When Singers Can't Sing Their Songs Anymore
While The Who is on hiatus, Roger Daltrey is going solo for his "Use It or Lose It" tour starting October 10. "Use It or Lose It" refers to Daltrey's voice, or as bandmate Pete Townshend puts it, "his aging vocal chords." In an interview with Rolling Stone, Daltrey was even more blunt, "These are the last years of my life that I can sing that material," he confessed.
I love The Who. "Quadrophenia" saved my life. Literally saved my life. Daltrey's wail was one of the most gut-wrenching, soul busting sounds in rock.
Was.
I'm sad to say that Daltrey has already lost it. Give the guys props for sticking with it but he ain't the Daltrey of days past. He's old and that youthful wail has turned into a croak. It's painful to hear. It's painful for me to say it out loud. I love the man. I owe him and his bandmates for rescuing my childhood. Still, I can't hide behind the romanticism of my classic rock past.
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The truth is this: singing over-the-top rock is a young man's game. At a certain point, a singer needs to either start making instrumentals or seriously reinvent his style. Sadly, most have trouble shifting gears and insist on singing like a twenty-year-old well into their 60s. Their ears somehow don't hear what the rest of ours hear. Those magic falsettos have crashed to earth.
As evidence, I submit two versions of "Love Reign O'er Me," the epic grand finale from "Quadrophenia." The first is from a 1982 Who concert. It's a tepid performance and Daltrey and Townshend are dressed like understudies for Culture Club. Still, by this point, Daltrey has been singing this song for almost 10 years and his voice is tight and focused.
The second performance is from March of this year. No amount of reinventing the vocal melody and dropping the key can save him. It's like watching some drunken karaoke singer destroy your favorite song.
Listen to Pearl Jam's version if you want to remember how it's sung.
Two other singers come to mind immediately whose vocal chords are behind them: Elton John and Whitney Houston.
In 1971, Elton was 24 years old, in the closet and singing with the greatest falsetto around. "Tiny Dancer" showed all his power, revealed effortlessly while seated cooly behind a Steinway grand.
Flash-forward some 35 years later. All's going well until the signature chorus. The falsetto has been mowed down. At least he's still got his hair. Listen to Ben Folds' faithful cover to get your "Tiny Dancer" fix.
Rolling Stone magazine deservedly named Whitney Houston one of the 100 greatest singers of all time. She set the standard for a generation of divas from Mariah to Beyonce. Her cover of Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman" revealed an untouchable soprano.
After nine years in the wilderness with marital, drug, and other personal issues, Houston had her career revival coming out party earlier this month on TV's "Good Morning America." Her voice decided to stay home. In true entertainer fashion, she left the high notes for the audience to sing.
The list goes on and includes most Vegas acts but I've made my point. Now it's your turn. And no, you can't include Bob Dylan. Whether or not you you think he can sing, not much has changed. The man sings more consistently than almost anyone out there.
There is a time to step aside indeed.