It's incredibly good. As I'm starting to _really_ get into music in my late thirties, I recognise Bowie has having almost the optimum balance of 'grit in the oyster' and technically perfect vocals for rock music. I'd love to hear an isolated vocal track for _Lady Grinning Soul._
I love these! A little tidbit on his clear enunciation: he was told that a rock n roll audience would never accept his obvious working class English accent and that he'd have to change it to something neutral or vaguely American when singing, like the Beatles or Mick Jagger were doing. So, being Bowie, of course he did the exact opposite and made sure his natural accent came through when he was singing.
My takeaway is the absolutely astounding pitch accuracy of David Bowie! This pitch control series is some of your most interesting work. Thank you for these great analysizations.
This was mesmerizing. Growing up, listening to his music, and you to isolating his voice, only makes me appreciate him more, and what a great singer he was. Thank you for this.
Bowie taught us all that perfection is in the imperfections. He used his voice as an instrument to convey emotions. Auto tune would have been a travesty to his music. Fil, thanks so much for doing an analysis of this song for everyone to hear how great he sounded. Another CZcams channel (I won't mention who) did one of this some time ago & did not use the correct track. It made me cringe to think how he may be spreading inaccurate information to younger people who may never had heard his music. Excellent job, as always!
Why not mention who? We’re here to hear what pitch “correction” does to a top level vocalist. We’re here to try to stop misinformation in music. We’re here for Fil’s honesty and expertise.
Astounding. A song and a singer I thought I knew so well, for so long, I have now heard in a whole new way. The man could SING. How beautiful. The auto tune version is HIDEOUS. The contrast between David's actual singing voice and auto tune is a microcosm of what is missing today: talent and soul...🎶
That's it, exactly. Sure, this is an extreme example, but what autotune takes away from David Bowie, it also takes away from pop artists today. David had a tremendous amount of human emotion in his voice, so the loss is extreme. Modern pop artists have less, but they lose it as well. Now I understand why I can't stand very much pop music; the artist's feeling and emotion have been removed.
I'm a musician (bass guitarist, 45 years) and I've maintained since the early 1980s that David Bowie was one of the greatest singers in all of rock music (along with Freddie Mercury) and that has never changed. I never actually explained why - I'm not sure I could have until now - I always just stated it and no one ever tried to talk me out of it. Maybe I gave people a dirty look after my statement, who knows. My statements about the best singers make logical sense now, instead of just having an opinion-regardless of my musical experience/education. Thanks so much again for doing these isolated vocal track analyses - and especially the auto-tune analysis.
Well, not actually dead on, as the graphs show - relatively accurate, and the vibrato gives him room for manoeuvre. "Tell my wife I love her very much" in the sotto voce for example is flat. You can hear it - you don't actually need the chart. For a pop singer, he is very accurate for sure, and so much the better for it without auto tune as shown! When you listen to someone like Mel Torme, you hear what near perfect pitch really sounds like.
I love David Bowie’s voice sooooo much! His vibrato reminds me of a cello. I love that you can hear him going the tiniest bit sharp on a couple notes to let his accent shine through. David Bowie was my very first crush. His voice just makes me melt!
The way Bowie transitions his voice between the different characters in the song is brilliant. Especially when the line "can you hear" changes into "here am I floating" He extends the word "here/hear" and you can indeed "hear" the change in his voice there as the scene in the story changes from ground control back to Tom. The fear and concern in his voice transitions so smoothly back into a calm, rounded tone. It gives you the full contrast between these two perspectives and the difference between them. You can really imagine yourself in Tom's shoes, being far removed from the concerns of the world, having a sense of wonder at being so far away and a sense of resignation that there is nothing you can do about the situation you are in. The shift in Bowie's voice is so elegant, it is really impressive, and I can't think of many singers who could do this so well. Most would probably portray a change in scene like this in a new verse, or a bridge, or in shifting from verse to chorus. But not in one word. And it sounds effortless. And on top of it all, he is literally asking, "can you hear?"
Spot on mate, Your explanation of the wrong voice to use autotune on is spot on. A vocalist with a natural vibrato and flourishes would do well to steer clear of autotune.
I would not be surprised if Bowie, when singing, “something’s wrong” purposely hit the note a bit sharp to poetically emphazsize that something’s wrong! Meaning the note is wrong, too.
Bollocks. No one sings perfectly. Unless you love robots. There's a video of Linda Perry saying Christina Aguilera begged her to re-record a vocal. What Whitney, Mariah et al sing like is over sung 'perfect' and horrible. I've a 7'' record of Jimmy Durante singing a song and is a fine example of how stupid this entire subject in the streaming age has become.
I'm not a big Bowie fan but this makes me appreciate him more. Also, it's no surprise that professional singers from this era have very good pitch. They had to have it or they wouldn't be working. They honed their craft over years of actual live singing in front of audiences. Auto tune should just not be used, and if you can't hit your pitch maybe you need a different line of work.
@@heartpath1 Thank you, from an engineer from that time. Engineering was a very performative activity, esp during basic track recording and mixing. You really had to understand micing and signal processing then, vs learning a software package, with almost unlimited options to try.
Ken Scott once said that Bowie was notorious for his perfection in the studio regarding his vocals. He said that most of the things that you hear on his albums is one take and over 90% of it is the first and only take and it would end up on the album. Bowie was a great vocalist but because he didn't fit the norm he tends to be very very underrated as one.
I've always thought of him as a magical being. I can still see my 25 year old self going to watch The Man Who Fell to Earth in 1976 and accepting utterly that he was an alien looking for help. That movie was so shatteringly sad. 💔
Bowie probably was not an alien, but he managed to become a mythical character. Did you know that there are legends in Vladivostok about him and Iggy Pop street racing and trying to cross the border to China illegally? He wasn't there with Iggy though, but he was there with other friends. However he did drive like a lunatic in the East Berlin during a cocaine spree and weirdly nobody tried to stop him, so there is truth in those legends, only the location was changed. Bowie did some really wild things in the 70's and that inspired people in the most unexpected ways. He was totally nuts to go to USSR twice during the Cold War and to test the limits of defiance at least a couple of times on Soviet territory, but somehow he got away with it. He was really different as a man too, not only as a singer or songwriter.
In the seventies listening to Bowie I knew he was an artist. Not just an artist but a genius at his craft. To see reminds exactly where the music industry has gone.
Such beauty! You really can appreciate it even more looking at the graph. I especially enjoyed noticing how he softened or hardened his voice, depending on the lyrics.
That whole album is full of fantastic performances from everyone. Apparently some of the numbers are cut together from different gigs, but the band was so consistent it could be done. The final vocal on that version of Ziggy Stardust is insane too. For a skinny cokehead his lungs were in great shape then.
That contrast when you auto tuned it. I didn't expect it to be so stark. These auto tune ones are making me sentimental...I miss my sweet electrical engineer dad. Most kids read the backs of cereal boxes at the breakfast table, we watched the wave forms on an oscilloscope while he worked. *sigh*
Hi Lynn! As a box-reader, this sounds so fascinating! And I'm not quite sure what the oscilloscope was doing! But I am sorry you are missing your dad. I can relate.❤️
@@konstantia1607 Aww, rest in peace, your dad, too. Ours designed and built scientific instruments and the oscilloscope would show the voltage of the signals coming from his projects. He was a great one for singing all the nonsense songs to us...not many kids had the "Purple People Eater" for a lullaby.
I'm going to really show my age here.There was a Dye factory in Jersey City in the late 1950s which has since shut down. The guys outside on their break were Purple When we use to drive past there my Dad would sing the "Purple People Eater "song We would all join in of course Hilarious at the time 🤪but now of course horrific when you think of the toxins they were exposed to Hey maybe I can ask Fil to do an analysis lol Always nice to see you're comments Lynn &Konsantia 😎
Ohh dear...those dyes and tanneries were so bad, but what sweet car time! That Purple people Eater just wanted a job in a rock and roll band! I love how our memories tie us all together! I always perk up when I see your name!
He is really underrated as a singer. But I didn't expect the precision to be this amazing. I was noticing it before you pointed it out, and I was wondering if you had pulled a fast one on us and provided an auto tuned version. Since this was a song from really early in his career, it would be interesting to analyze a later songs, maybe Ashes to Ashes, which is the sequel to Space Oddity from 1980. With his work ethic and additional experience, he might have had an even higher level of precision then. He stretched his vibrato into 3 notes, twice in this song. That's massive!
Absolutely fascinating! I never realised how on pitch David Bowie was until hearing you auto tune his voice. Taking out his emotion and artistic expression just opens my appreciation for a " Natural" Voice. I really enjoy these videos, Thank you.
What an utterly fascinating analysis and explained SO well! As a hardcore Bowie fan I’d love to learn more! Would it be possible for you to breakdown Bowie’s amazing backing vocals? That would be so interesting. Thank you!
I saw David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust at Leeds rolarena in 1973. I was not that much of a fan, I was a Free fan, but went along with my friend who loved him. The sad fact was she missed most of the show as she fainted near the front of the stage & medics had to see to her. I saw it all & really enjoyed it lol.
I have no musical background, just an appreciative listener, but your videos are giving me a new appreciation of singers whose work I have loved for decades. Many thanks!
Mmmmmmmmmm, please don't shorten your vids!!! The unhurried, fully explained format is perfection - "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" Thank yooooooooooo 💙
This is one video analysis that I enjoyed beyond words... I always believed Bowie was one of a kind regarding his Tallents.. But hearing and watching this He certainly on a level that goes beyond most.
Always loved this song growing up. Golden Years and Heroes are probably my favorites by David Bowie. As an American, I can hear his British accent during the spoken parts (the conversations between Major Tom and Ground Control). That was clearly intentional. His voice goes more ethereal and musical as he sings, "Planet Earth is blue ..." Brilliant, as you blokes would say! Cheers. Love your videos Fil.
One of the most beautiful duets I ever heard was David Bowie and Bing Crosby singing 'Peace On Earth/Drummer Boy' that occurred back in 1977 for a TV special.. is it possible to analyze a duet?
I was hoping someone would mention this song. I listen to this every holiday season with goosebumps. Can you like Bing and Bowie? You bet. Both genuine artists.
@@MCW1955 Isn't that something? I didn't think anyone would remember this duet. Described as a 'surreal' event, there is quite a story connected to their doing this song together. And sadly, Bing Crosby died shortly after the taping of the show. It just goes to show you that two talents from different generations can relate to one another and their singing together worked out beautifully. I listen to this song every holiday season as well.
@@cfcantagallo You'd be suprised at how many youngsters know this song. They might not know who Bing or even David was but they seem to know it enough to sing along to.
Thank you Fil, Congrats on 200+K subs ... Well done mate ! Bowie's been one of my favorites for many decades.... In the 70's I bought... David Live That album stayed on my turntable for many months 😎 I still play it a few times a week
Love the analysis of isolated track of David Bowie. He was a true genius in his work. Love all your analysis of artists especially because I'm not a musician and it's fascinating to learn from you.
Fascinating stuff, Fil. I think Auto Tune is a studio tool that can be misused more than others. I think it’s best used to produce a particular sound, the “Auto Tune” sound, (I have to say I don’t like that particular sound, but some people do 🤷🏻♀️). When it’s used to try to “fix” a singer and correct their pitch then I think it gets misused. Either your natural voice, with its unique character and imperfections, is something that people want to listen to, or it isn’t. No amount of digital pitch-correction will truly change that. People can improve their own voice with practice and training but Auto Tune can’t do it for them.
Thanks for your comment on the "Auto Tune sound." I too dislike the overuse of the intentional use of the distorted vocal, but it did initially present a unique quality to pop vocals.
His talent was simply staggering. That note on his singing of "Something's wrong" is so powerful. Queuing up Space Oddity on my record player now - thanks for giving me a way to listen deeper
Davy Jones, one of my all time favourites too, that autotuned sacrilege was "Rock and Roll Suicide", human emotion is the reflection we get by communing with music x \m/ thanks Fil x
Cut them down? Whatever for? I'd happily listen to an analysis of yours for an hour 😎. Now to this video. Bowie has been my favourite male singer since his first, almost vaudevillian, release, collecting his albums as they came out (which is a horrifyingly long time). I'm very glad that you brought db into this autotune series, though I would have preferred "Sweet Thing" as the chosen example because of the vocal sweep, from low to high, that it contains. I don't know what that high note is but it would have overloaded the autotune software (or so I like to think). Still and overall, I think that autotune is to the human voice like pissing in a church. The end.
@@st.armanini9521 I thought that you'd get a chuckle out of it. But, on another Bowie subject, have you noticed that as Bowie's have been remastered and expanded by a few songs over the years, only "Aladdin Sane" has remained as it was when it was first released. It's been remastered but never expanded as all of the other Bowie albums have been at one time or another. I believe the first "upgrade" took place in the 90's when for a time they were on the Virgin label, and nothing has happened to knock the Virgin releases off the top of the pedestal. In my opinion of course.
Bowie is my favorite artist of all time! He was a musical genius his catalogue is enormous and still listen to daily. He was amazing we are so lucky we are blessed with his recording. Love this stuff thanks so much for doing this!
If you want a fantastic Bowie vocal performance, take a look at “Sweet Thing/Candidate” on Diamond Dogs. Incredible range. As for his name, he pronounced it “Bo-eee” himself so I’ve always thought that’s the “correct” way. Another great video Fil!
Yes, I also thought it was Bo-wee, because he pronounced it that way himself (czcams.com/video/uDd5Ps4YqPQ/video.html). Additionally, I remember that when he got married to Iman she carried a Bowie knife as well, as a nod to his stage name.
One of his most outstanding vocals is on Lady Grinning Soul. When I heard that I knew he was a great singer. Of course the obvious choice is Heroes. Perfection!
Yes, both good points. I've read that Bowie spanned three octaves when singing Sweet Thing. We should pronounce his stage name Bo-eee as he took it from an American frontiers man.
Wow! Not only nailing the foundation of the note but playing with the wide oscillation vibrato! Very confident with a hint of levity. Very rare indeed.
Great video Fil. This perfectly shows how truly awful autotune sounds. Your "Android" comment perfectly describes it's sound. It's makes singers sound like robots and I just can't listen to it. Why any singer thinks it "enhances" their performance is beyond me. Bowie is my favorite male vocalist of all time as I think his range and accuracy are amazing. I was lucky enough to see Bowie live three times. The first time was at BC Place on August 9th, 1983 in Vancouver. It was a brand new stadium and his was the first concert held there. 54,000 fans packed it to capacity that night. I still think it was the best concert I ever saw. Wish I could remember which song it was, but he hit a high note that was so perfect myself and the hundreds of folks around me gasped in amazement simultaneously. I imagine the entire crowd of 54,000 had the reaction at that moment. Will never forget it. The last time was on his final tour "Reality" on April 11th, 2004. The amazing thing was David sounded just as great as he had two decades before. A lot of singers lose their range with age, but to my ears he still sounded as great as ever. Thanks Fil. This brought back great memories! 😀
I can sometimes understand autotune from an artistic/stylistic perspective when it comes to pure pop and EDM, as both often thrive on that overly polished sound, or alternatively when the "android" effect itself is used for stylistic reasons. It is also unfortunately "necessary" with some less polished performers who are known more for their image or their songwriting than their vocal skills. However, it infuriates me when genuinely good or interesting singers autotune their vocals, or when autotune is used in songs where the emotion is the focus. Jess Glynne is someone who has a really interesting, unique, and strong voice, but I just cannot listen to her songs because the autotune makes her sound so unnatural. Autotuned vocals are fine if you just want to dance, but they completely neuter the emotion and humanity in a vocal, making it sound ultimately hollow. I really respect modern artists like Adele who follow the standards set by icons of the past, and who focus on perfecting their performance both in and out of the studio, rather than relying on crutches like autotune, or simply using it because everyone else does.
To be fair you can really work with a decent autotune system to just pull the odd rogue note into shape as opposed to blanket engage it for the entire track. He mentions the milliseconds, the time it takes for the autotune to kick in, this can be tailored to phrases to allow some parts to be left totally natural and others to be pulled into shape. Also the more expensive autotunes can simply work with, even add vibrato so no problem with dealing with a wide one. I've used Autotune a fair bit but generally as a tool to work on a great vocal take that can't be bettered. Rather than try again and again to nail a vocal, this tool can knock an already brilliant one into shape with judicious use and using it only on the notes it's needed. Melodyne does this really well. No one has to sound like Nikki Minaj.
Fil, you knocked it out of the park tonight. Thank you. This is fascinating. Our ears didn’t lie to us when this vocal work impressed the music world all those years ago. Now we can see why, graphically.
Thank you Fil. I really liked this one. David’s pitch accuracy was such a pleasant surprise and let’s you know that he took the craft seriously. As you said that kind of classic vibrato either comes from natural ability or lots of practice but I think even with natural ability, you have to practice to keep it that way. I also appreciate your observation about his enunciation, you’re right, it’s so clear, and to me, that’s indicative of his personality. David Bowie is one of my favourite interview subjects wrt singers, he comes across as very articulate and intelligent and I can imagine that he would take the time to be clear about his words. There is a thoughtfulness to his singing. In some ways, Just in terms of practice and enunciation, he reminds me of Julie Andrews, but of course, he was uniquely David Bowie.
David Bowie is a musical genius. I've been a fan of the Spiders From Mars ever since it was released. My old band covered a couple of songs from this album. I'm glad he got the recognition he deserved in his latter years.
Speaking of singers singing spot on, could you do one of these analyses for Jon Anderson from YES? His singing has always fascinated me because as far as I know he doesn't use vibrato at all in his singing. I've never analyzed his voice like you have been doing, but I've always assumed that he must have "perfect pitch". Thanks
Your musical knowledge and enthusiasm Fil is just astounding - I love your pragmatism and grounding - I always learn so much - thank you for you inspiration and teaching... Bowie was just a musical creation...love him - thank you for this - my appreciation has gone even deeper for David...he was a great story teller...
Thanks for another great analysis. I grew up with all the classic rock from the 60's-70's so love when you compare these great artists from the past to the music today. They all had such unique voices. Can you imagine someone auto tuning John Fogerty from CCR or Eric Burdon from The Animals?
These deep dives into isolated vocals are very engaging. I love this video so much. I'd love to see someone like Richard Butler from the Psychedelic Furs voice given this type of analysis, he has such a unique voice and vocal style.
I don't trust any so-called "engineer" who could hear a beautiful performance like this and want to do anything except 1) leave it exactly as is, and 2) listen again.
So do I - heartfelt thanks from me, too. Like, auto-tune cut out all the agony from "there's something wrong". Why would we want a tragic story without emotions? This is special - the story makes it obligatory for the protagonist to stay calm and in control (remain on pitch) - but a human has emotions in contrast to orders, and is slightly, ever so slightly, disturbed and out of control (in panic and therefore a little sharp) - maybe you can't aim at it, but just let it happen, because you feel it in sympathy. So for the listener it feels just right when it's not on pitch. So goose-bumps!
I am not a frequent listener of David's work so maybe not saying much here, but, this visual representation certainly demonstrates his excellent capacity. I wonder if this is what drew Bing Crosby to collaborate with him? PS if Bing isn't on your list, please do add him. I know he's pretty far from heavy metal/hard rock, but another long lasting artist who the masses were drawn to who likely didn't engage with autotune in his productions.
No idea how or why my algorhythm picked up your channel, but I'm glad it did. Watched nine videos, the Queen Live Aid one blew me away and this one sealed the deal, so I subscribed. Being able to see and hear music at the same time feels awesome. Thank you!
I saw Bowie in Chicago in the late '80s and was totally blown away with the amount of entertainment that he gave us in his concert. If I wanted to listen to a computer voice like some artists use (i.e. auto-tune) . . . I'd just stay home instead.
While listening to Bowie being auto tuned, you hear that sound that is so familiar many modern songs. It is so unnatural and it just doesn't belong there. Thanks Fil, for doing these videos. We finally have a firm grasp on what is actually happening.
Fil, please don't worry about how long your videos are. I'm always so mesmerized by them. I swear, I sit in front of my computer with my jaw on the floor a lot of times.
I was blessed to see him in concert three times - one was at a packed Dodgers Stadium for the Sound and Vision tour in 1990. He had a level of stage presence and musical ability that was just astonishing - it was even more amazing in a smaller venue. Imagine a place as massive as Dodgers Stadium in almost complete silence as Bowie OPENED with an acoustic guitar and “Space Oddity.”
Bowie's holding of notes is so accurate. Wow! a revised/new appreciation of his voice is now required. Lucky that I have the old vinyl and the time to listen again. The technique in his singing is just on another level. Thanks so much Fil.
My favourite artist and one of my most loved songs. I was moved by the beautiful humanity of David's vocal and while in that state, I immediately began to feel sick once the auto tune came on and had to switch it off. But a special video all the same, thanks so much Fil.
16:46 My thought exactly. Listening to the song I'd never *_really_* noticed just how good he was until watching this. I was impressed with his ability before, but now...... I'm really impressed.
Thank you for another fascating look at the guts and viscera of the human voice exemplified in David Bowie's unique singing. As an aside, and perhaps another perspective on how and why singers may use their imperfections (individual vocal timbre and approach) as well as their training (the "perfections"), I'm an operatic/classical singer, and I will deliberately allow my voice to be slightly sharp on occasions where I'm expressing pain, for example. It's particularly effective in early music, and that's also where I'll use different widths and speeds of vibrato - for emotional effect, to express the text stylistically. I've also noticed that I'll use different vocal attack and decay depending on whether I'm singing a German Lied or a French mélodie. I hope you find that interesting! Perhaps you might do an analysis of the voice of Elizabeth Schwarzkopf...? She is such a unique voice, and I imagine auto-tune would have a heart attack trying to snap her voice!
Bowie was truly extrodinary all round. I love it when musicians are expressive and playful with their delivery of lyrics the way Bowie was, it is so much more entertaining than a generic sounding performances. I like it when artists, for example purposely go a bit off pitch to convey emotion because in Bowie's case, I know he could sing on pitch if he wanted to but often its a stylistic choice .
I love Bowie, the personality in his voice and the messages in his lyrics have always emotional resonated with me more than any other artist has. I would be really curious though if you could break down his later vocals. Say in his final album or the next day, as his vocals seem to get better even though he was going through an awful time in his final album, so I'd be curious if he had used auto tune in say Lazarus or any other vocal strategies/techniques. Or I'd just be curious about your thoughts in general with his voice in this later years (after he quite smoking) compared to his early career voice. Really enjoying your work btw
Bowie and Visconti used whatever electronic tricks were around, from flanging and harmonising to some of the first digital sampling (heard at the end of Diamond Dogs). So yes, they did use autotune: you can hear it on the chorus of Where Are We Now? But only the chorus.
🙏 I love the side to side tuned vs. untuned comparison. You should do more. I know many of us already can, but hopefully this will help train peoples’ ears to hear auto tune instantly and see it for the sacrilege that it really is.
When you showed the auto tuned voice it looked just the skyline of any large city. Los Angeles anyone? I imagine Bowie having a huge cosmic laugh way out yonder.
This is such a great way to put it, that we listen to the art! It rings true also to other art forms, like painting or dancing. We can feel the genius but only when we start putting it apart and seeing all the finest details we can truly grasp how incredible it is.
You’re dead right: he’s deliberately struck that sharp E for effect. Well spotted 👍🏻 I think it actually adds extra stress to the dynamic change as well. The way I look at it is that the auto tune is attempting to make everything discrete but with some ‘elasticity’ in its application, so the waveform tends towards looking like a histogram.
Aww, Fil. I haven't watched your CZcamss for a while and I come back to this. Bravo!. Bowie (Boowie, for the British)(or vice-versa) is one of my favorite artists. Back in the mid-seventies, a local DJ would put Space oddity on around 10:00pm. So I would listen to it on an old Bakelite Table model radio I had by my bed. This song would sing me to sleep for many a night. Tried to get my boys into Ziggy but they never cottoned to it. However, My middle boy just loves Tool, so go figure (I love Tool). Anyway, excellent job showing the natural ability of Bowie. SIdebar: Back in the day, when I was in a local Punk/New Wave band, I hated, HATED, isolated vocals. I always felt that our best tracks were the base track. As always, you are doing a bang-up job. Blue88
This is very interesting because he does sing the early parts in a very matter of fact, calm almost robotic tone and it's great to see how precisely he was placing those notes.
One of the most unique vocalist for sure. He definitely has a way of expressing some different phrasing on notes, that's why he is a one of a kind singer like Mercury was. I bet the auto tune program would pull it's hair out(if it had it lol) if you ran Alice in Chains vocals through it. Cheers!
I always thought I must be tone deaf because I can't read music or tell one note from another, but it never got in the way of my love for & enjoyment of it. I just knew what sounded good to me. But since being able to watch/listen to so many especially 60's 70's & 80's music videos, (which is what I grew up with & loved) but really didn't know much about the artists etc. Now, I crave & love learning all the history behind it & the different genres, performers backgrounds, the instruments, industry as well as the in depth explanations of the vocals etc. like you provide & you have taught me so much & now I am able to hear the different tones, notes & so much more. I now realize it was more a knowledge deficit than a tone deafness. You have & continue to add to my understanding, knowledge & greatly enhanced enjoyment & appreciation for the very best music & artists available. Thank You very very much Phil♥️
Ye gods, hearing his voice isolated like that just sends shivers up my spine. It's otherworldly. What an incredible artist he was, and what a privilege to have shared a planet with him. Purely selfish request: I'd love to see you do a video about Sweet Thing (well, really the whole Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing(reprise) bit, which I tend to think of as all one song), from Diamond Dogs. I admit I'm mostly suggesting this because (and here's the selfish bit) I just want to hear his isolated vocals (it's an incredible, varied performance, I think, in terms of vocal range, singing style, tempo, etc), but I also think it would be interesting to hear your thoughts and see what you find noteworthy about it. In other news: for what it's worth, he pronounced his own name in what you call the American way every time I've ever heard him say it. Bow like show, not like cow (or, if you prefer, like "tie a bow" rather than "take a bow").
Melodyne has a much more natural way of dealing with vibrato, I wonder how this vocal might fare with it. This was very enlightening and interesting, thanks.
I am loving these videos. And now I also have a better understanding of why I fell in love with Davids voice when I was 6 years old, in 1969. Thank you for this, Fil! 👍🙏
Well, Fil, you did it! I liked & subscribed after this wonderful video. There are two artists, who, when I learned they had passed, found me breaking out in tears. David Bowie was one and Lou Reed was the other. Though I never met them or was at a live performance, I did purchase their records and devoured them. It felt as if they were speaking personally to me. I remember listening to Rosko Mercer on WNEW FM, NY, late night radio hoping he would play "Space Oddity." It was probably 1969 & I had no idea of the artist's name. It took me five years to finally come to DB through the "Diamond Dogs" album. After exploring his back catalog, I became a fan. Thank you for a fascinating video, in which you thoroughly explain and teach. Brilliant, as your countrymen would say!! Chuck
Never liked autotune, but Bowie proved that you can't polish perfection. He was a musical genius.
A vocal wizard is never flat, nor is he sharp. He sings precisely the note that he means to.
this is my favourite comment of all time. OF ALL TIME.
❤️🤣
Damn right
Bowie's vocals always sent shivers. He played with phrasing, pitch and vibrato in a way that is pure artistry.
Like the cat!
Smooooth....hip kitty!
That track gave me chills, man.
It's incredibly good. As I'm starting to _really_ get into music in my late thirties, I recognise Bowie has having almost the optimum balance of 'grit in the oyster' and technically perfect vocals for rock music. I'd love to hear an isolated vocal track for _Lady Grinning Soul._
@@MaquiladoraIII Lady Grimming Soul ... Pure wonder
I love these! A little tidbit on his clear enunciation: he was told that a rock n roll audience would never accept his obvious working class English accent and that he'd have to change it to something neutral or vaguely American when singing, like the Beatles or Mick Jagger were doing. So, being Bowie, of course he did the exact opposite and made sure his natural accent came through when he was singing.
Aaah love it!
My takeaway is the absolutely astounding pitch accuracy of David Bowie!
This pitch control series is some of your most interesting work. Thank you for these great analysizations.
He’s even more accurate than Freddy, and that’s saying something.
@@JasperJanssen not only that, his vibrato control was equal to Pavarotti's.
I agree! This is very interesting.
David sang this in one take, which is even more amazing. Recording on analog, cutting and splicing was common, and he was so perfect.
Incredible.
He did almost all of his vocals in one take.
This was mesmerizing. Growing up, listening to his music, and you to isolating his voice, only makes me appreciate him more, and what a great singer he was. Thank you for this.
Completely agree
So agree… like he is right there.
I never heard him this way, karend169. I always knew it was brilliant, but missed a lot of his technique. It's even more beautiful in detail.
Also, the amazing thing is that he was only 22 years old when he wrote and recorded it !
"...listen to the humanity..." Delightful. His vibrato. Delicious. What a treat this was! Thank you!
Bowie taught us all that perfection is in the imperfections. He used his voice as an instrument to convey emotions. Auto tune would have been a travesty to his music.
Fil, thanks so much for doing an analysis of this song for everyone to hear how great he sounded. Another CZcams channel (I won't mention who) did one of this some time ago & did not use the correct track. It made me cringe to think how he may be spreading inaccurate information to younger people who may never had heard his music. Excellent job, as always!
Why not mention who? We’re here to hear what pitch “correction” does to a top level vocalist.
We’re here to try to stop misinformation in music. We’re here for Fil’s honesty and expertise.
Astounding. A song and a singer I thought I knew so well, for so long, I have now heard in a whole new way. The man could SING. How beautiful. The auto tune version is HIDEOUS. The contrast between David's actual singing voice and auto tune is a microcosm of what is missing today: talent and soul...🎶
That's it, exactly. Sure, this is an extreme example, but what autotune takes away from David Bowie, it also takes away from pop artists today. David had a tremendous amount of human emotion in his voice, so the loss is extreme. Modern pop artists have less, but they lose it as well. Now I understand why I can't stand very much pop music; the artist's feeling and emotion have been removed.
And what's the point of a song if there isn't an emotional connection. THAT'S why I no longer listen to my local radio stations for music.
@@brucedillinger9448 Exactly.
Carl and Bruce, EXACTLY 👍
Double likes 👍
I'm a musician (bass guitarist, 45 years) and I've maintained since the early 1980s that David Bowie was one of the greatest singers in all of rock music (along with Freddie Mercury) and that has never changed. I never actually explained why - I'm not sure I could have until now - I always just stated it and no one ever tried to talk me out of it. Maybe I gave people a dirty look after my statement, who knows. My statements about the best singers make logical sense now, instead of just having an opinion-regardless of my musical experience/education. Thanks so much again for doing these isolated vocal track analyses - and especially the auto-tune analysis.
Your comment is music to my ears.
I saw him 4 times over the years, including the first Spiders gig. His ability to sing live was so impressive. Not to mention immense charisma.
Yeah, that charisma....
Lucky man ya are seein him with the Spiders
Wow, you were lucky to experience that.
@@SuziQ. yup. Incredible.
Love the way he even sings with a clear English accent.
I always knew Bowie was "dead-on" with his singing by hearing it, but here you can literally SEE it.
Well, not actually dead on, as the graphs show - relatively accurate, and the vibrato gives him room for manoeuvre. "Tell my wife I love her very much" in the sotto voce for example is flat. You can hear it - you don't actually need the chart.
For a pop singer, he is very accurate for sure, and so much the better for it without auto tune as shown! When you listen to someone like Mel Torme, you hear what near perfect pitch really sounds like.
I love David Bowie’s voice sooooo much! His vibrato reminds me of a cello. I love that you can hear him going the tiniest bit sharp on a couple notes to let his accent shine through.
David Bowie was my very first crush. His voice just makes me melt!
what a great description of his voice - I never saw it that way: he sounds like a cello! Very true, very nice!
The way Bowie transitions his voice between the different characters in the song is brilliant. Especially when the line "can you hear" changes into "here am I floating" He extends the word "here/hear" and you can indeed "hear" the change in his voice there as the scene in the story changes from ground control back to Tom. The fear and concern in his voice transitions so smoothly back into a calm, rounded tone. It gives you the full contrast between these two perspectives and the difference between them. You can really imagine yourself in Tom's shoes, being far removed from the concerns of the world, having a sense of wonder at being so far away and a sense of resignation that there is nothing you can do about the situation you are in. The shift in Bowie's voice is so elegant, it is really impressive, and I can't think of many singers who could do this so well. Most would probably portray a change in scene like this in a new verse, or a bridge, or in shifting from verse to chorus. But not in one word. And it sounds effortless. And on top of it all, he is literally asking, "can you hear?"
It's so fun to hear the raw vocal on such an iconic song. Bowie's not my biggest favorite, but you can't knock the man's talent.
David Bowie, the man that wrote and sang the soundtrack of my life. I will always love him. ❤️
The man who sang the world!
Exactly the same for me 🖤💙🖤
Spot on mate, Your explanation of the wrong voice to use autotune on is spot on. A vocalist with a natural vibrato and flourishes would do well to steer clear of autotune.
Sadly, they don't really have much say any longer.
I would not be surprised if Bowie, when singing, “something’s wrong” purposely hit the note a bit sharp to poetically emphazsize that something’s wrong!
Meaning the note is wrong, too.
No. Would not be surprised at all. That's Bowie for you. Icon in every sense.
That is exactly what he explained in the video.
He also said "circuits DEAD" A bit flat right before that, he did it on purpose
Bollocks.
No one sings perfectly.
Unless you love robots.
There's a video of Linda Perry saying Christina Aguilera begged her to re-record a vocal.
What Whitney, Mariah et al sing like is over sung 'perfect' and horrible.
I've a 7'' record of Jimmy Durante singing a song and is a fine example of how stupid this entire subject in the streaming age has become.
I think you're right about that wrong.
I'm not a big Bowie fan but this makes me appreciate him more. Also, it's no surprise that professional singers from this era have very good pitch. They had to have it or they wouldn't be working. They honed their craft over years of actual live singing in front of audiences. Auto tune should just not be used, and if you can't hit your pitch maybe you need a different line of work.
No safety net - singers, players, engineers….all had to be able to do the thing in real time. It certainly made more skilled people.
I love these videos! They are constantly interesting whether I am a big fan of the artist in question or not.
@@heartpath1 Thank you, from an engineer from that time. Engineering was a very performative activity, esp during basic track recording and mixing. You really had to understand micing and signal processing then, vs learning a software package, with almost unlimited options to try.
My sentiments exactly all the way down the line. Thank you.
Ken Scott once said that Bowie was notorious for his perfection in the studio regarding his vocals. He said that most of the things that you hear on his albums is one take and over 90% of it is the first and only take and it would end up on the album. Bowie was a great vocalist but because he didn't fit the norm he tends to be very very underrated as one.
I've always thought of him as a magical being. I can still see my 25 year old self going to watch The Man Who Fell to Earth in 1976 and accepting utterly that he was an alien looking for help. That movie was so shatteringly sad. 💔
Bowie probably was not an alien, but he managed to become a mythical character. Did you know that there are legends in Vladivostok about him and Iggy Pop street racing and trying to cross the border to China illegally? He wasn't there with Iggy though, but he was there with other friends. However he did drive like a lunatic in the East Berlin during a cocaine spree and weirdly nobody tried to stop him, so there is truth in those legends, only the location was changed. Bowie did some really wild things in the 70's and that inspired people in the most unexpected ways. He was totally nuts to go to USSR twice during the Cold War and to test the limits of defiance at least a couple of times on Soviet territory, but somehow he got away with it. He was really different as a man too, not only as a singer or songwriter.
In the seventies listening to Bowie I knew he was an artist. Not just an artist but a genius at his craft. To see reminds exactly where the music industry has gone.
Such beauty! You really can appreciate it even more looking at the graph. I especially enjoyed noticing how he softened or hardened his voice, depending on the lyrics.
A little sharp a little flat it's about conveying emotion. True words.
His vocal performance, when he sang heroes, on the live album stage, is phenomenal.
That whole album is full of fantastic performances from everyone. Apparently some of the numbers are cut together from different gigs, but the band was so consistent it could be done. The final vocal on that version of Ziggy Stardust is insane too. For a skinny cokehead his lungs were in great shape then.
That contrast when you auto tuned it. I didn't expect it to be so stark. These auto tune ones are making me sentimental...I miss my sweet electrical engineer dad. Most kids read the backs of cereal boxes at the breakfast table, we watched the wave forms on an oscilloscope while he worked. *sigh*
Hi Lynn!
As a box-reader, this sounds so fascinating! And I'm not quite sure what the oscilloscope was doing!
But I am sorry you are missing your dad. I can relate.❤️
@@konstantia1607 Aww, rest in peace, your dad, too. Ours designed and built scientific instruments and the oscilloscope would show the voltage of the signals coming from his projects. He was a great one for singing all the nonsense songs to us...not many kids had the "Purple People Eater" for a lullaby.
@@lynndow3185
Thank you Lynn. What an adorable dad!
I'm going to really show my age here.There was a Dye factory in Jersey City in the late 1950s which has since shut down. The guys outside on their break were Purple
When we use to drive past there my Dad would sing the "Purple People Eater "song
We would all join in of course
Hilarious at the time 🤪but now of course horrific when you think of the toxins they were exposed to
Hey maybe I can ask Fil to do an analysis lol
Always nice to see you're comments Lynn &Konsantia 😎
Ohh dear...those dyes and tanneries were so bad, but what sweet car time! That Purple people Eater just wanted a job in a rock and roll band! I love how our memories tie us all together! I always perk up when I see your name!
The vibrato used in ‘here am I floating in a tin can’ makes it sound particularly ethereal.
He is really underrated as a singer. But I didn't expect the precision to be this amazing. I was noticing it before you pointed it out, and I was wondering if you had pulled a fast one on us and provided an auto tuned version.
Since this was a song from really early in his career, it would be interesting to analyze a later songs, maybe Ashes to Ashes, which is the sequel to Space Oddity from 1980. With his work ethic and additional experience, he might have had an even higher level of precision then.
He stretched his vibrato into 3 notes, twice in this song. That's massive!
This one was fun, "in a most peculiar wayay". I went over it twice, thanks Fil!
Not quite to do with the topic but I love singers like Bowie, Kate Bush, Elton John who keep their English accent in their vocals.
Absolutely fascinating! I never realised how on pitch David Bowie was until hearing you auto tune his voice. Taking out his emotion and artistic expression just opens my appreciation for a " Natural" Voice. I really enjoy these videos, Thank you.
What an utterly fascinating analysis and explained SO well! As a hardcore Bowie fan I’d love to learn more! Would it be possible for you to breakdown Bowie’s amazing backing vocals? That would be so interesting. Thank you!
I saw David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust at Leeds rolarena in 1973. I was not that much of a fan, I was a Free fan, but went along with my friend who loved him. The sad fact was she missed most of the show as she fainted near the front of the stage & medics had to see to her. I saw it all & really enjoyed it lol.
I have no musical background, just an appreciative listener, but your videos are giving me a new appreciation of singers whose work I have loved for decades. Many thanks!
Mmmmmmmmmm, please don't shorten your vids!!!
The unhurried, fully explained format is perfection -
"If it ain't broken, don't fix it"
Thank yooooooooooo 💙
This!
This is one video analysis that I enjoyed beyond words... I always believed Bowie was one of a kind regarding his Tallents.. But hearing and watching this He certainly on a level that goes beyond most.
Always loved this song growing up. Golden Years and Heroes are probably my favorites by David Bowie. As an American, I can hear his British accent during the spoken parts (the conversations between Major Tom and Ground Control). That was clearly intentional. His voice goes more ethereal and musical as he sings, "Planet Earth is blue ..." Brilliant, as you blokes would say! Cheers. Love your videos Fil.
One of the most beautiful duets I ever heard was David Bowie and Bing Crosby singing 'Peace On Earth/Drummer Boy' that occurred back in 1977 for a TV special.. is it possible to analyze a duet?
I was hoping someone would mention this song. I listen to this every holiday season with goosebumps. Can you like Bing and Bowie? You bet. Both genuine artists.
@@MCW1955 Isn't that something? I didn't think anyone would remember this duet. Described as a 'surreal' event, there is quite a story connected to their doing this song together. And sadly, Bing Crosby died shortly after the taping of the show. It just goes to show you that two talents from different generations can relate to one another and their singing together worked out beautifully. I listen to this song every holiday season as well.
This single has somehow avoided getting onto Best of collections.
@@gavinreid2741 Might be something to do with copyright. It does get a lot of airplay on music channels in the lead up to Xmas.
@@cfcantagallo You'd be suprised at how many youngsters know this song. They might not know who Bing or even David was but they seem to know it enough to sing along to.
Thank you Fil, Congrats on 200+K subs ... Well done mate !
Bowie's been one of my favorites for many decades....
In the 70's I bought... David Live
That album stayed on my turntable for many months 😎
I still play it a few times a week
Thanks!
Love the analysis of isolated track of David Bowie. He was a true genius in his work. Love all your analysis of artists especially because I'm not a musician and it's fascinating to learn from you.
Fascinating stuff, Fil. I think Auto Tune is a studio tool that can be misused more than others. I think it’s best used to produce a particular sound, the “Auto Tune” sound, (I have to say I don’t like that particular sound, but some people do 🤷🏻♀️). When it’s used to try to “fix” a singer and correct their pitch then I think it gets misused. Either your natural voice, with its unique character and imperfections, is something that people want to listen to, or it isn’t. No amount of digital pitch-correction will truly change that. People can improve their own voice with practice and training but Auto Tune can’t do it for them.
Thanks for your comment on the "Auto Tune sound." I too dislike the overuse of the intentional use of the distorted vocal, but it did initially present a unique quality to pop vocals.
His talent was simply staggering. That note on his singing of "Something's wrong" is so powerful. Queuing up Space Oddity on my record player now - thanks for giving me a way to listen deeper
Davy Jones, one of my all time favourites too, that autotuned sacrilege was "Rock and Roll Suicide", human emotion is the reflection we get by communing with music x \m/ thanks Fil x
Well said!
I would love more Bowie content! He's one of my top two or three favorites all time.
Cut them down? Whatever for? I'd happily listen to an analysis of yours for an hour 😎. Now to this video. Bowie has been my favourite male singer since his first, almost vaudevillian, release, collecting his albums as they came out (which is a horrifyingly long time). I'm very glad that you brought db into this autotune series, though I would have preferred "Sweet Thing" as the chosen example because of the vocal sweep, from low to high, that it contains. I don't know what that high note is but it would have overloaded the autotune software (or so I like to think).
Still and overall, I think that autotune is to the human voice like pissing in a church. The end.
Or It's no game (Part I)...
@@st.armanini9521 You monster!!
@@ThisTrainIsLost LOL! :)
@@st.armanini9521 I thought that you'd get a chuckle out of it. But, on another Bowie subject, have you noticed that as Bowie's have been remastered and expanded by a few songs over the years, only "Aladdin Sane" has remained as it was when it was first released. It's been remastered but never expanded as all of the other Bowie albums have been at one time or another. I believe the first "upgrade" took place in the 90's when for a time they were on the Virgin label, and nothing has happened to knock the Virgin releases off the top of the pedestal. In my opinion of course.
Bowie is my favorite artist of all time! He was a musical genius his catalogue is enormous and still listen to daily. He was amazing we are so lucky we are blessed with his recording.
Love this stuff thanks so much for doing this!
If you want a fantastic Bowie vocal performance, take a look at “Sweet Thing/Candidate” on Diamond Dogs. Incredible range. As for his name, he pronounced it “Bo-eee” himself so I’ve always thought that’s the “correct” way. Another great video Fil!
Yes, I also thought it was Bo-wee, because he pronounced it that way himself (czcams.com/video/uDd5Ps4YqPQ/video.html). Additionally, I remember that when he got married to Iman she carried a Bowie knife as well, as a nod to his stage name.
One of his most outstanding vocals is on Lady Grinning Soul.
When I heard that I knew he was a great singer.
Of course the obvious choice is Heroes. Perfection!
Yes, both good points. I've read that Bowie spanned three octaves when singing Sweet Thing. We should pronounce his stage name Bo-eee as he took it from an American frontiers man.
@@davidcopson5800 although Jim Bowie, for whom the famous knife was named, pronounced his last name as Boo-wee.
@@patriciamoran9143 I'll take your word for it. I never heard him pronounce it myself.
This was fun! Wow-ee Bow-ie. Thanks Fil, yeah, our dear old Space boy.
Wow! Not only nailing the foundation of the note but playing with the wide oscillation vibrato! Very confident with a hint of levity. Very rare indeed.
Great video Fil. This perfectly shows how truly awful autotune sounds. Your "Android" comment perfectly describes it's sound. It's makes singers sound like robots and I just can't listen to it. Why any singer thinks it "enhances" their performance is beyond me. Bowie is my favorite male vocalist of all time as I think his range and accuracy are amazing.
I was lucky enough to see Bowie live three times. The first time was at BC Place on August 9th, 1983 in Vancouver. It was a brand new stadium and his was the first concert held there. 54,000 fans packed it to capacity that night. I still think it was the best concert I ever saw. Wish I could remember which song it was, but he hit a high note that was so perfect myself and the hundreds of folks around me gasped in amazement simultaneously. I imagine the entire crowd of 54,000 had the reaction at that moment. Will never forget it.
The last time was on his final tour "Reality" on April 11th, 2004. The amazing thing was David sounded just as great as he had two decades before. A lot of singers lose their range with age, but to my ears he still sounded as great as ever. Thanks Fil. This brought back great memories! 😀
Yep. I saw David on his Reality tour as well. Vocally spot on. Grateful 🙏 to have seen him during the last tour of his life. Miss him to this day.
I can sometimes understand autotune from an artistic/stylistic perspective when it comes to pure pop and EDM, as both often thrive on that overly polished sound, or alternatively when the "android" effect itself is used for stylistic reasons. It is also unfortunately "necessary" with some less polished performers who are known more for their image or their songwriting than their vocal skills.
However, it infuriates me when genuinely good or interesting singers autotune their vocals, or when autotune is used in songs where the emotion is the focus. Jess Glynne is someone who has a really interesting, unique, and strong voice, but I just cannot listen to her songs because the autotune makes her sound so unnatural. Autotuned vocals are fine if you just want to dance, but they completely neuter the emotion and humanity in a vocal, making it sound ultimately hollow. I really respect modern artists like Adele who follow the standards set by icons of the past, and who focus on perfecting their performance both in and out of the studio, rather than relying on crutches like autotune, or simply using it because everyone else does.
To be fair you can really work with a decent autotune system to just pull the odd rogue note into shape as opposed to blanket engage it for the entire track. He mentions the milliseconds, the time it takes for the autotune to kick in, this can be tailored to phrases to allow some parts to be left totally natural and others to be pulled into shape. Also the more expensive autotunes can simply work with, even add vibrato so no problem with dealing with a wide one. I've used Autotune a fair bit but generally as a tool to work on a great vocal take that can't be bettered. Rather than try again and again to nail a vocal, this tool can knock an already brilliant one into shape with judicious use and using it only on the notes it's needed. Melodyne does this really well. No one has to sound like Nikki Minaj.
Very revealing
Thanks for doing these visuals
Fil, you knocked it out of the park tonight. Thank you. This is fascinating. Our ears didn’t lie to us when this vocal work impressed the music world all those years ago. Now we can see why, graphically.
Thank you Fil. I really liked this one. David’s pitch accuracy was such a pleasant surprise and let’s you know that he took the craft seriously. As you said that kind of classic vibrato either comes from natural ability or lots of practice but I think even with natural ability, you have to practice to keep it that way. I also appreciate your observation about his enunciation, you’re right, it’s so clear, and to me, that’s indicative of his personality. David Bowie is one of my favourite interview subjects wrt singers, he comes across as very articulate and intelligent and I can imagine that he would take the time to be clear about his words. There is a thoughtfulness to his singing.
In some ways,
Just in terms of practice and enunciation, he reminds me of Julie Andrews, but of course, he was uniquely David Bowie.
David Bowie is a musical genius. I've been a fan of the Spiders From Mars ever since it was released. My old band covered a couple of songs from this album. I'm glad he got the recognition he deserved in his latter years.
He was a natural, no doubt even with his earlier stuff, great vid Fil !
Speaking of singers singing spot on, could you do one of these analyses for Jon Anderson from YES? His singing has always fascinated me because as far as I know he doesn't use vibrato at all in his singing. I've never analyzed his voice like you have been doing, but I've always assumed that he must have "perfect pitch". Thanks
@@batphink2655 for some who do not know what you meant "try engage in convo" = "tried to talk with her (engage in conversation)".
Your musical knowledge and enthusiasm Fil is just astounding - I love your pragmatism and grounding - I always learn so much - thank you for you inspiration and teaching...
Bowie was just a musical creation...love him - thank you for this - my appreciation has gone even deeper for David...he was a great story teller...
I've been a Bowie fan for 50 years. I'm so glad this video was as good as I thought it would be Fil 👍
Thanks for another great analysis. I grew up with all the classic rock from the 60's-70's so love when you compare these great artists from the past to the music today. They all had such unique voices. Can you imagine someone auto tuning John Fogerty from CCR or Eric Burdon from The Animals?
These deep dives into isolated vocals are very engaging. I love this video so much. I'd love to see someone like Richard Butler from the Psychedelic Furs voice given this type of analysis, he has such a unique voice and vocal style.
1st 3 Furs albums were very good & still sound great
I was glued to every word when I saw them a few years ago. I love unique vocalists!!
I don't trust any so-called "engineer" who could hear a beautiful performance like this and want to do anything except 1) leave it exactly as is, and 2) listen again.
Great video Fil. I appreciate all your hard work and dedication on these auto tune videos. I learn all the time from you. Thank you Fil. ;)
So do I - heartfelt thanks from me, too. Like, auto-tune cut out all the agony from "there's something wrong". Why would we want a tragic story without emotions?
This is special - the story makes it obligatory for the protagonist to stay calm and in control (remain on pitch) - but a human has emotions in contrast to orders, and is slightly, ever so slightly, disturbed and out of control (in panic and therefore a little sharp) - maybe you can't aim at it, but just let it happen, because you feel it in sympathy. So for the listener it feels just right when it's not on pitch. So goose-bumps!
I am not a frequent listener of David's work so maybe not saying much here, but, this visual representation certainly demonstrates his excellent capacity. I wonder if this is what drew Bing Crosby to collaborate with him? PS if Bing isn't on your list, please do add him. I know he's pretty far from heavy metal/hard rock, but another long lasting artist who the masses were drawn to who likely didn't engage with autotune in his productions.
Yeah, Bing never even discussed Autotune. Not once.
No idea how or why my algorhythm picked up your channel, but I'm glad it did. Watched nine videos, the Queen Live Aid one blew me away and this one sealed the deal, so I subscribed. Being able to see and hear music at the same time feels awesome. Thank you!
Thanks for the sub!
I saw Bowie in Chicago in the late '80s and was totally blown away with the amount of entertainment that he gave us in his concert. If I wanted to listen to a computer voice like some artists use (i.e. auto-tune) . . . I'd just stay home instead.
My God....I want this on a piece of art. His voice is beautiful.
Got me smiling, noticing theres a new video from u
'Like u, my guy🐢🦉🌻
This was worth waiting for! Thank you Fil.
While listening to Bowie being auto tuned, you hear that sound that is so familiar many modern songs. It is so unnatural and it just doesn't belong there.
Thanks Fil, for doing these videos. We finally have a firm grasp on what is actually happening.
So fun seeing his pitch perfection and very wide vibrato, I am starting to get the hang of all these analysis vids Fil. Thanks!
Another great vid Fil, would love to see how Bono's vocals shape up to your scrutiny.
Fil, please don't worry about how long your videos are. I'm always so mesmerized by them. I swear, I sit in front of my computer with my jaw on the floor a lot of times.
I was blessed to see him in concert three times - one was at a packed Dodgers Stadium for the Sound and Vision tour in 1990. He had a level of stage presence and musical ability that was just astonishing - it was even more amazing in a smaller venue. Imagine a place as massive as Dodgers Stadium in almost complete silence as Bowie OPENED with an acoustic guitar and “Space Oddity.”
Bowie's holding of notes is so accurate. Wow! a revised/new appreciation of his voice is now required. Lucky that I have the old vinyl and the time to listen again. The technique in his singing is just on another level. Thanks so much Fil.
My favourite artist and one of my most loved songs. I was moved by the beautiful humanity of David's vocal and while in that state, I immediately began to feel sick once the auto tune came on and had to switch it off. But a special video all the same, thanks so much Fil.
16:46 My thought exactly. Listening to the song I'd never *_really_* noticed just how good he was until watching this. I was impressed with his ability before, but now...... I'm really impressed.
Thank you for another fascating look at the guts and viscera of the human voice exemplified in David Bowie's unique singing.
As an aside, and perhaps another perspective on how and why singers may use their imperfections (individual vocal timbre and approach) as well as their training (the "perfections"), I'm an operatic/classical singer, and I will deliberately allow my voice to be slightly sharp on occasions where I'm expressing pain, for example. It's particularly effective in early music, and that's also where I'll use different widths and speeds of vibrato - for emotional effect, to express the text stylistically. I've also noticed that I'll use different vocal attack and decay depending on whether I'm singing a German Lied or a French mélodie. I hope you find that interesting! Perhaps you might do an analysis of the voice of Elizabeth Schwarzkopf...? She is such a unique voice, and I imagine auto-tune would have a heart attack trying to snap her voice!
Bowie was truly extrodinary all round. I love it when musicians are expressive and playful with their delivery of lyrics the way Bowie was, it is so much more entertaining than a generic sounding performances. I like it when artists, for example purposely go a bit off pitch to convey emotion because in Bowie's case, I know he could sing on pitch if he wanted to but often its a stylistic choice .
Jesus, what a treasure Bowie was. So sad he’s gone.
I love Bowie, the personality in his voice and the messages in his lyrics have always emotional resonated with me more than any other artist has. I would be really curious though if you could break down his later vocals. Say in his final album or the next day, as his vocals seem to get better even though he was going through an awful time in his final album, so I'd be curious if he had used auto tune in say Lazarus or any other vocal strategies/techniques. Or I'd just be curious about your thoughts in general with his voice in this later years (after he quite smoking) compared to his early career voice. Really enjoying your work btw
Great suggestion! Yes, Fil, please do this!!
Bowie and Visconti used whatever electronic tricks were around, from flanging and harmonising to some of the first digital sampling (heard at the end of Diamond Dogs). So yes, they did use autotune: you can hear it on the chorus of Where Are We Now? But only the chorus.
🙏 I love the side to side tuned vs. untuned comparison. You should do more. I know many of us already can, but hopefully this will help train peoples’ ears to hear auto tune instantly and see it for the sacrilege that it really is.
When you showed the auto tuned voice it looked just the skyline of any large city. Los Angeles anyone? I imagine Bowie having a huge cosmic laugh way out yonder.
Hee hee hee..
This is such a great way to put it, that we listen to the art! It rings true also to other art forms, like painting or dancing. We can feel the genius but only when we start putting it apart and seeing all the finest details we can truly grasp how incredible it is.
You’re dead right: he’s deliberately struck that sharp E for effect. Well spotted 👍🏻
I think it actually adds extra stress to the dynamic change as well.
The way I look at it is that the auto tune is attempting to make everything discrete but with some ‘elasticity’ in its application, so the waveform tends towards looking like a histogram.
Another excellent analysis. David Bowie is one of my favorites. You are truly awesome! Keep on keeping on.
Aww, Fil. I haven't watched your CZcamss for a while and I come back to this. Bravo!. Bowie (Boowie, for the British)(or vice-versa) is one of my favorite artists. Back in the mid-seventies, a local DJ would put Space oddity on around 10:00pm. So I would listen to it on an old Bakelite Table model radio I had by my bed. This song would sing me to sleep for many a night. Tried to get my boys into Ziggy but they never cottoned to it. However, My middle boy just loves Tool, so go figure (I love Tool). Anyway, excellent job showing the natural ability of Bowie.
SIdebar: Back in the day, when I was in a local Punk/New Wave band, I hated, HATED, isolated vocals. I always felt that our best tracks were the base track.
As always, you are doing a bang-up job.
Blue88
This is very interesting because he does sing the early parts in a very matter of fact, calm almost robotic tone and it's great to see how precisely he was placing those notes.
One of the most unique vocalist for sure. He definitely has a way of expressing some different phrasing on notes, that's why he is a one of a kind singer like Mercury was. I bet the auto tune program would pull it's hair out(if it had it lol) if you ran Alice in Chains vocals through it. Cheers!
No, the longer the better. You are analysing great music and we need to know. Great analysis of David's earliest recording.
I love to hear this isolated track! His singing was awesome,
This is one of your most compelling video. I'm surprised so few subscribers have seen it.
Nice breakdown. Bravo 🎯🏆
Thanks!
@@wingsofpegasus
I guess I was aware of autotunning when Paula Abdul hit the scene, but you have shown me things I never knew. Thank you Phil.
I always thought I must be tone deaf because I can't read music or tell one note from another, but it never got in the way of my love for & enjoyment of it. I just knew what sounded good to me. But since being able to watch/listen to so many especially 60's 70's & 80's music videos, (which is what I grew up with & loved) but really didn't know much about the artists etc. Now, I crave & love learning all the history behind it & the different genres, performers backgrounds, the instruments, industry as well as the in depth explanations of the vocals etc. like you provide & you have taught me so much & now I am able to hear the different tones, notes & so much more. I now realize it was more a knowledge deficit than a tone deafness. You have & continue to add to my understanding, knowledge & greatly enhanced enjoyment & appreciation for the very best music & artists available. Thank You very very much Phil♥️
Ye gods, hearing his voice isolated like that just sends shivers up my spine. It's otherworldly. What an incredible artist he was, and what a privilege to have shared a planet with him.
Purely selfish request: I'd love to see you do a video about Sweet Thing (well, really the whole Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing(reprise) bit, which I tend to think of as all one song), from Diamond Dogs. I admit I'm mostly suggesting this because (and here's the selfish bit) I just want to hear his isolated vocals (it's an incredible, varied performance, I think, in terms of vocal range, singing style, tempo, etc), but I also think it would be interesting to hear your thoughts and see what you find noteworthy about it.
In other news: for what it's worth, he pronounced his own name in what you call the American way every time I've ever heard him say it. Bow like show, not like cow (or, if you prefer, like "tie a bow" rather than "take a bow").
Great analysis. I appreciate you taking the time to dissect and explain.
Melodyne has a much more natural way of dealing with vibrato, I wonder how this vocal might fare with it. This was very enlightening and interesting, thanks.
I am loving these videos. And now I also have a better understanding of why I fell in love with Davids voice when I was 6 years old, in 1969. Thank you for this, Fil! 👍🙏
Well, Fil, you did it! I liked & subscribed after this wonderful video. There are two artists, who, when I learned they had passed, found me breaking out in tears. David Bowie was one and Lou Reed was the other. Though I never met them or was at a live performance, I did purchase their records and devoured them. It felt as if they were speaking personally to me. I remember listening to Rosko Mercer on WNEW FM, NY, late night radio hoping he would play "Space Oddity." It was probably 1969 & I had no idea of the artist's name. It took me five years to finally come to DB through the "Diamond Dogs" album. After exploring his back catalog, I became a fan. Thank you for a fascinating video, in which you thoroughly explain and teach. Brilliant, as your countrymen would say!! Chuck
Thanks!