Liquid_Drummer wrote:From studying speech pathology I can tell that a whole lot can be judged by a persons speaking voice and in a singers case, their laugh. When we laugh it is almost always in a higher register than when we speak so I present my 2 cents on Mr Perry's voice 2010.
The interview that he did last still had lots of signs of rattle on certain words and when he laughed it is very broken up. From hearing him speak and laugh I would have agree with HH that he just doesnt have it and what is left as probably less that FTLOSM and TBF. He gave us his all and sacrificed his voice in doing so. It is the brightest stars that burn out the fastest. The long tours, 4-5 nights in a row. It is no wonder. HE admitted a b12 injection before a show and claimed that it was just once. I dont buy that.
His vocal cords no longer close all the way and in fact sound like they are far from it. The proof is in his speech and laugh and how airy it is. That airy voice is from too much air passing the cords because they are not closing properly. The laugh being broken up all tells the tale about his possible condition.
Thickened and callused vocal cords with little of their former elasticity and maybe even nodes but those could have been laser removed with little change to his voice. That elasticity is what gave us those stunning, full high notes and that is what goes 1st as singers age. Not all are subject to this as we here Mickey Thomas still NAILING the song Jane live in standard pitch. As the elasticity became an issue he had to adjust and you have Frontiers as exhibit A.
No one will deny though that despite the rasp, lower deliver and note ducking/speeding though songs that the man is one of the smartest singers. Knowing exactly how to approach high notes during FTLOSM by using different vowel sounds that still worked for him. The end of Anyway is very deceiving.. Read on..
I am sure Steve sung that with no aid. High notes like that are not that hard for a lot of trained singers and as a matter of fact I can hit the note at the end of something to hide. So what ? If the middle wont hold up what good is that ? What happens with conditions like what I think Perry is dealing with is that you loose a part of your range. You might still be able sing really high and really low but the middle takes the beating because you spend most of the time singing there.
IF he ever comes out with anything I am sure he will make the best of what he has. Expect low, sultry vocals with a does of Rod Stewart.
He burnt it out for us in the end and a hefty sum of money but you can tell in the interviews, his voice and his comments. HE WANTS TO SING BADLY, I think he would rejoin Journey if he had the pipes and it has been and will remain my opinion that the only reason he hasnt is because he cant please himself. IF he toured he would be expected to sing the old stuff. Aint happening.
Once those cords lose their elasticity and thicken it is rare that they ever close properly again. Doesnt mean he cant sing. I am sure he can still move mountains even if his range has left him. He was always a very smart singer and can make up range with wonderful melody lines.
The song TBF rings a bell. No high notes but moving to me anyway. But to sum it all up.. I think he is done and we will not see new material and part of it is what Perry fans expect to hear when he sings. Soaring high notes are a must and he knows this. I would imagine that he probably feels that what he can deliver will fall short of fan expectations because of what people have grown to expect. He may not be able to live up to that so he doesnt play the game anymore.
Dissecting Perry's vocal demise makes guys like Rob Halford of Judas Priest even more a freak of nature. Does he have his true high register any longer? No. But his voice is STRONG and his midrange clean, and he is turning 60 this year.
And talk about a guy who toured extensively back in the day...and with a catalog of HEAVY METAL SCREAMING for months on end! Priest were on tour pretty much consistently from 1978 to 1992 and he toured with his bands Fight and Halford as well, and then back to Priest from 2005 on, with a tour almost every year.
Sometimes it's just genetics.
