i know what he means. it encompasses a lot of things - the melodies he writes, where he puts the stresses and emphasis, the way he pairs the lyrics to the melody, his dynamics.
while eddie is a dynamic and hypnotic frontman, I dont think ed is a chris cornell or robert plant either. I dont think ed think he has much range either. That doesnt mean the music isnt good though
Have you listened to Cornell's live stuff. He can't even come close to his studio work. And Robert Plant doesn't hit the amazing notes you would expect from his albums either. I like Cornell, especially his solo work, alot. He is a great song writer. But his live stuff hurts my ears. I love Zep too. As for Eddie, he has been the most consistant out of the three by far. He may not have the energy (rage) he had in the 90's but he still blows me away.
to add to what i said in my other post, this is a good point, cornell is very uneven in live performance (never seen him, basing this on recordings) but even if you want to say plant has trouble with some notes live, he is still an awesome singer live, and you can't begrudge a guy who at the height of zeppelin's fame, was touring constantly for ducking a few high notes here and there.
also: soundgarden had a really cool sound, and was creative, but overall, eddie writes way better melodies.
He is limited on what he can sing. His range has diminished considerably. The strain is obviously there on PJ's faster songs, and is now creeping into their midtempo songs. Oh well, that's what age, smoking, and years of singing your guts out will do to you. Luckily, we've got years of Eddie solo tours to look forward to, as well as Pearl Jam. I'm not saying I don't enjoy the songs, but Ed's booming vocals are gone.
I agree 100%.
I just have soooooo many "cringe-moments" listening to him try to pull off those louder, up-tempo songs.
I still think he sounds absolutely amazing at times, but those times are very few and far between.
Remember when he was pulling off the mic when it was clear he couldn't hit or hold a note? That became obvious around '03.
Now it seems he'll pull off and still simply miss notes over and over.
Hell, even some non-diehard PJ reviewers have picked up on it.
There were plenty of "cringe-worthy" moments back in the day, too. We just didn't hear a lot of them because we weren't hearing every single show of every single tour like we are now. We were usually just hearing the best of the best.
Ed's voice is evolving. Or has evolved. It would be silly for me to claim that it has the same booming quality it had on Unplugged, the style that spawned scores of Scott Stapp-like imitators. But he definitely has more range now. I don't even know how anyone could argue otherwise. He could not have pulled off Arc or The Wolf in 1990.
He's more of a singer now, as opposed to a growler.
His voice is just different now. Better in some ways. Perhaps not as good in others. I tend to like it more now, because he can sing things now he never could have approached back in the day. I've got a copy of Ed doing "Talk About the Passion" in '95, and he couldn't really hit those notes. And that isn't even a particularly difficult song to sing.
I bet he could knock it out of the park nowadays.
everybody wants the most they can possibly get
for the least they could possibly do
He is limited on what he can sing. His range has diminished considerably. The strain is obviously there on PJ's faster songs, and is now creeping into their midtempo songs. Oh well, that's what age, smoking, and years of singing your guts out will do to you. Luckily, we've got years of Eddie solo tours to look forward to, as well as Pearl Jam. I'm not saying I don't enjoy the songs, but Ed's booming vocals are gone.
The strange thing is I enjoyed Ed's vocals on song like from the 1997 TFC shows, where is voice was more thin sounding. Now when he does them, they sound deeper and more "booming" to me... but I'd chalk some of that up to a change in how he wants to sing them rather than ability. I think a lot of his personal fury (or anger) from the early 90's is gone, so he's got to try to make his voice sound similar to the old stuff without the natural adrenaline. But that's just what I think.
ADD 5,200 to the post count you see, thank you.
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*MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
*Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
*Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
*Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
*VA Beach 6/17/08 *DC 6/22/08 *MSG 6/24/08 (backstage) *MSG 6/25/08
*EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
*Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
he's gained in maturity and can do things now that he couldn't have done back in the day
I remember when I first saw the band in 06 in Marseille, after reading similar threads on this board I was expecting him to be struggling with some of the songs but damn was I wrong. I think he can have days where his voice is a bit off but it's very very far from being as bad as some people are saying
have you sheard him sing love reign o'er me and the real me at that who tribute show? can someone honestly say they think his voice is weak on that?
Different strokes.
I would agree Eddie doesn't have the range of Minnie Ripperton, or that he did when he was younger.
While age can slightly limit our physical abilities, if we are fortunate we gain enough passion, timing and experience to more than make up for the lessening of measurable performance.
I am more than happy with what Eddie puts into his work ( but since I also think Mike is a fine singer, I hope that he will get to take over a bit from time to time)
You must be the change you want to see in the world
-Gandhi
he's gained in maturity and can do things now that he couldn't have done back in the day
I remember when I first saw the band in 06 in Marseille, after reading similar threads on this board I was expecting him to be struggling with some of the songs but damn was I wrong. I think he can have days where his voice is a bit off but it's very very far from being as bad as some people are saying
have you sheard him sing love reign o'er me and the real me at that who tribute show? can someone honestly say they think his voice is weak on that?
Exactly. Ed can "bring it" when he wants to. For the most part, his voice is still there. But on songs like Blood, his voice is noticeably not the same (but whose would be after a decade-plus of singing like that).
ADD 5,200 to the post count you see, thank you.
*NYC 9/28/96 *NYC 9/29/96 *NJ 9/8/98 (front row "may i play drums with you")
*MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
*Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
*Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
*Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
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*EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
*Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
i know what he means. it encompasses a lot of things - the melodies he writes, where he puts the stresses and emphasis, the way he pairs the lyrics to the melody, his dynamics.
and pjammer2life is right.
It's a generic statement that really has no meaning at all.
Freddie Mercury does all those things 10x better than Ed. Sorry, but it's true. I'd put Plant, Cornell, and Axl above Ed and that's not thinkin about it.
Freddie Mercury does all those things 10x better than Ed. Sorry, but it's true. I'd put Plant, Cornell, and Axl above Ed and that's not thinkin about it.
Axl's voice is gone. In his prime he was unbelievable, but he sounds like shit to me now. Cornell is still amazing. I saw him live 2 years ago (it think-- it was shortly after Carry On came out) and he sounded just as good as he does on his records, maybe better. Rober Plant, well, none of these other guys would even matter if it wasn't for him so....
As far as Ed's voice, it's obviously fading fast. But he still sounds great to me.
It's a generic statement that really has no meaning at all.
Freddie Mercury does all those things 10x better than Ed. Sorry, but it's true. I'd put Plant, Cornell, and Axl above Ed and that's not thinkin about it.
Robert Plant sounds pathetic now. His solo show I saw recently was one of the worst concerts I've ever been too. It was so bad that I have trouble even listening to Zep at times now.
And it was not a generic statement. Just because you can't understand something, that doesn't make it generic. Eddie has wonderfull Phrasing. If you want to understand more of what that is, when you get the new album, read the lyrics of songs you haven't heard and imagine how you would sing them. Then listen to the songs and see how Eddie sings them. It's a preference thing like most. But if you like the way Eddie writes music, you likely like his phrasing as well.
Freddie Mercury does all those things 10x better than Ed. Sorry, but it's true. I'd put Plant, Cornell, and Axl above Ed and that's not thinkin about it.
Axl's voice is gone. In his prime he was unbelievable, but he sounds like shit to me now. Cornell is still amazing. I saw him live 2 years ago (it think-- it was shortly after Carry On came out) and he sounded just as good as he does on his records, maybe better. Rober Plant, well, none of these other guys would even matter if it wasn't for him so....
As far as Ed's voice, it's obviously fading fast. But he still sounds great to me.
Ed sounds great.... People are just getting carried away with the Ed statements. He's very high on the list of great rock singers, but there are just some people he isn't better than.
And we are talkin in the prime of their careers. Sure, Ed is better than Robert Plant now, but he's not in the same conversations as Robert Plant from 68-73.
Freddie Mercury does all those things 10x better than Ed. Sorry, but it's true. I'd put Plant, Cornell, and Axl above Ed and that's not thinkin about it.
Axl's voice is gone. In his prime he was unbelievable, but he sounds like shit to me now. Cornell is still amazing. I saw him live 2 years ago (it think-- it was shortly after Carry On came out) and he sounded just as good as he does on his records, maybe better. Rober Plant, well, none of these other guys would even matter if it wasn't for him so....
As far as Ed's voice, it's obviously fading fast. But he still sounds great to me.
Ed sounds great.... People are just getting carried away with the Ed statements. He's very high on the list of great rock singers, but there are just some people he isn't better than.
And we are talkin in the prime of their careers. Sure, Ed is better than Robert Plant now, but he's not in the same conversations as Robert Plant from 68-73.
Robert Plant?
Hey I am a big Zep fan- ( probably from before you were born )but his voice gets to me after a while-too much in his head & I don't get the same gut level to his response that I do with Vedder.
I do like Freddie, but he has been gone a long time & that takes something away from his live delivery.
Don't know much about Axl Rose, never seen them live, never have been motivated to buy any albums or even listen to them on the radio.
Chris Cornell I think has a very good voice- delivery and song choice isn't always my favorite but I like him.
Music is not engineering.
When I select a piece of art for my home, it isn't the piece that is technically perfect, will " match" the colors or is the " best buy for my dollar".
It is a piece that means something to me, that I love to see every day and that I respond to.
Music is the same way.
While I do think that time ( and bottles of wine and smoking), has strained Ed's voice, I also think s some of his most recent performances are as powerful if not more so than anything he has ever done.
He has a wealth of experience to draw on, and while a few other vocalists may be able to hold a note longer, remember lyrics more often or have greater range- what I feel when I hear him, what he is able to communicate with his sound , makes him top on my list of must see musicians.
and as I said above- Mike is really decent- after hearing lots of FTM shows as well as w/Shadow, when he has taken some of the lead singer duties, I would love to hear him sing more.
Not every song needs, or should have all the power of Ed's baritone, he can make things sound better than they are- how many times would you listen to Last Kiss if he wasn't singing it.
?
You must be the change you want to see in the world
-Gandhi
Eddie rocks! Pearl Jam rocks! That's all that matters.
Fuck yeah Pearl Jam!
But seriously, I saw Cornell, front row, centre, last year. The dude BRINGS it. A good comparision is his version of 'Hide Your Love Away' compared to Eddie's. Simply amazing.
Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
Obviously not the same, honestly just from listening to Mansfield Night 2 from last year was strongest I've heard his voice. Actually didn't cringe at Animal - 1/2 Full, Satan's Bed, Glorified G, Given to Fly were all epic. Eddie's vocals were perfect in my opinion...
Well, his voice really does limit him. Could you see Eddie singing on something electronic with his deep, raspy voice? Or maybe singing metal? It's not a bad thing, but his voice doesn't fit too many other genres.
Thanks EPOTTSIII!
"Vinyl or not, you will need to pay someone to take RA of your hands" - Smile05
424, xxx
Comments
and pjammer2life is right.
also: soundgarden had a really cool sound, and was creative, but overall, eddie writes way better melodies.
There were plenty of "cringe-worthy" moments back in the day, too. We just didn't hear a lot of them because we weren't hearing every single show of every single tour like we are now. We were usually just hearing the best of the best.
Ed's voice is evolving. Or has evolved. It would be silly for me to claim that it has the same booming quality it had on Unplugged, the style that spawned scores of Scott Stapp-like imitators. But he definitely has more range now. I don't even know how anyone could argue otherwise. He could not have pulled off Arc or The Wolf in 1990.
He's more of a singer now, as opposed to a growler.
His voice is just different now. Better in some ways. Perhaps not as good in others. I tend to like it more now, because he can sing things now he never could have approached back in the day. I've got a copy of Ed doing "Talk About the Passion" in '95, and he couldn't really hit those notes. And that isn't even a particularly difficult song to sing.
I bet he could knock it out of the park nowadays.
for the least they could possibly do
The strange thing is I enjoyed Ed's vocals on song like from the 1997 TFC shows, where is voice was more thin sounding. Now when he does them, they sound deeper and more "booming" to me... but I'd chalk some of that up to a change in how he wants to sing them rather than ability. I think a lot of his personal fury (or anger) from the early 90's is gone, so he's got to try to make his voice sound similar to the old stuff without the natural adrenaline. But that's just what I think.
*NYC 9/28/96 *NYC 9/29/96 *NJ 9/8/98 (front row "may i play drums with you")
*MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
*Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
*Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
*Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
*VA Beach 6/17/08 *DC 6/22/08 *MSG 6/24/08 (backstage) *MSG 6/25/08
*EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
*Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
I remember when I first saw the band in 06 in Marseille, after reading similar threads on this board I was expecting him to be struggling with some of the songs but damn was I wrong. I think he can have days where his voice is a bit off but it's very very far from being as bad as some people are saying
have you sheard him sing love reign o'er me and the real me at that who tribute show? can someone honestly say they think his voice is weak on that?
I would agree Eddie doesn't have the range of Minnie Ripperton, or that he did when he was younger.
While age can slightly limit our physical abilities, if we are fortunate we gain enough passion, timing and experience to more than make up for the lessening of measurable performance.
I am more than happy with what Eddie puts into his work ( but since I also think Mike is a fine singer, I hope that he will get to take over a bit from time to time)
-Gandhi
Exactly. Ed can "bring it" when he wants to. For the most part, his voice is still there. But on songs like Blood, his voice is noticeably not the same (but whose would be after a decade-plus of singing like that).
*NYC 9/28/96 *NYC 9/29/96 *NJ 9/8/98 (front row "may i play drums with you")
*MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
*Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
*Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
*Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
*VA Beach 6/17/08 *DC 6/22/08 *MSG 6/24/08 (backstage) *MSG 6/25/08
*EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
*Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
It's a generic statement that really has no meaning at all.
Freddie Mercury does all those things 10x better than Ed. Sorry, but it's true. I'd put Plant, Cornell, and Axl above Ed and that's not thinkin about it.
Axl's voice is gone. In his prime he was unbelievable, but he sounds like shit to me now. Cornell is still amazing. I saw him live 2 years ago (it think-- it was shortly after Carry On came out) and he sounded just as good as he does on his records, maybe better. Rober Plant, well, none of these other guys would even matter if it wasn't for him so....
As far as Ed's voice, it's obviously fading fast. But he still sounds great to me.
Robert Plant sounds pathetic now. His solo show I saw recently was one of the worst concerts I've ever been too. It was so bad that I have trouble even listening to Zep at times now.
And it was not a generic statement. Just because you can't understand something, that doesn't make it generic. Eddie has wonderfull Phrasing. If you want to understand more of what that is, when you get the new album, read the lyrics of songs you haven't heard and imagine how you would sing them. Then listen to the songs and see how Eddie sings them. It's a preference thing like most. But if you like the way Eddie writes music, you likely like his phrasing as well.
Ed sounds great.... People are just getting carried away with the Ed statements. He's very high on the list of great rock singers, but there are just some people he isn't better than.
And we are talkin in the prime of their careers. Sure, Ed is better than Robert Plant now, but he's not in the same conversations as Robert Plant from 68-73.
Hey I am a big Zep fan- ( probably from before you were born
I do like Freddie, but he has been gone a long time & that takes something away from his live delivery.
Don't know much about Axl Rose, never seen them live, never have been motivated to buy any albums or even listen to them on the radio.
Chris Cornell I think has a very good voice- delivery and song choice isn't always my favorite but I like him.
Music is not engineering.
When I select a piece of art for my home, it isn't the piece that is technically perfect, will " match" the colors or is the " best buy for my dollar".
It is a piece that means something to me, that I love to see every day and that I respond to.
Music is the same way.
While I do think that time ( and bottles of wine and smoking), has strained Ed's voice, I also think s some of his most recent performances are as powerful if not more so than anything he has ever done.
He has a wealth of experience to draw on, and while a few other vocalists may be able to hold a note longer, remember lyrics more often or have greater range- what I feel when I hear him, what he is able to communicate with his sound , makes him top on my list of must see musicians.
and as I said above- Mike is really decent- after hearing lots of FTM shows as well as w/Shadow, when he has taken some of the lead singer duties, I would love to hear him sing more.
Not every song needs, or should have all the power of Ed's baritone, he can make things sound better than they are- how many times would you listen to Last Kiss if he wasn't singing it.
?
-Gandhi
No, b/c Robert Plant did, while also sounding like the biggest hairiest man around.
Also, can't touch his range, dynamics or melody writing.
There is no denying that Robert Plant is a fantastic singer. I just happen to prefer Ed's voice.
Well, that's a much closer contest, for me.
Eddie rocks! Pearl Jam rocks! That's all that matters.
But seriously, I saw Cornell, front row, centre, last year. The dude BRINGS it. A good comparision is his version of 'Hide Your Love Away' compared to Eddie's. Simply amazing.
Obviously not the same, honestly just from listening to Mansfield Night 2 from last year was strongest I've heard his voice. Actually didn't cringe at Animal - 1/2 Full, Satan's Bed, Glorified G, Given to Fly were all epic. Eddie's vocals were perfect in my opinion...
"Vinyl or not, you will need to pay someone to take RA of your hands" - Smile05
424, xxx
Exactly