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Real joy flowing through it
An online publication called Cult Following somewhat belatedly, but eloquently reviews =1:
New hard rock from the Smoke on the Water gang. Some things never change. With Deep Purple, a lacklustre album image and the promise of unwavering rock fundamentals are a guarantee. No problem for those stuck with this sound for decades but some bands never evolve. Does =1 give Deep Purple a chance to grow their noise? Yes. Do they take it? Sort of. The variations to their style and sound here are unexpected but not necessarily unique or all that world-beating. If anything, the band has turned away from the rock which formed them and towards alternative rock. It will send shivers down the spine of those ABandOn purists. Shivers of joy. There is a grunge feel to =1, a deeper feel to their sound which gives way to a surprise depth and interest. A blur of noise worth listening to.
Continue reading in the Cult Following.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
A good review & I agree in more ways than one. A nice balanced view on =1 & the core of the Deep Purple songwriting along with ‘new’ blood & Don Airey’s new found enthusiasm, gets the album over the line & passing the proverbial pub test. Interesting but so true with the ‘Yes’ comment. Jon Anderson has recently released a new album with the Band Geeks & it sounds like 90’s Yes to my ears, with a hint at times of the 70’s virtuoso music thrown in. It is what he has to do these days in the sense that Howe refuses to work with him. As Anderson was a founding member, lead vocalist & principle songwriter, he has had to go it alone along with those exhilarating virtuoso Geek Band members to get it done. Life eh? Sorry for going off the DP topic a little there, but the reviewer opened the door somewhat. Still good to hear some new ‘classic’ rock from both artists these days, with a ‘modern’ twist to it. Cheers.
October 5th, 2024 at 21:20Yo,
=1, = 11/10, & after calculating the fraction out, it still =1, & a little extra…
Great album, the best new music I’ve heard in a long while from anyone. ( Yes, I comment about SpaceHog now-&-then, but their last effort was 11-years ago lol ). Most of the 90’s bands that are still making good music have softened their sounds a little, eg, STP “Perdida”…But DP keep-on-giving the goods in bucket-loads, & set a great example for everyone, fans & other bands alike.
I didn’t play the album for about 2-weeks, & then gave it a spin to see if it still grabbed my full attention, & it did, from start-to-finish…Good stuff ! It at the least equals the last few albums with Steve, as produced with Mr.Ezrin, which are as diverse & different as it gets from one-another, but has more ear-worm memorable tunes within that make for chances of air-play for the radio I’d guess.
Keep the albums coming boys !
Adonai vasu !
October 6th, 2024 at 01:12Decent review but I always cringe whenever anyone compares anything Purple has to do with “grunge”. Not even close. Ever.
The guy might have been hearing the production, which gave a couple (really great IMO) nods to the current nostalgia trend – I’m thinking the synth drift on a solo or two and the aesthetic of If I Were You – but at no point does the music ever sound remotely inspired by Pearl Jam, Alice in Chain, or even Neil Young.
October 6th, 2024 at 17:44@3
October 6th, 2024 at 21:41I agree wholeheartedly! Grunge – hrmpf (sound of disbelief combined with utter dissatisfaction)😉
I don’t see or hear the Grunge influence either, you have to go to Glenn Hughes’ albums for that.
I find that Sabbath’s Born Again (the album) was in many ways a precursor to Grunge (without yet knowing it) and some of Ian’s vocals there might have left a mark for what happened later in Seattle.
October 7th, 2024 at 03:19Worth listening to?!?!!- I’d say so!
October 7th, 2024 at 14:02Oh my God!!😂
October 7th, 2024 at 14:23Deep Purple….grunge…
Ahahah, get yourself checked out by a psychoanalyst 🍺😂👍
hahaha
the editor to feel grunge inside =1 must have really eaten heavy before writing the review!
October 7th, 2024 at 22:23I am not sure why anyone would be concerned at the ‘horrible horrible’ Grunge word being used at all with the latest DP album. McBride does have attitude, dirty riffs in places played with a sense of gung ho. Isn’t that what personified the Grunge movement, a post punkish & metal style with attitude. Hell even Neil Young being branded the ‘Godfather’ of Grunge was laughable. However we all know that all he was playing at times were heavy ‘dirty’ riffs with plenty of attitude behind them. The reviewer here DID NOT say that the latest DP album was Grunge. He simply stated that is had a ‘feel’ of grunge to it & I agree with certain songs. That era is McBrides upbringing & influence in many ways, he ain’t old school in that sense, although Neil Young is, so there you go! A Grunge feel to it indeed, in places & I heard that immediately in McBrides rhythmic playing at times. All these genres & sub genres, where is it going to end. Uwe invented a new one today with ‘Prude Prog’ over at the New Country with Vivaldi story. The only trouble with Uwe’s new sub genre, is that I am struggling to find any artists that could fit into that. Cheers.
October 8th, 2024 at 09:29I have always considered Gillan a master of life..
Taking into account the trio of bands including Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin and their impact on music as a whole, Ian Gillan develops his thoughts:
“In a way, Sabbath were the most important because without them there would have been no Seattle, no grunge scene, no heavy metal. What Tony (Iommi, Black Sabbath guitarist) was offering in those early days was simply fantastic. It was really powerful.”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rockol.it/news-745901/ian-gillan-deep-purple-intervista-black-sabbath-led-zeppelin-smoke-on%3famp=1
October 8th, 2024 at 11:34Yo,
@10…
Great post !
Adonai vasu !
October 8th, 2024 at 13:44I honestly think that Back Sabbath influenced the most the Thrash scene, the Stoner scene, the Doom metal scene.
October 8th, 2024 at 22:52grunge has its roots in American singer-songwriter music.
‘In a Way’ & ‘Impact on music as a whole’ could be looked at in various ways. Heavy Metal & Grunge, maybe but that is about all. Musically I find Sabbath a lot more boring compared to Zep & Purple. Having said that, the early to mid 70’s & some of the 80’s material still sits well with me, good songs are good songs. They were an eye opener when I was young & remain an old chestnut. If it wasn’t for SBS & Sabotage they may have died an even earlier death me thinks. And then Van Halen appeared & people were well over the simplistic repetitive riffs & image of the Sabs. That comment is NOT a put down of Iommi & what he achieved, just a musical observation of the changing times in popular music. Hindsight eh? Cheers.
October 8th, 2024 at 23:21About me, Sabotage is the best from OzzY’s era..
October 9th, 2024 at 08:35Yo,
“Never Say Die” was a great way to wind-up the Ozzy era, both tragic that he was sacked-from-service, & yet promising new, great sounding music from the boys was delivered…They evolved yet-again, & the lightened, less produced sound gave them air-to-breathe & the music some space to move around. This album sounds fantastic, especially the drums.
Adonai vasu !
October 9th, 2024 at 10:50@ 15Gregster
October 9th, 2024 at 11:17Oh yes! I love that album!
A mix between freak rock and jazz (lovely guitars and drums in jewels like Air Dance, Over To Tou) with a fantastic Bill Ward.
Denigrated by critics and by the band itself, I find that NSD! is a magic, indispensable.
I hear Deep Purple in Bon Jovi and a lot of other AOR bands, Black Sabbath in Alice in Chains and the whole Seattle scene as well as much of heavy metal such as Manowar (just listening to Warriors Of The World, the album, the Iommi influence is all over) and Led Zeppelin in Aerosmith and (very much dumbed down) even in early Kiss.
They all definitely left their mark.
With all due respect for his musical achievements, Tony’s riffs and solos are much easier to replicate (I didn’t say: write) than the ones of Page and Blackmore for the mere fact that his fretting hand is incomplete (as Ian Anderson once observed, his physical challenges would have never allowed him to master the intricacies of Jethro Tull’s guitar parts). Page was sloppy but extremely busy and did weird stuff and Blackmore was terse, but mercilessly precise with a sound that was very unforgiving as regards mistakes. That might explain why the Sabbath sound conquered rehearsal rooms. There is no Lazy or Black Dog in Sabbath’s oeuvre as guitar skills go. They were still a great band though.
October 9th, 2024 at 14:39Count me in! I prefer latter era Ozzy Sabbath to the early era and Never Say Die was a mighty fine album. As were Technical Ecstasy, Sabotage, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Vol. 4.
And as regards Van Halen killing Sabbath as the opening act on that last tour with Ozzy: I’ve heard recordings of early Van Halen and DLR had the indisputable talent of being off key throughout, with only Michael Anthony saving the melodies via stepping in during the chorus parts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VuthIU6jl4
Ozzy had bum notes galore live, sure, but compared to DLR he was indeed Pavarotti. I’m amazed that people let DLR get away with his tone-flat delivery at the time (producer Ted Templeman saw him as hopeless and wanted him fired). It goes to show that not too many people have a musical ear.
October 9th, 2024 at 15:29Indeed Michael Anthony carried VH big time vocally. I do notice plenty of vitriol online in regards to DLR being hopeless as a lead vocalist. Most probably from the Hagar fans of VH, although I have read other rock music followers in general say that too. It showed big time come the post Hagar era as Anthony wasn’t there with Wolfgang filling that slot. Back to their debut era & VH captured many fans because of the flamboyance of their live act & ‘catchy’ rock songs plus EVH & his guitar virtuosity. Sabbath as a live band in particular, being done & dusted & in need of some sort of miracle stood out as a tired, spent behemoth. The one & the same Dutch lady friend of mine went to a Sabbath concert in 1978 in England, Van Halen had been dropped from the remaining tour gigs the night before. Seeing VH in 1979 & she said it was all about the energy, dynamic stage performance & of course DLR gymnastics & sex appeal (fancy that, he he he). How could the Sabs compete with that the year before? Poor Ozzy. I do like Never Say Die as an album though, Technical Ecstasy not so. I used to own the ’78 VHS Sabbath concert from about the 1982 era, excited at first to see them live, but that then did plummet to a sort of boring flat performance, they were spent. They played ok, Ozzy was hoarse & sounded ordinary, that happens. It was time. Cheers
October 10th, 2024 at 00:14According to statistics, 20% of the population has an ear for music, the same percentage has an IQ above 110, so intelligent people with an ear for music are probably somewhere around 10%.
October 10th, 2024 at 00:21Uwe @ 18…..I’m being kind when I say that Ozzy and DLR were not necessarily singers in the traditional sense, but were rather – “vocal stylists”!
October 10th, 2024 at 02:41David Lee Roth is an entertainer much before a vocalist & he would be the first to say so. He was vaudeville personified, also acrobatic as if people were at the circus or some sort of show. He happened to be in the right place at the right time & it worked big time for the band. He has never seriously claimed to be a good singer has he? He is a jester, a clown, a court minstrel. Interesting that that is when concerts did change somewhat in their physical delivery. Dave did it his way & with aplomb. He is a amusing chap & he knows what is going on. He played the game. VH were original, I didn’t hear any other band in their style. DLR era I am talking about, not Hagar. My Dutch lady friend who attended that 1979 gig couldn’t remember seeing any other musicians on stage that night. Her friends (all ladies) said the same, he he he he. A lot of dry ice effects on stage apparently, I said to her, ‘are you sure it wasn’t steam from all your eyes going all misty’. Good fun & all for the ladies & why not. The band did sound great she did say, she doesn’t just remember looking at the other musicians & if she did she doesn’t remember their images. Oh David, David, where art though David. Cheers.
October 10th, 2024 at 07:54@18: Or that the combined energy of a band, and the other musicians abilities are enough for a good day out. Same goes for Whitesnake the last ten years. 🙂
October 10th, 2024 at 09:00@ 18 – I do hope Uwe is joking with this comment regarding David Lee Roth’s vocals.”It goes to show that not too many people have a musical ear”. Does that apply to any artist recording & performing for their respective audience, or is it only relevant to DLR Van Halen. Cheers.
October 10th, 2024 at 10:24For the record: I think Eddie, Alex and Michael were great musicians. EvH’s status alongside Jimi Hendrix is perfectly deserved.
And I admit being from the Van Hagar family, I saw VH with Sammy at the Nassau Coliseum in 1988 (I was working as a trainee attorney in NYC back then) and although I wasn’t much of a VH fan at the time they blew me away. Eddie was mesmerizing in his playing and he tapped actually only very sparingly. Yes, DLR was entertaining and had a masculine voice, but his live vocals were just plain bad, the guy is tone-deaf big time.
I used to think too that VH had a one of a kind, totally original sound. Until I heard the original Montrose debut (produced by – you guessed it – Ted Templeman too) decades later. VH were incredibly patterned after them, and Sammy Hagar taking over from DLR years later brought everything full circle.
October 10th, 2024 at 16:08@ 25 – I knew Ronnie Montrose the guitarist from the Edgar Winter album ‘They Only Come Out At Night’ & that instrumental ‘hit’ Frankenstein. And of course Hagar the horrible came from Montrose the band, a Led Zep wanna be band if ever there was one. Those live clips are embarrassing with Hagar & his mike stance & posing & also vocal style imitation, the three piece hard rock blues thing, it was far too close & also poorer to what had only recently been done. No connection there at all musically to VH for my ears. EVH himself sort out Ted Templeton to produce the first VH album, after getting to know him from a previous Montrose support tour. EVH was very determined to NOT emulate anyone, he was an original in that sense & the original VH band were also. They were new, fresh, exciting & rather good. DLR & his antics are not what I yearn for in a front man. I am a stand & deliver sort of chap in that regard. However as I have previously stated, it worked for them, he was very different & it was original in that sense. Kudos to them for going all out & breaking the mould. We were a little disappointed in 1984 that Ian Gillan didn’t perform a few cartwheels on stage with DP, he he he. It was in vogue at that time so at least he could have made the effort. All water under the bridge though these days. History will never repeat. Cheers.
October 10th, 2024 at 22:48@ 26 MacGregor
October 11th, 2024 at 14:14you wrote everything well. And the Montrose pissed me off a little bit..
Huh? What the hell is Led Zep about this (except for Sammy’s hair?)?
https://youtu.be/3yjHmOW7ZuI
It’s the Van Halen blueprint!
October 11th, 2024 at 17:36In Ted Templeman’s autobiography he talks about wanting Van Halen to replace DLR with Sammy Hagar. At the moment he first heard the band, before they made their debut LP.
Fortunately that didn’t happen! Van Halen with DLR is light years more entertaining than Van Hagar. Their first two albums especially are desert island discs.
EVH himself may have wanted VH to sound like Montrose, at least production-wise, but DLR himself was more influenced by soul singers. Hence vocals that were more oriented to conveying a feeling than achieving technical perfection.
Jim “Dandy” Mangrum’s influence on DLR’s appearance and stage act has been widely noted. His vocal style was also influential, as DLR would likewise alternate growling and screaming to great effect.
Hagar may have been a “better” musician than DLR… Nonetheless I would take DLR-era VH, and DLR’s first solo LP, over every Van Hagar record combined.
Sammy on his own and with Montrose can be quite enjoyable… It’s perplexing that, for whatever reason, all the fun went out of VH’s sound when he joined. They really should have changed the name of the group.
In that OGWT clip, Montrose remind me more of Zeppelin that VH.
While VH did wear their influences (including Zeppelin, Purple and… Montrose) on their sleeves during their formative years 1974-7, as heard on many bootlegs…
By the time of their debut LP they had assimilated those starting points and come up with a really fresh sound. Hard to overstate how groundbreaking they sounded in the late 1970s.
October 12th, 2024 at 15:45And if I may add: Ronnie Montrose was a card-carrying DP fan. When once asked what his dream band would be, he said: “That’s easy, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice, Deep Purple without Ritchie! I really would have loved to do an album with them, I think they are all great.”
Ronnie did speak his mind too, I’ll never forget his quip about Bruce Springsteen: “Springsteen’s music is as narrow as AC/DC’s, they are both one trick ponies. But AC/DC are at least honest about it, while if you say it about Springsteen everyone is hugely offended. But essentially, nothing new or different has entered his music since the 70s and his live gigs always follow the same ritual. Like AC/DC’s.”
October 12th, 2024 at 17:35Uwe #30…..speaking of Bruce Springsteen, Ritchie has this little pearl to say about him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j6-Xqt9qBY
October 13th, 2024 at 02:10I don’t agree with the definition of David Lee Roth as a “tone deaf” singer in every way.
he had a very particular way of singing, which always gave the impression of being out of tune even when he wasn’t.
paradoxically it is one of the most difficult ways to sing.
It’s a bad natural attitude that a singer has or doesn’t have inside him.
then being out of tune live is another matter, even Ian or Freddy or Harltford or Dickinson made sensational mistakes.
Davide was probably even more inclined to go out of tune live because of his way of singing.
but if he had been a simply tone deaf singer Eddie would have kicked him out for sure.
and then he had those little very high screams that he did in a unique way and I struggle to remember another singer who could do them the same.
however technically Sammy Hagar was much better as a singer and also Van Halen’s songs were better in the period with Sammy (but it must be said that they were all more adult, more experienced and the songwriting standards from the mid 80s to the mid 90s were more refined for all the bands)
October 13th, 2024 at 12:26I think that the E-Street Band wall of sound is live pretty much a train wreck of a mess. Any second rate heavy metal band is neater and tighter in its arrangements. Live and in those stadiums and open airs he plays, the E-Steet Band bludgeons all the nuances of his studio recordings to death. I’d prefer hearing him with just one lead guitar, bass, drums and perhaps one set of keyboards, sort of like Bob Dylan tours.
He has written great songs and lyrics, but the live experience is sobering. And Nils Lofgren’s talent is totally wasted with him.
That album of soul standards he recently did was awful too. He has absolutely no idea about and feel for that type of music. Even Paul Stanley did better with his soul revue project.
October 13th, 2024 at 14:52Fla76, I never liked Roth’s vocals, even before I found out he couldn’t sing. And those screams he did weren’t in the category of Ian Gillan or Robert Halford, they were more or less a keyless percussive effect in his singing, he was basically scatting and not in tune either (DLR apologists always argue: “It wasn’t meant to be in tune!”). When the Van Halen debut came out, I was impressed by the guitar (you had to be), but the vocals were a big turn-off for me. Horses for courses. I mean Judas Priest’s Sin After Sin came out around pretty much the same time, now that was a singer who could hold a note – at various octaves.
DLR’s lack of pitch live was a constant issue with VH. As late as the recording of the debut, Ted Templeman wanted him replaced. Remember how VH had a hard time getting a record deal – I don’t think Eddie’s, Alex’s and Michael’s playing and singing was the issue here. Templeman had to record DLR piecemeal word for word to get him to sound in tune, it was a laborious process and not something Templeman as the producer of bands such as Montrose and The Doobie Brothers who had real vocal prowess was used to. DLR’s status in the band was always in question because both VH brothers felt that he wasn’t really a musician and holding them back in what they could do. When Why Can’t This Be Love came out, Eddie said in an interview: “We couldn’t have done a song like that with Dave, it is beyond his capabilities as a singer.”
EvH has also stated in interviews that the reason Van Halen never released a live album during DLR’s first tenure was that his vocals were live simply not up to scratch (and that late in their career live album from the Tokyo Dome proves that amply – I have all of VH’s albums because they are a relevant part of rock history). When VH toured Monsters of Rock in the early 80s in Europe, the reviews about DLR’s singing performance were scathing. Publications like Metal Hammer settled for “OK, it’s Van Halen with Eddie, you can’t really measure DLR with the yardstick of a real singer, he’s a charismatic frontman, but talks too much and sings too little.”
DLR once cracked the joke: “You know why most rock critics prefer Elvis Costello over Van Halen? Because most rock critics LOOK LIKE ELVIS COSTELLO !!!” Now that was funny and a real Rothism, but I couldn’t help thinking: “Elvis Costello has more music in his little pinky than you have in your 1,83 m height, Dave, and I don’t think that Paul McCartney will ever record with you, cowrite and sing with you or let you produce one of his records either.”
And if I may quote a Canadian bassist with a very high voice from a trio that has some very vocal fans here who wrote enraged to an American rock magazine (either Creem or Hit Parader) in the early 80s when they had run a spoof satire about a fictional rock star called “Geddy Lee Roth”: “I take issue with my name being mixed up with the one of David Lee Roth. Nobody in his right mind would want to be compared to him. That is the ultimate insult to a working musician.”
Ouch, but then Rush, especially as young men, could be a little too serious (some might say: pretentious) about their art. DLR probably lost neither sleep about the spoof feature nor about Geddy’s letter. He might have said though that most Rush fans only like Rush because they look a lot like Geddy Lee! 😂
October 13th, 2024 at 15:50@ 34 – Boo hoo & sob sob, weep weep.
October 13th, 2024 at 21:08“Elvis Costello has more music in his little pinky than you have in your 1,83 m height, Dave, and I don’t think that Paul McCartney will ever record with you, cowrite and sing with you or let you produce one of his records either.”
I bet DLR is really worried about all that Uwe. Do you attend Bob Dylan concerts, yes you do knowing full well that it could be anything, including a train wreck. There are plenty of other ‘singers’ who are not ‘on the money’ performing. Do you want me to name them all. Cheers.
Gulp.
https://snoopn4pnuts.com/cdn/shop/files/flag466_3f99b160-83e4-4e42-9a99-b58c15d38b1b.jpg?v=1695865398
Bob Dylan and Diamond Dave in one post. Can’t you resume writing about King Crimson and how much cloth women should appropriately cover themselves with, pleeeeeeze Herr MacGregor, I’ll be good, I’ll be good!!! 😂
I’m currently listening to Bob Dylan & The Band’s 27 CD live recordings from the 1974 Tour. Some nights are shambolic and out of tune (and even The Band cannot contain greater damage) and then the next night is brilliant, the set lists vary radically from night to night. Bob Dylan is technically not a good singer, he was just the voice of a generation. Diamond Dave otoh was an escapist artist with a very loud voice and great leg splits. Of course that must count something too.
I’m sorry, but I cannot attribute the same cultural relevance to the two. I’m sure it is my fault to not fully appreciate the finer points of this excruciatingly interesting idea.
There must be some kinda way outta here, said the joker to the thief …
October 14th, 2024 at 14:42@ 36 – no, it goes back to your comment at @18 – “Ozzy had bum notes galore live, sure, but compared to DLR he was indeed Pavarotti. I’m amazed that people let DLR get away with his tone-flat delivery at the time (producer Ted Templeman saw him as hopeless and wanted him fired). It goes to show that not too many people have a musical ear”. Which people would they be Uwe? And I replied @ 24 “Does that apply to any artist recording & performing for their respective audience, or is it only relevant to DLR Van Halen? It is what people like to be entertained by, many people do NOT care about such trivial’s & and I say that because they are out for a good night at a concert of a favourite artist of theirs, even if they may know or do not know that it may not be 100% musically correct performance. you have stated as much re Dylan. True there are some people who wouldn’t notice as much, but does that get in the way at all? Simple isn’t it? Whether it be Dylan, genuine Van Halen or whoever else. How many people say, ‘I don’t care if he can’t sing etc etc, I am still going to see Bob Dylan”. It also makes me wonder why Steve Vai & Billy Sheehan became involved with DLR after VH? Could have been for financial reasons, but surely if DLR was ‘on the nose’ as a lead vocalist & entertainer, any person with a ‘musical ear’ would have stayed well away from him? Anyway what is of more concern here at THS is that Uwe has another barbed thorn stuck in his side, DLR never to be removed & we are going to hear about it, over & over etc. A bit like the Gary Moore, Led Zep, ACDC etc thorns, they hurt at times no doubt, but will they ever be exorcised. Cheers.
October 14th, 2024 at 20:52#35 MacGregor
#36 Uwe
Even for me as a singer Bob Dylan means nothing and I can hardly stand his voice after 2 songs, I could never go to one of his concerts, I wouldn’t be able to do it.
bad singers in punk you are spoiled for choice.
among the many famous people who sang out of tune songs worthy of anthologies, one cannot fail to mention David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop….I couldn’t say anything about Mike Jagger because I never listened to the Stones’ live performances from the 70s.
October 14th, 2024 at 21:16I have no feelings for DLR one way or another. Not sure whether he would have been the guy I would have hung out with in school though.
His voice works on something like Ice Cream Man and I really dug this number off his debut:
https://youtu.be/_O41lWSqISU
When he sings-talks through a number and doesn’t have to hit too many notes it’s ok.
His image? An acquired taste. I have nothing against flamboyant frontmen – I love Steven Tyler for instance -, but DLR’s adult movie actor charm is about as alluring to me as Sam Fox‘ image.
Do I really have to like everything just because it’s hard rock? And moreover does the fact that it is liked by a lot of other people need to compel me in some shape or form? I listen to DLR live and I listen to Les McKeown live and my ears tell me that one of them hits more notes than the other and sings better in key. For a singer that is relatively important one would think.
I don‘t believe for a second that either Billy Sheehan or Steve Vai played with DLR for his musical or vocal qualities. He had a name and he was an outrageous frontman + both were paid well and could elevate their own status. I don‘t blame them. But even Vai has said that he relished performing with a singer like David Coverdale after his stint with DLR.
https://youtu.be/zifeVbK8b-g
October 14th, 2024 at 23:39DLR … I took pleasure in reading his book and some of his quotes found their way into my file of all time faves … His solo work is fun, all in all the guy is very entertaining. A singer? Don’t think so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0hGkqmIcvE
October 15th, 2024 at 09:26That‘s a lovely song about him, danke, I really like it. He‘s no doubt an entertainment figure and of course his image spawned people like Skid Row‘s Sebastian Bach.
Also, he was never plainly inane like Vince Neil. Roth had wit.
October 15th, 2024 at 13:52