Stevie's Voice

[darklinensuit]

Question:
Between which two consecutve albums can you hear the greatest difference in Stevie's voice?

Clearly there's a difference between The Wild Heart & Rock a Lttle and between Street Angel & TISL, but to me the greatest change is from Mirage (silky high notes on I'm Alright) and The Wild Heart (raspy - but great - high notes on Gate & Garden).

Opinions?

- Jake

[darklinensuit]

Yeah, I agree that she manipulates her voice to fit the song. There's a big difference between Seven Wonders & When I See you Again, and Imperial Hotel & I Sing for the Things, and they're on the same albums, respectively.
Between The Wild Heart & Rock a Little, her voice began to sound like her nose was stuffed up on many of the songs. Presumably we're hearing the effect of the belt-hole in her nose that she describes.
I like the vocals on the new Smile at You, but I don't think they hit near the high notes she used to reach.

- Jake

[DeeGeMe]

I noticed the difference between The Wild Heart and Rock A Little too. Besides drug use, I think years of smoking also affected her voice. I believe I've read where she quit (thanks to the nicotine patch) a few years ago, and I think that may be why she's able to hit some high notes now that she wasn't able to hit there for a few years. I think her voice sounded much better on TISL & now on SYW then on The Dance.

[David]

Originally posted by darklinensuit
Question:
Between which two consecutve albums can you hear the greatest difference in Stevie's voice? I guess between "Rumours" & "Tusk."

The biggest change to me in her live singing voice was between the last show I saw on the '83 tour (in October at the Forum) & the benefit show she did in '85 in September. That was sort of the beginning of the end of her ability to really soar vocally.

And then of course there was a huge (deliberate) change in her presentation from the '86 tour to the '87 tour with the Mac. Her fireworks went from Red Devil to Safe 'n' Sane, & her temperament appeared to have aged about fifteen years.

[gypsysara]

That would be my vote too, between Rumours and Tusk.

RAL <> WH #2

SA <> The Dance #3 (Enchanted doesnt count??)

[darklinensuit]

I didn't count The Dance because it's not a studio album, and even though different performances went into the final release, I'm not sure that she wouldn't/couldn't have done differently if given the ability to redo in the studio. I didn't count Enchanted because I think Rhiannon & It's Late are the only new releases on it & I'm not sure they're enough to judge.
But hey, that's me. Feel free to include any album (movie soundtracks too if you want).:)

- Jake

[Sorcerer386]

I think the most notable difference in Stevie's voice was between Tusk and Bella Donna. On Tusk, she was still kind of using her higher, softer voice, but then dropped it for the, and excuse this phrase, "more beltable" lower voice. The second most, to me, was between OSOTM and Timespace. Her voice sounds significantly lower on Timespace.

[Janet]

I love Stevie's Wild Heart voice which is different than any other album..but then she changes is for Rock a Little and thats totally different. I love both voices the best though!

[gldstwmn]

The biggest change was from Street Angel to Enchanted. It's where I really noticed her using the lowest register. Her voice ont the SA tour was quite good, in excellent form. I remember her wailing through the rock version of Rhiannon.

[ricohv]

I agree with bwtween SA & Enchanted (she was so deep & croaky at the Enchanted show I saw). I think she sounds completely in control of her range on Street Angel, clear and strong (albeit cheesy:Listen to the Rain/Love is Like a River) and those shows were great-unfortnately great tours don't seem to follow great albums.

[gldstwmn]

I liked the stage set up. I seem to remember a spider backdrop. There were plenty of costume chages as well. It's hard to believe she almost hung it up after this one.

[gypsysara]

Originally posted by gldstwmn
I liked the stage set up. I seem to remember a spider backdrop. There were plenty of costume chages as well. It's hard to believe she almost hung it up after this one.

Which one were you talking about, SA or Enchanted?

IMO if its SA, well didnt she go into rehab at the end of the tour? Could be something to do with the decrease in vocal power/harmony.

[gldstwmn]

I'm talking about SA. I thought the rehab was pre tour?

[gypsysara]

Im not 100% sure. :shrug: Anyone else know?

[darklinensuit]

Good question. It's hard to say. Part of me thinks rehab occurred after the tour, after she swore she'd never get onstage again. I assumed that there wasn't time for 46 days of rehab as the album release/tour approached. And it seems like Stevie would have mentioned getting off this addiction during Street Angel promotions, but she didn't.
But it also makes sense that rehab did happen before the tour when her producer was making her miserable. She said that she went back in the studio after realizing the vocals sucked & she wanted to re-do them, but they wouldn't let her. Maybe she'd detoxed and was therefore able to listen with sober ears.

- Jake

[strandinthewind]

In

Time Out New York - Interview
April 26 - May 3 issue (issue #292)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sobriety test

After kicking pills and overcoming writer's block, Stevie Nicks comes clean on her new album

By Gia Kourlas

Stevie says the following:

TONY: What was blocking you?

Stevie: Well, I know what was blocking me. First of all, in the beginning of 1994, I went into rehab to stop taking Klonopin, which I'd been taking for almost eight years. Street Angel was done in the last two years of the Klonopin, when it had really kicked in to the point that it took away my soul and creativity. The record was finished in November; I went into rehab on the 12th of December and got out on the 27th of January. So I listened to the record--I'm off all the drugs--and I knew it was terrible. It had cost a fortune. I tried really hard to fix it, but I couldn't. So I had to go and do interviews for it, just like I'm doing right now, and it was everything I could do not to say to the interviewers, "I hate this record." When I had dinner with Tom, I was having a hard time getting over the Street Angel experience. I was just really sad. That dinner made all the difference. I give Tom all the credit in the world for this record.

So, apparenly, she kicked Klonopin and then had to tour with a record she did not care for that much. Ouch!!!!

Tha article is posted on the Nicksfix (thanks to John Kinney)

[darklinensuit]

Thanks for the research.

- Jake

[Miranda]

Stevie had a very nasally sound when she was younger. Youth and coke clogged sinuses probably added to that affect. She got a lower, more mature tone after the nasal sound went away but the high notes seemed to go away at that time too. I still like the mature sound better. In the early days, I liked Chris as a singer better than Stevie. I compare it to smooth velvet for Chris vs. clothes pin on the nose for Stevie. Once Stevie took off that clothes pin she had me all the way.

[ERigby818]

I think her voice chaged the most for Tusk and Rock A Little.
The first change is when I think she started to sound stuffed up, and I think it had to do with her cocaine use skyrocketing at the time.
The second change probably had to do with the subsequent hole, and her singing shifting to her throat, rather than head-voice, for higher notes. That's when her songwriting became more melodically limited, and big bursts of high notes (like Rhiannon) became more rare in her new songs in the late 80s on because they became much harder to do.
Overall, I don't like what's happened to her voice in the last 15 years and I wish it stopped changing right around RAL and stayed exactly like that forever. That way she'd still sound mature and raspy but still be able to belt out the high notes live without sounding like she's really straining. I hate that strained sound. Makes me cringe.
-Sonia

[bookie29]

I think her voice changed the most between Tusk & Bella Donna. If you listen to Beautiful Child, that is the last time she has really produced a vocal like that on a record.

I liked her voice the most on Tusk because of the variety she had. The "sweet" voice on BC & Sara, & the rough/belting voice on Angel & SOTM.

The best vocals that I have heard from her in a long time have come on SYW. She sounded like 70's Stevie on the snippets on FM.COM. Especially on the end of Thrown Down(acapella) & on SYHA.

Really for me, after the Tango album, until the Dance tour, I feel is the least favorite vocally for me. She got really nasal and the range just wasn't there. This is really a comment in hindsight because at the time I was so excited to get new Stevie music & I really loved those albums & tours.

Sean

[Villavic]

Every year she was changing her voice, but after 1982 it was very different, and started to get lower.

Though during her first years she got a really sweeeet voice, the Tusk-BellaDonna-Mirage years gave her a powerful voice. I like it very much