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

[Tom-Ass]

7 hours ago, Ant said:

I want him to get like.. Stonesy, you know.

Then he should work with Izzy.

I still would have loved a band with Slash, Izzy, Duff, Steven or Matt and a random singer over this version of Guns... Even if it was Myles. 

[Ant]

11 hours ago, Tom-Ass said:

Then he should work with Izzy.

Well yeah :). 

You know how he trashed Izzy's thin guitar sound in the wake of Izzy leaving -- I wonder if its still the case or if that was just sour grapes or trying to find a silver lining or whatever. 

Seems weird someone could be so into the Mick Taylor / Keith dynamic, or Keith and Ronnie, or Joe and Brad and then work with Izzy so infrequently. I don't think Slash is an EVH or Page style guitarist... he's best bouncing off another voice. The most annoying thing is -- I think it's just like logistics and the convenience factor... so annoying!

 

 

 

Izzy > Gilby > Dave > Fortus > Frank S. (not a knock on Frank at all, but he's just playing what Slash writes afaik) in terms of interesting chemistry, for me. Wish Fortus would lean harder on his obvious Stones fandom and loose rhythm ability... but I don't know if Frank F. really inspires that kind of rhythm dynamic in a Charlie Watts kinda way. 

Edited February 8, 2020 by Ant

[Nice Boy]

Just watched a fucking good performance of Crazy, from 2012. Seems to go against the usual consensus that the voice wasn't good after 2010, at least till 2016..

[jamillos]

7 hours ago, Nice Boy said:

Just watched a fucking good performance of Crazy, from 2012. Seems to go against the usual consensus that the voice wasn't good after 2010, at least till 2016..

I guess it’s always a question of the relevant comparison and the point of time you’re currently at. In my years of 2006–2010, I basically thought the 2002 Axl was almost complete shit. But these days... let’s say those vocals are becoming more and more appealing to me...

[koldweather]

7 hours ago, Nice Boy said:

Just watched a fucking good performance of Crazy, from 2012. Seems to go against the usual consensus that the voice wasn't good after 2010, at least till 2016..

Oh he still had his voice, I think often he just held back during that spell. There are some great individual shows where Axl pushes himself. My top 4 would be Denver 2011, Philly 2012 and the last two Vegas shows 2014. Those shows had some great vocal performances. 

[WildStar]

On 04/02/2020 at 2:15 PM, Alejandro GNR said:

I get what you say...the videos dont sound good at all.

BUT I’ve seen GnR 6 times and the songs I most enjoyed live where YCBM and Yesterdays...2 of the worst songs to see on You Tube.

The guys who attended some shows with me told me how good Axl was...so its a very VERY strange case hahahaa

That said..I hope I get to hear Dead Horse and Loco live

I heard Locomotive live and it was pretty good. The videos I've seen don't do Axl justice. It's not outstanding but definitely worth keeping in the set. It'd be good if they rotate it with Coma and keep the sets a little bit different 

[Nightrain7]

8 hours ago, Nice Boy said:

Just watched a fucking good performance of Crazy, from 2012. Seems to go against the usual consensus that the voice wasn't good after 2010, at least till 2016..

Was that the Philadelphia show? He was a beast! Raspy Estranged 😍 Your Crazy incredible!

But it was a rare performance in those years.

[ChristianGNR]

I remember this forum when Mickey came back in the first show after phenomenal Philly 2012... 

[denin]

In Philly, Axl had an incentive. He wanted to erase some riot memories.

[WhazUp]

On 2/7/2020 at 7:03 PM, Nice Boy said:

Just watched a fucking good performance of Crazy, from 2012. Seems to go against the usual consensus that the voice wasn't good after 2010, at least till 2016..

I saw GNR in 2012 and honestly Axl sounded really good from what I remember.  Not 2016 or 2010 levels, but even though "Mickey" popped up, his voice still had strength to it so those high notes really still had an impact

 

[Live Like a Suicide]

I don't think Axl has lost his voice. I think it has become weaker in parts and he conserves it for when he needs it, which is the appropriate thing to do in such a situation. Remember, Axl was already blowing his voice in the '80s. In 2020 and at the age of 58, he can't just go out there and rasp every song, even though he still has the technical capacity to hit those notes.

[Lies They Tell]

On 8.2.2020 at 5:03 AM, Nice Boy said:

Just watched a fucking good performance of Crazy, from 2012. Seems to go against the usual consensus that the voice wasn't good after 2010, at least till 2016..

Yeah, 2016 is definitely overrated. It wasn't like 2006, when everyone though that his voice was gone and suddenly he comes back with his trademark voice.

No, 2016 was more like... it's not as bad as it could have been. But he wasn't drastically better in 2016 than what I remember him sounding like in 2012 for example. He might actually have been better in 2012, but I'm too lazy to actually start comparing. Early 2014 was pretty bad, but he was pretty good again in those last Vegas shows of 2014. So overall it wasn't really a surprise that Axl sounded decent in 2016.

The question is, will Axl sound like he did in 2016 ever again? Who knows? It's not totally out of the question even if I'm a bit skeptical at this point. But the 2010 voice will never come back.

[sl4yer]

I can’t believe it’s 2020 and people still saying that videos just don’t do justice to Axl’s amazing vocals.

[sl4yer]

21 minutes ago, Lies They Tell said:

Yeah, 2016 is definitely overrated. It wasn't like 2006, when everyone though that his voice was gone and suddenly he comes back with his trademark voice.

No, 2016 was more like... it's not as bad as it could have been. But he wasn't drastically better in 2016 than what I remember him sounding like in 2012 for example. He might actually have been better in 2012, but I'm too lazy to actually start comparing. Early 2014 was pretty bad, but he was pretty good again in those last Vegas shows of 2014. So overall it wasn't really a surprise that Axl sounded decent in 2016.

The question is, will Axl sound like he did in 2016 ever again? Who knows? It's not totally out of the question even if I'm a bit skeptical at this point. But the 2010 voice will never come back.

No it’s not overrated. When he was singing with ACDC he was awesome and powerful, his very best vocals after 2010.

In Guns he wasn’t in the beast mode like in ACDC but still was very decent and way better than in 2012.

[TheGeneral]

15 minutes ago, sl4yer said:

I can’t believe it’s 2020 and people still saying that videos just don’t do justice to Axl’s amazing vocals.

I'd call it some sort of "Stockholm Syndrome".

You get invested in an artist, watch their live videos over and over until you just don't notice anymore how bad they are. Then they will slowly start sounding good to your ears.

[Gunner927]

23 hours ago, denin said:

In Philly, Axl had an incentive. He wanted to erase some riot memories.

Nah, I recall him sounding really strong in Atlantic City the show before. I think it was more him wanting to redeem himself from the horrid Chicago 2012 show that was streamed where he was sick a few days prior.

[scottish nutter]

58 minutes ago, sl4yer said:

I can’t believe it’s 2020 and people still saying that videos just don’t do justice to Axl’s amazing vocals.

exactly, iv never heard a camera make any other singer sound like mickey mouse lol

[Lies They Tell]

1 hour ago, sl4yer said:

No it’s not overrated. When he was singing with ACDC he was awesome and powerful, his very best vocals after 2010.

In Guns he wasn’t in the beast mode like in ACDC but still was very decent and way better than in 2012.

Axl's voice in 2016 is super overrated simply because it was the first time people heard Axl sing AC/DC properly and they were blown away by it. In reality though there's no reason to think that he wouldn't have sounded equally good on those songs if he had sang them at some point earlier.

We all know that AC/DC songs are WAY easier for Axl to sing, but we can't really compare his AC/DC performances from different years cause he didn't sing AC/DC in 2012. Except Whole Lotta Rosie and Riff Raff. Those sound about the same in 2012 as they did in 2016. Same thing with GNR performances. Just listened to WTTJ from Appetite for Democracy and then a WTTJ performance from 2016. Both were pretty good. Then I listened to a Rocket Queen performance from both years. Both were pretty weak.

Now this isn't a subject that I would have dived deep into. Haven't compared every single song from these years. But on a quick glance there just doesn't seem to be a major difference in his voice between these years. If he was better in 2016, he wasn't drastically better.

[kever20]

On 2/8/2020 at 2:42 AM, koldweather said:

Oh he still had his voice, I think often he just held back during that spell. There are some great individual shows where Axl pushes himself. My top 4 would be Denver 2011, Philly 2012 and the last two Vegas shows 2014. Those shows had some great vocal performances. 

I was at the final Vegas 2014 show, and I thought it was a really solid show. Do you think that he pushed himself a little bit more knowing that this would likely be the last time that incarnation was wholly together? 

[Live Like a Suicide]

3 hours ago, sl4yer said:

No it’s not overrated. When he was singing with ACDC he was awesome and powerful, his very best vocals after 2010.

In Guns he wasn’t in the beast mode like in ACDC but still was very decent and way better than in 2012.

Nightrain at Coachella 2016 sounded almost as good as the Ritz. Axl's voice was great in 2016.

Edited February 9, 2020 by Live Like a Suicide

[Gordon Comstock]

2 hours ago, Lies They Tell said:

Axl's voice in 2016 is super overrated simply because it was the first time people heard Axl sing AC/DC properly and they were blown away by it. In reality though there's no reason to think that he wouldn't have sounded equally good on those songs if he had sang them at some point earlier.

We all know that AC/DC songs are WAY easier for Axl to sing, but we can't really compare his AC/DC performances from different years cause he didn't sing AC/DC in 2012. Except Whole Lotta Rosie and Riff Raff. Those sound about the same in 2012 as they did in 2016. Same thing with GNR performances. Just listened to WTTJ from Appetite for Democracy and then a WTTJ performance from 2016. Both were pretty good. Then I listened to a Rocket Queen performance from both years. Both were pretty weak.

Now this isn't a subject that I would have dived deep into. Haven't compared every single song from these years. But on a quick glance there just doesn't seem to be a major difference in his voice between these years. If he was better in 2016, he wasn't drastically better.

 

I don't think his voice was overrated in 2016 - he sounded weak as usual on certain songs like SCOM, Nov Rain, YCBM, or Better, but he also improved on certain songs compared to 2012-14. Songs like OTGM, This I Love, My Michelle, Jungle, LALD, there were noticeable improvements. There were some shows where Rocket Queen or Civil War were kinda weak, and some shows where they were really good, but generally, his voice in 2016 was better than 2012-14.

Also, why do people keep saying AC/DC songs are "way easier" for him to sing? That's 100% a fan-made myth, to try and justify the fact that he actually gave a fuck about performing AC/DC songs. Axl admitted that Hell's Bells was the hardest song he's ever sang. Do you seriously think Thunderstruck and Back In Black were easy for him? He sounded great on those songs because he worked hard with a vocal coach, and he's sounded weak with GNR since 2017 because he stopped having that level of commitment (and the Brian Johnson songs probably fucked up his vocal chords to some extent).

[BangoSkank]

Hasn't he said he doesn't sing with the rasp because it's harder for him and bad for his voice? I think he did it for AC/DC because that was a short run and he wanted it to be great for him.

[sl4yer]

2 hours ago, Live Like a Suicide said:

Nightrain at Coachella 2016 sounded almost as good as the Ritz. Axl's voice was great in 2016.

Exactly. I didn’t heard great nightrain in 2012, 11 or 13. They were ok but it was really awesome in 2016

3 hours ago, Lies They Tell said:

We all know that AC/DC songs are WAY easier for Axl to sing, but we can't really compare his AC/DC performances from different years cause he didn't sing AC/DC in 2012. Except Whole Lotta Rosie and Riff Raff. Those sound about the same in 2012 as they did in 2016. Same thing with GNR performances. Just listened to WTTJ from Appetite for Democracy and then a WTTJ performance from 2016. Both were pretty good. Then I listened to a Rocket Queen performance from both years. Both were pretty weak.

I heard a few great versions of Rocket Queen from 2016. Of course I can’t link it but it was something else than Houston too. 

Yes, we can’t compare AC/DC stuff. But well, it doesn’t make 2016 overrated. I don’t care why, we didn’t hear his voice that raspy and powerful in 2012. Maybe he was able to do that but only maybe.

So straight facts are that, all 2012 shows were more or less about his mickey voice and in 2016 he delivered really great, impressive performances.

I don’t care what he is able to do. I care about how the actual performance sounds. 

And with all that you are missing one important thing. He was a lot more energetic, into it during 2016 shows. I can’t see this year being overrated. I will remember it as one of the highlights of his career. Good reunion shows and amazing tour with ACDC. Being Lead singer for 2 biggest rock bands. He was on the top of his game. He could only dream about it in 2012

[Lies They Tell]

14 minutes ago, Gordon Comstock said:

I don't think his voice was overrated in 2016 - he sounded weak as usual on certain songs like SCOM, Nov Rain, YCBM, or Better, but he also improved on certain songs compared to 2012-14. Songs like OTGM, This I Love, My Michelle, Jungle, LALD, there were noticeable improvements. There were some shows where Rocket Queen or Civil War were kinda weak, and some shows where they were really good, but generally, his voice in 2016 was better than 2012-14.

Also, why do people keep saying AC/DC songs are "way easier" for him to sing? That's 100% a fan-made myth, to try and justify the fact that he actually gave a fuck about performing AC/DC songs. Axl admitted that Hell's Bells was the hardest song he's ever sang. Do you seriously think Thunderstruck and Back In Black were easy for him? He sounded great on those songs because he worked hard with a vocal coach, and he's sounded weak with GNR since 2017 because he stopped having that level of commitment (and the Brian Johnson songs probably fucked up his vocal chords to some extent).

First of all saying that he improved on certain songs compared to 2012-2014 doesn't really say much. Sure he improved if we compare his voice to his early 2014 voice. He sucked then. But then he was great again in the last Vegas shows of 2014. 2012-2014 is a long time frame. So how exactly was This I Love better in 2016 compared to 2012? What are these noticeable improvements that you're talking about? You'd think that if they're so noticeable I wouldn't even have to ask. If we're talking about rasp, the Appetite for Democracy performance of TIL sounds at least as raspy to me as the 2016 performances. The House of Blues version from 2012 just might be raspier than any version from 2016. And the scream in LALD seems to be longer and stronger in the House of Blues version than in any version from 2016. So how exactly is LALD better in 2016? WTTJ was mostly raspy both in 2012 and in 2016, so what is the noticeable difference? It's difficult to find videos of My Michelle and Out Ta Get Me from 2012-2014, but I found one from 2012. Axl sounds just as strong there as he did in 2016. In other words full of rasp and power. You can't just say that there's noticeable improvements if you don't give any examples of what these noticeable improvements are. 

You know what is a 100% fan made myth? The idea that the only reason why Axl sounded better with AC/DC is cause he gave a fuck. No we've had this discussion before. Brian Johnson songs go straight from Axl's lower mid-range to screaming. That's why those songs are in general easier for him. He's always raspy when he screams and it's much easier for him to sing in his lower mid-range voice compared to his higher mid-range. Most GNR songs are full of higher-mid range singing. That's why he sounds like Mickey.

Sure, AC/DC songs have some moments that are difficult for Axl, if he tries to sing them perfectly. Especially Hell's Bells has those super high notes. That's why Axl said that it's the hardest song he's sung. They have some difficult notes here and there, but in general they're way easier for him. That's my point. You say that he stopped caring after 2016. Still 2016 had some very bad GNR performances. You gotta admit that it's not because Axl wouldn't care, but because he just can't do it. He can't sing certain songs with rasp. It's not possible for him. Most AC/DC songs are in this sense easier for him. They go from lower mid range straight to screaming which is ideal for Axl's voice.

So yeah, Axl's voice doesn't seem to be drastically better in 2016 compared to 2012 and AC/DC songs are in general easier for him to sing than GNR songs.

[Lies They Tell]

1 hour ago, sl4yer said:

So straight facts are that, all 2012 shows were more or less about his mickey voice and in 2016 he delivered really great, impressive performances.

That couldn't be farther from a fact. I just watched a bunch of performances from 2012. They're raspy as hell. I seriously can't say which ones are raspier 2012 performances or 2016 performances.

1 hour ago, sl4yer said:

And with all that you are missing one important thing. He was a lot more energetic, into it during 2016 shows. 

That's just a straight up lie! I just watched a lot of videos from 2012 and was really surprised about how energetic he was back then. You can see that he's younger and making the kind of moves that probably would have broke his bones 2016. The way he leaned back back then when he screamed. It's almost like he was defying gravity. He was dancing, jumping and running around much more than in 2016. He even did the kick in It's So Easy back then. I mean this is not even a contest. In 2012 he was more energetic.