direwolf74 Wrote:NMAS Wrote:Sorry I said sucked ass, that is a little harsh, and it is true that they don't get a chance to sound check and all that, I still thought Gord was over-cooking it a bit on his vocals, I think he tries to make a song that he has sung a million times a bit more interesting to himself
I definitely think that's part of it. Notice how his voice is much more controlled on newer songs, particularly ones from IVL and IBE. But like I said above, I've noticed that when the band is on tour and playing every night, he always sounds great (just listen to the Ottawa/London boots from the '04 tour). But he doesn't seem to get enough warm-up time for the one-off charity gigs and his vocals suffer. But that's part of why I like him so much as a singer. He's kinda like Neil Young in that respect. His singing isn't always perfect, but for me it's his imperfections that make him so endearing. A few people over on the Pearl Jam forum were bashing the Hip's Live 8 performance, mostly because of Gord's antics. I think he's probably just too weird for them. Eddie Vedder is a more controlled performer when it comes to his voice and what he does on stage, while Gord on the other hand is never afraid to go nuts and let his freak flag fly, and I think that strikes certain people as being "unprofessional".
By the way, that wasn't a sleight towards Pearl Jam at all. I love that band! I'm just talking about the differences between the two singers.
direwolf, you pretty much summed up my views. Gord is trying to sing differently these days. I agree that it is probably to change things up a bit because there are only so many times you can sing a song the same way time and time again.
As far as the voice goes, you couldn't have said it better. It's the frailty and imperfections in the voices of Gord, Neil, Bob, Gordon Lightfoot that make them stars. It's the feeling you put into the songs more so than the actual voice. That's why Gord will always be miles ahead of American Idol and Canadian Idol winners in the music scene as far as respect goes. That's why Celine and her precious voice couldn't hold a candle to true artists like Downie, Dylan, Young, Lightfoot, Cockburn, etc...
As far as Pearl Jam fans, I've browsed quite often on their message pit. There seems to be a lot of Canadians over there, but only a few Hip fans.
Most of them seem to think Mars Volta are the second coming of Jesus himself or that EVERYTHING Radiohead puts out is pure genius.
I gotta say I don't mind when Gord "loses it" at all. I love the emotion he showed at the Barrie concert. I thought Gord was the bright spot that salvaged the performance actually, with the music being so off kilter.
