This Is A Non-Story - A Faux 'Gotcha' Moment

Look, everyone who follows Motley Crue knows that Vince Neil skips every third word of most songs live. But - he is singing live. He isn't using a vocal track and lip synching. So to make a big spectacle out of the fact that there is a teleprompter for song lyrics on stage is just... silly. As a matter of fact, most big bands I've seen live have teleprompters scattered around the stage - and they have used them for years! Aerosmith uses prompters. So does Guns n' Roses and Bruce Springsteen and Ozzy Osbourne and U2 and Paul McCartney... I mean, this isn't a big deal.

Criticize Vince for other stuff but not this when so many other big-time artists use prompters too. This one reeks of an "Internet Gotcha'" moment.

VINCE NEIL's Onstage Teleprompter Captured In New Video From MÖTLEY CRÜE's 'The Stadium Tour' https://t.co/0At3qkuLPv pic.twitter.com/Oo0h3jq5Ve

— BLABBERMOUTH.NET (@BLABBERMOUTHNET) July 6, 2022

Comments

[Him]

Good points,Allyson. Criticize where it is appropriate. Hell, Halford has been squinting at his lyrics for years.

But . . . "Look, everyone who follows Motley Crue knows that Vince Neil skips every third word of most songs live. But - he is singing live. He isn't using a vocal track and lip synching." Most of that is true. But, as far as I can tell, they use an awful lot of 'sweeteners' to cover up the vocal tracks at their concerts (perhaps even some of the musical bits too). Not just Vince. Not just obvious things that couldn't be reproduced live without additional musicians. Not just KISS. Oh, sorry. Wrong thread.

That said, lots of bands do it. So . . . what? Well, that depends on your stance on things. Ornamentation and accent? So be it. Orchestration without the artists? Sure. A bit of punching in to make it fuller? Well, okay. Obvious chorus and main vocal parts, not to mention instruments, that are used to cover up shoddy performances? Nah, give it to me raw . . . or not at all. And here's the thing. I will give the bands that own doing all of that more credit than those who try to act like they don't. But I would still prefer live to be, well, live, warts and all.

And I will also say that, on this run, there have been times when Neil did sound good (enough). But there have also been times when he sounded like, well, he has sounded for ages. Which suggests he has it in him if he stays focused (and I know every singer has an off night).

So this post is no slag-fest about Neil. But celebrating that he can sing 2/3rds of the lyrics and isn't lip-syncing isn't really high praise when you are paying to see a band live. If you move the line lower, it doesn't mean that he is better for it. It just means that Neil can perform, at a level (you decide what that level is), and he can sometimes outperform that level (whatever it is), even if it is rare. And could he do better? Perhaps. Again, your opinion and my opinion might differ.

But we are living in a world of decreasing returns when we defend average performances against ridiculous charges . . . at increasingly high prices. Think about it? It was average at best . . . but at least it wasn't Milli Vanilli! What? And what I mean to suggest is this (again): we all have to squint sometimes when it comes to defending our heroes. So long as we own that we are squinting, all's good.

[Zippy]

The Teleprompter should be shaped like a Burger King drive thru menu. Dude would never miss a lyric.