John Lennon's voice - early vs. later

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by supermd, Jan 24, 2011.

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  1. supermd

    supermd Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    This is within the Beatles. I don't know if John's vocal style had changed somewhere down the line but I always imagine a totally different person singing from about the White Album onwards. It changes a little during Sgt. Pepper but not as much as when it hits 1968. For instance, I can't hear "Sexy Sadie" and pretend even for a second that it's John from 1964. Don't get me wrong, John ALWAYS sounds absolutely fantastic. Maybe it's because I know what he looks like and that it's so ingrained in my brain that this is later in their career. Maybe it's because I can only imagine him with long hair and glasses and that makes my brain interpret his voice a little differently? I don't know. Thoughts?
     
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  2. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    His voice didn't change, the music did.
     
  3. Immerse

    Immerse New Member

    Location:
    Sussex, England
    I know what you mean.

    His voice did seem to change a bit down the years. His 1964 vocals are possibly my favourite ever in pop music. I'm not an expert in vocals, coaching etc, but there does appear to me to be definite changes to his vocals from 1966, Revolver onwards.

    And you didn't mention his solo career but even more so there. Hearing the brilliant Double Fantasy Stripped, which has single tracked vocals - Johns voice sounds a lot weaker compared to 5 years prior even.
     
  4. supermd

    supermd Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Well, I think he may sound "weaker" because he's doing gentler songs than something like his "Rock 'N' Roll" album. I think something like "I Don't Wanna Face It" sounds pretty solid. Also, he seems to be extremely happy and playful in 1980 and it comes through. Even still, I know what you mean. His voice sounds even more different in his solo career but, to me, that is expected after that amount of time. Going from 1964 to 1966 is only two years. One wouldn't think his voice would change as much as it did. Again, definitely not a bad thing.

    Also, I love Double Fantasy Stripped Down. I love hearing John's pure voice. If it was up to me, Apple would release every single Beatles song remixed with John's voice single-tracked (which means getting two versions of many songs, one for each vocal track). :D This is pure heaven to me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCaEFSD04Tg In the midst of much double-tracking, I feel that we're pretty lucky to get something like "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" single-tracked. It's surely infinitely better this way than if it was double-tracked. That's my all-time favorite John vocal performance.
     
  5. Bradock

    Bradock Forum Resident

    Both John Lennon's and Paul McCartney's voices have changed over time. I believe this is a direct result of years of smoking by both of them. Although both of their voices remained very good during the final years of the Beatles, they definitely lost some of the power they had in their voices during the early Beatles years.

    Smoking wasn't good for any of them. Especially George Harrison. I saw George Harrison at the Cow Palace in South San Francisco in 1974. His voice was very weak for that concert. Of course later on the effects would be even greater with George getting cancer.
     
  6. supermd

    supermd Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    George had laryngitis during that tour so he has an excuse. As for Paul, I think his voice remained in absolutely wonderful condition up to and including "Tug of War".
     
  7. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Actually, the Cow Palace is in Daly City. :wave:
     
  8. goodiesguy

    goodiesguy Confide In Me

    Location:
    New Zealand
    I like his voice best in the very early recordings, like "Aint She Sweet". That's when the Beatles were "Real". I don't care to much for the later stuff. The later stuff is sounds too Fabricated, wheras all the early stuff is simple and fun.
     
  9. Bradock

    Bradock Forum Resident

    Yes, I know. However most people on this forum wouldn't know where Daly City is.
     
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  10. Jack White

    Jack White Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    In his solo years, consistently, even after his househuband hiatus, until his death he deliberately choose to sing lead vocals in a higher register than he had in the '60s. Don't know why. Maybe his voice was aging and he was trying to hide it; maybe he was purposely trying to be un-Beatle-ish.
     
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  11. Slokes

    Slokes Cruel But Fair

    Location:
    Greenwich, CT USA
    I think his register got deeper. He had a remarkably higher voice right up through Pepper, though I've always wondered whether something was going on with the console on that record. Paul sounds like a Chipmunk on "Rita."

    Back to John. Listen to him on tracks like "All You Need Is Love" and "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", then listen to him on "I'm So Tired." As the OP notes, there's something different in John's voice, like a deeper, raspier timbre or something. I don't think John got it from lying on the floor while singing, either.
     
  12. nikh33

    nikh33 Senior Member

    Location:
    Liverpool, England
    Funnily enough, it's his early voice that is fabricated, the real John Lennon voice is on 'I'm Only sleeping' onwards. The LSD trips he was on in 1966 led him to lose some of his outer shell of machoness, revealing his true voice. For instance, there is a demo tape of 'If I Fell' from late 1963 which sounds for all the world like something from 'Imagine' days, with a thinner, reedier sound. He would have been embarrassed to be heard like that in public before LSD.
     
  13. Ramon

    Ramon New Member

    Location:
    New York, N.Y.
    His singing on "Stand By Me" always reminds me of his "Beatles" voice.....
     
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  14. BrewDrinkRepeat

    BrewDrinkRepeat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Merchantville NJ
    Bear in mind that in the early days they were playing nearly constantly (from the club gigs and then the large tours as they took off), which would've kept his voice in great working condition. Once they gave up playing live he probably sang a lot less frequently (especially "properly" -- from what I've heard of his demos recordings he didn't really give his full effort when songwriting @ home).

    Ditto for Paul -- some of his highest (pitchwise, haha) performances sound truly effortless on the early albums, less so on the later ones.

    My band goes through periods of high activity followed by months of nothing, and my voice is definitely much stronger when we're rehearsing and/or playing shows every week.
     
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  15. jpm-boston

    jpm-boston Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    His voice was strong in 1964 because he literally performed thousands of hours in concert by then, like an athlete his voice and lungs were strong. Four years later after a couple of years of drug use, smoking and idleness his voice was not the same anymore, still great just not at his early sixties peak.
     
  16. pencilchewer

    pencilchewer Active Member

    Location:
    far and away
    cigarettes and pot... abuse, like primal screaming, perhaps?
     
  17. Drifter

    Drifter AAD survivor

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, CA
    I don't know, when I listen to "I'll Cry Instead" and then play "Sexy Sadie" his voice doesn't sound all that different to me.
     
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  18. delmonaco

    delmonaco Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sofia, Bulgaria
    he lost the power of his voice after 1965, probably because he lost weight, so he started to use more falsetto voice and more nasal voice production. To me his early voice sounds more natural, and in the later period it is more artificial.
     
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  19. ampmods

    ampmods Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA, USA
    This is a good point. He became very skinny in 67/68. That definitely changes one's voice.

    Also the point about him performing regularly in the early days made his voice in better shape in general.
     
  20. Pawnmower

    Pawnmower Senior Member

    Location:
    Dearborn, MI
    Not at all.

    You must be thinking about the mono "Don't Pass Me By."
     
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  21. Todd Fredericks

    Todd Fredericks Senior Member

    Location:
    A New Yorker
    He also changed/developed his own style. Early days he was trying to sound like some of his hereos (Smokey Robinson, etc.). Later he started giving it a more contemporary, urban sound (especially in the 70's).
     
  22. citadel

    citadel New Member

    Location:
    Spain
    If anything, I think that both John and Paul only got better with time. They were fantastic singers from the get-go, but they vocals lacked something. Lennon's biggest strength was his expresivity, and I find his vocals from 'Rubber Soul' onwards far more soulful than what he did before. Early on he sounded like he was hiding behind his rocker persona, as if he was wearing a mask. Likewise for Paul McCartney: I find his 'Long Tall Sally' vocals far less impressive than those on 'I've got a feeling' or 'Monkberry moon delight'. On the former he sounds like a kind imitating Little Richard, in the later he sounded really powerful, like a true rocker should.
     
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  23. dudley07726

    dudley07726 Forum Resident

    Location:
    FLA
    I think Paul's voice sounded a bit rough during the 79 tour.
     
  24. Drifter

    Drifter AAD survivor

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, CA
    I'm thinking more likely "When I'm 64", where Paul's voice is sped up to make him sound younger.
     
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  25. andy749

    andy749 Senior Member

    John's voice sounds to me to be a bit "fatter" or something on some of the earlier stuff (Bad Boy, Twist & Shout, Money). Could be just the type of music he was singing...not sure. I just wonder if the '69 JL could've sang "Bad Boy" with the same power as the '64 did?
     
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