Yeah I'm going there. Hard to think of a better vocalist in all of pop music in their respective genders than Aretha & Stevie. Aretha the uncontested Queen of Soul, Stevie the man that was Labeled a genius as young as the Age of 13(at a time when people didn't give unwarranted praise as often as today). Both had very versatile voices, perfect pitch, excellent control, who would you say was the better vocalist in their prime?

Better? Who's to say? They're both excellent singers.

That being said, I definitely prefer Stevie (although I love Aretha's voice as much as anyone). I'm one of the few who prefers his original take on "Until You Come Back to Me."

Who's this, really? Scriptgirl?

How can u compare these 2 artist?

Hmmm... tough call.

Steveland had the better corn rows but Reethie has bigger ta-tahs. Far as sangin' goes I think I like 'em both.

Harlepolis said:

I miss being able to see that kind of stuff in the backroom of the org.

Harlepolis said:

huh? Aretha shits on Stevie with vocals and chews him up like a piece of Popeye's chicken.

LOL....actually I feel the premier singers are Luther Vandross and Patti Labelle.

BklynBabe said:

\

Luther??? His voice is thin and airy and he sings every song in the same key. I'll take Stevie any day over Luther, but Luther has some great cuts too.

RnBAmbassador said:

exactly. You can't compare the two singers, both are too different.

Stevie Wonder is vastly overrated as a vocalist. I'm sorry. Most people are afraid to go there given his status but I just can't live with that lie. It irks me, and this is coming from one of his biggest fans. Musical genius, yes, exceptional songwriter, producer, and instrumentalist yes but shouldn't be continuously praised as one of the best singers of all time. He's not in that league.

musicjunky318 said:

In your opinion. I think in his prime Stevie was an amazing singer. It's not about status or nothing.

NMuzakNSoul said:

He's exceptional but sometimes I believe people go overboard. I wouldn't put him in the same class as Sam Cooke who I think is the alpha male in terms of vocals.

MidniteMagnet said:

Don't diss my boy Luther like that. Luther is a treasure and should be treated as such.

All of the singers mentioned here are great singers in their own right.

The crazy thing is that Luther worked with ALL of them.

Luther's hunger for a grammy destroyed his music after the "Power Of Love" album.

It took a considerable dose of pain to listen to his music from that cover album on to his last.

Harlepolis said:

I agree with your statement about the Grammy, but I still loved his albums after Power of Love (with the exception of Songs).

Since I've gotten older, I find myself listening to Your Secret Love and Never Let Me Go more than ever. I didn't care for those albums when they came out, but as I grew older, I grew to love them. I really love "Your Secret Love" as a whole. There are only 2 trax that I skip, but the rest I love. Those 2 albums are definitely different from the traditional Luther we had grown accustomed to, but it was Luther singing the songs HE wanted and not what was going to sell.

As for his J albums, I liked them, but I hardly listen to them because they seem to be missing that "umph" that made him Luther. It's like he was recording for a job and to win awards and not for what he loved.

daPrettyman said:

I loved "Your Secret Love" too but mainly because he had alot of freedom with it as opposed the whole discography post-"Songs".

Lutha's shinning moments were the ones where he took FULL charge of the production, he produced himself 10 times better than the folks who produced him - which again, I think it was a way to lure the grammy committee coupled with the pressure from the record label.

He could've been another Curtis Mayfield/Norman Whitfield had he not fell for the pressure. Marcus Miller said the man was a force to be reckoned everytime he took the wheel, production wise.

Harlepolis said:

I agree. In his early days, he started out really strong, but by the time he did "Give Me The Reason" he didn't seem to be producing and writing for others as much. I still think one of his masterpieces was Dionne Warwick's "How Many Times..." album. I recently discovered that album and LOVE IT.

Back on topic...(before we get in trouble).

musicjunky318 said:

Stevie's voice was never as pure as Sam Cooke's was, but he could convey every human emotion you can name through his vocals. Playful, angry, sexy, forlorn, confident, resolute, spiritual... if you can feel it, Stevie could make you feel it with his vocals. That's the mark of an amazing singer IMO.

musicjunky318 said:

I believe people have their own opinion on what exactly is a "good singer". But I do agree that people overrate Stevie as this exceptional singer and singers like Donny Hathaway are overlooked. But with Stevie he can convey so much emotion and that's why he's credited for his singing so much. I've always felt MJ was overrated as a singer too.

midiscover said:

sends 100 Ray J CDs to midiscover's house

bboy87 said:

Nooo! it's really no shade. I love Stevie! But like I said it's always about his delivery rather then harmonies and other vocal qualities others look for. I guess the same could be said about MJ. It's about how they convey their emotions through the song.

midiscover said:

too late, those CDs are already in the mail...

I hope you like "One Chance" and "Wait A Minute"

bboy87 said:

Did I mention that's mostly what I look for in a singer

midiscover said:

We're gonna have to pray for you

bboy87 said:

You knowing the names of not one but two Ray J songs...

Auntie Ree-Ree

Ya'll are crazy, Stevie is one of the purest singers I've ever heard, I've heard people complain that they didn't like his singing but no tthat they thought he wasn't anything other than an exceptional singer. I'm not sure who to go with on this cuz they both are exceptionally gifted at expressing emotion in ways you'd never excpect. But I'll go with Stevie

Stevie's the bomb but I chose Aretha.