Ed's most 'technical' performances

Zidane

Tremor Christ definitely comes to mind. I think that Eddie was at his best around Vitalogy 'cause a lot of the songs on this album or high pitch. That is Nothingman, Whipping...

LeatherMosquitoMan

shadowcast wrote:

His solo show when he does ARC. If you haven't seen it's an darn right spiritual experience.

This. The 2 times i saw it, you could've heard a pin drop other than what was happening on stage. He had every person in those theaters totally captivated.

Release_Me

Dazzler wrote:

http://www.pearljambootlegs.org/modules/jinzora2/index.php?
2003

2003-07-02 Tweeter Center for The Performing Arts, Mansfield, MA

track 07 Dissident
That note you were looking for is at the 3:13 marker.
It's close!!!

Yup, he nails the D5 there! Thanks for linking me, much appreciated

Also, thanks to everyone for their input. I'm checking your suggestions out too!

fox_mulderX

do you mean a particular concert or particular songs?

concert wise i'd have to say most of the shows from their tour in 2000.
song would have to be in hiding. he can't sing it anymore... well he tries but the audience carries him and he sounds pretty bad, but listen to a version from 2000.

RiddledWithMetaphors

Listening to Daughter from Oslo, Norway 6-29-00 made me think of this thread. The tag is pretty great, not sure how technical it is.

justam

I wonder what type of answer you're really looking for here?

Are you asking about performances with especially good expression? Performances that were particularly impressive? Are you asking about performances with varied tone color? Are you asking about performances that demonstrate his range from low to high? Are you asking about performances with amazing breath control? Air flow?! Volume?! Audible lyrics?! Phrase shape? What?!

What do you mean by saying MOST TECHNICAL performance?!

I'm confused by this question and I have been a pianist accompanying vocalists being trained for years and I'm not sure what the heck you're asking about with this question? :?

Gary Carter

Dazzler wrote:

I think the best Ed has sang for a long time was at the who Tribute in 2007, where he gave the best performances ever of Love, Reign o'er me and The Real Me.

it was 08 and a little birdie later told me ed was sick was that weekend. he was supposed to do a show at some bar with pete a day or 2 before the who tribute show

Release_Me

justam wrote:

I wonder what type of answer you're really looking for here?

Are you asking about performances with especially good expression? Performances that were particularly impressive? Are you asking about performances with varied tone color? Are you asking about performances that demonstrate his range from low to high? Are you asking about performances with amazing breath control? Air flow?! Volume?! Audible lyrics?! Phrase shape? What?!

What do you mean by saying MOST TECHNICAL performance?!

I'm confused by this question and I have been a pianist accompanying vocalists being trained for years and I'm not sure what the heck you're asking about with this question? :?

Other than expression and phrase shape which can be quite subjective, most of what you said would fall under vocal skill and technique. That's what I'm looking for, performances which showcase Ed's range, breath support, sustain, register blending, register switching, diction (he's not the best here), tonal/stylistic versatility, projection, resonance, etc. I didn't get into details because I realise the fact that most fans on here would probably not be acquainted with these terms. That said, most people can agree on what constitutes an impressive vocal performance, so all suggestions are good

We all know Ed is great at conveying emotion, but emotion can be subjective, so what I'm looking for is something that a neutral would consider a great vocal song or moment because of the sheer skill that's displayed, regardless of whether he/she is into Ed's voice or not. I hope I'm making sense

Release_Me

Now this is something that the band probably didn't even do seriously, but there's no denying the skill that's on display:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHzTgGHKLFs

Lots of highs from Ed here, though most are in falsetto, but some wicked switching plus a couple of full C5s in there too. Also, the highest note Ed's ever sung/screamed is at 3:38, a G#6!

Just to make it clear, great low singing ala Dead Man Walking is also technically impressive, as is the version of Can't Help Falling In Love he did in Memphis, 2009. That was some awesome low singing. A couple of people mentioned In Hiding, that's a great vocal too. He gets a ton of A4s in the chorus (I'm in Hi-ding) which are really clear sounding and almost operatic. Not easy for a baritone to sing in upper fourth octave and sound so effortless and resonant.

justam

I see. You're looking for evidence to use to convince someone who maybe doesn't know he sings well that Ed would be a good singer of any type of music.

For a mission like that, I think you can't go wrong with a lot of the songs on the Benaroya cd.

I Am Tall

The B-side version of Footsteps was a song I used to play people to show Ed's emotional ability, the way he gets his voice to crackle and break and just the right moments is as close to perfect as I think I've heard.

He might not have the range of a Buckley or Cornell which is where i think a lot of people confuse "talent" but his abiliies with pitch and tone are as good if not better than most.
it's very rare that he sings flat and if it's a duet his voice ALWAYS kicks through the mix and holds the vocal line together.

And for a guy that smokes and drinks wine on stage every night I think a 3 octave range isn't that bad really

Release_Me

justam wrote:

I see. You're looking for evidence to use to convince someone who maybe doesn't know he sings well that Ed would be a good singer of any type of music.

For a mission like that, I think you can't go wrong with a lot of the songs on the Benaroya cd.

Well, that's one way of putting it! Benaroya Hall is probably one of the best shows overall for Ed's singing, aside from MTV Unplugged and Atlanta 94. I was just hoping someone could point me to something that I'd have missed, like that live version of Dissident from Mansfield I, 2003. That's a great find for me! I do know the more obvious examples of course, being a PJ fan and all

Release_Me

I Am Tall wrote:

The B-side version of Footsteps was a song I used to play people to show Ed's emotional ability, the way he gets his voice to crackle and break and just the right moments is as close to perfect as I think I've heard.

He might not have the range of a Buckley or Cornell which is where i think a lot of people confuse "talent" but his abiliies with pitch and tone are as good if not better than most.
it's very rare that he sings flat and if it's a duet his voice ALWAYS kicks through the mix and holds the vocal line together.

And for a guy that smokes and drinks wine on stage every night I think a 3 octave range isn't that bad really

Footsteps is a great example of how Ed can make a song that much better through his emotive delivery and great phrasing. Times Of Trouble is virtually the same song, but I don't think it holds a candle to Footsteps and that's down to what Ed did with it. I love Cornell too and while his vocal is great technically, it fails to breathe the sort of soul into the song that Ed's did. Anyhow, this is again very subjective, people could easily argue the opposite.

Ed's range is huge: A1-E5 in full and upto G#6 in falsetto. By comparison, Cornell is B1-G#5 in full and upto E6 in falsetto, while Jeff has F#2-G#5 in full and upto F#6 in falsetto. Cornell's range in full is slightly more than Ed's, while Ed's total range is wider. Jeff Buckley is a bit behind both of them. Of course, there's a lot more to technical skill than just range and I'd say that Cornell and Buckley are both comfortably more skilled than Ed. That's not a slight on Ed's singing at all, because both those guys are among the top 10 most technically skilled rock vocalists ever. However, aside from technical skill, I prefer everything about Ed's voice to just about anyone else. His tone, delivery, phrasing, etc. are all top notch, imo.