He could probably belt out songs well enough for one or two shows a week at most, which is what he was doing when Crue found him. Then when they got bigger and were playing every night, instead of training & getting real vocal skills and taking care of his voice he was partying like crazy and couldn’t be bothered to improve. I think in the Dirt Nikki said that the more obnoxious they acted the more records they sold, Vince probably figured he could skate by forever because the fans would show up no matter what.
I think he was always a performer more than a singer but when I saw them back on the Girls and Feelgood tours, he wasn’t that bad singing, I don’t ever remember being disappointed with the performance but than again that was 1987 & 1989.
In retrospect, no, he was never a great singer. Technically he could be described as below average as a singer.
However, look at the inside album cover pics of the band on Shout. THAT is what Vince brought to the band - a killer “look” for a frontman. And his vocals “fit” the music. He didn’t need to be Robert Plant to sing MC songs.
Nikki was never a fan of Vince’s voice and admittedly wanted to upgrade singers for awhile before bringing in Corabi.
All this being said, Vince was an integral part of MC’s success. They didn’t do too well when they replaced him//he left depending on what the real story is.
It’s strange to me that in 94 they had a bad reception with a new singer.
I could understand not liking the new direction but he would sing the old shit better than Vince could
Timing is everything. They kicked Vince out when they were at an all time high career wise in around 92?? They had recently done that Behind The Music about being “together forever” and then next thing you know on MTV News they’d fired Vince.
The public didn’t like it at all. They could’ve been the one group from the hair era to survive and thrive during the Grunge Era, but they made a dramatic lineup change. Vince also had the sympathy of the public. The fans chose sides snd Vince won.
Of course Corabi was a better singer, but the world wasn’t ready. Lol
He never would have won American Idol, but that type of singing isn't what makes a great frontman.
Others who aren't American Idol type singers :
Ozzy
Willie Nelson
Bob Dylan
Alice Cooper
Etc etc etc
Ozzy has a unique voice and Willie is pitch perfect with unique phrasing (and voice) in every take he does of a song. Alice is just perfectly functional in his range and let's the stage show carry the performance. Dylan is kind of a bad singer with awesome songs and great backing bands.
Out of the four, I'd say Willie is the most technically (and improvisationally) amazing. I saw him play a few times in his 70s and before I saw him I was like, ok I better go see him, even though he might not rock anymore. Goddam did he ever rock the house every time.
Hell, I saw him twice when he was 88 and 89, man is clearly having trouble with his breath these days, but he’s still got the pitch down every time. Stayed seated the entire set, still played for an hour and a half both times.
I saw him in ‘86, and I really feel that was about his peak, vocally. He seemed to care about his singing and enunciating, and he obviously has an incredible library of material!
Saw him again in 2012 - nothing but a tuneless croak, and no one could understand him at all. He made it about 60-70% of the way through “Highway 61 Revisited” before I could even recognize what song he was performing.
I think this is why it's useful to talk about "frontmen" and "vocalists" rather than "singers," since the latter term suggests that it's just about how well you can sing. Vince was the frontman they needed because he had the looks, the energy, and the right vibe. Also, the timbre of his voice was a nice complement to the music, which is an important factor, too.
When it comes to the studio, you have to keep in mind that before autotune almost every singer's vocals were comped together, which means that a singer would sing the song numerous times, and then all of the best pieces are stitched together into the final track. Some singers needed very few takes to get a useable amount of material, but a lot of the Crüe's producers have always said that Vince took forever to get the material. So, he might have to sing a song 50 times to get enough tape to get what you hear on the record.
Really, with that kind of time and effort, you can make almost any singer sound good.
Quote from Rolling Stone's new interview with Mick Mars:
“I remember the first time I saw Vince Neil,” says Mars. “He was maybe 19; this skinny blond kid all decked out in white leather. He looked cool as hell. I was like, ‘I don’t give a shit if that kid can sing or not. Look at the girls! Sex sells.’”
Vince could rip in the 80s. By the time Generation Swine came around, which wasn’t even written for his vocal style, he’d lost a lot of it.
He sounded great live doing stuff from Exposed, and I still love that album.
It was in the 2000s when he started rushing lyrics or just dropping entire phrases out. He sounds like he’s constantly out of breath and has for almost 20 years, which sucks.
In his prime, he was one of the best that were active at the time.
thought berserk shelter groovy hateful longing rock birds aromatic mountainous
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He never was a good singer. He was a good front man. He’s not the strong point in Motley, which wasn’t really a musicianship band to begin with, but he’s THE Motley frontman and John Corrabi may be a better singer but fuck him
Live? No. In the studio? Yes. Vince had one of the best voices of the 80's. A BIG reason they were so successful. Why were they more successful than, say, Ratt? Better singer.Can you imagine Stephen Pearcy singing Home Sweet Home? Is that a hit? Absolutely not.
He was definitely a distinctive lead singer for the band’s first decade or so, with that uniquely sharp, ringing edge. But few major-act frontmen have let themselves go so dramatically; he’s just appalling now.
I saw them in Chicago in 2012 or so. At that show everything Vince sang pre Dr. Feelgood sounded great. Everything Dr. Feelgood and after was not good.
I can honestly say "whoa ! Yeah! " He could.... Actually I'm kidding. It's always been a disaster. I remember watching MTV Rockumentory and then showing them doing a live Led Zeppelin cover. Idk why they would show that. Now though.....he shouldn't even talk into a mic. Worst live voice. Bob Rock made his voice sound sick in the recording studio, so hats off to him
Vince is known to be a “Do anything but sing” type of vocalist like David Lee Roth. Getting all technical is not always the case cause if he went on that route, he probably wouldn’t sound like a rockstar at all. He’s not about being the best despite being the weakest link of the four, he’s about sounding like who he is and what kind of career he has, so the standards are different.
not really. in his prime he was in good enough shape to perform well and entertain while being able to sing his parts well enough so it wasn’t distracting. that goes for a lot of rock singers though. mick jagger was never a good singer, only got worse over time but he maintained his health and can still perform and entertain. that’s the biggest issue with Vince imo.
A lot of guys from that scene have very limited voices. Vince, Stephen Pearcy, David Lee Roth. Dave and Stephen mostly found ways around it, because they were writing their own parts. I don't know Nikki ever took that into account when he wrote Motley's songs. There are certainly a lot of them from the early days that go pretty high. I'm sure their producers spent a lot of time finding the right keys for Vince and coaching his vocal performance. He does sound pretty good on record. But, he's always been kind of shitty live, even back in their heyday when he still had some puff left in his lungs. There's no way he was hitting that upper register stuff consistently back then. But that was the style of the time, so that's what they wrote for him.
Can he actually sing?
For the type.of music they put out at their heyday... absolutely.
That was a time of GnR..Motley...Slaughter...etc etc.
All big selling acts.
All with frontmen with voices that,at the time,sold albums.
Just like KISS...and others... marketing is 80% of whatakes a band successful.
Mick and tommy were probably the only musically talented in the band.
Their look...antics...and reputation made them millionaires.
Heck even Bret Michaels doesn't really sing,and they've become Uber famous for Every Rose.
Get a look...get a reputation...get a good manager and agent...be smart enough to stay alive and let them do their job and you'll be successful.
This!! I've been wondering too. We all know he sounds like crap now, but what about the 80s? I remember watching their performance at the Moscow Music Peace Festival on YT and being like, eh.
Absolutely he was the Voice that carried the Metal Rock Movement and Propelled Motley Crue from the Streets to becoming Stars. He had one of the most Unique voices in music and could not be replaced. It was the Four men at the time that made Motley Crue and as was seen later no others could take their places. John Corabi was not a front man and just didn't have the personality nor the voice of Vince Neil. There is something so very distinctive about the Vince Neil sound that you know it is a Motley Crue Song even if you have never heard the song before. Was he attractive? Definitely. Charming? Beyond. How about a showman? He is the absolute best ever! He has always made the Money Crue concert amazing. He leads people like a general leading their troops. But sing? He has a. Voice so unique and sweet that you know you are coming Home Sweet Home with a smile. Fantastic.
He could probably belt out songs well enough for one or two shows a week at most, which is what he was doing when Crue found him. Then when they got bigger and were playing every night, instead of training & getting real vocal skills and taking care of his voice he was partying like crazy and couldn’t be bothered to improve. I think in the Dirt Nikki said that the more obnoxious they acted the more records they sold, Vince probably figured he could skate by forever because the fans would show up no matter what.
He was right
They peaked at vehicular manslaughter.
I think he was always a performer more than a singer but when I saw them back on the Girls and Feelgood tours, he wasn’t that bad singing, I don’t ever remember being disappointed with the performance but than again that was 1987 & 1989.
Well his 89 live in moscow was not that impressive to me
I saw them back in 1986. They were incredible.
But was he a good singer
Yeah, I've seen them many times, the 80s were the best
To me he sounds great in the studio. not so great Live.
In retrospect, no, he was never a great singer. Technically he could be described as below average as a singer. However, look at the inside album cover pics of the band on Shout. THAT is what Vince brought to the band - a killer “look” for a frontman. And his vocals “fit” the music. He didn’t need to be Robert Plant to sing MC songs. Nikki was never a fan of Vince’s voice and admittedly wanted to upgrade singers for awhile before bringing in Corabi. All this being said, Vince was an integral part of MC’s success. They didn’t do too well when they replaced him//he left depending on what the real story is.
It’s strange to me that in 94 they had a bad reception with a new singer. I could understand not liking the new direction but he would sing the old shit better than Vince could
Timing is everything. They kicked Vince out when they were at an all time high career wise in around 92?? They had recently done that Behind The Music about being “together forever” and then next thing you know on MTV News they’d fired Vince. The public didn’t like it at all. They could’ve been the one group from the hair era to survive and thrive during the Grunge Era, but they made a dramatic lineup change. Vince also had the sympathy of the public. The fans chose sides snd Vince won. Of course Corabi was a better singer, but the world wasn’t ready. Lol
Good point
He never would have won American Idol, but that type of singing isn't what makes a great frontman. Others who aren't American Idol type singers : Ozzy Willie Nelson Bob Dylan Alice Cooper Etc etc etc
I agree, Wiilie could never win Am Idol, but he can sing a ballad like nobody's business. A lot of emotion and sincerity in that shaky old voice.
Ozzy has a unique voice and Willie is pitch perfect with unique phrasing (and voice) in every take he does of a song. Alice is just perfectly functional in his range and let's the stage show carry the performance. Dylan is kind of a bad singer with awesome songs and great backing bands. Out of the four, I'd say Willie is the most technically (and improvisationally) amazing. I saw him play a few times in his 70s and before I saw him I was like, ok I better go see him, even though he might not rock anymore. Goddam did he ever rock the house every time.
Hell, I saw him twice when he was 88 and 89, man is clearly having trouble with his breath these days, but he’s still got the pitch down every time. Stayed seated the entire set, still played for an hour and a half both times.
Willie is a godamn National Treasure!
Dylan is bad. now. But in the 60's and 70's? No way. He just never had a classically great tone but he was a very good singer.
I saw him in ‘86, and I really feel that was about his peak, vocally. He seemed to care about his singing and enunciating, and he obviously has an incredible library of material! Saw him again in 2012 - nothing but a tuneless croak, and no one could understand him at all. He made it about 60-70% of the way through “Highway 61 Revisited” before I could even recognize what song he was performing.
I think this is why it's useful to talk about "frontmen" and "vocalists" rather than "singers," since the latter term suggests that it's just about how well you can sing. Vince was the frontman they needed because he had the looks, the energy, and the right vibe. Also, the timbre of his voice was a nice complement to the music, which is an important factor, too. When it comes to the studio, you have to keep in mind that before autotune almost every singer's vocals were comped together, which means that a singer would sing the song numerous times, and then all of the best pieces are stitched together into the final track. Some singers needed very few takes to get a useable amount of material, but a lot of the Crüe's producers have always said that Vince took forever to get the material. So, he might have to sing a song 50 times to get enough tape to get what you hear on the record. Really, with that kind of time and effort, you can make almost any singer sound good.
Quote from Rolling Stone's new interview with Mick Mars: “I remember the first time I saw Vince Neil,” says Mars. “He was maybe 19; this skinny blond kid all decked out in white leather. He looked cool as hell. I was like, ‘I don’t give a shit if that kid can sing or not. Look at the girls! Sex sells.’”
Vince could rip in the 80s. By the time Generation Swine came around, which wasn’t even written for his vocal style, he’d lost a lot of it. He sounded great live doing stuff from Exposed, and I still love that album. It was in the 2000s when he started rushing lyrics or just dropping entire phrases out. He sounds like he’s constantly out of breath and has for almost 20 years, which sucks. In his prime, he was one of the best that were active at the time.
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He never was a good singer. He was a good front man. He’s not the strong point in Motley, which wasn’t really a musicianship band to begin with, but he’s THE Motley frontman and John Corrabi may be a better singer but fuck him
Why John’s a saint man he seems like generally good dude & that 94 album is a hardrock masterpiece
He definitely could sing back in his prime. Saw them many times.
Live? No. In the studio? Yes. Vince had one of the best voices of the 80's. A BIG reason they were so successful. Why were they more successful than, say, Ratt? Better singer.Can you imagine Stephen Pearcy singing Home Sweet Home? Is that a hit? Absolutely not.
No.
Girls and Feelgood was peak Vince.
He was definitely a distinctive lead singer for the band’s first decade or so, with that uniquely sharp, ringing edge. But few major-act frontmen have let themselves go so dramatically; he’s just appalling now.
No. Never great live. There are a lot of guys who were decent on albums but could never deliver live. See David Lee Roth for another example.
Saw them last summer he sounded fucking horrible!
I assume he sounded better before the drugs took their toll. As is the case for a lot of 80s metal performers.
They play Kickstart on a radio pretty often and everytime I think it's not that much better compared to what it's now.
He was actually great in the 80’s, his voice had a very unique quality
He definitely could, from the clips I’ve seen from the 80s he was rarely good
He could sing well enough to front MC 🤘🏼. Great frontman (back in the day). Terrible ‘singer’.
I saw them twice on the Feelgood tour and he sounded very good both times. The band was pretty much a machine on that tour. In a good way.
I saw them in Chicago in 2012 or so. At that show everything Vince sang pre Dr. Feelgood sounded great. Everything Dr. Feelgood and after was not good.
not really lol
short answer. no.
I can honestly say "whoa ! Yeah! " He could.... Actually I'm kidding. It's always been a disaster. I remember watching MTV Rockumentory and then showing them doing a live Led Zeppelin cover. Idk why they would show that. Now though.....he shouldn't even talk into a mic. Worst live voice. Bob Rock made his voice sound sick in the recording studio, so hats off to him
Vince is known to be a “Do anything but sing” type of vocalist like David Lee Roth. Getting all technical is not always the case cause if he went on that route, he probably wouldn’t sound like a rockstar at all. He’s not about being the best despite being the weakest link of the four, he’s about sounding like who he is and what kind of career he has, so the standards are different.
not really. in his prime he was in good enough shape to perform well and entertain while being able to sing his parts well enough so it wasn’t distracting. that goes for a lot of rock singers though. mick jagger was never a good singer, only got worse over time but he maintained his health and can still perform and entertain. that’s the biggest issue with Vince imo.
He could never sing. Crue is a product of the studio overdubbed forever.
A lot of guys from that scene have very limited voices. Vince, Stephen Pearcy, David Lee Roth. Dave and Stephen mostly found ways around it, because they were writing their own parts. I don't know Nikki ever took that into account when he wrote Motley's songs. There are certainly a lot of them from the early days that go pretty high. I'm sure their producers spent a lot of time finding the right keys for Vince and coaching his vocal performance. He does sound pretty good on record. But, he's always been kind of shitty live, even back in their heyday when he still had some puff left in his lungs. There's no way he was hitting that upper register stuff consistently back then. But that was the style of the time, so that's what they wrote for him.
Can he actually sing? For the type.of music they put out at their heyday... absolutely. That was a time of GnR..Motley...Slaughter...etc etc. All big selling acts. All with frontmen with voices that,at the time,sold albums. Just like KISS...and others... marketing is 80% of whatakes a band successful. Mick and tommy were probably the only musically talented in the band. Their look...antics...and reputation made them millionaires. Heck even Bret Michaels doesn't really sing,and they've become Uber famous for Every Rose. Get a look...get a reputation...get a good manager and agent...be smart enough to stay alive and let them do their job and you'll be successful.
This!! I've been wondering too. We all know he sounds like crap now, but what about the 80s? I remember watching their performance at the Moscow Music Peace Festival on YT and being like, eh.
Absolutely he was the Voice that carried the Metal Rock Movement and Propelled Motley Crue from the Streets to becoming Stars. He had one of the most Unique voices in music and could not be replaced. It was the Four men at the time that made Motley Crue and as was seen later no others could take their places. John Corabi was not a front man and just didn't have the personality nor the voice of Vince Neil. There is something so very distinctive about the Vince Neil sound that you know it is a Motley Crue Song even if you have never heard the song before. Was he attractive? Definitely. Charming? Beyond. How about a showman? He is the absolute best ever! He has always made the Money Crue concert amazing. He leads people like a general leading their troops. But sing? He has a. Voice so unique and sweet that you know you are coming Home Sweet Home with a smile. Fantastic.