Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Before They Fell In Love With Their Own Voices...

All artists have the right to evolve and to perfect their craft. At the risk of losing readers, I reserve the right to say I wish they hadn't.

David Byrne Before




David Byrne After



I liked when David Byrne sang out of tune. (I even liked when Tina's bass was out of tune). Now he's wearing the dreaded double earplugs and singing opera. And even so, I'm not so sure he's nailing the notes. And you may ask yourself, well, can I leave already?

Sting Before



Sting After



Sting couldn't hit those ball imploding high notes all his life but did he really have to go for baroque? The young Sting would have torn that neck-er-cheif off the old Sting too.

Elvis Costello Before




Elvis Costello After



The day Elvis started giving his lyrics an extra degree of "importance" by adding vibrato, he lost a little love here.


Michael Stipe Before




Michael Stipe After



In the early days Stipe buried his vocals and lyrics in the mix ( and his identity behind his hair). Now he's bald-- in a hip way-- his vocals are upfront and his earnestness all too apparent. Could an album of whaling songs be far behind?

who would you add to this list?

1 comment:

  1. Even rock stars aren't immune to losing their wild-side and becoming more "sophisticated."

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