Let me start by saying that Mick is truly my favorite vocalist of all time, and the "Mick Jagger's finest moment as a singer?" thread contains so many examples of why that is.

But Mick's vocals are not ALWAYS so stellar.

Two examples that spring to mind, and I can't decide which I like less:

Hold Back
Under the Boardwalk

Would love to hear other opinions/choices of cringe-inducing Jagger vocals.

Drew

i've been loving you too long is dreadful imo

I'd have to go with "Dancing In The Light" from the Exile reissue. His vocals, especially the lyrics, make me cringe...not one of his finest moments.

His singing on the "Sympathy For The Devil" version from Madison Square Garden in 1975 when Eric Clapton guested is just EMBARRASSING. I can't even put into words how bad he sounds. Again, I love Mick and starting the thread of his finest moments as a singer was a great topic of discussion, but he's just god awful here. Have a listen:

[www.youtube.com]

Except for Harlem Shuffle and Had It With You, all of DIRTY WORK.

The 1975-76 tours.

His aptitude on Always Suffering, Following The River, Streets Of Love... astoundingly awful.

Some of the latter day over-enunciated nasally noises he makes are cringeworthy (usually in a live setting)...almost sounds like a constipated pig on helium.
And I never liked his vocals on this version of Wild Horses from Stripped, especially when watching him forcibly acting it out: Wild Horses

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Drift Away. Cringe-worthy.

Quote
JordyLicks96
I'd have to go with "Dancing In The Light" from the Exile reissue. His vocals, especially the lyrics, make me cringe...not one of his finest moments.

His singing on the "Sympathy For The Devil" version from Madison Square Garden in 1975 when Eric Clapton guested is just EMBARRASSING. I can't even put into words how bad he sounds. Again, I love Mick and starting the thread of his finest moments as a singer was a great topic of discussion, but he's just god awful here. Have a listen:

[www.youtube.com]

Not even wrong.

Most live versions of Love is Strong.

Time Waits for No One

The entire Primitive Cool. And Dirty Work.

The mid-80's were just awful for Mick.

Mathijs

Quote
keefriffhard4life
i've been loving you too long is dreadful imo

Yeah, probably their worst cover track ever.

Listened to DW for the first time in years and was stunned at how bad the singing is on
"Hold Back" so it has my vote as well.

I don't think reading about it elsewhere but when Philippe Manœuvre previewed the album for Libération in March 1986 (Grammys party) he wrote that this was supposed to be a jam but that Charlie's playing convinced them to release it...strange story since it might not even be Charlie playing on that track.

--------------
IORR Links : Essential Studio Outtakes CDs : Audio - History of Rarest Outtakes : Audio



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-09-20 00:57 by gotdablouse.

video: [youtu.be]

An example of how he strips old classics of everything that made them great. Not just his failt of course.

Quote
JordyLicks96
I'd have to go with "Dancing In The Light" from the Exile reissue. His vocals, especially the lyrics, make me cringe...not one of his finest moments.

His singing on the "Sympathy For The Devil" version from Madison Square Garden in 1975 when Eric Clapton guested is just EMBARRASSING. I can't even put into words how bad he sounds. Again, I love Mick and starting the thread of his finest moments as a singer was a great topic of discussion, but he's just god awful here. Have a listen:

[www.youtube.com]

.....I really enjoyed that, even Mick's bit...................thanks....


He was a bit off at the start of 2000 light years at Glastonbury..........



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-09-19 12:54 by EddieByword.

Following The River.

I'll take Mick's barking on Hold Back any day, compared to that one

Quote
JordyLicks96

...

His singing on the "Sympathy For The Devil" version from Madison Square Garden in 1975 when Eric Clapton guested is just EMBARRASSING. I can't even put into words how bad he sounds. Again, I love Mick and starting the thread of his finest moments as a singer was a great topic of discussion, but he's just god awful here. Have a listen:

[www.youtube.com]

No video/footage of this remarkable rendition around?

d.f

Quote
dead.flowers

Quote
JordyLicks96

...

His singing on the "Sympathy For The Devil" version from Madison Square Garden in 1975 when Eric Clapton guested is just EMBARRASSING. I can't even put into words how bad he sounds. Again, I love Mick and starting the thread of his finest moments as a singer was a great topic of discussion, but he's just god awful here. Have a listen:

[www.youtube.com]

No video/footage of this remarkable rendition around?

d.f

At least there is a bootleg. In fairness, it was impossible for Mick to sing, as Keith is completely lost on bass. For minutes he's at the wrong place in the song... hence Mick is just talking/shouting his way through it - as I remember it.

Quote
JordyLicks96
I'd have to go with "Dancing In The Light" from the Exile reissue. His vocals, especially the lyrics, make me cringe...not one of his finest moments.

His singing on the "Sympathy For The Devil" version from Madison Square Garden in 1975 when Eric Clapton guested is just EMBARRASSING. I can't even put into words how bad he sounds. Again, I love Mick and starting the thread of his finest moments as a singer was a great topic of discussion, but he's just god awful here. Have a listen:

[www.youtube.com]

It seems he sings a bit out of phase (starting too early), but I think it's on purpose and actually gives the songs a different feel and it kind of works. It's not so bad, really.

A distinction perhaps has to be made between original recordings and live performances.

I sometimes think that with all these years of playing stadiums he's kind forgotten how to be subtle.

[...and from numerous interviews down the years it's evident that Mick makes quite a thing about needing large gestures and an exaggerated performance in a stadium. It's something he's mentioned very often.... and may sometimes cause him to over egg things a little !]

Quote
DandelionPowderman

Quote
dead.flowers

Quote
JordyLicks96

...

His singing on the "Sympathy For The Devil" version from Madison Square Garden in 1975 when Eric Clapton guested is just EMBARRASSING. I can't even put into words how bad he sounds. Again, I love Mick and starting the thread of his finest moments as a singer was a great topic of discussion, but he's just god awful here. Have a listen:

[www.youtube.com]

No video/footage of this remarkable rendition around?

d.f

At least there is a bootleg. In fairness, it was impossible for Mick to sing, as Keith is completely lost on bass. For minutes he's at the wrong place in the song... hence Mick is just talking/shouting his way through it - as I remember it.

Keith starts the song and they all follow him. Mick is the only one who's lost.

Quote
EddieByword

Quote
JordyLicks96
I'd have to go with "Dancing In The Light" from the Exile reissue. His vocals, especially the lyrics, make me cringe...not one of his finest moments.

His singing on the "Sympathy For The Devil" version from Madison Square Garden in 1975 when Eric Clapton guested is just EMBARRASSING. I can't even put into words how bad he sounds. Again, I love Mick and starting the thread of his finest moments as a singer was a great topic of discussion, but he's just god awful here. Have a listen:

[www.youtube.com]

.....I really enjoyed that, even Mick's bit...................thanks....


He was a bit off at the start of 2000 light years at Glastonbury..........

But that'#s because his in ear monitor wasn't working p[roperly. You can clearly seeing him fiddle with it at the beginning. Plus they probably didn't rehearse the song enough. But it all came good at the end. And being there to witness it was something else!

Quote
Silver Dagger

Quote
EddieByword

Quote
JordyLicks96
I'd have to go with "Dancing In The Light" from the Exile reissue. His vocals, especially the lyrics, make me cringe...not one of his finest moments.

His singing on the "Sympathy For The Devil" version from Madison Square Garden in 1975 when Eric Clapton guested is just EMBARRASSING. I can't even put into words how bad he sounds. Again, I love Mick and starting the thread of his finest moments as a singer was a great topic of discussion, but he's just god awful here. Have a listen:

[www.youtube.com]

.....I really enjoyed that, even Mick's bit...................thanks....


He was a bit off at the start of 2000 light years at Glastonbury..........

But that'#s because his in ear monitor wasn't working p[roperly. You can clearly seeing him fiddle with it at the beginning. Plus they probably didn't rehearse the song enough. But it all came good at the end. And being there to witness it was something else!

Ahhh right.........yes, sounds fine at the end..........good choice for Glasters too.......I didn't see that one but did see them do it in Cardiff in 1990..............mesmurising

Quote
z

Quote
DandelionPowderman

Quote
dead.flowers

Quote
JordyLicks96

...

His singing on the "Sympathy For The Devil" version from Madison Square Garden in 1975 when Eric Clapton guested is just EMBARRASSING. I can't even put into words how bad he sounds. Again, I love Mick and starting the thread of his finest moments as a singer was a great topic of discussion, but he's just god awful here. Have a listen:

[www.youtube.com]

No video/footage of this remarkable rendition around?

d.f

At least there is a bootleg. In fairness, it was impossible for Mick to sing, as Keith is completely lost on bass. For minutes he's at the wrong place in the song... hence Mick is just talking/shouting his way through it - as I remember it.

Keith starts the song and they all follow him. Mick is the only one who's lost.

It actually sounds like Mick is quite far from the stage, and singing with the delay in sound.

Mathijs

Any time he uses the microphone headset onstage. It tends to make him bray "Ah-houn" and "Aw yeah" an excessive amount of times.

Mick has two modes that I hate:

- The over-enunciated, over-emotive, mawkish singing he does on their latter-day ballads
- The clipped barking from live in the mid-'70s

"One day one night" on the Superheavy album deserves to be mentioned here, I guess.

Just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away

This or that song doesn't matter. I think his voice broke up around 1997. That's when the deep nasality sunk in. Since then he had to let go of his mannerisms. By now he has adapted his voice to that.
Sings more economically. Otherwise the tours would have been very short. 2-3 gigs or something. But it took some time for him to realize this. His voice coaches must have been terrible through the years.

Quote
marcovandereijk
"One day one night" on the Superheavy album deserves to be mentioned here, I guess.

I'll never forgive Rolling Stone magazine for comparing this track to "Sister Morphine." I couldn't wait for it and all I got was Mick as a grumpy old man saying "Get off my lawn" and complaining about room service and Ziggy Marley's far less talented kid brother complaining about not being able to get high.

Mick can still pull off an entire summer tour at 76 and sing the songs in their original key without the band needing to tune down. That's pretty remarkable.

Compared to Daltrey or McCartney, Mick is doing pretty damn well. Now in their primes, Mick was easily the least skilled of the three, but his voice has aged far better.

If you want to criticize Mick's vocal limitations, then you should be thankful you're not into classic hard rock or classic metal. There are so many guys out there in their 50s and 60s who have lost so much range that their material is down-tuned to the point that you can barely make out the original tunes.

I accept Mick's limitations. I only criticize him for being deliberately irritating and for terrible rhymes (which may be the same thing). And yes, I thank Clapton every day I'm not a fan of metal or rap or what passes for country music today.