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CLASSIC ROB HALFORD! WHO NEEDS LEATHER?!

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Having watched and read interviews with Halford, I think he was still wearing the hippie blouse look up through most of Sad Wings of Destiny. I think they were trying to compete with the glam look, for a while.

Then, after a while, he decided to start wearing what he wore in his personal life, the leather and the biker gear. And then the band adopted the look. I always remember when he was talking about being gay and how could anyone not see that. He said, "Come on - I was walking onstage dressed like Glen (the biker) from the Village People!" Because he really had that look going by the time they released British Steel.

And his look has progressed from the San Francisco street parade thing to a real biker look. He has also matured into a fine individual. But I wish he would get away from the "Painkiller" sound, even though it is his favorite JP song.

The progession I see from this song to present day is that, over time, he gained more "rasp" more "distortion" which leads to the modern "heavy metal" sound and sacrificed range and clarity to do it. If you want to dance, you have to pay the piper.

And before someone tries to spank me on that, may I refer to Bob's contention that maintaining a fat thick "chest" throughout may cause some loss of the highest notes. Again, it's a trade off.

Just like in Frisell's book on the tenor voice, if you are a legit tenor, than your training is going to take away your lowest notes in the dynamic range, though not in the artistic range. Time to fish or cut bait. Are you a tenor? Well, then, train like one.

I think, though I have not read the other book, his book on baritones, that he says the same thing. If you are a baritone, train like one and expect to lose some basso notes at the very bottom.

That being said, I think he is singing some things differently than he used to do, but I don't know if it's from loss of voice or an artistic choice in order to compete with the Nickelbacks and Creeds and Pearl Jams.

For example, Motley Crue put out Saints of Los Angeles, a grunge album that has become quite popular. But I kinda still like Neil when he was whiny on "Shout at the Devil."

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I saw priest last year. I have seen them 5 times before. But, last year, Rob's voice was the best i have ever heard it. It sounded almost like he had taken opera lessons. A lot of his singing was clean and operetic, yet powerful. I am not sure he lost anything. He may just be getting better lol. The scream in the chorus of Blood Red Skies pierced the stratosphere. I was in awe the whole time. Not sure what Rob Halford you guys are taking about lol. I guess we all have bad days / bad shows. I sang a show last year with the flu. I could barely stand up there under those lights for the 45 minutes that were required. And my voice sounded like crap lol. But, to me, it was better to just do it, than to cancel.

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