[soozieq]

After listening to some early Tom Waits the other day, I was quite shocked as I could barely recognise his voice as being the one I hear now. He had a much softer and higher 'country-style' voice. I know the smoking and drinking hasn't helped but I would honestly never have known it was him if I hadn't known it was him! And it got me thinking about other voices that have changed a lot.

Leonard Cohen: Early voice - higher, much more 'tinny' than today's voice. I definitely prefer his deeper more mellow 'now' voice. It's much more liquid on the ears.

Paul Mccartney: Is it just me, or has he lost his pitch completely? All I hear now is a painfully out-of-tune croak that makes me cringe when I remember how he used to sound. Does he not listen to himself??

Has anyone else noticed any other voices that have changed dramatically over the years?

 

[nin3th]

Maynard James Keenan from Tool. Just listen to their Undertow album, then listen to Lateralus. His later voice is so much better.

 

[Redo]

Elton John is about 3 octaves lower than he once was

 

[Pseudonym]

id say chino from the deftones but seeing them live proves he can reach back to the 1st album and not miss a beat. i think its just the direction he's going in is moving away from the brutal screams from songs like engine no. 9 and others from adrenaline. he seems to be going more towards singing and less screaming. cant say i like one more than the other cuz theyre both fantastic.

 

[skellington]

From 1966 to 1976 David Bowie's voice changed completely, getting deeper and more stagey. I preferred the earlier style personally.

 

[tako_tsubo]

Bob Dylan

 

[Ruggerio79]

What about Joni? From almost helium like to smoky.....

 

[Hadden]

Plant. Though more deterioration. From a force of nature to not very good at all -- pitchy and annoying, loss of his upper notes. And a sort of hack Elvis impersonation.

 

[majkel]

Mike Patton from - among others - Faith No More. Till Angel Dust he had been singing a different way. Since Angel Dust his voice has been getting lower.

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

James Hetfield

Kill 'em all to Black album to Post rehab voice on newer releases/recordings

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

oh, and I liked his voice in the early 90's

 

[Cousin Patty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jilgiljongiljing /img/forum/go_quote.gif James Hetfield Kill 'em all to Black album to Post rehab voice on newer releases/recordings

First guy that came to mind.

Definitely prefer his voice on Ride the Lightning/Master of Puppets best. He sounds terrible now. Almost no resemblance to what he used to sound like. I think he has a problem with his vocal chords now doesnt he?

 

[Night Surfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hadden /img/forum/go_quote.gif Plant. Though more deterioration. From a force of nature to not very good at all -- pitchy and annoying, loss of his upper notes. And a sort of hack Elvis impersonation.

X2

Lost his raw power. Wimpy now.

 

[soozieq]

Quote:

Plant. Though more deterioration. From a force of nature to not very good at all -- pitchy and annoying, loss of his upper notes

I forgot about him! Yes, it's painful to hear him try and hit the high notes, I have to put my hands over my ears. Also, for any ancient Head-Fiers - what about Peter Green from Fleetwood Mac? I saw him with his band 'Splinter' for his first concert after he'd been in recovery for years, (not long before his drummer Cozy Powell died in that car crash) and I could have wept when he sang. It was so sad. He had a whimper of a voice that was weak, out of tune and had no life in it at all. It was such a disappointment. I used to love his voice and it had completely disappeared. It was so bad we decided not to see him again and to try and remember how he used to sound. They did 'Black Magic Woman' and he sang within 2 notes of the same chord for the whole song because he couldn't reach any further. He was really brave to start up again after he'd been 'absent' for so long, and maybe with some more practice, his voice might come back. . .

Quote:

Bob Dylan

Forgot about him too

 

[Quixizous]

Hetfield was the first to come to mind, too. Compare his vocals from Kill 'Em All to Master of Puppets. Huge difference in only a few years. Really doesn't sound like the same guy at all.

Well, Plant is somewhere around 59 years old, so can't really blame him for the loss of his vocal skills.