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Will Axl's Voice Recover?


Graeme

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I think the state of Axl's vocals is probably the single most important aspect of the continuation of Guns N Roses, it's more important even than new music because how can new music be recorded, performed and make an impact without Axl firing on all cylinders? The rest of the band aren't going to instrumentally deteriorate, guitar playing and drumming will sound as good recorded or performed now as it will in 4 years time.

We've seen that age itself is not necessarily an impediment to Axl's voice, there've been times over the last 3 years when he's sounded as good as he ever did, but 2011-2012 has seen a definite rough patch for him. It could be argued that he started the tour on a rough note with the prolonged bronchitis from the South American-Early North American tour. But even by Europe he was still not fully on top of his game, though he was substantially better.

I actually think he's still a lot better than he was in 2001-2002 and if he could recover from that to be as strong as he was from 2006-2010 then there's a big part of me hopes he can do it again... He's not incapable of rasping, there were points in the 2012 shows that made me say "wow" as much as anything I'd heard from him previously, which again means hope springs. But I guess time will tell.

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2010 was near perfect

Last show of 2009-2010 tour: 12/16/2010 (Abu Dhabi)

First show of 2011-2012 tour: 10/02/2011 (Rock in Rio)

What happened in less than ten months to make Axl lose his voice?

But, is it lost for good is the real question?

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2010 was near perfect

Last show of 2009-2010 tour: 12/16/2010 (Abu Dhabi)

First show of 2011-2012 tour: 10/02/2011 (Rock in Rio)

What happened in less than ten months to make Axl lose his voice?

But, is it lost for good is the real question?

Based on this performance, I don't think it's (the rasp) gone for good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNxB6JerobI

Edited by GNR123GNR456
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Don`t think it`s only the voice. Its also the stage presence. It`s like he has lost hes self confidence or something. Hiding behind all those clothes and shit. He used to be a fucking beast! now its like hes just having a little fun on stage, sorry attitude, and its all so happy...and robotic. I`ve noticed when he sounds good, he also acts like a king dick on stage. lol.

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he'll always be able to do what he wants in the studio, but frequent live shows require a pretty tough regimen no matter how "in shape" you are physically.

consider this: jane's addiction now tune their guitars down a WHOLE step down from the original recordings, with perry farrell rarely hitting the big high notes. GNR still play in the original album tunings (Eb) and the material is way more demanding vocally. it's not "natural" for a male singer to sing in the range axl does, and it takes loads of work (which he obviously does) to keep it up. as far as the "rasp" is concerned, he could probably give it to ya all night every night.....for about 3 shows. then he'd probably have to not sing for a month or sound like he did for much of the UYI tour, which was pretty bad IMO.

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Don`t think it`s only the voice. Its also the stage presence. It`s like he has lost hes self confidence or something. Hiding behind all those clothes and shit. He used to be a fucking beast! now its like hes just having a little fun on stage, sorry attitude, and its all so happy...and robotic. I`ve noticed when he sounds good, he also acts like a king dick on stage. lol.

+1

When I saw him in Rybnik he lost all his energy and interaction with audience. He looked very tired.

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2010 was near perfect

Last show of 2009-2010 tour: 12/16/2010 (Abu Dhabi)

First show of 2011-2012 tour: 10/02/2011 (Rock in Rio)

What happened in less than ten months to make Axl lose his voice?

But, is it lost for good is the real question?

Based on this performance, I don't think it's (the rasp) gone for good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNxB6JerobI

Aye, Jungle's generally got a pretty high rasp standard, it's stuff like You Could Be Mine, Rocket Queen and the latter half of Estranged which suffer a bit... but the former two sounded amazing in 2010.

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Do I think Axl can sound better than he did in 11/12? Yes, a lot better!

Do I think he will ever have his 2010 voice and consistency again? Very Doubtful unfortunately

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With time and technique changes, his voice has always been different and changing. The vocals on Chinese Democracy also span several years, but most are different than even on anything from UYI/TSI.

There's tonal and timbre differences, no doubt. Maybe even a bit more nasally (TWAT, IRS) than he used to be...maybe a bit more "rattley" when he's being really raspy (Sorry, Better)

It's just unavoidable. I don' think in the studio he could sound like 1987 Axl, but he can still sound like Axl, and no one else can do that.

Some is probably intentional (technique) and some might be unavoidable (aging). But hes' been singing a marathon (touring), not a sprint (studio). 100% means different things.

I think at some point he had to re-learn how to sing again. He's had voice teachers...had them for years.

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I've said this before in a different thread. Look at Tom Keifer's voice now after he had the vocal chord paralysis. Its almost uncanny how it resembles Axl's 2001-2002 period. Something definantly happened pre 2000 to make his voice sound the way it does. Like some have already stated you can't sing the way Axl does forever. Look at Robert Plant, Roger Daltry. Hell, look at Steven Pearcy who had a raspy voice. Time changes everything. Your voice thins with age. The upside of all of this is as long as one works consistently with a vocal coach, you can prolong vocal aging. I'm convinced the reason he no longer runs around the way he used to is because the older you get, breathing becomes more important when trying to hit the corroded air siren notes Axl hits.

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I think the state of Axl's vocals is probably the single most important aspect of the continuation of Guns N Roses, it's more important even than new music because how can new music be recorded, performed and make an impact without Axl firing on all cylinders? The rest of the band aren't going to instrumentally deteriorate, guitar playing and drumming will sound as good recorded or performed now as it will in 4 years time.

We've seen that age itself is not necessarily an impediment to Axl's voice, there've been times over the last 3 years when he's sounded as good as he ever did, but 2011-2012 has seen a definite rough patch for him. It could be argued that he started the tour on a rough note with the prolonged bronchitis from the South American-Early North American tour. But even by Europe he was still not fully on top of his game, though he was substantially better.

I actually think he's still a lot better than he was in 2001-2002 and if he could recover from that to be as strong as he was from 2006-2010 then there's a big part of me hopes he can do it again... He's not incapable of rasping, there were points in the 2012 shows that made me say "wow" as much as anything I'd heard from him previously, which again means hope springs. But I guess time will tell.

I am not worried at all. Most reviews I have seen have praised his vocals. If he can impress the audiences, then he can surely do well in the studio as well. And when he can do well in studio and in a live setting, then all is fine. He probably has quite a few years left in him.

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2010 was near perfect

It's sad because I saw him in March, 2010 and he sounded fantastic. Some low moments in November Rain and Sweet Child O' Mine but whatever, I left the building happy. Then I watched some clips from the European Tour and I was like "who the fuck is this guy? This is Axl Rose from the 90s!!" I expected then a super killer performance in Rio, I even invited some friends to watch the show that was being livestreamed on Youtube then bum! bullet in my head, he lost it completely. :(

I saw him in Mallorca this year and he wasn't bad but really REALLY far from what I saw in 2010. Sad, really. Do I hope he can sound better now? Yes. Do I think he will? Unfortunately, no.

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I think if you want to know what Axl is probably aiming for with his vocals - listen to the second half of Rocket Queen from Live Era (1999). Compare what he's doing there to the 91 Tokyo live release.

I've said this before in a different thread. Look at Tom Keifer's voice now after he had the vocal chord paralysis. Its almost uncanny how it resembles Axl's 2001-2002 period. Something definantly happened pre 2000 to make his voice sound the way it does. Like some have already stated you can't sing the way Axl does forever. Look at Robert Plant, Roger Daltry. Hell, look at Steven Pearcy who had a raspy voice. Time changes everything. Your voice thins with age. The upside of all of this is as long as one works consistently with a vocal coach, you can prolong vocal aging. I'm convinced the reason he no longer runs around the way he used to is because the older you get, breathing becomes more important when trying to hit the corroded air siren notes Axl hits.

I looked up Tom's voice, and, wow, interesting theory!

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It's so obviously a choice on his part. We can only guess as to why he chose to go all out in '06-'10 and then scale back to falsetto in '11-'12 but there's no doubt that it's his choice.

What is for sure is that if he kept on singing as he was in 201 then he'd lose his range a shitload quicker than if he carries on with the clean falsetto most of the time. And since the casual fans and 2011-20112 reviews all seemed very happy with the vocals why shouldn't he?

The only thing that really sucks is that when the world is watching e.g. MTV 2002 and Rio 2011 he seems to try extra hard to look like he's totally lost it then goes off to Scandinavia and goes demonic again. Go figure. At least we've got loads of great quality 2010 boots to enjoy.

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The only thing that really sucks is that when the world is watching e.g. MTV 2002 and Rio 2011 he seems to try extra hard to look like he's totally lost it then goes off to Scandinavia and goes demonic again. Go figure. At least we've got loads of great quality 2010 boots to enjoy.

Hah, good point.

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