Listening Room Blog

Roberto Parente
Listening Room columnist

Today marks 40 years since Jimi Hendrix first played the legendary Fillmore East ( 12-31-69) with his new Band, the Band of Gypsies:
Jimi Hendrix on Guitar, Bill Cox on Bass, and Buddy Miles on drums.

This represented a more funkier sound than the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Some Critics say he was trying to sound like Sly Stone, who was very popular at the time.

Tony Bambace, of Harvey Electronics in White Plains, saw this show and used to tell me about it all the time.

It was later released on Capitol Records ( June 1970) as a result of a lawsuit. The complete performance was released a few years ago
on the LP/CD ” At the Fillmore East”.  ( Both 12/31/69 and 1/1/70 shows ).

Capitol Records has released on VINYL a 180 Gram Pressing pressed on Red Vinyl recently.

( I picked it up); Great warm sound –
Happy New Year

Two things marked Ana Popovic’s childhood: war and music.

The Belgrade-born blues guitarist grew up in a house full of musicians, including her father, who was prone to hosting frequent jam sessions in the family home.

Eventually, that musical legacy took root in Popovic, who carried it from the ruins of her war-ravaged childhood home in the former Yugoslavia to international acclaim.

And while she’s still under the radar in the U.S., make no mistake: the lady can play.

(photo courtesy of anapopovic.com)

Despite her musical surroundings, Popovic didn’t pick up the guitar in earnest until she was 15. Showing a natural talent for the instrument, her parents later scraped to hire a guitar teacher who could school her better than her father.

Popovic was soon playing with local musicians, maneuvering through her country’s political turmoil while also pursuing a career in graphic arts.

She made her recording debut in 1998 with Hometown, recorded with the band Hush. It was the first of six albums, including a live release in 2005.

Popovic continued to build her resume by moving out of her home country and into the Netherlands, where she studied and formed a band to earn tuition money. But as her following grew, she ultimately  abandoned her quest for a career in graphic arts and focused on her music.

It was a fortunate decision, not just for Popovic, but for music fans as well.

Her latest release, Blind for Love, hit stores earlier this year, bringing with it increased attention and acclaim. While she still tours predominantly in Europe, Popovic has been no stranger to the U.S. music scene — her current tour will swing through Florida in February for several dates.

Hopefully, we’ll see more of that in the months to come. Because I’d be even money that Ana Popovic will make herself heard soon enough.

NOTE: This is part of my ongoing series of reports on guitar players who fly under the mainstream radar. Keep checking The Listening Room for future installments of guitar players you should know – JF)

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon

The end of the decade brings this kind of thing on, with list upon list on the best of the year and the best of the last 10 years.

We say bring it on.

Having just completed our first three polls here at the Listening Room, we’re sitting back and enjoying what others are saying about music in the 2000’s.

Here are a few of our favorites: Leading off is Rolling Stone magazines top 100 albums of the decade, with Radiohead’s Kid A getting their top honors. Hard to argue.

RS put the Strokes’ Is This It in the second slot, but NME.com voted that its top album of the 2000s. Again, hard to argue with the choice, and NME’s list has a more alt rock and indie feel to it, which we like.

Finally, we like Metro Mix’s lists, where they asked their critics for their individual lists. It’s fun reading, so scroll through and see what you think.

In the meantime, start preparing your list of Best Female Singers of all time, which will be our next Listening Room readers poll.

Keep an eye out for it sometime next week.

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon

This one was a tight one to the very end, with three singers running neck-and-neck. Then our eventual winner pulled away over the past few days, winning easily.

Like our earlier Listening Room polls, we received tons of entries for our Best Male Singer poll. And they were all over the place, from Al Jolson and Mario Lanza, to Jason Mraz and Jay Z.

That’s what happens when you make it an open contest, but we wanted to be fully democratic about the whole thing and didn’t want to limit it by genre. After all, a voice is a voice regardless of when it was deployed.

In the end we had one clear winner. We weren’t so much surprised by who the winner was — he’s a hallmark crooner who more than earned his stripes. What surprised us was who voted for him: It wasn’t just the old timers who put him over the top, because we had a pretty good number of 20-somethings and 30-somethings who put this singer on their lists as well. The man obviously has some mass appeal.

So, with a total of 40 votes, our winner is none other than Old Blue Eyes himself, legendary singer, Rat Packer and award winning actor Frank Sinatra.

Sinatra was part of a trio of singers who pulled away from the pack. In fact, it was anybody’s race until Tuesday, when Sinatra put some distance between himself and the others. Those runners up were:

• Elvis Presley, with 30 votes
• Freddie Mercury, with 28 votes

Rounding out the top 10 were:

• Nat King Cole, 16 votes
• John Lennon, 14 votes
• Robert Plant, 14 votes
• Otis Redding, 13 votes
• Ray Charles, 12 votes
• Sam Cooke, 12 votes
• Eddie Vedder, 12 votes

But we had nearly 250 singers submitted in all, so that’s hardly the whole story. We’ve given you the complete list below, along with the total number of votes each singer received. We broke it down alphabetically within the vote totals.

And keep in mind that this is hardly our last poll — we’ve already done best guitar player and best album. Stay tuned for our next one, which will ask you for your list of the Best Female Singers of all time. We’ll follow the same rules for that one.

Anyway, Happy Holidays to our readers, and thank you for reading. To those of you who voted in the poll, a special thanks.

And to those of you who didn’t vote, we hope you enjoy leafing through the results and we hope you’ll put your list in for our future readers polls.

In the meantime, here’s our complete Best Male Singers list:

11 – Dean Martin
11 – Roy Orbison
10 – Bing Crosby
10 – Marvin Gaye
9 – Tony Bennett
9 – Jeff Buckley
9 – Paul McCartney
9 – Rod Stewart
8 – Michael Jackson
8 – Bob Marley
8 – Steve Tyler
8 – Luther Vandross
8 – Thome Yorke

7 – Al Green
7 – Van Morrison
7 – Smokey Robinson
6 – Johnny Cash
6 – Chris Cornell
6 – Roger Daltrey
6 – Elton John
6 – Steve Perry
6 – James Taylor
6 – Stevie Wonder

5 – Bono
5 – David Bowie
5 – Harry Connick Jr.
5 – Elvis Costello
5 – Bob Dylan
5 – Luciano Pavarotti
5 – Layne Staley

4 – James Brown
4 – Josh Groban
4 – Johnny Mathis
4 – Ozzy Osbourne
4 – Prince
4 – Cat Stevens
4 – Jackie Wilson
4 – Neil Young
3 – Jon Bon Jovi
3 – Enrico Caruso
3 – Joe Cocker
3 – Perry Como
3 – Bryan Ferry

3 – Robert Goulet
3 – Sammy Hagar
3 – James Hetfield
3 – Billy Joel
3 – Al Jolson
3 – Mario Lanza
3 – Geddy Lee
3 – Maxwell
3 – Jim Morrison
3 – Axl Rose
3 – Paul Simon
3 – Bruce Springsteen
3 – Levi Stubbs
3 – B.J. Thomas
3 – Mel Torme
3 – Frankie Valli

3 – Tom Waits
3 – Barry White
3 – Bill Withers
2 – Louis Armstrong
2 – Charles Aznavour
2 – Michael Buble
2 – Tevin Campbell
2 – Leonard Cohen
2 – Alice Cooper
2 – Johnny Copeland
2 – Sammy Davis Jr.
2 – Neil Diamond
2 – John Fogerty
2 – Peter Gabriel

2 – Dave Gahan
2 – Art Garfunkle
2 – Rob Halford
2 – Richie Havens
2 – John Hiatt
2 – Howlin’ Wolf
2 – Mick Jagger
2 – Tom Jones
2 – Frankie Lane
2 – Little Richard
2 – Lyle Lovett
2 – Brian McKnight

2 – Meatloaf
2 – Willie Nelson
2 – David Ruffin
2 – Sting
2 – Joe Strummer
2 – Serj Tankian
2 – Geoff Tate
2 – Scott Weiland
2 – Hank Williams
1 – Brian Adams
1 – Marc Anthony
1 – Billy Joe Armstrong
1 – Fred  Astaire
1 – Dan Auerbach

1 – Baby Face
1 – Marty Balin
1 – Matthew Bellamy
1 – Chuck Berry
1 – Jussi Bjoering
1 – Jay Black
1 – Ruben Blades
1 – Bobby Bland
1 – Andrea Bocelli
1 – Michael Bolton
1 – Robert Bradley
1 – Jackson Browne
1 – Tim Buckey
1 – Eric Burdon
1 – Solomon Burke
1 – Cab Calloway
1 – Eric Carmen

1 – Julian Casablancas
1 – Nick Cave
1 – Peter Cetera
1 – Eric Clapton
1 – Gene Clarke
1 – Willie Colon
1 – David Coverdale
1 – Jim Croce
1 – David Crosby
1 – Joe Cuba
1 – Burton Cummings
1 – D’Angelo
1 – Rick Danko
1 – Bobby Darin
1 – Ray Davies
1 – Jon Davis
1 – John Denver

1 – Ronnie James Dio
1 – Denny Doherty
1 – Placido Domingo
1 – Oscar D’Leon
1 – Jeremy Enigk
1 – Farinelli
1 – Marc Farre
1 – Cheo Feliciano
1 – Vincente Fernandez
1 – Carlos Gardel
1 – Barry Gibb
1 – Benianimo Gigli
1 – Johnny Gill
1 – Vince Gill
1 – Matt Giraud
1 – David Gray
1 – Herbert Gronemeyer
1 – Juan Luis Guerra

1 – Merle Haggard
1 – Anthony Hamilton
1 – Donny Hathaway
1 – Warren Haynes
1 – Jimi Hendrix
1 – Don Henley
1 – Chris Hillman
1 – Roscoe Holcomb
1 – Buddy Holly
1 – Mick Hucknall
1 – Ian Hunter
1 – Billy Idol
1 – Iggy Pop
1 – Chris Isaak
1 – Al Jarreau
1 – Joe (Joe Louis Thomas)
1 – David Johansen
1 – Howard Keel
1 – Tom Keifer
1 – Gene Kelly
1 – R Kelly
1 – Anthony Kiedis

1 – Lemmy Kilmister
1 – Ben E. King
1 – Ray LaMontagne
1 – Hector Lavoe
1 – Leadbelly
1 – Gerald Levert
1 – Jerry Lee Lewis
1 – Gordon Lightfoot
1 – Li’l Wayne
1 – Fabio Lione
1 – Michael MacDonald
1 – Shane MacGowan
1 – Antonio Machin
1 – Johnny Maestro
1 – Raul Malo
1 – Barry Manilow
1 – Steve Marriott
1 – Dave Matthews

1 – Curtis Mayfield
1 – Gordon MacCrea
1 – Bill Medley
1 – Robert Merrill
1 – George Michael
1 – Sam Moore
1 – Jason Mraz
1 – Muddy Waters
1 – Mark Murphy
1 – Musiq Souchild
1 – Graham Nash
1 – Aaron Neville
1 – Tito Nieves
1 – Bill O’Brien
1 – Robert Palmer
1 – Teddy Pendergrass

1 – Wilson Pickett
1 – Arnel Pineda
1 – Gene Pitney
1 – Popa Chubby
1 – John Raitt
1 – Lou Reed
1 – Terry Reed
1 – Lionel Richie
1 – Ismael Rivera
1 – Robbie Robertson
1 – Gilberto Santa Rosa
1 – Neil Sedaka
1 – Tommy Shaw
1 – Richard Shindell
1 – Robert Smith

1 – Jimmy Somerville
1 – J.D. Souther
1 – Ralph Stanley
1 – Patrick Stump
1 – Robin Thicke
1 – Teddy Thompson
1 – Joe Lynn Turner
1 – Billy Vera
1 – Rufus Wainright
1 – Joe Walsh
1 – Paul Westerberg
1 – Jack White
1 – Joe Williams
1 – Steve Winwood
1 – Dwight Yoakum
1 – Jay-Z

That does it for this one. Happy Holidays and thanks for reading. It’s okay to start your list of best female singers. We’ll post that one after the first of the year.

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon

We’ve closed the books on our Best Male Singer poll, and we’ll tell you who was voted the winner by our readers and contributors tomorrow.

As with our earlier polls, we received a ton of votes — nearly 250 names were submitted this time around. It was a varied field, but in the end we had one clear winner.

So check in for our top crooner.

The Best Male Singer poll was or third, following our best guitar player and best album contests — won by Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

And we’ll keep it going. After the first of the year we’ll ask you for your list of Best Female Singer.

Like our earlier polls, we’ll keep it wide open, allowing entries from any genre and any era. Our philosophy is that these should be wide-open contests under the theory that great guitar work, great singing and great music transcends genres.

We hope you agree, and we hope that you keep reading and participating.

Until then, Happy Holidays to all.

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon

Roberto Parente
Listening Room columnist

What Radio Stations do I listen to? WFMU 91.1.

This is a true free form radio station  — there is no format. They also have a huge record fair every year in the fall. I have attended 8 times since 1996; the best record fair I have ever seen; folks come from all over the country for this one.

However, this station is not for everyone — it’s difficult to pick up unless you have a FM Antenna or you may need to listen on the web.

But it might be for you. Go to Wikipedia to find out more on WFMU or go to the to the WFMU Website to get a host of information.

And don’t forget to check out their playlist.

Whether it’s four, six or twelve strings, they’re still guitars to us.

And when you’re talking the four-string variety, there are few players like “Madman Bassist” Rev Jones.

The Oklahoma-born bass player has peddled his talents to legendary rockers like Michael Schenker and Leslie West’s Mountain, while doing solo work.

And while he remains in high demand among music insiders, he continues to fly under the mainstream radar. That strikes us as both puzzling and grossly unfair.

(photo courtesy of planetbass.com)

Put Rev Jones in the category of modern rockers who have innovated their craft. His two-finger tapping style and over-the-neck technique single him out as both a gifted bassist and a sought-after stage presence — he has toured with Schenker, Mountain, Fuel, Black Symphony and a slew of others.

“I’ve always pretty much been somewhat the same on stage,” Jones told Modern Guitars magazine in 2006. “I grew up seeing all these great bands that put on a show and that’s what I thought you were supposed to do on stage, and I still feel that way.”

Jones first picked up the bass in 1985, and was on the road a year later. According to his bio, he hasn’t stopped touring since. That certainly seems to be true: His litney of bands also includes Steelheart, Kottak, Forte and stints with Paul Gilbert and Jeff Martin of Racer X. To top it off, he’s also recorded several bass-technique training videos.

Oddly, he told Modern Guitars the bass wasn’t his first choice.

“Well, when I first started I played guitar for three months and I met this guitarist named Ron Phillips and we started a band,” he said. “This guy was an unreal player and I thought I’d never be that good, so I moved to bass — the smartest thing I’ve done in my life.”

No doubt. And not to be outdone by the six-stringers, Jones says he’s toyed with eight, ten, twelve and fourteen-string basses.

So keep an eye out for the man. Few can touch him in the genre.

Here’s a clip from one of his instructional videos. But hold on to your seats. Not many can do what Rev Jones can do with a bass.

(NOTE: This is part of my ongoing series of reports on guitar players who fly under the mainstream radar. Keep checking The Listening Room for future installments of guitar players you should know – JF)

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon

For Arctic Monkeys fans who went to both December shows at Terminal 5, too bad, the band played the same set list anyway.  “I apologize for the same set but I’m wearing different boots,” said the aloof Alex Turner, early into the show. Fans didn’t seem to care as the band blasted into an intense, Humbug-heavy set. The 2009 Humbug album is so different from their last two, darker and more psychedelic, and minus the youthful energy that made them the ‘it’ band a few years back. But the band is evolving and its music still awesome. A few favs were Pretty Visitors, My Propeller, Do Me a Favor, This House is a Circus and of course I Bet You Look on the Dance Floor. So what if the show was Humbug heavy and the band was sarcastic. The music stands on its own, and well, rock stars are going to be moody.  As for the venue, it wasn’t as bad as people have said, and actually felt a lot smaller than its 3,000 capacity. Know this post is late, but here’s a clip from the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh4Cvc_qqeg

From punk rockers to folk singers, it seems like everyone wants a piece of the Christmas music biz.

And you can’t really blame them. You have your classic Burl Ives and Nat King Cole holiday collections which seem to pop up every Christmas — with good reason. It’s classic stuff. But there’s always a push to expand the playlist.

Nothing wrong with that, and it’s worked out in some cases. Bruce Springsteen’s rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” has become a holiday classic in its own right, as have a score of others.

Some of these latter day Christmas tunes, though, are somewhat odd. Take Bob Dylan’s recent Christmas collection. Say what you will about the man, but he is legendary. Then this:

Interesting. Others have surprised us with Christmas stuff. In Billy Idol’s case it’s not that he doesn’t deliver, but it’s one of those way-out-of-character things. You have to love the tongue-in-cheek nature of it though:

You have to go back a few decades for some of my favorite Christmas music oddities, though. Back around 1980, an odd pairing of Irish rockers Thin Lizzy and British punk legends the Sex Pistols got together and formed The Greedies. The band consisted of Lizzy’s Phil Lynnot, Brian Downey and Scott Gorham, who teamed with Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook.

The Greedies were a side project for Lizzy, but one hit they produced was “A Merry Jingle:”

Still, as with Springsteen, rock holiday tunes sometimes work — and not necessarily with covers. Not long after The Greedies did their thing, Billy Squier, who was then an up-and-coming musician who had left Piper and gone solo, did an MTV Christmas tune with the music channel’s original staff. What was cool was that it was an original rock tune that continues to get airplay.

So we’ll leave you with Squier’s underground holiday classic, “Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You.” And we’ll wish our Listening Room readers a Happy Holidays as we wind down to Santa Day.

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon

The Disco Biscuits will be back at the Nokia Theatre for what’s sure to be another epic run in the heart of Times Square, running Dec. 26, 27, 29, 30 and 31. (New Year’s Eve is already sold out, so don’t be left out in the cold—get your tickets for the other dates now!)

And because the party should never stop in New York City, here’s what’s going on late-night. (Looks like the Highline Ballroom is the place to be most nights.) Be safe, everyone.

Also, just to get us in the mood, here’s my uncut backstage interview with Barber from last year. So classic.

Dec. 26

ORCHARD LOUNGE w/ DJ DB @ LePoisson Rouge, located at 158 Bleeker St. Begin by walking to 42nd St/Port Authority Bus Terminal subway station. Take the A train towards Lefferts Blvd to the W. 4th St. Station. Walk south until you hit Bleeker St. Turn left, until you hit destination. Aprroximate travel time 17 minutes.

Dec. 27

BIG GIGANTIC @ Highline Ballroom, located at 431 W. 16th St. between 9th and 10th Aves. Walk to Times Square, 42nd Street Station. Take the 1 Train towards the South Ferry Station. Get off at 18th Street. Walk south to 16th Street, then turn right and the venue will be on your right. Estimated time about 20 minutes.

Dec. 28

DUB DOCTOR CONSPIRACY @ Highline Ballroom, located at 431 W. 16th St. between 9th and 10th Aves. Walk to Times Square, 42nd Street Station. Take the 1 Train towards the South Ferry Station. Get off at 18th Street. Walk south to 16th Street, then turn right and the venue will be on your right. Estimated time about 20 minutes.

Dec. 29

DAEDELUS and TWO FRESH @ Highline Ballroom, located at 431 W. 16th St. between 9th and 10th Aves. Walk to Times Square, 42nd Street Station. Take the 1 Train towards the South Ferry Station. Get off at 18th Street. Walk south to 16th Street, then turn right and the venue will be on your right. Estimated time about 20 minutes.

Dec. 30

PNUMA TRIO and KJ SAWKA @ Highline Ballroom, located at 431 W. 16th St. between 9th and 10th Aves. Walk to Times Square, 42nd Street Station. Take the 1 Train towards the South Ferry Station. Get off at 18th Street. Walk south to 16th Street, then turn right and the venue will be on your right. Estimated time about 20 minutes.

I’m not even sure how I came up with this one.

But there I was with my son in the children’s room at the library, with whatever piped-in music was coming over the speakers, when a Herman’s Hermits song comes on. It was their most sugar-coated of all: “Something Tells Me I’m Into Something Good.”

My immediate remedy was to rush home and throw on some Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine to cleanse my ears.

But since my musical mind works in bizarre and mysterious ways, I also found myself recalling a vinyl album that I’m pretty sure still sits on one of my shelves. Because I knew that Peter Noone was the lead singer for Herman’s Hermits, and I knew that sometime during the New Wave era I picked up an album by The Tremblers, a pop band that Noone formed after leaving the Hermits.

Now why the hell would anyone need to know that? Why do I need to know that? Well, now you know it too. Sorry.

If you don’t know about Herman’s Hermits, they were a British pop band formed in the early ‘60s, which scored a number of hits, including “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” and “I’m Henry the Eighth.” Somehow they still got airplay years later when I was growing up, and parents loved this kinda stuff. It was benign as heck.

When I got into my teen years and my older brother was playing in bands, the music started to change. Punk was huge, but New Wave came along and bands started experimenting. Some of it delved into new versions of ‘60s pop, which seemed perfect for Noone.

Anyway, the Tremblers are as dated now as Herman Hermits was long ago. But they had some success, particularly in England. And Noone went on to a pretty noteworthy career in TV, including some acting and MC roles.

The way things are, though, someone will come along and cover this stuff someday. Might be fun.

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon

We’re in the home stretch: There’s one week left in our Listening Room Readers Poll for Best Male Singer.

So far we’ve received 125 nominees, with a tie for the lead.

Of course, you’ll have to wait until Christmas Day, when we post the results right here. So, our question to you last week holds: Who are your favorite crooners? Go New Wave or old school — you decide.

Here are the ground rules: Submit a list of 5 to 10 male singers that you consider the best of all time. We’ll take any genre, any era, alive or dead. Just as long as they’re male, they sing and you think they belong in the conversation.

It’s our third readers poll, and it won’t be the last. We already asked you for your favorite guitar player and your favorite album. Next we’ll ask you for best female singer.

But first let’s see who your best male singer will be. Here’s how you vote: Submit your lists in the comment section below, or email us at jfitzgib@lohud.com or dcostello@lohud.com.

You can also track us down on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon

http://twitter.com/dianacostello

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon

Yeah, she was that wild-haired chick on stage with Michael Jackson – a bleach-blonde gimmick in tight spandex pants.

But did you listen? Because if there’s one thing Jennifer Batten can do it’s the play guitar.

And who — man, woman or martian — can trade licks with Jeff Beck?

That would be Jennifer Batten.

Batten came seemingly out of nowhere. She came on the scene in the 1980s by auditioning for Michael Jackson’s band — a hefty goal when you consider the caliber of musicians enlisted by the pop icon.

“I called and asked for the last possible time to audition so I could stay home and learn his tunes,” Batten told Guitar Nine Records in 1999. “Then they wanted some funk stuff, so I played clean funk rhythm stuff and I started soloing and I ended with the ‘Beat It’ solo. I get a call a couple of days later and they wanted if I could take a year and a half off. I said take me anywhere for any length of time.”

Batten, who described herself as “a geek with brown hair and glasses” at the time, was told to beef up her image.

“I ended up with this mile high Mohawk looking doo for the first part of the tour,” she told Guitar Nine.

But it worked, with her outlandish appearance becoming an integral part of Jackson’s ‘Bad, Dangerous’ and ‘HIStory’ tours — along with her remarkable guitar playing.

And that’s what got her noticed. Impressed by Batten’s innovative guitar work, blues legend Jeff Beck asked her to join his band, integrating guitar duals into his stage act.

Along the way Batten has recorded three solo albums, routinely featuring prominent musicians like guitarist Michael Sembello, who rose to fame backing jazz saxophonist David Sanborn.

Batten’s first solo album, 1992’s Above Below and Beyond, and her follow up, Jennifer Batten’s Tribal Rage: Momentum, released in 1997, won her critical acclaim, even  if mainstream success eluded her.

Her latest release, Whatever, released last year, was also a hit with the critics.

Now playing both in the studio and on the road, Batten continues to win converts in the male-dominated world of guitar heroes. But if anyone can change it, it’s Jennifer Batten.

And don’t think I was kidding when I said she can go toe-to-toe with the likes of Jeff Beck. Here she is on stage trading licks with Beck on “Blue Wind,” a cut from Beck’s classic 1976 release, Wired.

(NOTE: This is part of my ongoing series of reports on guitar players who fly under the mainstream radar. Keep checking The Listening Room for future installments of guitar players you should know – JF)

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon

Who’s your favorite crooner? We want to know

Welcome to our latest Listening Room Readers Poll. Today, we ask you for your favorite male singers — in any era, in any genre. Still kicking, long deceased or Keith Richards. Doesn’t matter.

All that does matter is that they’re male, they sing for a living, and you think they belong on the list of all-time best vocalists.

We’ll take it from there.

(Joe Larese/The Journal News)

This will be our third readers poll, and far from the last.

We started in the fall by asking you for your list of greatest guitarists in our Best Guitar Players poll. You selected Jimi Hendrix.

Last month we asked you for your list of best albums of all time in our Best Albums readers poll. It was a tight contest, but Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon muscled its way to the top.

Who’ll be your best male singer? We’ll let you know on Christmas Day.

But first things first. Here’s how it works:

We’re asking readers, Listening Room contributors and colleagues to submit a list of their five to 10 best male singers of all time. We’re not limiting this by genre because we want an open contest.

Each name submitted gets one vote, so no need to put them in order. We’ll add up all the votes and at the end the singer with the most votes wins top honors. Hardly scientific, but certainly democratic and it should be interesting and fun.

You can submit your lists in the comment section below. Or you can simply email us at  jfitzgib@lohud.com or dcostello@lohud.com.

Or track us down on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon

http://twitter.com/dianacostello

And don’t worry, we’re not discriminating here. Our next poll will be best female singers. We’ll put that up for you once these results are in.

Then we’ll keep it coming — best bass player, best drummer, best song, and so on. We have enough to keep going for some time.

So, what do you think? Favorite crooner anyone?

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon

You might overlook Adam Jones — unless you listen closely.

The Tool guitarist is in many ways atypical, preferring well-crafted chords and off-time riffs to traditional screaming guitar solos: Jones is no shredder.

But his style makes him one of the most inventive and unique guitar players to emerge from the 1990’s alternative rock craze.

(photo courtesy of spirit-of-metal.com)

Voted to Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists, Jones started out as a musical prodigy — on the violin.

Losing interest in classical music structure, Jones picked up the bass in high school and began performing locally in his home state of Illinois. That included a stint with the band Electric Sheep, where he played alongside guitar wiz Tom Morello, who went on to international acclaim with Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave.

Jones himself soon moved to guitar and began honing his skill.

His talents, however, are hardly limited to music. A skilled artist and sculptor, Jones turned down a music school scholarship after high school and opted instead to study special effects and makeup in Los Angeles.

It was in L.A. that Jones met Maynard James Keenan, a former visual arts student, in 1989. The two agreed to form a band, and soon enlisted drummer Danny Carey, a neighbor of Keenan’s who was introduced to the fledgling band by Morello. Soon another film school student, Paul D’Amour, was added on bass. They settled on the name Tool.

The band began making a name for itself, emerging in 1993 with their first album, Undertow. Thrust into the thrash metal scene, Tool soon carved its own niche, becoming one of the music world’s premier alternative metal bands.

In the years since Tool developed a loyal cult following that remains with them — and scored some Grammys along the way. After a hiatus last year, the band reformed in 2009,  and is back at it.

Jones, meanwhile, has always kept his artistic career in swing, and is responsible for Tool’s album art and video work. He’s also been enlisted for special effects work on a number of hit movies, including Jurassic Park, Ghostbusters and Terminator 2.

But his guitar work remains his master work, with a style that combines traditional classic metal with progressive techniques influenced by rockers like King Crimson and Rush.

Whatever he’s doing, it works.

(NOTE: This is part of my ongoing series of reports on guitar players who fly under the mainstream radar. Keep checking The Listening Room for future installments of guitar players you should know – JF)

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