Most critical lead singer

[the_ultimate_evil]

steve tyler

 

[adhokk7]

Ronnie James Dio
or
Robert Plant

For which band?

 

[darkseid26]

For which band?

mainly Dio, but anything his voice is on is always epic, not so much some the Black Sabbath stuff he did.

 

[Zephyr Alexian]

hmmm..

Freddie Mercury

 

[The Chairman]

Oh, and Roger Daltrey.

 

[ttotheusher]

Paul Weller from The Jam
Bono from U2
Bob Geldof from...err...Band Aid?

 

[Silk Spectre]

Paul Weller from The Jam
Bono from U2
Bob Geldof from...err...Band Aid?

Bob Geldof/Boomtown Rats

 

[bunk]

Axel

 

[Heretic]

Trent Reznor is really the only member of Nine Inch nails, so without him it woulld of course be impossible to continue. The Doors continued, and Queen is still around (though I havent bothered to hear the Paul Rogers stuff). Unlike them, Nine Inch Nails would cease to exist forever if Trent Reznor decided to quit...of course, I dont even like Nine Inch nails, so id be fine with that.

 

[Silk Spectre]

If were talking critical to the band, Layne Staley of Alice in Chains. They tried to replace him with some other guy, but without those harmonies it just ain't the same.

 

[Rando]

Trent Reznor is really the only member of Nine Inch nails, so without him it woulld of course be impossible to continue. The Doors continued, and Queen is still around (though I havent bothered to hear the Paul Rogers stuff). Unlike them, Nine Inch Nails would cease to exist forever if Trent Reznor decided to quit...of course, I dont even like Nine Inch nails, so id be fine with that.

I found it to be interesting that Reznor is NIN's only real member.

 

[CFE]

Freddy Mercury is the best choice on this list so far...

Other notable leads that I don't think have been mentioned yet:

Eddi Vedder (Pearl Jam)
Bon Scott (AC/DC - Brian Johnson was fine, but Bon Scott was the s**t)
Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Robert Smith (The Cure)
Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran)

---

CFE

 

[Obi-Ron]

David Lee Roth


yeah, I went there.

 

[Eggyman]

Bon Jelly

 

[Heretic]

I found it to be interesting that Reznor is NIN's only real member.

I bought the early Nine Inch nails stuff, and havent bought any of their cds in about 10 years or more, but in the early in cds it stated:

Nine Inch Nails is Trent Reznor

and then it went on to list who else played on the albums.

and according to Wikipedia:

As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction

 

[UA-Archangel]

Gene Simmons from KISS.

 

[gap5ewl]

David Lee Roth


yeah, I went there.

 

[Motown Marvel]

if things were fair in the world, gerry roslie would be in the top 5.

 

[Drizzle]

Axel

Slash was much more critical to GNR than Axl. Case in point: their new song "Shackler's Revenge" from Chinese Democracy, without Slash, is pretty meh. I realize that we're talking only about singers, but Slash was the primary reason GNR was great.

I define a critical lead singer as a singer who is so famous that they practically become the face of the band. As in, you can't really name anyone else in the band besides the lead singer. There are only two lead singers who I can think of who fit this, and they are Freddie Mercury and Sting when he was with The Police. Bono comes close, though.

 

[BatSpider]

Alice Cooper obviously

 

[Nirvana]

It's been said but, Freddie Mercury, Queen's just not the same without him.

 

[CFE]

Gene Simmons from KISS.

Isn't Paul technically the lead

CFE

 

[OctaviusINC]

Tiny Tim

 

[UA-Archangel]

Isn't Paul technically the lead

CFE

Maybe, but who is the more replaceable player?

 

[Heretic]

Slash was much more critical to GNR than Axl. Case in point: their new song "Shackler's Revenge" from Chinese Democracy, without Slash, is pretty meh. I realize that we're talking only about singers, but Slash was the primary reason GNR was great.

I define a critical lead singer as a singer who is so famous that they practically become the face of the band. As in, you can't really name anyone else in the band besides the lead singer. There are only two lead singers who I can think of who fit this, and they are Freddie Mercury and Sting when he was with The Police. Bono comes close, though.

With all due respect, Slash hasnt done much greatness himself without Axl. Furthermore, the GUNS in Guns N Roses was Tracii Guns, who was partially responsible for the early greatness of the band, and he went on to have far more better than average songs in his career than either Axl or Slash.