Many say that Mr. Young and Mr. Dylan cannot “sing.” We all have heard and seen the jokes and lampoons, (particularly in Bob’s case.) Neil and Bob are not perfect when it comes to singing exact notes/pitches in every vocal, as say, an opera singer, or (insert your favorite boy band, or Mariah Carey-type-singer here) could. I personally think the both of them are excellent vocalists that can “sing.” Do you think Neil and Bob can sing? What makes you think so, or not?
Okay, who else read the title and had an Andrew “Dice” Clay line go through their heads?
Well, I think Bob sounds great from the 60’s to the 80’s, but now he sounds pretty damn bad. I saw him in Oklahoma City this summer, and unless you knew the words to the songs he was singing, there is no way that you could pick out a single word.
I really, really, really, dont like Neil Youngm though, so I might not be the best one to answer this question 
peace,
JB
Both of them put more emotion into one nasal whine than you’ll find in the entire Backstreet Boys ouevre. I think their songs lose a lot when other people perform them.
I understand when people just can’t get past it–some singers get on my nerves. (Whitney Houston, and as badly as I hate to say it, Iris DeMent.) But I don’t think it’s fair to call them “bad singers”.
Total hijack–love the name, Read Icculus. I’ve been to fifteen shows + one Trey show, myself. We ought to do some trading sometime.
Dr. J
It really depends on what you mean by singing. They’d never get a job as crooners or opera singers, but they aren’t off key (most of the time) and they convey what they want emotionally.
Two of my favorite non-singers are Joe Cocker and Tom Petty. The voice doesn’t make that much difference when the lyrics, emotion and music are good. The realism gets through to me.
Okay, so it was just me. I can live with that.
Actually, that was the first thing I thought of and had to open this thread just to find out if they could sing…
well Bob needs an engineer that can tell him that he can’t be understood.
As far as Neil goes. I am a huge fan. and when I hear a new album, I always want the songs to sound like him “nasally”. the ones that don’t are missing something. and I agree that a lot of people butcher his songs. but have you heard him sing backup to Emmylou Harris. it actually sounds good. they use his unique sound.
thats the diff between him and Bob. he seems to use his voice’s distinctive sound better than Bob does recently.
I’m not sure many people really listen to them for their singing voices. Whatever shortcomings they may have as singers, however, are more than compensated for by the fact that they can both (usually) write excellent songs. Ditto Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits – I get a little tired of the gravelly singing style, but I jes’ love their songs.
Neil yes. Bob no.
I think it just depends on what you consider singing. Whenever someone mentions Neil Young, I invariably hear “Godfather of Grunge” which just makes me laugh. I have never thought of Neil Young as a singer. (He writes interesting stuff, but it’s not my kind of music.)
Bob, on the other hand, well, let’s just say that he probably should have just retired when Jakob started singing.
I find voice quality to be important in singers. I can’t stand the vocal style of Macy Gray, but people find it imperative to shove her in my ears 7 to 10 times a day on the local radio station. Arrgh.
On the other hand, I love J Mascis. There’s just something in that wailing he does. And I have listened to a Dinosaur Jr. cd thousands of times, only to have someone say, “what is that screaming banshee crap you’re listening to?”
It all comes back to what you look for in an artist. I expect J Mascis to sound funny and wail and scream. I do not expect to be able to comprehend Bob Dylan. I admire some of the things that Neil Young does, such as the Bridge School Benefit, but I can’t stand his twangy, off-key, pseudo-bad-country voice. But, hey, it’s just my opinion.
I’m going to attempt something difficult: to judge the singing of Neil Young and Bob Dylan on their OWN terms.
Neither Neil Young or Bob Dylan was EVER a great singer in any conventional sense… but they were frequently the best possible interpreters of their own songs. To SOME people, Neil Young always sounded like fingernails on a blackboard, and Dylan always sounded like a nasal whiner. But as far as I’m concerned, NOBODY could have sung “Like a Hurricane” or “Down By The RIver” better than Neil Young, and NOBODY could have sung “Tangled Up in Blue” any better than Dylan.
The more important question is, can they still sing today? In my opinion, IF you liked Neil Young’s voice 30 years ago, you should still like him now. He can still deliver some very moving, very powerful vocals (I thought he did a magnificent job with John Lennon’s “Imagine” on that WTC fundraiser a few weeks back).
Dylan, on the other hand, sounds HORRIBLE! Not bad, HORRIBLE! Not “a little ragged,” HORRIBLE! I warn you, if you have a chance to see a live Dylan show, do NOT go to it! He has NO vocal talent left, and it’s painful to listen to him.
The sad thing is, even people who read this post are likely to ignore me. They’re likely to think, “Oh, Astorian always exaggerates.” Or they may think I’m just another Philistine, the same kind of guy who mocked Dylan’s unconventional voice as far back as 1965.
Folks, I warn you- I’ve LIKED a lot of Dylan’s work over the years. I own several of his albums. I speak as someone who saw Dylan in concert not long ago, and WANTED to like him.
Dylan’s band is superb, absolutely first-rate. And Dylan’s song selections were wonderful, a great mix of old and new. If Bob Dylan had even a tiny fraction of his old vocal abilities, he’d have put on a great show. But he DOESN’T have even the tiniest amount of vocal ability left. As a result, he’s often 30 seconds or a minute into a song before anyone in the audience can figure out what song he’s attempting to sing.
I BEG you, don’t go to any future Dylan concerts. Stay home, listen to your recordings, and reminisce if you must, but do NOT pay to see him live.
gasp! What kind of hippy are you?!?
(Just joshin’ ya, buddy!)
I’m a big fan of Neil. I also like Bob’s older stuff, but I’ve always thought he is a much better songwriter than performer. The covers of his songs are almost universally better than the originals.(IMHO.)
Credentials first:
I’ve been singing since I was 6 years old and in the past few years, have sung everything from tenor to soprano with a small a capella choir. I also discovered Bob Dylan’s music in a music book called “Great Songs of the 60’s” when I was a teenager. I particularly liked “Like a Rolling Stone” and “The Times They Are a Changin’”.
Opinion:
That said, sorry folks, much as I like his lyrics, IMHO, Bob Dylan can’t sing or carry a tune, at least in the performances I’ve heard. I respect the man, love the music, and my opinion might be different if I heard him at his best, but he hits notes which grate on my nerves, and I can’t understand the lyrics which made such an impression on me. Oh well, even heroes have faults.
Neil Young can sing, from all I’ve heard – I can certainly sing along with his music easily enough.
As for other mentioned, Whitney Houston’s got a great voice, but is anyone ever going to tell her she’s a true coloratura soprano – “The Star-Spangled Banner” doesn’t have that many notes? Straykat, I’m with you – Tom Petty, yes, any time. The Back Street Boys sing good enough close harmony, but they’re not for me. Not that you asked but the best close order harmony I’ve heard is the Eagles at the beginning of “7 Bridges Road”.
CJ
“We could be standin’ at the top of the world
Instead of sinkin’ further down in the mud.”
Meatloaf (who can definitely sing)