Lindsey's voice

[dontlookdown]

Most people lose their higher range as they get older. Some people use it to refine the character of their singing (as Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell have), others just can't (as we can hear in Bob Dylan and Tom Petty's voice).

Lindsey's voice dropped a bit as early as the Dance tour. Remember he used to sing high harmony to Stevie's lead vocal.
He gets a little throaty these days. Tom Petty is suffering from the same thing but I think he has fared much worse then Buckingham.
I think Lindsey could definitely benefit from working with a vocal coach but I think he probably likes to focus more on his playing then his singing. I've always loved his voice - when you listen to the first three albums he made with FM, you can really hear the beauty and character (Walk A Thin Line is pretty amazing). I don't really think the sound and production has anything to do with Lindsey losing his range. His voice isn't any different in the studio now as it was when he recorded most of Say You Will.
I think Under The Skin is just something totally different - and I love the low-fi/vocals-way-back-in-the-mix/guitars-way-up-front thing that he's doing. I much prefer this over a repeat of Out Of The Cradle or Say You Will.