ITT: Release_Me talks about the vocals on Lightning Bolt

[stip]

we're waiting.

[Release_Me]

Wow, you put me right on the spot

I need more time to listen to the album on headphones to really figure out everything that's going on.

On first impression after listening to the new songs, the part in Infallible from about 2:48 onwards where Ed starts singing high is the standout. That is impressive. Singing entire lines that high (probably upper fourth octave, A4-B4, haven't notechecked yet) and sounding as clean as he does is no mean feat. Ed's usual method is to to use a gritty voice in the high parts ala the ending of Lightning Bolt. That comes naturally to him. But this is something he has to put more effort into. It's not going to be easy to pull off live.

The other song which stands out is Pendulum. Not for difficulty (Ed is quite comfortable singing low like he does here), but for doing exactly what the song requires. The 'long time agoooo' is a hair raising moment, though it is obviously utilising some studio magic. But I'm all for it when it adds to a song like this. There's a part where he goes very low in the middle. That is executed very well. And I love the ah-ah-ah. Something different for Ed and very pleasant sounding.

MFS is probably the roughest vocal take on the record but then it is the type of song which actually does well with that sort of performance. Ed's tone is really aggressive here. Especially at the end. I think I heard a couple of voice breaks into falsetto there which may or may not have been intentional but it's the right song for it.

Among the songs we'd already heard, MYM was a standout for the fact that it's so wordy and Ed delivers it with power without losing the resonance in his voice. I particularly love the 'or we could something else' part. He gets as high as B4 in the ending scream. Lots of A4s in the song too.

Lightning Bolt is also a relatively difficult vocal to pull off but Ed pretty much nails it. The last verse and outro is the most demanding part of the song and it's executed with a lot of passion and precision. Loved this from the first time I heard it.

The chorus of Swallowed Whole is again excellent upper fourth octave singing. Takes the song to another level. The resonance and clarity in his voice during that part is what makes that song for me. Not a huge fan of Ed's singing in the verses. Not because of the enunciation. But because he overdoes the 'breathiness' in parts instead of actually holding the notes (which aren't really difficult to begin with). I just don't like when he does this. He doesn't do it on Sirens thankfully.

Getaway also has some impressive singing. The 'Getaway-hey' part is great. Yet to notecheck it but it's not an easy transition. Again, a song made difficult by how wordy it is. This is probably Ed's best vocal melody on the record on first listen.

Sirens has been lauded as a great performance by most so I don't need to add to it. It's not the most difficult song for Ed to pull off because it is quite mid-range. Even the higher parts are not too demanding. The transitions into falsetto are the most impressive aspect for me. And the fact that Ed holds the notes so well throughout the song which is something he can struggle/get lazy with these days (see SW).

The other songs are either routine stuff for Ed and executed well as you would expect, or I just haven't sat down and listened to them as closely. Need some more time with the album to really let these songs sink in.

[BurtReynolds]

I suspect there is a lot of fixin' put on the vocals on this album. I'm not sure Ed can sound like this in real life.

[warehouse]

he did say he smokes and drinks less these days. its showing in his voice, he sounds incredible. maybe his best since yield

[harmless]

I suspect there is a lot of fixin' put on the vocals on this album. I'm not sure Ed can sound like this in real life.

I'm suspicious about this as well.

[McParadigm]

he did say he smokes and drinks less these days. its showing in his voice, he sounds incredible. maybe his best since yield

It's amazing what a difference that can make.

There are a LOT of subtle changes to his delivery that have to come down to choice, here, too. Less wavering, or vowel adding, or warbling, or goat calling all around. Those are all things that have a detrimental effect on your abilities (minus the voweling), which is part of why they were such a mystery to begin with. Between losing those and not smoking, it makes sense at least that we would be hearing fewer "cracks" in the peripheries of his tone and would notice an increase in strength in some areas.

It sounds to me like either a new vocal coach or more listening to the one he's got....plus probably work with Dr. Zeitels or someone similar.

Shit, even Johnny Rotten and Henry Rollins have throat doctors.

[harmless]

he did say he smokes and drinks less these days. its showing in his voice, he sounds incredible. maybe his best since yield

It's amazing what a difference that can make.

There are a LOT of subtle changes to his delivery that have to come down to choice, here, too. Less wavering, or vowel adding, or warbling, or goat calling all around. Those are all things that have a detrimental effect on your abilities (minus the voweling), which is part of why they were such a mystery to begin with. Between losing those and not smoking, it makes sense at least that we would be hearing fewer "cracks" in the peripheries of his tone and would notice an increase in strength in some areas.

It sounds to me like either a new vocal coach or more listening to the one he's got....plus probably work with Dr. Zeitels or someone similar.

Shit, even Johnny Rotten and Henry Rollins have throat doctors.

So I'm asking you to state the obvious, but I take it you're doubtful of the autotune theory?

[Monkey_Driven]

There are far less tee hees in this record.

[harmless]

There are far less tee hees in this record.

Yup, just far fewer vocal ticks in general.

[Mine]

he did say he smokes and drinks less these days. its showing in his voice, he sounds incredible. maybe his best since yield

It's amazing what a difference that can make.

There are a LOT of subtle changes to his delivery that have to come down to choice, here, too. Less wavering, or vowel adding, or warbling, or goat calling all around. Those are all things that have a detrimental effect on your abilities (minus the voweling), which is part of why they were such a mystery to begin with. Between losing those and not smoking, it makes sense at least that we would be hearing fewer "cracks" in the peripheries of his tone and would notice an increase in strength in some areas.

It sounds to me like either a new vocal coach or more listening to the one he's got....plus probably work with Dr. Zeitels or someone similar.

Shit, even Johnny Rotten and Henry Rollins have throat doctors.

With him is hard to draw the line between stylistic choices and actual flaws sometimes.

[Mine]

he did say he smokes and drinks less these days. its showing in his voice, he sounds incredible. maybe his best since yield

It's amazing what a difference that can make.

There are a LOT of subtle changes to his delivery that have to come down to choice, here, too. Less wavering, or vowel adding, or warbling, or goat calling all around. Those are all things that have a detrimental effect on your abilities (minus the voweling), which is part of why they were such a mystery to begin with. Between losing those and not smoking, it makes sense at least that we would be hearing fewer "cracks" in the peripheries of his tone and would notice an increase in strength in some areas.

It sounds to me like either a new vocal coach or more listening to the one he's got....plus probably work with Dr. Zeitels or someone similar.

Shit, even Johnny Rotten and Henry Rollins have throat doctors.

So I'm asking you to state the obvious, but I take it you're doubtful of the autotune theory?

The thing with it is that the more you use it on a vocal the less life like or real it will sound and this isn't an impression you get from the vocals on LB so it's not here to a degree that makes dramatic changes IMO.

[McParadigm]

Like I said before, the people paid to apply autotune (or to use Melodyne, or whatever they might use for pitch correction) on singers' performances (not to robotize hiphop, mind you) can make tens of thousands of dollars per project, depending on the artist, and they are good. No artifacts you'll ever pick up on. It's impossible to know.

However, for whatever reason even singers who are incredibly talented and have solid pitch often feel the need to have autotuners perfect the end product. From what I've heard from engineers in Nashville, it's standard practice in country music now no matter what...as in, it's just a scheduled part of the process. A check mark on the clipboard. It doesn't matter who you think you are, we're using it, and everybody gets their record checked and fixed before getting the stamp. Norah Jones has acknowledged it being used, too. U2. Bon Iver. John Parish copped to using it "very, very lightly" on a PJ Harvey record. I actually read an interview once where another engineer quipped that "everybody I've ever worked with used it except for Neko Case and Nelly Furtado."

Since then, Nelly has clearly started using it.

It's not always used in ways you think it might be, either. Sometimes a stray sharp discrepancy might be fixed to make it slightly more sharp, because sharp errors can add to the feeling of urgency in a vocal. Sometimes a note is "fixed" but left slightly pitchy to disguise the fix. Dodgy notes don't prove a lack of autotune (Wayne Coyne), and neither does seemingly perfect pitch. Craig Street (producer, kd lang) has said that pretty much every producer he knows uses it "as a time saver. It takes a tenth as long to fix an emotional but error-filled vocal as it does to do the necessary number of takes to get a really great lead."

Side note: wasn't this album finished in two week long sessions or something? Hint hint.

I vote that it'd be naive to think they weren't using it, here. It fits in too well with the mechanical, digital exactness of the album's musical aesthetic. But I'd place both my balls on the side of the line that says it is being used delicately, selectively, and imperceptibly.

Meanwhile, in a far more awesome world...

Spoiler: show

[harmless]

he did say he smokes and drinks less these days. its showing in his voice, he sounds incredible. maybe his best since yield

It's amazing what a difference that can make.

There are a LOT of subtle changes to his delivery that have to come down to choice, here, too. Less wavering, or vowel adding, or warbling, or goat calling all around. Those are all things that have a detrimental effect on your abilities (minus the voweling), which is part of why they were such a mystery to begin with. Between losing those and not smoking, it makes sense at least that we would be hearing fewer "cracks" in the peripheries of his tone and would notice an increase in strength in some areas.

It sounds to me like either a new vocal coach or more listening to the one he's got....plus probably work with Dr. Zeitels or someone similar.

Shit, even Johnny Rotten and Henry Rollins have throat doctors.

So I'm asking you to state the obvious, but I take it you're doubtful of the autotune theory?

The thing with it is that the more you use it on a vocal the less life like or real it will sound and this isn't an impression you get from the vocals on LB so it's not here to a degree that makes dramatic changes IMO.

Well I've been saying for a while that I think I notice it over-perfecting some of the notes, so whether or not it's noticeable is subjective.

[harmless]

Like I said before, the people paid to apply autotune (or to use Melodyne, or whatever they might use for pitch correction) on singers' performances (not to robotize hiphop, mind you) can make tens of thousands of dollars per project, depending on the artist, and they are good. No artifacts you'll ever pick up on. It's impossible to know.

However, for whatever reason even singers who are incredibly talented and have solid pitch often feel the need to have autotuners perfect the end product. From what I've heard from engineers in Nashville, it's standard practice in country music now no matter what...as in, it's just a scheduled part of the process. A check mark on the clipboard. It doesn't matter who you think you are, we're using it, and everybody gets their record checked and fixed before getting the stamp. Norah Jones has acknowledged it being used, too. U2. Bon Iver. John Parish copped to using it "very, very lightly" on a PJ Harvey record. I actually read an interview once where another engineer quipped that "everybody I've ever worked with used it except for Neko Case and Nelly Furtado."

Since then, Nelly has clearly started using it.

It's not always used in ways you think it might be, either. Sometimes a stray sharp discrepancy might be fixed to make it slightly more sharp, because sharp errors can add to the feeling of urgency in a vocal. Sometimes a note is "fixed" but left slightly pitchy to disguise the fix. Dodgy notes don't prove a lack of autotune (Wayne Coyne), and neither does seemingly perfect pitch. Craig Street (producer, kd lang) has said that pretty much every producer he knows uses it "as a time saver. It takes a tenth as long to fix an emotional but error-filled vocal as it does to do the necessary number of takes to get a really great lead."

Side note: wasn't this album finished in two week long sessions or something? Hint hint.

I vote that it'd be naive to think they weren't using it, here. It fits in too well with the mechanical, digital exactness of the album's musical aesthetic. But I'd place both my balls on the side of the line that says it is being used delicately, selectively, and imperceptibly.

Meanwhile, in a far more awesome world...

Spoiler: show

Thanks, this is very informative.

[Release_Me]

I suspect there is a lot of fixin' put on the vocals on this album. I'm not sure Ed can sound like this in real life.

Not necessarily. I'm sure there are parts which needed multiple takes and Ed might have struggled to get some of them just right, but I don't hear anything which I'd say he definitely can't pull off. Overall, LB isn't Pearl Jam's most vocally demanding album but it has some impressive moments. As a band, they generally don't make very vocally demanding albums. Vs is probably the one with the highest degree of difficulty for Ed.

The songs that tend to explore the absolute extremities of Ed's range are usually covers (I've Got A Feeling, LROM, other Who stuff) or found on solo albums/B-sides (Dream A Little Dream, Dead Man Walking).

[Habitman]

Release_Me...

How does this album stack up vocally to the previous nine albums?

To a lamen like me, it is better than BS and S/T. Probably better than Riot Act due to the enegery level.

[harmless]

I suspect there is a lot of fixin' put on the vocals on this album. I'm not sure Ed can sound like this in real life.

Not necessarily. I'm sure there are parts which needed multiple takes and Ed might have struggled to get some of them just right, but I don't hear anything which I'd say he definitely can't pull off. Overall, LB isn't Pearl Jam's most vocally demanding album but it has some impressive moments. As a band, they generally don't make very vocally demanding albums. Vs is probably the one with the highest degree of difficulty for Ed.

The songs that tend to explore the absolute extremities of Ed's range are usually covers (I've Got A Feeling, LROM, other Who stuff) or found on solo albums/B-sides (Dream A Little Dream, Dead Man Walking).

Infallible is the song where he's reaching what sound like impossible notes, thinking he's infallible but tempting fate instead.

[BurtReynolds]

For the record I don't care if his voice is real or not, as long as I can't tell the difference.

[stupidmop]

It'd be easier for him to pull of harder stuff in studio anyway, breaks or even days between songs. He can go all out without thinking about singing blood in tho encore.

I really dislike how hes singing on yellow moon, lots of extra notes and drawn out shit, ive been calling then vocal runs but I have no clue if thats what they actually are
Ye ehh ehh elow moon o o on the rise.

raaa aaaa oooouuunndd we go

[Heathen]

It'd be easier for him to pull of harder stuff in studio anyway, breaks or even days between songs. He can go all out without thinking about singing blood in tho encore.

I really dislike how hes singing on yellow moon, lots of extra notes and drawn out shit, ive been calling then vocal runs but I have no clue if thats what they actually are
Ye ehh ehh elow moon o o on the rise.

raaa aaaa oooouuunndd we go

Does he sing 'Yellow moon on the rise' the way Neil Young does?