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whitem8

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71Tele
Pre-1995 or so? Keith's was better by far. Now? It's like asking me if I want a nail driven into the left side of my skull or the right side.

Really? Keith by far. And in fact his singing voice now is quite strong. I think he sounds great on You Got the Silver on Shine a Light. And the tribute to Parsons, his singing on Love Hurts is great.

You're right. I think "Love Hurts" was great. Some of the stuff he has done in a lower register I'm not as fond of, and I particularly dislike the "baby, baby, baby" tic he developed at some point.

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lapaz62
71 Tele, I liked Jagger's version better because, its a little more country, a little more up tempo and I dont like Richards voice other than the small part in Memory Motel.

More uptempo? Wasn't Jagger singing on the same backing track?

I love Keith on Happy, Silver, Coming Down Again, Memory Motel, Slipping Away, etc.

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tomcasagranda
Keith on You Win Again (Hank Williams tribute - Timeless) is great.

The best thing on that record!

Keith now to me sounds like he's trying too hard to sound "emotional" or something, I can't stand "The Nearness Of You"...in the 60's/70's his voice was fantastic.

Keith's voice since the Vegas era has been completely unlistenable. Each Keith lead vocal on a Stones track from then untit now, for me, is a complete waste of a song and an annoyance. I never listen to The Winos for this reason - why subject myself to a whole album of this?

As for Ronnie, while his voice is also gavelly and pitchy as hell, for some reason I don't get as annoyed. Likely because his lead vocal has never ruined a direct Stones experience for me.

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I like both - but Keith is better - in fact, I like is lower voice better than the high pitch of his youth, it´s strange but I think Keith´s voice gets better with age - it gets lower - while Mick turns into nasal whine and Ron´s somewhere between..

I love Keith's voice. Ron's too. Are they "good" singers? Hell no. But they put across emotion, heart and soul, which is what I look for in an artist. Their voices are an aquired taste, like Dylan, but it's worth the effort. I think Keith's voice has gotten better with age. He's learned how to sing from the diaphragm rather than pushing it all from the throat. Granted, the deepening of his voice can be a problem on older songs like Happy, which featured his younger, higher voice. Also, his singing on the Shine A Light version of T&A is hard to take. He should have left that song back in 1981 when he could actually pull it off, but he sounds great on his more recent material, which is geared towards his mature voice.

Thanks guys and gals, I think Ronnie's today is better, but still hard to say, but Keith was better back in the day.

Ronnie surprised me with his singing on I Feel Like Playing - it was good. I thought his voice was completely gone by Not For Beginners, but I guess he rehearsed or, rather, made songs that suited his limited range.

Both Keith and Ronnie have these husky, but soulful voices.

Tecnically, Keith is miles above Ronnie, and overall he is the better vocalist, imo.

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I love both but I wasn't buying the latter day Keith vocals. Feels like Keith lost the passion at least to my ears and is more going through the motions then really conveying what he felt while singing. Ronnie's tone isn't as pleasant but I still feel he is immersed in music and it comes across in his singing. He still has the passion.

I'd rather hear passionate off key singing then on key without feel.

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jamesfdouglas
Keith's voice since the Vegas era has been completely unlistenable. Each Keith lead vocal on a Stones track from then untit now, for me, is a complete waste of a song and an annoyance. I never listen to The Winos for this reason - why subject myself to a whole album of this?

As for Ronnie, while his voice is also gavelly and pitchy as hell, for some reason I don't get as annoyed. Likely because his lead vocal has never ruined a direct Stones experience for me.

spot on.

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71Tele

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Doxa
But damn, Ronnie sings beautifully in Dylan's 30 career anniversary ("Sevan Days", one of my ever favorites). Just listening to it. Simply woderful.

- Doxa

I always liked that one as well.

He nearly stole the show, didn't he? Yes, "simply wonderful" is right.

I always thought Keith and Ronnie should've shared a bunch of backing vocals during the Vegas years, but I guess it becomes a chore when one is busy posing.

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Big Al
Keith's vocal ability is worsening to my ears, but he's always possessed better vocal ability to Ronnie and always will. Ronnie just sounds pissed.

Wow, I've been consistently amazed at how much better Keith has gotten over the last ten years. OK, I get that his mannerisms can be annoying/overdone at times, and his '80s/90's singing was pretty rough, but using someone's example of "You Got the Silver" from SAL-- powerful, in key, soulful. He sang that well the whole tour. It's like he's cut back severely on the ciggies and regained SOME of that youthful quality, and added some actual skill.

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Markdog
I love both but I wasn't buying the latter day Keith vocals. Feels like Keith lost the passion at least to my ears and is more going through the motions then really conveying what he felt while singing. Ronnie's tone isn't as pleasant but I still feel he is immersed in music and it comes across in his singing. He still has the passion.

I'd rather hear passionate off key singing then on key without feel.

+1 As we know, he is now an "entertainer".

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Markdog


I'd rather hear passionate off key singing then on key without feel.

Keith's voice is neither of those things. Just a major, major ear-sore. I can't stand his singing.

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Keith in his prime by far. IMO, that is one of the crucial elements that is missing from the latter day Stones... Keith's bvoc.

Don't get me wrong - I LOVE his backing vocals in the 60s and 70s. Talk Is Cheap has the last Keith-lead vocals I can stand that he ever did. Everything after that (including Hollywood Bowl) is unlistenable (with exceptions of Thru and Thru, Thief in the Night and Hurricaine).

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Thanks for the read gentlemen.

Keith was great early on, but Ronnie wasn't too bad either.

Whiched they'd sung like Steve Marriott.

Keith for back-up and Ronnie for solo....


I was driving home early Sunday morning through Bakersfield...

As long as they sing from their heart both of them meet the expectations.

Most of the voices in current show business lack of authenticity or genuine feeling, regardless those voices are technically correct.

Keith has had a lot of later day vocal gems. The Worst is spectacular. One of his best. You Don't Have to Mean It, wonderful with lots of soul. How Can I Stop? and Thief in the Night are both fantastic. I don't get how fans can't hear beauty in those songs.







Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-05-06 14:08 by whitem8.

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steel driving hammer
Thanks for the read gentlemen.

Keith was great early on, but Ronnie wasn't too bad either.

Whiched they'd sung like Steve Marriott.

<<< Wished they'd sung like Steve Marriott >>>

Quite !!

What a voice that boy had, wow !!

Interesting reading folks' divided opinions on this. Personally, I think Keith's voice expired years ago, Ronnie's is OK these days. Vocals aren't really their forte, stick to axes ... far better !!

[ I want to shout, but I can't hardly speak ]