streamline wrote:James Blast wrote:I just hate it when Mr. E yelps! as he seems increasingly to do gig after gig (Romeo Down being a good example). One of the things that attracted me to The Sisters in the first place was his baritone stylings (go on, correct me music buffs), Bury Me Deep being a case in point.
I am very sorry
Mr Blast to disagree with such a man with as high a post count as yourself (
) but one of the reasons I admire the Sisters so much is Andrew's ability to sing a certain line (in a baritone - if you will) and then at the turn of a hat add so much more power (or yelp) and change the pitch of his voce.
...
His baritone is great, but even better when he moves away from it (within the same song). Fish also has the same ability (I expect to get slated for saying this!)
...
His vocal range is still good
I am very interested in the deeper voiced end of the operatic singing spectrum, so I'll share my opinions on this.
Von really can't sing at all. He seems to know his own limitations
extremely well, and works within these to produce that fascinating, charismatic sound that we all love. Indeed, the
sound of his voice is one of my absolute favourites among singers of all persuasions. Von also has a very poor vocal range. Mr Blast is quite correct, and the "yelping" is a way of getting to those higher notes in a way that would otherwise sound worse still.
It's interesting to note that on record, he employs a much narrower vocal range than in the live performances of the last 15 years. I suppose that's in keeping with knowing one's own limitations, and the fact that live shows are more about energy and generating excitement than any technical considerations. And I doubt anyone in their right mind would want to "yelp" on an official release...
This said, Von's voice sounds rich and dramatic when he sings within his limits. For me the high point was Floodland, on which the voice has a great quality to it and he keeps it "under control" (unlike side 2 of FALAA which does cause me some discomfort from time to time).
As for the pitch of the voice, it seems to have changed several times...
On most of the early releases, his voice is clearly higher in pitch than during the FALAA era. Think Black Planet, Marian, Bury Me Deep, etc, where he's positively Chaliapin-esque (Famous Russian Bass singer from the turn of C20). On Floodland, the pitch has risen again and Vision Thing is higher still. Since then, it seems to have varied somewhat over the years. I think it's worth mentioning that I've always felt that his voice, and its pitch, has been "treated" on recordings from time to time to generate the desired effect.
It's hard to classify his vocal range because it's very limited but I would say he's a baritone, tending towards being a bass in the FALAA era. I have my own views on why that might be, but that's another thing...
So, it's a great-sounding voice with no range and backed up with little technique. He's a Rock and Roll singer, so what else do you expect? Still, that doesn't alter the fact that it's f*cking wonderful.
These are just
my thoughts. I think Mr Eldritch himself summed it up pretty well in an issue of UTR (I forget which one):
"I'm not Caruso."
) would seem the obvious choice for question one,as he is a vocalist (and english 
)
I'm sure these are exactly the songs he was on about when he mentioned certain ditties not standing the test of time.
And Adam can't sing and can't disguise the fact 
