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Mick's vs Roger's voice



> I'm the veteran of 46 Stones concerts since '81 and 8 Who concerts since '79. 
> Of their (Who and Stones) last tours in '02 - Mick's voice has held up 
> better.  The falsetto he managed on Worried About You at a few shows was amazing. 

Falsetto isn't much of an indication of how well one's vocals have held up.  Roger's falsetto is still great- see LROM screams, WGFA scream, TKAA.  He was never a prolonged falsetto singer anyway.  His greatness was in range.  Mick's range was always limited as Stones songs are REALLY easy to sing.  The lows to the highs are not far apart.  Case in point- I sing in now a classic rock tribute band.  There is not a single Stones song that is not easy for me to sing.  There are a number of Who songs that are impossible for me due to Daltrey's range in younger years, and others that are REALLY difficult.  Mick Jagger could never sing Bargain, but Daltrey even today could handle Stones songs with ease. 

> As to the better voice in their youth, Roger wins hands down to my ears - but 
> then there are ranges that Mick can do that Roger can't and vice versa. 

Man, what songs are you referring to?  What are these ranges?  All the Stones songs I have ever heard have Mick singing in his lower octave comfort range.  Even then, his vocals were more spat out than sung, with some exceptions.  I have a video clip of a recent tour of them doing Satisfaction, one of easiest songs to sing ever, and Mick was atrocious- off key and using wierd inflections. Maybe I need to see an entire Stones show, but I can't imagine a Stones song that Roger could nail.

> Between the vocal coaches, the vocal warm-ups, the throat specialists, etc... - 
> Mick's voice was more reliable than Roger's on the last tours.  Which isn't to 
> say Mick wasn't cheerleading his way through songs '81 - he was.  There have 
> been tours where he really didn't sing, that has not been 
> true of the recent 
> tours.  

But, IMHO, Mick's vocals are not especially challenging.  He should be able to sing all their songs with little deterioration in his ability to hit notes.  Also consider that Mick's vocals aren't nearly as demanding as Roger's, considering Pete wrote songs which capitalized on Roger's incredible voice range.  Mick simply hasn't had to put the kind of stress on his voice as Roger.  I speak from experience, as I have to work my ass off to sing The Who songs adequately, whereas Stones songs take little effort beyond staying on key.

Just one man's opinion.  If there are songs by The Stones that I'm missing as vocally demanding, showing Mick's range, post them and I will make a point to listen to them with an open mind.

Mc