The human voice can make extraordinary sounds, ranging from the high treble of a chorister to the rough growling of a Tom Waits. But there comes a point in a performer’s lifetime when they should stop trying to reach for the sounds of their youth.
Puberty is the obvious turning point for treble choristers, but ageing rock stars need gentle prodding to steer clear of sounds that will come out strangled and strained. Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits have a style well-suited to the senior voice box, but Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop and Paul McCartney need to catch themselves on.
Bowie’s last song croaked away in that old man fashion that may have suited the lyrics and his impending death, but was not to my taste.
I went to a Buena Vista Social Club concert in Belfast some time ago and they had ramped up the amplification of the elderly singer, Ibrahim Ferrer’s voice. This just made the poor quality louder, and did the talented singer and his audience no favours.
odespinner 