SillyDreamer
05-19-2006, 10:14 PM
I was thinking about it the other day, and I realized that Stevie Nicks was the only big rock star I could think of whose voice changed significantly with each release.
Sure, the changes weren't as big in the beginning. But I still think you can tell the difference between White Album and Rumours Stevie, or Bella Donna and Wild Heart Stevie. And then of course, each album after that may as well have been a different person.
Can anyone think of any other huge musical talent that shares this distinction?
Two honorable mentions I thought of were Joni Mitchell and Saves the Day. From the late Sixties still 2002, Joni's voice has become lower, huskier, and generally more hoarse on a pretty predictable path. However, she has been so much more prolific (at least in the 70's) than Stevie in terms of releasing album after album that her voice from, say, For the Roses through The Hissing of Summer Lawns was fairly indistinguishable. The other thing with Joni is that her voice became more and more limited as a direct, sole consequence of decades of cigarette abuse. As such, you can chart the degradation. With Stevie, it's more like she went from bright and versatile (70's) to thick and powerful (early 80's) to froggy and wild (late 80's) to measured but limited in range (90's) and finally to an even, yet overwhelmingly nasal croon. In short, it was been a wild and largely unpredictable ride for Stevie's voice as a result of a multitude of elements--not singing properly, cocaine, cigarettes, etc.--and so can't really be compared to Joni's.
The other one I thought of was the band Saves the Day, but their lead singer's vocal changing follows the changing styles of the band from album to album. He's in control of the different inflections of his voice, and that's not really what I'm referring to here.
So is Stevie alone in this realm? Or are there other mega artists whose voices have not only weathered over the years but have morphed over and over again?
Sure, the changes weren't as big in the beginning. But I still think you can tell the difference between White Album and Rumours Stevie, or Bella Donna and Wild Heart Stevie. And then of course, each album after that may as well have been a different person.
Can anyone think of any other huge musical talent that shares this distinction?
Two honorable mentions I thought of were Joni Mitchell and Saves the Day. From the late Sixties still 2002, Joni's voice has become lower, huskier, and generally more hoarse on a pretty predictable path. However, she has been so much more prolific (at least in the 70's) than Stevie in terms of releasing album after album that her voice from, say, For the Roses through The Hissing of Summer Lawns was fairly indistinguishable. The other thing with Joni is that her voice became more and more limited as a direct, sole consequence of decades of cigarette abuse. As such, you can chart the degradation. With Stevie, it's more like she went from bright and versatile (70's) to thick and powerful (early 80's) to froggy and wild (late 80's) to measured but limited in range (90's) and finally to an even, yet overwhelmingly nasal croon. In short, it was been a wild and largely unpredictable ride for Stevie's voice as a result of a multitude of elements--not singing properly, cocaine, cigarettes, etc.--and so can't really be compared to Joni's.
The other one I thought of was the band Saves the Day, but their lead singer's vocal changing follows the changing styles of the band from album to album. He's in control of the different inflections of his voice, and that's not really what I'm referring to here.
So is Stevie alone in this realm? Or are there other mega artists whose voices have not only weathered over the years but have morphed over and over again?