seattlesteve Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 It's often discussed that one of the hardest Raspberries song to sing lead on is the "so bad..." from I Wanna Be With You.Eric, in your solo catalogue, whether you anticipate performing it in Oct or not, along the same vein, what solo song(s) would today have the most challenging lead vocals. After watching the recent Change of Heart clip, there's some pretty high notes there. My Girl? She Did it? Someday? Never Gonna?I'm sure you could still nail it, just curious as to what may be the most demanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 Since he and the band lowered the key for "Let's Pretend" for the reunion shows, I'm guessing that doing that song in its original key now might be a bear. The entire original lead vocal for "LP" was pretty high.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris hess Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 the one single part that comes to my mind is the "i reach for the light" part where eric just freakin' wails!!!..that stands up well to some of mccartneys best wailing!!..that's pretty impressive power vocals period!! and good company at that!!!..lol,chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlesteve Posted May 12, 2006 Author Share Posted May 12, 2006 Hey guys, the 'berries songs mentioned above, are good choices, bet we've seen done, and done very well recently.Eric has a lot of solo material that hasn't been performed live in many, many years, and in some cases, probably never. So I was speculating on the SOLO library, and the vocal challenges. You don't get 10 takes live.Again, I'm sure he can nail it, just curious what solo stuff would have the most demanding lead vocals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris hess Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 oops,sorry..lol,chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Carmen Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 They're ALL pretty demanding! I never really thought much about singing these songs at 56 when I wrote and recorded them 25 to 30 years ago. Unfortunately. Some of them, like "Let's Pretend" were probably done in the wrong key even then. I didn't have any trouble singing "LP" in the recording studio, or sitting at the piano when I wrote it, but trying to sing it on stage in G, after "I'm A Rocker" and "Tonight" and "Ecstasy," was hard, even when I was 23. We probably should have changed the key onstage back then. In any case, I seem to be able to get to the B and C an octave above middle C pretty consistently these days, so most of the songs won't pose too many problems (that so bad is a C#). When I went to see Paul McCartney, I realized that he really didn't have too many occasions when he had to go much higher than the A above middle C (lucky devil)! I think the reason I wrote so many of those vocal parts up there, was that I was trying to imitate Brian Wilson's falsetto with my true voice. I never knew that natural tenors (of which I am one) don't have a falsetto. On the rockers, I was always going for my best Steve Marriott. We used to do "I'm A Rocker" in A back in 1972-73, and when I listen to the live tapes from back then I can hear what a struggle it was even then to blast that vocal out. When we rehearsed for the reunion tour I tried dropping it down to G, and, lo and behold, it sounded better than ever. So, my guess is that most of the songs will remain in the original keys, but if a song can be improved by lowering the key, I won't hesitate to do it. ec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip from st.paul mn Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 Eric, when we heard "I'm A Rocker" at Waukesha it was amazing. The vocals and guitar grooves were highlights. Hot weather and, without a doubt, a rocking 65 minute set. A question that might not be asked often, how do Raspberries finalize a set list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspberrywine Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 Eric at the risk of sounding like a obseqious sycophant, one of the great things about the Raspberries gigs was your vocals. I wondered prior to the first gig we saw, "Is he actually going to be able to do it?" So many singers lose it totally after a certain point. Although I love the Stones, Jagger, for example, has taken alot of the melody lines right out of the songs now since his range is so narrow. My hats off to you, and I am sure many fans feel the same, because you've sounded great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlesteve Posted May 13, 2006 Author Share Posted May 13, 2006 Does the duration of a solo show make it a vocal challenge, or is it a case of once the throat warms up, you're good to go all night? With the Raspberries you get several breaks when Jim and Wally take lead. Having said that I just realized that if you're not singing lead with the 'berries your singing background so I guess you're already used to singing all night.I think I answered my own question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bahoodore Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 there is an aweful lot of technique necessary to sing properly...breathing, formation, positioning etc...high notes like the C# (so. baaaad!) are quite high for many. I can make it if I am warmed up and relaxed. Then , there is the qustion of quality...and musicality...I played in a band once where the band director would change the key to suit the lead singer ( we had 6 memebrs who could sing lead) and sometimes changing the key just lkills the songs...Let's Pretend sounds better in D than in G. It flows better and the notes can be caressed and are heard with more clarity. My buddy Marvin has always said that I ma the only guy on the planet that could replace Eric because of my range and because I play piano, guitar and bass. I do a mean immitation too...hehehe....a fun voice to immitate and a great voice to learn vocal performance and interp from. bahoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Carmen Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Actually, we tried the song in D first and, instrumentally, it sounded great. But D just sounded too low for the vocal. It took all the excitement out of it, so we kicked it up to E. ec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ira Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Eric-to me-a fan-not a musician-the sheer workout -on every level- on "I Can Remember" that I witnessed in Chicago-seemed to me like QUITE a challenge.-Ira. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Carmen Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 That one's actually not too bad for me. I can't imagine how the "overdubs" get all the background vocals right. "Memories melodies summer breeze autumn leaves autumn leaves summer breeze melodies memories" or some such nonsense. Over and over. I've got the easy job on that one! ec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Steve, I tried to get some shots of Eric not singing. That's when I realized if Wally or Dave were singing... Eric was doing backup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Cartmill Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Who wrote those silly lyrics anyway?Must have attended the "Oliver School of Songwriting" seminar... All the "Bliddy blip blibbys" you can cram into one pop song... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Carmen Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 When we worked it up for the reunion shows, I had one of those "What was I thinkin?" moments. ec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Early Wynn Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 I always figured "I Don't Know What I Want" would be tough. When I'm singing it in the shower, I find I've had to lower it down a little. Didn't have any problems with it when I was 16, but now that I'm 47.... Do you think you'll have any problems singing "I Can Hardly Believe You're Mine" in the next show??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Carmen Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 IDKWIW is pretty easy for me. It's whatever comes AFTER it that's hard! ec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlesteve Posted May 17, 2006 Author Share Posted May 17, 2006 I would think it's kind of tough to immediately follow If You Change Your Mind (my fave) too, with the screaming outro. I noticed during the summer leg the set list always showed a Wally or Dave song after IYCYM. Me thinks that was intentional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierson Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 as far as songs that are difficult to sing, I notice that on a lot of songs on American Idol, some of those songs with very slow low verses where the vocals have to be soft and full of nuance get botched more so than the big belters... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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