The Former Veruca Salt front woman has pumped out another solo album that finds she still has it at 55. Youthful enthusiasm drove Veruca Salt's sound and the first two songs of this album find that there is no shortage of that here. That is not to say they did not have their share of reflective ballads as well, so "What About" carries on that tradition and proves to be equally compelling. It helps that I used to be a big fan of the band's first two albums, so it strikes a certain nostalgic place for me. The attitude that was under the sugar coating of Post's voice is still present. This is not a continuation of Veruca Salt's 90s alt rock, there are excursions into moody pop on "All Messed Up" which is not as focused at the first three songs. I prefer the darker post-punk tension that fuels the verses of "Killer". The chorus bursts into something that would not have been out of place with her former band.
The formula for this album seems to be a song that recalls her earlier days, then a more experimental pop song. The pop songs are typically not as strong as her rock moments. I understand the need to try different things, while known for "Seether" their biggest hit was not a fair indication of the whole album as they covered a range of sound. Not opposed to her trying this on as sometimes it works well , this can be heard on "Secrets". I think the key is for the guitar to be the centerpiece then the other sounds coloring the song around it. "All These Years" floats with a sparse bass that does not give the song the back bone it needs. Her vocals do this instead and the song still works, but I am measuring her songwriting here against what she has already shown herself capable of doing.
"Don't Give Up " has more of a Smashing Pumpkins like movement to it. She finds her voice still full of the personality that gave Veruca Salt it's charm . "God I Know" is a languid ballad that goes heavy on the ambiance. It contrasts the upbeat mood she closes the album out on the last song. I will give this album a 9 and see how it grows on me, perhaps I hear it with nostalgia ringing in my ears , even when she steps out of expectations , she is effective as a songwriter, it just might not be the Veruca Salt album under a another name I wanted , which has more to do with my expectations than where she is as an artist.
Let's continue on into our list of the top 200 greatest rock singers, inspired by the travesty that was Rolling Stone's supposed list. Where they got it wrong, this list hopes to be more effective, but not only focusing on rock singers and those adjacent to the genre but place the spotlight on judging these singers by their technical vocal ability, in terms of range and power, along with dynamics, phrasing and the character of their voice. Can they emote from different places ? How well does their voice hold up live? All factors being considered here.
Things like lyrical content and the instruments they play do not factor in as these ranking are based on vocal merit alone. How they control a crowd or their entertainment value as performers is also not a factor; there are some great front men who are also sub-par singers. The same can be said of song writers which is why most Bob Dylan songs sound better covered by someone else. Needless to say, ole Robert Zimmerman is not making the cut.
Most pop singers won't appear here, but there are a few country or jazz singers who crossover just enough to qualify for this list, while having a significant influence on rock music. Don't expect rappers on this list or metal vocalists who just scream or growl, but never actually sing. I am also not keen on singers who are derivative of other singers. The bulk of these have to be doing their own thing, though a couple are basically tribute acts to other artists but still make enough of an impact with their music. Having a unique vocal quality is going to be one of the most important factors sometimes trumping technical ability. If they sound too much like Steve Perry from Journey or that they have listened to their vocal coach too much rather than developing their own style, then that is something that is also not going to fly. Some of these might have been ignored by mainstream music media, but by the time we get to the top 10, I am sure it will all make sense, so here are the Top 200 greatest rock singers.
170-Elvis Costello
He went from a quirky new wave icon to crooning alongside Burt Bacharach. His voice matured a great deal in this journey though still retained it punchy emotive edge.
169-John Baizley
As his band Baroness has progressed from a mathy sludge outfit to a classic prog sound , his voice has gotten stronger to meet the changes of the sound he now croons over, while maintaining the power of his metal bellow.
168-Jonas Renkse
Katatonia's shift from deathly doom to the depressive progressive is thanks to the bleak melodies of this man, whose phrasing and restraint are untouched in the metal landscape when it comes to conjuring emotion.
167 -Rod Stewart
The former Faces front-man has a voice that can not be mistaken for any other singer as it oozes with that it factor that makes him one of a kind when it comes to his natural rasp and timbre.
166-Perry Ferrell
Jane's Addiction could never replace him. His strongest work was in their earlier years, but the way his wail works sonically like an instrument broke boundaries at the time .
165-Micheal Stipe
He did his own thing from the beginning and never conformed , with each album his voice sounds better. His lower register induces goosebumps.
164-Micheal Gira
The Swans master mind has the most depressive baritone, each not more bleak than the one before it, while he is also capable of howling like a maniac.
163-Ben Folds
He not only has a great deal of control over his vocals chords , but he sings in a way that has soul baring honesty.
162-Louise Post
Unlike their more radio dominant peers, Post has more power, range and nuance to her voice than the Courtney Loves and Liz Phairs of the world.
161-Ben Harper
There is a vulnerability to his voice that sets him aside from the other neo-blues singers who cross over into rock.
Here we continue with out Top 100 albums of the 90s a decade generally assumed to be dominated by grunge, while there will be some on here sooner or later its the open door to experimentation that alternative hitting the mainstream that brought out some of the interesting sounds we look at today in 90 to 81.
90- Entombed - "Wolverine Blues"
Continuing to be ahead of their time, this Swedish band also birthed the groove fill death n roll sub genre with this album that slayed things like "Far Beyond Driven". The title track alone was worth the price of the album.Yeah it was back in the days when you paid for albums.
89- Veruca Salt -"Eight Arms to Hold You"
No, this is not the album with "Seether" on it. While that one is good, the song writing on this one is more mature , emotive and rocks out, with "Volcano Girls" having way more balls to it than "Seether' which fit more neatly into what was becoming expected of alt-rock at that time.
88-the Get Up Kids - "Something to Write Home About"
Emo had been alive and well in the underground and this album pushed it towards a larger audience and prepped kids for bands like Jimmy Eat World who would later bring the word "emo" to mainstream audiences when things went wild with in on Myspace in the 2000s. But when this album came out it was just more thoughtful punk rock.
87- Judas Priest-"Pain Killer"
Seeking to redeem themselves from being turbo-lovers, Priest came back to prove they could hit it as hard as all the thrash bands they influenced. A new drummer helped them pull this off and Tipton and KK, showed they had some impressive chops up their sleeves and could shred with the best of them. This album would be one of the last great metal albums before grunge.
86- Katatonia-"Discouraged Ones"
They transitioned from being a gloomy doom ridden death metal band to switching over to clean singing and touching on more of a Cure like goth ambiance.
85-the Gathering-"Nightime Birds"
Before the slew of symphonic melodrama that bands like Nightwish would be out of Europe, the Gathering brought a more majestic soaring to gloomy doom thanks to the vocals of Anna Maria van Giersbergen or Anneke as she would later be called. This album is way ahead of it's time.
84-Butthole Surfers- "Independent Worm Saloon"
Gibby and the boys stopped clowning around and began rockin on this one , though it still retained much of their signature weirdness. Not hard enough to be metal, but to trippy to be punk. They would later really sell out with the album that followed.
83-Warrior Soul - "Drugs, God, and the New Republic"
While they saw some popularity in Europe, they deserved to hit bigger in the States as they were better then bands like Tripping Daisy, who you won't see on this list. They toured with Danzig and Soundgarden, which is where I caught on to them.
82-Dj Shadow - "Entroducing"
The drums sound is the only thing that sounds that dated to me, there are many other elements on this album they stand the test of time and find this to be an electronica classic.
81- Skunk Anansie "Post Orgasmic Chill"
Another album that was an alternative to mainstream alternative.Skin their black lesbian lead singer has a set of pipes on her that take these songs to the next level. The songs held up well with the years as I can go back and easily listen to this one.
