Changing lead singers...

Pearls&Stones

Is there anyone else who thinks it is borderline heresey for a band to replace a lead singer?

I like that INXS is trying to come back, but without Michael Hutchence, they aren't INXS to me. Another example is Queen. I was shocked to discover they were touring with a new lead singer. Brian May and the guys are awesome musicians, and were a huge part of what Queen was, but I believe it died with Freddie Mercury.

There are a <very> few exceptions. Van Halen could be considered one, but Eddie's guitar was always more the 'voice' of the band than any singer.

I don't want to give the impression that musicians are interchangeable. I think it would be really hard to replace Jeff, Mike or Stone. But I think it is impossible to replace the voice of a band.

I think once a singer is gone, it is best to do what Audioslave or Velvet Revolver ( or Pearl Jam for that matter) did and start a new band.

LedZepFan

You start a new band and move on. Simple as that. The singer is the voice of the band.

karma defect

I think in case of the doors or queen it is more a trip down memory lane. I don't think a band can record a new album and say it's the same band. At least not when they where together for a long time and have been succesful.

catefrances

AC/DC replaced their singer.

i think it depends on the band.
i grew up on inxs so i do think its borderline heresy in that case.

Queen without freddie mercury is not Queen as far as i'm concern
same with thin lizzy
dead kennedys are doing it. misfits did it. jesus even alice have done it. no thank you.

Pearls&Stones

It can be done early.

Faith No More did it before they became famous and it is kind of cool to go back and hear the first guy now. It seems callous to say since, for example, Mike McCready has been such a huge part of what Pearl Jam is, but it is a little easier to replace musicians than singers.

Like I said before, I like the idea of what Audioslave is. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more in rock. It seems to happen a little too much in hip hop. People are always popping up everywhere. It is hard to follow.

catefrances

Pearls&Stones wrote:

Like I said before, I like the idea of what Audioslave is. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more in rock. It seems to happen a little too much in hip hop. People are always popping up everywhere. It is hard to follow.

i like the idea of what audioslave COULD be.

jeffbr

Genesis did it too, with great success.

pineapplesandwaves

Pearls&Stones wrote:

Is there anyone else who thinks it is borderline heresey for a band to replace a lead singer?

I like that INXS is trying to come back, but without Michael Hutchence, they aren't INXS to me. Another example is Queen. I was shocked to discover they were touring with a new lead singer. Brian May and the guys are awesome musicians, and were a huge part of what Queen was, but I believe it died with Freddie Mercury.

There are a <very> few exceptions. Van Halen could be considered one, but Eddie's guitar was always more the 'voice' of the band than any singer.

I don't want to give the impression that musicians are interchangeable. I think it would be really hard to replace Jeff, Mike or Stone. But I think it is impossible to replace the voice of a band.

I think once a singer is gone, it is best to do what Audioslave or Velvet Revolver ( or Pearl Jam for that matter) did and start a new band.

I agree. There are exceptions where it can work, I suppose (i.e., AC/DC), but I don't think you should replace the lead singer. Like someone mentioned, bands should do what Velvet Revolver and Audioslave did and create a new band. New name ... new material.

dCowboyPJ

The thing with Queen though is that their not touring under just the Queen name. Its Queen + Paul Rodgers. So I think its a little different... And man, I saw them a few weeks back. One of the best concerts I have ever seen. I was blown away. They were probably the best sounding band I have seen live.

I think with Audioslave is a different thing though. Their music style totally changed. There's no way they could go on with the name Rage.

gtbrown77

Pearls&Stones wrote:

It can be done early.

Faith No More did it before they became famous and it is kind of cool to go back and hear the first guy now. It seems callous to say since, for example, Mike McCready has been such a huge part of what Pearl Jam is, but it is a little easier to replace musicians than singers.

Like I said before, I like the idea of what Audioslave is. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more in rock. It seems to happen a little too much in hip hop. People are always popping up everywhere. It is hard to follow.

Pantera did it too. Before Phil joined the band and they released Cowboys From Hell, they were a glam metal band!!! Kinda hard to imagine, huh?

Pearls&Stones

King Nothing wrote:

The thing with Queen though is that their not touring under just the Queen name. Its Queen + Paul Rodgers. So I think its a little different... And man, I saw them a few weeks back. One of the best concerts I have ever seen. I was blown away. They were probably the best sounding band I have seen live.

I think with Audioslave is a different thing though. Their music style totally changed. There's no way they could go on with the name Rage.

Hey, I have an honest question. I'm going to sound like a jerk, but I really want to know. Was there anyone else at that show?
The reason I ask is because my wife's work had somehing like 1000 tickets that they were just giving away and none of the employees took them

enharmonic

It depends on the band IMO. If the singer is also the principle songwriter, then it's kind of difficult to change singers and have it feel genuine. If on the other hand, someone in the band writes the majority of the material, you have a bit of latitude. The catch being a guy with a signature sound to his voice like Layne Staley. Even though Jerry wrote most of the music and a lot of lyrics, Layne brough intangibles to the table that cannot be easily replicated.

Pink Floyd replaced Syd. New Edition replaced Bobby Brown. I'm sure that there are others...I just can't think right now. Both acts I cited had significant success after replacing an integral part of thier sound.

dCowboyPJ

Pearls&Stones wrote:

Hey, I have an honest question. I'm going to sound like a jerk, but I really want to know. Was there anyone else at that show?
The reason I ask is because my wife's work had somehing like 1000 tickets that they were just giving away and none of the employees took them

The ACC was about 3/4 full.

I was kinda suprised that it wasn't sold out. I think it might of been because of the high ticket prices. I was sitting in the upper level and my tickets were like $80. The tickets in the lower section were like $130...or something like that. So that might of scared off some people. But its weird that people weren't taking free tickets. I would of been all over that.

pj_zombie

I think that when any band changes or replaces one if it's key elements that made it unique it should change it's name and become a new band. Especially when it comes to singers who tend to be the 'sound' of a band.

audiodave

Mike Patton wasn't Faith No More's original singer was he?

I don't like their earlier material with the original singer, but love FNM with Mike. So in that case, it works.

jb13letters

Pearls&Stones wrote:

Hey, I have an honest question. I'm going to sound like a jerk, but I really want to know. Was there anyone else at that show?
The reason I ask is because my wife's work had somehing like 1000 tickets that they were just giving away and none of the employees took them

I know the U.S. tour started in Jacksonville, and that was Q + PR's only Florida date. The ticket prices were between $35 and $200. About a week before the show, they had a 2 for 1, and they still managed to get only about 3500 people to show up.

I remember seeing the box office somewhere, and it was reported that they sold 3500 out of 5000 available seats, which was inaccurate- the arena here holds at least 14000, probably closer to 16k. They must have been counting only the lower level or something.

My mom's a pretty big Queen fan, and I was going to take her for her birthday, but it turned out that she'd be out of town that weekend, so I didn't go.

I think ticket prices had a lot to do with it.