P's voice has taken on a more mature tone lately and his modal is strained on high notes (eg. Lion of Judah). I noticed that quality on Emancipation, but it seems to be progressively taking over a greater portion of his range. Furthermore, his falsetto revealed cracks for the first time on Planet Earth.

Personally, I don't mind the sound, it suits 'Colonized Mind' well and all, but I just wonder if he can still sing exactly like he used to? He did abuse his voice for many years after all.

Opinions? Am I way off?

He may be using Auto tune? not only does it create a robotic style voice when tweaked, in it's "normal" form, it corrects vocals into perfect pitch in real time.

Hmmm, I have no idea if you are "way off" but his falsetto on Planet Earth (esp on Somewhere Here On Earth) sounded fine to my ears. I'd sometimes even go so far as to say it sounds better than it used to.

I would guess that all those years of Ow-Ooh-ahs, screaming and singing live has had an effect and our voices definitely change as we get older. I wouldn;t say I've noticed a great difference with Prince yet though...

On a slightly related note, I've noticed many times over the years that whenever Prince would do an elongated throaty scream when performing he would follow it with a very high pitched Woo! or Ow! as if to clear his throat or soothe it? (an example would be on SOTT movie during the Forever In My Life/IT part).

I think his voice is fine considering all it's been thru in the last 30 years.

I'd agree that his upper range isn't as strong or clear as it once. I first noticed it on the One Nite Alone Live! CDs.

I do like what is happening to his lower range though - the Superbowl performance was when I noticed this had changed - more throaty and rough.

His mid - range however, which he uses on 'guitar' for example - I find quite weedy and annoying.

The great thing about his voice has always been how many of them there are, so if one falters, the other comes to the fore.

His speaking voice is soft and deep at the same time, Omigod how sexy!
[Edited 2/17/09 6:58am]

Dayclear said:

mmm...hmmmm.. I agree, I think he could stir up alot passion just talking, forget even getting physical. What a beautiful voice, GOD really did give this man some talent.

I love it when he talks in his songs, hope he does that on his new album, I will be listening for sure...

underthegraffitibridge said:

i've noticed the change or lack of strength during planet earth as well ..that's y he doesn't scream as much or at all anymore. the screaming hasn't been as powerful since musicology tho

dnaplaya said:

I really despise the use of digital vocal effects such as Auto-Tune, when the filter adds distortion. Prince can sing like a "real musician", so he damn-well should. These filters are going to date a lot of today's music in a bad way.

BTW, long live the Peach And Black Podcast!

All singers adjust their arrangements as they grow older, I personally noticed it first with Elton John. It's just the way of things. And guess what, Prince will eventually die one day too. Prince is, after all, human. Was there an expectation on anyone's part that he was supposed to never develop, change, or mature?

Well his voice is seriously deep, idk maybe ur right on using it alot, but Planet Earth sounded fine to me or i havent noticed

All singers' voices change with age. Virtually no opera singer has their best days before early middle age if they last in the profession.

I am very pleasantly surprised at the range and versatility of Prince's voice given what he's done to it over the years. That fearless treatment is partly why I love his music and which gives it such a raw and acute feeling

Now I love his lower register, I always enjoyed when he varied the sound between songs, and I hope he will use his amazing lower register more in teh future

I love Prince's speaking voice as well as Prince singing...It's unique, I have never heard another person that I could say sounded like Prince.

squirrelgrease said:

Thanks, there is more 2 come

Good observation OP.

I was thinking the same allready when seeing and the hear the material he did with the Musicology concerts in 2004/2005.

IMO his baritone ('normal singing voice') has gotten deeper and 'fuller' with age, and his voice benefits from that during live performances.
No matter how brilliant those Sign of the Times and Lovesexy-concerts were, i was sometimes dissapointed with how forced, sometimes even shrill, his vocals were sounding when he was singing in his normal register.

I think he has better control over his normal register nowadays, and that suits those live performances well.

Or he might have secretly taken some singing lessons, who knows...

Dayclear said:

Riverpoet31 said:

prince is a tenor not a baritone, barry white was a natuarl baritone

L4OATheOriginal said:

No, I really wouldn't say P is a tenor. He is a baritone with a great falsetto.

cherrymoongirl said:

I agree, he's a baritone - Barry White was a base!

squirrelgrease said:[quote]

dnaplaya said:

w00t !

(whatever that may mean lol)



.

Tame said:

<-----shakes head in agreement

.
[Edited 3/21/10 12:55pm]

underthegraffitibridge said:

I've heard this expressed before and I don't really see it at all. To my ears, Princes voice has always (intentionally) sounded strained in the higher register. And as far as I can tell, the range in which that kicks in also hasn't changed.

What has changed, is how that strained sound manifests. In the 80's it was a real gutteral scraping sound, which, if pushed, would turn into an almighty squeal (eg, Beautiful Ones). He really can't do that any more. He still screams, but it sounds closer to a gargle. For me, you can hear that progression right throughout the 90's albums.

His falsetto, however, has changed very little, in my opinion. It is just as likely to sound crystal clear, or appear to have cracks, now as it did 25 years ago. Listen to things like Scandalous or Rave, recorded 20 years ago, you'd swear that his falsetto was about to give out altogether! While 'Future Baby Mama' sounds as crisp and as clean as any other track.

I've mentioned this in another post before, but for me, Prince's greatest falsetto moment was on 'When the Lights Go Down. Having the control, variety, and expression to sing that low in his falsetto is breath taking. Always gets me.