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Layne Staley vs. Kurt Cobain (1 Viewer)

See thread title.

  • Layne Staley

    Votes: 8 66.7%

  • Kurt Cobain

    Votes: 4 33.3%

  • grunge suxx0rz LOL junkies

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    12
Einzige

Einzige

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Since the two are - perhaps unfairly - linked as rock-and-roll martyrs, both being "grunge" (though AiC drew more on metal and Nirvana on punk):

I fully expect Cobain to win, owing to the size of his fanbase, but...

... in my opinion, Staley by far. To begin with, Staley could actually sing. Even at the height of his productive heroin addiction, in 1996, Staley was able to take part in the creation of the single best "Unplugged" album in MTV history, Alice In Chains Unplugged:



His rendition of "Down In A Hole" in particular is just heartwrenching, and even mistake on "Sludge Factory" is endearing.

Just listen to the control Staley shows over his voice in this one song:


The vibrato during the main verse is insane. His voice is wobbling up and down with perfect precision, in a way most classical singers would struggle to match. And if that's not enough, his vocal range means he hits some ridiculous octaves during the chorus, all while bellowing at a volume that would shred the vocal chords of lesser singers. Or listen to the vocal harmonies during "Down In A Hole" - he keeps hitting notes with utter precision that would make Cobain break down and weep.

So my vote goes to Layne.
 
Layne Staley hands down.

Kurt Cobain couldn't even tune his guitar for Unplugged.
 
I'll go with Staley since I'm a big AIC fan, and Cobain was the second best musician in his own band.
 
Einzige said:
Since the two are - perhaps unfairly - linked as rock-and-roll martyrs, both being "grunge" (though AiC drew more on metal and Nirvana on punk):

I fully expect Cobain to win, owing to the size of his fanbase, but...

... in my opinion, Staley by far. To begin with, Staley could actually sing. Even at the height of his productive heroin addiction, in 1996, Staley was able to take part in the creation of the single best "Unplugged" album in MTV history, Alice In Chains Unplugged:



His rendition of "Down In A Hole" in particular is just heartwrenching, and even mistake on "Sludge Factory" is endearing.

Just listen to the control Staley shows over his voice in this one song:



The vibrato during the main verse is insane. His voice is wobbling up and down with perfect precision, in a way most classical singers would struggle to match. And if that's not enough, his vocal range means he hits some ridiculous octaves during the chorus, all while bellowing at a volume that would shred the vocal chords of lesser singers. Or listen to the vocal harmonies during "Down In A Hole" - he keeps hitting notes with utter precision that would make Cobain break down and weep.

So my vote goes to Layne.
Click to expand...


There is nothing wrong with Alice in Chains, but my heart belongs to Nirvana. So clearly Kurt Cobain, if you ask me.

Maybe Staley was technically better, and although I can't really judge that as I don't play music myself, I think "grunge", much like punk, never was about technical brilliance in the first place. And Cobain's voice is so versatile and memorable, it still hits me much more than Staley ever can -- no matter if he "hits the notes" or not.

Cobain could perfectly transport a message and feeling, not by singing properly, but by screaming, howling, moaning, even scratching his voice in the perfect moments. He made things with his voice that made me wonder if he'll ever be able to use it again -- think of very early songs like "Hairspray Queen" or "Mexican Seafood". Now he probably wouldn't have been the right choice to sing classical music, but he and his versatile voice were just perfect for a 90s grunge band, IMO.
 
Kurt Cobain here. Alice in Chains I only listened more rarely and did not like his voice.

Consistent with his high energy songs minor modifications Kurt Cobain would mean " The Wolf Shepherd" in Turkish. For he and only he could dominate even wolves while the dog whisperer goes only as far as... well dogs.

Alternatively it also means "Worm Shepherd" which doesn't really mean all that much.
 
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in my opinion, a "better" choice cannot be made. while both bands are lumped into "grunge," their genres are actually quite different. Nirvana evolved from punk, while AIC had roots in rock (and even glam; i.e. Diamond Lie.) both were passionate, somewhat dark, and brilliant, and both have inspired wave after wave of younger musicians.
 
I have to go with Kurt. His voice and lyrics always had a profound affect on me.
 
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