Would you say Rick James is a Great singer?

I mean, would you say his voice is melodic and pleasant to listen to like Marvin, El's or Nat King Cole?

I don't think that's what he was aiming for. His voice was powerful sometimes, I suppose, but the songs/arrangements always seemed to be the focus.

I don't know what would qualify as "Great", but I think he had a very strong & rich tone that was thick with texture. And he always brought it, never dialed it in. Plus he had a strong grasp of melody, harmony, phrasing... so yeah, I'd say he was pretty great. But then for me, every "singer" has their area, and Rick was good at creating his space, and bringing you into it.

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exenn said:

"It is better to travel well than to arrive."

exenn said:

I never really thought about it. I've loved RJ since backinthaday, and I just enjoyed his music- but I never thought, "Ooh, Rick can sing!"
I think he had a very powerful voice that fit the heavy groove of his music.

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funksterr said:

Yes and he is underrated. Listen to his ballads, he can sing.

Rick had a great voice

it really fits on all of his tracks

very emotional with his delivery

Rick was influenced by Eddie Levert. He voice always fit well in his songs.

He wasn't a Johnny Mae oops I mean Johnny Gill type of singer or a Luther but he showcased his voice well in his songs.

He never tried anything vocally that was out of his element.

And considering he felt the heat from Prince at least he didn't try to bust out in a falsetto.
[Edited 8/13/09 9:29am]

just listen to "When Love Is Gone" off of "Fire It Up" or "Fire & Desire" (although Teena owns it with her performance)

I will say that he definitely had a unique voice, and I suppose I could stand to revisit some of his ballads, since I mostly know him for his party anthems.

Superfreak!

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Rick had an awesome voice. His Ballads like "Fire & Desire", he was all over the place. A very strong chest voice! I actually think he was an underrated vocalist, perhaps because the Funk was usually the focus of the music.

Absolutely not. I am sorry, but I always had to control my laughter when I heard him "belting" it out and sounding all pompous. He was just not my cup of tea in that regard. He always seemed to be trying too hard. LOL

What is a chest voice? You mean he's a tenor?

Yep. "Love In The Night" shows the different sounds of his voice.

Rick James is that DUDE!!!!!
Motown should put out a "ballads" collection on him!!!!!

His voice is perfectly suited for his funk cuts, for many of his slower cuts it doesn't however work always that well. You can easily hear that he knows how to write an R&B ballad, but to my ears it's almost as if he were always writing them for someone else than himself (well, considering his personal history that wouldn't be a surprise). For the occasional mid-tempo number, like "Glow", he could pull off really nice vocals though.
[Edited 8/14/09 13:19pm]

scriptgirl said:

Extremely powerful voice, but maybe not a great singer.

Better than me, though!

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[Edited 8/13/09 7:49am]

novabrkr said:

I just think Rick wasn't the greatest R&B balladeer ever because, frankly speaking, he wasn't a terribly sensitive man.

minneapolisFunq said:

scriptgirl said:

what do you mean, he just put a lot of emphasis on his syllables?

The one little thing is he and Teena made VERY prominent use of vibrato.

You know Beyonce' and Christina make use of runs? (Melimas)

Well, Rick and Teena had that with the vibrato.

okay, what is vibrato and isn't chest voice your lower register, then?

scriptgirl said: