ETA: Normally, I would just post this in the Idol or Vocal Masterclass thread, but it is so slow here today, I thought you would enjoy a little vocal lesson??? If not, scroll on by.
So, I try to let go of the James/Adam comparisons but it sticks in my craw. How can people NOT hear the difference in the voices? The delivery? The quality? The tone and support?
Which songs did James and Adam both sing that could contrast the difference? Let's listen to While My Guitar Gently Weeps, and Mad World. They are in the same key, and have basically the same range. When James starts to sing he is in the lower part of his range. Not way low, but definitely has to employ his chest voice. Listen to the first two musical phrases. until about :40. The pitch is okay, but the tone sounds dull and flat. No richness, no vibrato, no strength. Very amateur sounding.
Now, listen to the first two musical phrases of Mad World (:40-1:10). Basically the same notes, the same range. (Gee, maybe Tears for Fears ripped off George Harrison before Adam Lambert ripped off Mad World with Broken Open...... Oh, yeah, that is another nonsense allegation from another thread a couple of months ago.) Anyway, Adam's voice has more depth to it. More resonance with a slight vibrato throughout to add warmth. A more rounded, soothing tone or timbre.
Listen to the same sections again, and pay attention to interpretation. Subtle things about how a word is attacked or started. Again, I find James' rather flat. No emotion in the phrases. When Adam sings "goin' nowhere, goin' nowhere" he adds this little tiny gravel on the "g" sound and puts an audible gasp between the two phrases, then slides down the second 'no..where' with the slightest of emphasis on the word. Interpretation. The slightest manipulation that sounds vulnerable.
On the bridge, James' voice sounds much stronger, and he has this kind of piercing sharp tone on his upper notes. (Not criticizing, it works). Adam does the bridge of Mad World differently, keeping the tone of the higher notes rounder and fuller.
On to the second verse. James still sounds a bit dull in that lower register, tho he adds some inconsistent vibrato to some notes that warms it up. Still, he is just singing words. To quote Kara, "It just doesn't touch me here (in my heart)." Adam sings the second verse of Mad World with a stronger tone than the first to build the song. But he also adds all these little touches to interpret the song. "I was very NERVOUS" is masterful switching to his light head voice when he goes up to a second, higher note on the word (not written that way in the original) and then shifting right back to chest voice. The result is almost like an adolescent boy's voice cracking when he gets nervous. The phrasing also shows the anxiety of school when he sings, "No one knew me (gasp) no one knew meeeeeeee hello teacher tell me what's my lesson (gasp)". Who would think to build the note higher and stronger on me-eeeee, like a cry to "look at me" and then run the phrase directly into the next one, like "oops, yes teacher, sorry teacher for disturbing the class". Damn!
He builds that second verse right into the bridge. He takes the melody up instead of down, increases the volume and the ringing tone, stands up, and sustains the breath right thru the lyric and musical phrase: "Look right thruuuumeeeeandIfinditkindafunny". Unexpected, powerful and so angst-ridden.
James finishes his song by adding some power and vibrato in the low pitches, but it still lacks support and strength. Then he sweeps up to that glory note ---- but I don't know why. He has just sung "with every mistake we must surely be learning. Still my guitar gently weeps." But instead of gently weeping he wails. Makes no emotional sense to me.
On Adam's final verse he adds his own power and resonance, and does masterful things with his pronunciation, attacking the consonants at the beginning of the words, "dreams", "dying" and "best" "circles" and "very, very" to emphasize them in the lyrics. It is almost like a teen's cry for help. He's running around in circles and dreaming that dying would be the best way out. Then, he ends the song high in his register -- almost as high as James's wail--- but instead of screaming, he kisses those high notes like he is just shaking his head and whispering "mad world, mad world".
We listen to While My Guitar Gently Weeps and say, "Meh, kinda good, kinda leaves me flat." We listen to Mad World and we say, "What an experience! He took me there. I remember feeling that way!" Add the lighting, and it is almost ethereal.
Or, at least that is how I experience the two performances. Do you hear what I hear? Can you hear the contrasts?
