Recently the Pains (my band) have been working on some songs by one of my favourite bands of all-time, Stone Temple Pilots. They were—in my humble opinion—the best thing to come out of th 90s (yes I'm including Nirvana and Pearl Jam in that comparison sorry Stu). I'd put three albums they released in that decade (Core, Purple & Tiny Music) up against any other releases by any other band. Every song on those 3 albums was great!
So when I heard the recent news that the band fired frontman Scott Weiland, I was saddened...It's too bad Weiland can't seem to keep his shit together, I consider him to be one of the top ten frontmen of all time.
I had this discussion with Stuart (my guitarist) the other day and he seemed surprised to hear I held Weiland in such high regard...surely, I could think of 10 other frontmen ahead of him...well...let's see...
Now before I list, let me say that this is by no means to be a definitive list...just my definitive list, and I reserve the right to change my mind. I should also say that I don't consider just any lead singer to be a frontman. I look at bands that I love like the Beatles and while a case could be made for either John or Paul, I consider that band to be more of an ensemble. A good frontman should almost transend the rest of the band and become the show. So...here I go, in order of preference:
- Freddie Mercury I'll give him the breathing room he deserves. If you don't know his work...do yourself a favour and look up some of Queen's performances. The bigger the venue, the better. Start with anything at Wembley Stadium.
- Jim Morrison Not a huge Doors fan, but I gotta hand it to him, he's been dead for decades...can you name any other member of the other doors?
- Robert Plant Sang for (arguably) the greatest rock band of all-time and would rank #2...if he weren't still alive and only a shadow of his former self.
- Mick Jagger Not a huge Stones fan, but the old man can still put on a show...AND rock the skinny jeans.
- Bono Not a huge U2 fan...but you can't discount the biggest band in the world and their even bigger frontman.
- Steven Tyler Yes the American Idol judge...believe it or not, Aerosmith remains the best live show I've ever witnessed in person. He has the unique voice, style and moves that make a great frontman.
- Ozzy Osbourne Not today's Ozzy...but Black Sabbath's Ozzie was THE [email protected] man.
- Axl Rose Say what you will...Axl had the voice, stage presence and especially the "DIVAness" to be a good frontman...even with such a small sample-size.
- Scott Weiland This is where I'll put him. He's got the voice, stage pesence and he's fronted not just one, but two superbands.
- Tie: Eddie Vedder/Chris Cornell Not a huge PJ fan, but they are one of the biggest bands and Vedder definitely qualifies as a frontman. Cornell has been in a couple of superbands of his own and...having tried to sing some of his songs...I can say with certainty that he's got the vocal chops...and I don't.
Honorable mentions: Kurt Cobain/Roger Daltrey/David Lee Roth/Michael Stipe/ Prince (when he headed the Revolution)/Jon Bon Jovi (yeah, I said it)/Dave Grohl
Who did I leave off/forget?
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