So whadya think of that L.A. show??

[Laparka]

As someone said, Axl is almost 50, he can't use the rasp for 2 hours anymore.

He has to use this clean high-pitched voice to preserve his vocal chords.

Dio, Dickinson, Ozzy... they never used as much rasp as Axl does.

This clean voice might not be his best, but if it means that he can sing longer with this technique, I'm fine with that.

On songs like SCOM, SOD or Madagascar, it sounds better than the raspy voice.

[Stro]

Look at what happened to Robert Plant. Did you hear him during the Zep reunion? He can't sing those songs at all anymore. He sounds horrible. If Axl goes full on rasp for 3 hours every night, he's going to sound like Robert Plant does now. No one wants that. It's sad.

[HowlinWolf]

The perfect balance is no Mickey Mouse.

Exactly.. That voice is so awful.. I would rather him sing in his low voice and save his voice than do that.. The CD or It's So Easy Voice As for the show, I only saw JUngle and it was pretty awful. I keep hearing how great this band is right now on this tour, and that sure didn't prove it. I also saw a couple clips from RIO which were obvioulsy horrible. Everone was saying how "amazing" Live and Let Die was from that Eddie trunk show and that was pretty bad too.. I guess I am just not seeing what some people are seeing.

Edited December 27, 2011 by HowlinWolf

[Nosaj Thing]

Nahh, too much rasp ruins songs like SCOM, Estranged (End) and Madagascar.

[Cosmo]

Nahh, too much rasp ruins songs like SCOM, Estranged (End) and Madagascar.

I'm serious, dude! Have you heard Ritz/Live Era or '98 SCOM? I prefer a nice balanced Rock Am Ring SCOM, if I do say so myself. The end part of Estranged is better without the rasp IMO. Look at Live Era, for example. They overdubbed the actual live raspy voice with a lighter studio voice, sounds much better when it changes. As for Maddy, RiR III and 2002 Maddy were the best, and Axl had no rasp at that time.

Edited December 27, 2011 by It Don't Really Matter

[Nosaj Thing]

Nahh, too much rasp ruins songs like SCOM, Estranged (End) and Madagascar.

I'm serious, dude! Have you heard Ritz/Live Era or '98 SCOM? I prefer a nice balanced Rock Am Ring SCOM, if I do say so myself. The end part of Estranged is better without the rasp IMO. Look at Live Era, for example. They overdubbed the actual live raspy voice with a lighter studio voice, sounds much better when it changes. As for Maddy, RiR III and 2002 Maddy were the best, and Axl had no rasp at that time.

No, that's true bro but thing is, it sounds like you're allowing 'Mickey Mouse' just because too much rasp would kill those songs. 'Mickey Mouse' is horrible, even in SCOM or 'Don't Cry' (which I think Axl was killing it until 'Mickey Mouse' appeared for a few times and fucked the entire performance up). You can't compare Ritz '88 to 'Mickey Mouse'.

[Cosmo]

Nahh, too much rasp ruins songs like SCOM, Estranged (End) and Madagascar.

I'm serious, dude! Have you heard Ritz/Live Era or '98 SCOM? I prefer a nice balanced Rock Am Ring SCOM, if I do say so myself. The end part of Estranged is better without the rasp IMO. Look at Live Era, for example. They overdubbed the actual live raspy voice with a lighter studio voice, sounds much better when it changes. As for Maddy, RiR III and 2002 Maddy were the best, and Axl had no rasp at that time.

No, that's true bro but thing is, it sounds like you're allowing 'Mickey Mouse' just because too much rasp would kill those songs. 'Mickey Mouse' is horrible, even in SCOM or 'Don't Cry' (which I think Axl was killing it until 'Mickey Mouse' appeared for a few times and fucked the entire performance up). You can't compare Ritz '88 to 'Mickey Mouse'.

I must have not expressed myself correctly, then. What I meant is, between full-on Mickey Mouse voice (VMA 2002) and full-on rasp voice (Ritz), I prefer the rasp voice but... Between full-on rasp voice and a balance between both, like in Rock Am Ring, I'd go for Rock Am Ring because of these songs. Some songs such as WTTJ and PC sound RIDICULOUS with Mickey Mouse, no doubts about it. But on some songs, like Maddy and Estranged, it doesn't sound so bad. Maybe he should use a Mickey Mousier voice on those songs to save up for PC, YCBM and other songs in which the rasp is essential.

[ChristianGNR]

SCOM at Rock Am Ring 2006 was one of the worst SCOM i've ever heard. Axl is completly out of tune there.

Rock Am Ring was a GOOD show, but is not even on the TOP10 shows from 2006/7 if we're looking for Axl Rose's voice highlight.

The best sweet child with a completly CLEAN voice was O2 Arena in London 2010. If you want some rasp in 2010, try Dublin.

[RandallFlagg]

I like Sweet Child O' Mine in Paris 92 or Ritz the best, at times he was terrifyingly raw and sounds like an escaped banshee and sometimes nowadays he's like Mr Helium, it's not an easy song to sing like 20 years later though.

Edited December 27, 2011 by RandallFlagg

[SR_GR]

In the iClips videos something is wrong with the sound mix. I hope they can fix it before Las Vegas. Axl uses his voice as an instrument in an orchestra and in the iClips it is taken out of the context it belongs to.

The same goes with the backing or "harmony" singing of the band members : ). They should somehow make it sound like it does for the audience in front of them.

I guess they had the same problem in Rio. In the fan made YouTube videos Axl sounds as good as always. Live he and the rest of the band sound even 10 x better.

Axl does not normally sound just good live, he really sounds amazing, you have to go to the shows to believe it.

Many have commented that the volume levels are a bit too high in these US shows. In Europe 2010 they were perfect: no need for ear plugs and no ringing in the ears.

Favorite moment in the LA show for me at the moment: the new little intro singing before November Rain. I love little surprises and there is something cute about it.

[axlslashduffizzysteven]

not sure how you guys hear axl so clearly to analyze his voice. i was singing/screaming the whole show in new jersey it could have been 1988 axl or 2025 axl.

[Powerage5]

In the iClips videos something is wrong with the sound mix. I hope they can fix it before Las Vegas. Axl uses his voice as an instrument in an orchestra and in the iClips it is taken out of the context it belongs to.

The same goes with the backing or "harmony" singing of the band members : ). They should somehow make it sound like it does for the audience in front of them.

I guess they had the same problem in Rio. In the fan made YouTube videos Axl sounds as good as always. Live he and the rest of the band sound even 10 x better.

Axl does not normally sound just good live, he really sounds amazing, you have to go to the shows to believe it.

Many have commented that the volume levels are a bit too high in these US shows. In Europe 2010 they were perfect: no need for ear plugs and no ringing in the ears.

Favorite moment in the LA show for me at the moment: the new little intro singing before November Rain. I love little surprises and there is something cute about it.

The reason the mix is usually bad on these live feeds is because they're not mixing them. You're hearing the raw feed of what is going into the soundboard.

[Nosaj Thing]

I like Sweet Child O' Mine in Paris 92 or Ritz the best, at times he was terrifyingly raw and sounds like an escaped banshee and sometimes nowadays he's like Mr Helium, it's not an easy song to sing like 20 years later though.

Indiana '91 for example. Mr. Helium

[koldbeer2]

If you want rasp in a 2011 the best show probably is the West Valley show. Even here it was a little hit and miss but when he went for it, it sounded great. YCBM had some rasp, the first half of RQ was prertty raspy, and PC was by FAR the best and most raspy version this tour, it was pretty much a 2010 style performance.

I don't mind a mixed style of voice, but for sure songs like YCBM and Paradise city really do need rasp to sound good, otherwise they tend to sound just weak.

[GiveNuseR]

I was there (front row, on the rail) and I thought it was ok. Certain songs Axl sounded fantastic, but a lot of them were back to his really high pitched voice.

I think that's basically all of these concerts and the ones who say they are blown away are either talking about with only certain songs or they're in denial. Like I said, MOST of the time he did sound great at mine. But to say he does on every song is crazy. And again, as I said in another thread, all I care about is that he's trying to sound his best... which is very clear to be true.

Edited December 28, 2011 by GiveNuseR

[Axl_morris]

November rain - riot show perfact example of too raspy but theres somethin i like about it.

[ironmt]

I would take an entire concert of rasp anyday over the clean vocals.

[D..]

I'm really troubled about Axl's 2011 voice... I listened a bit to the L.A. show pro-shot and it was very painful to watch for me. It's like "how can you sound like this when you were fucking ace last year?"

I listened to Rocket Queen... doesn't sound like Rocket Queen anymore. Axl is totally back to his poor 2002 voice on these kind of songs. Compared to Rocket Queen from last year it's just unbelievable that it's the same person singing. It's like Axl doesn't push himself at all. I asked my girlfriend if it was just me and she told me she was under the impression he was trying to protect his voice.

He sounds relatively good on Sorry, but just before the chorus and when he does hit the chorus, it's terrible to hear. It seemed to me he did push himself on "Don't Cry" though, a bit more power and passion.

But this year is clearly a bad year for Axl and it's really too bad since they're touring the US, imagine what it would be if Axl had his 2010 voice... I guess most americans won't really see the difference since they could have attended show in 2002 and 2006 when his voice was not in full form like in 2010. But still for GNR fans it's a sad time if you really know what Axl is capable of, and how much he seems to hold back at the current shows, or maybe can't pull off at all anymore...

[break_it]

I was at this show & I was nervous because I have been a Guns fan from day one & I have been waiting for like 20yrs to see them live. So I was nervous- would they suck? could Axl still really sing? could he perform? are they too different from the original guns to feel like guns?....

So here's one fan's review: They were totally legit. Axl can absolutely still sing- to debate whether his voice is the same as december 21 1986, 2002, 2006 is assinine- he can sing, really sing and sing he did- he sang his ass off. As far as his heart not being in it?? Didn't catch that either- he ran all over the stage like a teen-ager and from where I sat it didn't look like he gave 100 % but more like he gave 120%. The set list was amazing - THEY PLAYED FOR 3 FUCKING HOURS!!!!!!! and played everything.

The band musically is definitley better than the original line up but I will admit there were a lot of them so at times they didn't seem like as much of a band as musicians playing w. Axl. Then again at times they did seem very much like a cohesive unit. And I think all that comes with time - like playing together live more and more.

Lastly and most importantly- to me -the best part was not the individual things- like axls voice or DJ's guitar or whoever's whatever- but rather the overall vibe- and the overall vibe was that of an honest to god KICK ASS ROCK CONCERT!!! So to GNR- Thank you boys - see you next time!

OMG, THIS!!!! Same thing for me. I had been waiting to see them since I first heard them back in 87. I finally got to see them here in Orlando

[KiraMPD]

I see people going on about 'mickey mouse' voice in the LA show but I honestly don't know. I watched the live-stream and I loved it but that could have been the excitement/delirium of watching it live at 5am in the morning with very little sleep. So I watched it again later and was considerably less impressed, probably due to the fact that I wasn't blinded by the excitement and was listening with a critical ear. I can defiantly say that there are nauseatingly clean vocals on the proshots. Axl's voice sounds like he is suffering from a really bad cold.

But then I decided to go and look ate the videos that people in the audience recorded and the band and Axl's vocals sound awesome in those! So now I really don't know what to think. Is it a problem with the mix? Or is it the fact that the booming base from the amps at the actual concert masked the bad parts?

[RussTCB]

I had to look up Gran Torino. I'd never heard it and I like Jamie Cullum so I was shocked to see it's his song. But yeah, I love that Axl actually sang it that time.

Show was great over all. No need to pick it apart.

[Cosmo]

Ron's SCOM solo is THE best SCOM solo I've ever seen. EVER.

[Leddy]

In the iClips videos something is wrong with the sound mix. I hope they can fix it before Las Vegas. Axl uses his voice as an instrument in an orchestra and in the iClips it is taken out of the context it belongs to.

The same goes with the backing or "harmony" singing of the band members : ). They should somehow make it sound like it does for the audience in front of them.

I guess they had the same problem in Rio. In the fan made YouTube videos Axl sounds as good as always. Live he and the rest of the band sound even 10 x better.

Axl does not normally sound just good live, he really sounds amazing, you have to go to the shows to believe it.

Many have commented that the volume levels are a bit too high in these US shows. In Europe 2010 they were perfect: no need for ear plugs and no ringing in the ears.

Favorite moment in the LA show for me at the moment: the new little intro singing before November Rain. I love little surprises and there is something cute about it.

THIS 100%!

There's definitely something off with the mix, and it's giving an inaccurate representation of what it would sound like if you were in the audience. I would imagine to improve things, you would need someone doing a broadcast mix, live and on the fly, as using any of the other (F.O.H./various monitors etc) will give funky results due to the dynamics of what they are trying to achieve in the environments they are in, being different. I am not sure with something like this what the GnR production team would be providing the broadcaster with, or if there is the desire or resources to produce something better.

That being said, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth here - we are getting live-streamed pro-shot footage and audio for a relative pittance - from a band that hasn't provided this kinda thing before off their own backs. It should be welcomed, applauded and not criticised for not being perfect.

[Jordan Rose]

Listen to the end of patience if you think axl can't sing anymore.

'This I Love' was horrible IMHO. I know Axl can kill it, but damn, he was horrendous (my opinion again), I've heard pretty awesome versions of that song through 2010/2011.

That's what's so infuriating: if you're gonna stream a free show, go into the vault and pull out Lille, France 2010 where he killed everything from Jungle to This I Love. I'd say the best This I Love ever, and his best vocal on Jungle since 1993. Most of the new band pro shots we have feature Axl way below his best and these are the videos that get masses of hits on Youtube and colour peoples' opinions.

It's fantastic they're doing these streams and probably down to the new management and i'm not ungrateful but as a fan it makes me so sad to know that every single person in the industry, EVERYONE, will have seen the LA SOD video on Rolling Stone and, like at the 2002 VMAs, come to the conclusion that whilst Axl still has range, all the depth and body of his voice has eroded away. If you're gonna put a video on the biggest music site in the world then for the love of fuck, make it a killer.

[The Glow Inc.]

Loved it when I watched the stream because the band was on fire.

That being said, I've watched it another time since and well...his voice is nowhere near as good as it used to be last year.

That 2010 concert was something...