Opinion needed on my band's singer's voice

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pjb5015

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Hey guys,
So my band just finished recording an album and I have to say overall I am not happy with the finished product, the main problem being the vocals. They are not off key or anything like that, I just feel that the style is not appropriate for the music. Me and a couple of other members of the band feel like our singer tries to sing too much like he is in a choir rather than in a rock band. We are all for singing on key, but he focuses so much on that and pays no attention to the "feel" or anything like that. The tracks are posted here:

Music - The Late Ancients

I would appreciate any feedback we can get. Maybe I am just being picky, but we have played it for people and they have asked why he sings that way. Figured here is the best place to get good feedback. Thank you so much in advance. Would love to hear what you think.
 
pretty much don't agree with you.
Singer sounds fine to me and appropriate to the music which, BTW, isn't what I'd call rock. More folk to my ears.

In general, singers sing the way they sing ..... you're not gonna get anyone to sing in a totally different style than they tend to sing in. So the only remedy will be to replace him.
But for that music, he sounds fine to me.
 
Yeah, I see what you mean by there being a vocal focus on pitch, and less on personality. There is a certain amount of insincerity in the vocals for me, but it's slight. There aren't many inflections or flaws in the vocals, and he doesn't annunciate in the same way that people do when they speak. That "choir" sounding character to the vocals seems to be because he is smoothing out the words a little more than you would like, rather than speaking them as one would do in normal conversation. It kind of smooths them out to the point that it sounds a little fake and awkward, but like I said, It's slight. A lot of people won't mind, because tastes vary greatly, but I agree with you on this one. You may want to talk to him about it in a constructive, kind, and non-confrontational way. Hopefully you all can work something out, or learn to appreciate it, somehow.

Also, Great sound! I like the rock/folk mixture. I could really get into this, aside from the vocals.
 
I think the singers voice is good, it is unusual enough to make it interesting. I don't like the mix, for my ears the vocal sounds disconnected (sounds great when doubled tho...) Maybe you should look at backing?
FWIW hope you didn't tell the singer you were posting here - if it was me I'd be pissed...
 
Thanks guys,
No, he has no idea I am posting here, doesn't even know this website exists so I am not worried. Yeah I think it has to do with his pronunciation of words mostly. The thing is, we used to be a classic rock cover band and he would adjust his voice to different bands...for example, he does a great Jim Morrison voice or Roger Daltrey voice, but when we do originals he loses the edge and focuses on annunciation too much. It's sad because we know he has the ability, it's just a matter of how we approach him about it without offending him. We shall see. Thanks again for all the advice and I would love to hear more from some other people to get more opinions.
 
Before reading the other posts, in fact before even listening to any of the songs, I thought, "You have two choices- go with the singer's voice, as-is, or get another singer.

After listening to the songs, and reading the posts, I come to the same conclusion. If you want to really correct the problem, you need to back up quite a bit and decide what you, either as a autocratic band leader or as a more democratic group, want.

A band is likely to go in one of two directions- either the embodiment of one person's vision, or a melding of the styles and sensibilities of the group. Of course, it is never a "pure" thing, and you are at that point where one person's sensibilities are at odds with others' (but your singer may not really be the odd man out.)

That your singer can be something of a vocal chameleon is a good thing, but now that you are doing originals, it is very possible he feels his natural voice is best. Are you wanting to craft a unique sound, or something more mainstream and "radio friendly?" If you want to be more unique, stay with his voice, as-is; if you want to be more mainstream, ask him to make some changes. Agan, there is no extreme, but rather stops along a continuum...

Before you make any changes, you should do an informal survey- how many people are asking why he sings like that? Do an informal study session- ask several listeners (audience members?) what they think of the band? How do they like the music? Then, what do they think of the singer's style? Perhaps more people like it, then don't, or maybe vice versa. Don't "fit" it until you know it's really broken.

If I were your musical director and/or manager, and thus had a dog in that fight, I'd say that, as you are doing originals, but ifhis voice is attracting attention for the wrong reasons, I'd ask him to change it slightly, to give the band a little more mass appeal.

Frankly, the singer's style seems to fit in very well with at least some of the songs- "Nature's Dreaming" is one such good fit.
 
Yeah, I can hear why you created this post and asked for some ideas. It isn't good. Your brazen confidence that your singer will never know about this is somewhat naive, but it speaks to the severity of your concern in many ways. (I had a lead singer quit WHILE recording our first full-length cd and we were able to save his good work while re-recording the bad with a new vocalist.)

I wouldn't say that he cannot hit the notes, it's just not very pleasant to listen to. He sounds very self-concious and only uses his falsetto.

The band sounds pretty good, but it wouldn't ever win a local Battle-of-the-Bands because of the awkward vocals. Harsh I know, but I've judged a few in my time.

I hope there is mutually agreed upon solution to your band's problem, and I wish you the best. It's part of the game.
 
I dont like your singers style but i think he sounds good to me....but because of this style it does put your songs in a different genre if you know what I mean, its a more Belle & Sebastian than Zeppelin

its almost like he sings in a folk style, some it works more than others

But stick a good rock singer on this and you will have some good rock songs, like 12 million other good rock bands...I think his individuality may be a selling point tbh
 
I like the singer, In fact I think his voice has a somewhat unique sound to it. Why go with a generic style when you've got something a bit different. He sounds great on "Birth" which sounds alot like the Who when Pete Townsend is singing. The music is alot like the Who's folk stuff, ie Squeeze Box, so I can see where you would want to take the band into a more aggressive Rock sound.
 
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pjb5015 said:
I have to say overall I am not happy with the finished product, the main problem being the vocals. They are not off key or anything like that, I just feel that the style is not appropriate for the music.
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I couldn't agree less with you. The singer's voice is more than appropriate for the music ~ it actually goes a long way towards defining the sound of the songs. A more aggressive or muscular singer would more likely be the one out of place.

pjb5015 said:
Me and a couple of other members of the band feel like our singer tries to sing too much like he is in a choir rather than in a rock band. We are all for singing on key, but he focuses so much on that and pays no attention to the "feel" or anything like that.
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Did the singer have a hand in the writing of any of the 5 songs you've linked to here ? If not, I can understand the 'feel' argument, but there's a possibilty that you may get that with any singer. It's not always a given that bandmates pick up on the feel that the writer {s} has in mind. You should read what Andy Summers and Sting have to say about each others contributions to their songs on the Police's "Ghost in the machine" album. Sting came in with all the parts written out and it caused no end of tension because Summers felt that suddenly, the band contribution that had made their music was now gone, and to him, it was a comment about his feel and musical contribution. Sting on the other hand felt that that very democratic approach had somehow weakened many of his past musical visions.
My point here is that a band is a cornucopia of compromise.
Can I also say, I don't believe that the singer of your band tries to sing like he's in a choir, not on the evidence produced here. There are different ways of viewing vocals/the voice, one of which is as an instrument. So being in key, in tune, will be important to that person.

pjb5015 said:
Maybe I am just being picky,
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I think you are. That said, you're entitled to be. It's your music. But so many artists will find something about their music that they don't like, even if it sells millions for 35 years and is accepted as wonderful across several continents.

pjb5015 said:
we have played it for people and they have asked why he sings that way.
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Well so what ? He sings that way because......that's the way he sings. He doesn't have to be Roger Daltrey or Jim Morrison now.
Those people that have asked
why he sings that way
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seem to me to have preconceived ideas of what a singer should sing like instead of simply allowing originality in whichever guise it turns up. There are certain singers that made my eyebrows raise the first time I heard them, like Robert Plant, Geddy Lee, David Surkamp {especially David Surkamp !}. I was used to a more macho, deeper voiced 'rockier' vocalist back in the day. But 30 years on, I dig all of them. David Surkamp still makes me laugh on that first Pavlov's Dog album, but I love the album in spite of his vocals.
I don't think the vocalist sounds insincere at all. And for what it's worth, I do like the songs that you've presented and there's nothing I've heard that I'd get rid of. When's it due out ?
 
I think his voice fits in well with the style of music. That said, I'm just not a fan of his voice in general.
 
I'm thinking this didn't go quite like the OP thought it would.

:)
 
Lt. Bob said:
I'm thinking this didn't go quite like the OP thought it would.

:)
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I'm thinking your assessment is correct !
But in a way, it serves the OP right. That opening post doesn't seem to have taken on board that people might actually think the singer's voice was good/OK/acceptable. It almost feels like he was hoping people would hate the songs, citing the singer as the reason. But they're good songs and the guy's voice fits them perfectly.
 
He suits you - so if you think he sounds too lightweight for you - I would respectfully suggest you're not giving him much inspiration to work with in the 'rock' department. It would very much depend on your definition of rock - mine is being pissed and high down the front at a Rose Tattoo gig with a bloody nose and the sound pummeling you whilst sweat and beer roll down your face - that said it's good and your singer suits you. As a wise bloke once said as regards music "Give it what it needs" - and he does just that.
 
He has a high light voice, which suits the backing of light guitars. Nice voice but not a lot of "rock" if that's what you want - more adult contemporary. I do notice that the songs sound like they are in the same key. Try dropping the key a few steps and see if he can belt out in his chest voice - right now he's running pretty close to head voice. Drop a few steps and maybe you'll get some punch.
 
Well it is not rock music - its folk/hippie music and the vocals are not as bad as you think. Yes it would be nice if the voice had more soul in it - otherwise it all works.
 
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