Wild Honey is the hardest song to sing in the world.

[Emdeeh]

I love WH and Carl's vocal on it. I never got the chance to see CW himself sing the lead live (Blondie, yes), but I have seen Matt Jardine do it righteous justice on several occasions.

[Cabinessenceking]

I love WH and Carl's vocal on it. I never got the chance to see CW himself sing the lead live (Blondie, yes), but I have seen Matt Jardine do it righteous justice on several occasions.

any boot out there of Carl singing it live? would be a good reference for comparrison.

[Kirk]

I remember thinking when disco "Here Comes the Night" came out that I would've much rather had a 10-minute four-to-the-floor remake of "Wild Honey" than it. Drop it a step, let Carl loose with his mature R&B voice (which was underutilized IMHO), slap on some background vocals. I love to listen to the instrumental track on Stack O', but I've always wished for a more polished final vocals version of "WH." Sacrilegious, I know.

[Quzi]

I don't mind the strained sounding vocals. Stylistically they fit the song and I wouldn't be at all surprised in the very least if Carl could have done a much cleaner angelic sounding lead but decided to add a little flavour by stylising his voice this way.

[runnersdialzero]

Possibly the most depressing thread in the history of the boards.

[halblaineisgood]

.

[Cabinessenceking]

Possibly the most depressing thread in the history of the boards.

Go on...

He writes that on all the threads, leave him to it 

[SamMcK]

What about Surfs Up? I can't even sing but that doesn't stop me attempting singing.. columnated ruins DOHIMAYNO!;D

[Cabinessenceking]

What about Surfs Up? I can't even sing but that doesn't stop me attempting singing.. columnated ruins DOHIMAYNO!;D

that's a true thumper as well, but the vocals on SU are not as shouty or soulful as those on WH which imo makes this one a little easier to attempt. Simply due to the vocal style ^^

[LetHimRun]

What about Surfs Up? I can't even sing but that doesn't stop me attempting singing.. columnated ruins DOHIMAYNO!;D

that's a true thumper as well, but the vocals on SU are not as shouty or soulful as those on WH which imo makes this one a little easier to attempt. Simply due to the vocal style ^^

IMO, you're right. SU goes waay up there, but it's easier to get up there two or three times in a song rather than continuously shout a song in a high key.

[SgtTimBob]

What about Surfs Up? I can't even sing but that doesn't stop me attempting singing.. columnated ruins DOHIMAYNO!;D

It's a different beast though, because Brian transitions into his falsetto there. Carl sings/shouts/screams Wild Honey at what sounds like the limit of his normal vocal register, without shifting into falsetto. I don't mind the shouty style, though; it suits mood of the song. But yeah it's a bitch to sing.

[Alex]

I like Blondie's rendition of WH!!

[Kurosawa]

I like Blondie's rendition of WH!!

I do too but it seemed hard for him to sing as well. When singers of that quality have a hard time with it, you know it's a tough vocal.

[runnersdialzero]

Possibly the most depressing thread in the history of the boards.

Go on...

The basic assertion that Blondie sounds like sh*t singing it or Carl sounds like sh*t singing it because he was "straining". Carl could've sung the song more "proper" in his head voice by cleanly hitting the notes. I know I can and thus know Carl could because he's worlds better than I am. However, ge knew what he was doing stylistically and knew to loosen up with it because he was one of the best vocalists of all time. He understood that, I think it's odd that others can't. Not everything has to be "OMG IT MADE ME CRY ITS TECHNICALLY PERFECT PAUL MCCARTNEY SAID IT WAS AMAZING" ala "God Only Knows" or whatever.

[halblaineisgood]

.

[Rocker]

Regarding the '76 version at Madison Square Garden, I wonder if this cover had any influence on the decision to play it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaS8l2Wcf-o

[leggo of my ego]

hey would you mind uploading your backing track somewhere if it's cool? :3

I don't have the backing track at hand. But you can listen to the finished version on our old myspace site:

http://www.myspace.com/orangewhipband

I had to go and listen to UM19 where there's a isolation track of the lead voc. OD  with Carl's vocal in the left channel.
Mostly the "strained" sounding vocals are in the verses before the organ solo in the bridge.

Sounds like in a few places he is out of his range. Very soulful though!

Makes my throat hurt just listening to this!

[Ram4]

I think Wouldn't It Be Nice is the hardest song to sing in the world.

Agree, that's a tough one!

+1.  Brian not only soars, but he doesn't strain - he's at his peak.  Wild Honey is amazing in it's own right, but it is technically out of Carl's range.

[bonnevillemariner]

The parts that might sound strained to others just sound full of emotion for me. Carl's voice at this time was amazing, full of soul. The breaking of his voice at the end doesn't sound poor, it just adds magic to the song for me.

I notice this dichotomy quite often, especially with the die-hards (I consider myself a die-hard, but one who has apparently not listened to WH enough to appreciate its genius).  Any time I read a description of a Carl vocal being "emotional" or "full of soul," I know to expect strained, breaking, or out of his range.  I read/hear this all the time about Carl's performance of "Don't Worry Baby" on The BB In Concert as full of soul, dripping with emotion.  I'm sure it was these things, but to me it seems like he's just struggling to hit the notes.

I'm not knocking Carl or the obvious passion he had for the music.  He sings the lead on 3 of my top 5 favorite BB tracks.  Sometimes, though, it sounds like he's trying to hit notes that are just beyond his range.

[CarlTheVoice]

I agree that Don't Worry Baby sounds strained but not Wild Honey. Carl was known for his soft, flawless voice on other songs like GOK but this had an edginess that showed he had soul. You have got to show some emotion in songs and I'd say that made Carl sound like he meant every word. So many artists don't care about what they sing about anymore - but the breaks, strains in this song are right for the music!

[tpesky]

Are you talking about the chorus on DWB on the live '73 album?  It's Al on the lead for the verses

[Lonely Summer]

Are you talking about the chorus on DWB on the live '73 album?  It's Al on the lead for the verses

That's what I thought - for a moment, there, I thought my ears had decieved me!

[bonnevillemariner]

Are you talking about the chorus on DWB on the live '73 album?  It's Al on the lead for the verses

Must have been another track from that album, but DWB was the first song that popped into my head when I thought about straining (albeit it's Al).  Love Al's voice but dang.  There was nobody else in the lineup who could have hit those notes?  I'm no musician, but wouldn't a slight transposition to a lower key make songs like DWB and WH easier to sing?  I seriously wonder that every time I hear WH.  Not magical at all for me.  Of course the flat, thin sound of that entire album doesn't help.

[Cabinessenceking]

Are you talking about the chorus on DWB on the live '73 album?  It's Al on the lead for the verses

Must have been another track from that album, but DWB was the first song that popped into my head when I thought about straining (albeit it's Al).  Love Al's voice but dang.  There was nobody else in the lineup who could have hit those notes?  I'm no musician, but wouldn't a slight transposition to a lower key make songs like DWB and WH easier to sing?  I seriously wonder that every time I hear WH.  Not magical at all for me.  Of course the flat, thin sound of that entire album doesn't help.

personally I find that Al vocal enchanting. The strained vocal is perfect for a song with such lyrics and imo the version Al delivered on In Concert where as good as vocals for this song could ever be, and trumphs Brian's original studio vocal. Well done Al!

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I agree, I love Blondie singing it. Probably better then Carl. But I like them both. I must say I kinda dig that 76 version posted by rocker. Gives it a unique twist.