What do you think of Axl's voice right now?

[Ali]

That wasn't the point I was making.  Not that I don't understand what you're saying.  But, I disagree with the previous assessment of his clean vocal tone.

I think any major vocal switch for any major established act is going to be an issue.

O.k.  Still not my point when I expressed my disagreement with the previous assessment of his clean vocal tone.

Ali

[draguns]

Straight face? what happens to axl voice? is the only who cant be capture on youtube? ive seen tons of bootlegs of iron maiden,metallica,acdc,black sabbath and you can see when they fuck up.But here there are some guys that belive in witchery? LOL and you tell me with a straight face,i put some irony btw.

Youtube seemed to become unreliable on 10.2.2011.  That's when you can trace back to when you have to start believing in ghosts in the machine.

D-Generation X, I usually agree with what you are saying. However, with this I disagree. The Youtube recording doesn't compare to a live show. I went to the Izod show in November of  2011. He sounded much better live than he does on YouTube for that show.  With  Youtube, there is just  too much noise with the crowd. Granted, he does not sound as good as he did 20 years ago, which is completely understandable.  However, he really sounded great that night. Even my date was impressed and she's a Madonna fan.

[D-GenerationX]

Straight face? what happens to axl voice? is the only who cant be capture on youtube? ive seen tons of bootlegs of iron maiden,metallica,acdc,black sabbath and you can see when they fuck up.But here there are some guys that belive in witchery? LOL and you tell me with a straight face,i put some irony btw.

Youtube seemed to become unreliable on 10.2.2011.  That's when you can trace back to when you have to start believing in ghosts in the machine.

D-Generation X, I usually agree with what you are saying. However, with this I disagree. The Youtube recording doesn't compare to a live show. I went to the Izod show in November of  2011. He sounded much better live than he does on YouTube for that show.  With  Youtube, there is just  too much noise with the crowd. Granted, he does not sound as good as he did 20 years ago, which is completely understandable.  However, he really sounded great that night. Even my date was impressed and she's a Madonna fan.

I saw the Camden show right after that.  He was fine, I thought.

[gunsbetterthanever]

I think that he sounds great on many tracks this past show.  He sounds great on you tube on CD, WTTJ, ISO, and many others.  Whether he is not as good as 2010 is irrelevant. 

The guys who are saying he does not clearly love him enough to spend all of this time analyzing him.. JUST sayin.

Bottom line, there are moments when he sounds like 92.  I forget who called me delusional, but I am not.  On Civil War, when he sings and holds the Warrrrrrrrrrr..oooo, he sounds old school! 
On Paradise City, when he says hommmmmmmmmmmm yeahhhhh, he sounds old school!  Not delusional.  LOL

[Ali]

This thread has gone waaaaay off topic...Jarmo will soon lock it. Lets go back to Argentina videos plz. Ill soon post an article a brazilian singing teacher posted regarding Axls voice....its a very long and interesting article...talks about Axls surgeries, his vocal issues, his techniques...

I'd be curious to read that...although unless it is in English, I don't think I actually CAN read it

Ali

[D-GenerationX]

This thread has gone waaaaay off topic...Jarmo will soon lock it. Lets go back to Argentina videos plz. Ill soon post an article a brazilian singing teacher posted regarding Axls voice....its a very long and interesting article...talks about Axls surgeries, his vocal issues, his techniques...

I'd be curious to read that...although unless it is in English, I don't think I actually CAN read it

Ali

Yeah, I'd love to read this if we can get it translated.

[Bazfreak]

This thread has gone waaaaay off topic...Jarmo will soon lock it. Lets go back to Argentina videos plz. Ill soon post an article a brazilian singing teacher posted regarding Axls voice....its a very long and interesting article...talks about Axls surgeries, his vocal issues, his techniques...

I'd be curious to read that...although unless it is in English, I don't think I actually CAN read it

Ali

Yeah, I'd love to read this if we can get it translated.

Ill translate it as soon as i have time!  

[Siamese Democracy]

I can tie everything together.  I saw an ISE video on YouTube and Axl was magical from the last show. 

[Pinball Wizard]

This thread has gone waaaaay off topic...Jarmo will soon lock it. Lets go back to Argentina videos plz. Ill soon post an article a brazilian singing teacher posted regarding Axls voice....its a very long and interesting article...talks about Axls surgeries, his vocal issues, his techniques...

I'd be curious to read that...although unless it is in English, I don't think I actually CAN read it

Ali

Yeah, I'd love to read this if we can get it translated.

The article basically talks about how singing like axl did - with the rasp done on his throat instead of his soft palate - was very harmful for his vocal chords and he had to go through surgeries to recover from knots on his vocal chords, and that is why he canceled some tours and had to change his way of singing because of "doctor's recommendations". Other than that he only talks about vocal techniques and stuff like that...

The thing is...I've been following this band for god knows how long and I've never heard anything about Axl's undergoing surgeries on his vocal chords. He also didn't provide any sources for these statements... I call it bullshit.

But yeah, the part he talks about singing techniques is actually almost worth reading.

http://whiplash.net/materias/biografias/200844-gunsnroses.html

The fact is that , to use the drive without prior study of technique, Axl severely damaged his vocal cords . Even in 1993 shows , we could already see Axl with a much weaker than in previous years voice.
The drive resulted in nodules ( calluses ) on the vocal cords of Axl . Possibly , this was the main reason for getting so many years without Axl sing live , between 1994 and 2001 .

Between 1997 and 1999 , he recorded most of the vocals on the live album Live Era in the studio and it was a noticeable change in his voice, but was still recognizable and the drive was still there , over dosed , it is true , but it was there .

In 2000 he played Dead Flowers with Gilby Clarke and his voice was still recognizable , he was still enjoying the drive .

Anyway , after this presentation with Gilby , Axl decided to undergo a surgery for the removal of these nodules . This type of surgery have as a repair , and calluses of the vocal cords leave the cleaner voice , and the rasp ( strident , hoarseness ) voice is dissipated briefly .

Exactly for this reason that in 2001 , just one year after singing with Gilby and after the infamous surgical procedure , Axl showed up at the House of Blues and Rock in Rio , as well as throughout 2002 tour , singing with a cleaner voice , having been forbidden by doctors to use drive , otherwise you could incur irreparable damage to your voice .

As no longer had the power the drive gave him , Axl is forced to enhance other features such as their head voice , which has never been as consistent as your chest voice , moreover , also enhanced the use of belting .

Technically , Axl had improved , but the drive was and is very much needed for several songs from Guns since Axl dwelt fans of Guns N ' Roses to hear him sing with him .

About that time followed closely resembles that Axl was bombarded by criticism by the new way of singing , and perhaps this was the main reason for the cancellation of the 2002 tour .

Tired from criticism of his voice on tour 2001/2002 , in 2004 , he did another surgery , this time to give greater depth to his voice , after this procedure , its got a little more treble and deep bass , giving the false impression that his voice would have recovered the stridency of previous years .

Contrary medical advice , Axl went back to using drive in 2006 , but his voice did not externava more natural stridency as in the past . Many times , he sounded hoarse , stressed, superficial and without the scope of yore .

Many people define as Axl sang well or not because he has used drive or not , but singing is not only used drive . Several factors have to be analyzed , extent , projection , depth , vibrato , head voice , chest voice , belting , etc. .

Returning to use drive , was noticed clearly that he suffered at the shows , you could see his veins pop out of the canyon and it was feared for his health , but adore the sound that your voice was producing , returning to remember , vaguely true , the past. But it was not healthy , Axl never sang in a sustainable manner .

In 2010 , many sets he sang well because he started to abuse the drive , using it on every song , but I repeat , singing is not only drive . Even with the drive , Axl found himself out of tune even more out of tune than in 2002 , when he did not use the drive , but it remained tuned in good part, as can be seen in songs such as The Blues and Madagascar .

But truth be told , although not healthy for him, was spectacular for the fans, the voice that echoed Axl in 2010 , because maybe it was the year in which his voice was closer to the heydays . This does not mean that she was very good as define . Importantly , even in the heyday of Axl 's voice has never been characterized by technology, but by the power the drive gave him , was the feeling that Axl conquered fans .

Yes , it is true that many songs from Guns are , say , different and strange without drive . But this is because Axl fans accustomed to it , he did not think long term.

He worked hard in 2010 to keep the entire tour using the drive , but as stated earlier , did not sing in a sustainable way , and it was noticeable that used the drive through the canyon and not the soft palate , which proves that perhaps he has not found a teacher who had the courage to teach him the drive properly after their surgeries , for which he was subjected .

There is also evidence that , in addition to vocal cord nodules , throughout his career, Axl has also had reflux laryngopharyngeal reflux , same problem which affected numerous vocalists such as Edu Falaschi , for example.

It is possible that with every effort made ​​between 2006 and 2010 , Axl has acquired new nodules on his vocal cords , and that because of this, it has drastically reduced the use of the drive since 2011 , having its apex in 2014 , where his voice is clean most of the time during shows .

But unlike 2002 , today Axl no longer have the breath that had at that time , so we can not support and sustain the notes , as in 2002 could , therefore , today , your voice sounds worse than in 2002 , it sounds wound and without support.

As a result, the tendency is that the set list for the coming years bring only songs that are his original fabric , ie , songs that give him sing only with chest voice , songs like You Is not The First, Mr Bronwstone , Bad Obsession , Knockin 'On Heavens Door , Do not Cry , Doule Talkin Jive , Down On The Farm , It's So Easy , so Fine , etc. .

[Gunner80]

Axl is never going to sound like he did when he was 25 ever again. He should've never gave up on Gloria Bennett. She was quoted as saying Axl had the greatest breath control she'd ever taught. Throat nodules create scar tissue on the vocal cords which is permanent. I say we just enjoy Axl as is and have a blast at the shows.

If I was to offer my two cents, if he was to lose 40 pounds and get super fit it would help him with chest control. Problem is is he's constantly out of breath.  Personally I think Axl sounded best live in 1993. Of course he was young and fit.  I'm a trained singer so I like to think I know a little about this. And my training is never over, you have to be on top of your voice everyday.

[Ali]

Axl is never going to sound like he did when he was 25 ever again. He should've never gave up on Gloria Bennett. She was quoted as saying Axl had the greatest breath control she'd ever taught. Throat nodules create scar tissue on the vocal cords which is permanent. I say we just enjoy Axl as is and have a blast at the shows.

If I was to offer my two cents, if he was to lose 40 pounds and get super fit it would help him with chest control. Problem is is he's constantly out of breath.  Personally I think Axl sounded best live in 1993. Of course he was young and fit.  I'm a trained singer so I like to think I know a little about this. And my training is never over, you have to be on top of your voice everyday.

I'm a trained singer, too.  And I know enough to know that you don't need great cardiovascular fitness to have good breath support.  You need to practice good diaphragmatic breathing.  The only points I see in which the fitness being an issue is when he's trying to sing while moving around a lot.

A lot of breath support is about knowing exactly how much breath support you need for a given phrase.  My longest and best teacher always told me to memorize my breathing the way I would memorize the lyrics to a song.

The article is interesting as an opinion, but it sounds completely speculative without any factual basis or verifiable sources for the claims being made.

Ali

[Koskenkorvasieni]

Axl is what..52 years old already? It's only natural that your voice changes over the years, it's happened to the best of them. Rob Halford, David Coverdale, Bruce Dickinson, Ian Gillan, James LaBrie, Robert Plant...singing high and loud puts a lot of strain on the voice. I think he's singing pretty well for someone who screamed his lungs out for the last 30 years. He should just get in better shape. And FFS lose the moustache! 

[overmatik]

Axl is what..52 years old already? It's only natural that your voice changes over the years, it's happened to the best of them. Rob Halford, David Coverdale, Bruce Dickinson, Ian Gillan, James LaBrie, Robert Plant...singing high and loud puts a lot of strain on the voice. I think he's singing pretty well for someone who screamed his lungs out for the last 30 years. He should just get in better shape. And FFS lose the moustache! 

This.

All this talk of changing voices only made me think about Dio and how his voice was still so powerful even at 67. The greatest metal singer ever by a mile above all the others! 

[Poops Magee]

I feel like what I'm looking for in the vocals is strength, not the vocal fry that people seem to worship. And I like many, feel that the strength is hit and miss with the guy. But it is there on quite a few songs! For instance, 'Nice Boys' has been sounding awesome and 'The Seeker' is right in his wheel house. Both are different in singing style and both are sung very well.

On the other hand, when people say 'My Michelle' is tragic I don't even click on it because I know what they mean. And 'You Could Be Mine' has been tough to enjoy lately-the aforementioned know what I mean.

Also, there are other annoyances from the various new lineups that ruin songs for me just as much, (e.g. drumming on November Rain-Brain, drumming on Brownstone/It's so easy-Frank, SCOM-Robin, Patience-DJ, etc.)

But  I gotta say, I just watched the last Buenos Aires show with a nice Argentinian Malbec (looking forward I guess), and I was captivated. I mean, the crowd was absolutely going ape-shit and the whole group had total swagger on stage. I mean real swagger like they were gonna start throwing back stage passes to chicks in the front row!

Were you guys watching when Axl leaned over and motioned to have Duff sing harmony on Civil War?! Ah, those are the rock moments I live for!

So when all is said and done, I rank this show right up there as one of the best this lineup has produced. As a person who was lucky enough to see Axl n' Izzy rock together (2006), I know what the audience must have been feeling.

The challenge for this band will be to keep the momentum going once Duff has said adieu. And who knows, maybe Duff will "accidentally" leave a pilates book in Axl's dressing room.

[Koskenkorvasieni]

Axl is what..52 years old already? It's only natural that your voice changes over the years, it's happened to the best of them. Rob Halford, David Coverdale, Bruce Dickinson, Ian Gillan, James LaBrie, Robert Plant...singing high and loud puts a lot of strain on the voice. I think he's singing pretty well for someone who screamed his lungs out for the last 30 years. He should just get in better shape. And FFS lose the moustache! 

This.

All this talk of changing voices only made me think about Dio and how his voice was still so powerful even at 67. The greatest metal singer ever by a mile above all the others! 

Well, you have to admit that even Dio's voice aged during his later years, but you're right he did have amazing power in his voice to the very end. 

[gunsbetterthanever]

Well,
I am sure Jarmo will ban this but I wanted to know everyone's thoughts on where we go from here!  Axl's voice seems truly finished in the sense of the RASP and Power he had in 2010.

I thought that Paraguay was solid, but the last show went downhill.  Overall I give Axl a 7 out of 10, but I cannot lie and say I do not want to see him again.  I still love the shows.

I do wish he had more power as he clearly cannot perform at the same level as a few years ago, but nevertheless, I am still a die hard fan. 

I also wish he would change up the setlist for Vegas.  It seems he is reluctant to try any variety!

[D-GenerationX]

I'll always be a diehard fan, but its long past time to revise expectations.  Its never going to be what it was, or even close, but some nights are better than others.

And yes, this thread will be moved.  If not lost altogether.

[jarmo]

How many threads are you gonna start about the same thing?





/jarmo

[D-GenerationX]

Less voice threads.  More altitude threads.

[jarmo]

Less voice threads.  More altitude threads.

Are you watching altitude sickness videos on Youtube so you can comment about what it's like to perform a rock concert in La Paz?

Because it's weird how football teams travel to La Paz and don't perform as well as they do in other places. Everybody knows about the altitude when the game is scheduled...


Yeah, it's weird how a La Paz show thread would mention the attitude and air. Wow!





/jarmo