Singers whose vocals improved in old age?

[stoken6]

8 hours ago, o0Ampy0o said:

Celine Dion can sing anything and sound amazing.

I never used to like Dion's singing - I found it overwrought, melodramatic and histrionic. Then I heard her sing in French - and somehow it works.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[stoken6]

36 minutes ago, vonnor said:

From july 2022. That line at 3:20 tho... damn. Back in '82 I said I would give my left ring finger to have that guy's voice. I believe the offer still stands.

 

~ vonnor

 

 

Plus the drum fill at 3:29 is most 80s stadium-rock thing that ever 80s stadium-rocked. Across the barline, triplet AND a push!

 

Cheers, Mike.

[jerrythek]

Yes, but the topic is singers whose voice has improved with age... I wouldn't say that about Celine, would you? I feel for her and her health issues. She has suffered a lot in recent times.

 

But... Joe Walsh sings beautifully? Really??!!??!! That is not the term I would use to describe his singing... is it just me?

 

 

10 hours ago, o0Ampy0o said:

Celine Dion can sing anything and sound amazing. Her singing has not suffered as she has gotten older. Unfortunately she recently revealed she has a rare and incurable neurological disorder, SPS Stiff Person Syndrome. I recall seeing her on all of the awards shows singing the theme from Titanic, My Heart Will Go On. As she did in each performance I believe every time she performs the song she pounds her chest when she sings the "heart" part.

 

She was once a gift awarded to a couple by Oprah for their wedding. Celine sang to them just before they said their vows. She was able to get into the song and deliver yet another emotional performance in what must have been considerably awkward for her to step up and perform as Oprah basically interrupted and took over the ceremony.

 

Singers really have to get into the moment. Every other instrument can be taken on a walk but a singer must feel the moment to overcome every distraction or detractor. She sings with her heart and soul. At times she has appeared to take herself too seriously but you have to forgive her for such a thing because when express your heart and soul in a performance you risk being melodramatic when speaking in between songs. Anything less she would not be as good at singing.

 

Joe Walsh is a guitar virtuoso. He can still sing beautifully although he is strictly accompaniment here.

 

 

 

[stoken6]

3 hours ago, jerrythek said:

Joe Walsh sings beautifully? Really??!!??!! That is not the term I would use to describe his singing... is it just me?

It's not just you. I admit I do love the way Joe Walsh does the crazy opposite of singing beautifully. Can you imagine Steve Perry or Luther Vandross singing "Life's been good"?

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Mark Schmieder]

Wow, that was painful, for me. But so are most post-COVID clips. Looks like only one original band member remains, and he is mostly sharp but always out of tune. Very low energy to that live performance as well. Could be due to YouTube compression though. I did like the movie though, at the time, and the song as well, but it has not worn well with time. The one that I can't bear to hear, ever since it came out, is "We Built This City". I think that's when Grace Slick had had enough, and checked out.

[Mark Schmieder]

I think Joe Walsh has been the lead voice in more projects than almost anyone. Very versatile in musical style, even if the voice itself is more on the raw side... though in a good way. As with most artists, the most recent clips I have heard were painful to listen to.

 

I almost think we need two categories for "improves with age" pre-COVID, and post-COVID. A lot of singers improved until COVID and then dropped to near-zero in quality, passion, and energy. I'm not being judgmental; I actually feel sorry for those artists, as I am sure it is something that is hard for them to live with, as many had lofty plans.

[o0Ampy0o]

12 hours ago, jerrythek said:

Yes, but the topic is singers whose voice has improved with age... I wouldn't say that about Celine, would you? I feel for her and her health issues. She has suffered a lot in recent times.

 

But... Joe Walsh sings beautifully? Really??!!??!! That is not the term I would use to describe his singing... is it just me?

 

 

 

 

9 hours ago, stoken6 said:

It's not just you. I admit I do love the way Joe Walsh does the crazy opposite of singing beautifully. Can you imagine Steve Perry or Luther Vandross singing "Life's been good"?

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

Celine Dion, you are probably correct that she has not "improved with age." I included her because she has not gotten any worse with age which in a sense is working against the flow. She has definitely aged. That she can still sing so well, she is overcoming the gradual deterioration which is part of aging. As intense as she sings and as her career now spans decades she has stayed afloat. Imagine how well she would have sung if she was singing like this in the beginning. "She was" you might say. Maybe.

 

Joe Walsh, I am speaking about his harmonies not his lead singing. When he does background vocals it shows what he is capable of. He can get pretty goofy-voiced in his lead vocals but he has a beautiful voice when singing straight. I don't believe he would be in The Eagles if he wasn't so good at background harmonies. Unfortunately they have been removed from Youtube but someone had isolated all the vocals on Seven Bridges Road. I wish I had his track to post here.

[o0Ampy0o]

14 hours ago, stoken6 said:

I never used to like Dion's singing - I found it overwrought, melodramatic and histrionic. Then I heard her sing in French - and somehow it works.

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

I have had similar perceptions when watching her sing. Listening to her sing is very different for me. It takes some effort to ignore what I see of her and to focus on the vocals. I have heard her sing in French. To me just about anyone singing in French gets additional points it is such a beautiful language. Ironically, I prefer her English vocals because I can hear more of her voice and less the beautiful language, if that makes sense.

[jerrythek]

18 hours ago, stoken6 said:

It's not just you. I admit I do love the way Joe Walsh does the crazy opposite of singing beautifully. Can you imagine Steve Perry or Luther Vandross singing "Life's been good"?

 

Cheers, Mike.

I'm with you, he's a favorite of mine as well for his tunes, his guitar playing, and his "I am who I am, deal with it!" attitude.

[Docbop]

2 hours ago, jerrythek said:

I'm with you, he's a favorite of mine as well for his tunes, his guitar playing, and his "I am who I am, deal with it!" attitude.

 

 

I loved how he titled his second album after a Jazz legend Howard Roberts comment....The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get 

 

As a guitar player I was always a big fan of Joe Walsh.  Got to hang around him a few times, I got invited to hang at a session for a new group Joe was going to produce.   This guy with Joe pulls out this huge bag of cleaned weed, then Joe had a woman who sat at end of the console the whole night just rolling joints for anyone to take.   Guess you could say Joe had his "Rocky Mountain Way".

[bill5]

Geddy Lee is the only one I agree with tbh. He really needed to tone down the screech factor.  A singer's voice improving with age is about as common as a winning lottery ticket IMO 

[o0Ampy0o]

On 12/17/2022 at 9:49 AM, bill5 said:

Geddy Lee is the only one I agree with tbh. He really needed to tone down the screech factor.  A singer's voice improving with age is about as common as a winning lottery ticket IMO 

 

He made adjustments to his delivery and also started using more sophisticated vocal processing in the studio. The Analog Kid's smooth and spacious "You move me You move me" generated many new fans. People who had hated his voice could like what they heard.

[Delaware Dave]

Mine....  avoided singing for many years because of a lousy voice; forced into action about 12 years ago and I made a concerted effort to improve my singing.

[brenner13]

Polarizing genre maybe but to me, Ronnie James Dio sounded better and better until illness took hold.

Glenn Hughes’ vox with Black Country Communion is light years better than the mid-1970’s with Deep Purple. I’ve yet to explore tunes with Dead Daisies…adding that to my playlist right now. 

[o0Ampy0o]

12 hours ago, brenner13 said:

Polarizing genre maybe but to me, Ronnie James Dio sounded better and better until illness took hold.

Glenn Hughes’ vox with Black Country Communion is light years better than the mid-1970’s with Deep Purple. I’ve yet to explore tunes with Dead Daisies…adding that to my playlist right now. 

Ronnie could sing beautifully when he wanted to and was not digging into that throaty “Deep Purple” style on purpose. David Coverdale sounded better in Whitesnake than he did in Deep Purple. That might only be the differing band objectives. Not that it is an identical situation the guy singing in Foreigner, Kelly Hansen, has been able to cover Lou Gramm’s vocals but when he was in other bands he sounded very different singing in his natural style. In the later the singer is not just singing a different style he is attempting to sing like someone else.

[Spider76]

I mentioned Roger Taylor but thinking about Queen, I think that Freddie's voice also improved over the years...if anything like that was even conceivable.

He learned how to use better and better the immense gifts at his disposal, often foregoing the falsettoes for full-power belting, even on his trademark high notes. His singing on In My Defence,  a relatively unknown theme from a 1986 musical (not even written by him) may well be the most impressive pop/rock vocal performance I've ever heard.

 

 

[stoken6]

Yeah that's impressive from Freddie. He manages to retain the richness of his baritone in the high tenor, and the projection and strength when he's singing in lower registers. The influence of opera (if not quite the technique!)

 

Cheers, Mike.

[analogholic]

Gino Vannelli...check out the final crescendo at 4:40...OMG...

 

 

 

[brenner13]

Saw Charlie Pride perform on PBS just prior to the pandemic shut-down. While maybe not “improved” per se, the man’s still got “it”.

[re Pete]

The Paul Simon tribute taped last spring that was on air last night had some amazing vocals. Bonnie Raitt still got it at 73. 

[Mills Dude]

2 hours ago, re Pete said:

The Paul Simon tribute taped last spring that was on air last night had some amazing vocals. Bonnie Raitt still got it at 73. 

I caught the last half of that and I thought about this thread during the final tunes that Paul Simon sang. While his singing voice certainly isn't what it was, the other voice, the one that is able to convey his spirit and vision, is perhaps stronger. I thought his performance of Graceland and Sounds of Silence, arguably his 2 greatest songs, was very powerful. Perhaps its the accrued wisdom of his years or the realization he's in his twilight years and still has something to communicate. Either way, I was blown away with his performance.

 

I delved back into Simon's catalog a few years back.  I had never heard Hearts and Bones before, the song as well as the rest of the record is great.  Of course having Richard Tee and Steve Gadd in your backing band helps. One of my best concert experiences was seeing Simon on the Rhythm of the Saints tour. I was always a casual fan, but became more of an admirer in the last 10 years or so.

 

I caught most of that Springsteen interview with Stern on S/XM recently, haven't seen the HBO telecast. I have a similar feeling about Bruce that perhaps his vocal ability has lagged a bit with age, but his artists voice is strong as ever if not stronger.  I'm not a big Bruce fan, I dig the hits. But hearing him belt out his tunes solo with that aged patina in his voice evoked a healthy dose of goosebump moments.

 

Jackson Browne is another who I've always liked. I still listen the Hold Out and Runnin' On Empty records regularly. Same story with him, the voice is not what is once was but his ability to deliver a song might be better than ever.

 

James Taylor, what more can one say?  The man is ageless.

 

We're in that era where those great artists from the singer/songwriter era are in the twilight but they still have a voice and I'm still listening.

[kaptainkeys]

One that comes to mind to me is Joseph Williams, current Toto lead singer and son of that John Williams.  When he came back to Toto in 2010, his voice was not in such great shape, and after beginning to work with a vocal coach before their 35th anniversary tour, his vocals have vastly improved in the last 10 years or so.
Here's a comparison on Till the End, 2010 vs 2020 (the later version is a half step down, but Joe's voice is still much better)

(should start at the right time, if not the timestamps are in the description)

 

[Josh Paxton]

Two pages and no love for Ray Charles? Shame on all of you!

[Steve Nathan]

Herb Jeffries