Axl recording session in London - UPD.: M. Schenker's UFO tribute album (ft. Axl and Slash) to be released on Sept. 20th

[youngunner]

is this a legit radio version ?

[tboneman]

Yeah that's okay. Have to listen to it couple more times. But I can see why some might not like those effects in his voice. I do think it would've probably sounded better without them. I think Bon Jovi used them a lot on "2020" album but not so much on their latest Living Proof album, and it sounded a lot better. Much more organic. 

 

 

Here also, Steve Perry sounds like a old crow now compared to the way he sounded in the 70 or 80s. But that's his voice now because he's 70 years old and not 30 years old anymore. 

[RasmusGuns]

Sounds like a grown up Axl- I like it alot♥️ 

[nikosgnr]

Love it. Sounds so natural to me.

[Jwalker19]

Jesus Christ they autotuned the hell out of that.

[MildlyArtistic]

It’s crazy how bad this sounds. Axl’s voice itself sounds alright and then they totally kill it with excessive autotune. Man sounds like T-Pain

[SoulMonster]

I can't hear any pitch correction, sounds entirely like Axl's natural phrasing/pitching to me. But I also could barely hear the clipping on The General nor had an issue with the voice processing on that song - so I am probably not the right guy to analyze the vocals . I do hear reverb, or some similar effect, though. 

[6lake sa66ath]

2 hours ago, GnR Chris said:

Michael Jordan played for the Washington Wizards. It didn’t tarnish what he did with the Bulls. 

The Wizards never made the playoffs in those 2 seasons.

Yes, he had 50 points in back to back games and a few highlights here and there but many would argue it did tarnish his legacy and was wholly unnecessary.

Anyway, Axl is yet to produce a 50 point game performance on record at his age, Love To Love is not it although good overall and GN’R are yet to make the playoffs let alone the Finals with an album of new material.

[DeNfr]

2 hours ago, Slaveleft said:

Some people age like fine wine, others like vinegar.

nice selfportrait dude 

[NormisX]

8 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

I can't hear any pitch correction, sounds entirely like Axl's natural phrasing/pitching to me. But I also could barely hear the clipping on The General nor had an issue with the voice processing on that song - so I am probably not the right guy to analyze the vocals . I do hear reverb, or some similar effect, though. 

Sorry to say, but you might be going deaf

Not sure I've heard more unnatural vocals except for Cher maybe

[DeNfr]

9 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

I can't hear any pitch correction, sounds entirely like Axl's natural phrasing/pitching to me. But I also could barely hear the clipping on The General nor had an issue with the voice processing on that song - so I am probably not the right guy to analyze the vocals . I do hear reverb, or some similar effect, though. 

you're correct and they don't know what they're talking about, but that's almost a rule here

[batatadoce]

30 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

I can't hear any pitch correction, sounds entirely like Axl's natural phrasing/pitching to me. But I also could barely hear the clipping on The General nor had an issue with the voice processing on that song - so I am probably not the right guy to analyze the vocals . I do hear reverb, or some similar effect, though. 

Listen closely when sings "night bars, guitars" it's such an aggressive use of it that makes it sound like he's mumbling the words

[SoulMonster]

3 minutes ago, batatadoce said:

Listen closely when sings "night bars, guitars" it's such an aggressive use of it that makes it sound like he's mumbling the words

Sounds like poor diction to me, partly the fault of the distortion he deliberately adds to his singing (aka "rasp"), not pitch correction. 

[axl666]

I think axl sounds pretty good in this.

Not really a fan of the song though. It's kind of dynamically the same all the way through. It also feels unusually structured with the long intro, then the short singing section, then long instrumental, then repeat of singing section.

 

[Blackstar]

I'm not familiar with the technical stuff (I guess I'm in the minority, judging from the confidence people are making their assessments - didn't realize there were so many production experts on the forum), but whatever the effect(s) used is, it's not as prominent to my ears as in The General (or at least not to a point that it would bother me). And definitely nothing like unnatural, let alone AI generated, vocals. I actually hear some imperfections in the delivery, indicative of present day Axl (but isn't autotune supposed to correct that?). I also listened to Rock the Rock again, and Axl's vocals there sound much more processed and "digitalized" (for lack of a better term) than on this, but I don't remember any discussions or complaints about that.

[SoulMonster]

10 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

I'm not familiar with the technical stuff (I guess I'm in the minority, judging from the confidence people are making their assessments - didn't realize there were so many production experts on the forum), but whatever the effect(s) used is, it's not as prominent to my ears as in The General (or at least not to a point that it would bother me). And definitely nothing like unnatural, let alone AI generated, vocals. I actually hear some imperfections in the delivery, indicative of present day Axl (but isn't autotune supposed to correct that?). I also listened to Rock the Rock again, and Axl's vocals there sound much more processed and "digitalized" (for lack of a better term) than on this, but I don't remember any discussions or complaints about that.

Yes, we are truly blessed.

As for Rock the Rock: It didn't get much criticism because it is silly to complain over a joking cartoon song and those who normally are quick to complain liked it because they could head-bang to it and it raaaaawked. 

[Blackstar]

3 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

Yes, we are truly blessed.

As for Rock the Rock: It didn't get much criticism because it is silly to complain over a joking cartoon song and those who normally are quick to complain liked it because they could head-bang to it and it raaaaawked. 

What I remember from the discussion about Axl's vocals on Rock the Rock was a consensus (and overall euphoric sentiment) that, regardless of the song itself, Axl's delivery showcased that he could bring it in the studio.

[batatadoce]

32 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

Sounds like poor diction to me, partly the fault of the distortion he deliberately adds to his singing (aka "rasp"), not pitch correction. 

You could definitely be right. After listening to the isolated vocals floating around (I'm guessing they come from those A.I software they isolate stuff, I don't know) I think you have a point, but I also think that the two things could be happening at the same time, an effort to use distortion and pitch correction. That being said, I find very odd if pitch correction was used because pitch is not usually something that Axl has a problem with live, it's mostly the tone that brings criticism (that mixed voice leaning to heavily on head voice, the so called "mickey", that I think works well for specific songs, but that besides the point).

Just to clarify, I like the performance. I think it sounds exactly like you could expect from an older Axl. Even though I think he still can do the most aggressive and iconic distortion, but the song didn't ask for that, very tasteful approach that has some weird spots due to whatever was done to it in the post-recording stage of that song.

Edited yesterday at 08:59 AM by batatadoce

[Spoon87]

Just gave it a first listen. There's obviously a really solid vocal track beneath that almost robotic vocal effect. It's kind of disappointing to see that he chooses to bury his voice, aged or not, beneath layers like this. It's obviously not as aggressively done as on The General, which really might have been an artistic choice, but with this song right here, it's really not that understandable.

[JimiRose]

it doesn't sound that bad. it's clear even in a studio setting his voice is shot (compared to 85-2010 Axl) but it's still a nice enough voice to record new songs. On it's own there's nothing wrong with this vocal style (only when compared to classic axl, but he is 63)

I'm not an expert but have spent about 100 hours in the studio on a new album very recently and there is definitely autotune on his voice. It's also been compressed a lot. This can sound totally natural but you can definitely pick up where it's been snipped here and there., not that theres anuything wrong with that if it serves the song. However, i don't get the negativity here. The vocal is still pretty good. If this was his voice on an all new GnR record I'd be satisfied. But no doubt, the clock is ticking. 5 years from now he'll have nothing left. 

Edited yesterday at 09:37 AM by JimiRose

[Dangelus]

Sounds good to me, don’t know what everyone’se complaining about - song and vocals are fine! 

[AxlIsGod.]

Fkin hell lads, he hardly bloody sings anything! I was expecting some 7 minute vocal-filled ballad going off this thread and it's about a minute in total 
(No i wasn't aware of the song before, I'm not that old)

Btw Axl sounds fine.

[Lethalis]

The instrumentals are great. Michael Schenker plays a really great outro solo on this which is the highlight of this track. Should have gone with another vocalist though.

Axl's voice is screwed. There are still hints of his former self there, but the wear and tear is very noticable. This is as good as it gets now. The General was already a warning sign with those heavily processed vocals.

And maybe it's because I was once a big fan that I'm just all the more disappointed. Maybe the more casual fans won't care.

Anyways, sorry to bitch again. Slash his blues album was great. At least that was positive. Really loved that.

[SoulMonster]

3 minutes ago, Lethalis said:

The General was already a warning sign with those heavily processed vocals.

That would be a sign of his love of vocal processing, then, and not a sign of a deteriorating voice since the vocals for The General was likely recorded prior to, or around the same time, as some songs on Chinese Democracy. 

Btw, in my opinion, the vocal filters aside, the vocals on The General, especially the chorus, are excellent and much better than a lot on CD

[betterman]

3 hours ago, tboneman said:

Yeah that's okay. Have to listen to it couple more times. But I can see why some might not like those effects in his voice. I do think it would've probably sounded better without them. I think Bon Jovi used them a lot on "2020" album but not so much on their latest Living Proof album, and it sounded a lot better. Much more organic. 

This is absolutely spot on, thought of that album too and especially the song American reckoning - the voice effects completely ruin the song. 

I am baffled that the singers or producers don`t hear this and choose to either retake it with less effects