don't get me wrong, I didn't mean to say the song was totally butchered. it was moving indeed, it just wasn't what we imagined it would be.
They should tune the instruments down another half step. It would help Jon in so many ways. So many songs that aren't being played could be played at least decently.
I was listening to some of the live stuff from 95/96 and you can clearly hear a difference from 92/93. He sang beautifully but you can tell his voice became a bit nasal in 95. not nasal as it is now, more like he had a cold constantly. again, it only 'affected' his tone compared to the keep the faith era, not the performance as a whole. I guess it was clear his voice was bound to change and he didn't really see it coming. Again, even the most nostalgic fan isn't asking for Jon to undergo a miraculous vocal cord surgery that'll make him sound like he's 25 all over again. We can't stop time and its side effects. But we can't simply blame it on age since a lot of older singers still sing in the original key and blow people away, like Macca or Springsteen. But if Jon was clever enough to tune everything down a half-step in the late 80s, he could do the same thing, AT LEAST on certain songs. for example, when he sang Queen of New Orleans live it sounded shit because it was such a low key in the studio version that it was almost like he couldn't get that low live, everything being a half-step down. Plus, with all those guitars and basses and competent roadies, everything could be done smoothly.