The Voices

[Little Nicki]

I'm was sitting here listening to Red Rover and I got to thinking about Lindsey's voice. He has about five different "voices" or styles of singing. There's the regular voice, the soft voice, the falsetto voice, the loud and odd voice, etc. Not to mention all the studio manipulations he does. Then I got to thinking about Christine and Stevie's voices. It's shocking how little variety there generally is in their voices. Sure, there are subtle things and they, especially Stevie, had pretty versatile voices when they were younger, but they just sing in their regular, often boring voices in their later years. Yet, Lindsey has seemingly discovered more and more odd ways to sing in his later years.

Is this because Lindsey is the more odd one, always experimenting, never worried of looking foolish? Female voices don't always get more rigid and monotone as they age do they? I can only conclude Lindsey's just into that kind of thing. But you can't argue that Stevie would do some pretty wild things while high. Maybe the lack of drugs make her more afraid of looking foolish.

[kenzo]

I think that maybe Lindsey approaches the vocal as a musical instrument and consciously uses the appropriate "voice" (ha) to fit the track in much the same way as he might choose a particular guitar.

Also, certain tracks would tend to require certain vocal styles... it's hard to imagine the plaintively whispering style present on much of Under The Skin used for "Not That Funny"...

[Little Nicki]

Still doesn't explain why Christine and Stevie hardly choose the appropriate voice to fit the song. Not to anywhere near the degree that Lindsey does. Their songs aren't that one dimensional are they?

[JohnL]

with your opinion about Stevie's voice. Just listen to the difference in her voice between Love Is, Its Only Love, and Sorceror or Fall from Grace. Stevie has a rock and roll voice, a ballad voice, a pop voice, and then there is her blues voice like she talks about during rehearsals on Destiny Rules.

I think Lindsey has a lot of versatility in his voice also. Christine...probably not as much. Her voice is so smooth and sugary it would be hard to change it much (and that is not a slam to Christine). Just my opinion.

I agree that Stevie has lost some of her range but she still has a lot of different sounds and feels to her current voice.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by Little Nicki

Still doesn't explain why Christine and Stevie hardly choose the appropriate voice to fit the song. Not to anywhere near the degree that Lindsey does. Their songs aren't that one dimensional are they?

I have to disagree! I thought Stevie sang each song on Say You Will differently. There was her straight-ahead voice ("Thrown Down"), the screaming banshee ("Smile at You"), the low croak ("Illume," "Destiny Rules"), the digital manipulation ("Everbody Finds Out"), and the husky whisper ("Goodbye Baby"), etc. I do have to admit that Stevie tends to be a one-trick pony in the live setting, but she can surprise us every now and again, ala the recent live versions of "Insider."

I do have to agree somewhat regarding Christine. She has a most lovely tone/timbre, but her vocabulary for vocal expression is surprisingly limited. I don't think Christine is averse to doing neat and interesting things with her vocals in the studio (e.g., sampling on "Everywhere" and doubletracking on "Brown Eyes," etc.). But other than that, Christine as a singer and a songwriter just does not push the envelope as much as her bandmates. But that's what FM has always been about- the different personalities/styles bouncing off of each other.

[Little Nicki]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

I have to disagree! I thought Stevie sang each song on Say You Will differently. There was her straight-ahead voice ("Thrown Down"), the screaming banshee ("Smile at You"), the low croak ("Illume," "Destiny Rules"), the digital manipulation ("Everbody Finds Out"), and the husky whisper ("Goodbye Baby"), etc. I do have to admit that Stevie tends to be a one-trick pony in the live setting, but she can surprise us every now and again, ala the recent live versions of "Insider."

I didn't think about Goodbye Baby before, and I'll definitely give you that one. And she is a little angrier on Smile At You, but everything else on the album I consider subtle things, as I mentioned earlier, with no real effort for variety. I suppose it's all just opinion anyway, and me asking you all why she doesn't do something doesn't really work if you all think she does!

At least we can agree on Christine.

You know, on second thought, it may just be that Christine and Stevie are more interested in songwriting, and as we all know, Lindsey is more interested in funky recording techniques and new sounds. He can do all he wants to their songs production-wise, but when it comes time for them to sing, he can't change it if they only want to focus on the song itself.

Funky singing techniques also distract from the words, which would not make them happy.

[Serrart]

Originally Posted by Little Nicki

I'm was sitting here listening to Red Rover and I got to thinking about Lindsey's voice. He has about five different "voices" or styles of singing. There's the regular voice, the soft voice, the falsetto voice, the loud and odd voice, etc. Not to mention all the studio manipulations he does. Then I got to thinking about Christine and Stevie's voices. It's shocking how little variety there generally is in their voices. Sure, there are subtle things and they, especially Stevie, had pretty versatile voices when they were younger, but they just sing in their regular, often boring voices in their later years. Yet, Lindsey has seemingly discovered more and more odd ways to sing in his later years.

Is this because Lindsey is the more odd one, always experimenting, never worried of looking foolish? Female voices don't always get more rigid and monotone as they age do they? I can only conclude Lindsey's just into that kind of thing. But you can't argue that Stevie would do some pretty wild things while high. Maybe the lack of drugs make her more afraid of looking foolish.

I really don't agree, it seems to me that Stevie's voice today is way more nuanced, rich, powerful and intriguing that Lindsey's. His different ways of singing sound to me many times more a generous but mechanic and struggling effort than a way to manage inspiration. Said that, I loved his singing on Shut us down, more than on most of his SYW songs.

Romy