Jon's Voice
 

hi guys!

theres been alot of talk about Jons voice not been as high quality as say 'these days' and thats why he doesnt want to sing songs like KTF or always

my question is this:....if his voice was lot poorer now, how come it still sounds awesome on the albums with songs such as 'I Am' and 'bells of freedom'?

If he can sing them in the studio why not live?surely there is some voice/throat training etc that can be done for him when hes on the road

what you guys think?do you think Jon could re-record Always just like the original version?

there's a world of difference between a couple of takes in the studio and all the studio tools money can buy and night after night on the road singing not just one, but 20-something songs. plus, the songs on have a nice day aren't generally as vocally demanding as albums recorded previously.

Yeah good point!

I guess tools in the studio etc makes a big diff!

Just the last time i got that wow feeling when watching him sing a song/note live etc was probably 'something to believe in' japan 96

I wonder if anyone has recommended that he gave up smoking?

In Jon's defense, very seldom have I ever seen an artist whose voice holds up as well in concert as it does in the studio.

Ever hear Axl Rose or Joe Elliot live?

Apparently the new songs are sounding just as good in concert as the album versions and they should be able to reproduce new, post-2000 material, just as good in a live enviorment, which they can. You can't really expect an exact replica because doing that night after night, would destroy his voice, Slippery When Wet tour for example, but being pretty much spot on is what you're after.

It's inevitable that a singers voice is not going to be as good in his fourties as it was in his twenties and thirties so we can't really blame Jon for that as it's simply a matter of age, and Jon has always pushed his voice to it's limits on every album, which is why there are quite a few songs that his is incapable of singing as well now as in the past.
However, as has been said many times before, Jon really isn't doing all that he could be to keep his voice in top shape. The smoking is just crazy. Period. I don't know if he's bringing a vocal coach out on tour with him this time but it sure would help and of course if he could really sing from his soul and mean the song, it would help aswell. I've heard Bono say recently that he has to get lost in the music and truly feel the song to hit the high notes in concert because when he's rehearsing he can't get up that high.

Let's keep it in perspective though, Jon's voice is still very much intact, and even though it's not as good as it was 10 years ago or as good as it could be now, it's still terrific, especially when compared to most of his peers.


Phil

Many people on this board have suggested this, but what you all don't seem to realise is that it's a tad easier said than done!

Eh, not really. Actually there are many hugely effective and quite simple methods out there to get people to permanently stay off cigarettes.

Nicotine is addictive but after just three weeks the brain no longer craves it and the addiction is gone. Smoking is much more habbit then addiction.


Phil

Axl Rose was incredible live, ok he had his off nights like the DVD that was released but when he was into it he was amazing. Joe Elliot is crap though, I'll give you that.

Jon's voice doesn't always come across as well on TV or DVD as it does when you are actually there. I was totally blown away by how good he sounded on the KTF tour, much better than on record. To be honest he's never really disappointed live until the Bounce tour. When he went off to let Richie sing IBTFY I kind of hoped he wouldn't come back on! Maybe he was just having problems that particular show, he did sound a bit croaky and I seem to remember seeing him cough a couple of times. I was watching the One Wild Night thing from VH1 the other night and he sounds really strong on that. I love that version of KTF, can't believe it's been dropped from the set.

There are some who can't cut it live but most singers I've seen sound better live than on record with the big exception of Velvet Revolver, what a load of shite they were.

You can't completely blame cigarettes. Lots of singers smoke. Doesn't affect them in the same way. Hell, Whitney Houston smokes crack and her voice holds out.

If quitting smoking was easy, no one would smoke. If loosing weight was easy, everyone would be thin. If quiting drinking was easy, there would be no Alcoholics Anonymous. You never know what another person's level of struggle is looking from the outside. I have a video interview from Japan, I think late 1996 or early 1997, where Jon was smoking and he vowed that was his last pack. He's tried to quit. Tico quit for a while and started again. When everyone in the band is smoking around him, it's got to make it that much harder for Jon to "just say no."