GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose has responded to a recent ConcertHotels.com list of "The World's Greatest Singers," which placed him in the top spot. The chart ranked vocalists based on their vocal range and claimed Axl's recorded notes spanned nearly six octaves, from F1 (in the 2008 "Chinese Democracy" song "There Was a Time"), in the second-lowest octave in scientific pitch notation, to B flat 6 (in GN'R's cover of THE DEAD BOYS' "Ain't It Fun", which appeared on the group's 1994 covers album "The Spaghetti Incident?"), five octaves above it.Vintage Vinyl News later pointed out that the initial list took into consideration only singers who made Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Singers" list. After expanding on the original criteria to include those vocalists who had been analyzed by The Range Place, the Top 100 was updated, placing Mike Patton of FAITH NO MORE on No. 1 spot with a vocal range of over six octaves.In his response, Rose stated that he was flattered, but also offered up some of the vocalists he felt should be recognized for their vocal work. "Big thanks to all the fans and media for the props reacting to the Spin top vocalists article, Axl told Spin magazine."From what I could tell, the original article was for the most part only talking about the professionally recorded vocal range of the singers they compared calling the entire group 'The World's Greatest Singers.' It's very flattering and humbling to be included in such an illustrious ensemble."If I had to say who I thought the best singers were, I'd say first that I don't know there's a definitive answer as in my opinion it's subjective, and second that my focus is primarily rock singers."That said, I enjoy Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, Dan McCafferty, Janice Joplin, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Roger Daltrey, Don Henley, Jeff Lynne, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Scott, Etta James, Fiona Apple, Chrissie Hynde, Stevie Wonder, James Brown and a ton of others (predominantly '70s rock singers) and would rather hear ANY of them anytime rather than me!"Rose last week denied rumors that he was breaking up GUNS N' ROSES and considering retirement. Some of the current members of the GUNS lineup have spoken in the past year about recording a new album, but that is highly unlikely. The sole all-new GUNS N' ROSES album in 23 years, "Chinese Democracy", arrived in November 2008 to mixed reviews and disappointing sales.
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