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

[Tom-Ass]

8 hours ago, Sisyphus said:

His voice is absolutely terrible. And it's not just about the lack of power or rasp anymore. It has changed drastically. Lost all the appeal. Even his talking voice is completely different to what it used to be. I find that very odd.

Even on the rare occasion he does sound remotely good he doesn't sound like himself. His voice is shot. I'm not a singer and I lack the appropriate terminology but his voice used to be so rich and colorful, nowadays even when he manages to belt out a decent raspy scream it still comes out flat and empty. I don't know if that makes any sense but some of you might understand what I mean.

I honestly can't listen to YouTube videos anymore. Makes me cringe. I also won't be going to any shows in Europe.

This. It is all pretty bizarre. Lost all the appeal is a great way to put it. I have been saying that since CD came out though but now it is worse. Even his rasp during teh verses of nightrain or the CD outro sound awful. The Mickey Mouse stuff is brutal.

I love the music so much that I will continue to go as long as Slash is alongside him though.  It doesn't bother me as much in person and he still sounds good on songs like It's So Easy, The Seeker, Brownstone and such.  In 2016 songs like Out Ta Get Me and Live and Let Die were still pretty jaw dropping. Then other times, even if it is only for one line I still enjoy hearing the vintage Axl's rare appearance.. Like You're Crazy the other night. He was obviously winded most of the song but closed it out strong as fuck. 

Funny you mentioned that about his talking voice which has also changed.  If you watch him talk it looks like his mouth area and cheeks are paralyzed.  It looks odd. Maybe something to do with plastic surgery or something?

I am just enjoying it for what it is right now. When it ends it will probably end quick and Myles certainly isn't any more appealing. 

[jamillos]

9 hours ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

Ah. My apologies, friend.

No probz. It's one of the songs with no rasp, so Axl could do that one often. I can't imagine him singing the ending heights of TWAT these days... 

[jamillos]

Anyway, I like the analyses on the last two pages or so, it's pretty accurate. There is basically just one problem: Rock the Rock. This goes to show he can do even the mid section with rasp, without screaming. But that's studio, right? I seriously think if the lengthy touring stopped, he took time off and devoted to his vocal cords, maybe working with the coach again, some 2016 would be possible again. 

[SoundOfAGun]

Clips I've seen of Miami don't sound too good. He looks like he is struggling even to stay in tune with the clean grandma whistle vocals. They could still pull a "Beatles" and spend what is left in the tank recording music whilst sitting on their vast piles of cash earned from the past few years. Y'know, flex some creative muscles instead of chugging along on the longest Greatest Hits tour in the history of the world.

[Live Like a Suicide]

1 hour ago, jamillos said:

Anyway, I like the analyses on the last two pages or so, it's pretty accurate. There is basically just one problem: Rock the Rock. This goes to show he can do even the mid section with rasp, without screaming. But that's studio, right? I seriously think if the lengthy touring stopped, he took time off and devoted to his vocal cords, maybe working with the coach again, some 2016 would be possible again. 

Rock the Rock is a great example of Axl's current ability outside of 3 hour live shows. He would absolutely kill another tour with some training and a lengthy break. He would also kill a new album. His rasp is sharp in Rock the Rock:

 

[Popcorn crew]

From my experience Youtube videos are much more worst than Live performance.  Even sometimes depends where you are in the concert. For example if you are in fun pit area you will have better sound than the people on left or right sides of the stage. 

As I said once I don't care about his voice on concerts because I'm screaming my hearts out so actually I do not hear him in the first place.

However, I hate it when he is out of breath. Voice changes during the years and you can fine tune it or change set list to suit his voice but tour preparation is lacking. 

Actually Axl can sing songs like Sorry but they don't perform it.

[SAU3R]

He should stop doing the LALD screams.. They were awesome in 2016 but now they sound weak, without rasp and very forced 

Plus they're not necessary for the song and just strain his voice even more

[Zinia_29]

1 hour ago, jamillos said:

Anyway, I like the analyses on the last two pages or so, it's pretty accurate. There is basically just one problem: Rock the Rock. This goes to show he can do even the mid section with rasp, without screaming. But that's studio, right? I seriously think if the lengthy touring stopped, he took time off and devoted to his vocal cords, maybe working with the coach again, some 2016 would be possible again. 

That's why he should release new music/studio vocals. To show us that he still has some of his talents left.

[Caedo]

11 hours ago, koldbeer2 said:

Even back in the 90s his mid range was kinda a little iffy at times. I listened to one of those vocal coach reactions from one of the 90s shows and they said what is noticeable is how Axl didn't use a huge amount of note variety, it all kinda held within 3-4 notes of each other for large chunks of the song in that raspy head voice he used to have, only occasionally dipping into the raspy mid section. I tend to agree looking back now, but to be fair he didn't need to because he had the vocal chops back then to get away with it. Its only really in the early days of the band (say 86-88) and ironically 2010 (especially in Europe) that he had a cracking sounding mid range rasp with that classic blended head/chest mix (Street of dreams often featured that at the start of the song). At other times, its been a weakness for sure, though he often found ways around it.

Problem is, I think his vocal chops in other parts of his voice have weakened to the point where it is proving hard for him to hide the naturally weaker parts of his voice and its getting increasingly restrictive and worn down/airy sounding.

Yep if you listen to Come Together with Springsteen in 94 it gives a fair indication of his mid range not being that strong even back then, it sounds like he's forcing his chest voice which as he gets older and his voice deepens he can't do at all and has to go full falsetto on songs like SCOM. 

[jamillos]

1 hour ago, SAU3R said:

He should stop doing the LALD screams.. They were awesome in 2016 but now they sound weak, without rasp and very forced 

Plus they're not necessary for the song and just strain his voice even more

Tbh, to me the screams are the only interesting thing about the song any more, having heard it a thousand times... And they are definitely one of the (few) raspy spots in the shows now. 

[Lies They Tell]

3 hours ago, jamillos said:

Anyway, I like the analyses on the last two pages or so, it's pretty accurate. There is basically just one problem: Rock the Rock. This goes to show he can do even the mid section with rasp, without screaming. But that's studio, right? I seriously think if the lengthy touring stopped, he took time off and devoted to his vocal cords, maybe working with the coach again, some 2016 would be possible again. 

Rock the Rock is exactly in the same pitch as the Brian Johnson songs. It's some low voice and lower pitched mid-range and then some higher pitched screaming. No higher pitched mid-range singing at all.

I think Axl's voice can be described like this:

 

Low voice - This is all good and raspy

Lower pitched mid-range - This is the most complicated part of Axl's voice and the limit of Axl's raspy singing voice. For example Madagascar, Brian Johnson songs and Rock the Rock have a lot of lower pitched mid-range parts. When the pitch gets higher than this Axl needs to scream in order to sound raspy.

Higher pitched mid-range - GNR songs are full of this higher pitched mid-range singing. Brian Johnson songs have none of it. Brian Johnson songs and Rock the Rock switches from lower mid-range chest voice straight to screaming smoothly. That's ideal for Axl's current voice. But trying to use the raspy singing voice in higher pitched mid-range parts is pretty much impossible for Axl these days. Higher pitched mid range works only when Axl's screaming.

High voice - is raspy only when Axl screams

The very highest pitch - There seems to be some problems there. Either it's gone or Axl's avoiding to use it for what ever reasons.

 

Then there's of course Axl's normal voice, which seems to be fine. I mean the voice that he uses on The Seeker for example. The voice that's not raspy, but not Mickey either. But that's a whole different story.

 

[jamillos]

5 minutes ago, Lies They Tell said:

Rock the Rock is exactly in the same pitch as the Brian Johnson songs. It's some low voice and lower pitched mid-range and then some higher pitched screaming. No higher pitched mid-range singing at all.

I think Axl's voice can be described like this:

 

Low voice - This is all good and raspy

Lower pitched mid-range - This is the most complicated part of Axl's voice and the limit of Axl's raspy singing voice. For example Madagascar, Brian Johnson songs and Rock the Rock have a lot of lower pitched mid-range parts. When the pitch gets higher than this Axl needs to scream in order to sound raspy.

Higher pitched mid-range - GNR songs are full of this higher pitched mid-range singing. Brian Johnson songs have none of it. Brian Johnson songs and Rock the Rock switches from lower mid-range chest voice straight to screaming smoothly. That's ideal for Axl's current voice. But trying to use the raspy singing voice in higher pitched mid-range parts is pretty much impossible for Axl these days. Higher pitched mid range works only when Axl's screaming.

High voice - is raspy only when Axl screams

The very highest pitch - There seems to be some problems there. Either it's gone or Axl's avoiding to use it for what ever reasons.

 

Then there's of course Axl's normal voice, which seems to be fine. I mean the voice that he uses on The Seeker for example. The voice that's not raspy, but not Mickey either. But that's a whole different story.

 

I basically agree, only would add that Axl's rendition of Johnson's songs are more often rather in the power/screaming mode than RtR, which is a bit more mellow. Anyway, judging from this, he basically could handle songs like Better or RQ with rasp if he wanted to. And he obviously still can do stuff like this in the studio, which is always good news. 

[Lies They Tell]

13 hours ago, DTJ80 said:

You seem to have an excellent grasp on his vocal levels. I was discussing this on another thread and maybe you can really shed light on this - based on his current vocal abilities as they appear to be, what tracks across the catalogue COULD be sung ‘the best’? Unfortunately SCOM/NR will ALWAYS be played but if we could handpick the rest regardless of whether likely or not.......

I mean we know that he always sounds good on certain songs like CD and DTJ for example and SOYL is pretty good usually too.

But I guess you mean songs that they don't usually play right?

It would be interesting to make such a list, but unfortunately I don't really have time.

But we know his normal voice is still good. The voice that he uses on The Seeker and Wichita Lineman for example. The voice that's not raspy but not Mickey either. So songs like You Ain't The First should be good. I don't think there's any reason to believe that Down On The Farm wouldn't still sound good as well.

Nice Boys (the fast version) should be good too cause it's pure screaming. Not that slower paced version that they did with Angry Anderson though. He can't use the screaming voice if the song is too slow paced.

Unfortunately most GNR songs have at least some parts that would sound like Mickey. 

[Lies They Tell]

18 minutes ago, jamillos said:

I basically agree, only would add that Axl's rendition of Johnson's songs are more often rather in the power/screaming mode than RtR, which is a bit more mellow. Anyway, judging from this, he basically could handle songs like Better or RQ with rasp if he wanted to. And he obviously still can do stuff like this in the studio, which is always good news. 

I don't know about Better.  The voice that he's mostly using there seems to be right between the lower mid range and the higher mid range. He definitely has to use that higher mid-range voice in many places, so it's much easier for him to just Mickey it all. Except for the screaming parts.

Rocket Queen has a LOT of higher pitched mid-range voice in it. I'd argue that he has to use the higher pitched mid-voice a lot more than the lower pitched mid-voice in that song, so that why he's on Mickey mode there.

[Jordan Rose]

14 minutes ago, Lies They Tell said:

I don't know about Better.  The voice that he's mostly using there seems to be right between the lower mid range and the higher mid range. He definitely has to use that higher mid-range voice in many places, so it's much easier for him to just Mickey it all. Except for the screaming parts.

Rocket Queen has a LOT of higher pitched mid-range voice in it. I'd argue that he has to use the higher pitched mid-voice a lot more than the lower pitched mid-voice in that song, so that why he's on Mickey mode there.

So what's going on in e.g. the bridge of Better at Miami (and any recent versions) where it sounds absolutely awful like it's just shot? And similarly on Prostitute from the last 2017 show they broadcast audio in full where the high parts sound atrotious?

[Lies They Tell]

1 hour ago, Jordan Rose said:

So what's going on in e.g. the bridge of Better at Miami (and any recent versions) where it sounds absolutely awful like it's just shot? And similarly on Prostitute from the last 2017 show they broadcast audio in full where the high parts sound atrotious?

Right! Haven't really watched the most recent Better's. It's difficult to even find videos these days cause they keep taking them down.

But Better in general is a pretty difficult song for Axl, cause the voice that he uses there is mostly right between the lower mid range and higher mid range. So there's moments when he tries to sing it with rasp but he struggles. About the screaming parts though. I guess the very highest screams go to the "very highest pitch"-category, that I earlier mentioned that he has serious trouble with. Like I said the very highest pitch might be completely gone these days.

You can see that Axl tries to come up with new ways to sing that song, that would better suit his current voice. But he's struggling to find a proper way to sing it.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Lies They Tell

[DTJ80]

1 hour ago, Lies They Tell said:

I mean we know that he always sounds good on certain songs like CD and DTJ for example and SOYL is pretty good usually too.

But I guess you mean songs that they don't usually play right?

It would be interesting to make such a list, but unfortunately I don't really have time.

But we know his normal voice is still good. The voice that he uses on The Seeker and Wichita Lineman for example. The voice that's not raspy but not Mickey either. So songs like You Ain't The First should be good. I don't think there's any reason to believe that Down On The Farm wouldn't still sound good as well.

Nice Boys (the fast version) should be good too cause it's pure screaming. Not that slower paced version that they did with Angry Anderson though. He can't use the screaming voice if the song is too slow paced.

Unfortunately most GNR songs have at least some parts that would sound like Mickey. 

Oh - I wasn’t expecting a full comprehensive list (as awesome as that would be). 😂 But, things like YATF as you say and I could imagine Pretty Tied Up being pretty achievable using the above songs as a barometer. If using Nice Boys as an example, Reckless Life could work in a fast paced song with screams.

Someone has uploaded snippets and full songs of the the Miami gig and actually it was no different to other recent gigs. Better was horrific it has to be said (HAS to be dropped) and Slither just doesn’t sound right. Dead Horse could be good but it was a bit shambolic as a band.

Edited February 5, 2020 by DTJ80

[Lies They Tell]

16 minutes ago, DTJ80 said:

Oh - I wasn’t expecting a full comprehensive list (as awesome as that would be). 😂 But, things like YATF as you say and I could imagine Pretty Tied Up being pretty achievable using the above songs as a barometer. If using Nice Boys as an example, Reckless Life could work in a fast paced song with screams.

Someone has uploaded snippets and full songs of the the Miami gig and actually it was no different to other recent gigs. Better was horrific it has to be said (HAS to be dropped) and Slither just doesn’t sound right. Dead Horse could be good but it was a bit shambolic as a band.

Yeah, Pretty Tied Up and Reckless Life are two songs that I've been thinking might work. But I would need to actually sit down and analyze them from start to finish to be sure. There might be moments in Pretty Tied Up when it gets a bit too high pitched and Axl might decide to Mickey some parts of it, but I'm not sure.

Then you have to take into consideration that Axl seems to have some problems with the very highest notes too even when he's screaming. Those are the kind of things that I'd have to check before I can say if he'd pull them off. He didn't have problems with the very highest notes in 2016, but it's been going worse since then. I just hope that they'll release a new album with songs that suit his current voice. It's a shame seeing your favorite artist struggle with songs constantly.

[Sydney Fan]

1 hour ago, DTJ80 said:

Oh - I wasn’t expecting a full comprehensive list (as awesome as that would be). 😂 But, things like YATF as you say and I could imagine Pretty Tied Up being pretty achievable using the above songs as a barometer. If using Nice Boys as an example, Reckless Life could work in a fast paced song with screams.

Someone has uploaded snippets and full songs of the the Miami gig and actually it was no different to other recent gigs. Better was horrific it has to be said (HAS to be dropped) and Slither just doesn’t sound right. Dead Horse could be good but it was a bit shambolic as a band.

Novembrer rain vocals were equally as bad. Better was a fuckin disgeace but i couldnt stop laughing. At one point in better he startrd singing in a low registrr and im listening thinking " what the fuck is that". Fuck knows what duff and slash are thinking listening to him  in their in ear monitors.

Your crazy was probsbly the only standout.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Sydney Fan

[DTJ80]

1 minute ago, Sydney Fan said:

Novembrer rain vocals were equally as bad. Better was a fuckin disgeace but i couldnt stop laughing. At one point in better he startrd singing in a low registrr and im listening thinking " what the fuck is that". Fuck knows what duff and slash are thinking listening to him  in their in ear monitors.

I only listened to the into of NR to be fair. Better was so so bad - just drop it from the set, a good song but no-one wants to hear that performance.

[Sydney Fan]

3 minutes ago, DTJ80 said:

I only listened to the into of NR to be fair. Better was so so bad - just drop it from the set, a good song but no-one wants to hear that performance.

 I dont get it....the band have had 2 months off and this is what axl sounds like after a 2 month break...

[DTJ80]

9 minutes ago, Lies They Tell said:

Yeah, Pretty Tied Up and Reckless Life are two songs that I've been thinking might work. But I would need to actually sit down and analyze them from start to finish to be sure. There might be moments in Pretty Tied Up when it gets a bit too high pitched and Axl might decide to Mickey some parts of it, but I'm not sure.

Then you have to take into consideration that Axl seems to have some problems with the very highest notes too even when he's screaming. Those are the kind of things that I'd have to check before I can say if he'd pull them off. He didn't have problems with the very highest notes in 2016, but it's been going worse since then. I just hope that they'll release a new album with songs that suit his current voice. It's a shame seeing your favorite artist struggle with songs constantly.

This is it. It’s very easy to resolve in that respect - get the album out, flood the setlist with tracks from it as they SHOULD be easier to sing. Have the SCOM/PC ‘can’t leave out’ tracks in and around them and the likes of Nightrain/ISE and those he can still do and it’s happy days!

[Zinia_29]

3 hours ago, Lies They Tell said:

Rock the Rock is exactly in the same pitch as the Brian Johnson songs. It's some low voice and lower pitched mid-range and then some higher pitched screaming. No higher pitched mid-range singing at all.

I think Axl's voice can be described like this:

 

Low voice - This is all good and raspy

Lower pitched mid-range - This is the most complicated part of Axl's voice and the limit of Axl's raspy singing voice. For example Madagascar, Brian Johnson songs and Rock the Rock have a lot of lower pitched mid-range parts. When the pitch gets higher than this Axl needs to scream in order to sound raspy.

Higher pitched mid-range - GNR songs are full of this higher pitched mid-range singing. Brian Johnson songs have none of it. Brian Johnson songs and Rock the Rock switches from lower mid-range chest voice straight to screaming smoothly. That's ideal for Axl's current voice. But trying to use the raspy singing voice in higher pitched mid-range parts is pretty much impossible for Axl these days. Higher pitched mid range works only when Axl's screaming.

High voice - is raspy only when Axl screams

The very highest pitch - There seems to be some problems there. Either it's gone or Axl's avoiding to use it for what ever reasons.

 

Then there's of course Axl's normal voice, which seems to be fine. I mean the voice that he uses on The Seeker for example. The voice that's not raspy, but not Mickey either. But that's a whole different story.

 

Awesome explanation. Can you give some examples of non gnr songs with higher pitched mid range? 

[DTJ80]

2 minutes ago, Sydney Fan said:

 I dont get it....the band have had 2 months off and this is what axl sounds like after a 2 month break...

Unfortunately the ‘big’ songs are in areas where his voice can’t go these days. But because they are SCOM/NR etc they will always be played so - I have zero idea how you get round that. Make them acoustic (ala the Sounds City) version of NR and rejig the format of them - extreme I know and maybe a horrendous idea but something needs to be done.

[Lies They Tell]

52 minutes ago, Zinia_29 said:

Awesome explanation. Can you give some examples of non gnr songs with higher pitched mid range? 

There's tons of songs with higher pitched mid-range vocals. Especially female pop stars sing a lot like that. And it's not like Axl can't hit those notes. It's just that he doesn't sound like the raspy classic Axl anymore when he sings like that.

But if you want examples of non GNR songs with RASPY higher pitched mid range singing, there's a lot of that in classic rock. For example Love Hurts by Nazareth. Axl would be in Mickey mode, if he tried to sing that today.