Red Mosquito

stip wrote:

Gigalogy84 wrote:

stip wrote:

Gigalogy84 wrote:

stip wrote:I like the No Code-Binaural era the least (his nasal/pinched period) but he is making the least flattering choices ST->Backspacer.


He sounds good on Lightning Bolt

I’m trying to understand the nasal-ness people talk about on the No Code era. Is it during softer songs like Off He Goes?
I remember people didn’t care about Binaural - Riot Act vocals. In particular Riot Act’s mumbling mainly low register vocals. Ed sounded less energized on songs but at the same time they fit the mood of the album.
I don’t care for Lightning Bolt as a whole and do not like the way he sang on that album which made the songs worse (Mind Your Manners is an exception).

no, its eveywhere. faithfull is a good example. off he goes and hail hail as well

Really? I just don’t notice anything nasally or off-putting about his vocals on those songs. I figured only the softer songs. Maybe I’m used to them being in earlier Pearl Jam eras and noticed the vocal difference on later albums.
Everyone has their opinions though. I loved his vocals on Yield. Not as much as Ten - Vitalogy but still think he sounded great.

well off putting is your phrase it is his neil young period and im not a neil young guy. I recognize others love this sound. Im certainly in the minority

Light years is another good example - the early verses. the ive used hammers made out of wood (before leaning into the vibrato on the next line). Plaque on the wall/myth is belief in faithful is another

the second in hiding chorus/outro as well

I think Eddie sounds good on every studio record, more or less. When I think of "eras" I think of extended time frames encompassing studio albums and live performances, with the shows really being the more telltale setting, since they're less sweetened and show a more consistent arc from night to night. To that end I think late '93-early '94 is almost inarguably his peak from a raw power/control standpoint -- he is almost operatic in his command of his voice during that period, with a lot of the garbled affectedness of '91-'92 having been growing-pained out of him, leaving only muscle. I was listening to a late '93 boot sometime last year, and was just blown away by how Eddie would draw out the word "me" during the last chorus of "Go" ("don't go on maa-a-a-ay"), with a slight edge of vibrato that seemed like it could go on forever. Incredible rock singing.

Through '96-'00 Eddie's voice was still in really good shape, but some of that pure muscle had taken a backseat to some other things -- nuanced shades of emotion, instincts for re-shaping melody, etc., and there was an increasingly inverse shift between those two poles of his performance capacity ("raw power" and "expressive artistry"). By the time of the Binaural tour, there is occasionally some noticeable strain when he tries to sing songs like "Spin the Black Circle," "Animal," songs that require him to be simultaneously vocally harsh and pitch perfect. But the learned emotion in the performances to my ears is pretty undeniable, and ultimately I go to this era to be moved more than I go to the '93-'94 era to be impressed.

I love the 2003 shows but I don't think the fatigued sound of his voice suits the entire songbook, and I don't believe it's all an aesthetic choice based on the Riot Act material. Some songs feel like he's really straining, and it just sounds bad. This is mostly a second leg problem, and mostly on the warhorses/encores. But when it's bad, it's as bad as he's ever sounded. When it's great, it's the perfect marriage of material and delivery.

2005 and especially 2006 may be the optimal meeting point for all of it. I'm not sure what happened but, seemingly out of nowhere, Eddie was again able to carry entire sets of vocally demanding songs, and the soft spots were boosted not only by whatever vocal conditioning was going on at that time, but also by 15 years of learned experience in how to interpret and work songs from the inside out. This was such a great tour. It's not the single best display of any one thing in Eddie's voice, but it may be the only time where everything that at different times made his voice great co-existed in one place where none of it felt compromised. To that end, I'd be inclined to say that this is his general peak vocally, even if isolated individual qualities were on better display at other times.

Starting in 2008, his voice began displaying significant wear and tear that has caused noticeable compromise to the performances. There are corrective measures and crutches everywhere. There are still great shows, certainly still great song performances, and even with his limitations he still has the ability to be really moving. But I've never listened to a show from this (now very long) period and thought, "Wow, this is as good as he's ever sounded," and I think it's almost certain that his weakest era is somewhere in here. I'm not familiar enough with the details to know exactly where it is, but from memory, 2012-2013 was pretty rough. I thought the clips from this year so far have sounded really nice.

From a purely technical standpoint i can appreciate those that lean towards the 98ish era, but man for my money nothing touches the magic of his voice in the 90-92 era. That's the sound that will make even a casual (or new) fan drop what they are doing and take notice.

Kevin Davis wrote:I think Eddie sounds good on every studio record, more or less. When I think of "eras" I think of extended time frames encompassing studio albums and live performances, with the shows really being the more telltale setting, since they're less sweetened and show a more consistent arc from night to night. To that end I think late '93-early '94 is almost inarguably his peak from a raw power/control standpoint -- he is almost operatic in his command of his voice during that period, with a lot of the garbled affectedness of '91-'92 having been growing-pained out of him, leaving only muscle. I was listening to a late '93 boot sometime last year, and was just blown away by how Eddie would draw out the word "me" during the last chorus of "Go" ("don't go on maa-a-a-ay"), with a slight edge of vibrato that seemed like it could go on forever. Incredible rock singing.

Through '96-'00 Eddie's voice was still in really good shape, but some of that pure muscle had taken a backseat to some other things -- nuanced shades of emotion, instincts for re-shaping melody, etc., and there was an increasingly inverse shift between those two poles of his performance capacity ("raw power" and "expressive artistry"). By the time of the Binaural tour, there is occasionally some noticeable strain when he tries to sing songs like "Spin the Black Circle," "Animal," songs that require him to be simultaneously vocally harsh and pitch perfect. But the learned emotion in the performances to my ears is pretty undeniable, and ultimately I go to this era to be moved more than I go to the '93-'94 era to be impressed.

I love the 2003 shows but I don't think the fatigued sound of his voice suits the entire songbook, and I don't believe it's all an aesthetic choice based on the Riot Act material. Some songs feel like he's really straining, and it just sounds bad. This is mostly a second leg problem, and mostly on the warhorses/encores. But when it's bad, it's as bad as he's ever sounded. When it's great, it's the perfect marriage of material and delivery.

2005 and especially 2006 may be the optimal meeting point for all of it. I'm not sure what happened but, seemingly out of nowhere, Eddie was again able to carry entire sets of vocally demanding songs, and the soft spots were boosted not only by whatever vocal conditioning was going on at that time, but also by 15 years of learned experience in how to interpret and work songs from the inside out. This was such a great tour. It's not the single best display of any one thing in Eddie's voice, but it may be the only time where everything that at different times made his voice great co-existed in one place where none of it felt compromised. To that end, I'd be inclined to say that this is his general peak vocally, even if isolated individual qualities were on better display at other times.

Starting in 2008, his voice began displaying significant wear and tear that has caused noticeable compromise to the performances. There are corrective measures and crutches everywhere. There are still great shows, certainly still great song performances, and even with his limitations he still has the ability to be really moving. But I've never listened to a show from this (now very long) period and thought, "Wow, this is as good as he's ever sounded," and I think it's almost certain that his weakest era is somewhere in here. I'm not familiar enough with the details to know exactly where it is, but from memory, 2012-2013 was pretty rough. I thought the clips from this year so far have sounded really nice.

I need to go back to ath 93-94 era more often (live). great post

stip wrote:I like the No Code-Binaural era the least (his nasal/pinched period) but he is making the least flattering choices ST->Backspacer.


He sounds good on Lightning Bolt

It is weird hearing the Yield tour and he sounds like he's doing a Neil Young impression. He sounds good, but it takes some getting used to lol.

stip wrote:though 06 feels like it belongs with 09-13

Really? Live I feel like 06 is one of his vocal peaks. It's weird how good he sounds on that tour, it might be the best he ever sounded which should be impossible....but he sounds more controlled than in the 90s and his voice sounds so powerful and stable on some songs. It's weird hearing him do songs from the early days in 2006 and just completely 100% nail them. That is one of the best tours, especially if you enjoy s/T.

Unless we're talking on the studio albums in which case nevermind.

mikejasond wrote:

stip wrote:though 06 feels like it belongs with 09-13

Really? Live I feel like 06 is one of his vocal peaks. It's weird how good he sounds on that tour, it might be the best he ever sounded which should be impossible....but he sounds more controlled than in the 90s and his voice sounds so powerful and stable on some songs. It's weird hearing him do songs from the early days in 2006 and just completely 100% nail them. That is one of the best tours, especially if you enjoy s/T.

Unless we're talking on the studio albums in which case nevermind.

i mean its an era - but studio ST and Riot Act are so different i have trouble lumping them together

mikejasond wrote:

stip wrote:though 06 feels like it belongs with 09-13

Really? Live I feel like 06 is one of his vocal peaks. It's weird how good he sounds on that tour, it might be the best he ever sounded which should be impossible....but he sounds more controlled than in the 90s and his voice sounds so powerful and stable on some songs. It's weird hearing him do songs from the early days in 2006 and just completely 100% nail them. That is one of the best tours, especially if you enjoy s/T.

Unless we're talking on the studio albums in which case nevermind.

It's strange, if you go to a show like Adelaide night 1 in 2006 which is almost the end of what was their last really big world tour, he's belting out a song like "Go" and he's absolutely nailing it. No sign of fatigue, total control and immense power. He's holding that "don't go on maaaaaay" part as if it's 1994 again. It's bonkers.

2006 is definitely his best all round year for vocals. He sounded great pretty much from opening night to the very end.

BootsToAsses wrote:

mikejasond wrote:

stip wrote:though 06 feels like it belongs with 09-13

Really? Live I feel like 06 is one of his vocal peaks. It's weird how good he sounds on that tour, it might be the best he ever sounded which should be impossible....but he sounds more controlled than in the 90s and his voice sounds so powerful and stable on some songs. It's weird hearing him do songs from the early days in 2006 and just completely 100% nail them. That is one of the best tours, especially if you enjoy s/T.

Unless we're talking on the studio albums in which case nevermind.

It's strange, if you go to a show like Adelaide night 1 in 2006 which is almost the end of what was their last really big world tour, he's belting out a song like "Go" and he's absolutely nailing it. No sign of fatigue, total control and immense power. He's holding that "don't go on maaaaaay" part as if it's 1994 again. It's bonkers.

2006 is definitely his best all round year for vocals. He sounded great pretty much from opening night to the very end.

Man, that was one helluva show.

First time I'd seen the band since 1998 and it more than lived up to any expectations I had going in.

BootsToAsses wrote:

mikejasond wrote:

stip wrote:though 06 feels like it belongs with 09-13

Really? Live I feel like 06 is one of his vocal peaks. It's weird how good he sounds on that tour, it might be the best he ever sounded which should be impossible....but he sounds more controlled than in the 90s and his voice sounds so powerful and stable on some songs. It's weird hearing him do songs from the early days in 2006 and just completely 100% nail them. That is one of the best tours, especially if you enjoy s/T.

Unless we're talking on the studio albums in which case nevermind.

It's strange, if you go to a show like Adelaide night 1 in 2006 which is almost the end of what was their last really big world tour, he's belting out a song like "Go" and he's absolutely nailing it. No sign of fatigue, total control and immense power. He's holding that "don't go on maaaaaay" part as if it's 1994 again. It's bonkers.

2006 is definitely his best all round year for vocals. He sounded great pretty much from opening night to the very end.

Yeah it's crazy. I dunno what it was about that year, it was like he had grown into all of his talents, out of his bad habits, and hadn't yet had his vocal decline. I can understand preferring the wilder Eddie of the 90s which had its pros and cons, and some of the peak performances from the 90s are incredible obviously, but 2006 was also incredible and more consistent....It really might be his best year of vocals...his voice just soars

By 2008-2009 it would already be not as impressive, and then much worse after that