocals are just so unique and heart-stirring -- nothing like I ever heard before. It's not that I don't think anyone else is not good -- I had oodles of favorites, from Neil Diamond to Billy Joel to Elton John and all the Beatles records -- they just all pale now in comparison to SP's singing.

It is damn frustrating that he hasn't want to record a complete song for so long (I guess the last one is I Stand Alone in 1998). But, as a faithful fan, I will always respect how he chooses to live his life and cherish all the stuff I do have of him.