A severely underrated rock vocalist: Joe Walsh

matt53

If you're familiar with Joe's story or his work, this might get a few laughs but I consider Joe Walsh to have one of the best rock voices and certainly one of the best vocalists in the Eagles. His version of Desperado is amazing.
Thing is that Joe didn't think of himself as much of a singer but if you've ever tried to sing Funk 49 you can really appreciate how good he was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_qHU_6Ofc0
I don't know if I've ever heard someone seemingly have so much fun singing a rock vocal. Joe has quite alot of range, grit and most importantly, his personality shines through in every note.
And that's the thing. It's hard for me to think of another voice besides Little Richard that conveys a good rock and roll vibe, fun and raunchiness with a bit of a tongue-in-cheek attitude.
Just to show you how good of a singer he was, they had to drop the key of Funk 49 several notes for the singer who replaced him in the James Gang.
Not to mention, of course, he sings while playing his often highly syncopated riffs.
Any other fans of Joe's singing?

highmtn

Yes.

I was really happy that he was on the Eagles' last tour. I had never seen Joe live before, and it was a real treat. He's a real character.

He has a very unique voice. And tongue-in-cheek is a good description of his attitude, as well.

My Maserati does 185. I lost my liscence, now I don't drive...

:^)

matt53

Yeah Joe is one of those rock stars who amazingly stayed alive into old age, considering all the drinking and drugs he did.
What do you think of his voice, Bob?
It seems popular in some YouTube videos to bash his singing but I think his singing is fantastic.

highmtn

He has his own style, and nobody does Joe Walsh better than Joe Walsh. I personally like his voice and style. Some of his originals like "Pretty Maids All In A Row" are just awesome, and very different from your run-of-the-mill pop or rock songs.

matt53

Yeah that is a great song. I've actually figured out how to sing and play Funk 49 at the same time so I'm looking forward to doing that with my band.

mkeymont

Love it! Unapologetic, in your face vocal. He's the vocal equivalent of a guitar turned up a little too loud, or a little kid throwing a tantrum. Pure rock & roll. The interesting thing about his vocal style to me is that he seems to have no vocal weight whatsoever, and yet he still has that much raw power.

matt53

Exactly @mkeymont. I saw him along with Bad Company a week ago and it blew me away! As much as I love Bad Company and Paul Rodgers' singing, Joe just seemed to have so much energy and fun in his singing. He was hitting all his classic high notes and his voice still has all that grit from his James Gang days. I once again cannot express what a great singer Joe is. It's a shame he never thought much of his own voice and buried his singing in the stereo channels of his early songs.