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Singers that sound good in record but disastrous live!! |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 480
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Singers that sound good in record but disastrous live!!
I was looking through concert reviews and was watching live performance videos from some of the biggest names in music... I found that the following big names were great on CD but out of tune live....
Katy Perry https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Esyq94x0bxA Adam Lazzarra from Taking Back Sunday https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GpBr34V8fl8 Mariah Carey (used to be good but this awful) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1wXgmyuVXYA Who do you think is awful live let me know?? |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Oct 2003
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Katy Perry. She doesn't actually sound that great even on record...she has a pretty basic, average voice. However, live she is absolutely horrific.
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#3 |
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Fife
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Katy Perry is a strange one. I remember seeing her perform Unconditionally on the X Factor in 2013 and it was truly awful. By that time though I had already bought my tickets for Prismatic World Tour. The tour itself was amazing, she wasn't miming (much) and her vocals were pretty good!
If they did use auto tune for the tour then all could be forgiven I suppose. |
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#4 |
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Join Date: Mar 2015
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Quote:
Katy Perry. She doesn't actually sound that great even on record...she has a pretty basic, average voice. However, live she is absolutely horrific.
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#5 |
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#6 |
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: North-West England
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Singers that sound good in record but disastrous live!!
Tell me about it.
It seems increasingly evident that more singers are unable to sing well live. Apart from the "manufactured" singers, a lot of it is down to all this prancing about on a stage whilst "singing." Britney Spears mimed to recordings during her shows. There's a video somewhere of what was actually coming out of her mouth whilst she was dancing. She was actually sounding out of breath, due to the physical exertions However, jazz singers through the ages have much of their careers, mostly worked with either trios or quartets. You've got to be able to sing you get away with that. As any professional musician (I don't mean guitar thrashers) will tell you, that you can't "hide" for a few bars in groups that size, you have to be be paying full attention to your work, all the time. Few singers can sing well live, on Jools Holland's "Later" programme. |
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#7 |
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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Does it really matter whether a singer can sing well live - surely it's what they sound like on record that counts?
Some of my favourite singers, such as Bernard Sumner or Neil Tennant, sound awful live, but on record they're voices suit the style of music they sing perfectly and, unlike most of the X Factor generation, their vocals sound distinctive and have a bit of character. |
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#8 |
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Join Date: May 2012
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Quote:
Does it really matter whether a singer can sing well live - surely it's what they sound like on record that counts?
Some of my favourite singers, such as Bernard Sumner or Neil Tennant, sound awful live, but on record they're voices suit the style of music they sing perfectly and, unlike most of the X Factor generation, their vocals sound distinctive and have a bit of character. |
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#9 |
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Well sort of depends if you want to watch them live doesn't it?
I was always surprised now dodgy the likes of Tony Bennett and Sammy Davis sounded live...along with people like Van Morrison and Willie Nelson...never rank rotten though
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#10 |
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 815
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The lead singer of Within Temptation - Weedy vocals live.
Paloma Faith - Live vocal much more like her talking voice. |
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#11 |
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,943
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Quote:
Does it really matter whether a singer can sing well live - surely it's what they sound like on record that counts?
Some of my favourite singers, such as Bernard Sumner or Neil Tennant, sound awful live, but on record they're voices suit the style of music they sing perfectly and, unlike most of the X Factor generation, their vocals sound distinctive and have a bit of character. |
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#12 |
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Join Date: Jul 2008
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Quote:
Call me old fashioned but being a singer and being able to sing well live used to mean something .
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#13 |
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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Quote:
Call me old fashioned but being a singer and being able to sing well live used to mean something .
Quote:
It should be the bare minimum really, and it's often touted as a selling point.
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#14 |
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Join Date: Jul 2008
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Quote:
But by that criteria you'd be ruling out "classic" artists like Bob Dylan and Lou Reed.
I love both of 'em to bits but would have a hard job convincing non fans that they were indeed great singers. I've heard some awful Dylan live stuff though...likewise Lou Reed...
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#15 |
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Quote:
Call me old fashioned but being a singer and being able to sing well live used to mean something .
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#16 |
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Quote:
The Beatles didn't exactly have the best voices...think you mean better to sing live rather than mime and rely on autotune.
These two are making a living covering them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj8LEL4gbQU |
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#17 |
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Join Date: Jun 2011
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Katy perry is a weird one
Give her a guitar and an acoustic version of her song, she sings great. Her MTV Unplugged proves this. As does her performances of the acoustic One that got away. Give her a massive stage show and her usual pop hits, she is horrendous. She doesn't sing, she shouts. It's as if she is playing a competition on who can be louder. Her or the music |
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#18 |
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Join Date: Aug 2004
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I think the thread title only needed to be "singers that are disastrous live" as just about any artist can be made to sound good on record with the studio trickery that goes on these days.
Apart from the usual suspects, the two that spring to mind for me are Lana Del Rey and Paloma Faith. Considering that their voice is supposed to be the main selling point they are pretty bad live imo. |
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#19 |
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The voice is probably the last thing thats considered by those who peddle pop.
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#20 |
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Belfast
Posts: 7,287
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Quote:
The Beatles didn't exactly have the best voices...think you mean better to sing live rather than mime and rely on autotune.
Recorded sound and live sound are really different forms and I think I know most of my music through recorded sound. Auto-tune is just an effect like reverb or distortion and can be used very creatively. Would Len’s ‘Steal My Sunshine’ or Hellogoodbye’s ‘Here (In Your Arms)’ have the same emotional impact without those bright, auto-tuned enhanced vocal lines? I think not. Sometimes I want to hear a great singer live but more often I want to hear some great music and ideas expressed, live or not. Bono, Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Michael Stipe, Trent Reznor, Van the Man...even Ian Brown have all sounded fine. For me, it's the song not the singer...admittedly I am going to see Little Mix to see if they sound as well live as they do on record.
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#21 |
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Quote:
The Beatles didn't rely on autotune because it didn't exist until Andy Hildebrand invented it in the 90s effectively. But John Lennon was notorious for not liking his singing voice and had it processed in other ways. Rather creatively I would say,
Recorded sound and live sound are really different forms and I think I know most of my music through recorded sound. Auto-tune is just an effect like reverb or distortion and can be used very creatively. Would Len’s ‘Steal My Sunshine’ or Hellogoodbye’s ‘Here (In Your Arms)’ have the same emotional impact without those bright, auto-tuned enhanced vocal lines? I think not. Sometimes I want to hear a great singer live but more often I want to hear some great music and ideas expressed, live or not. Bono, Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Michael Stipe, Trent Reznor, Van the Man...even Ian Brown have all sounded fine. For me, it's the song not the singer...admittedly I am going to see Little Mix to see if they sound as well live as they do on record. ![]() |
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#22 |
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Join Date: Sep 2008
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Elton John is awful live. He shouts and growls every line.
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#23 |
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Quote:
I thought we were talking about live performances over records....even if it sounds better on record, would you be happy to go a concert and the artist in question mimed.
I haven't been to a gig where the artist mimed and I probably wouldn't go to one where they would. Little Mix will sing live, I'm sure. U2, Springsteen, Van the Man, Fleetwood Mac, Nine Inch Nails, Mary Chapin Carpenter are my kind of artists and they are all known for being great live. But live is in the moment and recorded music is forever. If you are really interested in the quality of a singing voice, I would advise you to go to the opera or the jazz club. |
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#24 |
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I don't expect live performances and recorded performances to match. I think of them as different mediums. There are so many creative things you can do in the studio that are just not possible live. And my preference for experiencing pop music is through recordings not live performance.
I haven't been to a gig where the artist mimed and I probably wouldn't go to one where they would. Little Mix will sing live, I'm sure. U2, Springsteen, Van the Man, Fleetwood Mac, Nine Inch Nails, Mary Chapin Carpenter are my kind of artists and they are all known for being great live. But live is in the moment and recorded music is forever. If you are really interested in the quality of a singing voice, I would advise you to go to the opera or the jazz club. Though I do sometimes think records can be over produced and try too hard to be perfect..an example for me in that regard would be Oasis with Definitely Maybe followed by the far too slick What's The Story Morning Glory. |
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#25 |
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Join Date: Nov 2009
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Florence welch is terrible live.
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