Famous songs with singer off key

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by ron/asheton, Jan 21, 2022.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. SRC

    SRC That sums up Squatter for me

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I heard that song today coincidentally and thought, man, I'd never noticed how much he seems to be struggling to hit and sustain the high Gs.

    That being said, it's still a great track to me. And I really love a lot of those generally less beloved later albums from the band. But something seems to happen to Plant around 1975/76. He starts straining to get up there. The slapback type echo he starts using a ton actually exaggerates the overall change in his voice, and not always in a good way.
     
    supernaut, rcsrich and Parakeeper like this.
  2. sotosound

    sotosound Forum Resident

    I though that Mike Flowers' lead vocals were in tune myself.
     
  3. jeddy

    jeddy Forum Resident

    great anti-drug song!
    probably the most insulting he could be with such stupifying lyrics!

    but what a guitar solo!!!!!!!!!!!
    .....face melting.......
     
  4. CrawdaddySim1

    CrawdaddySim1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indianapolis, IN
    That’s a great photo of her!
     
  5. jeddy

    jeddy Forum Resident

    just goes to show you how much money you can make singing off LOL
    that single was massive!
     
  6. Ryan Lux

    Ryan Lux Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, ON, CA
    The jargon isn't consistent, that's for sure. Pitchy, out of tune, off key can mean different things to different people.
     
    johnwilliamhunte and Fullbug like this.
  7. Michael Macrone

    Michael Macrone Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    I'll see you both and raise you "Desafinado" by anybody.

    On my favorite Monkees' track, "Sometime in the Morning," double-tracking Mickey's vocal was an utter necessity—especially in the upper range.

    Okay, but that's a tough interval to nail, and Paul was aiming outside his range. Now take all that, add a lot of mucous, and you get what's got to be Paul's lowest pitch hit-rate ever:

     
  8. Lexhibit

    Lexhibit Forum Resident

    Sweet Jane live - good song though. It works perfectly
     
    DTK likes this.
  9. Lexhibit

    Lexhibit Forum Resident

    Brian Eno Golden Hours but it works.
     
  10. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    Wild Thing (flat)
    The Singer Not the Song (sharp)
     
  11. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    That was supposed to be Jan & Dean's first single for Liberty but Liberty hated it so much they sold it to Challenge. They paid Herb Alpert to write the arrangement but he took the money and never arranged one note.
     
  12. veloso2

    veloso2 Forum Resident

    some are confusing out of tune and dissonance, disharmony, discordance!
     
    supernaut, Regandron and Fullbug like this.
  13. wwaldmanfan

    wwaldmanfan Born In The 50's

    Location:
    NJ
    I'm going to suggest "White Rabbit" by the Jefferson Airplane
    written and sung by Grace Slick
    She is one of the most esteemed female rock stars, but her vocal chops were a bit overrated, IMO
     
  14. Jerk The Handle

    Jerk The Handle Electrician

    Location:
    Moonbeam levels
     
    BluesOvertookMe and Galaga King like this.
  15. Fullbug

    Fullbug Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    Mick is flat in Time Is On My Side during "me-ee-ee"
     
    rockerreds, lobo and walrusz like this.
  16. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Ian Brown is mostly on pitch in the studio recordings. Live- ooof.
     
    supernaut and veloso2 like this.
  17. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Very much so, but I think this is more a case of having relative pitch, i.e. hearing that a voice or instrument is out of tune compared to the rest of the music or vocals.
     
  18. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    I think this was usually the case with Lou Reed. His pitch was often all over the place, but it only added character and fit his music well.
     
    Amnion likes this.
  19. AudiophilePhil

    AudiophilePhil Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    1:05 and 2:44

     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2022
  20. lobo

    lobo Music has always been a matter of Energy to me...

    Location:
    Germany
    Anthony Kiedis
     
  21. JM67

    JM67 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hudson Valley NY
    I’ll have to listen to that again. Live JA was usually a vocal disaster. Guessing that’s partly because they played too loud & monitors weren’t up to the task at that time. But also Paul Kantner sang really flat.
     
  22. erikdavid5000

    erikdavid5000 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Are those times noted the two times where he’s IN key?
     
  23. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love

    Location:
    Norway
    Crystal Waters - "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless). It must be deliberate...

     
    Keith V and lobo like this.
  24. lobo

    lobo Music has always been a matter of Energy to me...

    Location:
    Germany
    Very good example. I noticed it for years but couldn't really nail it. It's indeed George, I'd say. It's noticeable, but it doesn't bother me too much (pun intended).
     
  25. Rojo

    Rojo Forum Resident

    It is very evident when he sang the higher notes -- for instance, in "Bird On A Wire" or "So Long Marianne". When he sang in his usual, half-spoken lower register, it is really hard to tell, at least for me.

    Bruce Springsteen also sings out of tune in some of the songs in the "Born in the USA" album -- "Darlington County" comes to mind. But, his raspy tone often serves as effective camouflage. The offkey notes are not as obvious as they are in singers with cleaner voices.

    Paul McCartney is offkey in "Hold Me Tight" (from the With the Beatles album) -- particularly in the bridge. One of his worst vocal performances in the Beatles discography (edit: I see this one has already been mentioned).
     
    Michael Macrone likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine