richie sambora is

Probably. So what?

Richie a better singer? Well, it isn't like we have had much of a chance to actually hear him sing solo recently, with the exception of IBTFY, being that he hasn't been able to get off his duff and release an album.

Yeah Richie is well better than Jon now although Jon is still very good in my opinion. Richie has one of the most powerful voices I have ever heard awesome singer, master on the guitar. The best voice in rock today I would have to say Bono myself he is unbelievable live and again has a power to his voice. As for Robert Plant I think he has one of the worst voices in rock so tingley and annoying but Zeppelin was one of the biggest bands ever so obviosuly a hell of a lot of people would disagree with me.

Didn't Jon himself say Richie was a better singer?

Or did I dream this interview?

Anyway, imo, Richie's got the better voice, Jon is the better singer (when he actually delivers).


Ponrauil

I THINK you're referring to a chat interview when they recorded Crush and someone asked if Richie was going to sing more with the band and he said something along the lines of "Heck no, then I'd be out of a job" Which could mean two things I guess.

For the ones who thinks that Bono is the best rock singer today havent heard many rock singers... Bonos voice these days is toast most of the times(I am a huge fan)and oftopic here U2 is one of the band that have a hell of a lot pre recorded sounds and vocals live...

And on topic here yes Richie is a better singer but when Jon decides to deliver he is hard to beat...

Which only happens say, every third year or so.

I agree with the Robert Plant comments, I always found his voice horrible to listen to. I don't thinks Jon's quite up there with Freddie, Bono, Gillan, Cornell and Geoff Tate at their peak though, not in terms of power anyway. I loved his voice around Blaze/KTF era when it had a real raw edge to it before it began to get a bit nasal and whiny on These Days and gradually worse on subsequent albums.

I agree that Richie is technically a better singer but his voice isn't that distinctive. When you hear a song by Jon or Bon Jovi you know instantly who it is and particularly in the earlier days he managed to convey so much emotion that he made corny lyrics like IBTFY sound sincere. I don't think Richie has that type of raw emotive voice, he moves you more with huge power. Richie's got a great, really powerful voice but it's not as instantly recognisable as Jon's or someone like Rod Stewart. Also at the end of the day he's not as charismatic a frontman as Jon Bon Jovi though few ever have been.

I saw Richie on the Undiscovered Soul tour though and his voice was absolutely huge, much more powerful than Jon who actually came out to sing Never Say Goodbye with him. It's my favourite concert ever but that's as much to do with seeing Richie off the leash playing massive solo's in every song as it is to do with his hugely impressive vocals.

what is everyone's big praise of bono?! he's an average singer, an average songwriter but great at grabbing a headline. listen to anything jon did 88-91 and it wipes the floor with bono, no doubt about it.

Average songwriter? Can't let that pass, Achtung Baby especially has the best lyrics I've ever heard. But I agree he's a bit past it as a singer; people may complain about Jon's voice but we should all be glad it hasn't turned into a rasp like Bono's. That said, I'm still a big U2 fan.

As for Richie, I like his voice but I agree with whoever said he overemphasises a bit. It goes up and down so much he ends up sounding a bit silly IMO. I definitely don't think he'd be as good a front man as Jon - can't picture him bouncing round onstage working the crowd.