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Are Axl's current vocals enough?


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I really don't get some folk's obsession with having to have the "rasp"...I just hope we get good quality vocals even if the rasp is not there. All that raspy singing from early in his career was probably a huge factor as to why his voice is shit today, and it is probably also the one aspect of his vocals that is the hardest to maintain and sing with consistency as he gets older. Not saying I don't like the rasp from the early days, I do...but there were times when he was almost too raspy (IMO) on some of the UYI shows...almost to the point where it became annoying (again IMO). Seems like with some folks all they talk about is the rasp, and they judge Axl's vocals almost entirely on that.

A bit of rasp is good, but the main problem lately is a lack of power in his voice. In 2002 he had the helium Mickey Mouse sound but there was a lot of power behind it. Recent footage shows a lot more weakness. Sounds much older than he is. Roy Orbison was in his 50's and still had the most amazing voice in the world.

People want power and no helium/Mickey Mouse. Rasp is a cherry on top but not required.

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I don't need the rasp. He should use his deeper register more.

One good thing about possible new material, is that the songs more flatter the current state of voice.

Here's the thing...For the "jukebox fan" who hasn't been paying attention, there could be the expectation for the Tasmanian devil that they recall from their youth.

I think the best thing Axl could do for himself, at this stage of his life (aside from taking this seriously by practicing and, oh, I don't know, occasionally sound-checking) is to stand still and simply sing the songs...sit on a stool if need be.

If he comes out tearing ass, running from side to side, he'll quickly be wheezing and gasping through the fat, and it'll get ugly quickly...He should try to expel any notion of fan expectation over stage presence out of his mind and simply focus on giving the plebs their money's worth by singing the songs as best he can at this point...

Yeah, there are many ways to command a stage. Rather than do a poor version of what he did at 25, he could shift his performances to something more suitable.

If he were to get in shape, rehearse, adjust any tricky songs and change how he moves around on stage. I think he'd be killer. Even though the nuGNR performances have been sub-par, I don't think he's washed-up. And he can still sing imo, he just needs to get his mojo back.

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It's been said countless times, but whatever pseudo reunion this turns out to be, a big portion of it's success in the eyes of fans and critics, will rest on Axl's ability to bring a performance level last seen in 2010.

Slash etc will bring it and do the job well, they have proven consistency and will be reviewed favourably, if not ecstatically, as they always are. However, a big part of the allure is Axl, he'll be responsible for the bulk of the media attention for the myriad of reasons discussed over the years on this board. If he's on point, critics are likely to fall at his knees and brand the reunion a success. If he's not, they'll slag him and the reunion off for years to come.

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The 2014 vegas voice was acceptable to us on this forum but those who haven't heard axl sing in long time would think it was slightly embarrasing.

Speak for yourself. 2014 was as shitty as any of the last years. Nothing acceptable about it. I hope Axl is only touring again because he found a way to sing properly. Clean voice makes him sound like a parody of himself.

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The 2014 vegas voice was acceptable to us on this forum but those who haven't heard axl sing in long time would think it was slightly embarrasing.

Speak for yourself. 2014 was as shitty as any of the last years. Nothing acceptable about it. I hope Axl is only touring again because he found a way to sing properly. Clean voice makes him sound like a parody of himself.

It was acceptable on certain songs but rocket queen and a few others were not good at all. Still a slight improvement on the previous vegas stint

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The 2014 vegas voice was acceptable to us on this forum but those who haven't heard axl sing in long time would think it was slightly embarrasing.

Speak for yourself. 2014 was as shitty as any of the last years. Nothing acceptable about it. I hope Axl is only touring again because he found a way to sing properly. Clean voice makes him sound like a parody of himself.
It was acceptable on certain songs but rocket queen and a few others were not good at all. Still a slight improvement on the previous vegas stint

Yeah on It's So Easy, his voice was acceptable. Terrible on the other ones.

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The notion that his 2002 voice was good in any way, or that it had "power" is ludicrous to me. Axl sounded absolutely awful back then, what made it passable was the excitement to have some form of GNR back and active again.

2010 is an excellent standard for a 54 year old Axl. In my opinion, while he ran around less, he had a very commanding stage presence back then to go with the powerful vocals. The thing is, listening to him back then, and reading the articles about him hitting the nightlife and booze like a 20 year old, no wonder he lost his voice.

I really fear for this. While many fans speculate that mickey is due to a lack of effort and rehersals, I'm not sure. I don't think he would deliberately sound awful for five fucking years if there was something he could do about it.

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I'm really hoping the lack of motivation of playing with awful musicians like Ashba and realizing his solo songs weren't good were the reason for Axl to appear so lethargic on stage these last years. Hopefully his old friends can motivate him to be awesome again. I mean, can you imagine the weight that must have been lifted now that he's ok with Slash again? That grudge probably was killing him, I think he'll be in an even better mood!

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The notion that his 2002 voice was good in any way, or that it had "power" is ludicrous to me. Axl sounded absolutely awful back then, what made it passable was the excitement to have some form of GNR back and active again.

2010 is an excellent standard for a 54 year old Axl. In my opinion, while he ran around less, he had a very commanding stage presence back then to go with the powerful vocals. The thing is, listening to him back then, and reading the articles about him hitting the nightlife and booze like a 20 year old, no wonder he lost his voice.

I really fear for this. While many fans speculate that mickey is due to a lack of effort and rehersals, I'm not sure. I don't think he would deliberately sound awful for five fucking years if there was something he could do about it.

I worry about that too, but think of the shift in vocals from 2002 to 2006. It was a clean "Mickey" voice and then, with some work and focus, he came back sounding vicious.

I too think something is up besides just laziness (the weight gain being too dramatic for me to think it's just from sitting around), but I also don't think Axl would agree to this without thinking he can get himself in shape again, physically and vocally.

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I'm really hoping the lack of motivation of playing with awful musicians like Ashba and realizing his solo songs weren't good were the reason for Axl to appear so lethargic on stage these last years. Hopefully his old friends can motivate him to be awesome again. I mean, can you imagine the weight that must have been lifted now that he's ok with Slash again? That grudge probably was killing him, I think he'll be in an even better mood!

Yeah but what about cracking more jokes?

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I'm really hoping the lack of motivation of playing with awful musicians like Ashba and realizing his solo songs weren't good were the reason for Axl to appear so lethargic on stage these last years. Hopefully his old friends can motivate him to be awesome again. I mean, can you imagine the weight that must have been lifted now that he's ok with Slash again? That grudge probably was killing him, I think he'll be in an even better mood!

Yeah but what about cracking more jokes?

If he doesn't get strep throat, I'm sure the jokes will come. You... me.

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As many of us have said over the years, Axl gets better as the tours wear on.

Why? Because he uses the concerts to prepare. Like an athlete "playing their way into shape".

Problem is, that really fucks people at the first few shows of any tour. If he gave a shit like he should, he would be ready for show 1.

My fear about Coachella is that its the first show. There will be a lot of attention paid to it. If the usual "early tour Axl" shows up that night, it won't be pretty.

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They're enough for the masses who buy tickets. They're not enough for the die hard fans and also where recording a new album is concerned. Axl sounds best when he's pissed off. Hopefully, Slash will push him to give off his best vocal performances...they always fed off each other in the old days.

Edited by sonofnazareth
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As many of us have said over the years, Axl gets better as the tours wear on.

Why? Because he uses the concerts to prepare. Like an athlete "playing their way into shape".

Problem is, that really fucks people at the first few shows of any tour. If he gave a shit like he should, he would be ready for show 1.

My fear about Coachella is that its the first show. There will be a lot of attention paid to it. If the usual "early tour Axl" shows up that night, it won't be pretty.

Yep, Coachella with Axl unprepared will be UGLY.

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As many of us have said over the years, Axl gets better as the tours wear on.

Why? Because he uses the concerts to prepare. Like an athlete "playing their way into shape".

Problem is, that really fucks people at the first few shows of any tour. If he gave a shit like he should, he would be ready for show 1.

My fear about Coachella is that its the first show. There will be a lot of attention paid to it. If the usual "early tour Axl" shows up that night, it won't be pretty.

That is true, but not completely true. It's not like he is starting the tours in poor shape but finishing it strongly as the Axl we've come to love. He started 2014 attrociously, went on in poor form during most of it and had a moderately strong finish in the last TWO shows of the tour, where he sounded like his old self on a few select songs (TWAT, Jungle, Nightrain, Yesterdays) while continuing to butcher classics such as RQ, YCBM or SCOM.

The reality is that performances even like those in the last Vegas shows would lead to bad reviews on his vocal ability. Nothing short of performing consistently at the best he's been in 2014 will get Axl respect and admiration for the general public. For a singer who hasn't shown more than a few glimpses of his former ability in the past 5 years, it is a daunting task.

Still, he pulled it off in 2006, after sounding awful in 2001 and 2002. One can hope.

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I worry about that too, but think of the shift in vocals from 2002 to 2006. It was a clean "Mickey" voice and then, with some work and focus, he came back sounding vicious.

I too think something is up besides just laziness (the weight gain being too dramatic for me to think it's just from sitting around), but I also don't think Axl would agree to this without thinking he can get himself in shape again, physically and vocally.

Who knows. He has put himself out there quite a bit looking and sounding like shit and appearing uninterested... I have a hard time feeling like he will treat this any different. Especially after seeing that picture...

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I'm sure there were concerts back when the classic lineup played that Axl had off-nights and didn't hit every note. I saw him in Calgary in 2010 and was pretty impressed by his vocals, but I don't really expect every live song to sound exactly the way he sang it back at the "Ritz in 88" or for "live in Tokyo" so maybe I'm just too forgiving. :) For me, half the excitement of going to concerts is hearing different variations of the songs, otherwise I may as well just sit at home and watch the same old concerts on DVD. I just hope the reunion happens and they do some shows in Canada or I might have to renew my passport and make a trip down to the US to catch them live. Seriousy, Axl could sound like shit and I'd still be pretty stoked to see them on the same stage.

If you want perfection go listen to opera or maybe some of that new synthesized auto-tune shit that all sounds the fucking same and is lip-synched in concert... leave rock and roll the fuck alone!

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As many of us have said over the years, Axl gets better as the tours wear on.

Why? Because he uses the concerts to prepare. Like an athlete "playing their way into shape".

Problem is, that really fucks people at the first few shows of any tour. If he gave a shit like he should, he would be ready for show 1.

My fear about Coachella is that its the first show. There will be a lot of attention paid to it. If the usual "early tour Axl" shows up that night, it won't be pretty.

Yep, Coachella with Axl unprepared will be UGLY.

Sadly, I can imagine it happening. If the "you know where you are???" scream echoes without rasp then we know he will mickey the shit out of the set list. Sometimes, though, he brings a raspy Jungle, but reverts to mickey afterwards - in that case, we usually have to wait until Estranged to find out if the beloved mouse will make an appearance.

In any case, for me a reunion is marvelous, be it a full one or a hybrid line up. The only thing that will separate this from being a massive sucess and a very happy thing from a disaster, for me, is Axl's voice.

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Axl will be probably contractually obliged to be in good shape both physically and vocally (PT & Vocal coach) - it's a normal demand for such a huge fee/risk for the contractors...

Edited by trqster
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They're enough for the masses who buy tickets. They're not enough for the die hard fans and also where recording a new album is concerned. Axl sounds best when he's pissed off. Hopefully, Slash will push him to give off his best vocal performances...they always fed off each other in the old days.

I think in the studio he could still do great things. Live environment is a lot more difficult. No extra takes, no technology to help, etc. Whether we will ever hear any more studio music from him? Who knows.

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I worry about that too, but think of the shift in vocals from 2002 to 2006. It was a clean "Mickey" voice and then, with some work and focus, he came back sounding vicious.

I too think something is up besides just laziness (the weight gain being too dramatic for me to think it's just from sitting around), but I also don't think Axl would agree to this without thinking he can get himself in shape again, physically and vocally.

Who knows. He has put himself out there quite a bit looking and sounding like shit and appearing uninterested... I have a hard time feeling like he will treat this any different. Especially after seeing that picture...

It does seem like he's started the last few tours by literally rolling off the couch and onto the stage and just winging it. There was tons of attention and a worldwide Youtube stream for Rio 2011 and we all know what happened there. I have a bad feeling the same thing would happen if the first reunion show is Coachella.

I'm sure there were concerts back when the classic lineup played that Axl had off-nights and didn't hit every note. I saw him in Calgary in 2010 and was pretty impressed by his vocals, but I don't really expect every live song to sound exactly the way he sang it back at the "Ritz in 88" or for "live in Tokyo" so maybe I'm just too forgiving. :) For me, half the excitement of going to concerts is hearing different variations of the songs, otherwise I may as well just sit at home and watch the same old concerts on DVD. I just hope the reunion happens and they do some shows in Canada or I might have to renew my passport and make a trip down to the US to catch them live. Seriousy, Axl could sound like shit and I'd still be pretty stoked to see them on the same stage.

If you want perfection go listen to opera or maybe some of that new synthesized auto-tune shit that all sounds the fucking same and is lip-synched in concert... leave rock and roll the fuck alone!

I was at Calgary 2010 as well, I thought he was great. If he sounds like that on the reunion tour I'd go to as many shows as I could.

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Roy Orbison was in his 50's and still had the most amazing voice in the world.

You do understand that to sing GN'R songs is way different than to sing Roy Orbison's songs?

They are way more difficult to sing. It's lame even compare these two.

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