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Geddy's Voice - Question

anchorman

By anchorman,
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jacklifeson

jacklifeson

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I also think they stopped touring at the right time. As much as I wanted another tour so I could take my son (he was 10 at R40), Geddys voice was shot. I mean, I still loved the shows, but his voice sounded awful. S&A tour it sounded ok, and R30 was good. Anything newer was bad (IMHO of course). The contorting, yodeling, and just natural aging Im sure caught up with him, but I would have found the best vocal coach I could and worked on how to sing effeciently. Maybe he did for all I know, but I doubt it.
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Narps
Narps

If he got a nose job he should ask for his money back...

Vectorman
Vectorman

I could look it up for the exact text, but from memory, in a 1984 Keyboard magazine interview, the interviewer said, "You don't sing as high as you used to." And Geddy's response was basically, "No, a

fraroc
fraroc

The GUP tour as a whole had some of Geddy's absolute best singing, for the Power Windows and HYF tours I noticed he wasn't holding notes for as long as he did on the GUP tour.

Entre_Perpetuo

Entre_Perpetuo

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My god on that GuP live recording he sings his ass off! He could’ve easily screeched our I think I’m Going Bald, but it was a conscious decision - they went full pop in the 80s - that played a huge part.

 

However - something was off from 87 through 1990. He had a very strained reedy quality to his voice. When they tuned down for some songs on the T4E tour, he seemed to regain some power.

 

He sounded rad for VT, and not bad for S/A.

 

Time Machine is where the wheels came off.

 

That I recall, he had a nasty head cold for a lot of the Time Machine tour, and the toll it took on his voice to sing through that cold never really wore off. His voice was already going, and that pressure was probably a step too far. I still think he sounded great on CA material on the CA tour video and at R40. The only song where I really struggled to hear him sing it was CTTH. I love the song Ged, it's one of my favorites... but find a way to sing it that isn't so squeaky. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. At least I even got to hear him sing it at all.

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anchorman

anchorman

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Geddy Lee's voice changed throughout his 40 year career and understandably so. I'm not sure anyone could sustain the high-pitched vocals he had in Rush's earliest albums. However, the difference in Geddy's voice over the 6 year period from 1978's Hemispheres to 1984's Grace Under Pressure marked a drastic change.

 

Permanent Waves through Signals was subtle but when GUP came out, you could tell Geddy's voice just wasn't the same. Even the way he pronounced some words was different. I'm not sure how to explain what I'm getting at.

 

QUESTION: Does anyone recall Geddy addressing the change in his singing voice? Was he ever asked about it in interviews? If so, can you please share what he said? I recall there being rumors of throat cancer or some other ailment or surgery that brought about the change but none of that was ever confirmed or given credence. Did he get a nose job? Could that have changed things for him?

 

If the medical issues were false, did he get singing lessons or training to make the transition to a lower register? Even though he took a lot of criticism for it, I loved Geddy's voice from 1974-1983. I thought it was unique and complimented the music and lyrics.

 

I personally didn't care for the change post Signals and by the time R40 came around, his touring voice seemed shot. He appeared to be really struggling (as evidenced by his contorted facial expressions and borderline yodeling).

Eddie Trunk's fanboy comments to Geddy about his voice sounding better than ever was ridiculous and almost patronizing.

 

I think the best I ever heard Geddy sound live was during the Vapor Trails tour.

 

Thanks in advance for any answers.

 

I couldn’t believe that either, surely (as we say here in the UK) he must have been taking the piss, who knows. Bizarre to say the least.

 

in answer the question, it appears to me that the change he had with at least his diction might have been down to some dental work he had done? Not sure when it was, or even what he had done, but there was definitely a change. I really enjoyed Geddys voice, even the early screetchy stuff, right up until the more recent live Blu-Rays, when he really sounds like he’s straining to reach some of the notes. Shame really, as you have this wonderful HD technology these days enabling you to enjoy the gigs more than ever before (apart from actually being there of course) but for the most part, Geddys voice just isn’t up to it anymore. Not that anyones voice will be the same at fifty as it is at twenty, but with the Rush back catalogue being as it is, the songs don’t always suit his voice. If I want to watch Rush live and experience the songs more as they should sound, I watch the DVD versions of ESL or ASOH and just put up with the inferior visual quality.

 

It’s maybe a blessing in disguise that they stopped touring when they did really, apart from the obvious health problems that Neil was experiencing, there was also Alexs arthritis and Geddys voice. That’s not to say we shouldn’t hear Geddy singing anything again of course, but maybe something more suitable to his voice. Him trying to reach the notes in TOS, Circumstances etc doesn’t really cut it for me anymore. Obviously Neils health would have been the overriding factor, but IMO even without that they would have been wise to call it a day - certainly as regards Rush anyway.

 

This may not be a popular suggestion but - I sometimes wonder if Neil's comments about wanting to step away while he "still had it" and not become an example of the characters in "Losing It" was a subtle nudge to Alex & Geddy that everyone's time was up. It was an extremely brave & difficult thing to do. It was almost as though he fell on the sword for his pals and said - "I'm done, I can't do this anymore" - knowing full well he could carry on better than they could.

 

Geddy's voice was awful & Alex really struggled with his playing (at least in the shows I saw. Austin R40 was my last Rush concert.) Ironically, the guy supposedly hurting the most, sounded great to me as usual. Maybe the drummers out there can say different but to my ear, he sounded excellent. Of course, this is my favorite band we're talking about and I would have supported them if they decided to keep touring. I thought at the very least they would continue to make music but its now obvious why that wasn't to be.

 

In fact, I've been binge watching many interviews with the band and one particular one where Alex & Geddy answered fan questions form Twitter was very telling. It was from December 2015. Both Alex and Geddy felt like they would continue on as a band (Neil included) and make music together. They couldn't answer if they would ever tour again because "not everyone was up to it." I felt Alex joked & said "I'm sorry" to deflect any blame from Neil. Forward to the 1:00 & 3:00 minute marks for the respective questions.

 

Here it is:

 

Ah shit, I'm feeling sad about Neil again.

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JohnRogers

JohnRogers

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RUSH is done, history, it only lives on through the recordings. Now is a perfect time for Alex and Geddy to make new music with a few select musicians invited to join them. A vocalist, I prefer a woman. A drummer. Another guitar player to accompany Alex. They can tour with the new music and play some RUSH favorites.

 

...I have spoken.

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fraroc

fraroc

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The GUP tour as a whole had some of Geddy's absolute best singing, for the Power Windows and HYF tours I noticed he wasn't holding notes for as long as he did on the GUP tour.
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jc4gd

jc4gd

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The last few tours it probably was hit and miss from night to night. I think i got a few miss's. Yet for a 3 hour show there were plenty of hits too. Not too many bands do 3 hours.

 

I saw Dio (One of my all time favorite vocalists) in 2007 and thought his voice was just so terrible and that he should just get off the stage. I saw him again a few years later with Heaven & Hell, and his voice was just brilliant. Go figure.

 

Vocals are not like instruments that you can get back in tune if they go out.

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Entre_Perpetuo

Entre_Perpetuo

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The last few tours it probably was hit and miss from night to night. I think i got a few miss's. Yet for a 3 hour show there were plenty of hits too. Not too many bands do 3 hours.

 

I saw Dio (One of my all time favorite vocalists) in 2007 and thought his voice was just so terrible and that he should just get off the stage. I saw him again a few years later with Heaven & Hell, and his voice was just brilliant. Go figure.

 

Vocals are not like instruments that you can get back in tune if they go out.

 

Yep. All singers have off nights. From Geddy to Freddie to Plant to Daltrey to Dylan to Joel, everybody’s voice gets tired on tour. Also I’m pretty sure Ged had a really bad cold on Time Machine, and there’s only one song between CA dvd and seeing R40 live where I thought he just really sounded bad, that being CTTH. Darn good track record for someone who’s voice should’ve gone as fast as Robert Plant or Liam Gallagher.

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Lorraine

Lorraine

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RUSH is done, history, it only lives on through the recordings. Now is a perfect time for Alex and Geddy to make new music with a few select musicians invited to join them. A vocalist, I prefer a woman. A drummer. Another guitar player to accompany Alex. They can tour with the new music and play some RUSH favorites.

 

...I have spoken.

 

 

A female vocalist, you say? :o

Edited by Lorraine
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Analog_Bro

Analog_Bro

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I"m surprised they still continued on after Time Machine. The vocals were at the point of sad. You'd think someone would've told him, please dont sing anymore.

While definitely not "prime" Geddy, I never thought the vocals were as dramatically dire as some people make it sound like! I definitely do not think the DVD showed Geddy at his best - he sounded much more consistent in the shows I saw and evidenced by the bootlegs of them, however still enjoyable

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JARG

JARG

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RUSH is done, history, it only lives on through the recordings. Now is a perfect time for Alex and Geddy to make new music with a few select musicians invited to join them. A vocalist, I prefer a woman. A drummer. Another guitar player to accompany Alex. They can tour with the new music and play some RUSH favorites.

 

...I have spoken.

 

 

A female vocalist, you say? :o

 

Dalbello maybe?

 

http://youtu.be/xgHi6FIlKPw

Edited by JARG
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Fridge

Fridge

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RUSH is done, history, it only lives on through the recordings. Now is a perfect time for Alex and Geddy to make new music with a few select musicians invited to join them. A vocalist, I prefer a woman. A drummer. Another guitar player to accompany Alex. They can tour with the new music and play some RUSH favorites.

 

...I have spoken.

 

 

A female vocalist, you say? :o

 

Dalbello maybe?

 

http://youtu.be/xgHi6FIlKPw

 

I'd buy that for a dollar!

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Analog_Bro

Analog_Bro

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I just rewatched the Clockwork Angels show tonight and thought Geddy sounded as good on that as he's sounded post-reunion. And then the R40 Toronto show is the worst he's sounded...maybe ever.

I think he definitely had good nights and bad nights - for example I thought the LA Forum show in 2015 Geddy sounded better than when I saw them in 2012 during the Clockwork Angels tour overall.

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bootruss

bootruss

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The yodelling comes about through a variety of factors, a bad habit,a kind of way of 'guiding' his voice to hit a particular note, notes that are above his natural range at this stage in his life. His range has shrunk through overuse and age. His vocal chords sound clear, a rasping distorted choice would be a sign of damage, say Rod Stewart, and the falsetto part of his voice would be diminished, the yodelling would suggest that is not the case, so maybe just ageing and key choices. Love his voice around grace under pressure tour, power windows and hold your fire. Even my favourite headache contains some nice vocals, albeit with a folky slant.
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londonguy

londonguy

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It sounds like if he would stop yelling the parts it would sound better. It sounds like he's trying to overpower everything with the vocals and trying to sing too high even if the original wasn't recorded like that. Tom Sawyer is a good example. He's yelling "Though his mind is not for rent". Just relax and lower it a bit and it would sound better, IMO.
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