Post by Osmosis on Apr 5, 2022 12:56:23 GMT
Lee Anthony Mavers (2 August 1962)
Member of: Neuklon (1980-1984), The La's (1984-1992, 1994-1995, 2005, 2011)
Vocal Range: D2 - E♭5
{Vocal Summary}
Equal parts genius and madman, Lee Mavers became the lead songwriter and singer of Liverpool band, The La’s, after joining in 1984. The band has claimed a few accolades over the years, namely, being seen as the forerunners of the 90s Britpop movement and receiving the greatest amount of religious fervour and admiration for the slimmest discography possible. The band endured relentlessly torrid recording sessions from 1987-1990, eventually resulting in the release of their eponymous debut – released without the band’s consent and publically denounced by its members ever since. Mavers’ never-ending journey for the ‘perfect sound’ drove the band and record company to their respective wits’ end and it appears he never managed to find it, for we are still yet to hear the elusive follow up album. With that said, the music that has been released has garnered the band a great amount of admiration and with songs like “Timeless Melody” and “There She Goes” it is hard not to see why.
It is hard to judge Mavers' true vocal capabilities given the limited material available. What is certain is that the song came first and vocal gymnastics second. The melodies Mavers sang tended to be well within his comfort zone and took him up to C♯4-E♭4 in full voice, laden with his scouse accent. Going higher he would typically switch to falsetto like in “I Am the Key” or “There She Goes”. He has on occasion broken out of this mould however with the likes of his cover of “My Generation” that show him taking his mixed voice up to D5. Although perhaps not the most accomplished vocallist, his songwriting speaks for itself and one hopes that some cosmic event can one day bring Mavers out of songwriting retirement.
Equal parts genius and madman, Lee Mavers became the lead songwriter and singer of Liverpool band, The La’s, after joining in 1984. The band has claimed a few accolades over the years, namely, being seen as the forerunners of the 90s Britpop movement and receiving the greatest amount of religious fervour and admiration for the slimmest discography possible. The band endured relentlessly torrid recording sessions from 1987-1990, eventually resulting in the release of their eponymous debut – released without the band’s consent and publically denounced by its members ever since. Mavers’ never-ending journey for the ‘perfect sound’ drove the band and record company to their respective wits’ end and it appears he never managed to find it, for we are still yet to hear the elusive follow up album. With that said, the music that has been released has garnered the band a great amount of admiration and with songs like “Timeless Melody” and “There She Goes” it is hard not to see why.
It is hard to judge Mavers' true vocal capabilities given the limited material available. What is certain is that the song came first and vocal gymnastics second. The melodies Mavers sang tended to be well within his comfort zone and took him up to C♯4-E♭4 in full voice, laden with his scouse accent. Going higher he would typically switch to falsetto like in “I Am the Key” or “There She Goes”. He has on occasion broken out of this mould however with the likes of his cover of “My Generation” that show him taking his mixed voice up to D5. Although perhaps not the most accomplished vocallist, his songwriting speaks for itself and one hopes that some cosmic event can one day bring Mavers out of songwriting retirement.
Significant High Notes
E♭5 ("Looking Glass", “Our Time” The Kitchen Tape, “Ride Yer Camel" Unreleased Version, "Timeless Melody” Much Music 1991)
D5 (“My Generation” Live Club Quattra Japan 2005, "What Do You Do?" The La's LIVE! 1986-1987)
C♯5 ("I Can't Sleep", "Looking Glass")
C5 (“Endless”, “Ride Yer Camel" Unreleased Version, "When Will I See You Again?” The Kitchen Tape)
B4 (“Human Race” The Crescent Tape)
B♭4 (“Clean Prophet”, “Endless”, “I Can’t Sleep”, “My Generation” Live Club Quattra Japan 2005)
A4 (“Classic Obsession" Classic Obsession|Episode 1, "Doledrum”, "Feelin'" Alternate Version, “Jumpin' Jack Flash" Live The Pen and Wig Liverpool 1986, "I Am the Key”, “Ladies and Gentlemen” The Crescent Tapes, “My Generation” Live Club Quattra Japan 2005, “Money In Your Talk" The La's 1984-1986, "Open Your Mind” The Crescent Tapes, “Ride Yer Camel" Unreleased Version, "Rubber Man” The Kitchen Tape, “There She Goes”)
G♯4 ("Feelin'", “Over (live in a stable in Liverpool)”)
G4 (“Feelin'" Alternate Version, "Go Go Daddy” The Kitchen Tape, “I Can’t Sleep”, "Looking Glass", "Son of a Gun" Key 103 Radio 1989, "There She Goes” 1988 Single Version/The La’s, "Timeless Melody" 1986-1987 Callin' All, "What Do You Do?" The La's LIVE! 1986-1987)
F♯4 ("Classic Obsession" Classic Obsession|Episode 1, “Doledrum”, “Human Race” The Crescent Tapes, “I Am the Key”, “Jumpin' Jack Flash" Live The Pen and Wig Liverpool 1986, “Knock Me Down”, “Minefield” The Crescent Tapes, “Ride Yer Camel" Unreleased Version, "She Came Down in the Morning” The Kitchen Tape, "There She Goes")
F4 (“Callin All" The Picket Session, "Open Your Heart" The La's 1984-1986 Breakloose, "Son of a Gun”)
E4 (“All By Myself”, “Failure”, “Get Down Over" The La's 1984-1986 Breakloose, "I Am the Key”, “I.O.U." 1986-1987 Callin' All, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" Live The Pen and Wig Liverpool 1986, “Our Time” The Kitchen Tape, “Tears in the Rain” The Kitchen Tape, "Timeless Melody" Deleted Test Pressing Vinyl Version 1988, "You Blue" The La's 1984-1986 Breakloose)
Significant Low Notes
E3 (“Callin’ All”, “Come in Come Out”, "Doledrum", “Failure”, “It’s Impossible” The Kitchen Tape, “Jumpin' Jack Flash" Live The Pen and Wig Liverpool 1986, “Our Time” The Kitchen Tape, “Tears in the Rain” The Kitchen Tape, “Who Knows”)
E♭3 (“All By Myself", "Callin' All" 1986-1987 Callin' All, "Doledrum" Live Manchester Academy 1991, "Get Down Over" The La's 1984-1986 Breakloose, "Let’s Go for a Ride” The Crescent Tapes, “Ride Yer Camel" Unreleased Version, “She Came Down in the Morning” The Kitchen Tape, "The Way We Came" Live Café Berlin 1987)
D3 (“Cool Water" The La's 1984-1986 Breakloose, "Endless”, “Failure”, “Knock Me Down”, “Looking Glass”, “Way Out”)
C♯3 (“I Can't Sleep", "Man I’m Only Human”, “My Girl Sits Like a Reindeer" The La's 1984-1986 Breakloose, "Night Walk" The La's 1984-1986 Breakloose, "There She Goes" Live 1986-1987 Callin' All, "Who Knows”)
C3 ("Over (live in a stable in Liverpool)”, “Ride Yer Camel" Unreleased Version, “Son of a Gun”)
B2 (“All By Myself”, “Freedom Song”, "It's Not Impossible" The Stable Session, "Who Knows")
B♭2 (“Freedom Song" Live Manchester Academy 1991, "I Can't Sleep", "Man I’m Only Human”, “Minefield” The Crescent Tapes)
A2 ("Endless", "Feelin'" Alternate Version, "Freedom Song" 1986-1987 Callin' All, "Sorry" Live The Savoy Cork 2005, "Tears In the Rain" 1986-1987 Callin' All, "Timeless Melody" Mike Hedges Version, "Way Out")
G♯2 (“Minefield” The Crescent Tapes)
G2 ("Gimme the Blues" Live Shepherd's Bush Empire London 2005)
D2 ("Tears In the Rain" The Crescent Tapes)
{Questionable Notes}
E5 ("Knock Me Down"[1], "Ladies and Gentlemen"[1a])
C5 ("Over (Live in a Stable in Liverpool)"[1a])
B4 ("Failure"[1b])
…………………………………………………
[1] Questionable Quality
a. Short Yelp/Trill
b. Voice Break
Questionable notes are any notes with a questionable significance. In short, this spoiler acknowledges notes that I am aware exist, but do not want to contribute to the singer's range. These involve (but are not limited to) weak vocal fry, uncontrolled slides, very short notes, notes hit at an ambiguous pitch and notes where it is unclear who is singing.
…………………………………………………E5 ("Knock Me Down"[1], "Ladies and Gentlemen"[1a])
C5 ("Over (Live in a Stable in Liverpool)"[1a])
B4 ("Failure"[1b])
…………………………………………………
[1] Questionable Quality
a. Short Yelp/Trill
b. Voice Break
Questionable notes are any notes with a questionable significance. In short, this spoiler acknowledges notes that I am aware exist, but do not want to contribute to the singer's range. These involve (but are not limited to) weak vocal fry, uncontrolled slides, very short notes, notes hit at an ambiguous pitch and notes where it is unclear who is singing.
*Boldface marks notable passages and examples of the singer's capabilities.
*Blue marks notes sung in a soft falsetto.
*Italics mark non-melodic notes.
*Underlines mark notes in backing vocals or otherwise obscured.
{Tuning Disclaimer}
- The Kitchen Tape and The Crescent Tapes demos are set to 432Hz and the notes found within will sound a little flat compared to standard.
- The 1988 single version of There She Goes is likely a sped-up version of the original performance. There are many versions of this song all with different speeds, but I believe the recorded parts have remained constant and only the mix and mastering changes. For this reason, the linked note has been listed as G4 even though it sounds closer to a G♯4. The 1988 version has been bolded rather than the album version because I believe it better showcases the quality of the vocal due to the mix being more sparse.
- Most of this thread is made up from sound recorded on poor quality tape recordings which often have pitching errors.
{Album Ranges}
The La's
The La's (1990): A2 - G4 - E♭5
The La's
The La's (1990): A2 - G4 - E♭5
