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Post by saosin on Feb 14, 2014 20:11:08 GMT
Seen a few videos on YouTube of the lads performing some of the new songs at the Scottish gigs and Danny's vocals were very poor again. Anybody who's been to the gigs agree/disagree?
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Lolli
Obsessive
Posts: 243
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Post by Lolli on Feb 14, 2014 20:50:12 GMT
This old chestnut. Again.
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Post by embracestokecity on Feb 14, 2014 21:14:05 GMT
Seen a few videos on YouTube of the lads performing some of the new songs at the Scottish gigs and Danny's vocals were very poor again. Anybody who's been to the gigs agree/disagree? blah blah blah
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Post by buckley on Feb 14, 2014 21:17:39 GMT
Personally I have never been to a gig in my life where I gave a toss about the quality of the vocals, and it has never detracted one little bit from the overall experience of the concert.
Also, If your judging Danny's vocals on ropey camera phone footage on youtube then please, at least, go to a gig yourself and see if you enjoy it with your own ears.
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Post by lucinda on Feb 15, 2014 18:38:25 GMT
I don't think even the most dedicated Embrace fan would claim that Danny has perfect pitch/tone etc.... but to me personally his voice reflects the honesty of his lyrics, especially in tracks like I Had a Time
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Post by nowimnobody on Feb 15, 2014 23:48:30 GMT
I've always defended his vocals as I thought most of the criticism of him in the old days was total bollocks.
However, while I haven't been to any of the new gigs I've heard from people who's opinion I 100% trust that he hasn't sounded great. It's not about pitch, he's just been struggling vocally all round.
The footage I saw from Tuts and Dundee reinforced that, even though it's never going to sound good recorded on a phone.
However, I heard from some of those same people that he was absolutely sensational at Aberdeen.
Maybe he's just getting back into the swing of things.
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Post by retlivdead on Feb 16, 2014 11:57:12 GMT
I thought he sounded fine at SG20, a few flat moments but nowhere near as bad as the Autumn 2006 gigs where is voice sounded properly shot.
I love Danny's voice, he'd never win X Factor with it but who cares? it adds something to the songs and isn't that what it's meant to do? At the end of the day it's an instrument just like the guitar, bass, drums & keyboards and Embrace would be a poorer band without it.
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Post by lucinda on Feb 16, 2014 14:05:21 GMT
Just listened to Bullets and his voice sounded gorgeous....a little bit raw and wobbly....and totally true....I loved the track
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Post by richielumsdon on Feb 16, 2014 16:06:47 GMT
It was something that was worrying me about their comeback as towards the end of the last tour Danny's vocals were frankly appalling, bordering on Ian Brown territory. I presumed that this was just maybe down to wear and tear but from the footage of the King Tuts gig (especially Thief) it appears to still be a problem. Like a previous poster has mentioned it's not just the occasional flat note or a slight wandering off key, his voice just sounds like its completely shot.
For me its telling that they've come back with a song sung by Richard cos as much as I'm enjoying the new EP Danny's vocals aren't really sounding that great even under studio conditions.
He's never been the strongest singer, but his voice had an honesty and rawness which suited the songs and added to the sound of the band. However since 2005/2006 something appears to have gone seriously wrong.
In saying that I hope i'm made to eat humble pie once the album comes out and when I see them in Newcastle in May.
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Post by saosin on Feb 16, 2014 18:27:46 GMT
It's a shame because I've always said that if they had a good frontman/singer they would probably be more popular as the songs have always been there.
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Post by richielumsdon on Feb 16, 2014 18:50:31 GMT
As he's the main songwriter without him there's no Embrace, and as I said his voice wasn't a problem up until about 2006. He's also a great front man.
His vocals seemed to really nose dive somewhere around the time they recorded WAYF. If you listen to This New Day then compare it to WAYF and some of the later B-side's (One Luck, Thank God You Were Mean to Me etc...) the drop in the quality of the vocals is really noticeable and they don't seem to have improved in the time they've been away.
Lets hope these recent shows are just a blip and he's back on form for the next tour....
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Post by willow on Feb 16, 2014 19:52:46 GMT
Danny's vocals live during their first three albums, I couldn't see what everyone's problem was. Yeah he wasn't 100% pitch perfect but very few singers are live. On record, he wasn't 100% spot on either but not in a way that hindered the music at all. His voice had a certain vulnerability to it that really fitted the songs and made them sound so much more genuine and honest. On OON and TND, Danny's vocals are very strong and if anyone had a problem with them at that point, I really don't see what you're on about. But I have watched/listened to footage of gigs around those times and yeah he was quite out of tune more than half the time. But there were bits that he sung well, and whenever there was a small audience (for example at a secret gig) his vocals were great. Danny could sing beautifully, anyone with a copy of OON could tell you that, it's just nerves that was the problem. I understand because I'd be exactly the same if I were a singer. I can't sing that well at the best of times but put me in front of even a handful of people and I can't sing at all. But after listening to Chameleon and Bullets, I'm really worried for them. Danny sounds as if he's struggling, and if you listen to the interviews that were done in the past month or so, he sounds as if he's struggling to talk. I thought at the time that he was just in the process of losing his voice but why would the band not wait until he was better to record their EP? They've waited eight years, I'm sure they could wait a little more. That means that whatever the problem is, it's presumably not going to go away. And that's such a shame. I really hope I'm wrong and he does make a full recovery, and quickly, but I just don't see it.
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Post by saosin on Feb 16, 2014 19:53:32 GMT
For me it doesn't help when they play the songs in a lower key live. I know they do this to help him but for me it has the opposite effect plus most of the songs don't suit a lower key.
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Post by Disappointed on Feb 16, 2014 23:02:56 GMT
Just seen them live in Inverness and was totally disappointed. I am unable to comment on the quality of the singing because the sound quality of the production was so bad. All overbearing base and was unable to hear any lyrics.
NOT WORTH THE TINNITUS!!!
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Post by thealanpeterson on Feb 16, 2014 23:18:50 GMT
I also noticed some issues with Danny's vocals at the Dundee gig, it was as if he was trying to sing, but nothing was coming out. Even noticed it a few times while he was speaking to the crowd, I want to say that he sounded out of breath, but I feel it was something other than this. Hopefully its something temporary since he's not really been performing live for a while and he'll be in better shape by the time the May tour starts.
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Lolli
Obsessive
Posts: 243
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Post by Lolli on Feb 17, 2014 0:54:44 GMT
Are you all aware that Danny has a heart condition that has many known symptoms including breathlessness and stammering?
Personally I'd rather be at a stonking gig where the vocal is not like the recording than one that's dull as fuck but pitch perfect. Not many folk can manage both.
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Post by Disappointed on Feb 17, 2014 6:58:05 GMT
I did not know about the heart condition. The unfortunate thing is that it sounded like his sound engineer did not know either.
I have been to many gigs and really like the band. However, I was not able to enjoy any of last night because the production quality was awful.
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Post by Dedge on Feb 17, 2014 11:37:39 GMT
I was at the Aberdeen gig, first time seen live since 2004.
Thought Danny was drowned out too often when he was singing the softer notes of the new material. He did at one point mention they were all getting back into the swing of things so far as playing live again. The new material is still getting locked down as a live performance, although Refugee was absolutely stomping.
Make no mistake though as soon as they played any of their back catalogue it was as if the dust came off them all and they were played perfect.
Magic concert, glad they are back.
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Post by lucinda on Feb 17, 2014 13:11:50 GMT
Are you all aware that Danny has a heart condition that has many known symptoms including breathlessness and stammering? Personally I'd rather be at a stonking gig where the vocal is not like the recording than one that's dull as fuck but pitch perfect. Not many folk can manage both. I totally agree with you Lolli ....I have been to countless gigs where the artist/band have replicated their recorded selves perfectly but there has been little or no atmosphere and I have left disappointed....Embrace are great live and Danny is an entertaining and charismatic front man...I have never left an Embrace gig disappointed and I for one cannot wait to see them live again!
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Post by richielumsdon on Feb 17, 2014 16:11:34 GMT
I couldn't agree with you more, no one wants a boring gig with zero atmosphere but for me there's a big difference between not being pitch perfect and the kind of live vocals we're seeing on those Youtube clips. To use a slightly crude analogy imagine if Richards guitar was out of tune for 50% of a gig or Mike's drumming was repeatedly out of time, that would effect my enjoyment of a concert. Danny is a brilliant front man but for me there's only so many bum notes his personality can cover.
If Danny's vocal issues are due to a heart condition I wasn't aware of that and that's very unfortunate. I also applaud him for continuing because he must be aware of how bad he's sounding.
Hopefully this is just a temporary blip and they'll be blowing the roof off venues come the tour in May.
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