McCartney Concert Voice
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McCartney changed the key of SHE'S A WOMAN back in 1992 when he did the MTV Unplugged show. So he can do it, ie change the key of songs.
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moptops:
Does he even have a concert voice after Seattle?
He probably talked like Bea Arthur the entire following day.
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moptops:
cfergoid:
Long Tall Sally sounded horrendous the other night! I would have wet myself with excitement if I had been there but it doesn't change the fact he simply can't sing it in the original key. On a positive note, the woooo oooh oooh sounded fantastic!
Yes and yes. It even sounded bad back in 86. I think the actual excitement around it is that he did it at all. That's what made people go "wow!" It doesnt' compare to his "I'm Down" at Citifield back in 09...this sounded awesome!
That shows how much his voice has deteriorated even since '09
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Sometimes I think some of you just enjoy listening for missed notes so you can come on here and urge Paul to "lower the key." I just listened to a Long Tall Sally video. I thought it was great, both the gravelly voiced parts and the "Whoo-oo-oo baby" parts. He was giving it his all at the end of a long night. It's a thrilling performance, minor flaws and all. Must have been amazing to be there. If anything at the Washington show, I was surprised by how little he struggled vocally. I don't see any point in judging his voice out of context of his age: "He sounded better in 93" or "He sounded better in 76." It isn't '93 or '89 or '76 anymore. And for most of the show I saw, he sounded great -- for his age now. I'd buy another ticket in a heartbeat.
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Michelley:
Sometimes I think some of you just enjoy listening for missed notes so you can come on here and urge Paul to "lower the key." I just listened to a Long Tall Sally video. I thought it was great, both the gravelly voiced parts and the "Whoo-oo-oo baby" parts. He was giving it his all at the end of a long night. It's a thrilling performance, minor flaws and all. Must have been amazing to be there. If anything at the Washington show, I was surprised by how little he struggled vocally. I don't see any point in judging his voice out of context of his age: "He sounded better in 93" or "He sounded better in 76." It isn't '93 or '89 or '76 anymore. And for most of the show, he sounded great -- for his age now. I'd buy another ticket in a heartbeat.
For the record: My "Bea Arthur" joke is something that I would've said about any singer who'd performed such a vocally punishing encore like Paul did in Seattle. All I meant is that I was glad Paul gave his voice a few days to recuperate.
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I'll add, folks, that YouTube vids are not, necessarily, always the best barometer of a singer's performance. Lo-fi, or sometimes even HD videos, can compromise the actual sound.
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Michelley:
Sometimes I think some of you just enjoy listening for missed notes so you can come on here and urge Paul to "lower the key."
Or maybe we just listen and can't help but think "Ouch, that doesn't sound good"?
audi:
I'll add, folks, that YouTube vids are not, necessarily, always the best barometer of a singer's performance. Lo-fi, or sometimes even HD videos, can compromise the actual sound.
Agreed
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audi:
Michelley:
Sometimes I think some of you just enjoy listening for missed notes so you can come on here and urge Paul to "lower the key." I just listened to a Long Tall Sally video. I thought it was great, both the gravelly voiced parts and the "Whoo-oo-oo baby" parts. He was giving it his all at the end of a long night. It's a thrilling performance, minor flaws and all. Must have been amazing to be there. If anything at the Washington show, I was surprised by how little he struggled vocally. I don't see any point in judging his voice out of context of his age: "He sounded better in 93" or "He sounded better in 76." It isn't '93 or '89 or '76 anymore. And for most of the show, he sounded great -- for his age now. I'd buy another ticket in a heartbeat.
For the record: My "Bea Arthur" joke is something that I would've said about any singer who'd performed such a vocally punishing encore like Paul did in Seattle. All I meant is that I was glad Paul gave his voice a few days to recuperate.
Me too! But he's only got Quebec before he can give his voice a nice two week break. What a ballsy performance he gave in Seattle. I love that he screamed his head off. I don't care if he missed a note along the way. It's not meant to be judged on YouTube, which, as you say, often distorts audio. It was about the moment. He was rocking his big heart out.
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I did comment elsewhere that I kinda love how he just stands there screaming his heart out without a care in the world!
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The man lays it down! LONG TALL SALLY that is! But anyone who knows how to sing can hear him straining and even falling flat on a few notes because it is too high for him to sing like that these days. I know, I am a singer, and that is how it sounds when I try to sing a song out of my range. But, hey! He is Paul McCartney, maybe that is what he wants to do, and he can certainly do what he wants. It's his stage.
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Michelley:
Sometimes I think some of you just enjoy listening for missed notes so you can come on here and urge Paul to "lower the key." I just listened to a Long Tall Sally video. I thought it was great, both the gravelly voiced parts and the "Whoo-oo-oo baby" parts. He was giving it his all at the end of a long night. It's a thrilling performance, minor flaws and all. Must have been amazing to be there. If anything at the Washington show, I was surprised by how little he struggled vocally. I don't see any point in judging his voice out of context of his age: "He sounded better in 93" or "He sounded better in 76." It isn't '93 or '89 or '76 anymore. And for most of the show I saw, he sounded great -- for his age now. I'd buy another ticket in a heartbeat.
Honestly, it's just a suggestion about changing the key. His falsetto is certainly intact, but the vocal performance of LONG TALL SALLY was just not that great. Was it exciting??? Yes, for fans who will take ANY change to the set list. Did he put his heart into it? YES!!! But it is difficult to listen to if you are a singer and know what that kind of punishment can do to a voice. Having said that, Paul is 71, has nothing to prove to anyone, is a living legend, and if some songs fall short vocally, that's cool. He will rock at Quebec and then the remaining shows on this tour. For a 71 year old rocker! I'll buy a ticket if he comes to New Mexico. I won't spend a cent to see him otherwise.
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cfergoid:
Long Tall Sally sounded horrendous the other night! I would have wet myself with excitement if I had been there but it doesn't change the fact he simply can't sing it in the original key. On a positive note, the woooo oooh oooh sounded fantastic!
I unhappily have to agree. I LOVE that he did it, as it's always been one of my fave Paul bits, but it was kinda sad to hear the Seattle performance.
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Thisbe211:
cfergoid:
Long Tall Sally sounded horrendous the other night! I would have wet myself with excitement if I had been there but it doesn't change the fact he simply can't sing it in the original key. On a positive note, the woooo oooh oooh sounded fantastic!
I unhappily have to agree. I LOVE that he did it, as it's always been one of my fave Paul bits, but it was kinda sad to hear the Seattle performance.
I'm still awaiting some better-quality footage to be posted online.
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I saw him in Ottawa this month and thought he sounded great. When I say "great" I recognize that he is 71 and don't expect him to have the same voice he had in 1976. However, considering he puts on a 3 hour show where he carries all the lead vocals, in addition to the show he puts on for the "soundcheckers" I think he sounds really good. Another factor in my favour was that he had a bit of a break right before this concert so I'm sure that the rest did his voice some good. I recognize that the other guys are singing some pretty strong harmonies at times and there is the odd time when Wix plays a note to overlap the vocal (like at the end of My Love on the 2010 tour) but in my opinion that is just playing it smart and recognizing the realities of one's current limitations. Put simply, his voice isn't what it used to be but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the music or the show.
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beatcomber:
I saw him in Ottawa this month and thought he sounded great. When I say "great" I recognize that he is 71 and don't expect him to have the same voice he had in 1976. However, considering he puts on a 3 hour show where he carries all the lead vocals, in addition to the show he puts on for the "soundcheckers" I think he sounds really good. Another factor in my favour was that he had a bit of a break right before this concert so I'm sure that the rest did his voice some good. I recognize that the other guys are singing some pretty strong harmonies at times and there is the odd time when Wix plays a note to overlap the vocal (like at the end of My Love on the 2010 tour) but in my opinion that is just playing it smart and recognizing the realities of one's current limitations. Put simply, his voice isn't what it used to be but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the music or the show.
Just one comment: The excitement of Long Tall Sally was not because it was different from the setlist! It was because it's one of Paul's most rocking and famous songs of all time.
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bentleysmama:
beatcomber:
I saw him in Ottawa this month and thought he sounded great. When I say "great" I recognize that he is 71 and don't expect him to have the same voice he had in 1976. However, considering he puts on a 3 hour show where he carries all the lead vocals, in addition to the show he puts on for the "soundcheckers" I think he sounds really good. Another factor in my favour was that he had a bit of a break right before this concert so I'm sure that the rest did his voice some good. I recognize that the other guys are singing some pretty strong harmonies at times and there is the odd time when Wix plays a note to overlap the vocal (like at the end of My Love on the 2010 tour) but in my opinion that is just playing it smart and recognizing the realities of one's current limitations. Put simply, his voice isn't what it used to be but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the music or the show.
Just one comment: The excitement of Long Tall Sally was not because it was different from the setlist! It was because it's one of Paul's most rocking and famous songs of all time.
well...it WAS because it wasn't in the setlist & it wasn't sung since 1986!
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audi:
Nancy R:
This is a bit OT but I was wondering why Paul sings "whoa oh oh" instead of "doo doo doo" in Listen To What The Man Says? I hate it when he changes stuff like that!
He's always done that live. You're thinking of the record.
Of course I am goofy! I just wondered WHY he changed it for live show. Did he do it like that in '76? (WOA)
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Nancy R:
audi:
Nancy R:
This is a bit OT but I was wondering why Paul sings "whoa oh oh" instead of "doo doo doo" in Listen To What The Man Says? I hate it when he changes stuff like that!
He's always done that live. You're thinking of the record.
Of course I am goofy! I just wondered WHY he changed it for live show. Did he do it like that in '76? (WOA)
Yeah, he did that in '76. It's just him singing the "riff" or musical hook when played live. No biggie. We do that when we sing that song in our acoustic act!
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audi:
moptops:
Does he even have a concert voice after Seattle?
He probably talked like Bea Arthur the entire following day.
My God I was only talking to my buddy, Graystoke about Bea Arthur 2 days ago! I kid you not!!!!!!!!!