bernards voice

just read a review of the new album on an american site, and it opened by saying the title track "hey joe was weak and concentrated to much on making bernards voice sound good because it was better when it was fragile"! any views? i pesonally like the track and his performance.

I don't see why you had to post this four times...:p

That's a quite ridiculous review. I've always loved Bernard's voice because it was distinct and his voice was so gentle.(At least in a lot of songs, it sounds gentle.) I don't care what the critics say. Why should I have to even care what the critics say? I don't think "Waiting for the siren's call" is the best New Order album ever, but I still like it in it's own way. And this is a tad bit off topic, but I managed to buy the Japanese version of the album with Bernard singing "Krafty" in Japanese. It's kinda cute to hear him sing in Japanese.

leather_girl wrote: That's a quite ridiculous review. I've always loved Bernard's voice because it was distinct and his voice was so gentle.(At least in a lot of songs, it sounds gentle.) I don't care what the critics say. Why should I have to even care what the critics say? I don't think "Waiting for the siren's call" is the best New Order album ever, but I still like it in it's own way. And this is a tad bit off topic, but I managed to buy the Japanese version of the album with Bernard singing "Krafty" in Japanese. It's kinda cute to hear him sing in Japanese.

Nice touch,well said

That review is quite rediculous. But as we all know, Bernard doesn't have the best of vocal abbilities, but still has a good voice in his own kinda way.

Not all bands have to have a top-notch vocalist anyway. As long as the musics good and the vocalist can at least hold a tune, you're pretty much sorted.

Bernards voice,hmmm......Emotive,brilliant,unique,dodgy,human,endearing,annoying,sublime and more besides,all depending on your point of view...For me his voice carries his often beautiful/harsh/emotional lyrics,and it serves him well....I love this bloke's voice,he is a REAL muthafuka to me,in a pop world where so many are fakes,with cynical marketing machines,churning out fodder for pre-teen lasses in mind££$$...If only there were more unique voices like Bernard's...Tho obviously not actually LIKE Barney's voice,cos then his would not be unique,would it?:D

I don't find anything fragile or unsure in Bernards voice on tunes such as Age of Consent, Sunrise and Face Up, but on other tunes it is as delicate as glass- Leave Me Alone, Run, Subculture.

Recently, We have been hearing more of the 'confident' voice and less of the 'delicate' voice. But the heart of the voice remains.

One of Bernard's strongest traits is that he can belt out the most ludicrous and trite couplets with such conviction that they sound like the most stellar insights in the last two decades of pop music.

"Again and again i've taken too much, of the things that cost you too much."

"Then a fight breaks out on your street, you lose another broken heart in a land of meat."

"From my home I travelled far, I drove in my stolen car."

"Our love is like the flowers, the rain, the sea, and the hours."

"Without you I live in pain, without you i've gone insaaaaaane~"

His vocals improve with every lp. Live it did not really get good until 1986 but even still has its moments of doubt. I am sure if I did not like his voice I would not be here now.

With Bernard theres always a track where he sounds amazing and you just wonder who could compare. For me its Crystal off of Get Ready, he sounds brilliant on it. I love his early vocals the most though, even though he does sing great on wftsc.

leather_girl wrote: That's a quite ridiculous review.

considering the song is called 'who's joe' and not 'hey joe' i agree wholeheartedly!

in all seriousness, i think it's one of the better songs on the album. barney's never had what i'd call a 'strong' voice and if he suddenly turned into robert plant i'd be quite taken aback!

thedude wrote: just read a review of the new album on an american site, and it opened by saying the title track "hey joe was weak and concentrated to much on making bernards voice sound good because it was better when it was fragile"! any views? i pesonally like the track and his performance.

His voice was spot on. I dont see the problem either.

speaking of bernard's voice, I would be interested to know what people think about when his dulcet salfordian accent shows up. Personally I think it went away then came back on get ready then has gone again. do you like it bewtter when you can hear it?

B's voice fits NO's style perfectly; full of frustration and angst, but also gentle and delicate at times, just as Ian's fitted JD's style with equal perfection...

I love it even more when a Manc tilt is detectable...

lucy anna wrote: speaking of bernard's voice, I would be interested to know what people think about when his dulcet salfordian accent shows up. Personally I think it went away then came back on get ready then has gone again. do you like it bewtter when you can hear it?

No offence to anyone from salford but i've always thought that the Salford accent sounds a little high pitched and camp.

Fucking Nihalist.

i think this review sounds quite interesting but i'd like to read it in full before i comment properly on it- can anyone post me the link? thank you!

I think that at times barneys voice sounds somewhat effeminate,suppose thats why i like it.....barney sings like a girl,barney sings like a girl

Only kidding,without barneys charismatic voice then new order would'nt be new order would it.

well it did not seem to work the first three time`s, sorry.

he's got a really gentle voice (on record anyway) which I like very much. There are some bits that are indeed fragile like the lines 'anytime you want ME, if you're feeling down, why don't you come with ME, I'll turn you around ...' makes me wanna cuddle him

Bernard always gets flak, especially for his live singing. It's a bit unfair, really. The guy sounded like he was singing under a heavy bed spread on Movement, but come PCL, he was clear and powerful. 'Age of Consent' is classic NO not just because of the opening figure, the bass, but because Bernard was declaring his liberation as a vocalist and, mind all you critics of his guitar playing, his reinvention of his guitar style. He may not always be pitch perfect, but the guy's got fine conviction, which most wankers either contrivably overdo or just don't have at all. He's got a good sense of balance on record; the whoops and heys live I think are a bit tongue in cheek at this point.

When I bought WFTSC, it was because 'Krafty' had such assured power. It was a breezy pop song but they infused it with a lot more. And Bernard's lyrics are not crap on that song. The simplicity of the 'war' line followed by the nature line couldn't better sum up a juxtaposition of images. When I heard about 9/11, it was a perfectly beautiful autumn day where I was. I think Bernard is quite good at writing simple lyrics that can actually suggest a lot more than what they say on paper, and he certainly achieves such when the delivery, intonation, and pitch of his singing are at their best.