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

[Sydney Fan]

3 hours ago, lame ass security said:

Well, the older you get the more you should exercise but the less you feel like doing it. This applies to a person's voice also. Things you could do, or sing, easily when you were younger are now more difficult.  You have to really work and push to stay ahead of it, I think that's where Axl is now.

Well looking the way he is, isnt going to help him maintain vocal consistancy on tour. If hes not prepared to do the cardio  exercises to enable better singing techniques then he may as well do what he did in one of the UK shows 2010 i think where he stood still on stage, to not get hit, didnt move one inch and gave a good vocal performance.

[hudsonsaul]

2 hours ago, Jordan Rose said:

It's not the effort on stage that counts it's the enormous effort in preparation both vocally and cardio and core. He did 20 full rehearsals with AC/DC plus used his vocal coach for the first time in decades. Can't be fucked to do that for us so I ain't paying to go see him. Probably not even again even on a 'last tour ever' if he sounds like this or worse. 

Could you point me in the direction of articles/interviews etc where Axl or Axl/DC talk about him in rehearsals and mentioning the vocal coach? Was quite an interesting time for him and his voice.

Agree with your comment too.

[lame ass security]

37 minutes ago, Sydney Fan said:

Well looking the way he is, isnt going to help him maintain vocal consistancy on tour. If hes not prepared to do the cardio  exercises to enable better singing techniques then he may as well do what he did in one of the UK shows 2010 i think where he stood still on stage, to not get hit, didnt move one inch and gave a good vocal performance.

Absolutely, I guarantee you he would sound so much better if he put all of his energy into singing. He could cut down on his movement and still be as dynamic.  I mean later in Elvis' career you could've drawn a 5 foot radius circle onstage that he rarely ventured out of.  But vocally he arguably sounded better than he ever did.  If you have stage presence and charisma, which Axl does, then movement is secondary,  imo.

[IncitingChaos]

Sadly Axl’s voice fell off following the ACDC run in America. By early 2017 his voice had changed, we’ve heard variants of Axl’s voice that we haven’t heard before since. ACDC might have trashed his vocals. I haven’t heard anything redeeming besides “I feel good”. I think 2016 was all he had left but I’d be happy to be proven wrong, 

[Zinia_29]

6 hours ago, IncitingChaos said:

Sadly Axl’s voice fell off following the ACDC run in America. By early 2017 his voice had changed, we’ve heard variants of Axl’s voice that we haven’t heard before since. ACDC might have trashed his vocals. I haven’t heard anything redeeming besides “I feel good”. I think 2016 was all he had left but I’d be happy to be proven wrong, 

I feel good is awesome. Rock the rock is definitely better than some of his performances. That's why he needs to try new music ( not as heavy as shoot to thrill but something else).

[Caedo]

On 22/02/2020 at 1:06 PM, Sydney Fan said:

Its not just his range to, if you listen to better from miami you can hear hes struggling with breaths puffing and panting. At miami from 2 minute to 2.14 during better his singing is as bad as it gets. Cant get high notes and out of breath.As a huge fan its painful to hear.Fit 91 to 93 axl never struggled for breath this much.  Take the time and work on his singing and his upper range or just no longer do any high range songs and just focus on his lower register and start getting in shape. When he sings hes trying to put the effort, and hes trying,  but what hes wanting isnt coming out. 

I hope he gets his shit together for the shows starting next month.

It's a bit of the same issue though sometimes. When he's really straining to hit a note it makes sense that he'd sound worse and not be able to hold it, and require more energy which would make him sound out of breath 

[Jordan Rose]

9 hours ago, hudsonsaul said:

Could you point me in the direction of articles/interviews etc where Axl or Axl/DC talk about him in rehearsals and mentioning the vocal coach? Was quite an interesting time for him and his voice.

Agree with your comment too.

Ah man, wish I could, I wasn't that invested to keep or memorise things. Can remember crazy details from '99-'10 but after that it's fuzzy. There's a few savants around here though like @Rovim

[Pedrolg]

I find it a bit crazy that people have created this image of him being lazy when it comes to his voice and doing absolutely nothing. The dude had dozens of different voices throughout his career, and whenever he had vocal issues (and he had them a lot) he kept finding different ways to sing and to bring something out of his voice.

We are at a point where he had to remove a song he really enjoyed singing from the setlist, after butchering it live and being unable to belt it out. Cardio and weight loss are really, really not the answer here. Losing weight would do absolutely nothing for Axl's voice or his performance except making him possibly look better for some people. That's the extent of it. Bon Jovi is in terrific shape, has been for years and can't sing anymore. 

Doing the full rasp thing destroyed Axl's voice in 2010, and he started 2011 sounding like a joke. He recovered, but never fully, never to the same level. He then spent 2011 to 2014 carefully dosing how far he would push his voice, and being shat on by us (me included) at every mickeyed phrase. 2016 came, he took the AC/DC gig, and suddenly was under insane amounts of pressure as the lead singer of one of his favourite bands with most people expecting (and some rooting for) him to fail. Against the wall, he did the full rasp thing again, this time also singing ridiculously above his register. This is the range that obliterated Brian Johnson's voice in his 30's in 3 years. It once again destroyed his voice, but now he is 60, and I can't thing of a single vocalist that sounded shot like he does at that age and made a recovery.

There were loads and loads of signs along the way. The cracks started appearing with AC/DC in the NA leg, and then transferred themselves to GRN songs where they had never, ever appeared before. They got worse and more frequent, and Axl kept singing through them, his voice becoming less gritty and sharp progressively from 2016 onwards. RIR 2017 was terrible. The Forum is all over the place, with Axl looking for new voices to be able to sing some songs, and a forced and really unhealthy rasp at some songs like Prostitute. Then came the Berlin show where Axl couldn't sing, and it just keeps getting worse and worse. Although his first few gigs are always extra rough, the decline is a progressive thing through years.

I don't think Axl will ever sound like he did in 2016 again. I don't he would be able to perform with AC/DC today, and I don't he will ever be able to do that again too. It's been almost 4 years since he sounded good, and ten years since he sounded like proper Axl Rose. The insane vocal range/rasp era is done, it's over imo. Expecting it to return at all, even in a diminished state, is setting you up for disappointment. 

What I think Axl could do was recognize that and try to seriously study a way around it, something he is very capable of. Tune everything down if possible, use his regular register (which is still great) as much as possible, the increasingly weak falsetto as little as possible. Work on song selections that suit his capabilites, choose carefully one or two moments per show to belt out a scream, not more, and stop going for notes that are too high. Maybe record some new stuff in line with his current voice. A concentrated effort would wield better results than current ones. It's really, really bad right now. I sound better at a karaoke singing some GNR songs than Axl Rose.

 

[ChristianGNR]

On 23/02/2020 at 4:01 PM, Pedrolg said:

I find it a bit crazy that people have created this image of him being lazy when it comes to his voice and doing absolutely nothing. The dude had dozens of different voices throughout his career, and whenever he had vocal issues (and he had them a lot) he kept finding different ways to sing and to bring something out of his voice.

We are at a point where he had to remove a song he really enjoyed singing from the setlist, after butchering it live and being unable to belt it out. Cardio and weight loss are really, really not the answer here. Losing weight would do absolutely nothing for Axl's voice or his performance except making him possibly look better for some people. That's the extent of it. Bon Jovi is in terrific shape, has been for years and can't sing anymore. 

Doing the full rasp thing destroyed Axl's voice in 2010, and he started 2011 sounding like a joke. He recovered, but never fully, never to the same level. He then spent 2011 to 2014 carefully dosing how far he would push his voice, and being shat on by us (me included) at every mickeyed phrase. 2016 came, he took the AC/DC gig, and suddenly was under insane amounts of pressure as the lead singer of one of his favourite bands with most people expecting (and some rooting for) him to fail. Against the wall, he did the full rasp thing again, this time also singing ridiculously above his register. This is the range that obliterated Brian Johnson's voice in his 30's in 3 years. It once again destroyed his voice, but now he is 60, and I can't thing of a single vocalist that sounded shot like he does at that age and made a recovery.

There were loads and loads of signs along the way. The cracks started appearing with AC/DC in the NA leg, and then transferred themselves to GRN songs where they had never, ever appeared before. They got worse and more frequent, and Axl kept singing through them, his voice becoming less gritty and sharp progressively from 2016 onwards. RIR 2017 was terrible. The Forum is all over the place, with Axl looking for new voices to be able to sing some songs, and a forced and really unhealthy rasp at some songs like Prostitute. Then came the Berlin show where Axl couldn't sing, and it just keeps getting worse and worse. Although his first few gigs are always extra rough, the decline is a progressive thing through years.

I don't think Axl will ever sound like he did in 2016 again. I don't he would be able to perform with AC/DC today, and I don't he will ever be able to do that again too. It's been almost 4 years since he sounded good, and ten years since he sounded like proper Axl Rose. The insane vocal range/rasp era is done, it's over imo. Expecting it to return at all, even in a diminished state, is setting you up for disappointment. 

What I think Axl could do was recognize that and try to seriously study a way around it, something he is very capable of. Tune everything down if possible, use his regular register (which is still great) as much as possible, the increasingly weak falsetto as little as possible. Work on song selections that suit his capabilites, choose carefully one or two moments per show to belt out a scream, not more, and stop going for notes that are too high. Maybe record some new stuff in line with his current voice. A concentrated effort would wield better results than current ones. It's really, really bad right now. I sound better at a karaoke singing some GNR songs than Axl Rose.

 

Show us.

[Pedrolg]

19 hours ago, ChrisMaciel said:

Show us.

It's the middle of the carnival in Brazil. I've been drinking for a few days and it has seriously affected my rasp 

I'm in a great mood and cracking jokes though, but definitely not less bloated.

[DTJ80]

We need to get more songs he can be more comfortable with into the setlist. I’m thinking Bad Obsession, The Garden and Your Crazy (as per Miami) would all be great. What else?

[Gold top 78]

5 minutes ago, DTJ80 said:

We need to get more songs he can be more comfortable with into the setlist. I’m thinking Bad Obsession, The Garden and Your Crazy (as per Miami) would all be great. What else?

Move to the city and Pretty Tied Up I think Axl would be fine with. 

[TheDemocracyRose]

6 minutes ago, DTJ80 said:

We need to get more songs he can be more comfortable with into the setlist. I’m thinking Bad Obsession, The Garden and Your Crazy (as per Miami) would all be great. What else?

Pretty tied up - So Fine - IRS - Sympathy.

[GNRfanMILO]

Down On The Farm is an obvious choice. Axl would fucking nail that one.

[James Bond]

Axl should pull a Robert Plant and work with the band to rearrange songs to fit his current voice.

[lame ass security]

11 minutes ago, James Bond said:

Axl should pull a Robert Plant and work with the band to rearrange songs to fit his current voice.

That can be an ego thing, it's like " I don't need no stinkin' tune down, I'm good." 

[IrishgunnerII]

The concert in June in Dublin is most likely my last live GNR show and will mean I'll have seen them four times(twice this incarnation and twice of the nu GNR ) and from just reading this thread I'm worried I could end up standing in Marley park listening to something that sounds like an audio recording of a cat operation going wrong. I hope people here are being overly pessimistic. The shows starting next month will be telling and I'll be reading the show threads carefully. I mean the tickets are bought and paid for and I've the other stuff sorted but I'd like it to be good.

[HollyWoodRose84]

On 2/22/2020 at 7:55 PM, hudsonsaul said:

Could you point me in the direction of articles/interviews etc where Axl or Axl/DC talk about him in rehearsals and mentioning the vocal coach? Was quite an interesting time for him and his voice.

Agree with your comment too.

China Exchange interview. 
 

[DTJ80]

5 hours ago, Gold top 78 said:

Move to the city and Pretty Tied Up I think Axl would be fine with. 

 

5 hours ago, TheDemocracyRose said:

Pretty tied up - So Fine - IRS - Sympathy.

 

5 hours ago, GNRfanMILO said:

Down On The Farm is an obvious choice. Axl would fucking nail that one.

All good shouts. 14 Years with Duff would work very well. You Ain’t The First too.

[Ratam]

"Ain't it Fun".

[Gunner55]

On 2020-02-22 at 4:16 PM, Jordan Rose said:

I've been saying this for years but i'd go as far as to say ANY show from 2006-2010. From that first badass photo of him crouching the first night at Hammerstein to the last 2010 show. He had the presence and energy and moves as close to 1992 as he could realistically get. He knew he was owning it. He used to bow after the first TIL chorus when the audience popped every time. Makes it all the more weird that he has no shame and doesn't seem to care when he goes out and plain sucks and he's got Slash and Duff there listening to it in ear monitors. How he can sing like that Miami Better and look out at the audience, I mean FUCK. 

Man, TIL during 2010 gave me chills. Attended a show in January of that year and was skeptical to how that song would go over live, assuming most people in attendance wouldn't be as familiar with CD material. When he got that huge ovation after the first chorus I was so fucking happy for the guy. He owned it live and you could just tell he knew it. 

[WildStar]

8 hours ago, IrishgunnerII said:

The concert in June in Dublin is most likely my last live GNR show and will mean I'll have seen them four times(twice this incarnation and twice of the nu GNR ) and from just reading this thread I'm worried I could end up standing in Marley park listening to something that sounds like an audio recording of a cat operation going wrong. I hope people here are being overly pessimistic. The shows starting next month will be telling and I'll be reading the show threads carefully. I mean the tickets are bought and paid for and I've the other stuff sorted but I'd like it to be good.

With Dublin being the last show of the European tour at least Axl won't be rusty. Hopefully we'll get a good Axl performance 

[Jordan Rose]

4 hours ago, Gunner55 said:

Man, TIL during 2010 gave me chills. Attended a show in January of that year and was skeptical to how that song would go over live, assuming most people in attendance wouldn't be as familiar with CD material. When he got that huge ovation after the first chorus I was so fucking happy for the guy. He owned it live and you could just tell he knew it. 

Yeah, Toronto is a great bootleg. Shame we've only got a F- boot of Hamilton where Twat was supposed to be really good. For some reason the Madrid one from later in the tour was the worst ever. 

Thing is, Axl knew he was in Canada so he half assed it and saved the full rasp for Europe  

You must know that lying, cheating POS Chris Jericho!

[SAU3R]

Madagascar needs to be played instead of Better every show

Down on the farm, Pretty Tied up, Bad obsession, you ain't the first, 14 years, dust n bones, so fine.. All songs that haven't been played during NITL, so it would suit Axl and mix up the set 

Keep Locomotive and You're Crazy 

Edited February 26, 2020 by SAU3R

[jamillos]

38 minutes ago, SAU3R said:

Keep Locomotive and You're Crazy 

Only in the Appetite version, which he could rasp like SOYL or Nice Boys. Not the slow one, as he mickeys the fuckin' helium out of it.