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

[sl4yer]

Like someone already stated:

The vocal processing you are talking about is simply compression and boost of treble. There might be some autotune im verses but it’s more subtle than some of you claim it to be.

With that being said the performance is not very strong. In the low register he sounds good as usual but when he goes higher… it doesn’t have any power behind it.

Whoever compared this to his vocals on Madagascar might not have heard that song in a long time.

[Draguns]

Axl is fine on this. As usual, there's just too much hyperbole of negativity on this website along with "experts" on processing and autotune.  

[DeNfr]

forum experts receiving their CD of Love to Love feat. Axl Rose
 

 

[SoundOfAGun]

Hopefully he has more in the tank for future recordings, can't say I like the song, but it is always good to hear the old boy on something new!

[EvH]

First impressions after a couple of listens : I'm happy I didn't preorder the album.

[Pingouino]

People are so negative here, I was expecting shitty vocals... There is emotion and even rasp (no mickey). Very end is powerful, with a scream + solo. He has been really involved into it, congrats!

Voice effect is more an artistic choice for the song, why not... Anyway, it's very refreshing for GnR fans and it made my day.

Edited 21 hours ago by Pingouino

[adamsapple]

All those studio experts...sure they must know more than professional musicians who have done that shit for roundabout 50 years. You know better. They know nothing.

Are you even able to open up to an actual SONG anymore or do you just analyze everything technically before ever giving it an actual chance to reach you and see the bigger picture and context?

If you start complaining about the vocal production, listen to the entire arrangement. What else should he have done, given what he was being provided with in the first place here? You do understand he did not write this song himself, do you? And you do understand with how much respect he generally approaches covers, always has, do you? If he went all bells and whistles on this one, how could any producer fit it in that particular mix and not mess up the entire song? He went the pro route and still managed to put soul and emotion in there. He did alright, more than alright actually.

I understand you all want him to scream and shout with rasp and all, but this is not what this particular song and production required. If he sang like this in AC/DC you would have tons of points alright complaining, but his performance on Love To Love only shows his class, versatility and sensitivity as a singer.

I repeat myself here, but yeah, I actually do like it. It's a thousand times better than the crap vocals he did for Monsters or some bad nights on stage. If he sings like that on his own songs for a new GNR album I have no complaints as long as it suits the actual song. And in case of Love To Love, it does.

[Lethalis]

2 hours ago, SoulMonster said:

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

I'm sorry but The General vocals don't sound great to me. And the ending is abysmal. The Monsters leak is better though.

Anyways... Seether has released a new album and Dead On The Vine is an instant favorite of mine. So I still got something to be happy about today

Shaun's voice sounds crystal clear in comparison.

Edited 21 hours ago by Lethalis

[F*ck Fear]

People will defend Axl to the end!

[SoulMonster]

Just now, Lethalis said:

I'm sorry but The General vocals don't sound great to me. And the ending is abysmal. The Monsters leak is better though.

Hah, no worries, we have all different preferences and I am totally fine with being in the minority here

[Petr]

The song reminds of some of the solo spots of NuGNR (Dizzy's Ziggy Stardust with some Fortus'/Ashba's add ons) so I would not necessarily call it all over the place like someone did. 

I also agree that hearing it for first time was a bit anticlimatic given the fact how short the vocal part actually is (and I was familiar with the original but still).

I believe the NITL line up can do this song justice live (especially Slash) so I hope they will include it in next year's setlist.

Vocals are OK though far from the best vocalist/singer ever level but I would be happy for a new GNR album with this kind of vocals.  

[Blackstar]

I had a listen to the rest of the album. I think the best tracks in terms of vocal performance are the two songs sung by Joe Lynn Turner. Axl's is pretty good, too (all things considered). The rest are not bad, they're just what I would call "generic rock vocals".

So, Axl's version of Too Hot to Handle probably wouldn't be as good as Joe Lynn Turner's, but it's likely that he has done a better job (not strictly vocally, but adding some more personality) on Only You Can Rock Me than the Europe guy.

Edited 10 hours ago by Blackstar

[SoulMonster]

Just now, Blackstar said:

than the Europe guy.

[Petr]

6 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

I had a listen to the rest of the album. I think the best tracks in terms of vocal performance are the three songs sung by Joe Lynn Turner. Axl's is pretty good, too (all things considered). The rest are not bad, they're just what I would call "generic rock vocals".

So, Axl's version of Too Hot to Handle probably wouldn't be as good as Joe Lynn Turner's, but it's likely that he has done a better job (not strictly vocally, but adding some more personality) on Only You Can Rock Me than the Europe guy.

agree that vocals on some of the other songs are boring generic (80's) rock vocals. i cant manage to listen to whole song.

[colonizedmind]

11 hours ago, megaguns1982 said:

Not bad actually, Good to hear what Axl currently sounds like in a studio setting, the Axl of old is definitely there.  Hope the band can put together some new songs sooner than later.

Especially considering it's probably only one real take...a proper GNR release would certainly be laboured over more (hence why we probably wouldn't see it 😆)

I'd love to hear the two discarded tracks he also did for, Michael!

More lyrics in those .. .

[colonizedmind]

10 hours ago, Tom2112 said:

The song is very cool MS is such an incredible player, those solo(s) were perfect. Axl sounded good, but I thought he would have taken lift off at the end and gave some of the big screams back and forth with the guitar solo ending. Waiting for this release and there's like a minute of singing😁 

Agreed the vocal sounds processed, I wish he'd just sing the track until he's happy with it rather that covering it these effects. In this case it makes the vocal seem very separate to rest of the music, and loses a lot of the warmth almost like when AI replaces vocals (starting the conspiracy😎). Regardless, Axl still sounds good under all that stuff. 

Like I said. Ditto 👍

[Blackstar]

36 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

I see the Europe guy has performed Love to Love, too (though I have to admit it's a pretty good live version)

 

[drlaban]

Sounds great. 
 

Next please. 

[colonizedmind]

7 hours ago, GnR Chris said:

Sometimes it’s really not that serious. I enjoyed hearing newly recorded Axl vocals. I look forward to the day GNR get in studio to record. It doesn’t need to be what once was. 

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

 

To be honest, by Axl standards, there's been a small shift to releasing "new" things in last couple of years....and this is a continuation and another move in the right direction...actual new vocals which in a small disproves those that say he absolutely wouldn't do that ever again...

Decent press response to his track and even on here and we do know Axl reads everything! Or used to...

So hopefully it convinces him after dusting off the mic cobwebs a bit that he could a bit more of this or his own shit ..either way would please this fan...the pure fact that it's been in the press quite a bit about his track (being such a rare thing to happen) will alone have perked the interest of other guitar heroes and the like to perhaps call up Axl for a feature, whereas before that would have been considered a waste of time and dead end. So, let's see....

Really cool he wants to join Michael in Japan, I'd imagine he must have some love for tg UFO catalogue and would sing a few numbers live and not just go all the way there to do a few lines! Unless he really misses authentic sushi! 

Well...many can scoff but we have to take small victories....

Maybe this will lead to a small breakthrough or as we were....

"As it began...."

[Underhardy]

I think he sounds like shit. I’m sorry I wish I could enjoy it. 

[allwaystired]

Like the song, can't see why they bothered fucking around with his voice as it would doubtless sound good anyway. 

Makes me think perhaps the alterations on his voice are part of the song, in a Cher 'Believe' way, rather than anything else. 

Hopefully means we might hear something more but I'm not holding my breath. 

[Zeppelin]

Nice to hear him again. His vocals fit the song well enough.

I'm not a massive fan of how they actually sound. I'm not an expert by any means, but they just sound off to me. Axl wouldn't be the first to fall victim to shoddy modern production, and he won't be the last, let's be honest. But as far as his actual vocals are concerned, I'm satisfied. I'll never listen to this song again, but if I heard these kinds of vocals on new GNR songs (without the shite engineering), I'd be good to go. Won't ever happen, but oh well.

[GNRmello77]

With these vocals it would actually be very cool if GN'R would record a studio version of Sailing, like they did live back in 06! 

[vloors]

36 minutes ago, allwaystired said:

Like the song, can't see why they bothered fucking around with his voice as it would doubtless sound good anyway. 

Makes me think perhaps the alterations on his voice are part of the song, in a Cher 'Believe' way, rather than anything else. 

Hopefully means we might hear something more but I'm not holding my breath. 

If you listen to the rest of the album every other singer sounds natural with no vocal effects including the even older singers like dee snider.

Axl doesnt.

And from what we know Axl recorded the song and took the song for 2 to 3 months to tinker with on his own before handing it in to Michael S.  Crazy as this really is a very short vocal needed for that song.

Any shoddy vocal effects are by Axl/carams doing by Axl choice.

[Voodoochild]

6 hours 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 have a good ear overall. But there's def clipping on The General 

5 hours 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.

I'm no production expert, that's for sure. But I like to think that I have a pretty good ear for those things, and I agree with you. 

Also, I showed the song to my vocal teacher. She's an opera singer and has a pretty amazing ear for vocal stuff. And she agreed that there's no clear indication of autotune, filters or even those so called "robotic" and "unnatural" characteristics. And she liked the song overall.

4 hours ago, sl4yer said:

Like someone already stated:

The vocal processing you are talking about is simply compression and boost of treble. There might be some autotune im verses but it’s more subtle than some of you claim it to be.

This. But about Madagascar, I think it's more to do with the same treble boost for a mid-range vocal in the first few verses in Madagascar.