Snakepit's vocalist Eric Dover

[Captain P?l]

rember him? from snakepit v.1? seen the new alice cooper album? well, he play GUITAR on that...  

why did he really sing on the snakepit album if he is a guitarist?

oh, if mods think this is in the wrong place, just move it....

[jarmo]

Maybe because Slash couldn't find anybody better?  



/jarmo

[Captain P?l]

Maybe because Slash couldn't find anybody better?  



/jarmo

 

how hard it is to find a good vocalist? or find a vocalist without him being a undercover guitarist?!? :p

anyone know if dover is on other albums too? singing, drumming or playing guitar? or maybe bass? or maybe he is shaking a tamburine for metallica?

[jarmo]

Alice Cooper  Dragontown (2001) Vocals (bckgr)  
Alice Cooper  Dragontown [Bonus Disc] (2002) Vocals (bckgr)  
Alice Cooper  Eyes of Alice Cooper (2003) Guitar, Vocals  
Alberto Fortis  Universo Fortis (2003) Musician  
Imperial Drag  Imperial Drag (1996) Guitar, Vocals  
Jellyfish  Fan Club (2002) Guitar, Vocals (bckgr)  
Khaleel  People Watching (1998) Vocals (bckgr)  
Mark Plaff  Grapes Of Pfaff  Guitar  
Umajets  Demolotion (1997) Guitar, Mandolin, Guitar (Electric)  
Various Artists  Tribute to Journey (2002) Performer  

http://www.allmusic.com



/jarmo

[Captain P?l]

so.. he just was a vocalist on snakepit album? maybe he used slash to try out his vox skill's.. but it was too late when they reached the recording studio so he couldnt say no.... and slash felt sorry for the guy and couldnt say "your fired" too him...  

[Izzy]

Snakepit v.1 was pretty awful - no, thats not harsh enough, it was really awful

The vocals and lyrics were embarrassing, but so was the guitars, Slash and Gilby really failed to shine.

I never understood why they didn't just get Gilby to do vocals if they were so desperate they dragged a guitarist off the street.....

When ur line up is essential GNR '94 u expect much better - thankfully we got it with Ain't life Grand!

[Booker Floyd]

Snakepit v.1 was pretty awful - no, thats not harsh enough, it was really awful

The vocals and lyrics were embarrassing, but so was the guitars, Slash and Gilby really failed to shine.

I never understood why they didn't just get Gilby to do vocals if they were so desperate they dragged a guitarist off the street.....

When ur line up is essential GNR '94 u expect much better - thankfully we got it with Ain't life Grand!

Any examples of poor guitar work?

The vocals were relatively weak, and some of the lyrics were embarassing, but hardly awful.  Overall, its a solid, unspectacular record.  "Beggars & Hangers-On" is a great song, and so is "I Hate Everybody (But You)".  Most of the other songs fail to reach that level of songwriting, but nearly all of them are at least good. The main weakness would be Dovers singing.

I would just like to see what makes this album awful, so please enlighten me.

[the dirt]

Gilby palyed on all of the first albums tracks?

I don't think a great vocalist would have made the record more than a solid, 'unspectacular record'. It just wasn't there.

But I don't mind it , though.

[jarmo]

I would just like to see what makes this album awful, so please enlighten me.

Apart from thw two songs you mentioned, some of the others are quite awful. I really can't say anything good about Doin' Fine, Be The Ball, Take It Away etc....

Both Snakepit albums are uneven if you ask me. On Ain't Life Grand you have the title track that's bad in my opinion.


/jarmo

[tomass74]

Snakepit v.1 was pretty awful - no, thats not harsh enough, it was really awful

The vocals and lyrics were embarrassing, but so was the guitars, Slash and Gilby really failed to shine.

I never understood why they didn't just get Gilby to do vocals if they were so desperate they dragged a guitarist off the street.....

When ur line up is essential GNR '94 u expect much better - thankfully we got it with Ain't life Grand!

I have to disagree with you on this one.  I happen to think the first version of Snakepit was pretty damn good.  I like almost every song on there. The second incarnation IMO blew though.  

[Booker Floyd]

I don't think a great vocalist would have made the record more than a solid, 'unspectacular record'. It just wasn't there.

Sure he would have...

A great vocalist would have made it simply sound better and may have contributed to the songwriting.

[Mikkamakka]

I would just like to see what makes this album awful, so please enlighten me.

Apart from thw two songs you mentioned, some of the others are quite awful. I really can't say anything good about Doin' Fine, Be The Ball, Take It Away etc....

Both Snakepit albums are uneven if you ask me. On Ain't Life Grand you have the title track that's bad in my opinion.


/jarmo

Snakepit 1.0 was a great band that made one of the best records of the decade. Unfortunately, Eric is not a great vocalist, but wrote decent lyrics. And the guitar riffs are fantatics! Neither can I could have been a rock hymn, as well as Beggars, Monkey Chow, Back and Forth Again. Who plays guitar, like me, can tell that the guitar parts are much more difficult than the UYI works. Well, there are weaker songs (I just hate I Hate Everybody), but Doin' Fine has a very interesting gutar riff rhythm, just like some Led Zep songs, Be The Ball is good to listen (Especially for playing pinball  ), progressive rock gods Dream Theater members called Slash a 'guitar god' after listening Take It Away
It's Five O'Clock Somewhere deserves more  

[DeadHorse]

Eric was actually singing for a band when Slash found him. I can't remember but I thought it was JellyFish.

Slash said something about meeting him through a friend.

I liked the album, Beggars is an awsome tune as is Good to Be Alive, the outro is cool. I wouldn't say it is gut wrenching to listen to, but that's my "monkey brained opinion".

And correct me if I'm wrong but I recall reading somewhere a few years ago that Eric sang back up vocals on a, Britney Spears album.  

[Acquiesce]

I think the album is pretty good but would have been a lot better with a better vocalist.

[Izzy]

I would just like to see what makes this album awful, so please enlighten me.

Sure thing

Embarasing lyrics sung by a very weak vocalist - the songs lacked passion, hell they all lacked anything even remotely resembling emotion

The guitars, drums, bass etc were very bland, lets face it, if Slash's name wasn't splashed over the front none of us would have bought it.

When u have a line up of that quality and they produce this, only words like awful are going to suffice.

[dragan0T3]

Snakepit's first album was good, not great.  Ain't Life Grand was awful.  To tell you the truth both vocalists are pretty bad, but I prefer Dover.

Dime Store, Beggars, Monkey, Jizz, Lower, Doin' Fine are quite good imo.  The 1st track on the 2nd album is OK, as is Mean Bone, Serial Killer, and Alien.  I must say Speed Parade's intro riff is one of the best riffs of all time - too bad they couldn't make a good song for it.

[Top-Hatted One]

Both Dover and Jackson were referred to Slash by friends. And that is a recipe for disaster, but with that said there were some great songs in IFOS. Ain't life Grand is a great in your face rock record. It just lacks in the lyric department but Rod Jackson has a bad ass voice!

[jarmo]

"The singer we have is the f---ing awesomest singer in the world," Slash declares, admitting that he's tried singing himself but knows he doesn't have the personality for the gig. "[Jackson] was under my nose without me knowing it, after two hundred singers I must have looked at. I can't verbally characterize his voice, but he's got amazing control, amazing volume...he's just f---ing awesome."

http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/news/shownews.php?newsid=183

Wonder if Weiland knows about it?



/jarmo

[darkmonth]

Fuck people who say Rod is not an amazing vocalist.  If you don't like his style sure, but you have fucking cloth ears if you can't admit he has amazing talent.

People are quick to put Slash's vocalists down (and many of these people are doing it with Weiland too so I don't even take thier opinions as worthwhile anyway), just because they aren't Axl Rose.

To be honest, much of the same is aimed at Axl's new axemen, because they aren't Slash.  These people are mostly just stupid narrow minded twats.

[Mikkamakka]

Fuck people who say Rod is not an amazing vocalist.  If you don't like his style sure, but you have fucking cloth ears if you can't admit he has amazing talent.

People are quick to put Slash's vocalists down (and many of these people are doing it with Weiland too so I don't even take thier opinions as worthwhile anyway), just because they aren't Axl Rose.

Agree. Rod is an awesome singer, has a great and skilled voice. For me he's like the mixture of Robert Plant and Steven Tyler.

[Izzy]

Fuck people who say Rod is not an amazing vocalist.  If you don't like his style sure, but you have fucking cloth ears if you can't admit he has amazing talent.

People are quick to put Slash's vocalists down (and many of these people are doing it with Weiland too so I don't even take thier opinions as worthwhile anyway), just because they aren't Axl Rose.

Agree. Rod is an awesome singer, has a great and skilled voice. For me he's like the mixture of Robert Plant and Steven Tyler.

He has a fantastic voice and its a fantastic album, its as good as the the first album was bad.

[Top-Hatted One]

Fuck people who say Rod is not an amazing vocalist.  If you don't like his style sure, but you have fucking cloth ears if you can't admit he has amazing talent.

People are quick to put Slash's vocalists down (and many of these people are doing it with Weiland too so I don't even take thier opinions as worthwhile anyway), just because they aren't Axl Rose.

Agree. Rod is an awesome singer, has a great and skilled voice. For me he's like the mixture of Robert Plant and Steven Tyler.

And the ACDC singers

[effinsee]

Five O'clock is a solid album... Rips shit over Snakepit 2 I'm afraid.
 
Eric Dover is a unique singer... Just like Axl. Don't be dismissing him as a shithouse singer because the cunt can do shit with his voice that noone else can. Slash made a fucking rad choice when he hired him.

Embarrassing lyrics? Get the fuck outta here.

[matt88]

Five O'clock is a solid album... Rips shit over Snakepit 2 I'm afraid.
 
Eric Dover is a unique singer... Just like Axl. Don't be dismissing him as a shithouse singer because the cunt can do shit with his voice that noone else can. Slash made a fucking rad choice when he hired him.

Embarrassing lyrics? Get the fuck outta here.

I agree with u

[Mattgnr]

IMO 'Aint life grand' is the best of the two.

Serial killer - is beyond excellent

Aint life grand, mean bone and back to the moment are great.

The others, range from poor (Only 'alien') to the rest average - great.

[Miz]

Eric Dover is a unique singer... Just like Axl. Don't be dismissing him as a shithouse singer because the cunt can do shit with his voice that noone else can. Slash made a fucking rad choice when he hired him.

What unique like rips off Rod Stewart?

Yeah, totally unique...

[starchild_666]

Eric Dover was a perfect Axl replacement... like it or not, but that's truth  
Speakin of album... yeah, it wasn't as good as GNR records, but it's great record!!! At least much better than second snakepit album... Rod really sucks ass!

[SunKing278]

I think its been out-of-print for a long time, but the Imperial Drag record is worth checking out if any of y'all ever come across it.  It was released in '96 and sounds like nothing else that was coming out at that time.  T. Rex meets '80s glam metal  meets '60s psychedelica.  The single "Boy Or a Girl" got some radio play at the time, as did the song "Spider."  The song "Playboy After Dark," in particular, is amazing.  WAAF here in Boston played them constantly, but I don't know how much airplay they got in other parts of the country.  About as far from "grunge" as it gets.  It's a shame this band didn't catch on, because in another era (or even today, considering the success of The Darkness), they would have been huge.

[Izzy]

To all the people that like the first Snakepit album....

what the fuck do u see in that crap?

Its just BAD

I can't see how u can like it.....everything about it is poor. And the vocalist is embarrassing.

[AdZ]

Embarrassing lyrics? Get the fuck outta here.

"We got a band playin', the singer's
really fat
The cat is in the dryer
Who's the asshole who did that
Someone's in the backroom,
I think they're gettin' high
If they don't unlock the bathroom
I'll just have to go outside"

Or did you miss that?

[Mikkamakka]

To all the people that like the first Snakepit album....

what the fuck do u see in that crap?

Its just BAD

I can't see how u can like it.....everything about it is poor. And the vocalist is embarrassing.

Fuckin' great riffs and solos. Could have been the same class as Appetite if there is work from Axl and Duff on it. Well, the lyrics sometimes not too good (Doin' Fine, I hate everybody but you), but the other songs are amazing. % O'Clock is one of my Top10 favourite albums of all time, IMO it's much better than anything GN'R-related material, much better than TSI, better than Lies, and matches with the UYI albums.  

[Christos AG]

Fuckin' great riffs and solos. Could have been the same class as Appetite if there is work from Axl and Duff on it. Well, the lyrics sometimes not too good (Doin' Fine, I hate everybody but you), but the other songs are amazing. % O'Clock is one of my Top10 favourite albums of all time, IMO it's much better than anything GN'R-related material, much better than TSI, better than Lies, and matches with the UYI albums.  

I would really like to know the other 9 albums in your top ten... And I hope Spinal Tap's "Smell The Glove" is not included...

[MeanBone]

ok, here's my two cents on the subject,

first of all ALG is not that good. its an average cd with slash's solos. good musicians maybe but they're playing poor music.

on the other hand IFOS is an amazing cd, i didn't reallly like it that much when i bought it but every time i listen to it again i find it a very good cd. just straight up rock  n' roll riffs and licks, good lyrics ( not that meaningful in some cases, but that's actually good, cuz its just an easy sleazy rock n roll cd. i.e.: " he missed the pool by inches so i guess he won't be walking soon" i always laugh at that one)

i think gilby and slash alongside are amazing, and when i paid true attention to both guitars i was blowned away. the last song, back and forth again has one of the best slash's solos ever, and  the rest of the cd is so cool to listen to whether you're at home doing whatever or driving in your car. the bass is top of the line, but who could expect something else from Mike Inez? matt on drums and dizzy on keyboards... the way i see it, this is an all star line up, sort of

Eric Dover's voice is unique and i was also amazed he could play guitar as well. i just didn't know how good of a guitar player he was unitl i  saw him in concert in 2001 and was just amazed by his skills next to mister alice cooper. i have to say i didn't even recognize him cuz he looked really different and wasn't singing of course. he held Gibson Les Paul's thru the set and rocked like a crazy mother fucker on stage.

i really think eric is the best singer in both snakepit efforts and he is a great guitar player  who i was fortuned enough to experience live...

[phaseONE]

What about the solo in " back and forth again " i think its awesome!

And, why does everybody slate be the ball?
Personally i like the song, a song about up and leaving everything u love and own and start fresh, looking for " something " that may or may not be found in life.

The vocalist dover was the biggest let down in that record, too much high end screaming that " hurt the ears " so to speak, spoiled a lot of the songs.

[Top-Hatted One]

The solo in "Back & Forth Again" is right up there with the solos in Nov. Rain and Sweet Child O' Mine!

[Captain P?l]

Back and Forth again rocks!!!

i also think Be The Ball rocks! the drums are AMAZING!! when the song stop's and matt is doing the intro thing again and the song start full on is just amazing!! love it!

[Captain Obvious]

I can't stand this guy's voice. Talk about trying too hard. If all snakepit albums were instrumentals, they would be masterpieces. Dover successully stomps on any beautiful guitar work Slash put together with his full out tasteless groans.

[volcano62]

The only Snakepit song that is decent is Mean Bone.

[Mikkamakka]

The only Snakepit song that is decent is Mean Bone.

Kinda funny, I really like Snakepit, but it's one of my least favourite songs.

[metallex78]

The only Snakepit song that is decent is Mean Bone.

You've gotta be kidding, Mean Bone is crap, what with the stupid rapping at the start and lame lyrics, it's just bad! But each to their own I guess! hehe

The best Snakepit songs I think are: Beggars, Dime Store Rock, Good To Be Alive, Shine, Serial Killer, Landslide and Rusted Heroes

[Captain P?l]

The only Snakepit song that is decent is Mean Bone.

You've gotta be kidding, Mean Bone is crap, what with the stupid rapping at the start and lame lyrics, it's just bad! But each to their own I guess! hehe

The best Snakepit songs I think are: Beggars, Dime Store Rock, Good To Be Alive, Shine, Serial Killer, Landslide and Rusted Heroes

add Alien and Speed Parade and Been There Lately i agree...