mick jagger's worst vocal performances

Life imitating Stella Street.

The Correct Answer:

His horribly mannered faux bloozeman crap on You Gotta Move (or "You gotta mow-mooww-moowooo--ow-ve!")

that said, when mick dismisses that great tina turner performance in gimme shelter by saying, real derisively, "yeah... its nice to have a chick sometimes..." is possibly my favorite moment in that movie.

"Emotional Rescue": The Curtis Mayfield impression at the start of the song is quite silly; but the Eric Burdon parody at the end is kinda amusing. Assuming it IS a parody. Isn't it?

"Ruby Tuesday" is okay except for the word "from" in the very first line. A laughably failed attempt to hit a really low note. But at least Richard Meltzer got some use out of it, citing it as a prime example of what he called an "unknown tongue" in his comedy triumph The Aesthetics Of Rock.

really? i don't hear it that way...sounds like a bad, somewhat condescending attempt at "authentic blues"

Great Jagger Hamming it up: "Miss You" esp. the talking rap gibberish in the middle....

but the distance--measured in different subtle ways-- between the stones and their blues idols was practically the subject of their records of that era. no, he's definitely "hamming it up" (exaggerating certain aspects of the country blues style) but not in a parodic way, and only lightly ironic. listen to the way the slide guitar follows the vocal (or vice-versa).

- "State of Shock" w/ the Jacksons

Myself, I like "I Got to Move" a lot, I think it's a great performance. I mean isn't there a good bit of self-parody already in that Beale Street blues stuff? I think blues needs more of this kind of vocal.

xpost

What's his best vocal performance?

What's his best vocal performance?

"Jigsaw Puzzle"

He consistently sounds like he is vomiting while singing.

"Almost Hear You Sigh"

I've been spending a fair amt of drive time lately with the Singles Collection/London Years and coming to the opinion that he's much more about bravado/bluffing/selling the performance than about actual vocal skill. Am I wrong? Is that a "no shit sherlock" opinion to finally reach? Is "what is his best vocal performance" even a worthwhile question?

Angie.

angie
let's spend the night together
under my thumb

i think he's at his best when he does the hollering thing (rip this joint, let's spend the night together). so many of my favorite stones vocal moments are when mick and keith sing together, though.

is any of mick's solo work worthwhile?

I love "Throwaway."

He wrote and sang several good songs on Wandering Spirit.

he's much more about bravado/bluffing/selling the performance than about actual vocal skill.

This definitely seems to be the case in live performance. While the studio "Rip This Joint" is one of his great performances, he did little more than lazily shout roughly in the vicinity of the key when singing it live (and they played it in a lower key live; presumably, he didn't want to/couldn't sing at the top of his range every night).

Yes, it's the no shit sherlock opinion. Mick is basically the best ever. Miss You, Brown Sugar, Moonlight Mile, Let's Spend the Night Together, Under My Thumb, Play With Fire, Heart of Stone, Out of Time...

Yes, he makes fun and respects no one or anything. It's the voice of irreverence and it was glorious for like ten years straight at least.

Anything where he says the word "Hot."

i love the end of "all down the line" where he's yelping away as if to physically drag the song back up from the fade.

I love Jagger but he's clearly a very average (not to say bad) singer. but a great, exciting and fun performer !
this reminds me of a story from the sessions when MJ and... MJ recorded "state of shock" together.
if I remember correctly, Jackson was shocked (!) to see how limited a singer Jagger was in the studio and wondering "how did this guy become such a famous singer !" (not sure of the exact quote !)

That's a very different sort of understanding of a good singer. Jackson is a freak who can't emote to save his life. This in itself is sometimes powerful but it's certainly not due to his "range" or something like that. I mean, every reality show contestant these days has a "better voice" than Jagger. Doesn't make any of them better singers. The whole premise of this thread only makes sense if you acknowledge that Jagger is an all time great. His "worst" vocal performances are notable for a reason (they are the exceptions).

oh I totally agree that Jagger is a great frontman with a very personal(and great) way of singing (but I disagree about Jackson not being able to emote...).

Jackson can emote, but it is "from a book" (see "She's out of my life')

Jagger's singing on "State of Shock" is pretty bad, straining for the notes, etc.

Would not like to hear Michael Jackson singing "Memo from Turner" (Oh, OK, maybe just once)

Would not like to hear Michael Jackson singing "Memo from Turner" (Oh, OK, maybe just once)

as for "from a book", what do you mean ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5035TY5RSpg

oh so you mean he doesn't expresses his feelings but plays them like an actor or something ?
hum. I don't really agree. Actually, I would say that's more accurate for Jagger !
there are fare more Jackson(s) songs where I can feel the emotion (from his childhood on) than for the Stones.

Yeah, I think in his later years it ws more mannered.

Is it more accurate for Jags? I dunno, I think he had a 'range of accents' like what Actors have on their CV, less stagey but more 'comedy/impersonation' style.

no I meant I think Jagger is less into emoting than into acting than Jackson.
there aren't many Stones' song where I really feel an emotion from Jagger (as opposed to Richards or the music in general). Even "wild horses" which I love. I can almost feel him thinking "what a terrible cliché" while he sings the chorus !

Jackson is a freak who can't emote to save his life

rarely have i read a more demonstratably untrue statement

Threads about vocals inspire the best of ILM.

worst Jagger vocal: "Far Away Eyes"

As for the worst Jagger vocal, I know next to nothing about his output (Stones/Solo) since "Some Girls" but I'm pretty sure there must be plenty to list here !

His shitkickin' good ole country boy voice is prob'ly the worst.

AIXTC otm about Wild Horses. Jagger is an actor and the best one in pop I think. It's really compelling to hear him go for a role he enjoys (Sympathy for the Devil, Brown Sugar, Miss You). He is at his worst when the role bores him (all the country stuff).

Jackson is an actor too. "She's out of my life" is a good example of what he thinks emoting is. It's a weird act (Broadway?). I love him best when the music justifies the sentiment like in "Rock With You". But overall his earnest detachment is way more off-putting for me than Jagger's open artificiality.

well, I'd say it gets worse but the first times around were ok ("Honky Tonk Women", for instance).

Yeah, I love what he does with Dead Flowers too.

I always get the impression that Jagger is laughing up his sleeve at the country material, like the only reason he's only doing it is to keep Keith happy.

the shit-kickin' country voice is tops in "Dead Flowers."

I mean the sort of thing Jackson goes for is done better and sounds more like emoting with guys like Johnny Mathis, Smokey Robinson and Russel Thompkins. Jackson misses something here and I can't quite put my finger on it. Confidence maybe? He always sounds like he's singing to impress or prove something to someone. He's more like an indie drag queen than a genuine soul man. Only way less self conscious and hence weird.

I agree with Alfred but "tops" is pretty relative here

and there's "Tops."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UWJN01xvdQ

Yes, country is Keith's thing (through Gram) and Jagger never really bought it. He remained r'n'b all along.

Jagger has said repeatedly in interviews that he loves George Jones and Haggard though.

Of course he did

Worst vocal performance imo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYDhjuq08Fg

^ Ugh, so so wrong on every level.

Another great Jagger's country style is "Let it Bleed"

I have real mixed feelings about Jagger in general but man don't talk shit about "Dead Flowers" around me

i think faraway eyes is great -- both a hilarious send-up and oddly effective as a country song

I do too but it's broader than "Dead Flowers."

I love everything about "Dead Flowers" except the vocal. I can't stand the golly gee whiz gulping frog accent Jagger tries to pull in the open lines. he's more affecting on the chorus, but the verses remain ghastly.

jagger reminds me of nigel tufnel there

"Jackson is a freak who can't emote to save his life."

what about human nature? liberian girl? people always wheel out shes out of my life in these discussions. MJ might not be able to emote like marvin gaye but hes not some broadway ham.

I love "Dead Flowers" and "Dear Doctor," so I enjoy Mick's fake country voice sometimes, but the vocal on "Far Away Eyes" feels too self-consciously parodic while also seeming lazy ... it's the spoken lines that ruin it for me; it's like he can't be bothered to maintain a consistent fake country accent for the duration of the song

now that I think about it, I hate the fake reggae vocal on "Cherry Oh Baby" even more

I love 'the way you make me feel' by Jackson. Opening lines are about him working a job 9 to 5 as if he ever had a normal day job in his life.

why are we talking about fucking Michael Jackson on this thread

uh no one here is attracted to him.

Because Jackson said Jagger was a limited singer.

I'm assuming Jagger had a relatively normal childhood, he learned how to be emphatic to others, he has bandmates, he's social, so social he fucked half the people he met in his twenties. He acts emotion on his performances either through experience or emphaty.

Jackson didn't have too much experience with the real world, he never left the spotlight. The only way he knew how to connect to people was thru performance, there's no genuine experience or emphaty on what he sings but he does get emotional when performing.

That's true. xxxp Human Nature is a beautiful song but not because of Michael. He seems to be baffled by this human nature. Guys like D'Angelo and Hayden Thorpe can pull of the sort of threatening falsetto that would make those "apple, let me take a bite" lines land way better. Michael doesn't have it in him.

i wouldnt really use their backgrounds/backstories to justify an opinion on their apparent deficiencies as emoters. but im happy to leave it there as this is about the great vocalist that is sir mick.

I love 'the way you make me feel' by Jackson. Opening lines are about him working a job 9 to 5 as if he ever had a normal day job in his life.

i believe we had this same conversation about "raspberry beret"

pop music is all about making the inauthentic feel/sound authentic

projection will get you everywhere

I don't remember having that conversation, Brad, but it's also my favorite Prince song. Prince feels more tongue in cheek with the theme though

StillAdvance it won't if it doesn't. Michael can't act like a sexual being and Mick can't be a good ol' boy. The best actors are those that have a certain range of roles they are comfortable in. Fuck that method actor versatility imo.

I don't mind Jagger's fake country voice, at the very least I find it laugh-out-loud hilarious, particularly on 'Far Away Eyes' and 'Let It Bleed' ("we awl need... somewown... we can llllean own!") - it's usually his falsetto that really rubs me up the wrong way, particularly on 'Emotional Rescue' (although I don't mind it on 'Heaven')

I'm not a fan of Emotional Rescue but his falsetto is brilliant on Miss You and I Just Want To See His Face and I'm sure I'm forgetting something major.

I love "Heaven.

"fool to cry" -- i kinda like that one, even though it is a little embarrassing

I love "Heaven.

― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, February 8, 2016 10:03 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's one of the most underrated Stones tracks ever, IMO.

and it's barely a Stones track: Wyman on synth and bass, Charlie, Jagger on guitar.

Yeah. Although there's shitloads of Stones tracks that have different combinations of personnel or someone playing an instrument in place of the "usual" band member (Keith playing bass on some tracks, Jimmy Miller playing drums etc.) - the Stones never really were a group where all members were present at all times on every track in the studio.

'Play With Fire', for example... Phil Spector plays bass on it!

"Too Much Blood" is Jagger w/Sly & Robbie and Jim Barber, Keef's guitar tech who was instructed to "play like Andy Summers...".

'orrible wasn't it

"...burying the bones..."

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