Skipped over songs

[irishoreo]

Guys don't get me wrong, Tom had great technique and he was amazing on descants, but I personally just didn't like his timbre. As symphonica07 reiterates it's all a matter of opinion.


Personally my list is as such(soloists)

Adam Harris(Lux Aeterna)
Chris Robson
Anthony Chadney
Josh/Ben P...yea they tied
Joe Platt
Stefan
Ed
Joe Snelling(Salva and Never Be Alone)
Tom
Ben C
Michael H
Connor
James V

[plumpuff6]

Yeah it's definitely a matter of personal opinion. I guess I like every soloist somewhat, just because I love hearing all of the different soloists. I have nothing against Tom, Michael H., Ben C. or Ben P. or Steven G., I just wish we had heard a larger variety of soloists on the albums that feature them so heavily. They all did amazing jobs on their numerous solos, though, and maybe they were given the solos because they were right for their voices--I just like variety. That's part of what makes me enjoy Peace so much. I got to hear so many new boys (Stefan, James T., Mini-James, Daniel, Jakob, Ralph) in addition to hearing my "old" favorites (Josh, Ben and even a surprising solo from Tom)!

[LiberAeterna]

On the subject of great but perhaps under/overappreciated soloists, listening to some of the slightly earlier Libera recordings has made me wish that Christopher Robson, Joe Platt and Anthony Chadney had been granted a few more solos.

Part of me can't complain, because I'm quite fond of Ben Crawley's voice, and it seems to be his solos that dominate the albums on which Joe, Anthony, and Chris would have recorded; but each of the other three had a fine voice and, I'm thinking, not quite enough time to prove it.

Hey liberavieve

I agree with all that you said here. Shame also to me for forgetting to mention as a favorite voice of mine the very boy I have as my avatar, Anthony Chadney. I think he had a very distinctive voice that separated him from the others and his solos in A New Heaven and Voca Me were fantastic. Chris Robson had a very sweet, gentle kind of voice that lent well to Voca Me and to supporting Big Ben in Twilight. Joe P actually had a lot more contribution to Free then just what he was credited on; I can spot his distinctive high notes in Be Still My Soul, Ave Verum and even on Lament I think. It would have been nice to hear a few more solos from them though...

[LiberAeterna]

Guys don't get me wrong, Tom had great technique and he was amazing on descants, but I personally just didn't like his timbre. As symphonica07 reiterates it's all a matter of opinion.


Personally my list is as such(soloists)

Adam Harris(Lux Aeterna)
Chris Robson
Anthony Chadney
Josh/Ben P...yea they tied
Joe Platt
Stefan
Ed
Joe Snelling(Salva and Never Be Alone)
Tom
Ben C
Michael H
Connor
James V

Hey Irishoreo

Your list made me think of a question I had regarding Joe Snelling's solos. I, of course, love his Salva Me from the Leiden concert but I cannot spot where his solo is in Never be Alone on New Dawn. Is it one of the descants? I may not be familiar enough with his voice to spot it but if it was just the descant that surprises me that he would have been given credit since Tom C was not given credit for the opening lyric on Sancte (perhaps they thought Tom was given enough solo credit on New Dawn with 6!).

[paul]

Guys don't get me wrong, Tom had great technique and he was amazing on descants, but I personally just didn't like his timbre. As symphonica07 reiterates it's all a matter of opinion.


Personally my list is as such(soloists)

Adam Harris(Lux Aeterna)
Chris Robson
Anthony Chadney
Josh/Ben P...yea they tied
Joe Platt
Stefan
Ed
Joe Snelling(Salva and Never Be Alone)
Tom
Ben C
Michael H
Connor
James V

Hey Irishoreo

Your list made me think of a question I had regarding Joe Snelling's solos. I, of course, love his Salva Me from the Leiden concert but I cannot spot where his solo is in Never be Alone on New Dawn. Is it one of the descants? I may not be familiar enough with his voice to spot it but if it was just the descant that surprises me that he would have been given credit since Tom C was not given credit for the opening lyric on Sancte (perhaps they thought Tom was given enough solo credit on New Dawn with 6!).

Your not the only one, as much as i adore this song, I can't spot his solo.

[plumpuff6]

Your list made me think of a question I had regarding Joe Snelling's solos. I, of course, love his Salva Me from the Leiden concert but I cannot spot where his solo is in Never be Alone on New Dawn. Is it one of the descants? I may not be familiar enough with his voice to spot it but if it was just the descant that surprises me that he would have been given credit since Tom C was not given credit for the opening lyric on Sancte (perhaps they thought Tom was given enough solo credit on New Dawn with 6!).

You're right, Joe's solo is one of the descants. I think in the beginning of the song, Tom sings the first "Ahhhh" sequence, and then he is echoed by Joe. I believe Josh sings the first verse (with Tom harmonizing) and Tom the second (with Josh harmonizing). During the chorus, when you hear "You'll never be alone..." and then some "ahhhhs" at 1:16 I think it's Joe singing the "ahhh". The second time we hear the chorus, "You'll never be alone..." you hear Joe singing at 3:05-3:12, some high "ahhhs" again.

I wish Libera would credit the soloist singing the descant part more often! I am always curious regarding who is singing the descant.

[LiberAeterna]

Your list made me think of a question I had regarding Joe Snelling's solos. I, of course, love his Salva Me from the Leiden concert but I cannot spot where his solo is in Never be Alone on New Dawn. Is it one of the descants? I may not be familiar enough with his voice to spot it but if it was just the descant that surprises me that he would have been given credit since Tom C was not given credit for the opening lyric on Sancte (perhaps they thought Tom was given enough solo credit on New Dawn with 6!).

You're right, Joe's solo is one of the descants. I think in the beginning of the song, Tom sings the first "Ahhhh" sequence, and then he is echoed by Joe. I believe Josh sings the first verse (with Tom harmonizing) and Tom the second (with Josh harmonizing). During the chorus, when you hear "You'll never be alone..." and then some "ahhhhs" at 1:16 I think it's Joe singing the "ahhh". The second time we hear the chorus, "You'll never be alone..." you hear Joe singing at 3:05-3:12, some high "ahhhs" again.

I wish Libera would credit the soloist singing the descant part more often! I am always curious regarding who is singing the descant.

Thanks plumpuff6 for your quick reply ! I think you are right and will listen to the song again. I agree with you that they should credit the descants more as they have sometimes done. Like on Free with Voca Me and Adoramus (Joe P).

[irishoreo]

Ah Joe's "solo" on Never be Alone isn't actually an "Ahhh" It's him expanding on alone i.e. ::the call:: "You'll never be alone" ::response: "you'll never be alone" Joe is part of the call and when the response comes along he basically hits the second syllable of "alone" an octave higher. It sounds like ahhs, but it isn't.

For some reason on some of the albums even if a boy did continuous Ahh's i.e. Stay With Me they are credited as a solo.



I have a feeling this will not make sense

[hannah_kirstin]

in no specific order......and not really soloists...but voices...Joe Platt, Joe Snelling, Adam Harris, Horncastle, Connery, Leadbeater...

I find it interesting that you include Joe Snelling on your list - how many solo's did he have? I can't think of much other than his 'Salva's'.

Time to wade in on the Tom thing. Tom has so many fans and seemed to be the most popular member (even more so than Josh at the time) that I tended to gloss over him. He had so many admirers he didn't need another.

I am by nature one of those people who roots for the underdog so when Tom was on the team I was rooting for other boys who got less attention.

Having said that, I have never disliked Tom's voice, singing style or personality. The songs of his I care less for it is about the song and not the singer.

It is hard to underestimate the impact that Tom has had on the rise of Libera. He was the poster boy for the YouTube generation that has seen a huge increase in their fan base. He had the balls to stand front and centre and deliver perfect performances time after time. That takes guts.

I really can't see how Tom wouldn't get in to the top 10 'best ever' Libera soloists.

I realize i'm about 7 months too late for this thread, but thank you Yorkie for standing up for Tom. I felt there were some harsh words on this thread, albeit from well-meaning fellow Libera fans. I will always think of Tom as an immensely talented kid who just enjoyed doing what he loved most, singing/performing that is. For those who commented on his voice being too forced or his forced facial expressions, I believe it was just his way of expressing how "into" the songs he was. His beautiful tone (to my ears), range, and perfect control put him on my list of top 5 all-time Libera soloists. Then again, that's subjective.
Agree with you on how people tend to underestimate his impact on the rise of Libera internationally. Yes he had the boyish good looks and charm, but let's give the listening public more credit than that. I think it was his voice, first and foremost, that won him those fans. (okay, maybe not the obsessive teenage girls )
So back to the original topic. The only Libera song i regularly skip is "Heaven" owing to the heavy editing.