His vocals: better then or better today?

Moz's Voice Was Better?

  • Pre Vauxhall And I

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Post Vauxhall And I

    Votes: 12 100.0%

  • Total voters
    12

Vegan

Well-Known Member
I know The Smiths are legendary and there's too many great songs to mention BUT I believe Moz is a way better singer post Vauxhall than he was prior. In fact I find his voice a bit droning when I listed to a Smiths album. Conversely I could listen to "Live At Earl's Court" nonstop for a week. Your opinion?
 
His voice has changed, but we should also take into consideration how the voice is recorded and mixed. It does make a difference. I feel his vocal is more present on 'Viva' compared to the Smiths work, and even more present on 'Vauxhall' , a change of producers and their approach of recording the vocal,mic,pre-amp choice, gain staging,compression,etc. Think I read somewhere that Street made a conscious decision to bring the vocals up louder in the mix in relation to the Smiths where he felt it being more of a band and not on top of the band's backing music but more of a unity. And not only his voice but his mic technique may have improved/changed.

Also if you listen very closely you could hear the mic picking up M's jewelry that he began wearing at the time during/on the Vauxhall recordings.
 
Circa 2005
This video is my favorite


Now



I think they are just different, not better than each other. And to add, they don't even seem like the same person. More like brothers.
If I had to choose, the Now Morrissey is my preference. He so much more stable.
 
He's also suffered from Barrett's oesophagus which may have not only altered the sound of his voice but also the speed of delivery. He seems to have lost some of the Mancunian speech patterns like the strong 'u' sound as in 'it takes guts to be gentle and kind'
 
His voice purely is certainly better, stronger post-2000. Still it's so hard for me to separate the "Morrissey live experience" from the band plays behind him. Form that point of view, The Smiths is unbeatable, but the 1995 band also brings a tear to my eye (in a good sense).
 
It has become better and better and still getting better in certain songs that suit him now very well.
I know many fans don't care much about the completely new live version of " It's Hard To Walk Tall When You're Small but when I heard and saw it from video footage the first time, think it was in Norway I was mesmerized. Such a beautiful voice and impressive in it's emotional delivery.
Just an example.
 
He's also suffered from Barrett's oesophagus which may have not only altered the sound of his voice but also the speed of delivery. He seems to have lost some of the Mancunian speech patterns like the strong 'u' sound as in 'it takes guts to be gentle and kind'

I do agree that some of the speed of delivery seems diminished but I don't know about Barrett's to say if that's the cause or how it would effect him at all really. His voice does seem stronger imo and it seems like he projects and holds notes much longer and more clearly. He doesn't hit all the high notes in some songs anymore but his voice has settle into a very pleasing resonating lower register. I'd say overall his voice is stronger in some ways and he's for sure a better singer. He sounded a little straining in some spots on yor but I thought wonderful on world peace
 
He's also suffered from Barrett's oesophagus which may have not only altered the sound of his voice but also the speed of delivery. He seems to have lost some of the Mancunian speech patterns like the strong 'u' sound as in 'it takes guts to be gentle and kind'

I was just thinking the same thing and completely agree with you. I've always adored his British speech, which certainly seems to have faded over the years, and I really miss that about him these days. However, having said that, I also love his voice now. Some of the songs are great and his voice is really smooth, but if I had to pick one over the other, I suppose I'm in favor of then...
 
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Agree. His voice is better now. Obviously he worked a lot on it, as good professional singers usually do.
It's not only about technology, a lot of singers changed their voices during their lifetimes. Sometimes it's a matter of finding the right advice or the good teacher.
Morrissey is great.
 
Well for me "Live At Earl's Court" is the pinnacle of his career as a singer. His cover of "Redondo Beach" may be my single favorite live performance I've heard from him. If I could only hold on to one Morrissey CD it would be this one. Yeah I like it that much.
 
To each their own, but it's interesting having Live At Earl's Court held up as a pinnacle. He sounds terribly out of breath already on "First of the Gang to Die" and cannot hit the high notes as he uniformly has in latter day performances - understanding that it was the end of a long and rigorous tour. The mix/mastering of the recording overall is also loud and unflattering, to my ear.

Nevertheless, I would go further and say that there have been several more "subdivisions" in his vocal career and a clear split doesn't exist between pre- and post-Vauxhall.

1983-1984 - Through Hatful of Hollow; the pre-trained, "journeyman" vocals
1985-1987 - The Smiths apex; establishing early control of his "instrument"
1988-1991 - The early solo years; further polishing and exploring the tools he developed in 1985-1987
1992-1997 - The "Lads" years; stepping back somewhat from the falsettos and "tricks" but fully emerged and resolutely comfortable in his range (the presentation on Southpaw being an exception because he sounded phlegmatic and ill - also because of a conscious decision to put the band front and center. Maladjusted, however, feels like a continuation from Vauxhall)
2004-2009 - The "operatic renaissance"; begins exploring the falsetto again and pursuing more bravura performances
2011 - Present - The "experienced crooner" - less active on stage (by choice and, at times, as dictated by health), utmost focus on vocal precision and interpretation

Again, it comes down to personal taste, but my perception is colored more by how I feel about the strength of the material and how it resonates with me. Certainly there is a continuation from the early days to an extent as there is in any expansive repertoire. But the newer (2009 and later) songs don't, er, "hit me in the feels" in the new parlance.
 
He's certainly a better vocalist now, than when he was in the Smiths. However, there is a certain charm in those early unpolished performances, where the desperation and passion shone through. Take 'I Want the One I Can't Have' - he's shockingly out of tune from the very first line, and yet somehow... it works.
 
He used to be much more animated when he was young and the singing style used to be more colourful - shouts, squeals, etc., which I miss. His voice had deepened and has a certain level of seriousness which, I suppose, comes with age. Still, love his voice no matter what his age is. I find it very calming when I listen to him speak.:sweet:
 
The presentation on Southpaw being an exception because he sounded phlegmatic and ill

But isn't it a fact that he sounded phlegmatic and ill because he actually WAS phlegmatic (depressed) and ill (having colds constantly) at the time? I seem to remember something like that. If so, then the vocals suffer because of it but it's authentic.
 
Take even a song like kiss me a lot which is one of the most out and out pop songs on the album and his voice is fantastic. The way it goes from booming to a whisper and soars up and down before the chorus kicks in is not something I can see him doing years before. Even world peace the song with its controlled even walk down dip and climb to the next walk down is a vocal I find hard to imagine him doing in his youth
 
Sadly, where it all falls down is when you ask the question: Morrissey as a lyricist - better then, or now? Personally, I think he's largely lost it when it comes to the written word, so he's improved in some areas, but faded in others...
 
Take even a song like kiss me a lot which is one of the most out and out pop songs on the album and his voice is fantastic. The way it goes from booming to a whisper and soars up and down before the chorus kicks in is not something I can see him doing years before. Even world peace the song with its controlled even walk down dip and climb to the next walk down is a vocal I find hard to imagine him doing in his youth

I think he is quite struggling with the high notes of Art Hounds. Maybe that's why he doesn't sing it in concert.
 
But isn't it a fact that he sounded phlegmatic and ill because he actually WAS phlegmatic (depressed) and ill (having colds constantly) at the time? I seem to remember something like that. If so, then the vocals suffer because of it but it's authentic.

Oh, I didn't mean to imply it was inauthentic. I think it's been documented by a number of sources that he was often sick with head colds at the time. I just meant to demarcate it from the rest of his vocal presentation in the 1992-1997 era because his limitations audibly stick out in 1995.
 
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