The Spirit of Radio

[Queslington]

Ever since I saw this video (

about 2:40 into the video), I've been noticing the autotune in live versions of THe Spirit of Radio. I hear it in the Grace Under Pressure Live version and in the S&A Live version, but not on Different Stages or Time Machine. I know that it's certainly possible that his voice might have been a little rough in 2008, but 1984 on the p/g tour?

 

Please tell me I'm not the only one who's hearing the autotune.

 

The weird thing is that The Spirit of Radio's the only song on which I've noticed this.

 

 

 

Edited to say I'm sorry if this topic has been discussed before.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Queslington

[CrossedSignals]

Yep, there's definitely pitch-correction going on, but really who knows whether it's genuine or just faked to stir up some controversy?

 

I actually don't mind at all when Auto-Tune is used as an artistic tool, and we're meant to hear and notice it.

 

I DO mind when it's used subversively to correct a performance that I expect to be natural, as it (allegedly) is in this case.

[psionic11]

First of all, autotune wasn't even invented yet when Grace Under Pressure was recorded.

 

Secondly, the version of The Spirit of Radio from Different Stages that I have has Geddy missing the pitch all over the place. It has his character without the autotune robot "fixes"...

 

And yes, that youtube clip has obvious autotuning correction. I didn't dig deep enough into the youtube comments, so I apologize if somewhere the youtube author admits somewhere that autotune was added after the fact.

 

TBH, there are plenty of places where autotune could have helped him, but Geddy in a live mix is more than good enough without autotune.

 

/2c

[ColdFireYYZ]

There was a thread about this a while back. I think the consensus around here was since autotune wasn't invented until fairly recently, Geddy's voice was autotuned when the DVD was re-released. I think people compared the original video and the new DVD to come to that conclusion. I'm not entirely sure and I can't find the original thread so don't quote me.

[Show Don't Tell]

QUOTE (ColdFireYYZ @ Jun 18 2012, 11:18 PM)

There was a thread about this a while back. I think the consensus around here was since autotune wasn't invented until fairly recently, Geddy's voice was autotuned when the DVD was re-released. I think people compared the original video and the new DVD to come to that conclusion. I'm not entirely sure and I can't find the original thread so don't quote me.

Precisely! I remember comparing selected excerpts from the recordings. The comparison and analysis is found in the post at this link.

 

EDIT: And here too.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Show Don't Tell

[Sticklight]

His voice on the S&A Live DVD isn't auto-tuned. The voice you hear on the DVD is the same voice you could hear on the Rotterdam shows and on the rest of the tour.

 

Neil himself has stated Geddy's voice was on top, on the whole S&A tour

 

That said, the TM DVD is full of pitch corrections. For example, the high vocal part on Freewill (A cell of..) on the recording sounds processed comparing to this:

 

I think I'd rather hear his voice strained and off pitch than hear it processed and auto-tuned.

 

Edited July 30, 2012 by Sticklight

[jwoods89]

Maybe the person that put up the video did some autotune correction.

[Mika]

QUOTE (Sticklight @ Jul 30 2012, 12:01 PM)

His voice on the S&A Live DVD isn't auto-tuned. The voice you hear on the DVD is the same voice you could hear on the Rotterdam shows and on the rest of the tour. Neil himself has stated Geddy's voice was on top, on the whole S&A tour That said, the TM DVD is full of pitch corrections. For example, the high vocal part on Freewill (A cell of..) on the recording sounds processed comparing to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJSIVGhKOzE I think I'd rather hear his voice strained and off pitch than hear it processed and auto-tuned.

Gosh, his vocals on the S&A tour... My favourite vocals from all of the post-1988 shows. I was listening to 'Digital Man' today (the album version), and thought to myself that I liked his singing on the S&A version better! But then there came TM... not as good. Hmm, think I'm going to treat myself to some S&A watching tonight!

[LedRush]

The vocals on TM are just awful. I have a hard time even listening to Camera Eye. Geddy just had an off-night (getting over a cold) and the band decided to go ahead with the recording. I really wish for the CD they would have used different concerts, because I saw them four times on this tour and at each one Geddy sounded far better than he did in Cleveland. He's pushing so hard on notes that just don't need it, I assume he was over-compensating for his weakened voice (due to his cold).

[Queslington]

QUOTE (Show Don't Tell @ Jul 30 2012, 09:13 AM)

QUOTE (ColdFireYYZ @ Jun 18 2012, 11:18 PM) There was a thread about this a while back. I think the consensus around here was since autotune wasn't invented until fairly recently, Geddy's voice was autotuned when the DVD was re-released. I think people compared the original video and the new DVD to come to that conclusion. I'm not entirely sure and I can't find the original thread so don't quote me. Precisely! I remember comparing selected excerpts from the recordings. The comparison and analysis is found in the post at this link.   EDIT: And here too. Thank you.