C/D: Songs Not Sung By the Lead Singer a.k.a. Take 5, D., Mick, Michael, Stephen, J., et. al.

These days, this is only an issue with rock bands, since most pop, R&B, and Hip-hop albums have loads of guest vocalists anyway.

There's a couple of later OJ songs with Zeke Manyika singing too, I think but I can't remember which ones.

Peter Tork - I'd rather not.

(I realize that he also sang "Let's Go" among others, but judging just from the ubiquitous Heartbreak City videos I saw in 1984 at the age of 11, how was I supposed to have ever known that?)

Kim Deal rocks this category, but Noel Redding, God bless him, not so much.

xpost

Ben Orr sang a LOT of those early hits! "Let's Go" and "Just What I Needed" for instance. I'm not sure what the story is re: ric just writing the stuff and eventually being the blatant leader/front person but Ben's a big presence in the old stuff.

"alone again or" by love

Lou sings like half of the first record, seriously like almost the entire first side of it.

Fela's "Upside Down," where Sandra sings.

The Who's "Eminence Front"!! Although Pete got a lot of lead vocals esp. around the Sell Out period.

Superchunk's version of "Nancy Sin," kinda.

Uncle Wiggly traded off singing more or less equally among the three band members, but there's a song called "Small Factory" on one of their albums that Sari from the Gamma Rays sings.

Fred "Sonic" Smith on MC5's "Shaking Street."

yeah but that's at least partly because McLean's mixed way down and there's half a dozen layers of Arthur Lee BVs slapped over the top

So what is it about some of these songs that freshen up the diversity a bit while others serve as a distracting boot to the shins?

the afghan whigs - "my curse"

pink floyd - "have a cigar"
uncle tupelo - "give back the keys to my heart'

guest vocalists are always fun.

BOC switched up their singers a lot, even though Bloom was the nominal lead singer.

Sabbath's Bill Ward had a song on both Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die.

I say C

All in BOC sang except Lanier, who must have had a frog's croak of a voice...

Classic in general, but Dud when the singer plays the role of scene-stealer during live performances, shuffling around at the side of the stage...

Pearl Jam's "Mankind" is sung by I think Stone Gossard and sticks out like a sore thumb.

There's at least a small handful of Wings songs sung by Denny Laine, all of which I think he wrote. Even better (?) are the oddball Jimmy McCullough songs: "Wino Junko" and "Medicine Jar." "Wino" is one of my favorite Wings tracks really. Not so good: "Cook of the House" by Linda McCartney which is really really bad.

I like when Stuart Copeland gets to sing in the Police on "On Any Other Day" and it basically turns the whole band into Klark Kent.

does the Beach Boys' letting their manager sing "Day in the Life of a Tree" count? His vocal is pretty crappy but the song is still really beautiful.

i LOVE the Clash songs where Mick Jones takes vocals even though he's technically not a great singer.
and Simonon *makes* "Guns of Brixton" with that snarl you can almost hear

Mike Mills only sings lead on the most unabashedly poppy REM tunes (Superman, the Troggs cover, Texarcana) - which plays to his strengths, cause he's basically got an unaffected, made-for-high harmonies Monkees-type voice
Yup. "Near Wild Heaven" too, I think.

doesn't brian may sing on one of the tracks on queen's - news of the world? 'sleeping on the sidewalk', i think

may did sing a couple of (his own) tunes on each queen record, i believe. moreover, roger taylor used to sing a song on every queen album also.

The Antennae Jimmy Semens' songs on Trout Mask Replica - "Pena" and "The Blimp" - classic.

Dud: anything where you can't tell - Kelley Deal on I Just Wanna Get Along off Last Splash, Mike Mills anywhere.

Classic: Kim Deal, James Kirk, Tanya Donnelly, James McNew.

One bit better than classic: Bob Mothersbaugh. His country hick voice is kind of hot.

The only Triffids song I can tolerate is "Tarrilup Bridge," sung by some shaky-voiced girl who was apparently their keyboardist. I'm allergic to Dave McComb's voice, and I'd prefer just about any guest vocalist in his stead.

I love the version of "Shake Sugaree" that features Elizabeth Cotten's tweenage granddaughter on vocals.

Peter Tork was hit or miss but he was HIT on "Do I Have to Do This All Over Again?"

Classic: Jackson 5, "I Am Love"

Dud: ABBA, "Does Your Mother Know"

Classic: any of the Church songs where Peter Koppes sings ("A New Season", "Maya")
U2 "Seconds"

Classis: Flavor Flav

Peter Tork KILLS on "Your Auntie Grizelda." In fact... what are the "misses" exactly?

The Triffids! I forgot!

Jill Birt is dud on Tarrilup Bridge, she sounds too syrupy, but she's good on Tender Is The Night. Alsy McDonald's Do You Want Me Near You? on In The Pines is probably one of the best songs on that album - David McComb does get kind of irritating after a while.

Jill Birt is great, in small doses.

Ronnie Lane was always good in the Small Faces - got quite a lot of lead vocals in the Immediate-era. Lots of Townshend-sung Who songs too.

The Move were always interesting with Carl Wayne's lighter pop voice and Roy Wood's more 'rock' pipes. I love how Carl just does the middle-8 on the otherwise Roy syng 'Fire Brigade'.

Steve Diggle (Harmony in My Head, Autonomy, Love is Lies, You Know You Can't Help It).

I think, if the other singer has a good voice, this is a good thing. Depeche Mode songs performed by Martin Gore, for instance, often represent a breath of fresh air.

Same about Colin Moulding taking over lead vocals from Andy Partridge, although this happened so often it was almost a usual thing.

It becomes kind of confusing if the other singer is of another gender though, as that really makes it sound like another act altogether.

Also
Classic: Brian May
Dud: Roger Taylor

It becomes kind of confusing if the other singer is of another gender though, as that really makes it sound like another act altogether.

or, in the case of MBV/Loveless, it's difficult to tell the singers apart.

one dud is the Edge on "Van Diemen's Land", but with a classic on "Numb" a few years later

Phil Lesh on "Box of Rain" is classic, though Phil didn't get many lead vocals

Classic: the Carter Family songs where A.P. sings lead, "Cannonball Blues" for instance

classic: danny whitten on come on baby lets go downtown from 'tonights the night'

Bruce Gilbert on "The Other Window"

Greg Ham, "Helpless Automation" on Business as Usual

Throbbing Gristle - Hot on the Heels of Love

Keith - almost always classic

spiral stairs singing "kennel district" and "date with ikea" -- i love the suddenly different sound of the music but his singing really bugs me. so that's more a case of different songwriter offering a nice palate-cleansing thrill, i guess, rather than a different singer. there are other songs he sings that i actually like his singing on.

that's funny, to me those are easily Spirals best Pavement songs. I like some of his other stuff, too, but those are def the pinnacle imo.

love David what's-his-name on "Dirty Work", though i imagine at the time he was hired, if Fagen had had his way, the lead vocal ratio would have been the other way around.

Palmer

An obvious leader in this category: Squeeze - "Tempted"

Give the new guy one lead vocal, have it turn out to be your biggest U.S. hit, then the guy leaves the band. Typical Squeeze luck--two steps forward, two steps back.

alltimebestexample...
Fred "Sonic" Smith on MC5's "Shaking Street."

still OTM

An obvious leader in this category: Squeeze - "Tempted"

REALLY? I never knew that. Similarly: The Cars "Drive".

It's only quite recently that i've sorted out definitely who sings what on later Beach Boys records - now I know I can hear the difference but until I was conscious of it i never really registered the different singers that much....

Mission of Burma - That's When I Reach For My Revolver
Max Tundra - Lysine/Acorns

Max Tundra - Lysine/Acorns

For some reason I always just think it's Ben's version of Camille singing those songs. When he does them live, it sounds exactly the same.

Speaking of Max Tundra, I wish he'd do something similar live to that recent Pitchfork.tv thing - reconstructing/rearranging those songs with real instruments. When I saw him last month he was essentially just singing along to instrumental versions of the LP tracks. I mean, it was fun but his music and talent has potential for something more.

its a minor ringtone/autogoon classic (at least w/ me & drake) but i love how "black shampoo" pops up on wu tang forever - a u-god solo joint about foot rubs in a hot tub?? fuck yeah

also on the wu tip that killah priest joint off liquid swords - ive def seen a lotta herbs/newjacks online quote from it and attribute the lines to gza

"Phil Lesh on "Box of Rain" is classic, though Phil didn't get many lead vocals"

Great song...except for the vocals. Lesh cant sing for shit.

It was alright on the album, though.

Someone who isn't Cornell sings one of the tracks on Superunknown in a weird high-pitched voice - I think it's the bassist.

Hawkwind - Silver Machine (Lemmy)

Someone who isn't Cornell sings one of the tracks on Superunknown in a weird high-pitched voice - I think it's the bassist.

That's Head Down, I think.

Big Star, Way Out West

Kraftwerk, The Telephone Call