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| Ed's voice http://archive.theskyiscrape.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=97920 |
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| Author: | ajurlacher1 [ Wed May 23, 2012 3:01 am ] |
| Post subject: | Ed's voice |
I've been listening to a lot of boots lately, spanning nearly every year Pearl Jam has been together. I'm about to delve into the newerish boots (2009-) for the first time. What's struck me the most, other than the sheer awesomeness of the band in '95, was the interesting evolution of Ed's voice. Throughout the late 91-early '92 boots, you hear flashes. Ed wasn't quite there yet as far as consistency, but every 3rd or 4th Oceans or Wash would give you goosebumps. A lot of it had to do with how active Ed was on the stage. It's not as easy to catch your breath and project properly when you're running around like a crazy fucker. I cant't end this era without bringing up MTV Unplugged, which was perhaps the biggest flash of all of what was to come. Eddie MURDERED that show. As you roll into late '92, Ed starts to hit a bit of a groove. Not quite where'd he'd end up on the Vs. tour, but both Drop in the Park and Hawaii in September of that year are tremendous milestons for Ed. I really think this is where he hit his peak as a "frontman," who's job it is to not only engage physically, and emotionally, but hit the notes. The Bridge School that year is also a nice, crisp performance from Ed. As I eluded to earlier, The Vs. tour was when Ed transported into a whole different fucking realm. Through that entire tour, dude's damn near perfect, killing every note with both precision and tremendous angst at the same time. I dare you to find a better full performance by a singer than Atlanta '94. Incredible stuff. Another highlight is the last Seattle show. If you haven't popped that one in lately, please do so. That crowd was in the palm of Vedder's fucking hand. When you listen to the January-Febuary-March '95 stuff, there's some obvious changes going on. Not just in the old stuff, on which Ed is clearly having a harder time on than ever before, but the new songs are presenting Ed with a different kind of style. Tremer Christ, Nothingman, Spin the Black Circle, Satan's Bed, all these tunes signal the spark of a vocal mutation, taking Ed out of his knarling baritone comfort zone, and into some professional, difficult singing. When you get to the Soldier Field show, all bets are off. His voice is absolutely shredded. The remainder of the year is filled with shoddy performances, leaving the listener practically begging the band not to play Blood ever again. Ed even has a hard time with Small Town at this point, see Salt Lake City for proof. It's really a shame, because when Jack Irons joined the band, there was a very tangible electricity between the guys on stage. They were so fucking rythmic, almost like a jazz band who played heavy rock and roll. Even Flow, In My Tree, Last Exit, Go, Why Go, none of these songs would ever be played better than they were played in this era. They were tighter than they'd ever been, but maintained the profound heaviness and aggresion from years past. If you combined Ed's Vs. tour voice with performances from the band in '95, it would be ungodly. No Code was almost like the calm after the storm. Ed wasn't on point by any stretch of the imagionation, but he wasn't having the hard time he did on the previous tour. The notes were hit, it just wasn't the same as it was during Ed's prime. The Yield tour saw the triumphant return of the consistent, aggressive, howling aspects of Ed's voice. Some of his best shows were played on this tour. Highlights for me are St. Louis and Dallas. Throughout the massive Binaraul jaunt, Ed was grooving. He really hit a stride in the June Europe boots, as well as the middle point of the US dates, around the two Boston show. It was definetely a more mellow Ed, but it almost suited him and the way the band was playing at the time. Everything was very precise, just not as aggressive. The 2003 tour is probably the most intriguing when it comes to Ved's performances. He doesn't really play a bad show, but he seems to go in and out on a lot of stuff. The Tokyo boot, which is definetely in my top 3 by the way, has Ed killing Release and Can't Keep. But he cleary sounds worn out during Corduroy, recovering later on an above average Alive. Buffalo from that year is eerie, Ed sounds closer to '94 than he ever has. The '06 tour features a resilent, but very tired Ed, hitting notes with a perfect bore. I mean, it's still Eddie fucking Vedder, and despite underwhelming on much of the tour, there was more "spirit" in Ed's voice than ever. But let's face it, Why Go is not the same at this point. Nor is Breath or Rockin' in the Free World, neither is Go. They played a lot of shows that year, and it showed; there are some awesome boots from that tour. They were very in tune with each other, and crisp as a result. But it was pretty clear that Ed's aggression had faded, and was now a far cry from what it once was. I really don't listen to any of the newer boots, and I'll tell you why: It's my favorite band in the world, and they're still rockin' after 20 plus years. That's awesome. I've seen them twice in the past few years, and I had an awesome experience both times. Because of the connections I have with these songs, hearing them live, straight from the horses mouth, is a religious experience, regrdless of the quality of the performance. But let's face it, they're just not the same band. And while I'd be thrilled to listen to get free copies of every boot from the past few years, if I have a choice in the matter, I'm probably not going to go with the band in 2009. I'm going to go with the band from '93 '94, when they were establishing their reputation as on of the best live bands ever. They were still hungry. Ed was still hungry. Every show was like a "fuck you" to the crowd. Absolutely religious the way they engaged those ansgt ridden teens in those days. And now that Ed's morphing into this Dylan esque singer songwriter, his voice is not nearly as menacing as it once was. I will say, however, that I'm a big fan of both ITW and Uke Songs. Any thoughts on the evolution of Ed's voice? Critiques, compliments, come whatever may. And thanks for reading. This was kind of a warm up excercise for the 20 page debacle I'm about to write on music theory. |
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| Author: | Doug RR [ Wed May 23, 2012 3:15 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
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| Author: | thodoks [ Wed May 23, 2012 3:18 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
i disagree |
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| Author: | Doug RR [ Wed May 23, 2012 3:19 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
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| Author: | ajurlacher1 [ Wed May 23, 2012 3:22 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
Doug RR wrote: The post confused you? NO WAIT, the post bored you? You're now sleepy? |
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| Author: | dprival78 [ Wed May 23, 2012 3:31 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
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| Author: | spenno [ Wed May 23, 2012 4:19 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
Great post, I agree with a lot of it. I'll be interested to see what you think of the 2009-2012 boots. |
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| Author: | Riot Actor 25 [ Wed May 23, 2012 4:38 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
thodoks wrote: i disagree Good one. |
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| Author: | stip [ Wed May 23, 2012 9:43 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
ajurlacher1 wrote: This was kind of a warm up excercise for the 20 page debacle I'm about to write on music theory. I look forward to it  In terms of live stuff I can't really comment. In terms of studio stuff while Eddie's straightforward power has declined for sure I do like the jagged, falling apart way he sings so many of the faster songs (see Gonna See My Friend, or WWS, or Comatose, etc). And he can still do the slower stuff and make it really moving. It sounds older, less powerful, but more weathered and experienced, with more texture in his voice. It's the mid tempo stuff I find that he's struggling with the most, and I think that's largely because he hasn't quite figured out how to make that stuff work for where his voice is today. I suspect he'll figure it out. I do think his abilities as a song writer (melody, especially) have only grown as his raw power has declined, which is why I actually often prefer the faster and slower songs from recent records more than the late 90s/early 2000s, when the voice was already less powerful than the early records, and he hadn't quite settled on a new approach just yet. |
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| Author: | Tig [ Wed May 23, 2012 11:15 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
Eddie's voice is quite different now, but then again, the whole band is different. I still like it though. In the '06 tour, when his voice sounded like it was deteriorating, it was because he didnt quite know how to account for the change in his voice and adjust his singing strategy appropriately... I still dont think he's gotten the hang of it in concert. But listen to the studio material he's put out since then, and you'll see his voice is still great. Into the Wild - what vocal power and skill. And some of those songs on Backspacer and Self-Titled... those arent easy songs to sing. As for him sounding beat up in '95... yeah, Eddie was hurting then. In a way though, some of those songs kinda benefit from that... Corduroy, Blood, Not For You... they sound true to their subject matter when sung through the voice of someone who is noticably feeling the heat. I bet Eddie wasnt enjoying singing them... but through the tattered, strangled grown that was Eddie's voice at the time, those songs... which were about being held down and taken advantage of... sounded right at home. Having been said, I'm glad Eddie took that tour as a startling wake-up call to take better care of his voice, and more importantly, himself. |
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| Author: | digster [ Wed May 23, 2012 1:39 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
I think a lot of the issues I have with Ed's voice spring less from how it actually is and more so how it's been recorded/produced. They haven't really been able to capture any resonance in his voice since arguably Riot Act. |
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| Author: | Alex [ Wed May 23, 2012 2:22 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
its cool loved it |
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| Author: | stip [ Wed May 23, 2012 2:33 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
digster wrote: I think a lot of the issues I have with Ed's voice spring less from how it actually is and more so how it's been recorded/produced. They haven't really been able to capture any resonance in his voice since arguably Riot Act. that's true. |
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| Author: | ejny [ Wed May 23, 2012 2:34 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
digster wrote: I think a lot of the issues I have with Ed's voice spring less from how it actually is and more so how it's been recorded/produced. They haven't really been able to capture any resonance in his voice since arguably Riot Act. I agree, at least with PJ's songs. But, I think his solo albums have captured his voice perfectly. |
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| Author: | digster [ Wed May 23, 2012 2:36 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
Eh, even the solo records have that issue for me. It's less apparent I think because the instrumentation's more minimal, but the root problem with the sound is still there for me. |
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| Author: | ejny [ Wed May 23, 2012 2:40 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
ajurlacher1 wrote: It's really a shame, because when Jack Irons joined the band, there was a very tangible electricity between the guys on stage. They were so fucking rythmic, almost like a jazz band who played heavy rock and roll. Even Flow, In My Tree, Last Exit, Go, Why Go, none of these songs would ever be played better than they were played in this era. They were tighter than they'd ever been, but maintained the profound heaviness and aggresion from years past. If you combined Ed's Vs. tour voice with performances from the band in '95, it would be ungodly. I don't agree with all of this. I think Jack couldn't hold a candle to Dave A. when playing the Ten-Vitalogy songs. |
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| Author: | Rebar [ Wed May 23, 2012 3:17 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
thodoks wrote: i disagree 
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| Author: | bmacsmith [ Wed May 23, 2012 3:57 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
i think he sounds nice |
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| Author: | ajurlacher1 [ Wed May 23, 2012 5:00 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
ejny wrote: ajurlacher1 wrote: It's really a shame, because when Jack Irons joined the band, there was a very tangible electricity between the guys on stage. They were so fucking rythmic, almost like a jazz band who played heavy rock and roll. Even Flow, In My Tree, Last Exit, Go, Why Go, none of these songs would ever be played better than they were played in this era. They were tighter than they'd ever been, but maintained the profound heaviness and aggresion from years past. If you combined Ed's Vs. tour voice with performances from the band in '95, it would be ungodly. I don't agree with all of this. I think Jack couldn't hold a candle to Dave A. when playing the Ten-Vitalogy songs. I can certainly see where you're coming from. I made a post in the Jack Irons thread earlier that basically eluded to the the fact that Dave A. is probably more talented than Irons. What I like about Jack, especally on the old stuff, is how different everything sounded. It's almost like he checked the band, you know? "Yeah you guys are awesome, but check this shit out, it's called RYTHM and TEMPO." |
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| Author: | ajurlacher1 [ Wed May 23, 2012 5:06 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Ed's voice |
stip wrote: ajurlacher1 wrote: This was kind of a warm up excercise for the 20 page debacle I'm about to write on music theory. I look forward to it In terms of live stuff I can't really comment. In terms of studio stuff while Eddie's straightforward power has declined for sure I do like the jagged, falling apart way he sings so many of the faster songs (see Gonna See My Friend, or WWS, or Comatose, etc). And he can still do the slower stuff and make it really moving. It sounds older, less powerful, but more weathered and experienced, with more texture in his voice. It's the mid tempo stuff I find that he's struggling with the most, and I think that's largely because he hasn't quite figured out how to make that stuff work for where his voice is today. I suspect he'll figure it out. I do think his abilities as a song writer (melody, especially) have only grown as his raw power has declined, which is why I actually often prefer the faster and slower songs from recent records more than the late 90s/early 2000s, when the voice was already less powerful than the early records, and he hadn't quite settled on a new approach just yet. Great post, and allow me to clarify; I've never been disatisfied with any PJ or Ed Ved solo record. I don't think Backspacer could hold Yield's jock, but I still listened to it everyday for nearly 7 or 8 months. There's a reason why we're posting on this board despite the band's old age and declining vocal sytlings; because they're fucking awesome. I think my favorite albums as far as Ed's voice are Yield, Vs. and Avacado. |
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