Roger Daltry - The Who
Robert Plant - Led Zep
Whitney Houston
David Lee Roth

Mariah Carey

also, i remember thinking "wtf happened to Debbie Harry's voice?" at one point, seeing them perform on TV sometime in the last 5 years or so.



not to mention her face


although she's been looking a lot better for the second Blondie comeback this year and last.
[Edited 12/2/04 20:12pm]
[Edited 12/2/04 20:14pm]

poor olivia newton john sounded like a tone-deaf nico the last time i heard her try to sing live.

and i could invoke the almighty "M" name, but i'm really not in the mood for catching a big smoldering plate of it tonight...but her fans know it's true....

Anxiety said:

? actually, she sounds better than she has at any other point in her career. live and on record.

chaka khan
before rick james died he sung at an award show, i can't remember if it was the BET awards or what but his voice was terrible.

Rod Stewart

Elton John

since his throat operation in the late 80s due to years of heavy drug abuse- and especially noticeable since the late 90s or so

GrayKing said:

yeah. and why does he keep doing all these old songs all over again? it sounds like elevator music. i like his old music better.

jtgillia said:

it sounds better to me, actually. it is a very different voice. but it's richer, deeper, more expressive than the falsetto he scraped by on throughout the 70's and early 80's.

heybaby said:

it's a good thing he's singing these old warhorse standards that can afford to be battered around and bruised by his "crooning".... because a Rod Stewart-type song circa 2004 probably couldn't handle it.

GrayKing said:

so the whole "out of breath/uncontrolled vibratto" sound is a stylistic choice?

jtgillia said:

Yeah, I remember watching him try to get through "Crocodile Rock" on Oprah a few years back, and it was just depressing.

Anxiety said:

he does have an embarrassing knack for not vocally re-arranging old songs to accomodate his post-80's voice. which is odd. he has no falsetto anymore. i wonder why he keeps trying to sing songs with it.

GrayKing said:

i would really just cut out those songs if i were him - i know they're fan favorites and all, but it would be like trying to hear prince slog through "kiss" if he'd messed up his cords to the point where he sounded like selma diamond after a glass of egg nog. not that elton sounds that bad, but still...maybe he could have the scissor sister guy duet with him for those songs on a tour or something, i dunno...

Anxiety said:

i have heard him sing some of those songs without trying to push the high notes or the falsetto, and they sound fine. fresh almost. i'm not sure why he doesn't just stop trying to sing them the old way.

GrayKing said:

Her and Joni Mitchell sound like old men nowdays. I love Debbbie but she's gotta be more careful about what songs from her back catalogue she tries to sing nowdays, cuz some of that stuff doesnt work with with her deeper voice.

bds70 said:

I heard on the radio that diamond dave has given up his music career and is a paramedic in new york. Anybody else hear this ridiculous story ?

Brian McKnight.

He makes pretty good songs, but it just doesn't seem like his existence matters to anyone anymore.

Babyface

He's just lost it. I download the advance copy of his last album with the "Loneliness" single - that was his lamest album ever. I dont even think he came out, but if it did, I didn't know which just further proves it sucked.

Boyz II Men

Oh, man... these brothas had that harmoney that most R&B groups were lacking. And now the Bass-man left the group. They make good songs, but they also make too many stale-ass ballads.

Its ashame a group like New Edition can comeback with some heat, but Boyz II Men can't. But then again, Michael Bivins used to be their manager and is a member of New Edition.

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown

1st of all, I blame Whitney's downhill spiral on Bobby. I think he got her hooked on something. I was watching Whitney performed onstage at an Awards show once, singing one of her old songs. She could finish her own song with a high note, instead she had some lil girl come up to the stage and finish it for her. Damn! And she was losing all of that weight too. Damn! I missed the ol' Whitney the day one era, and from the Bodyguard era and the Preacher's Wife era. And Bobby Brown. LOL! I can't believe Ja got Bobby to sing the chorus for "Thug Lovin". It must've been his rap sheet that caught Murder Inc's eye cause it damn sure wasnt his voice. King Of R&B??? She-it! Reefa & Beer! Rubber & Biscuits!

Rick James (R.I.P.) And Teena Marie.

I love and respect this woman, but she just does NOT have the voice anymore. She can barely hit a fuckin note when she sings - sounds like some R&B opera shit. Her performance with Rick James (R.I.P.) at the BET Awards was a very special moment, but to be honest, they both of them sounded terrible.

Latoya Jackson

I heard heard her crazy-ass was tryna make a comeback. She looks old as hell. She should stick to doing that psychic hotline shit.

OnionJuice said:

No, no. Kang. Bobbay is the Kang of R&B.

VoicesCarry said:

????



oh, dear

GrayKing said:

Bobbay!

bds70 said:[quote]Roger Daltry - The Who

No. I saw The Who twice this year and Roger's voice is in fine shape. He can still do that scream at the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again" just like he could at his peak.

Ray Charles.





































I know. Sorry, but it has.

Hate to admit it, cos the guy still rocks but.....





Bono...Such a shame but if you listen back to his older work next to the newest album, he's definitely straining now

Anxiety said:

To me,Madonna's voice sounds better now than it did at any other point in her career.Must be those 'Evita' voice lessons

Stax said:

Well, it has now, obviously....

But, I saw Ray live in 1998 and was expecting his vocal skills to have deserted him, but it wasn't like that. His singing was still really expressive, and I loved it when he got these little wispy harmonics at the end of notes.

I think a lot of people's voice gain in character as they get older. They sound different, but that can be a good thing. Other examples of this are:

Joni Mitchell
Emmylou Harris

(Although, this cannot be said of one Mr Bob Dylan. I love his songs, and I like his voice on his earlier records, but jeez - what is going on with him now?? I feel embarrassed for him - croaking his way through performances on one note! Leave the Rothmans alone, kids.....!)

DavidEye said:

Exactly, her voice is much better, and she was wonderful live.

RocknRollDave said:

yeah, that's true. i find his voice now to be more evocative, though. i get goosebumps when his voice cracks on this album.

Sonny Bono went "down hill".