by Matman
Over the past few years, as the 1980's become more a dot in the rear view mirror, we have been expecting more from our hard rock/heavy metal heroes! We want them to get us out of the bad place we are in (again), we want them to make us feel like we can take on the world (again) and most of all... we don't want them to get old! When it comes to the voice singing the words that inspired us or gave us the strength to get through a break-up... nothing is allowed to change. And when it does... LOOK OUT! This is the same expectation we put on our sports heroes... we don't want them to get old, but we certainly don't want their skills to diminish right before our eyes. I never wanted Mario Lemieux to retire, but I also never wanted "le magnifique" to become "le notsogoodanymore". So what do you do? One of my favorite voices, Don Dokken has a big spotlight on him now. Recently he commented on his less than stellar performances captured on YouTube and has given some answers as to the why. Strip away everything and the bottom line is, either retire or do something else? Strap on a guitar and sing back-up with a Don Dokken soundalike. It still is your band, your legacy and you have the right to keep going... and I would be into that. Unfortunately, if it continues, Dokken, Stephen Pearcy (Ratt) and Vince Neil (Motley Crue) will just be fodder for the negative press junkies (trolls), most of whom probably haven't been to a concert in a zillion years. People didn't seem to care about Vince Neil's voice considering their now cancelled tour with Def Leppard sold a kazillion tickets in 20 seconds! So, what about the singers that sing with a backing track? Something to augment their voice and cover up if needed? This has become an even bigger 'hot topic' than the lack of vocal power. Recently Sebastian Bach went after Chris Jericho for singing to 'tapes' or pre-recorded vocals. This is one, believe it or not, i'm less passionate about because I know how a voice can lose it's power over the years. There are some guys like Glenn Hughes, Dennis De Young, Paul Rodgers and Dave Meneketti (Y&T) who seem to defy the odds and still have passion, power and conviction in their voices. Whatever their secret... bottle it up and sell it! As someone who follows singers (and voices) more than bands and styles, I listen probably closer than most to the tones, the notes and humanity that comes out. I cover a lot of concerts and spend a lot of time in photo pits, right up to the monitors and most of the time I hear the voice leaving the diaphragm before it hits the mike. This is where I've been blown away by Michael Sweet (Stryper), C.J. Snare (Firebouse), A.K. Knutson (Flotsam & Jetsam), John Payne (ASIA/Dukes Of The Orient), Ronnie Platt (Kansas) and Andrew Freeman (Last In Line), just to highlight a few. I have heard their voices, their real voices up close and personal and can tell you, what you hear is what you get. I remember seeing Glenn Hughes and being away from a monitor and a bit away from the P.A. and just hearing his voice... brought tears to my eyes! I know several vocalist (I won't name) that use tapes under their voices and if they need to do it to give us a better show... just do it! But the day you lip sync and go all Milli Vanilli, I will draw the line. A few singers I know don't use keyboards and double track their vocals to make the sound fuller. I do NOT know anyone who does it to cover-up a voice and image no longer there. I don't mean to be singling out Don Dokken, but a few years back a new song was released from Dokken and his voice sounded amazing. Was it a studio creation? Probably so... but I didn't care. I now had a new Dokken song that really made me happy. So... my ask in this is this... what do you want? Do you want pure vocals with no backing tapes? Then, don't complain when a voice sounds crappy! Use your consumer power to go/not go/buy/not buy, don't just be an online warrior. I want an awesome show and that is it! If they gotta down tune a bit since the singer is now thirty years older, do it! Are the songs still recognizable? Win-Win! But, don't get so mad you loose your brain! Put yourself in their shoes? I still haven't recovered from a coach telling me two years ago I wasn't the Left Fielder I used to be, because in my brain, i'm still that 18 year old superstar! Getting old sucks. Unless you are Kansas, YES or ASIA, bands built to fill a room with sound (not just vocals), then just be excited that our heroes are still out there... well, when they can be out there again.
1 Comment
Brett Hoag
8/18/2020 02:18:49 pm
We saw Paul a few years ago in Dodger Stadium and he tuned down a few songs. It was still amazing and he did a great job with all the vocal parts.
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Let's Rock!The Power Chords Podcast is a twice-monthly podcast celebrating rock and metal music of the '70s, '80s, '90s and beyond. The show is co-hosted by Matt Herring and Brian LeTendre. Archives
June 2020
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