January 01, 2007
10 Best Screams in Rock
Not as easy as it sounds . . . What counts as a scream? The arguments this caused!
I can't even start to explain all the discussion, but a few things were decided:
The list is ROCK, otherwise the R&B guys would get every spot. One spot per artist.
We also decided that to be a truly "great" scream, it had to be at least semi well-known.
And if you think it was fun spending days wading through songs - listening to scream after scream - you're right! Some days, it's good to be Magnificent Bastard.
10. Arthur Brown - Fire
Actually two great screams in one song - if you count the most awesome song intro ever as a scream (and I do). The next one comes about 2 minutes in . . . you're gonna burn!
9. Rob Halford - Victim of Changes
Halford really didn't scream much, he sang in a falsetto wail . . . but the end of this still gets me every time. Close enough for Monkey Politics . . .
8. Joe Cocker - With A Little Help From My Friends
Pick whatever live cut of this you want.
7. Steven Tyler - Dream On
One of the great scream singers . . . and the song that showed us all how good he was.
6. Robert Plant - Whole Lotta Love
Admit it - you can hear it in your head right now.
5. John Lennon - Mother
The live cut (Live in New York City) . . . evidently the "Primal Scream" therapy did SOME good. Some of these screams might be questionable as to the true nature (scream versus singing), but not these - these are raw, unbridled, primal screams.
4. Ian Gillian - Child In Time
Especially the live cut from "Made In Japan". OK, this is another one of those that just might be stretching the limits. Granted, it's a falsetto wail, but it's so extreme, so intense, so excessive that he had to stop performing it live because it was wrecking his voice.
3. Roger Waters - Careful With That Axe Eugene
The live cut from Ummagumma . . . you want screams? These are screams . . . awesomeness!
2. Bruce Dickinson - The Number Of The Beast
13 seconds of fury . . . starting the career of one of the greatest singers to come from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
1. Roger Daltry - Won't Get Fooled Again
Was there ever any doubt as to the number one spot? The most iconic scream in Rock owes more to the song writing than the singer, but Daltry made it forever his own.
and finally
Honorable Mention: Bruce Dickinson - Run To The Hills
This would have been number 3, but BitterMF insisted on 1 entry per artist. I must have listened to these two screams at least 100 times . . . each. Was it an easy choice? Nope. But that's my job . . . like I said, it's good to be Magnificent Bastard.
Honorable Mention: Jack Black - Master Exploder
Too new to count as a classic, it should go down in the annals of awesomness. It will be marked with an asterisk, however, because Jack was wearing a performance enhancing Pick.