Cold Confession and Let It Ride - Avocado Outtakes

[elliseamos]

ooohh.. Leatherman II??.... if only we could hear that one!

I thought so too, i wonder if it was drasticly different

i think it's what we now know as johnny guitar.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

ooohh.. Leatherman II??.... if only we could hear that one!

I thought so too, i wonder if it was drasticly different

i think it's what we now know as johnny guitar.

[Release_Me]

Well, to me it's the 'breathiness' of the vocals which give the song it's character. I don't think the voice breaking adds anything to it.

I agree. It's actually taking away from the song. Let's admit it - bad singing has never done any good to a song, and this singing was plain bad.

No, this is bad singing:


What he's doing on CC is an artistic choice, not bad singing. I happen to think it's really good singing. Vulnerable doesn't mean bad.

Same can be said for The End.

Aw man, I like the fixer.

Also, I can't help it. I love the mans voice and ill take his "bad" singing any day

I guess I have a different appreciation of vocals than you guys and what I'm finding as a fault is fine with you. I don't mind Ed sounding vulnerable. I don't equate that with bad. I equate not being able to hold a note as bad and voice cracking unintentionally as bad. I am not against screaming Ed either as most seem to be here. I like Ed's singing on the Fixer. I also like it on The End, Inside Job and Immortality. Those three songs are bringing vulnerability without sacrificing on the technical aspects of singing. That's my only qualm about CC which I still love as it is. I'm a bit of a vocal snob so you're never going to be able to convince me that voice cracks and unintentional notes are good in anyway.

I think I know what you're talking about in terms of the voice crackling and sounding uncomfortable rather than vulnerable. Strangely, I thought that about nearly everything off S/T but not these songs. I hate the Comatose vocals and the chorus of Life Wasted, for example.

The songs you mentioned have Ed straining for high notes and getting them, not missing them or hitting unintentional ones. That may not sound 'pleasant' compared to say, In Hiding or Release but that's a stylistic thing. Technically, the singing is fine in those songs. His singing in most of Vs and Vitalogy is similar in approach. In CC, he does what the song requires most of the time but then at parts, especially the end of certain phrases, he loses control of the ending note and his voice breaks. I recall parts of Got Some with voice cracks too which should never have been present on a studio song ('I got some if you ne-ed it').

[melonhead4]

FD is easily the song I like the least from the five which have surfaced. 3 stars at this point. I put it in the same boat as most PJ ballads post Vitalogy; Around The Bend, All Those Yesterdays, Thin Air, Parting Ways, etc. Pretty, but not essential PJ. I do relate to the sentiment because I'm married and our first one is on the way.[/quote]

The thing i love about PJ is their diversity and how each fan can have a different favorite top 5 songs etc.....BUT how can you compare FD to ATB and ATY.....???!!!???...I know ATY was written by Stone but its lyrically and musically one of PJs best IMO....and ATB is a 4 star song....FD is basically Just Breathe part 2.....I agree with you about MYM and LB

[dimejinky99]

Really struggling with future days. I can hear what he's trying to do.

Can only hope it manifests itself successfully on the record.

I don't think a stadium is the right venue for such a song.

[Jorge]

Good singing is not just about hitting notes. It's also about conveying emotion. I think that's what people are reacting to in this track.

[harmless]

Well, to me it's the 'breathiness' of the vocals which give the song it's character. I don't think the voice breaking adds anything to it.

I agree. It's actually taking away from the song. Let's admit it - bad singing has never done any good to a song, and this singing was plain bad.

No, this is bad singing:


What he's doing on CC is an artistic choice, not bad singing. I happen to think it's really good singing. Vulnerable doesn't mean bad.

Same can be said for The End.

Aw man, I like the fixer.

Also, I can't help it. I love the mans voice and ill take his "bad" singing any day

I guess I have a different appreciation of vocals than you guys and what I'm finding as a fault is fine with you. I don't mind Ed sounding vulnerable. I don't equate that with bad. I equate not being able to hold a note as bad and voice cracking unintentionally as bad. I am not against screaming Ed either as most seem to be here. I like Ed's singing on the Fixer. I also like it on The End, Inside Job and Immortality. Those three songs are bringing vulnerability without sacrificing on the technical aspects of singing. That's my only qualm about CC which I still love as it is. I'm a bit of a vocal snob so you're never going to be able to convince me that voice cracks and unintentional notes are good in anyway.

I think I know what you're talking about in terms of the voice crackling and sounding uncomfortable rather than vulnerable. Strangely, I thought that about nearly everything off S/T but not these songs. I hate the Comatose vocals and the chorus of Life Wasted, for example.

The songs you mentioned have Ed straining for high notes and getting them, not missing them or hitting unintentional ones. That may not sound 'pleasant' compared to say, In Hiding or Release but that's a stylistic thing. Technically, the singing is fine in those songs. His singing in most of Vs and Vitalogy is similar in approach. In CC, he does what the song requires most of the time but then at parts, especially the end of certain phrases, he loses control of the ending note and his voice breaks. I recall parts of Got Some with voice cracks too which should never have been present on a studio song ('I got some if you ne-ed it').

He only 'gets' the high notes on S/T because he's singing from his throat rather than his chest. MYM shows him giving it some proper effort and he does really well. The approach of Comatose was to screech as high as he could, because screeching was the only way he could possibly reach those notes. This is much more unpleasant than the calm, cool high notes that he (more or less) reaches on CC, even if they're a little rough. I don't want Ed to get rid of all the imperfections of his voice, I just would like him to not screech in an attempt to reach notes that he can't reach in any other way. It's not an 'artistic choice', it's lazy overcompensation. That's why he's had to down tune so many songs since S/T, including Comatose, funnily enough.

[McParadigm]

Isolated vocal

[Jorge]

Isolated vocal

Also,


At 3:00 her voice cracks in the best possible way.

[warehouse]

Isolated vocal

anti quiet posted this over the weekend. incredible.

[McParadigm]

Yeah, I've always loved that crack.

I'm not even gonna change that sentence.

[Release_Me]

Well, to me it's the 'breathiness' of the vocals which give the song it's character. I don't think the voice breaking adds anything to it.

I agree. It's actually taking away from the song. Let's admit it - bad singing has never done any good to a song, and this singing was plain bad.

No, this is bad singing:


What he's doing on CC is an artistic choice, not bad singing. I happen to think it's really good singing. Vulnerable doesn't mean bad.

Same can be said for The End.

Aw man, I like the fixer.

Also, I can't help it. I love the mans voice and ill take his "bad" singing any day

I guess I have a different appreciation of vocals than you guys and what I'm finding as a fault is fine with you. I don't mind Ed sounding vulnerable. I don't equate that with bad. I equate not being able to hold a note as bad and voice cracking unintentionally as bad. I am not against screaming Ed either as most seem to be here. I like Ed's singing on the Fixer. I also like it on The End, Inside Job and Immortality. Those three songs are bringing vulnerability without sacrificing on the technical aspects of singing. That's my only qualm about CC which I still love as it is. I'm a bit of a vocal snob so you're never going to be able to convince me that voice cracks and unintentional notes are good in anyway.

I think I know what you're talking about in terms of the voice crackling and sounding uncomfortable rather than vulnerable. Strangely, I thought that about nearly everything off S/T but not these songs. I hate the Comatose vocals and the chorus of Life Wasted, for example.

The songs you mentioned have Ed straining for high notes and getting them, not missing them or hitting unintentional ones. That may not sound 'pleasant' compared to say, In Hiding or Release but that's a stylistic thing. Technically, the singing is fine in those songs. His singing in most of Vs and Vitalogy is similar in approach. In CC, he does what the song requires most of the time but then at parts, especially the end of certain phrases, he loses control of the ending note and his voice breaks. I recall parts of Got Some with voice cracks too which should never have been present on a studio song ('I got some if you ne-ed it').

He only 'gets' the high notes on S/T because he's singing from his throat rather than his chest. MYM shows him giving it some proper effort and he does really well. The approach of Comatose was to screech as high as he could, because screeching was the only way he could possibly reach those notes. This is much more unpleasant than the calm, cool high notes that he (more or less) reaches on CC, even if they're a little rough. I don't want Ed to get rid of all the imperfections of his voice, I just would like him to not screech in an attempt to reach notes that he can't reach in any other way. It's not an 'artistic choice', it's lazy overcompensation. That's why he's had to down tune so many songs since S/T, including Comatose, funnily enough.

Completely disagree here. It's not lazy overcompensation or screeching, it's technique. Ed is a low baritone. The higher he gets into his range, the more 'head' voice he has to use. This is true of any singer. MYM has a highest note of B4 (ending scream) which is similar to Comatose and some A4s earlier which you probably feel he's singing with his chest. He can pull a lot of chest into his voice uptil A4. The In Hiding chorus is A4 too. When he gets above that, he generally uses less chest and more head. Pulling chest into very high notes is not something that will help you maintain your voice.

Chris Cornell did it for years and sounded bad ass but he also ruined his voice as a result. Ed sounded bad ass singing Blood but that was just uncontrolled screaming. Comatose is perfectly controlled singing. He mimic those notes throughout the song and maintains them with control. The reason for tuning songs down is because at his age, it's difficult to maintain his voice singing those kind of songs day in and day out. LROM is probably one of Ed's best vocal performances. He is screaming there too, but it's completely controlled. D5s littered all over that song. That's just about near the top of his range. MYM or Comatose isn't near the top of his range, it's merely upper fourth octave but it does take effort to do that live repeatedly on tour.

[Strat]

Isolated vocal

Also,


At 3:00 her voice cracks in the best possible way.

Pretty goddamn incredible.

Something about the Isolated Jagger track bugs me though. The finished product is fantastic and i love the song, but hearing the isolated vocal is kind of obnoxious. Lots of reverb, sounds like theres some flanger on it too? and mostly - He doesn't enunciate shit.

[Release_Me]

The notes on CC aren't high at all, it's just sung in a breathy voice which makes it difficult to control without some effort.

[Thejambi]

CC reminds me of Ben Harper. That's a good thing.

[elliseamos]

CC reminds me of Ben Harper. That's a good thing.

fight outta you is a pretty good song.

[Release_Me]

FD is easily the song I like the least from the five which have surfaced. 3 stars at this point. I put it in the same boat as most PJ ballads post Vitalogy; Around The Bend, All Those Yesterdays, Thin Air, Parting Ways, etc. Pretty, but not essential PJ. I do relate to the sentiment because I'm married and our first one is on the way.

The thing i love about PJ is their diversity and how each fan can have a different favorite top 5 songs etc.....BUT how can you compare FD to ATB and ATY.....???!!!???...I know ATY was written by Stone but its lyrically and musically one of PJs best IMO....and ATB is a 4 star song....FD is basically Just Breathe part 2.....I agree with you about MYM and LB[/quote]

ATB really isn't a 4 star song for me. ATY is probably the most interesting of all these musically but I mentioned these together because none of them is essential Pearl Jam, for me. I won't consciously go and listen to anyone of these unless I'm listening to the album they are on. Different strokes?

[EJ]

CC reminds me of Ben Harper. That's a good thing.

I'm still hearing some of Bono's "delicate" affectations.

[elliseamos]

FD is easily the song I like the least from the five which have surfaced. 3 stars at this point. I put it in the same boat as most PJ ballads post Vitalogy; Around The Bend, All Those Yesterdays, Thin Air, Parting Ways, etc. Pretty, but not essential PJ. I do relate to the sentiment because I'm married and our first one is on the way.

The thing i love about PJ is their diversity and how each fan can have a different favorite top 5 songs etc.....BUT how can you compare FD to ATB and ATY.....???!!!???...I know ATY was written by Stone but its lyrically and musically one of PJs best IMO....and ATB is a 4 star song....FD is basically Just Breathe part 2.....I agree with you about MYM and LB

ATB really isn't a 4 star song for me. ATY is probably the most interesting of all these musically but I mentioned these together because none of them is essential Pearl Jam, for me. I won't consciously go and listen to anyone of these unless I'm listening to the album they are on. Different strokes?

you guys were killin' me with the mis-quote. carry on.

[zatara]

Just think buried in the vault, there exists recorded versions of Thin Air, Of The Girl, and Parting Ways with Jack Irons.

That would give us all yet another way of retracking Binaural.

I can understand parting ways, but were thin air and of the girl supposedly written around the same time as parting ways?

Febbraio/Giugno 1997 - Studio Litho - Seattle, WA; Agosto/Settembre 1997 - Studio Litho and Studio X - Seattle, WA and Southern Tracks Recording - Atlanta, GA
Ed Vedder - vocals, guitar, background vocals; Stone Gossard - guitar, background vocals, bass on 'Do The Evolution' and 'No Way'; Mike McCready - guitar; Jeff Ament - bass, background vocals; Jack Irons - drum kit, percussion, vocals on 'The Whale Song'; Brendan O'Brien - organ, piano

All Those Yesterdays
Bayleaf
Brain Of J.
Bulldozer
Color Red, The (a.k.a. Red Dot)
Do The Evolution
Faithfull
Fallen (a.k.a. Falling Down)
Given To Fly
Happy When I'm Crying
Hummus
In Hiding
Leatherman
Leatherman II
Low Light
MFC (a.k.a. Mini Fast Car)
No Way
Of The Girl
Parting Ways
Pilate
Push Me, Pull Me
Thin Air
Whale Song, The (a.k.a. Whales)
Wishlist
U

Very cool, id never seem that, i just knew of parting ways being soundchecked back in 96.
Thanks for posting it

Very interesting, if we assume those were written around the same time, it's inevitable to think that Stone was very very creative.