Jim on Levon Helm

[ChiefOKONO]

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/24161972/page/91

[xmascriminal]

Bob Dylan before Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey and Freddie Mercury. Interesting. Rolling Stone's lists are always so fucking terrible. Dylan, Neil Young and Lou Reed all kick ass, but not one of them should be on the 1,00,000 greatest singers of all time list. Get Morissey out of the 90s. And get Thom Yorke out of the 80s. And put Roger Daltrey BEFORE Christina Agulera.  ::) :-? :'(

[dragonboy]

I love Jim's cover of Up On Cripple Creek, even more so when he follows it with Blue Moon Of Kentucky!

Thanks Chief  :)

[DaFunkyPrecedent]

Bob Dylan before Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey and Freddie Mercury. Interesting. Rolling Stone's lists are always so fucking terrible. Dylan, Neil Young and Lou Reed all kick ass, but not one of them should be on the 1,00,000 greatest singers of all time list. Get Morissey out of the 90s. And get Thom Yorke out of the 80s. And put Roger Daltrey BEFORE Christina Agulera.  ::) :-? :'(

...in my opinion, Bobby D should have been fuckin' number 1, but i'll admit, I'm biased.  You must also remember it's Rolling Stone and THEY ARE a pop magazine...

[bold99]

Bob Dylan before Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey and Freddie Mercury. Interesting. Rolling Stone's lists are always so fucking terrible. Dylan, Neil Young and Lou Reed all kick ass, but not one of them should be on the 1,00,000 greatest singers of all time list. Get Morissey out of the 90s. And get Thom Yorke out of the 80s. And put Roger Daltrey BEFORE Christina Agulera.  ::) :-? :'(

Neil Young should ABSOLUTELY be in the top 100...he should be in the top 10.

[lasvegas]

Dylan, Neil Young and Lou Reed all kick ass, but not one of them should be on the 1,00,000 greatest singers of all time list.

i mean, really??

this is crazy talk.

neil young is top 10, more likely top 5.

he put out 4 of the best albums ever btwn '73 and '76.

'time fades away' (live album)
'on the beach'
'tonight's the night'
'long may you run'

[pawpaw]

Dylan, Neil Young and Lou Reed all kick ass, but not one of them should be on the 1,00,000 greatest singers of all time list.

i mean, really??

this is crazy talk.

neil young is top 10, more likely top 5.

he put out 4 of the best albums ever btwn '73 and '76.

'time fades away' (live album)
'on the beach'
'tonight's the night'
'long may you run'

I agree that Neil put out great albums, some of the best, but this is a list of singers, not song writers or artists. I actually really like Neil's voice, but "100 best of All-Time"...probably not.

That list is bullshit anyway. I only got through the first five and closed out. Aretha, Ray...good start. Elvis had a great voice, but NO WAY is he a better singer than Sam Cooke! And John Lennon with the 5th best voice ever?!?! Paul had a better voice than him, and neither of them should be anywhere near the top 10!

But yeah, that's Rolling Stone for ya...

[lasvegas]

Dylan, Neil Young and Lou Reed all kick ass, but not one of them should be on the 1,00,000 greatest singers of all time list.

i mean, really??

this is crazy talk.

neil young is top 10, more likely top 5.

he put out 4 of the best albums ever btwn '73 and '76.

'time fades away' (live album)
'on the beach'
'tonight's the night'
'long may you run'

I agree that Neil put out great albums, some of the best, but this is a list of singers, not song writers or artists. I actually really like Neil's voice, but "100 best of All-Time"...probably not.

That list is bullshit anyway. I only got through the first five and closed out. Aretha, Ray...good start. Elvis had a great voice, but NO WAY is he a better singer than Sam Cooke! And John Lennon with the 5th best voice ever?!?! Paul had a better voice than him, and neither of them should be anywhere near the top 10!

But yeah, that's Rolling Stone for ya...

fair enough, i can agree with this.

and yes, they put together the worst lists!!

sam cooke = amazing.

[ritchiem4812]

You gotta remember this is Rolling Stone's opinion. I think it's a fun read. And Levon Helm is one of my top 5 singers.

[DaFunkyPrecedent]

Dylan, Neil Young and Lou Reed all kick ass, but not one of them should be on the 1,00,000 greatest singers of all time list.

i mean, really??

this is crazy talk.

neil young is top 10, more likely top 5.

he put out 4 of the best albums ever btwn '73 and '76.

'time fades away' (live album)
'on the beach'
'tonight's the night'
'long may you run'

I agree that Neil put out great albums, some of the best, but this is a list of singers, not song writers or artists. I actually really like Neil's voice, but "100 best of All-Time"...probably not.

That list is bullshit anyway. I only got through the first five and closed out. Aretha, Ray...good start. Elvis had a great voice, but NO WAY is he a better singer than Sam Cooke! And John Lennon with the 5th best voice ever?!?! Paul had a better voice than him, and neither of them should be anywhere near the top 10!

But yeah, that's Rolling Stone for ya...

I think your missing the point of "best singer".  A singer is someone who can convey emotion, attitude, purpose etc through his or her voice.  What makes Aretha # 1 is that when she sings, you really feel her pain, her struggle, her love, her what ever.  Think of all the ways Areatha could have sung "Respect".  But the cadence she chose, the voice she chose, the power she put behind each word, made that song what it is.  
The same goes for Lennon - I mean shit, he may not have "the best" voice, but when he sings "Imagine all the people" - your heart aches - it makes you feel something!  Now another person, with an AMAZING VOICE, could sing that same song, the could howl out each lyric in  epic proportion  - but the effect of the song will be lost.  
It's not the voice singing we should be looking at, but how the song is sung.  That's why Elvis is #3 - cause his voice and the way he sang his songs made girls knee's crumble.  Who the fuck else can do that?  That's why Dylan let Hendrix "have" All Along The Watch Tower, because he sang it better.  That's why Cobian made the list - because when he sang, kids felt his anguish.  


It's "The Way That He Sings"

Don't confuse voice and singer - two different entities completely.  

[SmokinShootin]

This is awesome, is this out yet?  I always loved Levon Helm, since I was very young, so this is a treat.

[aMillionDreams]

That's cool they let Jim right up Levon.  The Band is definitely one of his all-time favorites.

yeah, the list is BS though.

[Love Dogg]

Where is Ronnie Van Zant?  He, who happens to be THE best vocalist in Rock n Roll history isn't even on the list.  Even to the greatest skeptics, he would rank no lower that fourth on anyone's list.

>:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(

[bold99]

Where is Buddy Guy? he's like the Sam Cooke of Blues.

[Penny Lane]

is Chris Robinson on there?

[walterfredo]

You gotta remember this is Rolling Stone's opinion. I think it's a fun read. And Levon Helm is one of my top 5 singers.

It actually isn't Rolling Stone's opinion, but rather the combined opinion of a very long list of voters.  JJ was one of the voters.  

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/24161972/page/101

[Coltrane]

Bob Dylan before Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey and Freddie Mercury. Interesting. Rolling Stone's lists are always so fucking terrible. Dylan, Neil Young and Lou Reed all kick ass, but not one of them should be on the 1,00,000 greatest singers of all time list. Get Morissey out of the 90s. And get Thom Yorke out of the 80s. And put Roger Daltrey BEFORE Christina Agulera.  ::) :-? :'(

"All my favorite singers couldn't sing..."

-- d. berman


"My voice coach taught me to sing/ he couldn't teach me to love.."

--s. malkmus

[pawpaw]

Dylan, Neil Young and Lou Reed all kick ass, but not one of them should be on the 1,00,000 greatest singers of all time list.

i mean, really??

this is crazy talk.

neil young is top 10, more likely top 5.

he put out 4 of the best albums ever btwn '73 and '76.

'time fades away' (live album)
'on the beach'
'tonight's the night'
'long may you run'

I agree that Neil put out great albums, some of the best, but this is a list of singers, not song writers or artists. I actually really like Neil's voice, but "100 best of All-Time"...probably not.

That list is bullshit anyway. I only got through the first five and closed out. Aretha, Ray...good start. Elvis had a great voice, but NO WAY is he a better singer than Sam Cooke! And John Lennon with the 5th best voice ever?!?! Paul had a better voice than him, and neither of them should be anywhere near the top 10!

But yeah, that's Rolling Stone for ya...

I think your missing the point of "best singer".  A singer is someone who can convey emotion, attitude, purpose etc through his or her voice.  What makes Aretha # 1 is that when she sings, you really feel her pain, her struggle, her love, her what ever.  Think of all the ways Areatha could have sung "Respect".  But the cadence she chose, the voice she chose, the power she put behind each word, made that song what it is.  
The same goes for Lennon - I mean shit, he may not have "the best" voice, but when he sings "Imagine all the people" - your heart aches - it makes you feel something!  Now another person, with an AMAZING VOICE, could sing that same song, the could howl out each lyric in  epic proportion  - but the effect of the song will be lost.  
It's not the voice singing we should be looking at, but how the song is sung.  That's why Elvis is #3 - cause his voice and the way he sang his songs made girls knee's crumble.  Who the fuck else can do that?  That's why Dylan let Hendrix "have" All Along The Watch Tower, because he sang it better.  That's why Cobian made the list - because when he sang, kids felt his anguish.  


It's "The Way That He Sings"

Don't confuse voice and singer - two different entities completely.  

I'm with you funky, I did use the term "voice" when comparing Lennon and McCartney, and "singer" would've been a more appropriate, all encompassing term. But I meant things in broader terms, and I still feel that McCartney is the better singer. I'd also argue that when John sang Imagine, the impact was more what he was singing, and not how he was singing it, and that's more a compliment to him as a lyricist, not as a singer.

And Elvis certainly did make the ladies swoon, but he can't touch the soul of Sam Cooke.

[dragonboy]

And Elvis certainly did make the ladies swoon, but he can't touch the soul of Sam Cooke.

I don't give a shit about the list (come on people, it's Rolling Stone!) but I'm going to have to respectfully disagree regarding Elvis  ;)

I love Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding etc etc etc & honestly feel that Elvis Presley deserves a place up there with the best of them.  
I think a lot of people when they think of Elvis think of 'movie' Elvis & 'fat' Elvis & fun songs like Viva Las Vegas, which is fair enough but there is so much more to him than that.
I've been an Elvis fan since I was old enough to give a shit & he still blows me way even today. His best vocal performances (songs like If I Can Dream, American Trilogy, Suspicious Minds, Always On My Mind etc) never fail to impress me & gospel songs like How Great Thou Art touch me deeply whenever I listen to them.
I know that 99.9% of the people here will disagree with me & that's fine...I just felt the need to defend my Dad.

Anyway, getting things back on track, Australia's Raven records just released Levon Helm and The RCO All Stars & American Son as a midpriced 2-for-1  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]  

[ritchiem4812]

You gotta remember this is Rolling Stone's opinion. I think it's a fun read. And Levon Helm is one of my top 5 singers.

It actually isn't Rolling Stone's opinion, but rather the combined opinion of a very long list of voters.  JJ was one of the voters.  

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/24161972/page/101

Doesn't matter. Still the same logic.