Here Today... Gone To Hell!

When AC/DC wrapped up their Rock Or Bust tour [in 2016], the band's future looked bleak.

Singer Brian Johnson had been replaced by Axl Rose for the last 23 shows [due to hearing loss].   The band could have stopped, but Angus Young says cancelling the tour would have involved "a lot of legal things" - not to mention laying off a tour crew of almost 90 people.

Then, out of the blue, Guns N' Roses star Axl Rose called to offer his services.

"We were really grateful because [Axl] gave it his best shot and he helped us get through and finish those dates," says Angus Young.

But Rose was never going to become a permanent member of the band.


AC/DC's new album Power Up is being released tomorrow (Friday the 13th), with classic members Angus Young, Brian Johnson, Phil Rudd, and Cliff Williams, along with nephew Stevie Young.


Read the full article here...

https://news.yahoo.com/ac-dc-were-too-stubborn-002649648.html (https://news.yahoo.com/ac-dc-were-too-stubborn-002649648.html)

Wish I had a chance to see one of those shows.
A buddy of mine went and said it was terrific and what I've seen on youtube was great.

I saw them up front in Aarhus and Axls voice was like a razorblade coming through a jet engine, like it should be, top form!

Cliff Williams also had this to say about Axl:

“Nothing but positives for Axl; he was very respectful, he worked hard, there was no bullshit.”

soundboard for those shows would be sweet, silly not to release them.

He really raised his game for that tour and knocked it out of the park ,so many cynics dismissed him before he sang a note .
https://youtu.be/wD-bjjCG-gs

Dare I say it I think I’d rather see Axl playing with AC/DC than GNR at the moment.

Why

Probably because of the quality of his vocals with ACDC... I also think he should train his voice for GNR like he did for ACDC... he shouldn't take GNR songs for granted.

Yeah it became a rather common criticism that Axl sounded better with AC/DC than he has with GNR, and I honestly have to agree.

I don't think it's a "train his voice" issue as it relates to AC/DC. I think it is a song issue. The GnR songs that are written similar to ACDC Songs... Jungle, Shadow, ect... he usually knocks out of the park. Oddly the stuff that Axl seems to favor and wants to write is the stuff that he tends to perform the worst... With that said you don't "sing" Jungle... when he tries to go into a higher register without rasp he doesn't seem to have the breath or power to control it so he goes out of tune and gets that Mickey Mouse voice everyone bashes him for.

Unfortunately his ACDC work doesn't translate to This I Love, November Rain, really anything from CD, etc... Can he train that, sure, but it's a different set of skills than covering AC/DC.

Axl has only his upper and lower range. He lost his middle range, That's all. Ac/dc songs are basically high pitched song, so same style for every single song and he can deal with that. Gnr songs cover more vocal range, and that's a problem, cause it's exhausting even for a younger singer. Singing in different ranges its not good in any case for any voice, even lyrical singers (used to) stuck with their roles even if they could cover more roles. Axl is unlucky that even if he can sing "clean"in his middle range, his voice there has a terrible, terrible tone.

He did say he trained for ACDC, like with a real vocal trainer for the first time in 20 years or something, so he DID DO something different... I agree ACDC songs are more simple, but whereas at first he nailed the ACDC songs, as the tour progressed and there was less pressure for him to sing perfectly I think the quality of his vocals diminished a bit... So basically its both, he did train and acdc songs are more simple.

Yeah, he also admitted that the Brian Johnson era songs were "something else" to sing.  I think this was the same interview.

I don't think Angus would actually admit if he considered doing an album with Axl because he got so much blowback from the fans for even letting him sub in. I'm on an AC/DC forum and the hate for Axl is ridiculous. I suppose it goes without saying that fans of DC tend to be resistant to change...


No kidding, he sang Hell Bells like the studio recording, which even Brian himself could never do, even in 1980 at the top of his game.


More simple how? The range of notes they require covers about the same ground as Guns, except the very low end.


A few proshot clips were uploaded to the band's Facebook page around then, let me see...

They're all just snippets, but:

Thunderstruck: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10154495616307930

If You Want Blood: https://www.facebook.com/acdc/videos/10154496815372930

Highway to Hell: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10154481446902930

You Shook Me All Night Long: https://www.facebook.com/acdc/videos/10154468091402930

Back in Black: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10154435043867930

Givin the Dog a Bone: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10154176217287930

This has a little of RNR Damnation in the background: https://www.facebook.com/acdc/videos/10154514766277930

Towards the end of the tour Axl's voice had begun to crack a bit. I don't think it was him getting complacent or anything like that, just that the tour and basically pushing his voice to its limit every night had begun to take it's toll.

No kidding, he sang Hell Bells like the studio recording, which even Brian himself could never do, even in 1980 at the top of his game.


More simple how? The range of notes they require covers about the same ground as Guns, except the very low end.

[/quote]


I'm no expert, I do play and sing, and the way I see it, while challenging range-wise ( high pitch raspy vocals is something few people can do), the structure of the guitar and its composition is more circular, constant and clear, and has a steady rhythm that adheres to an all too criticized "formula" (for better or for worse)... So it is easier to keep up with the rhythm (you can even see Axl physically keeping the beat when singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhN6v8fScBA) , a good example is thunderstruck,(also rock or bust) with a steady rhythm like that, with short sentences as well, it's also easier to breath, something that Axl's been having trouble with in GNR songs.

well maybe he should have kept up with the training in between concerts instead of going to party  :hihi:  :P j/k.

Another aspect to his AC/DC vocals that I have always wondered about is stage sound... For GnR there is almost no audio on the actual stage, they are using in-ears band wide and have iso cabs under the stage. With AC/DC there is a literal wall of sound behind Axl, the band didn't go with in-ears. While Axl will have some sound filtered out, is there the possibility that there is something to actually singing with (and over) the live sound that contributes to his power vs. what you get at a GnR show?

But guitar rhythms don't affect how your voice works. The vocal melodies have both drawn out and staccato parts in both bands. It's a fair point that AC/DC lyrics tend to be less wordy though. He certainly did himself no favors writing CD material like TWAT.

Im a big fan of Chris Slades drumming on The Razors Edge era. But his drum sound on the Rock Or Bust tour was pretty bad honestly.

Rhythm is melody.  So I would argue it's got a direct link to how vocals work. Ive mostly always written folk or folky rock songs ( I like blind melon) and friends of mine that are more singers/interpreters than writers sometimes ask me to help them with their project (mostly vocal melodies and lyrics), which leads me to venture into different genres, like reggae, rap and hip hop, or ska. I can tell you those genres have very different rhythms, and Rap is an example of a whole different world rhythm-wise that you have to understand in order to get it right. Singing over a lone piano track was also a challenge at first. I would also argue that your physical condition hinders your singing. His vocals were 10/10 in 2006 when he was in pretty good shape compared to 2001.

Yeah, as much of a Phil Rudd loyalist that I am, I will credit Chris Slade for doing an admirably great job during the "Razor's Edge" tour.  But it did deteriorate and fall astray during the Axl/DC performances, making me long for Rudd's return, which we thankfully got.

Agreed. He didn't even sound like the same drummer anymore. Then again, neither does Phil. Hopefully since he's gotten clean that will change.


"Rhythm is melody"? I'm honestly struggling not to say something insulting here... that statement is categorically false. Rhythm relates to percussion, whereas melody refers to the use of different tones in a sequence. Melody (most often) includes rhythm as part of it, but not the other way around. A rhythm cannot have melody.

With that said, the guitar rhythms do not dictate the vocal melody. You can have staccato riffs with a legato vocal. Or the other way around. Both bands use both types of articulation in their vocals.

We're not talking about Axl rapping (which he has done, anyway). We're talking about going from one classic rock band to another classic rock band.

Technically, his singing style was "healthier" in 2001 because he wasn't using rasp, which most vocal trainers will say is unhealthy, period.

Anyway, I guess we both dig Blind Melon, so there's that.

Ahh the internet, where people get angry over nothing. "whereas melody refers to the use of different tones in a sequence" Yes, and those tones in a sequence follow ....the beat, don't they ? The way I write vocal melodies is simple: I usually follow the beat, either by stomping my feet or when its something soft like a piano I make one of the fingers in my hand move to the beat, I focus on the physical manifestation of the beat and I start improvising (singing) and the melody creates itself. Give it a try, it's not hard to understand, even Nicki Minaj can do it, you can see it here ,  she teaches Stephen Colbert how to do it (minute 12:00) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s9joL_AGfo

No, not if they're legato.

No anger here. Tried to be as diplomatic as possible, if anything.


Whether a melody is inspired by a rhythm or not is irrelevant because we're talking about the technical capacity to sing a given melody. There's not really a lot to it with singing; you have melody, rhythm and breath support. Unless you can provide an instance where GNR use a note outside the range of AC/DC vocals or some kind of jackhammer fast technical rhythmic technique that is not used in DC, or extremely powerful or soft exertion... it's a moot point.

AC/DC songs have soft sections and belting sections, they have high notes and low notes, they have legato notes and near-rap staccato like Back in Black... you haven't given any specific technique that makes a significant difference that could explain the marked difference in Axl's performance.

You're focused on range alone which I am not disputing. See it like this: you try to run over a course of obstacles, through sand, rocks, water... you would run out of breath faster than when you just walk in a straight line over grass.  Music wise: That could ruin a performance. There's a reason a lot of people jog using jogging music. It helps them keep the beat and keeps them going.. It may seem as though rhythm "inspires" a melody, but it actually dictates it, which is easy to see, try singing, and then try to take out the rhythm. The result: the melody collapses, because you are removing its foundation. Had Nicky Minaj given Stephen Colbert a different rhythm the rap would've come out differently. He didn't think on how to rap those lyrics, he just started following the beat and he didn't just surprise Nicki he surprised himself too. Without the beat (prior to Nicki providing the rhythm, he just sounded like a donkey) :hihi:

I no way am I talking about range alone. I'm honestly amazed how you could come away thinking that. Did you even read what I said?

I wasn't asking for a vague analogy, I was asking for tangible specifics.

Tell me, what GNR songs require intricate rhythms? Is Sweet Child using a 7/8 time signature?

The problem is you want knowledge and I'm trying to give you understanding. Two different things.
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree  :P

The problem is that you're saying nothing and trying to make it sound meaningful and poignant. And this is a perfect illustration of that. Sorry, I'm not fooled by rhetorical bluster and pageantry.