I was suprised watching TOTP that they used what I thought was the worst take of the 4 for Chris' singing for Christmas lights......he seemed nervous and out of tune for a lot of the song.

 

Then I took a look at the live performances in Liverpool and Newcastle. In Newcastle in particular I thought the same, very nervous and much different to his studio voice.

 

I had thought that his voice had gone towards the end of the VLV tour as VLV (the song) in particular he always sounded the same.

 

Is Chris just nervous having been in the studio so long, or is something going on with his voice? I hope it's the former

Totp is bad but hidden gigs voice is really good.

 

Compare CL from those two

Where can I find this online with sound? The video on youtube doesn't have any sound...

Where can I find this online with sound? The video on youtube doesn't have any sound...

 

Here is the video of the Newcastle gig - VLV: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5YmaGUFi4E]YouTube - Viva La Vida Coldplay Crisis Gig Newcastle December 2010[/ame]

 

Listen to the words "word" (nervous), "eyes" and "dice " - out of tune/ strained.

 

"Held the key..." sounds really strained too.

I was watching TOTP (ready for the moment to point myself out which never came LOL) with some members of my family... and was a bit taken aback at one stage as Chris' voice seemed really quite dodgy!! :stunned:

Dont know.

Maybe he is tired of recording on the studio ? like too many days recording day after day and his voice is tired.

 

Also it can be that he is nervous , about performing infront of people again , after beeing like 10 months in the studio , and we must remember that TOTP was recorded on dicember 8th , so it was tecnically their first performance .

i thought Chris did look quite nervous in the ToTP performance, much like when VLVODAAHF first came out and they performed on Jonathan Ross's show :shrug:

Chris' voice is always touch and go live.

some days he turns up and it's great.

and sometimes he's off.

but he's human so we can forgive him. ha.

YouTube - Viva La Vida Coldplay Crisis Gig Newcastle December 2010[/url]

 

Listen to the words "word" (nervous), "eyes" and "dice " - out of tune/ strained.

 

"Held the key..." sounds really strained too.

 

Chris sang VLV like that quite often, even during the VLV tour. To me, it sounds like he's going up one note on those words ("eyes" . . . "dice", etc.) instead of a note down (like in the studio version). Or something like that.

 

You're right, though. His voice does sound a little off-tune and pretty strained. Or maybe it's just the YouTube video? But even in some professionally-shot videos from back in 2009, Chris' vocal performance on VLV sounds pretty off-tune to me. :\

 

For now, I guess he's just nervous singing in front of people again since it's been a while since the end of the last tour.

Yeh, I have noticed this since VLV. I think it's because his voice is not suited to the notes. Brian Eno is always pushing for Chris to use new chords and different vocal notes that are just not as natural as the melodies of trouble and shiver for example. He can nail them in the studio but live its a little more tricky.

 

This ofcourse is just a guess, I may very well be wrong but it's odd that he can still sing the old songs perfectly.

Chris sounds awesome live

Yeah, he sings Viva la Vida differently live on purpose... I'm not sure why. Maybe he thinks it sounds better. I don't think so but it doesn't sound bad. Or maybe like somebody said above, his voice isn't suited to hit those notes but if that's the case why don't they transpose the song down a little bit like most bands do? It would help a lot. That's a hard song to sing.

 

Also, the "One minute I held the key" part in the video sounds awesome. He usually goes into falsetto in that part and it sounds shaky but he nailed in it that video :D! And lmao @ 2:27 "Who the fuck would wanna be king?"

Yeah - Chris Martin does have off days and on days. Off days - Christmas Lights on TOTP. On days - The Scientist on Jools Holland. I can confirm that this is the best performance of The Scientist you will see and hear! Enjoy!

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAtiiuj6Lz4]YouTube - Coldplay Live at Jools Holland- The Scientist[/ame]

I think Chris just sings a bit "sloppy" on VLV on purpose. I don't think it means anything major about him though. =/ If you look at the BBC 2008 performance of VLV he sounds absolutely spot on; that's the height of when he took the song most "seriously."

Yeah, he sings Viva la Vida differently live on purpose... I'm not sure why. Maybe he thinks it sounds better. I don't think so but it doesn't sound bad. Or maybe like somebody said above, his voice isn't suited to hit those notes but if that's the case why don't they transpose the song down a little bit like most bands do? It would help a lot. That's a hard song to sing.

 

I think its ok he sings it diferentelly. Countless artists do the same. I think it gets boring to sing the same song for 150 dates on a tour + TV shows + You listen that version on the radio countless times. Even I change the way i sing the lyrics of VLV or other songs , in the way i want. Sometimes it sounds even better :P .

 

Other thing , is that maybe vocals are to demanding to sing 20+ songs with all the high notes of all of the songs and probably why he also sings songs such as Fixyou with a lower voice

 

And also , all singers have good and bad days. Ive heard that there are lots of things that influence your voice , like if you sleep more , your notes will be higher , and have to rest your voice etc etc

He did mention the band being 'gun shy' in between takes; still, I thought his voice sounded great for most of it. There were a few iffy moments in the first take but in the 2nd and 3rd he sounded much better...I think perhaps TOTP used some bad clips...:thinking:

The Scientist on Jools Holland. I can confirm that this is the best performance of The Scientist you will see and hear! Enjoy!

 

 

Ohhhh yeah. That hit the spot! :awesome:

That must have been a good day because i always liked this performance as well:

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Chh2aT3GBU]YouTube - Coldplay - In My Place live - Jools Holland 2002[/ame]

 

and the dancing is terrific.

That must have been a good day because i always liked this performance as well:

 

 

and the dancing is terrific.

 

I think he does have good and bad days, but I still think VLV itself is just harder for him to sing because during the same concert he will nail shiver and then struggle to sing VLV. This has never been an issue before VLVADAAHF was released. (e.g. a song that Chris consistently struggles to sing live) So I just think it's down to the melody of VLV.

its because i think hes trying too hard to get better and better but then when it comes live

it gets hard for him to sing

I think he was nerveous, 'cause is a new song... i mean you're not sure if the audience will enjoy it or not :S

When he's moving a lot, as he does during VLV, it gets more difficult to hit the notes.

Furthermore I think playing one particular song for a TV show is more difficult than a proper show. Because everything is focussed on that one song. At your own shows you can open with songs that make you get into it and the audience gives you more confidence.

 

Just what I think about it

When he's moving a lot, as he does during VLV, it gets more difficult to hit the notes.

Furthermore I think playing one particular song for a TV show is more difficult than a proper show. Because everything is focussed on that one song. At your own shows you can open with songs that make you get into it and the audience gives you more confidence.

 

Just what I think about it

 

Yup .. Plus , believe it or not , Beeing on an Arena/theatre/stadium , Singers tend to feel more comfortable. Specially because everybody there is their fans and they just feel more comfortable ..

 

Doing a TV show always puts them more nervous . You are not only performing for the people in the recording studio , but also to million of people who are watching live + youtube viewers etc .. Every mistake that you make , could be your biggest mistake :p ;)

Chris sang VLV like that quite often, even during the VLV tour. To me, it sounds like he's going up one note on those words ("eyes" . . . "dice", etc.) instead of a note down (like in the studio version). Or something like that.

 

You're right, though. His voice does sound a little off-tune and pretty strained. Or maybe it's just the YouTube video? But even in some professionally-shot videos from back in 2009, Chris' vocal performance on VLV sounds pretty off-tune to me. :\

 

For now, I guess he's just nervous singing in front of people again since it's been a while since the end of the last tour.

 

Agreed, his voice had not been solidly on tune during the VLV tour.

 

And I agree with your last sentence, he's probably "out of shape" vocally.

 

Yeh, I have noticed this since VLV. I think it's because his voice is not suited to the notes. Brian Eno is always pushing for Chris to use new chords and different vocal notes that are just not as natural as the melodies of trouble and shiver for example. He can nail them in the studio but live its a little more tricky.

 

This ofcourse is just a guess, I may very well be wrong but it's odd that he can still sing the old songs perfectly.

 

I wouldn't blame it on Eno if that is in fact the case, Eno doesn't have a gun to Chris' head making him sing a certain way. He may push him in a direction but in the end it's Chris that makes the vocals.

I honestly think that his vocal performance gets worse when he's jumping and running around like he likes to do during "Viva". It's always better on the songs when he sits down at the piano and actually can catch his breath, such as "The Scientist".