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

[BlueJean Baby]

Steven had vocal surgery in 2006 to save his voice. 😏

I have seen Aerosmith 5 times in the late 70s to early 80s. One show comes to mind, his voice was awful, he was heavily using drugs at the time and between songs his throat hurt so bad they were spraying something to numb it in his throat, just so he could perform.  He has had issues too. 😏

[D..]

5 hours ago, tremolo said:

It’s not a gift to the fans, it’s a product/service –an expensive one.

What is messed up with this band is how unprofessional the whole thing is, and how some fans have lowered their standards so much that now apparently “is your own fault” if you spend your bucks on seeing a band perform live and the show is mediocre. Like it’s alright to expect a sub-par performance. Also, Axl’s voice issues are something we (forum members/hardcore fans) know about, but most of those people attending the shows don’t belong in that group, they’re mostly casual fans, or old fans that are getting their share of nostalgia, but that don’t follow the band regularly.

 

I saw Ozzy Osbourne live in Paris, eh... what year was it... 2010-2011 maybe? Don't remember. It was a catastrophe. He could barely move on stage, looked like a mummy, and sung terribly on every song. I don't follow Ozzy boards or anything. But I kind of expected this because of his age (and all the drugs, etc). And I still enjoyed the show. It was nice to see him perform.

When you know the singer is over 55, you kind of lower your expectations.

I do agree though, that Steven Tyler is very impressive. I saw Aerosmith live in Paris in 2010, and it was great. Axl was on a totally other level in 2010 though. Far better than Tyler and anyone else. But Tyler was much older.

Tyler keeps on delivering even at age 70. He's also in better shape, but that has a lot to do with genetics I think.

That being said, my favorite guy remains Axl, good or bad days. And he's 56 now. Of course I lowered my expectations. It's age. And the GN'R catalogue is one of the hardest in rock n' roll.

[koldweather]

35 minutes ago, tremolo said:

I don’t give a fuck about Ozzy.

You do your job and you do it well. A performer should perform to the best of his abilities.

I don’t expect Axl to sound like he did in ‘91. He could sound great on his own songs if he put the effort. The song’s requirements are too high? Simple: rework the song with your bandmates, adapt it to your voice, sing it differently in a way that is comfortable.

That’s work though...

Problem is to the public Axl rose IS high pitched vocals. If he rocks up singing SCOM or Jungle in his deeper natural register people will not be inpressed and the public will view it as far more of a rip off than if he hits the notes with the clean voice.

Brutal truth is its the high voice people really want, get rid of that and he is a very average singer with nothing different sounding then many other bog standard singers. 

When casual people think of GnR, they think of attitude, Slash guitar, AfD and yes, Axls vocal range.

Edited June 5, 2018 by koldweather

[lukigol]

8 hours ago, koldweather said:

That type of vocal disintegration doesn't just come from laziness I'm afraid, there was absolutely something else at play there, even the clean voice wasn't there at that point, hence why he dropped the notes on TIL and some other songs later in the set.

 

yeah, RQ was fuckin painful

[ChristmasFnatic]

2 hours ago, The Real McCoy said:

It’s their keyboard player who is set up behind the amps. It used to be Russ Irwin, but it’s been a guy named Buck Johnson since 2014. But they do, and have had, a backup vocalist that helps Steven out on the high notes / harmonies.

I know Russ is the pianist and do backup vocals. Dont know this Buck. But anyway, even with the backup vocals, I dont really agree that Steven Tyler cant sing anymore as that one guy said.

I was in Sao Paulo last year- was front and center for all 3 concerts(Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, and GN'R)- all 3 frontmen dont sing like they used to, but Steven is still miles better than Jon and Axl. Even on the normal notes, Steven sounds like Steven, Jon cant hit the high notes, but Jon sounds like Jon, Axl is really not recognizable from even 2010-12 Axl, except for a few moments per song. The advantage of GN'R over the other 3 bands is the theatrics - so much lights and grandest stage. And of course, Slash(though to  me, Perry is just as good).

[koldweather]

36 minutes ago, tremolo said:

So instead of singing songs well, it’s better to shit all over them? Since when Axl caters to the fans? Also, too many of his performances have been a disaster, shouldn’t that be some sort of wake up call? I’m sure that among the fans that post in this forum, most would rather hear new versions of songs than having Axl butcher them night after night. Maybe just keep a couple staples where he can put his all (WTTJ, PC, SCOM) or just drop some from the setlist.

What he’s been doing is unacceptable and very disrespectful of his own fan base and customers.

Most casual fans don't care about rasp/clean, at least at the performance, of course on youtube its flagged far harder. However Y/T isn't paying the bills, its the paying audience and most seem perfectly satisified with the clean vocals, even last year. I didn't leave London stadium in 2017 hearing people say "cor, Axl's vocals were clean, how dreadful",most in fact were very complimentary of his attempts and efforts.

I understand dropping songs to help his voice, but problem is most of the recognisable Axl songs are in his high vocals or at least need partly have high vocals.

What songs do we think then in terms of songs he can do on a regular live basis to save his voice falling to bits...hypothetical of course, given he could come out swinging tomorrow!

Remember, this is a legacy tour at the moment, and you could get away with dropping a couple of songs (such as YCBM) but if you were to drop most of the big hits, not sure it would go down quite as well as it has.

Edited June 5, 2018 by koldweather

[Pedrolg]

26 minutes ago, ChristmasFnatic said:

I know Russ is the pianist and do backup vocals. Dont know this Buck. But anyway, even with the backup vocals, I dont really agree that Steven Tyler cant sing anymore as that one guy said.

I was in Sao Paulo last year- was front and center for all 3 concerts(Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, and GN'R)- all 3 frontmen dont sing like they used to, but Steven is still miles better than Jon and Axl. Even on the normal notes, Steven sounds like Steven, Jon cant hit the high notes, but Jon sounds like Jon, Axl is really not recognizable from even 2010-12 Axl, except for a few moments per song. The advantage of GN'R over the other 3 bands is the theatrics - so much lights and grandest stage. And of course, Slash(though to  me, Perry is just as good).

Nah, Jon is absolutely done since 2013-ish. He sounds nasal, can't hit high notes, eats up loads of words, seems winded and weak. Axl up until last year would still blow the roof off in songs like Nightrain, rasp Jungle, sound great in ISE, Patience, Brownstone, CD and others, LALD screams etc. 2016 Axl was fucking great for someone his age with such a demanding style.

[TheGeneral]

In all honesty, just my opinion but next to Freddie Mercury Steven Tyler is the best rock singer ever.

Yeah, sure there's Plant and Dickinson and many others but the way Steven sings, the notes he hits, it's unbelievable to me. Also still nearly at the same level he was on 40 years ago, still publishing music, touring, everything. I think he is the best.

And yeah, next to GNR Aerosmith is my favorite band. But I still prefer GNR. I just think Steven is the best and he should be a "national treasure". He's the only celebrity where I find it really sad that he's aging. He should be here forever.

[Alejandro GNR]

6 minutes ago, TheGeneral said:

In all honesty, just my opinion but next to Freddie Mercury Steven Tyler is the best rock singer ever.

Yeah, sure there's Plant and Dickinson and many others but the way Steven sings, the notes he hits, it's unbelievable to me. Also still nearly at the same level he was on 40 years ago, still publishing music, touring, everything. I think he is the best.

And yeah, next to GNR Aerosmith is my favorite band. But I still prefer GNR. I just think Steven is the best and he should be a "national treasure". He's the only celebrity where I find it really sad that he's aging. He should be here forever.

Difference is Steven's talk voice is the same as his singing voice...Axl's venom voice is forced...

The other difference in my world is that Axl's venom voice can't be matched by any other voice ever. But that's just me. Steven is a fucking great singer, I mean GREAT

[jekylhyde]

14 minutes ago, TheGeneral said:

In all honesty, just my opinion but next to Freddie Mercury Steven Tyler is the best rock singer ever.

Yeah, sure there's Plant and Dickinson and many others but the way Steven sings, the notes he hits, it's unbelievable to me. Also still nearly at the same level he was on 40 years ago, still publishing music, touring, everything. I think he is the best.

And yeah, next to GNR Aerosmith is my favorite band. But I still prefer GNR. I just think Steven is the best and he should be a "national treasure". He's the only celebrity where I find it really sad that he's aging. He should be here forever.

Steven Tyler should be a global treasure. I became an Aerosmith fan 21 years ago when I was eleven and since then he has been, to me, the best rock singer. Sure, like you said, there's Dickinson and Robert Plant and 80's/90's Axl, but something in Tyler's voice is just magical. And raw, yet beautiful. (Sure, a kickass lead player like Perry and a killer rhythm section help, but even with only a piano and himself Tyler sounds great.)

Edited June 5, 2018 by jekylhyde

[zigzagbigbag]

12 hours ago, action said:

I know I will be laughed at by the usual "they do it for the money" brigade, but I'll say this.

I look at the live shows as a gift to the fans. We could have ended with nothing at the end of 2014, but in stead we got a reunion of Axl, Duff, Slash and sometimes Steven. As bad as Axl's vocals get, it is still good that they are even touring at all. By now it is well documented how Axl's vocals have detoriated, and it's up to the fan to decide to shell out the money for tickets, or not. It's on your own responsability to do so. The vocals might be good, on a good day, but will probably suck. I knew this, and I still bought a ticket and I haven't regretted it a bit. The atmosphere, the sight of the big three up on stage, Slash still killing it, just the fact of seeing my favorite band on stage, at all. That is what I payed for when I bought my ticket.

99% of my activities as a GNR fan involve listening to the 1987-1993 albums on shuffle, reading Slash's/duff's/steven's books, interact with fellow GNR fans on the board, watch old concert films and by the end of the month relish in the appetite sessions. 1% involves seeing them live and being happy with what I have. 0% is spend moaning and complaining about Axl's current live voice.

Thank you very, very much, Sir! 

This is exactly my point of view. 

[RONIN]

What are the chances of Axl coming back strong on the next gig?

I remember a lot of us (including myself) were writing him off after RIR last year. He closed out the rest of the south american gigs in decent form from what I recall.

[Pedrolg]

8 minutes ago, RONIN said:

What are the chances of Axl coming back strong on the next gig?

I remember a lot of us (including myself) were writing him off after RIR last year. He closed out the rest of the south american gigs in decent form from what I recall.

I hope he recovers a least partially. I see a lot of people writing this off, but the thing is that, imo, Berlin was a different level of scary. Rasp where he didn't want it, failure to reach notes that were never a problem, followed by unwillingness to go for notes that were never a problem, followed by "I suck", followed by unprecedented cuts on the setlist. I mean, it does not bode well, it is not unreasonable to assume this is worse than previous weak 1st shows on a tour.

But hell, it's Axl, so it's not like we can predict a thing or have another choice that is not waiting and seeing. With the Axl the way he is, I wouldn't even discard the chance that his vocals still come back close to greatness at some point before his career is over (not holding my breath on that one though).

My guess is that he will improve a bit and sit firmly on 2012-2014/2017 mickey territory for most of the tour, reaching the notes allright but in that way most of us are familiar with. With a bit of luck by the end of the leg he will pull off some above average performances here and there.

Not the brightest prediction but better than having his voice shot to pieces like it seemed in Berlin. We'll see.

[IncitingChaos]

Just a reminder of how good Axl was on TIL in 2013...Also in windy conditions in which he couldn’t hear himself that well

[Stro]

2 hours ago, ChristmasFnatic said:

I know Russ is the pianist and do backup vocals. Dont know this Buck. But anyway, even with the backup vocals, I dont really agree that Steven Tyler cant sing anymore as that one guy said.

I was in Sao Paulo last year- was front and center for all 3 concerts(Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, and GN'R)- all 3 frontmen dont sing like they used to, but Steven is still miles better than Jon and Axl. Even on the normal notes, Steven sounds like Steven, Jon cant hit the high notes, but Jon sounds like Jon, Axl is really not recognizable from even 2010-12 Axl, except for a few moments per song. The advantage of GN'R over the other 3 bands is the theatrics - so much lights and grandest stage. And of course, Slash(though to  me, Perry is just as good).

I didn't say Steven couldn't sing anymore, all I said was he has someone hitting the notes for him that he can't hit anymore.  There are notes he can't hit and they have someone to cover for him. That's not the same thing as "he can't sing anymore" 

[D..]

5 hours ago, tremolo said:

I don’t give a fuck about Ozzy.

You do your job and you do it well. A performer should perform to the best of his abilities.

I don’t expect Axl to sound like he did in ‘91. He could sound great on his own songs if he put the effort. The song’s requirements are too high? Simple: rework the song with your bandmates, adapt it to your voice, sing it differently in a way that is comfortable.

That’s work though...

Axl isn't the only one who's aged and who can't perform as good as he used to. Hence why I mentioned Ozzy (who was in a far worse shape and still filled a full blown arena over here).

As to your view on what a performance should be like: it's not that simple. He does put the effort. Thing is, from 2011 and on, his voice hasn't been "awesome" like it was in 2010. Why? We can only speculate. I still don't understand what happened between the last show of 2010 and RIR 2011. I don't understand how he lost so much of his power within just a year. It can't just be the lack of practice, because even in 2012, he sounded nothing like in 2010. I saw GN'R in the same exact place in 2010 and 2012, and it was night and day. 

Maybe it's just because he's aging and it's getting harder and harder to perform the songs. I noticed he had more power in his voice with AC/DC, but I think it's because the songs are easier for him to sing. Some Gn'R songs are just crazy to sing.

[AxlRoseCDII]

1 hour ago, IncitingChaos said:

Just a reminder of how good Axl was on TIL in 2013...Also in windy conditions in which he couldn’t hear himself that well

I cannot believe we’ve reached a point now where Axl’s 2013 vocals are legendary compared to what we have today. Getting old sucks

[Pedrolg]

I've been listening to quite a few shows of Axl from 2011-2014 lately, and I wonder, how much did we overreact about his vocals being shitty during that period? And really, how much did he actually improve in 2016 compared to his best moments from that era? Last year for instance it was actually worse than most things you can find from the dreaded era online. Perhaps things like RIR 2011, Bridge School and the awful SA leg of the 2014 tour ended up becoming the icons of that time. Take that, for instance (video below). Imo it would be awesome to hear Axl perform like that today.

Also, historically, he seems to have a lot more care about performing in the US than he does in the rest of the world. His US legs are usually the best of the tour in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017. 

Edited June 6, 2018 by Pedrolg

[Pedrolg]

At the same show he simply rips into Better with his old voice, changing it after the first verse

 

[Tom-Ass]

4 hours ago, TheGeneral said:

In all honesty, just my opinion but next to Freddie Mercury Steven Tyler is the best rock singer ever.

Yeah, sure there's Plant and Dickinson and many others but the way Steven sings, the notes he hits, it's unbelievable to me. Also still nearly at the same level he was on 40 years ago, still publishing music, touring, everything. I think he is the best.

And yeah, next to GNR Aerosmith is my favorite band. But I still prefer GNR. I just think Steven is the best and he should be a "national treasure". He's the only celebrity where I find it really sad that he's aging. He should be here forever.

Aerosmith are still top notch musicians onstage.. They are just as good or better live as they ever were.. It is like a time warp.. They all take their craft very seriously and not one of them needs to use the excuse of age because they look horrible either. I was really hoping Axl would take the reunion seriously and come out looking and sounding like he was trying to prove something.. 

[GNRfanMILO]

The problem is that that period happened after 2010. He set the bar too high, that’s why RIR 2011 is hated that much (when RIR 2017 actually had worse vocals).

[Tom-Ass]

57 minutes ago, D.. said:

Axl isn't the only one who's aged and who can't perform as good as he used to. Hence why I mentioned Ozzy (who was in a far worse shape and still filled a full blown arena over here).

Ozzy started like 20 years before Axl..

[Pedrolg]

1 minute ago, GNRfanMILO said:

The problem is that that period happened after 2010. He set the bar too high, that’s why RIR 2011 is hated that much (when RIR 2017 actually had worse vocals).

I agree. In my opinion Axl in 2010 was an absolute beast, and more consistent than the early 90's. There is probably a reason why that signaled the start of his decline 

[Gordon Comstock]

25 minutes ago, Pedrolg said:

I've been listening to quite a few shows of Axl from 2011-2014 lately, and I wonder, how much did we overreact about his vocals being shitty during that period? And really, how much did he actually improve in 2016 compared to his best moments from that era? Last year for instance it was actually worse than most things you can find from the dreaded era online. Perhaps things like RIR 2011, Bridge School and the awful SA leg of the 2014 tour ended up becoming the icons of that time. Take that, for instance (video below). Imo it would be awesome to hear Axl perform like that today.

Also, historically, he seems to have a lot more care about performing in the US than he does in the rest of the world. His US legs are usually the best of the tour in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017. 

I don't think people were really overreacting at the time, there's still plenty of clips from that era where he sounds terrible. The difference was, he went from sounding great in 2010, to (aside from Rio and the first couple shows) replacing most of his raspy vocals with the clean Mickey voice, but still maintaining his classic raspy voice for certain songs. This was true until even 2014, though he continuously added the 'Mickey voice' to songs over that period.

The early 2016 shows weren't that much of a decline from the last 2014 shows, and the NA 2016 leg was actually (on average) better than the average 2011-14 show, but I really attribute that to AC/DC and working with his vocal coach again. In 2011-14, he coasted for a lot of the shows, but I think there was still a 'reserve', something left in the tank, where he could pull out that great voice for You're Crazy, or Yesterdays, or TWAT or whatever... after the AC/DC shows (or more specifically, seeming to not rehearse or maintain his voice after those shows) I don't think that's true anymore.

[AxlRoseCDII]

40 minutes ago, Pedrolg said:

At the same show he simply rips into Better with his old voice, changing it after the first verse

 

Holy hell, that scream before the solo!!  I miss this Axl’s vocals compared to what we have today.

Seriously, that scream has to be one of his best moments vocally in the 2000’s and I’ve never heard it before seeing this. Wow.