Sonic Reducer Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 (edited) To be honest I haven't had the time to listen to many recordings from the shows in this tour and I'd like some opinions, preferably with mentions of specific performances. I know the man is 60 and I do not expect him to sing them as he did in his 20s so in my opinion a good performance at this point in time does not mean a performance that is necessarily faithful to the album version, in other words I don't care if Axl's approach is different to suit his limitations, in fact I'd welcome any change if it means a decent performance, although I'd like to hear that he's "still got it", so to speak. So with all that outta the way, what performances did you all enjoy in this leg of the tour? Edited October 30, 2022 by Sonic Reducer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadernation Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 (edited) IMO: ISE/ DTJ/ Nightrain/ Chinese/ Don’t Cry/ Seeker/ Wichita/ Absurd Edited October 31, 2022 by wadernation 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Comstock Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 His most consistent songs nowadays are Wichita Lineman and Absurd. For the high-voice songs SOYL and Reckless Life are as good as it gets. That 2nd London show proved he could sound good on most of the set if he used his baritone voice more often, Civil War, Estranged, You're Crazy, Nightrain, etc. sounded pretty cool at that show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadernation Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 1 minute ago, Gordon Comstock said: His most consistent songs nowadays are Wichita Lineman and Absurd. For the high-voice songs SOYL and Reckless Life are as good as it gets. That 2nd London show proved he could sound good on most of the set if he used his baritone voice more often, Civil War, Estranged, You're Crazy, Nightrain, etc. sounded pretty cool at that show. Ya I agree. He had some impress SOYL and Reckless life’s in the past year or so. I agree with the others too and loved the baritone stuff for estranged especially. I’m just super picky with how I like to hear some of those songs lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Bond Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 Reckless Life was a pleasant surprise, both as a song choice and how Axl sounded overall. A good effort all around. Conversely, 2022 was a rough year for Welcome to the Jungle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom2112 Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 13 hours ago, Sonic Reducer said: To be honest I haven't had the time to listen to many recordings from the shows in this tour and I'd like some opinions, preferably with mentions of specific performances. I know the man is 60 and I do not expect him to sing them as he did in his 20s so in my opinion a good performance at this point in time does not mean a performance that is necessarily faithful to the album version, in other words I don't care if Axl's approach is different to suit his limitations, in fact I'd welcome any change if it means a decent performance, although I'd like to hear that he's "still got it", so to speak. So with all that outta the way, what performances did you all enjoy in this leg of the tour? Depends what you consider good/bad. I'd say that he sings every one of the big hitters poorly. He can sing the first half of Patience, but when it comes to the "walking the streets" it kinda falls apart. Jungle, SCOM, NV, YCBM, PC are all just about passable on a good day. He's WAY more off than on these days. He's regressed and is now finding it more and more difficult to hit certain notes. He also has developed a bit of an old man tone. Good coach could iron these things out, but while they continue to keep touring that just is never going to be factored into his plans even though doing so would A) prolong his ability to tour for another 10+ years B) ease off the negative reviews because even if he wasn't singing with full bodied rasp 24/7 his clean vocal would be strong enough to hold the songs together. I don't think major (or any) improvements from here are on the cards though SOYL, Reckless Life, Witchita, Seeker, DTJ, ISE, Don't Cry, most of Estranged, CD, Sorry (most of the time), You're crazy. Generally the faster older songs sound good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumcheecksmcghee Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 Not many... lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhazUp Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 I know its runtime is a GNR fan meme at this point but I always felt Axl is always really consistent on KOHD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nintari Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 (edited) If he can't do them justice (and in my opinion, he can't), and he won't retire, he should just stick to the baritone voice for all songs. There doesn't seem like a more pragmatic solution to me. Edited October 31, 2022 by Nintari 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystery Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 1 minute ago, Nintari said: If he can't do them justice, and he won't retire, he should just stick to the baritone voice for all songs. There doesn't seem like a more pragmatic solution to me. It's such a tough situation when the vast majority of their catalog was recorded with these powerful raspy vocals that weren't recorded with the idea Axl would still be singing into his 60's. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nintari Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 (edited) 9 minutes ago, mystery said: It's such a tough situation when the vast majority of their catalog was recorded with these powerful raspy vocals that weren't recorded with the idea Axl would still be singing into his 60's. Yes, like the band itself, his vocal style and stage presence was never designed to last. The whole premise was about teetering on the edge of chaos and destruction without going over. It was about wild, manic energy, passion and anger. Basically, the complete opposite of where the members are now... which is why it looks and sounds like a bad cover band most of the time. I was always out front, banging the reunion drum the loudest, but I have to admit that I was wrong. It was better when my last memory of them was the Illusions tour. They were one of the greatest bands of all time. But like Harrison said: all things must pass. Edited October 31, 2022 by Nintari 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom2112 Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 19 minutes ago, Nintari said: If he can't do them justice (and in my opinion, he can't), and he won't retire, he should just stick to the baritone voice for all songs. There doesn't seem like a more pragmatic solution to me. It's not a solution the general GNR ticket buying fan wants to hear. These people don't go back and dissect the shows, the go and hear the general gist of what Axl sounds like masked with their voice and thousands of others... if Axl chose to sing low throughout his biggest hits, that would be obvious and critiqued harshly. David Coverdale did this switch, but he ushered it on his later albums and prepared his audience. Next thing is he hired several other singing musicians to fill in the top range. Melissa can probably hit most of the high notes but really the high notes are the least of the issue, it's the verses of NV, SCOM etc. he can still climb up to those 80s notes, even if it's more of a whisper than a shout these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystery Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 It gets to the other issue as well that the band hasn't released an album of new material for close to 15 years now and even that album got tough in terms of performing certain songs live not long after it released. They could absolutely rotate some mainstays out for newer songs that reflect Axl's current voice and don't invite comparisons to how Axl sounded 30-35 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom2112 Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 12 hours ago, mystery said: It's such a tough situation when the vast majority of their catalog was recorded with these powerful raspy vocals that weren't recorded with the idea Axl would still be singing into his 60's. Very few singers record their albums thinking "I hope I can do this in 20/30yrs from now"... Yet there are many, many similar voiced musicians that have been able to maintain both the style and most of the range to perform at the same age as Axl and older. Tyler, Kieffer, Hagar to name but a few with raspier voices still hitting it hard. Hagar is 15yrs older. The reason he struggles is because he let his voice slip. Age is not the smoking gun for all of this, even if it is convenient. Age is a factor, it's kinda like when you're twenty and don't need to warm up to go for a run, then you hit 30 and so on, and so on and you need to do a bit more prep. Vocals are no different. If you leave them inactive for months on end then the muscles will weaken. There's a reason he gets better as the tour progresses. The more you keep a routine of singing the stronger your voice muscles / breathing gets. He goes off tour and stops, so it's back to square one... But each time he comes back with a little less ability. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
©GnrPersia Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 (edited) Down on the Farm Silkworms Chinese Black Leather Look At Your Game Girl ISE Sorry & things like that Edited October 31, 2022 by ©GnrPersia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janrichmond Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 Sadly Axl doesn't sing well enough for me to go and see them again. I'll just live in the past with the old stuff. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystery Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 13 minutes ago, janrichmond said: Sadly Axl doesn't sing well enough for me to go and see them again. I'll just live in the past with the old stuff. He nailed it when he had to in 2016 when all eyes were on the band but it's been a steady decline since, it's especially sad to see because he was so amazing in his prime. Like people would not want the band in its current state to headline a Super Bowl halftime show because there would be a ton of jokes at Axl's expense immediately after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice Boy Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 What exactly is it that a vocal coach can tell someone who has been singing for 50 years? Genuine question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Bird Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 19 minutes ago, Nice Boy said: What exactly is it that a vocal coach can tell someone who has been singing for 50 years? Genuine question Probably the motivation to get coached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice Boy Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 3 hours ago, Free Bird said: Probably the motivation to get coached. But what exact things can the coach tell Axl about singing that he doesn’t already know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNRmello77 Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 I agree with most songs mentioned here but would like to add Civil War to the list, he usually does the job on that one too! And on KOHD ge also found an approach that works for him most of the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnrcane Posted November 1, 2022 Share Posted November 1, 2022 On 10/30/2022 at 10:37 PM, mystery said: It's such a tough situation when the vast majority of their catalog was recorded with these powerful raspy vocals that weren't recorded with the idea Axl would still be singing into his 60's. Forget singing into his 60s, they probably didn't think about living to their 60s. Who would have bet money in 1987 that all of the AFD 5 would be alive and capable of performing music in 2022? I sure as hell wouldn't have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slash23579 Posted November 1, 2022 Share Posted November 1, 2022 Tbh I think axls voice is the most consistent it’s ever been. Look at 1986-1993, which is almost as long as it’s been since the reunion in 2016. Axls voice was wildly different every one of those years during his prime, he never found a way to make it consistent and healthy. His voiced aged more in those 7 years than most singers over their entire career. His voice is definitely still aging, and it’s noticeably worse than 2016, but I think he found a way to sing that works for him and his voice while still being able to go for those high notes. I’d still rather see Axl do his thing as he’s doing it now than change his approach completely, because what he’s doing still does sound passable even if it’s not that great when you listen to the recordings the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invisible_rose Posted November 1, 2022 Share Posted November 1, 2022 On 10/31/2022 at 5:11 PM, Nice Boy said: What exactly is it that a vocal coach can tell someone who has been singing for 50 years? Genuine question I'd suggest minimal. Besides, I don't buy the whole theory of Axl not using a vocal coach and doing the required warm ups etc. I think he does everything he can, but just isn't capable of what he once was. He now probably finds the falsetto comfortable, and prefers performing this way. Not only that, it's the only way he'll get through a show, let alone a full tour. The only thing a different vocal coach, who has worked with a lot of older performers, could offer is how to get the best out of this current voice - and chances are, Axl already is. Axl simply isn't capable any more. He might be able to smash out a single or two, or add some backing vocals to tracks, but performing a full show live or recording a full, brand new album - no chance. It's done and gone. Milk the tour, get the CDII stuff out and anything from the early 90s with vocals, and wrap it up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-W.A.R- Posted November 2, 2022 Share Posted November 2, 2022 AC/DC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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