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Geddy's Aging voice


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Depending on how he takes care of his voice, he could have up to another 10 years of quality vocals. If you contrast that to the opera world, tenors start going downhill at about 65; baritones about 70; basses about 72-75.

 

Based on how they tour and days of rest between shows, he should do well. These guys know their limits. One of the key factors of being a professional musician.

 

Personally, I can't wait until 2014 for the R40 Tour.

 

R40 Overture:

In The Mood

Fly By Night

Lakeside Park

Something For Nothing

A Farewell To Kings

Circumstances

Leading into Freewill

 

How's that for starting off the show?!

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QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Mar 25 2011, 09:35 AM)
can't they come up with some kind of a geddy voice friendly mic?  if the mic senses geddy's voice cracking, it automatically mixes it and sends out a perfect pitch for whatever note he was aiming for.  biggrin.gif

that would go against what Rush believes no.gif

they didn't play at the winter olympics because of that, right?

Edited by Good,bad,andrush
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QUOTE (1974FAN @ Mar 25 2011, 10:05 AM)
...........Personally, I can't wait until 2014 for the R40 Tour...........

I have felt for some time that the R40 will be their swan song as a touring band, and what a way to cruise into retirement that will be.

Edited by driventotheedge
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QUOTE (driventotheedge @ Mar 25 2011, 01:10 PM)
QUOTE (1974FAN @ Mar 25 2011, 10:05 AM)
...........Personally, I can't wait until 2014 for the R40 Tour...........

I have felt for some time that the R40 will be their swan song as a touring band, and what a way to cruise into retirement that will be.

R60 would be sick! tongue.gif

 

No, I really feel the will tour 2012, early 2013, and end it summer of 2014 with an amazing R40.

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Seeing the 2 SoCal gigs last summer, I noticed that one night he'd have trouble with one song but be fine with it the other night. It was interesting to compare.

 

I dunno... the band is still playing at such a high level that it makes the occasional vocal issue seem like small potatoes.

Edited by Mystic Slipperman
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A while ago while browsing/listening and remembering last autumn when I saw Jon Anderson live singing how would he do Rush vocals (with Geddy on bass, Alex as usual and Neil as masterclock / sync)...

 

Amazing personal voice as Geddy has: ) but there's something special with Jon..that I can't stop thinking how big it is..

 

 

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QUOTE (hannuFIN @ Mar 25 2011, 02:36 PM)
A while ago while browsing/listening and remembering last autumn when I saw Jon Anderson live singing how would he do Rush vocals (with Geddy on bass, Alex as usual and Neil as masterclock / sync)...

Amazing personal voice as Geddy has: ) but there's something special with Jon..that I can't stop thinking how big it is..

I think the way Jon Anderson sings comes much more naturally to him and that he doesn't really have to force his voice like Geddy did in the early days of Rush. Geddy even said that when he first started singing that he tried it in a much deeper voice. Geddy's style put a lot of strain on his vocal cords and I think considering that, he has fared pretty well over the years.

Edited by snowdogged
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QUOTE (driventotheedge @ Mar 25 2011, 01:10 PM)
QUOTE (1974FAN @ Mar 25 2011, 10:05 AM)
...........Personally, I can't wait until 2014 for the R40 Tour...........

I have felt for some time that the R40 will be their swan song as a touring band, and what a way to cruise into retirement that will be.

Could be. Could be. It makes a certain kind of sense to call it quits then; a nice round number.

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I actually thought it wasn't too bad. Considering how long ago and how much his voice has changed since the original, it's understandable that he'd be tired towards the end of the tour. Anyways, I think Ged's voice will last for the CA tour and then they'll be calling it quits so it really doesn't matter. If they continue after CA I'd say that it would likely last for one final tour before giving out if they avoid a massive tour like they did with S&A.
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I started reading this thread expecting to get ticked off at some of the comments, but most folks have been pretty fair. The man is in his fifties and considering what his voice has been through he sounds pretty damn good. I hope I'm as good at my job at his age. I've been lucky enough to never see him on bad night. (Cross fingers and hope for a great show in April! 1022.gif )
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Listening to clip and to geddy overall theses last few years it is getting harder for for him. But in this instance I just wonder if it was more of issue of Geddy not hearing himself very well with his in ear monitor.

 

If you listen to the clip when sings "laughing out load with fear and hope", he nailed the snot out of hope. That's a pretty high note to me. I just wonder if it may be more of a sound issue. It is hard to sing what you need to sing or play sometimes if you can't hear what your doing.

 

I have admitted limited experience playing live music in a worship band, but when we who play and sing can't hear ourselves because we are having monitor issues, it ends up being a pretty rough outing.

 

I know Rush is top notch when it comes to sound, but sure they have some rough nights too.

 

Just a theory, who knows. I saw them in Atlanta, the guy is still amazing

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QUOTE (1974FAN @ Mar 25 2011, 11:05 AM)
Depending on how he takes care of his voice, he could have up to another 10 years of quality vocals.

Considering "quality vocals" from him are sporadic NOW, this seems highly unlikely and optimistic to me.

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We all know his voice isn't what it used to be. But that vid just a bad night. Watch some other videos from the same tour and he sings that part pretty well (for modern day Geddy).

 

He sang Marathon really well I thought. I think if they continue to tour they will start playing more 80s and 90s songs. Those are more friendly to Geddy's voice. and as others said, some staples may have to be dropped in order to save Geds vouce, or they could down tune the higher songs ala 2112.

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QUOTE (Mara @ Mar 25 2011, 06:50 AM)
He's said on occasion that he never took care of his voice, even on tour, in his younger days. Now he avoids certain foods and beverages and does not speak on the days off between shows unless he has to. I wonder if this has made much of a difference?

Also - does anyone know if he has worked with professional voice coaches on techniques to preserve his voice and make the most of what he does have? A lot of singers do (though often not until there's already some damage - to wit, Stephen Tyler).

He did eventually work with coaches but some damage had already been done with those awesome 70's shrieks.

If you truly think about how high his voice actually was in the 70's and where he is now vocally, he's still doing pretty damn good IMHO! There are far more musicians out there younger than Ged who can't hit the high notes they used to, and Geddy has to hit some REALLY high notes in some of their songs.

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QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Mar 25 2011, 01:42 AM)
They have only so many tours left in them, and Geddy's voice has only so many shows left. That's why I kinda wish they didn't do another Time Machine leg, and instead opted to finish the album and then do a tour after that.

+1

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You see, this is the problem with the internet and particularly, Youtube.

 

This is a recording, from somebody's cheap camera phone, situated (by the looks of the angle) not far from the right speaker column.

 

Not so long ago proper board mixes were dismissed as being non representative of live performances as they were not capturing what the audience was hearing, due to the fact that balances were presenting vocals much louder in the board mix in order to compensate for the ambient volume of the backline.

 

NOW, we have people listening to dreadful audio recordings captured via tiny phone and digital camera mics, via Youtube... another dodgy audio medium and passing judgement.

 

Here's the situation folks:

 

Small mics compress sound to the point that the loudest aspect of any recording will appear to be flat to the human ear. Don't believe me, try it out yourselves...

 

Get your phone or your little digital camera out and hum a note. Hum it louder (I mean LOUDER) and hear the pitch changes. Now, add in some ambient noise. Can you hear how the pitch of the hum changes further?

 

I'm not saying that Geddy is pitch perfect, but to judge a vocal performance on a very dodgy recording and comment that Geddy has lost his voice and that one was "Crying" is absolutely pathetic, albeit fairly typical of the "Youtube generation"

 

It would appear that the lyrics to "Virtuality" were highly prophetic...

 

 

 

 

 

 

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QUOTE (GeminiRising79 @ Mar 25 2011, 11:01 PM)
Has he considered hitting on some helium before certain lines?

Oh God, I laughed so hard. DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH RIGHT NOW! I'm nauseated so bad.

 

I know this is from R30, but damn is Geddy's voice nice here... and might I say it... sexy. And it's a cover! Just thought I would give the old man a +1.

 

 

Well, I'm giving him a break. I'm just psyched for my two shows this summer.

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I remember when I was in college I had a few friends who were music majors and they would say how the trained male voice peaked somewhere around 40 years old. Lets face it, Geddy's wasn't trained, so it was probably earlier. That being said, I think he sounds great for someone who is the age that my father was when he had been a grandfather for a few years. I would never expect to hear him sing 2112, Circumstances, Hemispheres, or Cygnus the way he did at 20 something. I for one am glad to hear him still doing the songs. Go Geddy!
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1. It was the end of a 5 month tour

2. I do believe it gets rather cold in South America come October

3. At his age, we can't expect Geddy to hit every note perfectly

 

Though this does make me cringe, it doesn't really change my opinion of Geddy as a singer. Just know he's gone this long with very few occasions of screw ups really strengthens my admiration of him as a musician. Old man still has some kick in him!

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QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Mar 25 2011, 03:42 AM)
They have only so many tours left in them, and Geddy's voice has only so many shows left. That's why I kinda wish they didn't do another Time Machine leg, and instead opted to finish the album and then do a tour after that.

Couldn't agree with you more. My feelings exactly. trink39.gif

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