What hell is wrong with his voice ?

[amacfantasy]

Axl needs to release new music faster, i mean he is 50 now, he will only loose more people if he waits until he is older.

[LesPaul_Player_91]

Voice deterioration is normal - it's happened to so many singers, look at videos of Robert Plant singing the Led Zep stuff during the Page/Plant tours when he was Axl's age and then at the O2 show a few years back a lot of the songs were detuned.

In fact I'm surprised Axl hasn't lowered the pitch for some of the songs - kudos to the guy for not doing so but if it would help his voice maybe he should. You also have to remember Axl isn't a classical trained singer (can't think of many rock singers that are) so his voice is bound to get weaker over the years.

Also, the shows are three hours long - it's a long haul. Paul Rodgers is probably one rock singer whose voice has remained intact but he does really short shows. Even when I saw him fronting Queen a few years back, whilst it was a longer set, Brian May and Roger Taylor did lead vocals on a fair few songs so he wasn't using his voice all the time.

Plus all singers have off nights - even the best; look at Mercury and Plant; even in their heyday they couldn't be great all the time.

[downzy]

I got to believe it's a health/smoking issue. Singing like Axl does can often create polyps on the vocal chords that will need to be repaired/removed to escape future health issues. Something tells me it's something along these lines.

I think Axl has the ability to sing like he did in 2010, but in order to make it through the entire show he lets up. He sounds phenomenal on songs like WTTJ and It's So Easy, but eases up until near the end of the show.

And come on, anyone who says it's a mixing/youtube/not being there is either delusional or has no idea what they're talking about. No offense, but generally, the audience at a live show is dumb when it comes to the actual performance levels of a particular show. Unless you've spent any significant time either in a band that gigs regularly or on the production side, it's hard to notice when bands aren't performing well because volume levels and atmosphere will often mask mistakes.

I took my girlfriend to her first GNR show in November and she thought Axl sounded great. But I've been to 14 shows since 2002 and could hear the difference. He sounded amazing on the first three songs and some songs near the end, but he was no where near his stellar form when I saw him in 2010 for three shows. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the show, in fact, it was probably one of the best setlists I've ever seen. But Axl simply didn't deliver the way he did in 2010, and that was obvious to someone who was actually at the show and could compare with different tours.

Like I said, I'm chalking it up to health issues. If that's the case, I can't knock Axl for taking precautions not to blow up his vocal chords. It would be great for all of us to perform like we did in our prime years but that's just not a reality.

My main hope is that Axl is enjoying playing and that those who go enjoy the performance. Like I said, my girlfriend thought he sounded great and really, what's more important: impressing the 90% of the crowd who don't know any better or the 10% of the GNR geeks who over analyze and have probably seen the band too many times to just enjoy the show as it is.

Cheers,

Andrew

[Axl`s BFF]

Or he could have something as simple as a sore throat

[downzy]

Or he could have something as simple as a sore throat

For five months?

[sailaway]

He sounds great! You got dial up or something?

He aint perfect but it's live from a human so...

They complain when its perfect,and make "lip-synch" comments,and they complain when they hear anything amiss!

This IS live music,I suppose some equate live shows with studio releases.

I'm going to sign them up for "the whiny little bitch club"

Welcome back Gunsguy

[sailaway]

I think the best thing to do is take every live recording that is out there, hundreds of hours of footage, and break them down note by note, word by word, for every song. Then somebody can make a graph comparing each word, by each concert, by each year. Then, with those results, we can nit-pick those totals to death.

Instead of just sitting back and enjoying a live show. Because I know at every live show I go to, I like to nit-pick every word by the singer and every note played by the musicians. That is much more fun than sitting back and enjoying the show.

I think they are already doing that Groghan.

Amazing how we have have e-critics,e-managers,e-label moguls,all addicted to Bitch-Juice.

Axl needs to release new music faster, i mean he is 50 now, he will only loose more people if he waits until he is older.

I stopped reading at the "Axl Needs" point.

[Snowmass]

He's 50 years old......give it a rest. It's not 1991. He's doing fine. It doesn't have to be perfect....and if you want perfect, just listen to the album.

Give what a rest? It's a forum, someone posted What the hell Is wrong with his voice, people are responding.

Give the whole "his voice" bitching a rest. JFC what do you want? Again- go listen to the album if you want every note and chord to be perfect. Talk about anal.

[sailaway]

I got to believe it's a health/smoking issue. Singing like Axl does can often create polyps on the vocal chords that will need to be repaired/removed to escape future health issues. Something tells me it's something along these lines.

I think Axl has the ability to sing like he did in 2010, but in order to make it through the entire show he lets up. He sounds phenomenal on songs like WTTJ and It's So Easy, but eases up until near the end of the show.

And come on, anyone who says it's a mixing/youtube/not being there is either delusional or has no idea what they're talking about. No offense, but generally, the audience at a live show is dumb when it comes to the actual performance levels of a particular show. Unless you've spent any significant time either in a band that gigs regularly or on the production side, it's hard to notice when bands aren't performing well because volume levels and atmosphere will often mask mistakes.

I took my girlfriend to her first GNR show in November and she thought Axl sounded great. But I've been to 14 shows since 2002 and could hear the difference. He sounded amazing on the first three songs and some songs near the end, but he was no where near his stellar form when I saw him in 2010 for three shows. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the show, in fact, it was probably one of the best setlists I've ever seen. But Axl simply didn't deliver the way he did in 2010, and that was obvious to someone who was actually at the show and could compare with different tours.

Like I said, I'm chalking it up to health issues. If that's the case, I can't knock Axl for taking precautions not to blow up his vocal chords. It would be great for all of us to perform like we did in our prime years but that's just not a reality.

My main hope is that Axl is enjoying playing and that those who go enjoy the performance. Like I said, my girlfriend thought he sounded great and really, what's more important: impressing the 90% of the crowd who don't know any better or the 10% of the GNR geeks who over analyze and have probably seen the band too many times to just enjoy the show as it is.

Cheers,

Andrew

Funny considering he stopped smoking cigs some years ago,and you don't inhale cigars.

He's 50 years old......give it a rest. It's not 1991. He's doing fine. It doesn't have to be perfect....and if you want perfect, just listen to the album.

Give what a rest? It's a forum, someone posted What the hell Is wrong with his voice, people are responding.

Give the whole "his voice" bitching a rest. JFC what do you want? Again- go listen to the album if you want every note and chord to be perfect. Talk about anal.

Agreed Snowmass,

Seems many don't understand the concept of "Live Music"

[James Bond]

I really think he overused the rasp in 2010 to the point where it was hurting him to keep singing like that so he's toning it down for himself. I like his clean voice but the problem isn't so much the clean voice as it is that he seems to lose a lot of the power he has when he goes to it. Not all the time though. Rocket Queen he sang mostly clean at the Ritz and it sounded fantastic. Chicago? Not so much.

Usually I'd suggest they tune down to help him with notes and stuff, but the problem isn't the pitch of his voice. He can still sing in key. However, maybe tuning down though would allow him to keep the rasp going longer since he wouldn't have to push it quite as much to get the notes he has to. I think it's having the push the notes with rasp that's hurting and so he stays clean to play it safe. I know Guns already plays a half-step down but going an extra half-step wouldn't change the sound that much. They wouldn't have to do it on every song either, just songs like You Could Be Mine where Axl has even admitted it's one of the hardest to sing.

He definitely hasn't lost his voice as many have suggested. Jungle proves he still has it (in my opinion 2011/2012 versions of Welcome to the Jungle sound better than 2010), so it's not totally gone which really makes me believe he's just "saving" his voice. Hard to really say though. We'll see how it goes this summer!

I do agree that 2010 was better for his voice overall, but 2011 was the better show and he still sounded terrific.

[ChristianGNR]

I really think he overused the rasp in 2010 to the point where it was hurting him to keep singing like that so he's toning it down for himself. I like his clean voice but the problem isn't so much the clean voice as it is that he seems to lose a lot of the power he has when he goes to it. Not all the time though. Rocket Queen he sang mostly clean at the Ritz and it sounded fantastic. Chicago? Not so much.

Usually I'd suggest they tune down to help him with notes and stuff, but the problem isn't the pitch of his voice. He can still sing in key. However, maybe tuning down though would allow him to keep the rasp going longer since he wouldn't have to push it quite as much to get the notes he has to. I think it's having the push the notes with rasp that's hurting and so he stays clean to play it safe. I know Guns already plays a half-step down but going an extra half-step wouldn't change the sound that much. They wouldn't have to do it on every song either, just songs like You Could Be Mine where Axl has even admitted it's one of the hardest to sing.

He definitely hasn't lost his voice as many have suggested. Jungle proves he still has it (in my opinion 2011/2012 versions of Welcome to the Jungle sound better than 2010), so it's not totally gone which really makes me believe he's just "saving" his voice. Hard to really say though. We'll see how it goes this summer!

I do agree that 2010 was better for his voice overall, but 2011 was the better show and he still sounded terrific.

Agreed. Also, 2010 was not THAT good as many says.

Axl was fantastic during the first semester of 2010 (check some SA shows, Russian leg of tour). But in the European and Australian tour (by the end of the year) he was starting to have some "Mickey" (as people here love to call) in certain songs.

[sailaway]

I really think he overused the rasp in 2010 to the point where it was hurting him to keep singing like that so he's toning it down for himself. I like his clean voice but the problem isn't so much the clean voice as it is that he seems to lose a lot of the power he has when he goes to it. Not all the time though. Rocket Queen he sang mostly clean at the Ritz and it sounded fantastic. Chicago? Not so much.

Usually I'd suggest they tune down to help him with notes and stuff, but the problem isn't the pitch of his voice. He can still sing in key. However, maybe tuning down though would allow him to keep the rasp going longer since he wouldn't have to push it quite as much to get the notes he has to. I think it's having the push the notes with rasp that's hurting and so he stays clean to play it safe. I know Guns already plays a half-step down but going an extra half-step wouldn't change the sound that much. They wouldn't have to do it on every song either, just songs like You Could Be Mine where Axl has even admitted it's one of the hardest to sing.

He definitely hasn't lost his voice as many have suggested. Jungle proves he still has it (in my opinion 2011/2012 versions of Welcome to the Jungle sound better than 2010), so it's not totally gone which really makes me believe he's just "saving" his voice. Hard to really say though. We'll see how it goes this summer!

I do agree that 2010 was better for his voice overall, but 2011 was the better show and he still sounded terrific.

Agreed. Also, 2010 was not THAT good as many says.

Axl was fantastic during the first semester of 2010 (check some SA shows, Russian leg of tour). But in the European and Australian tour (by the end of the year) he was starting to have some "Mickey" (as people here love to call) in certain songs.

I'll take 2011-2012 over 2010, and the "mickey" description is stale,please come up with another demeaning term.

[Snowmass]

I really think he overused the rasp in 2010 to the point where it was hurting him to keep singing like that so he's toning it down for himself. I like his clean voice but the problem isn't so much the clean voice as it is that he seems to lose a lot of the power he has when he goes to it. Not all the time though. Rocket Queen he sang mostly clean at the Ritz and it sounded fantastic. Chicago? Not so much.

Usually I'd suggest they tune down to help him with notes and stuff, but the problem isn't the pitch of his voice. He can still sing in key. However, maybe tuning down though would allow him to keep the rasp going longer since he wouldn't have to push it quite as much to get the notes he has to. I think it's having the push the notes with rasp that's hurting and so he stays clean to play it safe. I know Guns already plays a half-step down but going an extra half-step wouldn't change the sound that much. They wouldn't have to do it on every song either, just songs like You Could Be Mine where Axl has even admitted it's one of the hardest to sing.

He definitely hasn't lost his voice as many have suggested. Jungle proves he still has it (in my opinion 2011/2012 versions of Welcome to the Jungle sound better than 2010), so it's not totally gone which really makes me believe he's just "saving" his voice. Hard to really say though. We'll see how it goes this summer!

I do agree that 2010 was better for his voice overall, but 2011 was the better show and he still sounded terrific.

Agreed. Also, 2010 was not THAT good as many says.

Axl was fantastic during the first semester of 2010 (check some SA shows, Russian leg of tour). But in the European and Australian tour (by the end of the year) he was starting to have some "Mickey" (as people here love to call) in certain songs.

Are you retarded? The O2 Arena show in Britain was one of his best vocal performances ever.

Yeah but the guitarist missed the 3rd chord and the drum was a half second off and Dizzy missed a key.......

[Georgy Zhukov]

I really think he overused the rasp in 2010 to the point where it was hurting him to keep singing like that so he's toning it down for himself. I like his clean voice but the problem isn't so much the clean voice as it is that he seems to lose a lot of the power he has when he goes to it. Not all the time though. Rocket Queen he sang mostly clean at the Ritz and it sounded fantastic. Chicago? Not so much.

Usually I'd suggest they tune down to help him with notes and stuff, but the problem isn't the pitch of his voice. He can still sing in key. However, maybe tuning down though would allow him to keep the rasp going longer since he wouldn't have to push it quite as much to get the notes he has to. I think it's having the push the notes with rasp that's hurting and so he stays clean to play it safe. I know Guns already plays a half-step down but going an extra half-step wouldn't change the sound that much. They wouldn't have to do it on every song either, just songs like You Could Be Mine where Axl has even admitted it's one of the hardest to sing.

He definitely hasn't lost his voice as many have suggested. Jungle proves he still has it (in my opinion 2011/2012 versions of Welcome to the Jungle sound better than 2010), so it's not totally gone which really makes me believe he's just "saving" his voice. Hard to really say though. We'll see how it goes this summer!

I do agree that 2010 was better for his voice overall, but 2011 was the better show and he still sounded terrific.

Agreed. Also, 2010 was not THAT good as many says.

Axl was fantastic during the first semester of 2010 (check some SA shows, Russian leg of tour). But in the European and Australian tour (by the end of the year) he was starting to have some "Mickey" (as people here love to call) in certain songs.

Are you retarded? The O2 Arena show in Britain was one of his best vocal performances ever.

Yeah but the guitarist missed the 3rd chord and the drum was a half second off and Dizzy missed a key.......

Plus DJ Ashba is in the band.

[Snowmass]

I really think he overused the rasp in 2010 to the point where it was hurting him to keep singing like that so he's toning it down for himself. I like his clean voice but the problem isn't so much the clean voice as it is that he seems to lose a lot of the power he has when he goes to it. Not all the time though. Rocket Queen he sang mostly clean at the Ritz and it sounded fantastic. Chicago? Not so much.

Usually I'd suggest they tune down to help him with notes and stuff, but the problem isn't the pitch of his voice. He can still sing in key. However, maybe tuning down though would allow him to keep the rasp going longer since he wouldn't have to push it quite as much to get the notes he has to. I think it's having the push the notes with rasp that's hurting and so he stays clean to play it safe. I know Guns already plays a half-step down but going an extra half-step wouldn't change the sound that much. They wouldn't have to do it on every song either, just songs like You Could Be Mine where Axl has even admitted it's one of the hardest to sing.

He definitely hasn't lost his voice as many have suggested. Jungle proves he still has it (in my opinion 2011/2012 versions of Welcome to the Jungle sound better than 2010), so it's not totally gone which really makes me believe he's just "saving" his voice. Hard to really say though. We'll see how it goes this summer!

I do agree that 2010 was better for his voice overall, but 2011 was the better show and he still sounded terrific.

Agreed. Also, 2010 was not THAT good as many says.

Axl was fantastic during the first semester of 2010 (check some SA shows, Russian leg of tour). But in the European and Australian tour (by the end of the year) he was starting to have some "Mickey" (as people here love to call) in certain songs.

Are you retarded? The O2 Arena show in Britain was one of his best vocal performances ever.

Yeah but the guitarist missed the 3rd chord and the drum was a half second off and Dizzy missed a key.......

Plus DJ Ashba is in the band.

And the choreagraphed dancers were off by a tenth of a step....god that killed the show.

[DaneisKing1389]

The best Axl has sounded out of the 37 legs of the Chinese Democracy tour was 2006/2007.

[droezle]

Axl has a history of vocal problems and for those who think he should sound the same as 26 years ago, think again.

[trqster]

Axl has a history of vocal problems and for those who think he should sound the same as 26 years ago, think again.

So in 2010 you thought the same right?

In some songs (like Nice Boys & Whole Lotta Rosie) I'd say Axl in 2010 sounded as best if not better that 26 years ago. If you don't agree youtube me wrong.

Edited February 21, 2012 by trqster

[Ali]

FYI, to answer the original post's question: maybe it's due to the fact that he was actually sick.

http://www.mygnrforum.com/index.php?showtopic=184391&view=findpost&p=3020130

Ali

[justynius]

I think Axl's demise has been greatly exaggerated in this thread. There were a few moments when he wasn't quite up to snuff, but he was fine for the majority of the show and the audience was certainly enjoying it.

With that said, thought this was a pretty interesting article on MSNBC from last week....

http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/17/10438186-whats-the-lifespan-of-a-singers-voice

Some interesting notes from the article....

Opera star Placido Domingo is still belting out arias at age 71, because he's in terrific shape vocally, Leap said.

"The voice is not a finite thing; it's not something you use up," Leap said. "When you're singing, you're training your voice at a more intense level than talking. It's like going to the gym and lifting weights as opposed to putting groceries away."

In fact, overexertion is such an issue that the opera singers' union maintains strict rules about the frequency an opera singer can perform.

"As the vocal membranes are used more,they become fibrous and stiff with a diminished amplitude of vibration," said Dr. Steven Zeitels, Professor of Laryngeal Surgery at Harvard Medical School.

"Consequently you have to use more air pressure from the lungs to drive the vocal cords into vibration. This occurs from decades of voice use so that the vocal cords become worn out as an individual ages."

Many singers develop growths or nodules on their vocal cords that can bleed and eventually scar. Scarring makes the voice hoarse.

Advances in technology have made surgeries to remove those growths much more common.

Zeitels estimates he's performed about 75,000 voice operations, 500-700 of those on singers -- including Adele, The Who's lead singer Roger Daltrey, and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. Most of the singers he has performed on have been opera singers, because of the substantial demands on their voice.

"The holy grail is to inject a biogel into the vocal cord and restore it. So from a performing perspective, these folks who so-called can't sing anymore are totally fit to sing. Julie Andrews could sing beautifully tomorrow if she had the biogel. It's not that she's too old to sing."

Both Andrews, who went to Zeitels after losing pliability in her vocal cords due to a poor surgery, and Tyler encouraged Zeitels and MIT scientist Bob Langer to go forward with the biogel project, even contributing money to the development.

"It's not some magic potion," Zeitels said. "We're just making the vocal cords pure."

The gel is currently in a primitive form, but Zeitels is confident it will work in humans; trials will tell the degree to which the current form will work.

[droezle]

Axl has a history of vocal problems and for those who think he should sound the same as 26 years ago, think again.

So in 2010 you thought the same right?

In some songs (like Nice Boys & Whole Lotta Rosie) I'd say Axl in 2010 sounded as best if not better that 26 years ago. If you don't agree youtube me wrong.

Where did i say 2010? When i say he has a history of vocal problems than i don not mean that this is a constant problem, but more as a problem that comes and goes. Vocally, 2010 was probably his best year since 2001 imo but he will never sound the same as on Appetite and the Use Your Illusion albums.

Edited February 21, 2012 by droezle

[James Bond]

I really think he overused the rasp in 2010 to the point where it was hurting him to keep singing like that so he's toning it down for himself. I like his clean voice but the problem isn't so much the clean voice as it is that he seems to lose a lot of the power he has when he goes to it. Not all the time though. Rocket Queen he sang mostly clean at the Ritz and it sounded fantastic. Chicago? Not so much.

Usually I'd suggest they tune down to help him with notes and stuff, but the problem isn't the pitch of his voice. He can still sing in key. However, maybe tuning down though would allow him to keep the rasp going longer since he wouldn't have to push it quite as much to get the notes he has to. I think it's having the push the notes with rasp that's hurting and so he stays clean to play it safe. I know Guns already plays a half-step down but going an extra half-step wouldn't change the sound that much. They wouldn't have to do it on every song either, just songs like You Could Be Mine where Axl has even admitted it's one of the hardest to sing.

He definitely hasn't lost his voice as many have suggested. Jungle proves he still has it (in my opinion 2011/2012 versions of Welcome to the Jungle sound better than 2010), so it's not totally gone which really makes me believe he's just "saving" his voice. Hard to really say though. We'll see how it goes this summer!

I do agree that 2010 was better for his voice overall, but 2011 was the better show and he still sounded terrific.

Agreed. Also, 2010 was not THAT good as many says.

Axl was fantastic during the first semester of 2010 (check some SA shows, Russian leg of tour). But in the European and Australian tour (by the end of the year) he was starting to have some "Mickey" (as people here love to call) in certain songs.

I'll take 2011-2012 over 2010, and the "mickey" description is stale,please come up with another demeaning term.

In his defense, I think he was using it more in a mocking sense since he had the quotations around it and added that bit about people who love calling it that. I don't think he was using it as criticism.

[JAxlMorrison]

FYI he just actually twittered that he is sick actually...

https://twitter.com/#!/axlrose

[jonah]

Maybe Axl is in the studio recording during the down time and he is with a vocal coach who is trying to help him reach bars he has never reached before. Now that their back on tour Axl can't seem to remember how to hit the higher notes of his songs cause he is so use to doing what he has been doing in the studio which is a higher pitch then were use to. When he sings the lower notes he sounds fine, he only goes off key when he hits higher notes.

[Ali]

FYI he just actually twittered that he is sick actually...

https://twitter.com/#!/axlrose

I'm sure that will go largely unnoticed and there will be a continued push for him to retire by some

Ali