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Originally Posted by dreamsunwind
I don't think Lindsey's vocals are still strong. He's lost basically all of range. He can sing normally and sound decent but anything loud he sounds like he's screaming and anything quiet and he sounds like he's whispering. But he does still play fantastic guitar and has so much energy and interaction with the crowd that it really makes him a pleasure live.
The thing with Stevie isn't so much her voice being 'gone' as it is the fact that her tone and sound of her voice changed soooo dramatically. Sometimes I listen to Landslide and Dreams and have a hard time believing that's how her voice used to sound. And Stevie doesn't do much onstage but I understand that she can't dance and twirl around like she used to.
Christine had a lot of pitchy moments on recent tours. A LOT.
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Gotta agree with all you said here. As much as I loathe what they did to Lindsey and the band dynamic, his voice is shot to hell. In particular live, in some cases he's pretty brutal. The lowered key on GYOW (along with the slowed tempo) has taken most of the life out of the song since at least as far back as Unleashed. He makes up for all of this with his stage presence and his nearly flawless guitar playing. As played out as it is, watching the man play Big Love is jaw-dropping. His vocals on that one are...less than jaw-dropping these days.
Stevie's voice is fairly even. She doesn't sound as screechy or raw as Lindsey does, but she comes off as pretty monotonous. Like Lindsey, some of her most powerful lyrics come off flat live due to her inability or unwillingness to hit higher notes. In Gypsy, "...and it lights up the night" is so blah and it's really lovely that the entire audience goes "ohhhhhhh AND it lights up the NIGGGGHT!" while she takes the easier route. Additionally, the bridge and Gypsy really stands out as showcasing her diminished capabilities vocally.
Christine had some consistently bad moments since coming out of retirement. Sadly, she took the worst 16 years off that she could have from that standpoint. It was wonderful to have her back but her vocals and lack of keyboard playing was shocking compared to The Dance.
Sadly, they all got old. That being said, there was still something endearing about this group getting together and giving it their best. I can't say the same for the new incarnation which just comes off as pathetic and cash-grabby. I'm willing to overlook everything above because of the band dynamic that's been built over the last 40+ years with the Rumours Five.