Jon's voice between 1998 and 2000

Hi guys. I've been a lurker here for months - seeing lots of great discussions about the band, music, set-lists, and Jon's voice over the years. I hope you don't mind another voice thread - but it's something that's been nagging me for awhile - maybe you guys can help out.

I saw this post which inspired this thread:

http://www.drycounty.com/jovitalk/bo...ost785396.html

I know Jon's voice has changed over the years - but what caused that shift in quality after 1998? I know he smoked back in the day (does he still?), but there had to be other factors as well. I was listening to him sing on some 1998 clips and he still had power, range, and he was still able to sing higher parts without needing to force his chest voice upwards (he was using mixed voice). Here's a couple of the clips:


He lets the crowd sing much of the song - but the parts he sings still have his old voice and he gets some great notes (especially at the end where he nails the higher part). I can't find any version after this year where it sounds anything like this (although Bremen 2000 was a good effort).


This one surprised me as he sings most of the chorus lines with the original record phrasing without doing the conservative drop phrasing (he sustains the notes on "rain", "hate", "late," etc). He also gets clean C#5s at 2:37 and 4:28. Again - there's been some versions after this that are good efforts - but sounds nothing like the 1998 one.

I don't know what caused the dip in the quality after 1998 (I can only guess a mix of smoking, technique, not using the voice, etc). Maybe people here can help!

Welcome to the Forum...

Yes, Jon's voice has always been a topic of conversation around here...

In summary, Jon's had a steady vocal decline since 1993 (maybe even earlier) but no one cared because his voice was still enjoyable. He still had power and a range that might have required a little more effort on his part but regardless, his voice was still enjoyable. That in itself could be a question or a poll on here "what year did Jon's voice start to become unenjoyable?" I think that's the real question...

In reality, probably only a handful of people know the actual cause. Jon's doctors, Jon's vocal coaches, and obviously Jon himself. My opinion is, it's a combination of thing. Mother Nature effects all people differently. Jon's tone could have changed due to age. An 18 year old Jon is not supposed to sound the same at 55. His father has a deeper tone and maybe that's just Jon's fate. I'm sure Jon's Whale Scream that he abused during every performance throughout the 80's and early 90's is probably a major contributor. Now a days these artists are getting surgery through early detection. They probably didn't do that back then or it was more riskier. And then to top it off, I'm sure smoking didn't help (and no, he doesn't smoke anymore)...

It's also my opinion that his voice is damaged beyond repair. His chords are shot and you can't change someone's natural tone.

I do however want to mention that Jon can still sing and actually sing quite well... His vocal range is what's shot and the technique he uses today to reach though notes is what throws people off into thinking that he has no voice... When Jon sings in his capable lower register, he sounds amazing. Jon could probably sing New Orleans like he did in 1997.

I was listening to bootlegs the other day from the OWN Tour back in 2001. I was amazed by how great Jon sounded. Back in 2001, I had nothing to compare his voice to but the past and I remember being disappointed however listening to it now and comparing it to 2016, it's a world of a difference. Point being, I can't even imagine how Jon will sound in 10 years but he'll be 65 by then.

At the end of the day, Jon's singing technique that he used during the 80's was definitely the path of destruction. But then again, at age 25 Jon probably didn't think he's still be singing past 40 being that the span of a rock star wasn't as long back then either... When I listen to boots from'88, '89, '90, I wouldn't wish to change a thing. Those performances are gems of pure gold...

Welcome to JoviTalk!!

I agree with Rdkopper on what he said. His voice is damaged beyond repair and the right question would be "When did Jon's voice become unenjoyable to listen to?". Jon never peformed his songs like he did on the studio versions, but who the hell does? His voice was freaking great live and he would run around the stage and dance like crazy. 99.9% of people can't sing like Jon did in the 80s and 90s even if they'd give their best and would be glued to the stage.

Something clearly changed in 2000 when he started sounding like he always had a stuffy nose but he could still pull of a great vocal performance when he was really into the song. In 2002 he still sounded cool but in 2003 his voice really went downhill...still he managed to pull of this somehow


After 2003 I think he got lazy and said screw it so on the next tour he performed easier versions of Always, Blaze of Glory, Bed of Roses, IBTFY.I have no ideea why he choose to perform them this way since back then he still had the range to perform the original versions (I mean he did these songs in the original version between 2008-2013), I'm guessing he was really lazy.

His voice got ruined by mixed factors, his genetics for his vocal chords, the abuse on his vocal cords in his younger days, smoking, drinking, not taking proper care and doing vocal exercises, age.

I didn't believe that Jon's vocal state would change again after watching how his voice stayed pretty much the same between 2008-2011 and even in the first few months of his 2013 BWC tour. I think I've read somewhere that he quit smoking in 2009 or 2010 ?? somewhere around that so I said oh, ok he'll probably sound the same until he retires, but after Richie left the band his voice went downhill again. By the end of the BWC tour he sounded awful !! And in 2014-2015 he sounded even crappier than he did at the end of the previous tour.

But no matter how crappy his voice gets I still love the whole band, including Richie and Alec.

And I gotta say that I feel really sorry sometimes for Jon because of his voice. It must suck very badly seeing your voice fade away like that knowing that your the singer in one of the biggest bands in rock history.
I can picture Jon laying down in his bed thinking of how he used to scream like a ****nut in his young days and all he can do now is "I'm a cowboy (sung like if he was catching his breath after being chased by a wild animal) On a steel horse IIIIIIIIIIIII RIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE, wanted dead or haliiiiiiiiiv".

About that performance of These Days, that's an easy one. It's not downtuned but in the same key as the song is on the album. It's too hard for Jon to sing the song in the same key on the album, they started downtuning them for half a step since halfway the 80ties.

All these years later that Keep The Faith performance from Anaheim in 2003 is my all time favorite, so much passion and energy!! I only wish they would have released that live version as an official live version, in high quality. I love Keep The Faith and no other performance beats it in my humble opinion!

Yeah - I quite like that Anaheim Keep The Faith. The improv section is my favorite part about the performance!