McCartney Concert Voice
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From the youtube clips I heard from opening night show, McCartney's voice sound pretty good. Just wondering from people who were actually at the shows what they think. He did have a few "shaky" performances in 2012 but they were not on tour concerts.
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I haven't been at any of the concerts so far, but I'm thinking that since he sounds quite good in the videos, he will be many times better in person....it always seems to work like that.
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Paul sounds really good for a guy his age, but not as good as ten years ago and less so than twenty years ago, which is to be expected. Seeing McCartney in this era is not seeing him at his peak. But you are seeing a legend perform great music he composed.
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RMartinez:
Paul sounds really good for a guy his age, but not as good as ten years ago and less so than twenty years ago, which is to be expected. Seeing McCartney in this era is not seeing him at his peak. But you are seeing a legend perform great music he composed.
Good points very well made.
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RMartinez:
Paul sounds really good for a guy his age, but not as good as ten years ago and less so than twenty years ago, which is to be expected. Seeing McCartney in this era is not seeing him at his peak. But you are seeing a legend perform great music he composed.
It's true, his voice is still great though not good as it used to be. I understand the reason why he is performing songs like My Valentine or Yesterday (that he'd perform anyway
) which have simple vocal lines, but it's amazing that he keeps on singing Live and let die, Maybe i'm amazed or, this time around , lovely rita, which are a bit more difficult. Paul is being pretty brave, don't you think? He's great 
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steblap:
RMartinez:
Paul sounds really good for a guy his age, but not as good as ten years ago and less so than twenty years ago, which is to be expected. Seeing McCartney in this era is not seeing him at his peak. But you are seeing a legend perform great music he composed.
It's true, his voice is still great though not good as it used to be. I understand the reason why he is performing songs like My Valentine or Yesterday (that he'd perform anyway
) which have simple vocal lines, but it's amazing that he keeps on singing Live and let die, Maybe i'm amazed or, this time around , lovely rita, which are a bit more difficult. Paul is being pretty brave, don't you think? He's great Paul is a living legend! I may be critical of the fact he never plays Albuquerque, but given the opportunity, every fan should see him as least once in their life. I am lucky I have seen him eight times, and once was in New Mexico! Very fab!
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I think that Paul perfectly knows what he does and above all what he is able to do. The last time I saw him (last year in Belgium) he removed 2 songs from the set list : Maybe I'm Amazed - replaced by Let Them In - and Helter Skelter - replaced by Drive My Car. Probably he didn't feel able to sing them that day. It didn't prevent him from singing both songs the day after in London. I must admit that I am very surprised that he continues this year to offer sets of 36 songs and almost 3 hours every 2 or 3 days !
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french let it be:
I think that Paul perfectly knows what he does and above all what he is able to do. The last time I saw him (last year in Belgium) he removed 2 songs from the set list : Maybe I'm Amazed - replaced by Let Them In - and Helter Skelter - replaced by Drive My Car. Probably he didn't feel able to sing them that day. It didn't prevent him from singing both songs the day after in London. I must admit that I am very surprised that he continues this year to offer sets of 36 songs and almost 3 hours every 2 or 3 days !
Well said. I actually think it's a mistake for him to do 2 shows for 2 straight days in a row. That's just asking for vocal trouble, IMO. I read an interesting quote recently from the singer Regina Spektor, who is a big Beatles fan. She was praising Paul and John's singing, and she said she couldn't get over how they were able to do that "scream singing" and not absolutely ruin their voices. She said (and I'm recalling the quote from memory here), "If I tried to sing like that, I would lose my voice for a month." That put in mind the famous anecdote about Paul recording I'm Down, and then, LATER that same day in the studio, doing the vocal for Yesterday.
Like it was no big thing to shred your vocal chords and THEN sing the sweet ballad. Her quote also made me think that much of Paul's vocal struggles in recent years could be due to years of that scream singing finally catching up to him. -
Michelley:
french let it be:
I think that Paul perfectly knows what he does and above all what he is able to do. The last time I saw him (last year in Belgium) he removed 2 songs from the set list : Maybe I'm Amazed - replaced by Let Them In - and Helter Skelter - replaced by Drive My Car. Probably he didn't feel able to sing them that day. It didn't prevent him from singing both songs the day after in London. I must admit that I am very surprised that he continues this year to offer sets of 36 songs and almost 3 hours every 2 or 3 days !
Well said. I actually think it's a mistake for him to do 2 shows for 2 straight days in a row. That's just asking for vocal trouble, IMO. I read an interesting quote recently from the singer Regina Spektor, who is a big Beatles fan. She was praising Paul and John's singing, and she said she couldn't get over how they were able to do that "scream singing" and not absolutely ruin their voices. She said (and I'm recalling the quote from memory here), "If I tried to sing like that, I would lose my voice for a month." That put in mind the famous anecdote about Paul recording I'm Down, and then, LATER that same day in the studio, doing the vocal for Yesterday.
Like it was no big thing to shred your vocal chords and THEN sing the sweet ballad. Her quote also made me think that much of Paul's vocal struggles in recent years could be due to years of that scream singing finally catching up to him.I am also surprised McCartney has booked so many shows this year (about 25 I think) and some are two nights in a row. In 1990, he had some vocal problems and had to cancel a show or two because of it. In 1993, I remember he was careful to schedule those shows with two or three days off in between. Those arena shows in Tulsa, Austin, and Orlando will tell us a lot. I think he will be fine, but how long can he do this?
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Paul McCartney=exceptional singer! He has pipes and always will. Or course he knows what he's doing! He's a musical genius and super perfectionistic. He still sings all his songs in the original key. Compare that to singers of a comparable age like Elton John who have moved their songs into a lower key to accommodate the change in vocal register. That alone is proof imo that his voice is exceptional. I betcha, tho we could never know, that Paul in the shower sings amazing.
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RMartinez:
I am also surprised McCartney has booked so many shows this year (about 25 I think) and some are two nights in a row. In 1990, he had some vocal problems and had to cancel a show or two because of it. In 1993, I remember he was careful to schedule those shows with two or three days off in between. Those arena shows in Tulsa, Austin, and Orlando will tell us a lot. I think he will be fine, but how long can he do this?
I was actually expecting the usual abbreviated tour we've been getting the past few years for similar reasons. The wear and tear on his voice, especially during the two-nights-in-a-row shows is evident if you've had the chance to see him both nights, but if he thinks he can do it, who am I to judge?
He's definitely not the singer he was in his heyday, but he still sounds better than a lot of the folks who tour who are his age, and much younger, during their live shows. I'll take a Paul concert any day of the week over some of the current acts du jour. 
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walliebaby:
RMartinez:
I am also surprised McCartney has booked so many shows this year (about 25 I think) and some are two nights in a row. In 1990, he had some vocal problems and had to cancel a show or two because of it. In 1993, I remember he was careful to schedule those shows with two or three days off in between. Those arena shows in Tulsa, Austin, and Orlando will tell us a lot. I think he will be fine, but how long can he do this?
I was actually expecting the usual abbreviated tour we've been getting the past few years for similar reasons. The wear and tear on his voice, especially during the two-nights-in-a-row shows is evident if you've had the chance to see him both nights, but if he thinks he can do it, who am I to judge?
He's definitely not the singer he was in his heyday, but he still sounds better than a lot of the folks who tour who are his age, and much younger, during their live shows. I'll take a Paul concert any day of the week over some of the current acts du jour. Time will tell. Yeah, I can't really worry too much about how his voice will hold out on a tour, that is his business, not mine. Honestly, does it really matter? People are going to go to the concert and it will be an exciting experience, most people don't care about such things. There are no current bands I would go see, the only band I will pay these days for is Cheap Trick because they are my favorite band (after The Beatles!) and they still play and sing amazingly well. I've seen Elton John twice, he was great. That he changed the keys of certain songs means nothing. Singers do it all the time.
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RMartinez:
I've seen Elton John twice, he was great. That he changed the keys of certain songs means nothing. Singers do it all the time.
Sure. But I raised that point because both Brian and Rusty said it in the music clinics they conducted here and each emphasized its importance in relation to Paul's singing voice.
sorry for the bad formatting. what I did wrong idk 
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jena:
RMartinez:
I've seen Elton John twice, he was great. That he changed the keys of certain songs means nothing. Singers do it all the time.
Sure. But I raised that point because both Brian and Rusty said it in the music clinics they conducted here and each emphasized its importance in relation to Paul's singing voice.
sorry for the bad formatting. what I did wrong idk It's cool!
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RMartinez:
walliebaby:
RMartinez:
I am also surprised McCartney has booked so many shows this year (about 25 I think) and some are two nights in a row. In 1990, he had some vocal problems and had to cancel a show or two because of it. In 1993, I remember he was careful to schedule those shows with two or three days off in between. Those arena shows in Tulsa, Austin, and Orlando will tell us a lot. I think he will be fine, but how long can he do this?
I was actually expecting the usual abbreviated tour we've been getting the past few years for similar reasons. The wear and tear on his voice, especially during the two-nights-in-a-row shows is evident if you've had the chance to see him both nights, but if he thinks he can do it, who am I to judge?
He's definitely not the singer he was in his heyday, but he still sounds better than a lot of the folks who tour who are his age, and much younger, during their live shows. I'll take a Paul concert any day of the week over some of the current acts du jour. Time will tell. Yeah, I can't really worry too much about how his voice will hold out on a tour, that is his business, not mine. Honestly, does it really matter? People are going to go to the concert and it will be an exciting experience, most people don't care about such things. There are no current bands I would go see, the only band I will pay these days for is Cheap Trick because they are my favorite band (after The Beatles!) and they still play and sing amazingly well. I've seen Elton John twice, he was great. That he changed the keys of certain songs means nothing. Singers do it all the time.
It's really only the fans (i.e. the people who follow his work, have done so for a while, may have seen him in concert before, perhaps even many times) who really freak out about how he sounds at shows. The casual fans don't often pick up on it, and if they do, might not be bothered as much as some of us are.
I've seen him a lot since the Driving USA tour, but I imagine folks who saw him during the Wings days and then see him now will definitely pick up on the vocal changes that those of us who don't have that comparison are even more bothered by it. -
walliebaby:
RMartinez:
walliebaby:
RMartinez:
I am also surprised McCartney has booked so many shows this year (about 25 I think) and some are two nights in a row. In 1990, he had some vocal problems and had to cancel a show or two because of it. In 1993, I remember he was careful to schedule those shows with two or three days off in between. Those arena shows in Tulsa, Austin, and Orlando will tell us a lot. I think he will be fine, but how long can he do this?
I was actually expecting the usual abbreviated tour we've been getting the past few years for similar reasons. The wear and tear on his voice, especially during the two-nights-in-a-row shows is evident if you've had the chance to see him both nights, but if he thinks he can do it, who am I to judge?
He's definitely not the singer he was in his heyday, but he still sounds better than a lot of the folks who tour who are his age, and much younger, during their live shows. I'll take a Paul concert any day of the week over some of the current acts du jour. Time will tell. Yeah, I can't really worry too much about how his voice will hold out on a tour, that is his business, not mine. Honestly, does it really matter? People are going to go to the concert and it will be an exciting experience, most people don't care about such things. There are no current bands I would go see, the only band I will pay these days for is Cheap Trick because they are my favorite band (after The Beatles!) and they still play and sing amazingly well. I've seen Elton John twice, he was great. That he changed the keys of certain songs means nothing. Singers do it all the time.
It's really only the fans (i.e. the people who follow his work, have done so for a while, may have seen him in concert before, perhaps even many times) who really freak out about how he sounds at shows. The casual fans don't often pick up on it, and if they do, might not be bothered as much as some of us are.
I've seen him a lot since the Driving USA tour, but I imagine folks who saw him during the Wings days and then see him now will definitely pick up on the vocal changes that those of us who don't have that comparison are even more bothered by it.True. I wouldn't mind if he changed it up a little & sang a few songs a little lower.
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I recently did an impromptu "primal scream therapy" session thinking of various recent traumas and problems, kept screaming at five or even less minute intervals for over an hour, and for more than a week afterwards my voice sounded rather shredded and raspy. I worried I'd never get my original voice back. That it would be lower and raspy from then on. But then it came back. The vocal chords are more self-healing or resilient than we think, but I also felt a bit concerned about Paul's tour schedule this year, especially the two nights in a row (more proof how popular he still is) agenda.
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oobu24:
True. I wouldn't mind if he changed it up a little & sang a few songs a little lower.
They might sound a little better because of it.
Hearing Elton sing most of his songs lower hasn't really ruined them from what i've heard. -
BOYCIE:
oobu24:
True. I wouldn't mind if he changed it up a little & sang a few songs a little lower.
They might sound a little better because of it.
Hearing Elton sing most of his songs lower hasn't really ruined them from what i've heard.I'd rather he do that than miss the notes & have people complain that he doesn't hit all the right ones.
It would be safer for him! -
When I saw him in St. Louis in November, I thought his voice was as good or better than it has been in the past 10 years. The Tulsa shows are 3 weeks away, so it will be interesting to see if he sounds as good as he did in November.
