The "Axl's Voice" Thread - Please Keep All Discussion Here

[gt72]

I usually stay away from YouTube recordings of shows but checked out some vids from last nights show and that was downright awful.WTF happened ??Thinking of selling my ticket to Forum show later this year if last night was any indication of what I’ll be hearing .Sad 

[IncitingChaos]

2017 will go down as one of his worst vocal years. 2012, second half of 2013 and 14 were better than this year. 

Its been bad since he left NA in 2016 

[ZoSoRose]

2 years ago I would have said it was just age and lack of preparation but the 2016 GNR shows and Axl/DC just seem to prove that wrong.

He just isnt putting in the effort. Theres no other plausible explanation. I cant inagine how hard it is to sing that material at that age, for so many shows, but that just isnt an excuse. Dont book that many shows.

He should keep that vocal coach, and adapt his voice to the songs. If he has to have the band tune down, so be it. I havent kept up much this year but I enjoy the Apollo recording even though he isnt as good as last year on it 

Honestly i was pretty shocked last night. I was expecting him to sound like he did at tbe Apollo. NITL has been great but it extended too long it seems. Time to stop and recharge and start giving a shit again. He has it in him.

At these ticket prices, an at least listenable vocal performance isnt much to ask. 

[pomponio]

He always sounds weak in the first show of a new leg. His voice needs a few shows to warm up. Check the videos of all this "first shows" and you'll see what I'm talking about. Out of the three times I saw them during this tour, Lima-Peru was the weakest, vocals wise. The Miami show was mind blowing. It was like listening to two different singers. He's far from done. He just needs discipline and training, in order not to disappoint  after a few weeks of not singing. 

[IncitingChaos]

27 minutes ago, pomponio said:

He always sounds weak in the first show of a new leg. His voice needs a few shows to warm up. Check the videos of all this "first shows" and you'll see what I'm talking about. Out of the three times I saw them during this tour, Lima-Peru was the weakest, vocals wise. The Miami show was mind blowing. It was like listening to two different singers. He's far from done. He just needs discipline and training, in order not to disappoint  after a few weeks of not singing. 

first show back with AC/DC...no voice cracks, not out of sync. Sang his ass off. He had one mistake the whole night on IYWB 

[pomponio]

1 hour ago, IncitingChaos said:

first show back with AC/DC...no voice cracks, not out of sync. Sang his ass off. He had one mistake the whole night on IYWB 

He rehearsed like a maniac for those shows. It's well documented. His voice was well trained by the beginning of that tour. He obviously doesn't prepare as much before the gnr shows. Let's see how he sounds by the Argentina concert. 

[IncitingChaos]

Just now, pomponio said:

He rehearsed like a maniac for those shows. It's well documented. His voice was well trained by the beginning of that tour. He obviously doesn't prepare as much before the gnr shows. Let's see how he sounds by the Argentina concert. 

He rehearsed for the Euro shows. This was the beginning of the NA leg. He was with guns prior to the start of this 

[RONIN]

He needs a break. That is all.

If Angus called him out to do a show now, it would probably be a disaster. I don't think he has what it takes to pull it off after the RIO performance. Sure he might give 50% more to AC/DC but there's nothing left in the reserves, clearly. Coma was painful to watch - that has to be the worst performance of any GNR song on this tour. Easily. When I was watching that live, it looked for a minute like Axl wouldn't even be able to finish the song. It's anyone's guess now what becomes of the arena shows.

Hope the band wraps it up - maybe a final NYE show in Vegas as a final send off for NITL before these guys take a well deserved break. Better to go out on a high. Maybe if they tour again, they can start in Europe or Asia as a thank you to the fans there who didn't get a 2nd leg of the tour.

[bigpoop]

I watched part of Aerosmith's set earlier tonight and Steven Tyler sounds (and looks) great. The guy is 69 years old.

 

No excuses for Axl. He's bad because he doesn't put in the work.

[AxlRoseCDII]

The issue with Axl's voice seems to be beyond whether or not he's putting in effort or if the rasp is a conscious choice or not. The parts he usually nails (Jungle intro, Coma, YCBM post solo, Better bridge, etc) were consistently cracking last night. He couldn't finish the high notes strong and his deep voice was breaking through his high notes. I think his voice is just shot, as while Mickey was an issue the past 7 years it's never been this bad.

[RONIN]

33 minutes ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

The issue with Axl's voice seems to be beyond whether or not he's putting in effort or if the rasp is a conscious choice or not. The parts he usually nails (Jungle intro, Coma, YCBM post solo, Better bridge, etc) were consistently cracking last night. He couldn't finish the high notes strong and his deep voice was breaking through his high notes. I think his voice is just shot, as while Mickey was an issue the past 7 years it's never been this bad.

Exactly. He hasn't been this bad in years. His voice is shot. It would be a miracle if he can pull off a great performance for the rest of the tour. 

The question is - can he recover well enough to do an album and tour with AC/DC in late 2018 or are we looking at a situation where his vocals are irrevocably shot. 

[Towelie]

Well, if his voice finally is shot to pieces, what have we really lost? More endless touring of the same songs over and over? Not exactly a travesty.

If GNR were a band who released new music, it would be devastating for a fan to hear his voice in such a state. But seeing as they're just a nostalgia act and show no signs of wanting to do anything creative with the band, I really couldn't give a toss. Infact, I hope this IS permanent vocal damage, so Axl is forced to stop mugging off the GNR fans with underpar performances, putting in no effort, year in, year out. He has coasted for so long now and disgraced the GNR legacy for long enough. Put the dying cat out of its misery.

[IncitingChaos]

His voice has been shot the whole year. Look at videos. He's missing on the same parts he was missing on at Rio. It's just clear to hear now. 

[GNRfanMILO]

2 hours ago, IncitingChaos said:

His voice has been shot the whole year. Look at videos. He's missing on the same parts he was missing on at Rio. It's just clear to hear now. 

Yes, and don’t forget that this voice cracks started with ACDC back in 2016.

[IncitingChaos]

1 hour ago, GNRfanMILO said:

Yes, and don’t forget that this voice cracks started with ACDC back in 2016.

His last show with AC/DC he turned in his most complete performance. While I agree he took some notes too high for his age (causing the cracks) I had confidence that his vocal coach would get his voice ready in a healthy way that would allow him to perform those notes and not cause damage.

its still very possible that his voice was shot from those shows, but I'm on the side that says he's preserving his voice so he can sing those AC/DC songs again in the near future 

[Endless2404]

13 hours ago, pomponio said:

He always sounds weak in the first show of a new leg. His voice needs a few shows to warm up. Check the videos of all this "first shows" and you'll see what I'm talking about. Out of the three times I saw them during this tour, Lima-Peru was the weakest, vocals wise. The Miami show was mind blowing. It was like listening to two different singers. He's far from done. He just needs discipline and training, in order not to disappoint  after a few weeks of not singing. 

I agree. Look at Tacoma 2002 in comparison to Albany 02' or Inland Invasion 06' to LA 06'. He is either way too lazy on the beginning of each leg or his voice needs to warm-up (if the latter one is true, then he would need to rehearse).

[SoulMonster]

9 hours ago, bigpoop said:

I watched part of Aerosmith's set earlier tonight and Steven Tyler sounds (and looks) great. The guy is 69 years old.

No excuses for Axl. He's bad because he doesn't put in the work.

Not excusing Axl's bad vocals, but this argument always makes me chuckle. So because another rock singer can sing well at 69, Axl should, too? There are "no excuses" to not sing as good as Steven Tyler? Really? You don't allow for individual differences in singing capacity and deterioration? Everybody should be just equally good at singing as they grow old, and there is no excuse for not being as good as the greatest? 

[default_]

His voice isnt shot, we're saying this since forever and then we had 2006 and then 2010 even 2016, he always surprises us one way or another, he just doesnt bother .

I wish he was saving his breath for something else than AC/DC tho, but thats probably it.

Edited September 25, 2017 by default_

[SoulMonster]

No one accepts the possibility that the recent strain of touring constantly for two years, with long shows and demanding songs, could damage his voice? You accept this for other singers like Adelle, Kings of Leon, Faith Hill and numerous others, but when it comes to Axl it is either because he "doesn't care" or because "he is too old"? Really? I am sure that after proper rest and coaching his voice will be fine again. 

[AxlRoseCDII]

8 hours ago, RONIN said:

Exactly. He hasn't been this bad in years. His voice is shot. It would be a miracle if he can pull off a great performance for the rest of the tour. 

The question is - can he recover well enough to do an album and tour with AC/DC in late 2018 or are we looking at a situation where his vocals are irrevocably shot. 

Personally I think his voice is done. Axl will continue with it being weak since he's well, Axl but he's 55 and those screams aren't working for him anymore. I feel like if he sat down with a vocal coach to practice shit or got surgery on his vocal chords, he could regain his voice to how it was a few years back but that requires effort that Axl can't be arsed to think about. His voice had a good run I think, he was close to 50 in 2010 and I think 30 years of that singing style took a toll and was a good run before it died.

[Tom-Ass]

You needed a good Axl for this to work with this half ass line up.... It might be time for them to quit while they are ahead...

[Tucknroll]

Funny how the was the straight one and lived a healthy lifestyle and he's the first one to fall apart. The druggies he worked with all look and play great

[Tom-Ass]

9 minutes ago, Tucknroll said:

Funny how the was the straight one and lived a healthy lifestyle and he's the first one to fall apart. 

I think that him being "straight" has been over stated.. He may not have become a junkie but he still drank, smoked and did other drugs.. The last think I think when I look at Axl is that he lives a healthy lifestyle... He is a mess

[Nicklord]

9 minutes ago, Tucknroll said:

Funny how the was the straight one and lived a healthy lifestyle and he's the first one to fall apart. The druggies he worked with all look and play great

Because he never hit the rock bottom. Others all did and worked they way up

[IncitingChaos]

50 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

No one accepts the possibility that the recent strain of touring constantly for two years, with long shows and demanding songs, could damage his voice? You accept this for other singers like Adelle, Kings of Leon, Faith Hill and numerous others, but when it comes to Axl it is either because he "doesn't care" or because "he is too old"? Really? I am sure that after proper rest and coaching his voice will be fine again. 

Singing properly for 2 years should strengthen his vocal chords. 

I don't think his vocal chords are shot, I just think it's a conscious effort to rest them. I mentioned this before but he's made the setlist longer and added clean vocal songs like Yesterdays, UTLH, and My Michelle to the set while removing a harder rasp song like OTGM from the set. 

These are moves to sing in a simpler style...it sounds awful but oh well. I just wanted him to take it to that AC/DC level for Rio. We know he can do it but if you don't practice singing the songs a certain way then it's hard to pull it out on one night.