Red Mosquito

I watch so many clips and he's so good in the 90s....Even the very early 2000s. Im watching him sing Better Man at Pinkpop in 2000 I think, and besides him forgetting the lyrics at the beginning of the verses he sounds very good.

What's with all his weird vocal tics now and his warbling? I know your vocal ability can descend as you get early but why did Eddie's change in such a....strange way?

(For the record that song is the only time I ever prefer Matt Cameron to any of their other drummers, he's killing it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kV8g2av2nQ)

Aging + cigarettes resulting in a loss of vocal control, and maybe also a desire (conscious or otherwise) to distance himself from the often imitated and parodied growly Ten voice?

- I posit he was still really good in 2006. That's a helluva 15 year run.

- What theplatypus said.

- Also, name me another rock and roll singer that sounds truly great after 25 years. Slim pickins'.

- Getting old sucks.

evenslow wrote:- I posit he was still really good in 2006. That's a helluva 15 year run.

- What theplatypus said.

- Also, name me another rock and roll singer that sounds truly great after 25 years. Slim pickins'.

- Getting old sucks.

its not so much that he doesnt sound great, but that hes picked up a bunch of really really strange vocal tics seemingly out of nowhere

he sounds great but he picked some really weird ticks yeah.

mikejasond wrote:

evenslow wrote:- I posit he was still really good in 2006. That's a helluva 15 year run.

- What theplatypus said.

- Also, name me another rock and roll singer that sounds truly great after 25 years. Slim pickins'.

- Getting old sucks.

its not so much that he doesnt sound great, but that hes picked up a bunch of really really strange vocal tics seemingly out of nowhere

I'm assuming he has paid a vocal coach to teach him how to get through vocally difficult phrases. He obviously practiced really well, because he rarely misses a chance to put in a weird vocal tic

dave a

he's being blackmailed

It's easy to criticise him after listening to soooooo many bootlegs and examining every little thing he sings. But for the most part, he still sounds pretty great. Yeah, he struggles on some numbers but I think the band would just be better off retiring certain cuts that sound dated now. When Ed is on, he sounds great. I thought he sounded great at Global Citizen last year singing 'Nothingman'.

I feel like most singers have rough years, and then come out of it and have some really good years in later life. Springsteen sounded pretty rough some year but now in his 60's he sounds great. Same with Tom Petty, and even Dylan can sound great when he wants to these days.

BootsToAsses wrote:It's easy to criticise him after listening to soooooo many bootlegs and examining every little thing he sings. But for the most part, he still sounds pretty great. Yeah, he struggles on some numbers but I think the band would just be better off retiring certain cuts that sound dated now. When Ed is on, he sounds great. I thought he sounded great at Global Citizen last year singing 'Nothingman'.

I feel like most singers have rough years, and then come out of it and have some really good years in later life. Springsteen sounded pretty rough some year but now in his 60's he sounds great. Same with Tom Petty, and even Dylan can sound great when he wants to these days.

But...he sounds terrible on the studio albums.

LoathedVermin72 wrote:

BootsToAsses wrote:It's easy to criticise him after listening to soooooo many bootlegs and examining every little thing he sings. But for the most part, he still sounds pretty great. Yeah, he struggles on some numbers but I think the band would just be better off retiring certain cuts that sound dated now. When Ed is on, he sounds great. I thought he sounded great at Global Citizen last year singing 'Nothingman'.

I feel like most singers have rough years, and then come out of it and have some really good years in later life. Springsteen sounded pretty rough some year but now in his 60's he sounds great. Same with Tom Petty, and even Dylan can sound great when he wants to these days.

But...he sounds terrible on the studio albums.

He has some shaky moments, but I wouldn't say terrible. I think the production value just sucks, combined with some poor choices on Ed's part. The live stuff from last year still sounds pretty good, overall in my opinion. I could be picky but generally he's ok.

no.....no, he's not

LoathedVermin72 wrote:no.....no, he's not

It's not 1994 anymore, he's never going to sound as strong as he used to. I can enjoy his voice for what it is now.

The following songs should be retired, though: Oceans, Deep, Blood, Spin The Black Circle, Habit, Gonna See My Friend (not that they ever play it).

Put a few songs on the shelf because he just can't sing them anymore, and I'm a happy camper. Everything else is still passable/decent.

Again, I am only talking studio here. I don't care about the live stuff.

LoathedVermin72 wrote:Again, I am only talking studio here. I don't care about the live stuff.

What don't you like about the studio stuff? I don't necessarily disagree, just curious. There's definitely a flatness to his vocal mix, which really doesn't showcase his strengths anymore.

BootsToAsses wrote:

LoathedVermin72 wrote:Again, I am only talking studio here. I don't care about the live stuff.

What don't you like about the studio stuff? I don't necessarily disagree, just curious. There's definitely a flatness to his vocal mix, which really doesn't showcase his strengths anymore.

He just sounds weak and nasally. I find his vocals on BS almost unlistenable because he sounds like he has a cold, which makes it very unpleasant. I think if he adjusted his singing style to suit his diminished capabilities, that would be one thing, but instead he just tries to cover it up with tics and other awful tricks. It's a very off-putting listening experience.

agreed with lv

I can agree with that to an extent. I will say, the thing I don't like is when he's singing something live and hits a part that you know he just can't nail anymore and instead of underselling it and doing something subtle he goes overboard and makes a mess of it. So yeah, that part is annoying. Other than that, he sounds ok to my ears.

I kinda thing the nasal sound works for the most part on BS. He just sounds compressed, like there's no space around him. That bugs me.