DOES ANYBODY ELSE REALIZE HOW SIGNIFICANT IT IS AXL HAS HIS VOICE BACK

[themovieaddict.com]

I really don't think it's anywhere near the same level as the early '90s, nor is his energy on stage (go watch Coma on YouTube, it's literally draining after you see it, I felt like all my energy had been zapped afterwards), but his voice is a definite improvement over 2002. People mentioned Nightrain - the reason his voice sounds so good on some of the old Appetite material is very much because his voice is more like it was in the mid-'80s now. He's got a "thin" rasp so when he hits the high notes like in Nightrain he can control the rasp. But when he tries a deep rasp - such as on November Rain - you can tell he is still incapable of doing that.

It's just an age thing. It's to be expected.

[gnrvrrule]

I agree with the original poster that he does have most of his voice back.  But I believe that this is the result of Axl making a choice to sing like his old self as opposed to getting something back that he lost.  Even during the 2002 tour, he would at times be raspy and sound great but I think he chose to sing in the helium voice because it was easier on the vocal chords and maybe thought people would like it.  But I'm sure he's heard all of the complaints about the 2002 voice and has gone back to using the rasp on most occasions, although he still at times uses the helium voice when he gets tired.  He sounds great, but I don't think he ever lost his old rasp; he just chose not to use it.

[marknroses]

it seems to have blown over after the hammerstein shows about how happy people are that Axl has his voice back.........Seriously, do you people realize what? a MONSTER issue that it was going to be if Axl got his voice back the way it used to be or if he lost it forever.....I was extremely worried earlier this year that Axl would have his 2002 voice and the entire tour/concerts everything would be a disaster.........If he never regained his voice GNR and the aura of AXL would be DEAD FOREVER.........I just listened to the download soundboard and was AMAZED at how great Axl sounded..It sounds liek 1988 all over again...........The fact that at the age of 44 that he somehow REGAINED his singing voice is unbelievable and literally saved his entire career and reputation..........I think people have taken it for granted that "oh he sounds good, now what song are they gonna play"....Just be glad he regained his singing voice and i would liek to know how the hell he regained it after it was clearly shot in 2002

Axl didn;t just regain his voice, he regained his persona & the band regained its great chemistry and look. He's an exciting guy again, very unpredictable. 2002 was a blasphemy against anything that GNR did from 1985-1994, but 2006 GNR is a blesssing. They embody the human spirit that spirit is back in every perofmrance I've been watching all summer on YouTube.

THis is an excellent post. I am wondering if Axl has to go back & rerecord Chinese Democracy because of his newly discovered voice. I think CD will do better now, it may be the best Rock album in 2007, and GNR is keeping up with loooks and they will definitly fit in the MTV crowd of pop and rock stars (whether die-hard "punk" fans like it or not) when the music comes out.

BTW - I believe he lost his voice in the 1990s because he stopped singing for 3 years while fighting law suits. Yout, one of the producers had him sing again over accoutic guitar in 1997-1998.

MNW

[chinesedemocracy05]

it seems to have blown over after the hammerstein shows about how happy people are that Axl has his voice back.........Seriously, do you people realize what? a MONSTER issue that it was going to be if Axl got his voice back the way it used to be or if he lost it forever.....I was extremely worried earlier this year that Axl would have his 2002 voice and the entire tour/concerts everything would be a disaster.........If he never regained his voice GNR and the aura of AXL would be DEAD FOREVER.........I just listened to the download soundboard and was AMAZED at how great Axl sounded..It sounds liek 1988 all over again...........The fact that at the age of 44 that he somehow REGAINED his singing voice is unbelievable and literally saved his entire career and reputation..........I think people have taken it for granted that "oh he sounds good, now what song are they gonna play"....Just be glad he regained his singing voice and i would liek to know how the hell he regained it after it was clearly shot in 2002

You summed up prettty much exactly how i feel about this whole year, good post. Im so happy axl has his voice back. I think its better then ever. GO GNR!

[dave-gnfnr2k]

it seems to have blown over after the hammerstein shows about how happy people are that Axl has his voice back.........Seriously, do you people realize what? a MONSTER issue that it was going to be if Axl got his voice back the way it used to be or if he lost it forever.....I was extremely worried earlier this year that Axl would have his 2002 voice and the entire tour/concerts everything would be a disaster.........If he never regained his voice GNR and the aura of AXL would be DEAD FOREVER.........I just listened to the download soundboard and was AMAZED at how great Axl sounded..It sounds liek 1988 all over again...........The fact that at the age of 44 that he somehow REGAINED his singing voice is unbelievable and literally saved his entire career and reputation..........I think people have taken it for granted that "oh he sounds good, now what song are they gonna play"....Just be glad he regained his singing voice and i would liek to know how the hell he regained it after it was clearly shot in 2002

Axl didn;t just regain his voice, he regained his persona & the band regained its great chemistry and look. He's an exciting guy again, very unpredictable. 2002 was a blasphemy against anything that GNR did from 1985-1994, but 2006 GNR is a blesssing. They embody the human spirit that spirit is back in every perofmrance I've been watching all summer on YouTube.

THis is an excellent post. I am wondering if Axl has to go back & rerecord Chinese Democracy because of his newly discovered voice. I think CD will do better now, it may be the best Rock album in 2007, and GNR is keeping up with loooks and they will definitly fit in the MTV crowd of pop and rock stars (whether die-hard "punk" fans like it or not) when the music comes out.

BTW - I believe he lost his voice in the 1990s because he stopped singing for 3 years while fighting law suits. Yout, one of the producers had him sing again over accoutic guitar in 1997-1998.

MNW

Axl never lost his voice in 2002, he sung that way because its the correct way to sing and less strain on his voice. Just look after the first hammerstein show singing the way he is now, he could not talk and almost had to cancel the next show.

Just listen to the demos, esp BETTER Axl is singing like he does on the demos so why would he have to rerecord anything? Axl was saving his voice for the studio and now that the vocals are finished he can sing with the rasp again and not worry about it not sounding perfect on the album.

Axl on the demos sounds just like he did on the UYIs.

[TheBlackBoots]

Hi all!
I know this topic is already old, but it needs a little update, i think.

As i listened to the 2001-2002 bootlegs some years ago, i didn't recognized Axl. I thought they had a new singer, really. It didn't sound like Axl and i can't imagine that it was animus of Axl, that he didn't rasp his voice. I think he couldn't. I don't know if it's true, but I've heard that he stopped smoking and drinking. Over there he didn't sing live for for 7 years. The voice changes then. In 2006 then, Axl was back. His voice was amazing and I thought to myself "This is our old Axl". But the stuff I hear at the moment from the 2009/2010 tour is better than everything I've heard the last 15 years of Axl. Seems like has practised very much to get his voice back. Maybe he has started to smoke again? Who knows... I don't care really about the reasons. I'm happy that Axl is back. I think he is very happy too! The album is great, the tour is amazing. Could it be better?

Cheers,
Mirko

[requiem156]

I think he's better than he's ever been right now - he can turn the grit on and off, seemingly without effort. I'm hoping that this is the result of some technique he learned, and that he isn't blowing his voice out the way he was in the early 90's. He doesn't do as much screaming as he did back then, so maybe he's fine, but I can't help getting concerned.

[Chinese Monopoly]

I don't think it is fair to say Axl has regained his vocals, his classic raspy voice has always been there in some form, I just think this current incarnation of the band has brought the best out of him.

[superstarmc]

It sounds like the Axl of the illusion days singing Chinese democracy, especially on that Toronto bootleg.  How the hell he still can sing like that I can?t figure out.  He hits notes I didn?t even know existed. 

[Christian]

It sounds like the Axl of the illusion days singing Chinese democracy, especially on that Toronto bootleg.  How the hell he still can sing like that I can?t figure out.  He hits notes I didn?t even know existed. 

No, it's not. Trust me, it would sound like shit. Axl's sound is way better than he sounded at illusions

[Lou]

It sounds like the Axl of the illusion days singing Chinese democracy, especially on that Toronto bootleg.  How the hell he still can sing like that I can?t figure out.  He hits notes I didn?t even know existed. 

True! Sometimes it's like he's beyond human!

[Chinese Monopoly]

It sounds like the Axl of the illusion days singing Chinese democracy, especially on that Toronto bootleg.  How the hell he still can sing like that I can?t figure out.  He hits notes I didn?t even know existed. 

You can't compare in this instance, the current vocals of Axl are both new and unique, amazing in other words, I haven't heard anything like it for a while. So far this tour really has been something special, during future concerts we'll be comparing the dates then, to the greatness of the "2009/2010 Chinese Democracy World Tour" now.

[superstarmc]

I let a friend of mine listen to this I live from the Toronto show and he asked me what he sings through to make his voice sound like that.  I said it is his real voice.  Ashamed I have to wait another 8 months to see them.

[requiem156]

It sounds like the Axl of the illusion days singing Chinese democracy, especially on that Toronto bootleg. 

Hell no. He could never have sung There Was a Time, This I Love, Catcher In the Rye etc. in those days - possibly not even in the studio.

[ppbebe]

agreed that he sounds better than ever. more stable and expressive.

[Vicious Wishes]

This subject is near and dear to my heart, because to me GnR has always been about the music first.
The guitars, bass, drums, beat, rhythm, attitude. This is a GnR song.
But more than anything, It's Axl Rose. His voice, style, rasp. Whatever it is, to me it's the most bad ass, kick ass rock-n-roll sound ever.
Right now, for whatever reason, he sounds like a man possesed. I say that because it's really easy to make a guitar or keyboard or drums to sound like they did 20 years ago. A voice(especially one so powerful and unique) is very difficult to maintain.
Go listen to any number of singers who are trying to hit the notes that they used to. Sometimes it's painful to watch, sometimes it works out. Right now, Axl is on fire. He's putting on one hell of a performance.
Maybe he's doing it because it's unconventional or because people said he couldn't do it. I hope so. Either way, this man is putting on a clinic to anyone who wants to know how to be a world-class rock star.

Lucky for them, we've saved the best for last.

[EstrangedBrazil]

im gonna assume you're saying his voice wasnt good in 2001 as well.

everyone is entitled to an opinion i supose. i went to RIR 2001 and to me his voice was nothing but perfect...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbFmXK5I0rc

from 2:13 - 2:30 = 

his voice was tired by the end of the show, of course, it was 3 hours long

i cant help but think that some fans went with the critics... "if everyone is saying it sucks, maybe it does"

[inlikeflynn420]

I thought Axl's voice was amazing in 2006, but when i heard some stuff on youtube from this tour i thought "WOW!" It sounds a lot like early Axl (i think better in many ways) but on the new material i think he has developed a more versatile sound than he ever had before. Those are some complicated songs to sing in the studio, and to recreate them live is truly incredible. I was a little worried that by the time he hit Toronto he might be blowing his voice out a little (especially with a show the night before), but it turns out i had nothing to worry about. Somehow he brings it every single fucking night. I don't know how he does it, but it is pretty fucking impresive.  He's doing something right.

[Chief]

I don't know how he does it but how his voice is holding up this tour and how it has been over the last few years has been pretty amazing.  There was a Time REALLY impressed me.. he nailed it!!!

[Marion68]

Hi all!
I know this topic is already old, but it needs a little update, i think.

As i listened to the 2001-2002 bootlegs some years ago, i didn't recognized Axl. I thought they had a new singer, really. It didn't sound like Axl and i can't imagine that it was animus of Axl, that he didn't rasp his voice. I think he couldn't. I don't know if it's true, but I've heard that he stopped smoking and drinking. Over there he didn't sing live for for 7 years. The voice changes then. In 2006 then, Axl was back. His voice was amazing and I thought to myself "This is our old Axl". But the stuff I hear at the moment from the 2009/2010 tour is better than everything I've heard the last 15 years of Axl. Seems like has practised very much to get his voice back. Maybe he has started to smoke again? Who knows... I don't care really about the reasons. I'm happy that Axl is back. I think he is very happy too! The album is great, the tour is amazing. Could it be better?

Cheers,
Mirko

....yes the album is great,tour is amazing and voice back or not  it?s Axl Rose!