Axl's voice. Can he still sing?

[Carlos Gunner]

Hi:
How does Axl really sound in reality?
Judging by how he sounds in recent videos displayed on Youtube you can say Axl has lost his powerful and melodic voice and that he clearly can not sing old GN'R songs, but people who attend his concerts say he has a decent voice.
What do you think?

[cineater]

Wouldn't kick him out of the shower.   

[dsaddler78]

The rasp is definitely gone which is what I liked the most. However, his range still seems really good IMO. I have seen 4 shows since the semi reunion and was satisfied each time. Can't say the same for the sound mix. Had a really bad experience In Columbus, Ohio were Slash's guitar was nearly inaudible for most of the show. I guess that gripe is for a different thread though! 

[Dr. Blutarsky]

He always sounds better when you're at the concert compared to watching a clip of it on youtube. ( Even if you watch the clip of the concert you were there at on youtube    ) So part of it I think is perception.

Also,  think common knowledge is that Axl is not known for consistency live.

With that said, I think he can very much still sing, what level that rises to may depend on the night.

[Carlos Gunner]

Axl must have been a truly amazing singer in his prime, considering people still enjoy his voice nowadays and he does not sound good in videos.

[Executioner]

Axl must have been a truly amazing singer in his prime, considering people still enjoy his voice nowadays and he does not sound good in videos.

He definitely struggles more with hitting the higher notes in certain songs SCOM,Paradise City, Coma ,YCBM are extremely challenging and he probably needs to sing them in a lower register going forward, I always felt that AC⚡️DC tour did a lot of damage to his vocal chords he really pushed it to the limit and it hasn't been as strong since then.

[PermissionToLand]

I think the reason he sounds better live is the sheer volume distorts what you hear, including his voice.

[Carlos Gunner]

Axl was a quite strong man, a stallion, and that was noticed in his powerful voice.
As he got older he decreased his strength/stamina which can be noticed in how powerful his voice currently is.
I am listening to recent Guns N'Roses concert performances, and his voice is the same at some points but in others, I think he sings in a lower tone, and can not reach some notes.
But most importantly the power and the impact of his mind-blowing performances are not there with him, that is the main change in his voice,  a reduction of madness and uncontrollable sex energy.

 

[ITARocker]

As i said many times, his voice is completely shot since 2018. Mid register completely lost and high register weak as fuck. It doesn't matter if u hit the notes, it does matter HOW you hit them. I'm not attending gn'r shows mainly because of that. 2016-2017 was the swan song, he never recovered from the ac dc thing (but at least we have good recordings to listen to). he can't even sing "clean" like he did in 2000-2002, which was kinda enjoyable, his voice is so thin and weak nowadays that I can really enjoy less than half of the songs they play.

[Wooody]

he sounds ok here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW4pDHk9Fuo

[Mysteron]

Hi:
How does Axl really sound in reality?
Judging by how he sounds in recent videos displayed on Youtube you can say Axl has lost his powerful and melodic voice and that he clearly can not sing old GN'R songs, but people who attend his concerts say he has a decent voice.
What do you think?

The ACDC gig shows he still has it, but he does his thing, and I know from here, there is catchup now with flu and anything else that is catchy post covid. At shows, it's better than Youtube forever. And folk still enjoy the live concerts, so it is what it is.

We are now the internet generation, and folk judge based on the internet rather than real life

[D-GenerationX]

Axl must have been a truly amazing singer in his prime, considering people still enjoy his voice nowadays and he does not sound good in videos.

Check out the 1992 concert from Las Vegas that they just released.

THAT is Axl Rose.  That is right from the soundboard, not fucked with at all, and he sounds AMAZING.

Now, can he do that anymore?  No, he can't.  But he still gives his all and does more good than bad.  

Totally agree you will enjoy it more live these days than you will hearing a recording of it.  On the UYI tour, there was no difference.  Sounded great there, sounded great on a bootleg CD.

Some songs from back in the day, when done live in the present, always good :

It's So Easy
Mr. Brownstone
Double Talkin' Jive
Estranged
Coma
Civil War
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Nightrain

Some songs are the weak link just about every night :

You Could Be Mine
Sweet Child O' Mine

Some, I have heard great some nights...and pretty brutal on others :

Welcome To The Jungle
November Rain
Paradise City

[D-GenerationX]

The ACDC gig shows he still has it, but he does his thing, and I know from here, there is catchup now with flu and anything else that is catchy post covid. At shows, it's better than Youtube forever. And folk still enjoy the live concerts, so it is what it is.

We are now the internet generation, and folk judge based on the internet rather than real life

Not sure about that last part.

Songs like :

Rock Or Bust
Shoot To Thrill
Back In Black
Thunderstruck

...he nailed that shit every night.  Sounded like he did in his UYI prime.

I don't think it's some great offense to dare to ask where some of that is on a song like YCBM or SCOM.  Because it ain't there.

[DeN]

well, the songs are old, they were written to be sing by a 20-25 years old man, so it's more and more difficult to do them justice.

these days he sings all the songs in that weak falsetto and it doesn't sounds good. really. he could work with a vocal coach to adapt the repertoire to his actual vocal capacities, probably in a lower tone for the most part, maybe stop singing the more demanding tracks, I'm pretty sure he can still distord his head voice in a studio with a good amount of time to recover but here the problem is the choices he made to do these 3 hours shows.

[GnRScouse]

He definitely sounds miles better when you're there rather than when you see a video on TV or YouTube. I'm kinda hoping they don't do the rumoured Glastonbury as I believe part of the deal with that is it has to be broadcast on BBC which could be rough.

[DeN]

He definitely sounds miles better when you're there rather than when you see a video on TV or YouTube.

that argument...is it some kind of attempt to fool people confounding the *sound quality* and the *singing*?
if one can affect in a very minor way the perception of the other, you can clearly tell if someone is bloated, out of breathe, not in tone or whatever.

it's like saying "that Slash solo was way better played on stage than on this video, I know, I was there" 

[GnRScouse]

I'm just going off my own experience that when I've watched videos I've found I just can't watch it anymore and will only watch old stuff. But when I've been at recent gigs I've thoroughly enjoyed the experience and not really noticed any issues with his voice, bar a couple of songs.

[AXLRIVERS]

Agree with DX , some songs sound fine or at least borderline , usually lower register like It's so easy, brownstone, CD, patience, but some are so painful. And yes I have been to live shows and Axl (and the band) must surely know this. This isnt idiot school. Some songs he just cant sing now yet he still persists singing the likes of Better rather than sing pretty tied up, bad obsession,  shacklers, or the garden. Not sure what the thought process is in this band. I worry of this coming year....

[DeN]

I'm just going off my own experience that when I've watched videos I've found I just can't watch it anymore and will only watch old stuff. But when I've been at recent gigs I've thoroughly enjoyed the experience and not really noticed any issues with his voice, bar a couple of songs.

sure you enjoy the experience, your attention is not only on the music itself, but the light show also, the videos, the musicianship, your friends around, the beers  , and so on :

it's the whole thing of being present at a show. but it doesn't objectively change the way the songs are sang.

[PermissionToLand]

He definitely sounds miles better when you're there rather than when you see a video on TV or YouTube.

that argument...is it some kind of attempt to fool people confounding the *sound quality* and the *singing*?
if one can affect in a very minor way the perception of the other, you can clearly tell if someone is bloated, out of breathe, not in tone or whatever.

it's like saying "that Slash solo was way better played on stage than on this video, I know, I was there" 

I used to think the same way until I saw them live. I think it's that a lot of the fine details don't come across in shitty phone recordings, and all the room reverb and bleed is lost with soundboards. Like I said back when this thread was started, the sheer volume seems to add distortion to his voice, and the reverb of the stadium is flattering as well.