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

[Pedrolg]

Listen to the full soundboard, Axl ended the tour on a relatively strong note. Pushing himself, sounding good on some of the songs, but with a clearly tired voice. Let's hope his rests now.

[rhb]

On 05/12/2017 at 2:47 PM, shootingstar said:

Don't know where to start. But been analyzing Axls vocals since 2001. Some say it is his falsetto that is weak. I would say that is totally wrong. His falsetto is better that during the 90's.

His weakest songs have been YCBM and SCOM for example. Or yesterdays during 2017. Why? These are mid range songs vocally. (And az/dz songs are not)

Something I've noticed is that he's not using his normal, nasal, raspy non falsetto voice, especially in the mid range.. and replace it with a lower and weaker clean falsetto. It is his "normal" low and mid range voice that is worned out and TOO RASPY so he replace it with a weaker falsetto.

 

A good example is prostitute during verses where he shifts, not so smoth, from falsetto to the deeper nasal mode. Especially during the 3rd verse.

I totally agree with you! The midrange voice is the problem, but only because he is doing some technical mistakes! When someone sings correctly, you have to make some transitions in the larinx position, witch is called ‘passagio’. He is doing that very early, in range that he doesn’t need to do it! It can be corrected with some vocal training again. In 2001 he did the passagios perfectly! Even singing without drive, it sounded powerful back then. 

Once it’s been said, when you hear it live, it sounds good, maybe just a little bit  weaker...

[shootingstar]

19 hours ago, rhb said:

I totally agree with you! The midrange voice is the problem, but only because he is doing some technical mistakes! When someone sings correctly, you have to make some transitions in the larinx position, witch is called ‘passagio’. He is doing that very early, in range that he doesn’t need to do it! It can be corrected with some vocal training again. In 2001 he did the passagios perfectly! Even singing without drive, it sounded powerful back then. 

Once it’s been said, when you hear it live, it sounds good, maybe just a little bit  weaker...

And I of course agree with your agreeing  especially the highlighted part was a nice way to put it.

But what conclusion can we make out of this?

I would say simply: Axls voice is not as bad as it sounds.

[IncitingChaos]

5 hours ago, shootingstar said:

And I of course agree with your agreeing  especially the highlighted part was a nice way to put it.

But what conclusion can we make out of this?

I would say simply: Axls voice is not as bad as it sounds.

Which brings us back to an opinion that many experts agree on...he’s simply a lazy Axlhole!

[AFGnR]

Been on a 90's kick lately. Made me miss the fullness and rich timbre he used to have in his voice.

Alt Don't Cry:

 

[SlashisGOD]

Why exactly are Axl's vocals different in GnR than in AC/DC? Why can he rasp so great in the latter and only occasionally in the former? Did I miss some scientific evidence that points to an answer? Alien abduction perhaps? I mean, you would think he'd be able to sing the songs like they are on the albums if he can do it with AC/DC. 

How the fuck was he able to do it in 06 and 09-10 every show but not now?

[Derick]

2 hours ago, SlashisGOD said:

Why exactly are Axl's vocals different in GnR than in AC/DC? Why can he rasp so great in the latter and only occasionally in the former? Did I miss some scientific evidence that points to an answer? Alien abduction perhaps? I mean, you would think he'd be able to sing the songs like they are on the albums if he can do it with AC/DC. 

How the fuck was he able to do it in 06 and 09-10 every show but not now?

The amount of shows may be one of the reasons, not the only one, but it sure has something to do. With DC there were "only" 23 shows(Europe and US)..With GNR over 127 shows in 18 months. Like it or not, there is a weariness of his voice, especially if he uses full rasp on it. And I don´t think he can keep that DC voice if he had to sing at more than 120 concerts like GNR w them.

 

Another reason might be that he's an Angus fan, and if he did it wrong he would not just be fucking his reputation, but Angus as well.

[shootingstar]

19 hours ago, SlashisGOD said:

Why exactly are Axl's vocals different in GnR than in AC/DC? Why can he rasp so great in the latter and only occasionally in the former? Did I miss some scientific evidence that points to an answer? Alien abduction perhaps? I mean, you would think he'd be able to sing the songs like they are on the albums if he can do it with AC/DC. 

How the fuck was he able to do it in 06 and 09-10 every show but not now?

As we discussed above, the dc songs are in another register. He dont have to use his currently weak spot, the mid and low mid register of his voice.

Where he, during the 90s, used his "normal" voice higher up in the register, he is now singing the same section of the register with his "high" falsetto mode.

Simply, he goes lower with his falsetto mode on guns songs where he SHOULD use his normal voice (as normal as it can get as its still Axl).

[IncitingChaos]

3 hours ago, shootingstar said:

As we discussed above, the dc songs are in another register. He dont have to use his currently weak spot, the mid and low mid register of his voice.

Where he, during the 90s, used his "normal" voice higher up in the register, he is now singing the same section of the register with his "high" falsetto mode.

Simply, he goes lower with his falsetto mode on guns songs where he SHOULD use his normal voice (as normal as it can get as its still Axl).

I respectfully disagree with the assertion that the songs are so different between ACDC and gnr that Axl isn’t able to translate the vocals 1:1. 

You dive into ACDC’s early stuff and discover a far more diverse catalogue in terms on range/register/vocals. I’ll admit Axl wasn’t extreamly strong on the Bon material like he was on Brian’s but the US leg showed he had all the vocals for Bon’s mid range. 

Ive listened to multiple ACDC shows with Axl from beginning to end and I‎t stuns me that he has the ability to hit in every range necessary to make the acdc material sound authentic..it’s 40 years of music amongst 2 different singers. He can do more for gnr.  

The second and third paragraph of your post i agree with! That part applies to what he does with gnr which is sing in a completely unnatural voice to what is native to him. He actually works harder at making the vocals sound bad than he would if he sang in a range most of us prefer. 

[trqster]

Basically Axl's mid-range is gone these days which is a shame because in his heyday it was mighty powerful... But at least he's still hitting and rasping high notes like it was the 90's all over again! 

Edited December 19, 2017 by trqster

[GNRfanMILO]

"Axl's mid-range is gone"...

...

[trqster]

3 minutes ago, GNRfanMILO said:

"Axl's mid-range is gone"...

...

Non-raspy mid-range voice. 

[GNRfanMILO]

16 minutes ago, trqster said:

Non-raspy mid-range voice. 

Why would you want that voice? Non-raspy mid-range voice is what should be gone because that is not Axl's trademark voice...

 

 

Edited December 19, 2017 by GNRfanMILO

[Tucknroll]

Different guitar tunings for acdc. Causes him to sing harder. Also if he has quit smoking, I promise that's when his rasp ended

[IncitingChaos]

The rasp and power of his voice really don’t matter to me as much as the fact that a Mickey voice exist does. He worked to create that voice and arguably could be the hardest vocal style for him to have achieved. I‎t doesn’t come naturally and as a theory I’d say he’s a bit bothered by the fact that it’s never been accepted. Almost like he’s trying to prove everyone wrong. At the same time i think he felt or his coaches felt I‎t was necessary to preserve the longevity of his career. 

You look at what happened in 02...everyone trashed his vocals mainly based on that VMA performance, but the band fell apart and Axl abandoned that vocal style for his 90’s sound. He successfully reestablished those vocals and in 06 sounded like Axl. He was ready to release CD until he wasn’t. So CD comes out in 08 we don’t see Axl until 09 and he’s fresh he hasn’t sang in a while but he goes to his native voice and in 10 fills I‎t with rasp. I‎t was a time to prove something, CD took backlash, I‎t wasn’t as great as I‎t was suppose to be.  2010 he was trying to send a message that he’s not done. Sadly that message fell on few ears and you get to 2011 and Axl has realized the world isn’t watching, no one outside the hardcore base cares...he’s going to sing how he wants, he’s going to eat/drink and have a care free attitude. 

You look back on that timeline and realize Axl changed a lot for the fans, he’s done a lot for the fans but now he’s not worried about. His audience is limited. He’s a showman at heart and if you give him the right stage he’ll show up prepared (ACDC) 

[gnfnrs1972]

Axl sucks live! Mic drop

End of discussion.

 

[Jordan Rose]

18 hours ago, IncitingChaos said:

The rasp and power of his voice really don’t matter to me as much as the fact that a Mickey voice exist does. He worked to create that voice and arguably could be the hardest vocal style for him to have achieved. I‎t doesn’t come naturally and as a theory I’d say he’s a bit bothered by the fact that it’s never been accepted. Almost like he’s trying to prove everyone wrong. At the same time i think he felt or his coaches felt I‎t was necessary to preserve the longevity of his career. 

You look at what happened in 02...everyone trashed his vocals mainly based on that VMA performance, but the band fell apart and Axl abandoned that vocal style for his 90’s sound. He successfully reestablished those vocals and in 06 sounded like Axl. He was ready to release CD until he wasn’t. So CD comes out in 08 we don’t see Axl until 09 and he’s fresh he hasn’t sang in a while but he goes to his native voice and in 10 fills I‎t with rasp. I‎t was a time to prove something, CD took backlash, I‎t wasn’t as great as I‎t was suppose to be.  2010 he was trying to send a message that he’s not done. Sadly that message fell on few ears and you get to 2011 and Axl has realized the world isn’t watching, no one outside the hardcore base cares...he’s going to sing how he wants, he’s going to eat/drink and have a care free attitude. 

You look back on that timeline and realize Axl changed a lot for the fans, he’s done a lot for the fans but now he’s not worried about. His audience is limited. He’s a showman at heart and if you give him the right stage he’ll show up prepared (ACDC) 

Superb analysis. It still drives me nuts when I have this in my head and then every single time over 15+ years he has a rough patch and a hundred people just have to post and say "He's done, it's shot, over." 

[shootingstar]

Ok I think we need to define "mid-range". This is what i mean with mid range. 

..or simply the lines "take me down to the paradise city" or almost the entire YCBM..

[shootingstar]

On 2017-12-17 at 12:12 AM, IncitingChaos said:

I respectfully disagree with the assertion that the songs are so different between ACDC and gnr that Axl isn’t able to translate the vocals 1:1. 

You dive into ACDC’s early stuff and discover a far more diverse catalogue in terms on range/register/vocals. I’ll admit Axl wasn’t extreamly strong on the Bon material like he was on Brian’s but the US leg showed he had all the vocals for Bon’s mid range. 

Ive listened to multiple ACDC shows with Axl from beginning to end and I‎t stuns me that he has the ability to hit in every range necessary to make the acdc material sound authentic..it’s 40 years of music amongst 2 different singers. He can do more for gnr.  

The second and third paragraph of your post i agree with! That part applies to what he does with gnr which is sing in a completely unnatural voice to what is native to him. He actually works harder at making the vocals sound bad than he would if he sang in a range most of us prefer. 

The main difference between guns and ac/dc is that with guns he has to sing from the lowest hell to the brightest sky, and sometimes do that shift quickly.

Ac/dc songs are more in the same mode tune right through. I'm not an ac/dc expert, but can't figure one single song that goes in the same range as scom for example. That he sang with the "old" voice. 

[IncitingChaos]

52 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

The main difference between guns and ac/dc is that with guns he has to sing from the lowest hell to the brightest sky, and sometimes do that shift quickly.

Ac/dc songs are more in the same mode tune right through. I'm not an ac/dc expert, but can't figure one single song that goes in the same range as scom for example. That he sang with the "old" voice. 

Sweet Child hasn’t been good vocally since 06 or maybe 10 and even in the 90’s I‎t was a miss after 88. 

You look at 06

hes not singing I‎t in the same range he used in the original recording. He’s more relaxed vocally and I‎t sounds good. Singing with a weak falsetto that he does now is a shame to the song. If you isolate his vocals on a recording now it’s terrible 

his annunciation on the phrases is off, his voice sounds weak (honestly not as bad as i anticipated) but he has a vocal style that would suit the song better live imo 

 I look at what he does with YSMANL for acdc and he used a very different voice. You can see how he could fall into that falsetto sound he uses for SCOM but with acdc he put some depth and power in his vocals. I‎t makes for a better performance 

 

[IncitingChaos]

1 hour ago, shootingstar said:

Ok I think we need to define "mid-range". This is what i mean with mid range. 

..or simply the lines "take me down to the paradise city" or almost the entire YCBM..

Mid range for me has two versions. If he can sing back in black material he can sing YCBM. 

But this is calm mid range he can do this 1:27

And then the harder mid range but these vocals seem gone. He couldn’t sustain a song singing like this anymore. 

2:43 

Edited December 20, 2017 by IncitingChaos

[nrobb17]

I saw them in Tulsa on November 14th and it was the best concert of my life and they were all nearly flawless. Axl was spot on in regard to voice, stamina, and performance. He sounded fantastic. I’ve read negative stuff for years about his voice and in my personal opinion, based on my personal experience seeing him live, he’s still one of the best singers and performers of all time. He didn’t disappoint and they went for three and half hours. He was never out of breath and ran the stage the whole show. It was just a completely awesome experience. 

[nrobb17]

On 12/20/2017 at 8:43 AM, gnfnrs1972 said:

Axl sucks live! Mic drop

End of discussion.

 

I saw them in November and he didn’t suck.  Not even close. He was great.

[StrangerInThisTown]

5 hours ago, nrobb17 said:

I saw them in November and he didn’t suck.  Not even close. He was great.

Songs like YCBM, Paradise City, SCOM and Rocket Queen are unlistenable to me atm. That's where opinions split. You cannot be serious and say this isnt close to sucking..either I got a too high standard or you are ridiculously easly satisfied. I would never show this recording to a friend and say look how good they are.

 

Edited December 21, 2017 by StrangerInThisTown

[nrobb17]

5 hours ago, StrangerInThisTown said:

Songs like YCBM, Paradise City, SCOM and Rocket Queen are unlistenable to me atm. That's where opinions split. You cannot be serious and say this isnt close to sucking..either I got a too high standard or you are ridiculously easly satisfied. I would never show this recording to a friend and say look how good they are.

 

That’s the great thing about opinions, everyone is entitled to their own. I was there and the show was awesome. I’ve not got a complaint. These guys coming back together is the best thing to happen in the music world in a long time and I am very thankful I got to witness it. I only hope they come back again. I’m not here to criticize him like you obviously are.