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Does anyone else love his "voice change" era?

Kanye East

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ca. 1973 - when his voice was in between kid Michael and adult Michael?

It's my favorite vocal era of his...it's the best of both worlds. I wish there were more recordings from that era.
 
I really appreciate this era. Just a little bit of you everyday and one day in your life is among my favorite MJ songs ever. 73-76 era is great.
 
I love We're Almost There
You can hear a sneak preview of his Destiny voice coming in but it still retains that innocence ofsomething like Never Can Say Goodbye

Mike really grew as a wonderful singer through this period
 
It is not my favorite period vocally, especially on the live on Japan album of 1973 he sounds a bit strained. 2 years later in Mexico it seems he gets full control of his voice again though slightly monotone, especially in uptempo tracks. The ballads here are of rare beauty ( my fave of his live performances)

I usually rank the voice in following eras in order of preference

69-72 10/10
80-86 10/10
76-79 10/10
87-97 9/10
73-75 8/10
98-09 8/10
 
Kanye East said:
ca. 1973 - when his voice was in between kid Michael and adult Michael?

It's my favorite vocal era of his...it's the best of both worlds. I wish there were more recordings from that era.
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I don't have a fave vocal era, not really, but I do love this period that you've flagged up. He's not the finished product, not quite yet, but he's brilliant, of course, and it's such an exciting era vocally. I can't quite explain what I mean bc I'm not a singer or musician so can't talk about it from a tech point of view but the sounds I hear in his voice at this point - some amazing stuff is going on, it seems to me.

filmandmusic said:
It is not my favorite period vocally, especially on the live on Japan album of 1973 he sounds a bit strained. 2 years later in Mexico it seems he gets full control of his voice again though slightly monotone, especially in uptempo tracks.
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I think that's a fair assessment. There is so much to enjoy but, yes, he's still developing as an artist so he's not quite there yet. Close, though. Very close.

filmandmusic said:
The ballads here are of rare beauty ( my fave of his live performances)
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Yes. More ballads from Michael would have been so wonderful. Rock songs are my thing. The Dangerous era onwards, that's my jam. But, oh my, Michael and ballads - that's just a match made in heaven.
 

Does anyone else love his "voice change" era?​


When you listen to Butterflies you'll realize that he covers all voice change eras in a single song. šŸ˜ And on the Xscape album there's even a duck-era voice in the remixed song Chicago. šŸ¤”
 
Definitely!!! I am so fascinated by this era! You can hear the real change begin in the spring of 72 on "Don't Want To See Tomorrow" and through the SKYWRITER?MUSIC AND ME sessions which lasted until early 1973. Tracks like "Who's Looking For A Lover" (from the fall of 72) really showcase an interesting vocal dynamic between the voices. That track in particular I always found very intriguing because his vocal has a very interesting tone and sharpness. It also sounds like he is straining his voice in a way. There are a few tracks from these sessions that have a very interesting tone. "Morning Glow" is another one although that is from early 73 so the change was much deeper by then. The vocal has more or less settled the main change by mid 74 when he cut "Buttercup". The last time I think you can hear a trace of the child voice is in the December 1973 recording of "I'll Come Home To You".
 
Yes, I love this period! I remember listening to the songs from this era for the first time and it's just so fascinating. Michael's voice back then had such a unique tone to it, like a juxtaposition of the boy soprano he was and the man he would become. Still childlike, but also quite a bit huskier than it used to be, with a slight tenor coming through.

"Just change", indeed. šŸ˜šŸ„°
 
I dare say that when Michaelā€™s voice changed, the Motown stuff got better. Which is weird because the brothers were not particularly happy with that stuff. But I guess that stemmed from the frustration of not being allowed to write anything that it was hard to appreciate how good the material they were given was.

I mean ā€œForever Came Todayā€ is one of my favorites and itā€™s one of, if not THE last song they recorded for Motown.
 
Hudson112 said:
I dare say that when Michaelā€™s voice changed, the Motown stuff got better. Which is weird because the brothers were not particularly happy with that stuff. But I guess that stemmed from the frustration of not being allowed to write anything that it was hard to appreciate how good the material they were given was.

I mean ā€œForever Came Todayā€ is one of my favorites and itā€™s one of, if not THE last song they recorded for Motown.
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The dancing Machine album is one of their best
 
Hudson112 said:
I dare say that when Michaelā€™s voice changed, the Motown stuff got better. Which is weird because the brothers were not particularly happy with that stuff. But I guess that stemmed from the frustration of not being allowed to write anything that it was hard to appreciate how good the material they were given was.

I mean ā€œForever Came Todayā€ is one of my favorites and itā€™s one of, if not THE last song they recorded for Motown.
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It is the last song they recorded at Motown that was released. There could be more from those last sessions but so far nothing has turned up and from what I understand there was not a lot left over in the vaults from the last year. Most of that was used on JOYFUL JUKEBOX MUSIC
 
Joyful jukebox music was a lot better than moving violation, not that it would have made a difference for Motown. The J5 were not the biggest act anymore by 1975
 
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