Odd Vocal Moments

[.indulgecountry]

I'm sure everyone has some favorite/least-favorite parts in certain songs where there are unusual vocal 'moments' that stand out. I know I have lots of them where I literally live for said moment when it comes up in a song.

Some of my favorite Sara Evans ones for starters:
"Pray for You" - when she sings Sittin' with her on the porch, she has a lisp on the word sittin', lol.
"Anywhere" - she also has a lisp on the final Love will get us there
"The Secrets That We Keep" - at the end of the second verse on the 'Til I'm sure you're satisfied line, I love the way she sounds on the word "sure"


I'll think of more later, but these are the ones I can remember off the top of my head.

Also, I live for the "ooh-woo-woo-oh-oh" thing that Faith Hill does near the end of "Mississippi Girl."

ETA: Oh and the way Jennier Nettles sounds on the words "grass" and "marquee" on "Salvation Works." Her voice on those two words is a huge part of why that's my fave track on her new album, easily.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Off the top of my head:

David Lee Murphy, "Dust on the Bottle" -- "We'll make some memories". The way he garbles the word "memories" it almost sounds more like "man babies".

George Strait, "It Just Comes Natural" -- "Tumbleweeds roll". It sounds like his voice cracked on that line, they tried to smooth it out with Auto-Tune, but only made it worse.

Rascal Flatts, "Summer Nights" -- After the keychange, Gary squeaks on the note "Every BODY's feeling sexy". The fact that there exists a note too high for Gary to sing just terrifies me...

[sabre14]

Aug 19, 2016 1:57:43 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

David Lee Murphy, "Dust on the Bottle" -- "We'll make some memories". The way he garbles the word "memories" it almost sounds more like "man babies".

Rascal Flatts, "Summer Nights" -- After the keychange, Gary squeaks on the note "Every BODY's feeling sexy". The fact that there exists a note too high for Gary to sing just terrifies me...

Yes to both of these.

Also, Shania's very odd vocal delivery of "I Ain't No Quitter", which was a shame since I enjoyed the instrumentation and production.

[Andy]

-When Keith Whitley sings "Playin' songs on the jukebox and pourin' whiskey down" in the opening lines to "Between an Old Memory and Me," I just love the distinctive way he enunciates and inflects the word "down".

-I love the "whoop whoop" sounds Roger Miller makes on "I've Been a Long Time Leavin' (But I'll Be a Long Time Gone)", and I love how Waylon kept them in his cover on Dreaming My Dreams.

I'll have more as I think of them!

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Aug 19, 2016 13:33:40 GMT -5 sabre14 said:

Aug 19, 2016 1:57:43 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

David Lee Murphy, "Dust on the Bottle" -- "We'll make some memories". The way he garbles the word "memories" it almost sounds more like "man babies".

Rascal Flatts, "Summer Nights" -- After the keychange, Gary squeaks on the note "Every BODY's feeling sexy". The fact that there exists a note too high for Gary to sing just terrifies me...

Yes to both of these.

Also, Shania's very odd vocal delivery of "I Ain't No Quitter", which was shame since I enjoyed the instrumentation and production.

I wonder if that was related to the dysphonia she developed later on. She was under so much mental stress that it made her vocal cords stop working. Probably why she sounded constipated on Today Is Your Day, too.

[dm2081]

How about during the bridge of "T-Shirt" where Thomas Rhett makes some weird robotic Yeti noise? I know it's artificial, but I still found it odd and jarring.

[sabre14]

Aug 19, 2016 18:13:25 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

Aug 19, 2016 13:33:40 GMT -5 sabre14 said:

Yes to both of these.

Also, Shania's very odd vocal delivery of "I Ain't No Quitter", which was shame since I enjoyed the instrumentation and production.

I wonder if that was related to the dysphonia she developed later on. She was under so much mental stress that it made her vocal cords stop working. Probably why she sounded constipated on Today Is Your Day, too.

She sounded different on "Shoes", "Don't" and "Party For Two" as well; it was just over-the-top with "I Ain't No Quitter."

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Aug 19, 2016 18:25:57 GMT -5 sabre14 said:

Aug 19, 2016 18:13:25 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

I wonder if that was related to the dysphonia she developed later on. She was under so much mental stress that it made her vocal cords stop working. Probably why she sounded constipated on Today Is Your Day, too.

She sounded different on "Shoes", "Don't" and "Party For Two" as well; it was just over-the-top with "I Ain't No Quitter."

I actually liked how she sounded on "Don't!", for some reason, even though it was obviously different. Maybe that's why I don't like PFT, IANQ, or Shoes at all, because of how forced she sounds on them.

[Kentucky25]

Aug 19, 2016 17:54:33 GMT -5 Andy said:

-When Keith Whitley sings "Playin' songs on the jukebox and pourin' whiskey down" in the opening lines to "Between an Old Memory and Me," I just love the distinctive way he enunciates and inflects the word "down".

I love that too. His vocal delivery is so unique, it's just crazy to think about...the way he "trails off" (I'm sure there's a technical term) is just beautiful.  On "Birmingham Turnaround" (especially the first verse) I love how you almost don't hear the words he drops off so much.

[.indulgecountry]

I reminded myself of another one tonight:

I love the way Rainey Qualley enunciates/stresses the word "you" in "Me and Johnny Cash" on the line I'm gettin' rid of you one match a time and also the Goodbye lies part, too. <33

[Ten Pound Hammer]

I've always liked the way John sings the line "I lift your veil..." on "Lost in This Moment". Something about just that line makes him sound uncannily like Hal Ketchum. And it's weird, because I've never heard him sound like that on any other song.

[bboat11]

I just remembered that I absolutely LIVE FOR the way Sara Evans cracks her voice on "you" and "be" in the chorus of "I Could Not Ask For More". Like, literally how did she even decide to do that??!! It is such a random and odd vocal choice! Like in the right context a voice crack can be an almost natural addition to a phrase. But the way she does it in that song is just not intuitive at all. Either she or the producer of the Born To Fly album had a real stroke of brilliance when they came up with that idea, imo. It is by far the most memorable part of the song for me, and gives it some real personality. 

[cufan7]

"I'll place my be-e-et" @ 2:00 - love it.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Sept 4, 2016 1:02:23 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

I just remembered that I absolutely LIVE FOR the way Sara Evans cracks her voice on "you" and "be" in the chorus of "I Could Not Ask For More". Like, literally how did she even decide to do that??!! It is such a random and odd vocal choice! Like in the right context a voice crack can be an almost natural addition to a phrase. But the way she does it in that song is just not intuitive at all. Either she or the producer of the Born To Fly album had a real stroke of brilliance when they came up with that idea, imo. It is by far the most memorable part of the song for me, and gives it some real personality. 

It's certainly better than all the cracking she does on "Fool, I'm a Woman". Seriously, why didn't she just record that song a half step lower or something?

[sabre14]

When Keith Anderson sings the hook line in the second chorus of "XXL."

[codyj100]

Aug 19, 2016 18:25:57 GMT -5 sabre14 said:

Aug 19, 2016 18:13:25 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

I wonder if that was related to the dysphonia she developed later on. She was under so much mental stress that it made her vocal cords stop working. Probably why she sounded constipated on Today Is Your Day, too.

She sounded different on "Shoes", "Don't" and "Party For Two" as well; it was just over-the-top with "I Ain't No Quitter."

I will be the first to admit, especially hearing "Shoes" come on my Gym playlist today, that her vocals seem very forced. Mutt, always wanted a particular sound from her vocally. I'm not saying it was all him, but I'm guessing her voice began to deteriorate and he/they couldn't get what he/they needed. Hence the auto-tune at the end of some of the notes. Same goes for 'Quitter.' I love both songs though and have grown to appreciate each change in her voice (era by era). 

I honestly don't notice it as much on "Don't!," or at all on "Today Is Your Day." What I hear in "Today Is Your Day" is an older (still beautiful) voice after much needed rest. David Foster produced that song, he produces heavy hitting ballads. There was no way we were going to get a "Man! I Feel Like A Woman" esque song with David at the helm. It just wasn't going to happen, regardless of lyrical content. 

[Ten Pound Hammer]

I thought Shania sounded very sleepy and forced on TIYD, personally.

[bksouthga]

In an effort to widen the scope of this thread beyond Shania and Sara Evans (no offense to anyone), here are some I can think of.

Clint Black on "A Bad Goodbye" - "WE'VE known that for a while"

Reba McEntire on "Does He Love You?" - "or AM I deceiving myself "

Sugarland "Settlin" - "looking like another maybe we could be friends" this line sounds a lot different than the rest of the song as far as accent and inflection. I think this may be because Jennifer has a pretty wide dynamic and stylistic range.

Some of Travis Tritt's guttural sounds on "Great Day to Be Alive" which I love btw. Not to mention the howling too!

Garth Brooks has a lot of these. He has a weird way of saying his "in" sounds, especially when he's really revved up. "Papa loved Mama and Mama loved MEEEEEN", "I'll be as high as that ivory tower, you're living IIIIIIINNNN", "Somewhere other THAAANN the night"

[bksouthga]

Andy mentioned Roger Miller in one of his posts above. He was doing weird vocal things all the time! Like his crazy sound effects in "Chug-a-Lug", the vocal riff in "Dang Me", not to mention the great line "roses are red, violets are purple, sugar's sweet and so's maple surple". Or the yodeling on "Kansas City Star", or the bridge part in "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd" ("knuckle down, buckle down, do it, do it, do it"). Oh, I forgot to mention I'm a fan.

I think one thing is that maybe it was more acceptable at that time to do some of these more idiosyncratic vocal things. Because you also had George Jones with "White Lightnin", Johnny Cash doing a lot of unique vocal mannerisms, especially with releasing two albums of music recorded live from prisons. My favorite of those: Orange Blossom Special, where he says, "I don't care if I do-die-do-die-do-die-do". Also, it seemed like there were more novelty songs in those days, don't know why.

[Andy]

Sept 27, 2016 22:11:18 GMT -5 bksouthga said:

Andy mentioned Roger Miller in one of his posts above. He was doing weird vocal things all the time! Like his crazy sound effects in "Chug-a-Lug", the vocal riff in "Dang Me", not to mention the great line "roses are red, violets are purple, sugar's sweet and so's maple surple". Or the yodeling on "Kansas City Star", or the bridge part in "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd" ("knuckle down, buckle down, do it, do it, do it"). Oh, I forgot to mention I'm a fan.

I think one thing is that maybe it was more acceptable at that time to do some of these more idiosyncratic vocal things. Because you also had George Jones with "White Lightnin", Johnny Cash doing a lot of unique vocal mannerisms, especially with releasing two albums of music recorded live from prisons. My favorite of those: Orange Blossom Special, where he says, "I don't care if I do-die-do-die-do-die-do". Also, it seemed like there were more novelty songs in those days, don't know why.

Glad to hear I'm not the only Roger Miller fan on here! He's one of my favorites as well. I could have also gone with any of the examples you cited, but decided to just pick my favorite. He's definitely one of the more underrated artists in country history in my eyes. He's one of the very few artists who could  pull off both serious ballads and humorous novelty songs, and he had very few peers as a songwriter. I have the 3 CD box set King Of The Road: The Genius Of Roger Miller and listen to it all the time. I'm hoping his entire catalog is reissued one day.

[bksouthga]

Sept 27, 2016 22:44:00 GMT -5 Andy said:

Glad to hear I'm not the only Roger Miller fan on here! He's one of my favorites as well. I could have also gone with any of the examples you cited, but decided to just pick my favorite. He's definitely one of the more underrated artists in country history in my eyes. He's one of the very few artists who could  pull off both serious ballads and humorous novelty songs, and he had very few peers as a songwriter. I have the 3 CD box set King Of The Road: The Genius Of Roger Miller and listen to it all the time. I'm hoping his entire catalog is reissued one day.

Definitely underrated! I also love how he branched out into other areas of the arts, like doing all of the music for the broadway musical "Big River", or the work that he did for Disney's animated "Robin Hood".

[bksouthga]

I know I've had several posts here (you know how it is when you find a thread you didn't know was here). I have mentioned a number of examples but haven't really given a lot of opinions. My favorite all time is not a country song. It's on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" where Merry Clayton's voice breaks when she is wailing "Whoa, children, it's just a shot away", when it sounds like she ruptures a vocal chord. Holy crap!

One of my least favorite moments is when Miranda Lambert says "Tony Lomas" in Little Red Wagon. Tony Lomas? Really? Really? There's nothing to make me think she intentionally mispronounces it, other than it rhymes with Oklahoma. It's one thing if somebody intentionally mispronounces, like when Jimmy Buffett says "and she bitches about the mos-kwee-toes" in "The Weather Is Here, I Wish You Were Beautiful". But "Tony Lomas" annoys me.

[.indulgecountry]

Sept 27, 2016 23:33:27 GMT -5 bksouthga said:

One of my least favorite moments is when Miranda Lambert says "Tony Lomas" in Little Red Wagon. Tony Lomas? Really? Really? There's nothing to make me think she intentionally mispronounces it, other than it rhymes with Oklahoma. It's one thing if somebody intentionally mispronounces, like when Jimmy Buffett says "and she bitches about the mos-kwee-toes" in "The Weather Is Here, I Wish You Were Beautiful". But "Tony Lomas" annoys me.

I really have no idea why that line in the song is like that (perhaps it really is as simple as 'hey, this way we can make it rhyme with Oklahoma'), but Miranda Lambert covered it from Audra Dae, who pronounces it as "Tony Lomas" as well. I know she spoke very highly of the song and wanting to cover it, so I imagine Miranda probably didn't feel like changing that line since she was a big fan of the song and felt honored to have the permission to release her own version.

[bksouthga]

^ :sigh: Yeah I know. I've listened to that version too. And it annoys me there too! Although you're right, it probably is unfair to blame Miranda.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

^ And there's only one instance where it has to rhyme with Oklahoma too. The other instance comes mid-line.

[d3vin44]

Sept 4, 2016 1:02:23 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

I just remembered that I absolutely LIVE FOR the way Sara Evans cracks her voice on "you" and "be" in the chorus of "I Could Not Ask For More". Like, literally how did she even decide to do that??!! It is such a random and odd vocal choice! Like in the right context a voice crack can be an almost natural addition to a phrase. But the way she does it in that song is just not intuitive at all. Either she or the producer of the Born To Fly album had a real stroke of brilliance when they came up with that idea, imo. It is by far the most memorable part of the song for me, and gives it some real personality. 

I could not agree with this more! So awesome.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

The last "All the Federales say we could've had him any day" on "Pancho and Lefty" has an odd muffled sound to it, especially on the BGVs. I've never been able to figure out if it was intentional or not.

There's also that hideously overwrought bellowing on Craig Morgan's "Love Remembers" and "Bonfire"... and "Wake Up Lovin' You" and "Little Bit of Life"... and "God Must Really Love Me"...