Fans of the legendary rock band The Beatles have recently uncovered a “major issue” with John Lennon’s singing voice that was seemingly unnoticed for decades.
Lennon, whose life was tragically cut short on December 8, 1980, penned some of the group’s biggest hits including ‘Day Tripper’, ‘Come Together’, and ‘Don’t Let Me Down’.
However, the band’s fans are now claiming to observe a distinct disparity in his vocal quality from his Beatles days to his solo career.
On the r/Beatles subreddit, a user drew attention to what they perceive as a vast difference between Lennon’s performances in The Beatles and his work after their split.
The conversation delved into comparing his early works with those of his solo ventures such as ‘Imagine’, ‘Beautiful Boy’, and ‘Happy Xmas (War is Over)’.
The Redditor wrote: “John Lennon’s Beatles vocals vs. his post Beatles vocals. I read once that it was the double tracking enhancing his unique sound, but this isn’t true if you watch Beatles live performances, or listen to demos or different takes that aren’t polished.”
They continued, stressing Lennon’s distinctive contributions to the band: “There are too many examples to mention where John has such an X factor performance with a voice that’s edgy, but not necessarily raspy, but so intense, yet vulnerable, and just downright cool as as cool while with the band.
“It seems like the moment he went solo he never sounded quite the same. It started to change some by the late 60s, but there were still moments where it was top-tier, such as on Hey Bulldog during the You Can Talk to Me moments.
“Hey Bulldog was recorded February 68. The White Album was May to October, and it feels a bit different. I sometimes try to imagine a mop top Lennon singing Yer Blues to try and see if I still catch what I’m referring to. It’s there but not fully. An earlier Beatles Lennon would have sounded different to some extent.”
Some fans concur with the vocal shift observation, while others claim Lennon’s early Beatles era voice is “one of the best voices in rock ‘n’ roll history.”
The statements from devotees include: “Early Beatles raspy voiced John is my opinion one of the best voices in Rock n Roll history. While his song writing improved dramatically with time the Beatles recorded, I feel his early Beatles voice had this incredible magic that he never recaptured.”
Another fan pointed out that the vocal evolution mirrors his changing musical tastes and songwriting focus.
Comments from another admirer read: “After the Beatles, he stopped creating Beatle type music, which seems like a bummer to me but he seemed intent on something different. But songs like Beautiful Boy and Now and Then still have that magic, just different.”
A fellow enthusiast chimed in: “John is my favorite vocalist. His early vocals were incredible. I never really thought his voice changed but then again our voices change as we get older. I agree he sounded more raspy when he was younger.”
Fans have long speculated on the evolution of John Lennon’s distinctive sound, debating whether his smoking habits might have altered its texture.
One user wrote: “You’d think if his voice changed from smoking it would have gotten rougher. Maybe he changed the way he sang? Paul’s voice also changed. I don’t mean now; he’s in his 80s. But even in the late 1970s, it seemed different, not as strong maybe?”.
Others suggested that Lennon himself wasn’t a fan of his vocal timbre, embracing studio technology to add a twist to it. A Beatles enthusiast shared their insight: “His early days voice is spectacular. Once engineers developed ways to put effects on voices, John was all over it unfortunately.”
The inevitable march of time affects all musicians’ voices, with aficionados noting the shifts in the vocals of Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan when measured against their golden era recordings.
Reflecting on this natural progression, a user remarked: “I think this is right, their voices just changed with age which is natural, in get back there’s a bit where Paul is trying to sing something (not actually something but I forget what) and he’s lamenting that he can’t sing it like he’s used to, just three yrs prior.”