Whatever someones opinion is...for me, Eddies voice is still unrivaled!
hello Vienna
"...Dimitri...He talks to me...'.."The Ghost of Greece..".
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
His voice was much more powerful in the early - mid 90's.
Now it is like higher pitched, doesn't have that deep baritone sound anymore.
And when I first heard Backspacer I noticed some cracklings in his voice.
Listening to my bootlegs of the recent tour you can hear some crackling in his voice and its much higher pitched than other boots of years gone by.
He's still a good singer.
Of course his voice will deteriorate, how many shows has he done over the last 20 years, it has to take a toll.
But nothing beats the old days.
Finally, his voice on Binaural is much better than any album since.
Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
His voice was much more powerful in the early - mid 90's.
Now it is like higher pitched, doesn't have that deep baritone sound anymore.
And when I first heard Backspacer I noticed some cracklings in his voice.
Listening to my bootlegs of the recent tour you can hear some crackling in his voice and its much higher pitched than other boots of years gone by.
He's still a good singer.
Of course his voice will deteriorate, how many shows has he done over the last 20 years, it has to take a toll.
But nothing beats the old days.
Finally, his voice on Binaural is much better than any album since.
+1
"...Dimitri...He talks to me...'.."The Ghost of Greece..".
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
I think that just having Eddie Vedder still here with us performing is a blessing in and of its own. We all know how he was feeling in '94. Things might have ended up differently for our good friend. Yes, his voice has changed. Some may say for the worse. Just be happy that we still have him.
Deer Creek, Noblesville, IN 08/17/1998
Deer Creek, Noblesville, IN 08/18/2000
Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN 06/22/2003
Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN 05/07/2010
All various side discussions aside, I saw 8 PJ shows in 2008 and 6 in 2009, and I thought Ed sounded much better at the '09 shows actually.
Also, he sounded fantastic at both the '08 and '09 solo shows. He can really blow you away vocally at those slower paced shows.
Prefacing my comment with the fact that I don't know squat about singing! I enjoy listening to the younger Eddie but I'm not sure if it's the fact that I like his voice more or that I relate more to Pearl Jam's earlier material. That very well could prejudice my opinion.
But then I hear him belt out Love Reign O're Me - and he's as good as ever if not better. I think his voice lends itself to not necessarily slow songs but ones that don't cram quite so many words in each measure.
It's like he doesn't have the time to caress and develop the depth and tone of the words because there are too many of them. The words or phrases don't have time to marinate or cure in his throat before they are sung. I know that probably sounds silly but I don't know how else to explain what I think.
He still has a remarkable voice and could sing to me any time he would like!
I think there's two different arguments here, and they should be kept separate.
The first argument of whether he has consciously changed his style, whether maturing as a singer, to preserve his voice, or to avoid pigeonholing himself. Whether or not you prefer this style is entirely personal preference.
the second argument is whether or not he can still sing in the style he did in the early 90's. This argument has very little bearing on which you prefer, just whether he's physically capable of singing in the manner he did in the first few CD's.
Personally, I don't think he's capable of singing as he did in the Ten/Vs/Vitalogy days. Even if you prefer the current sound, I think this is a shame, as having the ability to go back in time and hit the early songs in the way they were originally recorded would be great for nostalgic purposes. Regardless of preference, losing that ability (if true) is a shame. After Yield, most of my favorite PJ studio songs have been slower tempo songs, as I think they fit his current voice better. When he does try to go up-tempo, I find more mumbling than growling. It's great that he's adapted his style (frankly, a necessity), but I can't say I wouldn't love to hear a couple of uptempo songs per album like the past. I don't think he can physically perform something like Porch in a studio setting nowadays.
I think Backspacer was balance for his current voice for uptempo rockers.
not saying it's not understandable, after 20 years of aging and live performances, but denying the change (in ability as well as style) isn't doing anyone any service.
I also think his range and singing ability were underrated back in the early days. Release, Black, Small Town. Great changes of pace from the norm back then.
That being said, I still absolutely love them live, and I enjoyed Backspacer tremendously. Recognizing the change (some of which I believe was mandated out of a change in his voice) doesn't mean I don't still greatly enjoy the band, both in the studio and in concert.
Great post, I really couldn't have put it any better.
Anyone who has ever sung in a live perfromance for an audience knows that you have good days and bad days. There are a lot of things that affect you voice from day to day, let alone over time. If you want a singer that sounds like the record every time, go to a Brittany Spears concert and sing along with the lip-synch.
The beauty of a PJ perfromance is its raw intensity and one of the gazillion reasons I love this band so much is that they keep it very real. In most instances, I tend to prefer the boots to the studio recordings. Some songs mature live (DTE for example - I find the studio track disappointing, but live it's a highlight).
Now, my PREFERENCE is generally that I prefer the entire band's sound in the early 1990's, especially Ten-era. That's just my taste, but there are so many songs that put the lie to the idea that I would ALWAYS want them to sound that way. I love my PJ any way I can get it.
Now, my PREFERENCE is generally that I prefer the entire band's sound in the early 1990's, especially Ten-era. That's just my taste, but there are so many songs that put the lie to the idea that I would ALWAYS want them to sound that way. I love my PJ any way I can get it.
I think Ed's voice sounded best during the 1993 tour. Listen to any show from the fall USA tour. However, my favorite PJ songs generally come from Vitalogy, No Code, Yield, and a few from Binaural. Back when I used to actively trade, I probably listened to every known recording from 1991 to 2003 and without a doubt, now when I'm in the mood to listen to live PJ, it's always shows between 1993 and 1998. IMO, that was PJ's prime and it's truly a shame that plans to release vault shows been put on indefinite hold. I have a feeling many people here might change their opinion of Ed's voice if they had an opportunity to hear SBD's from that era. Just my .02.
Of course, if the band actually did decide to release vault shows, they would probably be incomplete and edited like Unplugged, 09/20/92, 12/31/92, and 11/30/93 were, so maybe it's best they don't.
Comments
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
Now it is like higher pitched, doesn't have that deep baritone sound anymore.
And when I first heard Backspacer I noticed some cracklings in his voice.
Listening to my bootlegs of the recent tour you can hear some crackling in his voice and its much higher pitched than other boots of years gone by.
He's still a good singer.
Of course his voice will deteriorate, how many shows has he done over the last 20 years, it has to take a toll.
But nothing beats the old days.
Finally, his voice on Binaural is much better than any album since.
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
His voice will forever rock.
Deer Creek, Noblesville, IN 08/18/2000
Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN 06/22/2003
Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN 05/07/2010
Also, he sounded fantastic at both the '08 and '09 solo shows. He can really blow you away vocally at those slower paced shows.
1998: BARRIE, PITTSBURGH, CLEVELAND*, MERRIWEATHER POST
2000: TORONTO, PITTSBURGH, DETROIT, SARATOGA SPRINGS
2003: TORONTO, BUFFALO*, CLEVELAND, MSG 1
2004: TOLEDO, GRAND RAPIDS
2006: PITTSBURGH
2008: HARTFORD
2009: PHILLY II
2010: BUFFALO
2013: BUFFALO
2014: DETROIT
2016: NYC I NYC II
But then I hear him belt out Love Reign O're Me - and he's as good as ever if not better. I think his voice lends itself to not necessarily slow songs but ones that don't cram quite so many words in each measure.
It's like he doesn't have the time to caress and develop the depth and tone of the words because there are too many of them. The words or phrases don't have time to marinate or cure in his throat before they are sung. I know that probably sounds silly but I don't know how else to explain what I think.
He still has a remarkable voice and could sing to me any time he would like!
His voice his AWESOME RAD MAGICAL voice... then and now will always make me melt. ♥
Sydney ♥ March 11, 1995
Melbourne ♥ November 20, 2009
To be continued... March 25, 2011 EV Solo Yeeeeeeeew!
Anyone who has ever sung in a live perfromance for an audience knows that you have good days and bad days. There are a lot of things that affect you voice from day to day, let alone over time. If you want a singer that sounds like the record every time, go to a Brittany Spears concert and sing along with the lip-synch.
The beauty of a PJ perfromance is its raw intensity and one of the gazillion reasons I love this band so much is that they keep it very real. In most instances, I tend to prefer the boots to the studio recordings. Some songs mature live (DTE for example - I find the studio track disappointing, but live it's a highlight).
Now, my PREFERENCE is generally that I prefer the entire band's sound in the early 1990's, especially Ten-era. That's just my taste, but there are so many songs that put the lie to the idea that I would ALWAYS want them to sound that way. I love my PJ any way I can get it.
I think Ed's voice sounded best during the 1993 tour. Listen to any show from the fall USA tour. However, my favorite PJ songs generally come from Vitalogy, No Code, Yield, and a few from Binaural. Back when I used to actively trade, I probably listened to every known recording from 1991 to 2003 and without a doubt, now when I'm in the mood to listen to live PJ, it's always shows between 1993 and 1998. IMO, that was PJ's prime and it's truly a shame that plans to release vault shows been put on indefinite hold. I have a feeling many people here might change their opinion of Ed's voice if they had an opportunity to hear SBD's from that era. Just my .02.
Of course, if the band actually did decide to release vault shows, they would probably be incomplete and edited like Unplugged, 09/20/92, 12/31/92, and 11/30/93 were, so maybe it's best they don't.