The Smiley Smile Message Board

I've been trying to pinpoint the time at which Brians voice changed from his late 70's gruff voice to his more whiny 80s voice. I always thought it would have been sometime around 82ish, when I read that allegedly Brian had a some sort of drug induced stroke which may have explained his slurred delivery thereafter. I really don't know if this is true, the reason i'm doubting this date though was evidence I saw when i obtained the Beach Boys at knebworth DVD. When Brian sings the intro of Sloop John B and the bridge of Surfer Girl, his voice is near identical to how it sounds now pretty much. Considering this wasn't too long after he had recorded a couple of lines for Goin' on, and the demo of Night bloomin jasmine (very gruff 1979), this has thrown me into confusion. Its not the smooth voice like on Matchpoint of our love (which is closer to Busy doin nothin) and bear in mind that theres a couple of demos from 83 on the BW88 reissue which have his '80s' voice. I have not heard any more of Brians early 80s demos - Black Widow etc so i have no idea what he sounds like. Apologies for the anality of this thread. If anyone can shed any light then please do so.

The problem with things like this is that to me I hear some of that 80's type voice you're talking about all the way back through their catalogue.  If you listen to the H&V demo for instance with Barnyard I think he sounds a lot like he does now on that!  His voice certainly has some interesting nuances to it.  Sometimes he still sounds 19, like the beginning of "Don't Worry Baby" on the Roxy CD "welll, it's been buildin' up inside of me" the tone of his voice is nearly identical to the original (except in a lower key).  Or howabout the bridge to "Surfer Girl" he does now in concert.  These are the moments we live for, lol.

Oh, and check out the background vocals on "The night was so young".  80's voice, in 1976!  "Is some - body gonna tell me?"

As far as I know, all the experts seem to agree that Brian has never had a stroke.

The thing that puzzles me about Brian's voice is that, however much the tone may have changed in the 80's and especially early nineties (BW 88 sounds very similar to young Brian in many parts--in fact, most of it to my ears. But then listen to Sweet Insanity, Paley sessions, or IJWMFTT--the tone is completely differet), his vocals were still consistently in tune up until '99 when, all of the sudden, out of nowhere he began going out of tune pretty regularly, which progressively got worse until about 2004, at which point it has pregressively gotten a little better. Is that just old age?

You just never know.  My wife and I swore up and down in 2000 on the Pet Sounds Tour that Brian sounded just like the original record on Sloop John B.

Brian DID NOT HAVE A STROKE!
He was given massive doses of Thorazine by Landy.

If Brian had a drug-induced stroke, he would NOT be out there singing the songs every night like he was in 1999-2005. Hell, he never would have been the same.

Apart from a few backing vocals (and, perhaps, lead vocals according to some) on GIOMH, where was Brian going out of tune regularly in the studio (apart from Paley demos)? If you meant live performances...well, prior to '99 there really weren't any of merit. From my experience, his live vocals have gotten consistently better since '99. Save those possibly rushed vocals on some of GIOMH, his studio vocals have improved as well.

I was referring to live vocals. In the studio he does fine. You're right about there not being many of any merit before ninety-nine, but take, for example, his performance of Orange Crate art on the IJWMFTT documentary. It's practically flawless, and he could never pull that off like that today in a live situation, especially with that range. Which leads to something else. In the early nineties his falsetto was still in great shape (obviously not the same as the early years, but in very decent shape, all things considered), but all of the sudden on his first tour in '98 or '99, whenever it was, he could barely sing falsetto, and now he can't at all (you can argue that he does on Surf's Up and what not all you want, but listen to him live. Every time he goes into falsetto it's just raspy and airy. There's no strength to it at all.)

I think that's just different strokes for different folks, In my opinion Brian pulls off some fairly amazing things in concert in the last two years or so.  Look @ him doing things like "Good To My Baby" on that Carnegie Hall performance.  Or, look back at some of the songs like "Surfer Girl" he was singing live in the early 90's, horrible, horrible off key performances. 

Some of those performances on the IJWMFTT video are great, but then some of the Christmas Performances he did on televison last month were great as well. 

I think with Brian it's a mood thing, sometimes he's in the mood to sing well sometimes he doesn't care if it sounds good or not. 

I'm thinking age.   Just listen to Roger Waters nowadays, he actually *sounds* like an old man.  ("Amused To Death" is a great example.)

I haven't heard anything of Brian's recently except "Smile", and I thought he sounded pretty good, even on the live DVD.  Certainly not the "classic" Wilson voice, but pleasant enough.

I don't think we can really trust what he sounds like on CDs anymore; there's always post-production to make his voice sound better than it really is. Same thing with TV, most of those performances were lip-synched.

It certainly sounds sometimes like Brian's had a stroke.. in the IJWMFTT documentary, for example, it sounds like he doesn't have full control of his mouth, as if part of it were numb or paralyzed.

In the documentary footage on the Special Features of the Mayor Of The Sunset Strip DVD, Brian expresses embarassment at his slurring in IJWMFTT.

Umm, Ron... coulda phrased that a little better.  ;)

The whole stroke thing is interesting - everyone close to Brian says he hasn't had one, and has for some 20 years... but when I showed my doctor some footage of him talking, walking and jogging from 1985/6 (because he asked to, knowing my BB interest), without my prompting he said he would put money on Brian having had a mild stroke, maybe more than one, and that he would also bet that he didn't know he'd had it. That said, Brian was talking out of the side of his mouth back in the early 60s.

I wonder how much is due to his hearing. He was already deaf in one ear; i'm sure that at age 63 his hearing in his "good" ear might be slipping.

The problem one sometimes runs into in trying to track the progression of his voice through his singing over the years is that there are so many other variables that can play into how he sounds when he is singing.

What perhaps can help track his voice better is how his speaking voice sounds. This is of course a bit more difficult because it requires tracking down and dating TV, film, or other audio recordings of interviews.

Listen to him, for instance, in the "It's OK" bed interviews (also seen in part in the "An American Band" documentary). If you close your eyes, his speaking voice sounds relatively similar to his 60's voice. Sure, there's a bit more scratchiness to it, and a lot of times a guy will sound less youthful when he's 34 versus 21. But there is no slurring.

Then, take a look at something like a TV interview from 1983 or so, when he was hooked back up with Landy. The voice is perhaps a bit more whiney, but it still doesn't sound slurred.

Fast foward to something like his infamous 1991 "Primetime Live" profile (which profiled Landy as well), and there seems to be some measure of slurring. Something happened during those Landy years the second time around in the 80's. Whether it was gradual or sudden, I can't tell. I doubt we'll ever really know.

As for his singing, I think it's interesting that if you compare something like the 1995 "IJWMFTT" soundtrack or "Orange Crate Art"  to even "Imagination" or anything he's recorded since then, it seems that his circa 1995 voice was more whiney and shrill. His circa 1998-present voice is much smoother. However, I think back in 1995, that whiney, shrill voice stayed in key better. Those Was soundtrack recordings (which I think were recorded in 1994) were presumably live, in-studio recordings (although I'm sure little bits were tidied up here and there). Brian's current live voice in particular is much smoother, but more apt to wander off key. I think perhaps he has consciously switched to a warmer, softer, smoother voice, but at the expense of being able to hit all of the notes properly all the time.

I've seen Brian on every US tour since he started in 1999. I've seen some improvements in some areas, and I've seen him sing quite well and sing very poorly. There are two things I see many Brian fans say that I just can't really agree with:

1. Many fans think his voice has markedly improved on each tour from 1999 to present. I just don't see this (or, rather, I suppose I should say "hear" this). He has good nights and bad nights, and I would say that his 2005 vocal performances overall are better than his 1999 performances. But on some songs in 1999, he sounded pretty good, and on a few numbers even in 2005, he sounds not very good at all. I haven't seen any trackable progression on every single tour.

2. Some fans, as well as other famous musicians, have said that Brian sometimes today sounds as good as he did in the 60's, and/or that his live "Pet Sounds" is better than the original recording, etc. No way. In my opinion, of course. I've never heard Brian since 1999 sound anywhere near as good as his prime in the 60's. Not that he should. The only person I've heard in the last few years who sounds almost literally the same as he did in the 60's is Al Jardine. But back to Brian, I think he rarely sounded like the Brian of the 60's after, well, the 60's! I think the last time I heard a falsetto from Brian that almost sounded like it did in the 60's was on recordings like "Airplane" or "Sherry She Needs Me" (the '76 vocal take), and even on those recordings, one really has to single out a few measures here and there. Brian's normal register singing voice managed to sound pretty smooth on some of the "MIU" album tracks, but even on those tracks, I don't think he sounds like he did in the 60's.

I believe Melinda is correct when she said Brian sounded most out-of-it when he was coming off the heavy drugs Landy was feeding him. The IJWMFTT documentary was filmed during the period he was being weaned off the psychotropic drugs and you can literally tell what segments were shot early (the more doped-up Brian explaining the origins of "Good Vibrations") and what segments were shot after his system was more or less cleaned out (his interview on the sofa with Melinda). Granted, Brian's on-going depression figures into this too (see "SMiLE" doc for an example), but he seems to have had quite a bit of trouble in '92 & '93. It's also important to note that Brian resumed smoking cigarettes in '92 which definitely affected his vocals on everything from "Orange Crate Art" through "The Wilsons" album. He was able to quit again in '96 and his vocals became smoother. As for his consistency, IJWMTT was a controlled environment, not a live concert. I've noticed Brian will tend to give better vocal performances over the last few years in smaller theatres, but will not be as outgoing. In larger outdoor settings, his voice is less consistent, but he will often be more animated or jokey. Obviously, his tone is not anywhere near as pure as in the 60s, but his emotional delivery has definitely improved over the last few years and I think that's what fans are reacting to when they hear "Pet Sounds" or "SMiLE" live.

During the 10/13/04 concert in Houston, I caught something rather intersting. During "Drive-in" there was a part of the song where he actually screamed the vocals, and damned if he didn't sound EXACTLY like he did in '76.

I'm still wondering the origins of Brian's sixties voice, man.

Yeah, that was a regular part of the tour, on the words "goin' broke".

Heaven?

Anyway, it seems a bit silly to worry too much about a singer's "voice," since most singers have several. There's the obvious (and previously discussed here) differences between chest voice, head voice, falsetto, etc., but there are also just different timbres that singers tend to use for different ranges, different melodies, etc. Brian's voice has changed, obviously, over the years, but to assume there is a date before which it was X and after which it was Y is a bit of a reach.

All that said, I place the date at Oct. 3, 1981. I did scientific calculations, goddamnit.

I'm glad thats cleared that up.

I think he defininately has moments when he sounds as good as ever.  Not a whole song, just bits and pieces here and there.  "First Noel" at the end when he lifts up into falsetto is gorgeous and pretty much as perfect as he ever was, even if for just a phrase.  "Wind Chimes" on the 04 smile, although different than the original, is dead on key and high.  The high, only Brian falsetto in the first two verses of the 04 GV.. "It's weeeeeiiiirrrrd" dead on key and pretty strong.  The strangest to me is the high, walking the line, fading out of audible sound, thin, but barrrrrrrrrrely dead on key title lines on the Roxy version of "Caroline, No".  Not that crazy note at the end, he butchers that, but he very thinly, almost out of control barely grabs the note at the end of each "Ohhhh carolineee whyyy?" and such through the song.  Really pretty. 

I've only seen the Smile documentary so I don't have much to compare to, but did he always only talk out of one side of his mouth?  I just wondered, because hearing the old outtakes where he speaks (like the piano rendition of H&V) that didn't appear to be so.  It just seems like now he actually *sounds* like someone who is partially deaf, whereas in the early days, you couldn't really tell.

No, he's always talked out of the side of his mouth. Watch early footage of the group, specifically on the AMERICAN BAND dvd, he's always favored one side.

The main one is the Ready Steady Go clip from 64. Just add slurring and you've got "post-stroke" Brian right there.
And, BTW, Jeff Bridges has got the exact same side-of-the-mouth, heavy-tongued, slurring trip. That's one of the reasons everyone says he's such a perfect choice to play Brian. HE'S never had any kind of stroke. What's the explanation for that?

Watch Brian from their '64 appearance on Bandstand!  For further proof!

I read/saw/heard (don't recall which) somewhere LONG time ago that Brian has stated that he talks out of the side of his mouth so he can hear himself with his 'good ear.'

According to his auto-b!ography- his maid gave him strokes.  ;D

You know what's sad?  He'll never ever get the chance to experience the beauty of his own music in stereo.  "Pet Sounds" is *nothing* unless it's in stereo.  (Debatable yes, but I hate the mono versions.)

What the FODA!

And Citizen Kane is nothing until it will be colored.

And the 1942 version of the Gold Rush is superior to the 1925 version because it has a soundtrack.   ???

And the Great Sphinx needs a new hat

Sorry to restart this thread, but...

1) I can't stand it when people compare stereo-izing Pet Sounds to colorizing Citizen Kane. The fact is that a stereo mix was possible, the multitracks existed for it to happen, etc. A stereo mix of Pet Sounds is not artificial.  A color version of Citizen Kane IS artificial, though, as they'd be adding color to a black'n'white film.

2) Going back to the Brian-talking-out-of-the-side-of-his-mouth thing...yes, he definitely did that as early as 1964, if not earlier, but...watch Audree in IJWMFTT -- SHE did it too! And Carnie did/does that as well, although not quite as noticeably. Must be a Korthof thing, no?

It makes sense. Try talking out of one side of your mouth. You can definitely hear it better in the ear on that side.

I've lost a good deal of hearing in my left ear, and my wife pointed out that I've been doing that for at least the past 3 years.

Ok here is a story for you all that I can't verify. I heard the when Brian had plastic surgery in the 80s to fix his shattered check bone ("his" book mentions the surgery briefly) he nearly died on the table. This source told me he had a mild stoke. Now he could full well sing, talk, walk after a mild stroke but I do see a difference. I don't know if this story is even true but according to the person who told me this, Landy covered it up. The first time I notice Brian slurring is a 1986 USA Network doc on Paul McCartney. In 1990 I have a clip of him on ET where he doesn't slur much but every other film I have seen since 86 has the slur. The press conference after Dennis died and the "I have been up down" quote from AB doesn't have the slur.  Now it doesn't matter if he did or not really but if Landy did cover it up did he lie to Brian too? As far as his voice I first hear the 80s voice in 1983 when Brian sings It's Just a Matter of Time in AB. In my opinion he improved a little by the mid 90s, but 1998-9 was when he really sounded smoother. He doesn't sing much falsetto anymore because let's face it Getcha Back is the last time he did it well. He did try to do more falsetto in the late 80s early 90s but to me I felt sorry for him when he did. I think he sings in the range he does now because he sounds pretty good in it. Yeah he has good and bad nights but I am not embarrassed for him (at least vocally) on anything he cut the last ten years and that includes the concerts I have seen or heard.

Also his speaking voice in the early 80's is very different, check out the interview thingy on the Cocaine sessions where the fans were taping him, he's like a different man, and thats 82/83ish.

Yeah, Brian’s side talking is clearly an attempt to hear himself better. He did that right from the start.

What’s always confused me is that not only did his singing voice change but his speaking voice as well. Listen to him saying “Hi Rog” in ’65 or whatever, and he has a high, soft voice. Heck, even when he was talking in ’74 on the “Rock Reflections” show he sounded like the Brian of old. Then listen to the growling of the late 70’s and beyond. And if the Rolling Up To Heaven cut is really from 74, that further illustrates that he sounded like the old Brian. So the only year unaccounted for is 75. So sometime in 75 his voice totally changed in all ways. Intentional? Maybe. Maybe he wanted to sound more manly. But then his high voice seemed to leave him entirely, and when he tried to use it (see 81 tour “Don’t Worry Baby” he had absolutely no control of it and couldn’t sing on key.

So, I feel that either his ear worsened around this period, or he intentionally tried to change his voice…..or, and I’m sure this hypothesis has absolutely no scientific merit….Brian went through a delayed puberty in 1975 and his voice finally changed. It was like that episode of the Simpsons when Grandpa thought back to Homer singing so beautifully in the choir, and then mid-song his voice changed. It’s night and day, just like that.

Brian says he never had a stroke. And it seems like Landy and his group of maniacs would have been able to detect such a thing, considering the amount of analysis they had him under.  The slurring was probably caused by the overmedication of Landy. In an attempt to block psychotic emotions it probably zapped him of a lot of energy, so he spoke like he was half asleep most of the time. There are even reports of him passing out during interviews.

Anyway, Brian’s doing a lot better now, and hopefully he’ll continue to get better and better as time goes on.

Brian and Melinda are both on record saying that Brian has never had a stroke, mild or otherwise. 

Audree and Carnie likely idolize (d) Brian and may have imitated subconsciously his sidewards talking thing when they speak about him or to him.  I find myself imitating people sometimes when I'm talking to them. 

I think Brian's "sideways" talking is partly genetic, as Audree appears to have done the same thing, albeit not as markedly pronounced. Also, Brian's face is not symmetrical lengthwise. This isn't unusual -- lots of people have assymetrical faces.

Brian's voice has changed so much over the years, from the early pure unsoiled 61-65 time. His voice did start to develop and "edge" to it when he started smoking pot (as all smoking, pot or no, will due to a voice). Listen to him sing on the live version on GV on the new GV cd (which is also on the Hawthorne CD).  His voice is whiney due to (by his own addmission) smoking alot of pot on a daily basis.

His voice became shrill as the 60's became the '70s. Brian at time seemed to be singing his falsetto in an almost humorous way (listen to the vox only Forever). It doesn't sound like the "Don't Worry Baby" voice.

Then smoking and coke took their toll on his voice. Some people close to Brian during that time said that he wanted to sound like Dennis sounded and get away from that chior boy sound. He thought Dennis sounded like a man should sound.

Brian in the early 80s could be hard to take. Why oh why did the group let him sing "Don't Worry Baby in 1981 in concert. He never ever pulled it off. I saw him do it numerous times that year and never successfully. He even sang WIBN a few times and that almost had me in tears.

After weaning him off drugs and smoke, Landy pushed Brian to sing in a more powerful, in-your-face sound. Listen to Rock And Roll To The Rescue. When I first heard that track, I didn't know who was singing lead. Brian had never sounded like that (not even on Male Ego).

Then came the solo LPs, Brian started smoking again in the early 90s and we have the Don Was - Van Dyke projects where Brian sounds more gruff. The he stopped smoking in '96 and I think his voice sounds about the best it's sounded in a long time. He sounded great on Imagination (which I still play ALOT!!!!). On GIOMH he sounds great .

Bob Flory

From 66-74 I think Brian still sounded great. It was a little deeper but I think it was more because he was in his late 20 early 30s. The type of material he was writing wasn't quite as "pure". Meaning there were harder edges in the songs themselves. John Lennons voice didn't change dramatically the day he started pot. Neither did Brian's. I do agree though that since 1998 Brian sounds better then anywhere else after MIU

I noticed the shouting, deeper Brian vocals when he re-emerged with Landy in 1983-84. I believed this was due to two things.

I think Brian realized that it was futile to try to sing like his former self and just kinda resigned himself to this new stlyle. It certainly was easier.

I also remember reading that Brian was receiving voice lessons from a vocal coach (Michael Jackson's? - I'm not kidding), which would explain those confident, projecting - I'm sorry, but to me it's yelling - vocals.

This doesn't explain why Brian doesn't sing very often in a softer, expressive tone. I wish he would try it more. I prefer it when he tones it down like on "Lay Down Burden", "The First time", and "A Friend Like You".

As far as the stroke is concerned, it wouldn't take long to find out. A brain scan (CT scan) would be a good start.

Remember...just because Brian and (more to the point) Melinda and Leaf deny it, doesn't mean it's not true.


BTW...MBE...when Brian allegedly had his stroke, what year was it?

Yeah... you're right.  That must be it.  He may be slightly retarded, too.. retarded people sometimes do weird things. 

Brian's not "retarded"; just brain-damaged from all the drugs.

After decades of obsessing over it, that is what I believe also - both prescription AND non-prescription. More than a stroke, even more than mental illness.

...especially the prescription drugs, which I personally feel did far more damage than the illegal drugs.

Well god knows what Landy was giving Brian. I think coke hurt his neuro system though. Like I said I notice a difference in the 1983-4 Brian to the 1986 Brian. So if the stroke happened (which like I said I am not positive it did) it would be around 85. I hope repeating what I heard doesn't upset anyone. It's not like I am saying it is the stone facts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Dc5_1WjZc

This is posted in the "media" section, but I'm reposting it for a reason. This is from 1988, and Brian may be slurring, but he's also pretty articulate, and seems alright. In 1995, during most of the IJWMFTT doc, he's slurring more, but also can still talk pretty normal. Flash forward to 2006, and...he doesn't seem the same, despite being "better". I don't get that one at all.

Honestly guys, I think it depends what day of the week the cameras catch Brian in action. Look at the "SMiLE" documentary (shot over a period of maybe six months) and you'll see four different moods and levels of articulation.

John Lennons voice didn't change dramatically the day he started pot.

All of the Beatles had been smokers since their Hamburg days. Adding pot into the mix wouldn't have changed their voices.

Brian smoked cigarettes too. I have a pic of him with Roger Christian in 1964 where a pack of cigarettes is in his pocket.

Gotta love that mullet on Dr. Landy.

I think a couple of reasons account for the difference between Brian then and now (speaking of the period of 1988-1995 and recent years).  One is that he's older -- if you haven't noticed!  Plus, consider the fact that Brian was more heavily medicated in the past, which made him less socially inhibited.  That was part of Landy's aim in his multi-medication regimen.  Not only to treat whatever illness Brian supposedly suffers from, but to make him more functional and friendly in public situations.  Now that he no longer takes those particular medications, including the adrenaline-blocking beta-blockers, he's more naturally shy and inhibited in situations such as on-camera interviews.  Only someone he is very personally close to and therefore comfortable with would be able to tell you if he's really declined in things such as the ability to have a conversation, as opposed to having conversations with total strangers such as Larry King in front of hot lights and cameras.

Maybe they took him off the wrong medication, then, in hindsight...

I saw Brian with the group on the televised 7/5/81 concert on the Queen Mary. I also saw Brian in 1981 at Hershey PA, and in 1982 at the Allentown Fair. I know people are very critical of his vocals around this time period, but I was somewhat encouraged by them. He appeared to be "singing" better, trying to hold the notes, trying some vibratto. It wasn't those quick, gruff outbursts that were present on 15 Big Ones and Love You. Even though he was smoking again, it appeared that his voice was getting back into shape. He also appeared to be acting calmer and more "normal" on stage, not as withdrawn or stoned (even though he probably was). Then he disappeared for awhile.

I missed the coverage of The Beach Boys in the White House with the Reagan's in 1983, and I also missed the press conference after Dennis's death in 1/84.

The next time I saw Brian was on the Entertainment Tonight interview in 1984, with the " I have been up, I have down, I've been under, over... but I'm still here; I'm still rocking" statement.

I was shocked. And devastated. He was gone. Those eyes...

Brian was describing his weight loss and saying strange things like, "Now this is going to make me mad"; trying to be funny but it wasn't. Then he was making these puffed up faces describing the weight gain, and these deflating faces describing the weight loss. I don't think Brian realized how embarrassing he looked.

Brian looked great physically, unbelievably so actually, but you could instantly tell that something was seriously wrong. He was slurring, stuttering, and, for the first time, had that "deer in the headlights" look. They showed a clip of Brian at the piano singing Male Ego; but he wasn't really singing, he was shouting.

You could tell Brian was either on something, or coming off of something. But he was not all there, and as out of it as he might've been in 1976, this was a worse kind of out of it. This was the beginning of the Brian that didn't "get" the questions, that made you uncomfortable with the eyes, that didn't seem like "the old Brian". This Brian was almost cocky, obviously the work of Landy's mind games. I don't know, he just seemed like a different Brian...

Gosh I have never seen the whole interview. THe earlest clip I saw where he seemed not there is 1978 when he had the sore throat.I think it was a PM magazine story. He was huge and just seemed really out of commision. The first picture where I notice his eyes looking lost is the back cover of Holland. Before that I see no signs that he had "changed". I will agree in the 1981 Portrait of A Legend special, the cocaine tapes, and the Les Chan tape, Brian seems far more there then after.

The cocaine tapes are sped up a little, which is why he seems more energetic and younger.

Well the cocaine also may account for some of that energy.

I Agree!!!! damn those pharmaceutical corp's to Hell!!!

Maybe not the day after, no, but Lennon had screwed up his voice quite dreadfully by 1969.  The songs were so great that perhaps it never mattered, but he would never again be able to pull off a "Hard Day's Night" style delivery.  I think "And Your Bird Can Sing" was the last time he came close.  His 24 year old self would have cringed if he had heard the 1975 rendition of "Stand By Me".  It's not a bad performance - Lennon's vocal frailty makes the song even more moving - but the "brassy glare" (to use Ian MacDonald's phrase) that was one of the trademarks of the early Beatles has vanished.
 
 

He had a case of "Yoko's Tongue" which is was a common problem a few centuries ago. Wasn't the drugs, booze, or smokes at all.

Hey, i wouldn't mind having a case o that myself, man.

I like her, Nice Tits, yoko....even tho
she might've had something to do w/ the death of a great Man.

What the hell?! Are you *trying* to get banned?

Couldn't it just be that after Beatles stopped performing publically, he just lost the routine because he wasn't using his voice regularly and I bet he didn't do voice training. He could still deliver a good vocal when he wanted to, his vocals on "Rock'N'Roll" are great IMO. About Brian I don't think it's just his voice, he just sounds insecure, as if he's had to learn singing all over again, so his vocals sound a little odd or stilted, just like his physical appearance. I think he's just accepted that, because after all he want's to be out in the world performing

Søren

To me John sounded almost the same but George Martin recorded him a lot different then Spector. Some of his home demos from the 70s do show a little bit of change, I guess I never thought of his voice as really going down the tubes. I always felt it was his songwriting that began to falter. Some Time In New York City to me has great vocals but the worst set of lyrics I could ever imagine (sorry bout the pun). Anyhow smokinh isn't good for any singer but Brian and Dennis along with Bob Dylan and Keith Richards are the only people who sound radically different.

And Marianne Faithfull, too. Especially.

And Joni Mitchell

And Lucille Ball.

Oh yeah I love her "young" voice. I find the post 79 stuff too heavy.