And, cuz I just listened to "Light Falls Away" and marveled at Adam's ability, let me say what I heard. If you are not interested in vocal production and technique, feel free to scroll.
I agree that Adam does sound a bit country here... intentionally. Just listen to his pronunciation of "thang."
He is doing a number of techniques differently from most Adam renditions. The first that we notice is the lower register. I sounds really LOW. But, the key is actually 1/2 a step higher than GNT Aftermath. Compare the two and you will hear that the first verse of Aftermath actually has a similar melody line and a similar range. LFA is the song where he flirts with a Bb 2, his lowest recorded note. But, every night he sang almost that low at the bottom of Aftermath.
What is different is the tone and resonance. LFA has this rich, deep baritone sound. You would never peg him as a tenor listening to this. Aftermath has a much lighter, lilting, ringing sound to it. In LFA, he places the sound, aims the vibrations towards a different part of his mouth and head, much further back than usual, and also uses the resonance in his chest very differently.
He also pronounces his words differently that usual. In addition to a country twang, he does not articulate as crisply, sounding sort of like he is swallowing his words, or mumbling. And the phrasing is very anti-Adam. One of the things I love and admire about Adam is his lyrical, long phrases. He connects words in meaningful, and sometimes unexpected ways. In this number, the phrases are all very short and choppy. Listen to LFA and imagine Adam phrasing. Instead of:
we'll go
higher than we've
we've ever been
Adam would probably sing:
we'll go higher
than we've ever been
or even:
we'll go higher than we've ever been
Later, he sings:
for it's
always been
That is terrible phrasing! It totally breaks the meaning of the phrase, and since the music builds to a "high" "sustained" note on "always", the only reason a singer would take a breath there would be if they had no breath support to sustain the whole line.
Having said that, since it is a demo for a singer who likely does NOT have good breath support and sustain, he is doing a good job of showing how it would sound if sung by another. The song is designed to be short little bits of phrase with lots of breaks in between.
He also sings with a straight tone for most of the song rather than using vibrato in places where you would expect.
Funny thing. Even tho' I think Adam was told to make this sound more country with no power singing or classical technique, and he does that, I still hear his classical technique shining thru. He knows how to get that rich baritone sound even tho he is naturally a high tenor. He still uses his natural resonance of his body to produce a pure sound, rather than one that is breathy. He still manages to build to the higher notes in the song. And, he still adds the slightest vibrato in non obvious places to warm up the sound. He never sounds strained or struggling, even when he adds that rasp to his voice. It's all still superbly supported. I still understand the words, even tho they are partially swallowed.
Dayum, that guy is good! So, bastard album or no, I am glad we can listen to this example of Adam not being Adam. And doing it perfectly.
