I think it's obvious his voice has changed, quite dramatically. I was surprised to hear Jon say in an interview recently that he thought it had changed for the better. But, to each his own I guess.

In regards to Crush period vs. today, it's better than it was. Listen to Storytellers or the Crush Tour DVD and you can tell he's really struggling to get the vocals out. Describing it as "pushing" is pretty accurate. His intonations sound really pinched, very nasal. Like he's not opening his mouth and is instead singing straight out his nose. Just a personal taste, but I find it very grating to listen to.

However, judging by what I've seen from the various TV spots the last few months(and Bounce as an album)... some of the smoothness and fullness to his voice is coming back. If you compare It's My Life on VH1 Big 2002 vs. My Vh1 Awards 2000, there is a pretty perceptible difference, and in Jon's favor. He doesn't seem to be forcing it as much. I really hope this pattern continues, because Jon's voice at it's best(around These Days era for me) is something amazing. I have memories of literally being memorized by the vocals during live performances... that just hasn't happened lately. But, I definetly think whatever funk he was going through around Crush has been ironed out, somewhat.

In fairness, I do like some of the rough texture he's developed on songs like "Open All Night" and the Ally songs he did. There's an understated longing in *that* voice. It's just when he lapses into trying to push all of the vowels out of his nose that I think things have gone seriously wrong.

Perspective is important though. He's blown out his voice before and if he has to cheat somewhat to get through a tour or whatever, I completely understand that.

Back to the point-- yeah, he is sounding better than he was sounding during the Crush tour. I'll know more after watching the concert they are showing on USA tonight...