Where are the front men? (Rant)

@sls883 Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look into it. I was into prog rock in college and still listen to the old stuff so I'll give it a try.

@stuartk I'm familiar with some of those particularly Stapleton. Will look into the others. I guess my rant has more to do with brand new stuff.

@grislybutter Thanks. Will look them up.

@kennymacc I agree with you. Probably because I'm older (61) and turning into a codger. It is easy too always look back and say things were better "back then". On the other hand sometimes it is true. And for me "back then" included the rise of disco. All the classic rock stations (it was just called rock) were changing format to disco and easy listening. It was awful. So we definitely go through stages where music stagnant or declining. I firmly agree that that's where we are now. Music is manufactured by teams of writers, computers and marketers. And it sounds like it.

This is evidenced by the decline of the band in general. There are very few 'bands' topping the charts these days. Mostly just marketable individuals singing what they are told to sing with studio and touring musicians......many of whom just push play on the synth track.

I guess one of the things that also strikes me as telling is the alt/indie market. It is ironic to me that they all sound EXACTLY the same. It is time for alternative to alternative and independent form the independence.

@ghdprentice I think it is great you are enjoying new music whatever it might be. Everyone has different tastes and criteria for what moves them. I also listen to stuff like Radio Paradise. I enjoy it but rarely hear anything new that catches my ear.

There are two issues I have with Qobuz. First, their algorithm, if they even have one, for suggesting music tailored to me just isn't very good. It is mostly just stuff I have recently listened to. Amazon and Apple do a much better job. Second, their search engine is a joke. It is like pulling teeth just to find something you already know the name of. But, I stick with them because I hate sending money to the big brother/ leviathan companies like Apple and Amazon.

@stuartk Gave it a brief listen. I like what I’m hearing. Will dig deeper.

@acman3 I’ve listened to Jason Isbell a little bit and for some reason he just hasn’t hooked me in. Are their songs you particularly like? I'll give them a listen.

But that brings up another issue. There are several artists that I love and listen to all the time like Mark Knopfler and Neko Case who put out lots of albums some of which I can’t find a single song that I like and other albums that are all time favorites of mine. So with any artist with a body of work like that you might listen to two or even three albums, give up on them, and miss amazing stuff.

And I’ll admit, I’m an impatient listener. If a song doesn’t hook me in right away I tend to move on. That’s not always fair to the song.......but most of the time it is.

@slaw Thanks. I am familiar with Marcus King. He's okay for me. I have all of the Teskey Brothers albums. Love them. I have several Amos Lee albums. Also have a few Black Keys albums. I am mostly interested in their blues stuff which is excellent. I'll check out the other artists you listed.

@singintheblues Thanks. I am not opposed to female artists. Neko Case is one of my favorites. She has some great albums. Some duds too. I like Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies. I like Ella Fitzgerald for that matter. I liked Brittany Howard when she was with Alabama Shakes. Not so much now. I'm sure there are others but those are the ones that I can think of offhand. But like you, that's are short list compared to male vocalists.

This weekend I have a cold and it is snowing and sleeting outside (rare for us) so hopefully I'll have some time in front of the speakers exploring the many suggestions made here. Thanks.

@stuartk That is not the way I took it. He did make a generalization about a lot of the material that female vocalists sing but then he goes on to list a number of female vocalists that he likes. So it doesn't seem to me that he is saying that about all female vocalists.

And just so that I'm not misunderstood as well, my beef is with the corp of popular female vocalists of the last 10-15 years. I wouldn't use the term "soppy crap" but I might use the term "predictable pablum".

By the way, Aretha Franklin is also on my list of favorite female vocalists.

@slaw Thanks. I will look into those.

@bgross Leon Bridges blew me away with his first album. Just amazing. Have not enjoyed his follow up albums. I do love his work with Khruangbin. I have not listened to JJ Grey in a long time. Seems like he wasn't doing much for a while. I'll take a look and see what he's been up to because I really like his older stuff. I've got one of St. Paul and the Broken Bones CDs but I can only handle Janeway for a few songs at a time. Never given Bruno Mars a chance. Maybe I should.

As far as the crooners, sure, I like them. Tom Jones, yep, grew up listening to him because my mom had his records.

But, I'm not saying that there haven't been great front men. Plant, Mercury, Jagger, Daltry.....the list is endless. What I was referring to was new stuff. Last few years and up and coming stuff. There just seems like a vacuum.

I've mentioned these before but if you want to see swagger and chops look into a band called The Struts. Luke Spiller is like a Mercury/Jagger mashup. Look at their first two albums escpecially the second. Third album is terrible. Fourth one is so-so. They been around for about 10 years. Got big about 5 years ago.

Then there is MacSaturn. Lead singer Carson Mac channels Jagger but is smoother. They just released their first album last year the day before their brand new keyboard player got arrested for molesting a minor and they are currently in limbo. They are magic live. Check out their first album Hard to Sell. Great songs. Well produced. Hope they recover from their set back.

As Nietzsche said- The Guitar God is Dead.

As Gary Clark, Jr. said- Nietzsche is dead.