KevShmev's FAVORITE 25 MUSICIANS (#1 now featured!!)

[erwinrafael]

Devin Townsend's singing in Touching Tongues still gives me goosebumps.

[Elite]

[King Postwhore]

This is the first musician on your list I'm not crazy for. Like Tim said, very talented but I just can't get into his music.

[Train of Naught]

This is the first musician on your list I'm not crazy for. Like Tim said, very talented but I just can't get into his music.

You mean you don't even like his song "Bend It Like Bender"?? Out of all the people!

[Tomislav95]

This is the first musician on your list I'm not crazy for. Like Tim said, very talented but I just can't get into his music.

You mean you don't even like his song "Bend It Like Bender"?? Out of all the people!

It's possible not to like studio version but not this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQLxkGGP3M0

I may not like all of his music but I love him his latest album with DTP is in my top 5 of 2016.

[twosuitsluke]

This is the first musician on your list I'm not crazy for. Like Tim said, very talented but I just can't get into his music.

You mean you don't even like his song "Bend It Like Bender"?? Out of all the people!

It's possible not to like studio version but not this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQLxkGGP3M0

I may not like all of his music but I love him his latest album with DTP is in my top 5 of 2016.

God I love Dev so much. He's just an all rounder and I'd love to just chat to him about random bullshit. He's very self aware, I feel, and I like that.

Tomi, that link might be the new one that I show to people to get them into Dev, it's just too much fun not to want to listen to on repeat. Also, Anneke 

[King Postwhore]

This is the first musician on your list I'm not crazy for. Like Tim said, very talented but I just can't get into his music.

You mean you don't even like his song "Bend It Like Bender"?? Out of all the people!

 . I know right!

[Tomislav95]

God I love Dev so much. He's just an all rounder and I'd love to just chat to him about random bullshit. He's very self aware, I feel, and I like that.

Tomi, that link might be the new one that I show to people to get them into Dev, it's just too much fun not to want to listen to on repeat. Also, Anneke 

And butts

[KevShmev]

I get why some are not big fans of Devin.  A couple of friends (who have known me for 25+ years) have on several occasions expressed a lot of surprise at how big a fan I am of Devin, considering his style is not usually in my wheelhouse.

[Prog Snob]

I get why some are not big fans of Devin.  A couple of friends (who have known me for 25+ years) have on several occasions expressed a lot of surprise at how big a fan I am of Devin, considering his style is not usually in my wheelhouse.

I'm not surprised actually. He's one of those artists that defies boundaries.

[KevShmev]

Very true. And despite him being one of my favorites, I am still not a fan of his speed metal side. I have zero interest in SYL, and when he does speed/trash stuff as a solo artists (or DTP/DTB), those songs are usually skippers for me.

[Prog Snob]

I was never into SYL either. I love the work he does with Anneke.

[bl5150]

There's one that I knew was coming. I have tried, checked out a ton of youtube videos, but he is not for me. Still, he seems like a very creative guy and has made a ton of music.

Ditto.

Until I came here he was that weird guy who did that album with Vai that stuffed up a great run of albums     

Like Tim I can't deny his originality (or his personality) but I have never managed to connect with anything I have sampled unfortunately.

Devin Townsend's singing in Touching Tongues still gives me goosebumps.

If memory serves correct I did actually like that song Erwin 

[KevShmev]

I was never into SYL either. I love the work he does with Anneke.

Hell yes!  Her voice is suited perfectly for his music.

[Prog Snob]

I was never into SYL either. I love the work he does with Anneke.

Hell yes!  Her voice is suited perfectly for his music.

The first time I saw the live Bend It Like Bender on YouTube I was hooked. You're right about him. He seems like a fun guy just based on his stage persona. He's one of the more underrated frontmen in music.

[Stadler]

Ditto.

Until I came here he was that weird guy who did that album with Vai that stuffed up a great run of albums     

Like Tim I can't deny his originality (or his personality) but I have never managed to connect with anything I have sampled unfortunately.

Put me in that camp as well.  I like HIM, I really liked that series of vids where he wrote, recorded and produced a song in real time, that was entertaining and illuminating, and he's clearly a talented guy, but his music is just not... I don't know.   I won't say he sucks, it's on me, but it just doesn't connect at all.  (And I agree on that Vai comment; I was big into Vai, really liked the Flexible work and even the Alcatrazz work, then that album came out, with a ton of hype about the singer, and... pfffft.  Did nothing for me.)

[erwinrafael]

Sex and Religion had lots of problems, primarily that Vai actually works better with an actual band instead of an all-star lineup. I personally don't find Devin Townsend's vocals as one of the album's problems. More of Vai not really knowing at the time how to write good vocal melodies that capitalize on Devin's vocal abilities.

Devin Townsend's singing in Touching Tongues still gives me goosebumps.

If memory serves correct I did actually like that song Erwin 

It's heavenly

[Kwyjibo]

I really liked Sex & Religion when it came out and I think Devin did an awesome job with his vocals. Deep Down Into The Pain is one of my favorite Vai tunes. Some of the songs are a bit too out there for me, but that's always the case with Vai.

And even if the tour didn't feature Bozzio and Stevens it was a really great concert experience.

Then I heard Ocean Machine and was blown away, one of my alltime favorite records. 

Sadly, in my opinion, Devin never reached that level again. He had some great records, some good, some boring ones, but he hasn't really grabbed me, maybe since Synchestra.

[KevShmev]

4. Neal Morse



Say what you want about Neal Morse - "he's too religious"; "he's too formulaic"; "he's too this or too that" - but the guy is an unbelievable songwriter and musician.  It is staggering how much great music he has written over the last 22 years.  Between Spock's Beard, Transatlantic, Flying Colors and his solo career (or with Neal Morse Band), I count around 25 studio albums, a handful of which are doubles, and I would say that I am a huge fan of probably 18-20 of them (and I like the rest to some degree).  He is not a great singer in the traditional singer, but his voice just has a warm quality that is great to listen to; he could sing the phone book and it would sound great, especially since he is the king of melody.  And as a multi-instrumentalist, he has improved his electric guitar playing over the years to where he is no longer a slouch in that area, at least relative to his skills on the keys and acoustic guitar (where he slays at both).  It's a shame that he will never get his due and forever be the "great nothing," but that takes nothing away from how much I've enjoyed his music for 17 years now.

[King Postwhore]

I know you are seeing him next week but I get to see him in May at RoSfest.   I was so happy to see him in Spock's Beard in the late 90's.

[Prog Snob]

Easily in my top 5. The man is brilliant and, like Steven Wilson, anything he touches is gold. I can't say enough good things about him. Even his religious lyrics, which many people have a problem with, are simply inspiring, and this is coming from an agnostic.

[Elite]

Neal Morse is indeed a great song-writer, even though he is quite formulaic. I don't really see that as a negative thing either, since he has this distinct style that you can hear it's him. That's highly admirable in a song-writer. You mentioned him being the 'king of melody', and I agree, for his melodies are what stand out most about his writing, to me at least. Add to that that he's a great keyboard player too. Even though too much of his music in a row gets tiring for me (because, quite frankly, a lot of it IS similar), I can definitely see why you would put him up this high.

[Mladen]

Quite possibly my favorite musician of the last 20 years, along with Steven Wilson. Such a talented man, no words do him justice. And he's the nicest guy in the history of rock music, hands down.

[Stadler]

I just picked up some of his older solo work and wow.  Just wow.  "Formulaic" is a dumb term, because the list of true music legends that are probably "formulaic" if you looked really closely is as long as my weiner.  Arm.  I meant arm. 

Good pick.

[ronnibran]

Great pick, would be my #1 for sure without much thought.  With all of his strengths, I think his strongest points are the songwriting and keyboard.  Not to take away from his guitar playing and singing.  Oh, lyrics are another strong point.  Although they can get a bit repetitive at time (at least some phrases), they totally touch my soul unlike anything else I listen to by a mile.  I don't mind him being formulaic because his formula is EPIC.  And I think his bands (solo, Transatlantic) use a gratuitous amount of old school prog sounds which is awesome.

[TAC]

 

[KevShmev]

Quite possibly my favorite musician of the last 20 years, along with Steven Wilson. Such a talented man, no words do him justice. And he's the nicest guy in the history of rock music, hands down.

You might be right.  Neal strikes me as a guy who'd be nice to just about anybody.

"Formulaic" is a dumb term, because the list of true music legends that are probably "formulaic" if you looked really closely

Agreed.  I think, in Neal's case, 2000 was when he mastered the structure for an epic, seen in TA's All of the Above and SB's The Great Nothing, and the vast majority of his long epics since then have pretty much followed that same structure.  While I get that it can be samey, he does it so damn well.

  Oh, lyrics are another strong point.

I actually do think his lyrics are good, too.  He always throws in a hokey one or two ('I had mustard today"; "Señor Valasco"; etc.), but even when writing spiritual or even religious lyrics, he usually has very interesting word play.   And I can honestly say that few songs hit me lyrically as much as Emma does.  Such a great and bittersweet song about childhood.

[KevShmev]

3. Neil Peart



I've always been more of an air drummer than an air guitarist, and who is more awesome to air drum to than rock's greatest drummer, Mr. Neil Peart?  Not only is he my favorite drummer (from my favorite band), but he is my favorite lyricist, too.  Okay, he had some hokey fantasy stuff in the 70s, but once the 80s hit, he was on a roll lyrically for over a decade where nearly everything they came from his pen was just fantastic.  Peart can come off as standoffish to some fans, because he's really not a social guy, so while it's easy to wonder how a guy who has done so many shows in public over the last four decades can still be so shy around strangers, I totally get it; not everyone is built to treat every stranger like they are a long-awaited friend.   And when it is all said and done, when you consider his ability on the drums and his way with words, he is, at the same time, both one of the most impressive and unlikely rock stars ever.  I will leave this with the gesture that I have seen throw his way countless times at concerts over the years...

[Mladen]

Yep. My favorite lyricist, my favorite drummer and a member of one of my favorite bands. It would end up very high on my list as well.

[Anguyen92]

One of my favorite tidbits that he stated was during the Beyond the Lighted Stage documentary when he talked about his long journey in the late 90s.  He stated that while he was driving across Canada, across Southwest America, etc., he thought no one recognized him once during that long trip and he was more than fine with that since he just wanted to be a guy driving across roads and that's excitement enough for him.

[KevShmev]

Yep, I remember that.  Neil just wants to not be recognized, and I am guessing most people wouldn't (Geddy is probably the one guy from Rush more than a tiny percentage would recognize on a glance in public).

[TAC]

Another thing he said in that was "I didn't want to be famous, I just wanted to be good."


Neil Peart is awesome. What else can you say. Great choice for the Top 3.

[TAC]

So anyway, I definitely know one of the Top 2, and I can accept him before Peart. I'm torn between two guys for the other pick, and either one of those, I cannot accept.

[Cool Chris]

I am honestly stumped on the last two. I think I know who one of them might be, based on my knowledge of his music tastes. But I wouldn't have thought he would put him as high as #2.

[KevShmev]

I am sure some can guess the two, but let's wait for the reveals.