FM Member For Member, Are They Still Good?

[David A]

Someone posted something about Micks drumming, question, EACH Member , including Christine, do they still have it? im talking as far as their skills, etc

Not, "Oh, yes, SN still has it", but compared to years before

Very curious to hear what people say

SN - For me, the voice is pretty much gone, but I still think she writes good songs
LB - For sure, has it all, even though his finger picking acoustic style is getting a tad old, but he plays as good or if not better, his voice never was his best thing any way
CM - Id say, her voice is still as good, so id say yes
John - Tough one, id say he has lost a tad of his bass lines, Mirage was a great John album, I dont hear him much on SYW
Mick- I def think his drumming has suffered , but then again that may be due to age, he has lost a lot of his power he once had, even though I like his Blues DVD

Thanks

[michelej1]

I'd say yes to all 5. Problem is, we have nothing to judge Christine on since Meantime.

If she is going to maintain her continuing education certification, she will have to put something out pronto.

Old Lindsey looked like he lost his voice there for SYW and UTS, but I guess he found it somewhere along the way.

Michele

[HomerMcvie]

SN - I just wish she hadn't lost so much singing range. And developed granny hands.
LB - His guitar playing is stronger than ever. So strange, about his singing range. Considering he used to sing the Bb on YMLF, live at the end. Age has taken it's toll on Lindsey's voice, far worse than the others.
CM - of course we've not heard anything since ITM, but her voice was even better than before. Christine is quite the anomaly among singers. MANY singers, after about 50, steadily start losing their range. Christine just got better and better as a singer, as the years went by.
JM - It's really hard to tell.
MF - yeah, I don't think he's as strong as he once was. How old is he really? (didn't we figure out, that he's lying by a few years?)

[WildHearted]

SN - interestingly, while she has certainly lost range, I think she definitely still has a great voice - it's just very different than it used to be.. while, still sounding like her. I can't explain it. There's a quality to her voice that has always stayed in tact but she's gone through many different vocal shifts as I'm sure anyone who listens to her is aware, and notably in the past 15+ years she's sang in a lower register and with a much more forceful sort of delivery.

LB - Guitar playing is great as it has ever been, however I do think his voice has lost some of it's vigor (aside from range which comes with age).. I'm not sure if it's of his own accord, like him purposefully doing the weird hissy vocals or whatever, or if it's truly degenerated.. because he does sound great live for the most part, yet on studio recordings he sounds somewhat weak. Which is completely bizarre.

CM - no opinion, as she hasn't put out anything for me to judge her by

As for John and Mick, I'd say they definitely still have it. But I'm also not a drummer nor a bassist by any means so those things are harder for me to discern.

[aleuzzi]

I think Mick and John are doing great, considering both of them are in their 60s. Mick is a few years behind Christine. So he has to be about 65-ish.

Stevie's lost a lot of her voice but she still has an octave of strong notes. She'll sing until she has only one or two notes left--but they'll be good notes. I just wish she'd stop the pageantry. I'm so tired of hearing Landslide, Stand Back, Rhiannon and Dreams! Just play new things now.

Lindsey's voice has deteriorated but he still knows how to present himself and make the most of what he has. He has also grown as a songwriter. He more than any member of the Rumours lineup has managed to reinvent himself in ways that aren't nostalgic.

Christine's 2004 Meantime album showed her voice was in terrific shape. Her song writing skills were strong, too. When you hear her live in 1980 you think, "Gosh, her voice is shot." But, oddly, she got much stronger as a singer as she aged. Her live vocals in 87-92, for example, were miles better than what she was doing almost a decade earlier. Her vocals on the dance are equally impressive. I do think, however, a full-blown tour would exhaust her very quickly.

[Artemis]

Stevie: The voice... oh, I don't know how I feel about her voice. It was at it's zenith during Mirage, but, it's just so distinctive and what she's lost in range she's made up in control and power. She still has the most gorgeous falsetto notes too. I honestly wonder what her voice would sound like if she got that hole in her nose fixed. There are moments - flashes really - where she sounds like the Stevie of Bella Donna. Her song writing is still as good as ever, and she still has that all important charisma and star power.

Christine: She's the only one who could re-record all her classic songs, if she so chose, and make the vocal even better. Provided her voice hasn't deteriorated since ITM. The most consistent member of the band. Stevie and Lindsey's voices noticeably changed from album to album, whilst she remained a constant.

Lindsey: ehhh. Not such a great judge with Lindsey, not really into his solo stuff. I still REALLY need to listen to his newest album. His voice has gone, not as noticeably as Stevie's, but it's not what it once was - which is why he puts it through so many machines and makes me think Christine is singing on RTTG. (I'm still semi-convinced it is her.) But, his guitar playing seems to get better and better.

No idea about Mick and John, not knowledgeable enough about music to even try and talk about their playing

[PenguinHead]

I feel that they are all doing great for where and who they are now. They are working well within their limitations. It's a perspective you obtain after you've had quite a few decades under you belt.

Stevie's voice is fine for who she is now. It's somewhat unfair to compare it to how it sounded twenty, ten, or even five years ago. Age takes it's toll. But she's managed to navigate around it and adjust to that inevitability. I'll still follow her down until the sound of her voice will...

[elle]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

Lindsey's voice has deteriorated but he still knows how to present himself and make the most of what he has. He has also grown as a songwriter. He more than any member of the Rumours lineup has managed to reinvent himself in ways that aren't nostalgic.

agree. vocally, he has lost a lot of his higher register, but i actually like his voice much better now (i don't like tenors and really disliked his younger voice, even if he could hit any note he wanted). in the register he uses now (live) his voice is very strong and sounds really good, especially on his solo songs. (i hate what he does with his voice on albums, but that is not a part of the question anyway.) his music has evolved in great ways (i'm one of the people who thinks SWS is his best album, followed closely by 2001 GOS). and he's very true to himself now, not trying to fit in with one trend or another. his guitar skills are as good or better than ever but he showcases them more in his newer songs so more people notice them.

re Christine, i think what Lindsey said at USC about her technique is interesting - he said something to the effect that she sings as you are supposed to - from diaphragm vs throat. that might be the reason why her voice has not been ruined by years of singing and she still sounds great.

re Stevie, she has definitely lost most of the higher register she had, but i actually like better how she sounds now, compared to extremely nasal voice from 10 or so years ago (including on SYW).

[elle]

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

I feel that they are all doing great for where and who they are now. They are working well within their limitations. It's a perspective you obtain after you've had quite a few decades under you belt.

i like this.

[bluefox4000]

Whose voice is what it was..........They're old it happens

Mick

[GypsySorcerer]

Interesting topic.

Stevie - My favorite vocal period for her was Tusk through Mirage era (with Bella Donna being the zenith for me). She's been hit or miss with me since vocally. I also feel her songwriting has been inconsistent (I thought her SYW material was pretty weak, overall), but I was impressed with IYD. She's settled into this "icon" thing pretty well, and I'm happy to see that.

Lindsey - I feel Lindsey's songwriting is the strongest it's ever been, by leaps and bounds. What would have been the original GOS were his best lyrics, ever. Guitar playing is still great. Vocally, he's slipped a notch. And I'm no singer or music expert, but some of his live vocals sound way off to me.

Christine - Not much to go on here, although she sounded wonderful on ITM.

John - Sounds good to me.

Mick - He's definitely lost something, innovation and what not, though he's still very capable.

[henryscutter]

Lindsey & Stevie - Defenitely still have it, both put out good solo albums with strong songwriting. Their voices do seem to always be changing and strangely I do usually like them both better live. I like LB whispery vocal on Shut Us Down but not on anything else. Luckily he does less of this on SWS. What Stevie has lost in range she makes up for in power. ( just compare the original Silver Springs to later versions) She has been trying to sing higher of late. She was inspired by IYD and you can tell by her performances on that tour.

Christine- Who knows we have not heard from her in 100 years, ok slight exageration Just flashed to the 40 year old virgin: Is it true if you don't use it you lose it? Cmon Chris - one more time for old times sake.

Mick & John - Does anybody have any pro shot or real good quality recordings from Unleashed? I didnt get to see that tour and all I have seen are bad youtube recordings so it is hard to tell.

[bluefox4000]

Ok let me do this right.

SN- Lost a lot of Range. Does not have the growl I used to love. I was watching the Red Rock performance of Edge. How i miss that voice. She just can't do it anymore and I accept that. At lease she's not nose singing as much.

LB- As others have said guitar skills are still amazing. Better then ever. The voice has lost a lot. Throat full of gravel. Which at times is not pleasant. Shot high range too.

CM- From her last record she sounded good. Can't really judge though

Mick and John sound good to me.

Mick

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by elle

agree. vocally, he has lost a lot of his higher register, but i actually like his voice much better now (i don't like tenors and really disliked his younger voice, even if he could hit any note he wanted). in the register he uses now (live) his voice is very strong and sounds really good, especially on his solo songs.

Yes, in a way, these last couple of tours, his voice has been stronger live than it was during the Tusk and Mirage tour. Maybe you're right, it's because of the register and it allows him much more control. His sound has more timber and nuance to it. Considering the fact that he has spent a lot of stage time just SCREAMING, it's amazing that he has any voice left at all.

Michele

[GoldDustBoy]

Stevie - Her voice is pretty much done. I don't think that fixing the hole in her nose would make any significant difference, but removing the vocal chord nodules might. Years of screaming and drug/booze/cigarettes abuse must have left her with nodules as big as a fist. You can just hear it every time she sings. Her songwriting is as beautiful as always. IYD is an amazing album, and one of the finest in her career.

Lindsey - Vocally, he is right there with Stevie, if not worse. I never liked him that much as a songwriter. I always got that he is a very, VERY nervous person from his songs. As a guitarist he is amazing. The older he gets, the better he plays. No doubt that it's one of the things that still make FM interesting.

Chris - She can sing almost as good as she did 30 years ago, and she can still craft a great pop/rock song. Too bad she doesn't want to do it anymore.