The Animals & Other Great British Singers

[Rob Hall]

Chris Farlowe (even though I never liked him).

I doubt that your distaste for Chris Farlowe's persona exceeds mine. It was when I learned that he had a thing for nazi regalia that did it for me. I always thought him too overblown and bombastic anyway. He was certainly the worst thing that ever happened to jon Hiseman's Colisseum. Plant? He's got a voice and he can sing when he wants to. There's a lot of people with an ability that they don't always put to best use. Victor Brox is a name I recognise, but I'm not sure where I know it from. I probably didn't say how much I like Steve Marriot's voice - there was a visceral edge to it that the others didn't have; that - and one look at his face - told you all you needed to know about where he was coming from. I was genuinely saddened when he died, he always struck me as the real deal.

[Dayna]

I thought Robert Plant was good. I used to have his solo album, & liked it.
I liked Led Zeppilin sometimes, but not all of it.

[Rob Hall]

I was - and remain - a fan of Zeppelin's first couple of albums. After that they started to get too caught up in the whole rock star thing.

[Adam Blake]

Yes, Farlowe and Lemmy can shove their Nazi "memorabilia" up their respective rear ends. And could they just SHUT UP?! Victor Brox was one of those blue eyed soul guys from the late 60s who never made it but who had a great voice.

I loved Marriott too. And I use the word advisedly. I cried for him.

Zeppelin? Well, I think one has to learn to stop worrying and enjoy them. The first four albums are plenty though. I don't buy the "Led Zeppelin invented World Music by using Arabic scales on 'Kashmir'" schtick that I've heard bandied about, but Plant is a genuine music lover and remarkably human for someone so rich and famous.

[Dayna]

Kashmir was my favorite song by them. I listened to it when I was in school. I always liked it for the different rhythm. Maybe it was sort of the precurser for what's drawn me to World Music, later.

[davidt]

Back to the Rising Sun. I'm interested in Charlie's comments about the credits. I've just recently bought an Animals CD myself. I've just started going down my local pub and joining in the jam sessions where a performance of HoftRS is derigueur most weeks. I've made the organ part my own! As I was studying it I was struck by how carefully constructed the whole arrangement was (or was it a random happy accident). I also noticed the guitar part was actually a note or two more complex than most jammers play it.

I realize I've be playing this song for over 40 years now as it was one of the first things we tried as kids with guitars back in the 60s. I still have the (completely useless) sheet music, but I don't believe I can attach a scan of the cover here.

Cheers
David

[Adam Blake]

It's an ingenious arrangement - and as you say, the guitar part is much trickier than it seems. The rhythm bobs and floats very cleverly. I think they must have played it live a lot to get it sounding so good as legend has it that it was recorded in ten minutes at the end of an otherwise abortive recording session.

[Dayna]

I was thinking, if you want to meantion great British male singers, the lead singer from Foreigner was really great. Would that be good as another thread?

Now I'm not sure if he was British or not. I know the others in the band were.

[Rob Hall]

I was thinking, if you want to meantion great British male singers, the lead singer from Foreigner was really great. Would that be good as another thread?

I don't know Dayna. I had to look Foreigner up, as I know the name but I wasn't sure what they sounded like. I now know that their hit was "Cold As Ice", which I can remember hearing. It seems that their singer was a guy named Lou Gramm, who is American. But I think I can see where you're coming from, because Lou Gramm sounds (to me) a lot like the Brit singer Paul Rodgers who sang with Free (Allright Now, Fire And Water, My Brother Jake, etc) who went on to form Bad Company.

[nikki akinjinmi]

Dare I mention Joe Cocker? Or does he not count?

And although I didn't like everything he did and I don't think he had a particularly brilliant voice, Robert Palmer, another British singer who I would like to mention.

I thought what he tried to do was interesting particularly, early on his career (prior his slick "re-inventions"). His work with Allen Toussaint, for example.

In fact when I hear Johnny Bristol's "Hang On In There, Baby" I am so struck by the vocal similarities in parts.

[Rob Hall]

Dare I mention Joe Cocker? Or does he not count?

I don't see why not. He can sing, he's got a voice. Some may not like it, but he can carry a tune, etc., and his voice has character. Same goes for Robert Palmer. But as with any singer, it's what they choose to do with the voice they have that is perhaps more important. I agree with you on Robert Palmer's Allen Toussaint recordings - though having listened to them recently they don't seem to have stood the test of time too well. And though Joe Cocker relies too much on histrionics for my liking, no doubt there are recordings somewhere on which he holds back on the strangulated gargle and allows the song to breathe. Another Brit who can sing when he chooses to is Tom Jones: I recently came across his version of "Sixteen Tons" and it's marvellous; his contribution to the Mike Figgis film that was part of the Martin Scorcese Blues series was pretty impressive too.

[Adam Blake]

Joe Cocker has blotted his copybook with so many bad records over the years but he did have a fabulous voice back in the day and he did make at least two great records ("With A Little Help From My Friends" and "Delta Lady"). Plus, his appearance in the Woodstock movie tickles my British bone: there's this slightly overweight, ratty-haired ex-plumber's mate from Sheffield, completely out of his box, standing up in front of half a million Americans and screaming his head off beautifully in tune when everything stops at the end of the 2nd bridge of "Friends" - apart from Hendrix, Sly and Richie Havens, it's the most exciting bit in the whole film!

[nikki akinjinmi]

There was a time when I could never take Joe Cocker seriously, and I think it was mainly because that parody the actor, and comedian, John Belushi had done of Joe Cocker singing "With A Little Help From My Friends" - I think was from Saturday Night Live, or something.

Anyway, I digress...I think Joe Cocker can sing with feeling...

[Dayna]

Eric Clapton seems to be a good singer. he really puts a lot of his feelings into his songs.

[Phil Abel]

Worth checking out is Joe Cocker's Stingray album. Recorded in Jamaica with the likes of Eric Gale, Richard Tee and Steve Gadd, and a soprano sax solo from Sam Rivers. It is a delightful, soulful collection, beautifully played and sung. It was recorded in Jamaica, and there are some gentle reggae rhythms. It's all a million miles from the hard rock tendency of the only live show I have seen of his.

Luxury You Can Afford, produced by Allen Toussaint, also still stands up. It includes a fantastic version of Dylan's Watching The River Flow.