what's up with the way he kind draws on each word, or the end of a lyric... he kind of gives it an extra breath. real annoying in the boots, didn't notice it at the shows though. stretches it out and leaves it a little hollow. not a lot of beef. do you know what I mean. i cannot remember the vfc shows sounding like this, but the 2005 tour, he did it.

although james hetfield's voice has changed over the years, he has consistently sung loud and clear while fully pronouncing every word. so using the "old age" excuse for eddie ain't gonna fully cut it.
I'm pretty sure eddie has been singing like that starting in 2000. His vocal chords only have so much strength in them.

I don't remember it on the 2000 or 2003 boots... Maybe on the 2003 boots they are, I should listen, but it seemed to be post 2004. i'll check again...

i think metallica sounds pretty bad recorded live nowadays... although in concert they're still great.

It's also a possibility that he's getting sick of repeating the same lyrics over and over again. In '95, Lukin was sung pretty clearly. Nowadays, it's not much more than iowruiqwoefjc8 urpijowajf09awjiop4g9jvk!!!
Remember when he sung those punk covers nobody knew back in 2004? He sung those perfectly, as if he wanted you to hear every word he was singing.

Ed's voice in 2006<<<<Ed's voice in '05.

I'm not sure what '95 boots you have, but Lukin barely seems intelligible..


"I walked your streets
again last night
and laughed to dull
the sting of spite,
but your door was dark
and it made me cry
cause mother always kept you shining bright..."

Eddie has never been one for annunciation (which has always bothered me)--it's just that he screams less now so it is easier to notice.

I didn't realize I was in the minority on this 06 thing. I've only been listening to 5/28, 7/7, 7/13, 7/18 and the 2 Gorge shows, because I attended them, but I feel like Stone, Matt and Jeff are tighter than I've ever heard and Ed's voice soars like I've wanted it to since he changed his style in 96.
I loved 05 and really romantacize that Kitchner>London>Hamilton run but I'd put 7/13, 7/18 and 7/22-23 up against any of them. The only downside was the damn soundman and the way they had Mike's levels.

I feel like Ed's voice has gotten consistently better every tour since 00.

You're not the only one although I think that we are in the minority. All of my favorite shows are from '05 and '06 with most being from '06.

How do you feel about the shows prior to '96?

I love 92. The power in his simple use of vowel sounds ala coming back into Porch after the breakdown is enough to say that Pearl Jam is the best band in the world. Few things I've listened to have hit me like that. Black, the screaming in Alive.

94 is the best voice I think we will hear. Not just from Ed but from anyone. He really focused the power. I know 4/3/94 is a rare soundboard from a great tour and is widely circulated but DAMN, that is what rock and roll and more specifically what Pearl Jam is supposed to sound like. Alot of that has to do with Ed.

Having said all that, I've seen Release probably 12 times and the one from San Francisco 06 is the best vocal performance hands down. I don't know if he is getting coaching or practicing but the middle of the tour 2000 didn't have him singing like that, much less the end.

95- didn't care for the thrash your voice sound. It wasn't until No Code that he started to sing in that higher register though. It sounds normal now but I remember it taking a little to get used to. Less is more and subtlety has really helped this bands longevity.

The power of his voice when he was young is really pretty incredible, and it could be creamy smooth when he wanted it to be, which wasn't often.

I did notice that with No Code, he debuted that warm, easy style that seems so normal now. Some early songs, like BLACK and RELEASE, really benefit. Others have said that GO, in particular, seems to suffer. I didn't know them back in those days, so I don't have lots of fond memories of early Pearl Jam. I think that he is a better singer now, technically, although the instrument has taken quite a beating. He knows how to pull back enough to last out the show but still deliver. And the emotion is still there.

I just hope that he can keep doing this for a long time.

for both. interesting first point, pathologically, and theoretically.

I think his voice in 06 was in pretty good shape..I felt he was abit flat in 2003 sometimes. The band were so much tighter in 06 than in 03.

I really miss that high pitch voice from the No Code/Yield era. Was so rich & warm. Now its deep & mournful. Wish he would mix it up more on the records.

Hmm, another "Ed's voice" thread... My opinion:
before 1995 - powerful scream and an awful manner, that Creed copied later. Hit or miss.
1995/1996 - probably the best.
1998 - sometimes great, sometimes terrible
2000 - ok
2001 - great performances at Bridge School and Groundwork, the best since 1995
2003 - Ed "vocal tools" improved ("Daughter" tag in Nagoya), but he had problems with harder, faster songs - he wheezed after the first verse.
2004 - hard to tell since there was no good quality bootlegs
2005 - the most overrated in terms of Ed's voice... Listened fabolous Ottawa boot lately and was surprised how awful Ed sounds. It was ok to me back then, but after I listened to some 2006 boots I couldn't stand "the previous Ed". Compare "Black" from both tours and you'll know what I mean... I don't know, maybe it's a sound engineers fault. I think it's similar to 1998 situation. Ed on "Live On Two Legs" sound ok, but on the Seattle soundboard boot his voice is completely flat...
2006 - far from the top, but still surprisingly good... The best since 2001.

I completely agree with Hatfield. Release from San Fran III 2006 is easily one of the best versions ever. It ties with Los Angeles I from 2006 in terms of vocals. The way he raises his voice at the very end of the LA version gives me chills. He's certainly mastered that song.

2006 is by far my favourite tour for Ed's voice. He was sounding great on Go and Animal again, and DTE was sped up which made him growl a bit more which is always good. And Black showed a noticeable improvement over the '03 tour too. I find myself listening to 2006 boots more than any other years.

I don't understand how anyone can think that he sounds the best now. He is short of breath and can't scream anymore. The early part of the tour was the worst and he definetly got better latter - probably cut back on smoking a bit because he knew he was having a hard time singing. 1998 is the best in my opinion - he could still scream like hell and sing smoothly. 2003 is my favorite behind 1998. Listen to a lukin from 2006, its embarrassing.

I agree, there's some songs that he can't belt out like he used to be able to. Lukin is a definite example. But in terms of actual singing, last year he was consistently better night in and night out. It was the best he'd sounded since 1994 if you ask me.

Release, Go, Black, Animal, Do The Evolution, Half Full all sounded better last year than on previous tours. I don't mind him not being able to scream on every rocker if it means he can perform generally better for the whole night, every show.

wonder how much wearing the ear monitor has changed his approach....didn't he start using it round 05?