Post by falsetokaiba on Sept 23, 2019 0:36:38 GMT
Rolf Magnus Joakim Larsson (19 August 1963 -)Associated Acts: Europe (1982 - 1992, 2004 - present- the band initially formed under the name 'Force' in 1979), Solo (1995 - 2002)
Years Active: 1979 - present
Vocal Range: E2 - A5 (3 Octaves + 5 Semitones)
{Vocal Analysis}Joey Tempest throughout his career has been categorised by a powerful, chesty belting range and comfortable style. Tempest has cited his own main influences as Led Zeppelin and Thin Lizzy, and as well as being an embodiment of over-the-top stentorian 80s rock, his contribution to Europe's anthemic style arguably helped shape the future of power metal.
In the first half of Europe's career (1982-91), Tempest very seldom used his lower register, usually not going below D3, and many of his songs were sung almost entirely in the fourth octave, with him comfortable belting up to at least B4 even at the very beginning of his Europe career. Through his vocal peak in the 80s and early 90s Tempest pushed his belting register further, being strong up to at least C♯5 in studio most famously on The Final Countdown, and even occasionally reached up to D5, though even in his prime he admittedly rarely belted above C5 live. Above his belting register, Tempest possessed a competent albeit disconnected falsetto register which he almost never used live; in studio, however, he showed the ability to produce clean and controlled falsetto notes in the fifth octave. On a few isolated occasions in studio, he also made impressive use of a more powerful reinforced falsetto, and notes of this variety have been left black in the thread, though he never used this live. As his career has progressed, Tempest has made more use of his mid-range and softer singing, particularly on his solo albums in which he frequently utilised a range from around E3-G♯4. The lowest sung note on Europe's first five albums was a B2 on the 1991 album Prisoners in Paradise- this was a comfortable note for Tempest, so I would not think his natural tessitura was any higher than an average tenor's would have been at this time. Simply, he chose not to use his lower range very often. On his solo albums Tempest explored his lower range in a little more depth, with some comfortable hummed F♯2s on 1997's Azalea Place. His lowest note, an E2, came in an impromptu acapella on radio in 1986, again suggesting Tempest's tessitura was not unusually high nor his lows poor, just that they did not suit his musical style at the time.
In the early 2000s, Tempest's voice went through something of a dip, with him rarely belting above A4 on his final solo album and Europe's first two comeback albums. His voice has certainly darkened since the 1980s and, perhaps also by design, is 'grittier' now than it was previously. However since the late 2000s Tempest's belting register has improved again, with several C5s on his more recent albums and even a surprising slide up to D5 on 2017's 'GTO'. Europe now tune down one semitone live, and he is usually comfortable belting up to B♭4-B4. Despite these developments, I would still class him as a tenor now, albeit with a darker tone and slightly lower natural tessitura.
Overall, Tempest is not, perhaps, the most versatile vocalist, and maybe could have pushed his voice harder in different directions, but is an excellent and long-standing example of what a rock singer needs to be- bombastic, confident and with an easy command of the natural tenor range, which has suited his and Europe's style down to the ground.
In the first half of Europe's career (1982-91), Tempest very seldom used his lower register, usually not going below D3, and many of his songs were sung almost entirely in the fourth octave, with him comfortable belting up to at least B4 even at the very beginning of his Europe career. Through his vocal peak in the 80s and early 90s Tempest pushed his belting register further, being strong up to at least C♯5 in studio most famously on The Final Countdown, and even occasionally reached up to D5, though even in his prime he admittedly rarely belted above C5 live. Above his belting register, Tempest possessed a competent albeit disconnected falsetto register which he almost never used live; in studio, however, he showed the ability to produce clean and controlled falsetto notes in the fifth octave. On a few isolated occasions in studio, he also made impressive use of a more powerful reinforced falsetto, and notes of this variety have been left black in the thread, though he never used this live. As his career has progressed, Tempest has made more use of his mid-range and softer singing, particularly on his solo albums in which he frequently utilised a range from around E3-G♯4. The lowest sung note on Europe's first five albums was a B2 on the 1991 album Prisoners in Paradise- this was a comfortable note for Tempest, so I would not think his natural tessitura was any higher than an average tenor's would have been at this time. Simply, he chose not to use his lower range very often. On his solo albums Tempest explored his lower range in a little more depth, with some comfortable hummed F♯2s on 1997's Azalea Place. His lowest note, an E2, came in an impromptu acapella on radio in 1986, again suggesting Tempest's tessitura was not unusually high nor his lows poor, just that they did not suit his musical style at the time.
In the early 2000s, Tempest's voice went through something of a dip, with him rarely belting above A4 on his final solo album and Europe's first two comeback albums. His voice has certainly darkened since the 1980s and, perhaps also by design, is 'grittier' now than it was previously. However since the late 2000s Tempest's belting register has improved again, with several C5s on his more recent albums and even a surprising slide up to D5 on 2017's 'GTO'. Europe now tune down one semitone live, and he is usually comfortable belting up to B♭4-B4. Despite these developments, I would still class him as a tenor now, albeit with a darker tone and slightly lower natural tessitura.
Overall, Tempest is not, perhaps, the most versatile vocalist, and maybe could have pushed his voice harder in different directions, but is an excellent and long-standing example of what a rock singer needs to be- bombastic, confident and with an easy command of the natural tenor range, which has suited his and Europe's style down to the ground.
Significant High Notes:
A5 ("Give a Helpin' Hand (Extended Version)")
G♯5 ("Better Than Real")
G5 ("Give a Helpin' Hand (Extended Version))
F♯5 ("Better Than Real")
F5 ("The Power Rock")
E5 ("Children of This Time", "Heart of Stone", "Little Bit of Lovin'", "Stormwind")
E♭5 ("In the Future to Come", "Still of the Night", (live with Whitesnake 2013))
D5 ("All or Nothing", "Cherokee", "Don't Know How to Love No More", "Give a Helpin' Hand", "Got Your Mind in the Gutter", "GTO", "Here Comes the Night", "Let the Good Times Rock", "Long Time Comin'", "Love Chaser", "Memories", "Mr Government Man", "Sweet Love Child", "Yesterday's News")
C♯5 ("All or Nothing", "Danger on the Track", "Don't Know How to Love No More", "Got Your Mind in the Gutter", "I'll Cry for You", "Kingdom United", "Little Sinner", "Lord of the Manor", "Loved By Me", "Never Gonna Say", "Ninja", "The Final Countdown", "Sign of the Times", "Wasted Time")
C5 ("Talking to crowd, live Milton Keynes 1989", "Break Free", "Carrie" (live at Uppsala 1985), "Coast to Coast", "Dance the Night Away", "Doghouse", "Farewell", "Further From the Truth", "Get Back" (live with Bon Jovi, Tokyo 1989), "Girl From Lebanon", "Give a Helpin' Hand", "Haze", "Hole In My Pocket", "Homeland", "In the Future to Come", "Long Time Comin'", "Lyin' Eyes", "Mercy You Mercy Me", "Mr Government Man", "On the Loose", "Prisoners in Paradise", "Rainbow Warrior", "Ready or Not", "Rock and Roll (live Rock Meets Classic 2016)", "Secret Society", "Stormwind", "Superstitious", "'Til My Heart Beats Down Your Door", "Time Has Come", "Treated Bad Again", "Walk the Earth", "Wild Child", "Wings of Tomorrow")
B4 ("All or Nothing", "Always a Friend of Mine", "Bad Blood", "Bag of Bones", "Blame It On Me", "Break Free", "Carrie", "Cherokee", "Children of This Time", "Coast to Coast", "Dance the Night Away", , "Danger on the Track", "Don't Know How to Love No More", "Got Your Mind in the Gutter", "GTO", "Halfway to Heaven", "Heart of Stone", "Here Comes the Night", "I'll Cry For You", "Just the Beginning", "Let the Good Times Rock", "Lights and Shadows", "Little Bit of Lovin'", "Little Sinner", "Lord of the Manor", "Losing You Again", , "Love Chaser", "Lyin' Eyes", "Memories", "More Than Meets the Eye", "Mr Government Man", "My Woman My Friend", "Never Say Die", "Ninja", "Not Supposed to Sing the Blues", "On the Loose", "Open Your Heart", "Paradize Bay", "Pleasure and Pain", , "Rock the Night", "Run With the Angels", "Scream of Anger", "Seven Doors Hotel", "Seventh Sign", "Still of the Night" (live with Whitesnake 2013), "Stormwind", "Stranded", "Talk to Me", "Time Has Come", "The Final Countdown", "The One in the Glass", "Tomorrow", "Tower's Callin'", "Treated Bad Again", "U Devil U", , "Wanted Man", "War of Kings", "Wasted Time", "We Will Be Strong", "Wild Child", "Wings of Tomorrow", "Yesterday's News")
B♭4 ("Brave and Beautiful Soul", "Gonna Get Ready", "Hound Dog" (live in Vina del Mar, 1990), "Never Gonna Say", "Pictures", "Praise You", "Song No. 12", "Still of the Night" (live with Whitesnake 2013), "Superstitious", "U Devil U")
A4 ("Always a Friend of Mine", "Angels (With Broken Hearts), "Bad Blood", "Bag of Bones", "Beautiful Disaster", "Break Free", "Children of Our Time", "Children of the Mind", "Dance the Night Away", "Danger On the Track", "Demon Head", "Devil Sings the Blues", "Doghouse", "Dreamer", "Election Day", "Elsewhere", , "Farewell", "Firebox", "Further From the Truth", , "Girl From Lebanon", "Give Me A Break", "Got Your Mind in the Gutter", "Halfway to Heaven", "Harder to Leave a Friend Than a Lover", "Haze", "Here Comes the Night", "Hole In My Pocket", "Homeland", "Hound Dog (live in Vina del Mar, 1990)","I'll Cry For You", "Last Look at Eden", "Let the Children Play", "Let the Good Times Rock", "Lights and Shadows", "Light Me Up", "Long Time Comin'", "Lord of the Manor", "Love Chaser", "Lyin' Eyes", "Mercy You Mercy Me", "Mojito Girl", "More Than Meets the Eye", "Mr Government Man", "Never Say Die", "Ninja", "Nothin to Ya", "Only Young Twice", "On the Loose", "Open Your Heart", "Paradize Bay", "Pictures", "Prisoners in Paradise", "Rainbow Bridge", "Rainbow Warrior", "Ready or Not", "Revolution of Love", "Riches to Rags", "Right to Respect", "Run With the Angels", "Seven Doors Hotel", "Seventh Sign", "Scream of Anger", "Sign of the Times", "Still of the Night" (live with Whitesnake 2013), "Stormwind" (live 1986)", "Stranded", "Superstitious", "Sweet Love Child", "Talk to Me", "The Second Day", 'Til My Heart Beats Down Your Door", "Time Has Come", "The Final Countdown", "The King Will Return", "The Match", "Tomorrow", "Tower's Callin'", "Treated Bad Again", "Turn to Dust", "U Devil U", "Walk the Earth", "Wanted Man", "War of Kings", "Wasted Time", "Wings of Tomorrow", "Wish I Could Believe", "Whenever You're Ready")
G♯4 ("Always the Pretenders", America", "Blame It On Me", "Born to Run", "Brown Eyed Girl", "Don't Know How to Love No More", "Dreamless", "Flames", "Gonna Get Ready", "Haze", "I'll Cry For You", "In the Future to Come", "Love Is Not the Enemy", "Light Me Up", "Never Gonna Say", "Only Young Twice", "Praise You", "Rainbow Bridge", "Run With the Angels", "Song No. 12", "Spirit of the Underdog", "Start From the Dark", "Stranded", "Sucker", "The Beast", "The Getaway Plan", "The One in the Glass", "Under the Influence", "U Devil U", "We Come Alive", "We Will Be Strong")
G4 ("Angels (With Broken Hearts)", "Bag of Bones", "Beautiful Disaster", "Bring It All Home", "California 405" "Can't Work It Out", "Carrie", "Catch That Plane", "Cherokee", "Children of This Time", "Coast to Coast", "Days of Rock N Roll", "Demon Head", "Devil Sings the Blues", "Doghouse", "Dreamer", "Endless Voyage of Dreams", "Forever Travelling", "Forgiven", "Further From the Truth", "Here Comes the Night", "Hole In My Pocket", "Homeland", "Human After All", "In the Future to Come", "Just the Beginning", "Last Look at Eden", "Let the Children Play", "Let the Good Times Rock", "Light Me Up", "Losing You Again", "Loved By Me", "Memories", "My Woman My Friend", "New Love in Town", "Nothin To Ya", "Not Supposed to Sing the Blues", "Open Your Heart", "Pictures", "Prisoners in Paradise", "Reason", "Rock On", "Rock the Night", "Secret Society", "Stormwind", "Superhuman", "Sweet Love Child", "The Match", "The Power Rock", "Time Has Come", "Treated Bad Again", "Turn to Dust", "War of Kings", "Whenever You're Ready", "Words of Wisdom")
Significant Low Notes:
E3 ("Always on the Run", "Always the Pretenders", "Bag of Bones", "Catch That Plane", "Coast to Coast", "Demon Head", "Dreamless", "Elsewhere", "Farewell", "Further From the Truth", "Got Your Mind in the Gutter", "Harder to Leave a Friend Than a Lover", "I'd Dance For You", "I'd Kill for a Girl Like You", "I'll Cry For You", "Little Bit of Lovin'", "Losing You Again", "Loved By Me", "Magnificent", "New Love in Town", "No Stone Unturned", "Not Supposed to Sing the Blues", "Not Welcome Anymore", "Paradize Bay", "Pictures", "Pleasure and Pain", "Scream of Anger", "Settle for Love", "The Winners", "Time Has Come", "Turn to Dust", "Wake Up Call", "Wolves", "Words of Wisdom", "Yesterday's News")
E♭3 ("Roll With You", "The One in the Glass", "Tomorrow")
D3 ("Black Roses", "Bring It All Home", "Coast to Coast", "Don't Change", "Drink and A Smile", "Every Universe", "Farewell", "I'd Kill for a Girl Like You", "In Confidence", "Lucky", "Mr Government Man", "Nothin to Ya", "Not Welcome Anymore", "Pleasure and Pain", "Right to Respect", "Secret Society", "Settle for Love" "Sometimes", "Strange", "The Roses", "Wolves")
C♯3 ("Flames", "Losers", "Outside Heaven", "The Siege", , "The Winners", "Wish You Were Here" (live at Nalen 2008))
C3 ("'Christmas in Sweden' acapella", "Give Me A Break", "Harmony" (live at Polar Music Prize Ceremony 1995), "Losing You Again", "Revolution of Love", "Secret Society", "So This is Christmas")
B2 ("Dreamless", "Flames", "Got Your Mind in the Gutter", "Kicking Around", "Reason", "Run With the Angels")
B♭2 ("So This is Christmas")
A2 ("'Dreamer' acapella" (various performances), "Here Comes the Night", "Let the Children Play", "Revolution of Love", "Singing 'Santa Lucia' with female choir", "Wild Child")
G♯2 ("Catch That Plane")
F♯2 ("Better Than Real", "'Dreamer' acapella" (live Solna 1986))
E2 ("Picking a key for 'Dreamer', American radio 1986")
Range-iest Song "Better Than Real" (F♯2-G♯5, 3 Octaves + 2 Semitones)
{Questionable Notes}B5 ("Yesterday's News" (live Milton Keynes 1989)[1])
A5 "Wild Child", (live at Milton Keynes Bowl 1989)[1])
F5 ("Can't Work It Out" [5])
E5 ("Coast to Coast"[2], "Danger on the Track" [1], "On the Loose"[1], "Stranded"[1], "Wanted Man"[2])
D5 ("Seventh Sign" [1])
C5 ("The Beast" [1])
G2 ("Don't Change" [1], "Lucky" [1], "Prisoners In Paradise" [3])
.......................................................
[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.
A5 "Wild Child", (live at Milton Keynes Bowl 1989)[1])
F5 ("Can't Work It Out" [5])
E5 ("Coast to Coast"[2], "Danger on the Track" [1], "On the Loose"[1], "Stranded"[1], "Wanted Man"[2])
D5 ("Seventh Sign" [1])
C5 ("The Beast" [1])
G2 ("Don't Change" [1], "Lucky" [1], "Prisoners In Paradise" [3])
.......................................................
[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.
{Bio}Joey Tempest is the lead vocalist for the Swedish rock band Europe, who he has fronted since their formation in 1982. Tempest was born in 1963. He grew up in the suburbs of Stockholm, where he would meet future Europe bandmate John Norum, developing an interest in music and learning to play piano as well as rhythm and bass guitar. Tempest originally formed the band Force in 1979; in 1982 they became Europe and released their first album in 1983 with Tempest on vocals. Four more albums followed from 1984 to 1991; their most successful was The Final Countdown in 1986, the title track of which went to number one in many countries. In 1992 Europe went on hiatus; Tempest released three solo albums from 1995 to 2002, all more towards the softer end of rock and country rock. In 2004 Europe released their first album in thirteen years, Start From the Dark, with Tempest continuing to perform vocal duties- he and John Leven are the only personnel to appear on every Europe album. They have released another five studio albums since 2004, their most recent being Walk the Earth in 2017. In addition to vocals Tempest has also written a large proportion of Europe's songs and lyrics, as well as playing keyboards on their first two albums and contributing with keyboards, rhythm guitar and piano in various live performances. He also wrote and produced the debut album of John Norum's sister, Tone Norum.
{Vocal Timeline}1981-1984: Solid enough career beginnings, with Tempest quickly developing a competent belting register, usually sounding solid up to B4 and occasionally pushing a little higher. His technique wasn't yet that refined, though it's worth noting he was getting used to singing in his second language. He also toyed around with the idea of using a bit more falsetto in studio at times, though he generally stuck to his comfortable belts live.
1985-88: In my opinion Tempest's peak, at least live. His belting technique sounded more powerful, topping out at D5- this is also the only time I can find him doing the C♯5s in The Final Countdown live, and generally he could give a pretty flawless rendition of the demanding upper fourth octave melodies that were becoming even more common in Europe's material.
1989-1992: Still chronologically peak Tempest- he went back to dodging a few of those chesty highs live, but still sounded at his best in studio. He could still belt as high as D5 and his diction in English had improved a lot, as well as lifting a few vocal mannerisms from the glam metal vocal scene. In my opinion, Tempest was doing some of his best singing in studio when Europe's popularity declined- they went on hiatus shortly after.
1993-97: Tempest's voice mellowed out a bit at this time, most likely by design, as he could still sing the high melodies that had been his trademark and his music was taking a more modest direction at this time. I would even consider this to be peak Tempest as well- he hadn't lost any of his range, at least, just didn't always have call to exercise it and generally chose to stick to a more comfortable mid-range.
1998-2008: A noticeable decline in this time. Tempest lost a decent bit of his upper range in chest, and live started to sound slightly tired as Europe made their return. This was the period when he pushed his voice the least. By the mid 2000s it had noticeably darkened to a degree. In studio, the highs, which were rare, sounded a bit forced, whilst live they were scarce, even with Europe beginning to tune down.
2009-present: A mini renaissance in this time, in which Tempest reclaimed a good bit of his belting register, generally sounding solid up to B♭4-B4, with a few C5s again in studio, though still preserving his noticeably darker tone. Live, he continues to prioritise consistency by strategically leaving out some higher notes, but still melodies up to B♭4 seem within his capabilities comfortably.
1985-88: In my opinion Tempest's peak, at least live. His belting technique sounded more powerful, topping out at D5- this is also the only time I can find him doing the C♯5s in The Final Countdown live, and generally he could give a pretty flawless rendition of the demanding upper fourth octave melodies that were becoming even more common in Europe's material.
1989-1992: Still chronologically peak Tempest- he went back to dodging a few of those chesty highs live, but still sounded at his best in studio. He could still belt as high as D5 and his diction in English had improved a lot, as well as lifting a few vocal mannerisms from the glam metal vocal scene. In my opinion, Tempest was doing some of his best singing in studio when Europe's popularity declined- they went on hiatus shortly after.
1993-97: Tempest's voice mellowed out a bit at this time, most likely by design, as he could still sing the high melodies that had been his trademark and his music was taking a more modest direction at this time. I would even consider this to be peak Tempest as well- he hadn't lost any of his range, at least, just didn't always have call to exercise it and generally chose to stick to a more comfortable mid-range.
1998-2008: A noticeable decline in this time. Tempest lost a decent bit of his upper range in chest, and live started to sound slightly tired as Europe made their return. This was the period when he pushed his voice the least. By the mid 2000s it had noticeably darkened to a degree. In studio, the highs, which were rare, sounded a bit forced, whilst live they were scarce, even with Europe beginning to tune down.
2009-present: A mini renaissance in this time, in which Tempest reclaimed a good bit of his belting register, generally sounding solid up to B♭4-B4, with a few C5s again in studio, though still preserving his noticeably darker tone. Live, he continues to prioritise consistency by strategically leaving out some higher notes, but still melodies up to B♭4 seem within his capabilities comfortably.
{Notewatched Material/Album Ranges}
With Force:
'Force' demos (1982) C3-G4-F5 (It's worth noting, however, that Tempest was already managing some live belted C5s in performances from 1981.)
With Europe:
Europe (1983) D3-C5-E5
Wings of Tomorrow (1984) D3-C♯5-E5
The Final Countdown (1986) D3--D5-E5
Out of This World (1988) D3-D5
Prisoners in Paradise + other recordings at this time (1991) A2-D5-E5
Start From the Dark (2004) B2-B♭4
Secret Society (2006) A2-B♭4-C5
Last Look at Eden (2009) G♯2-B2-B4
Bag of Bones (2012) D3-C5
War of Kings (2015) D3-C5
Walk the Earth (2017) C♯3-D5
Solo:
A Place to Call Home (1995) C3-C♯5
Azalea Place (1997) F♯2-C5-G♯5
Joey Tempest (2002) B2-G♯4-C♯5
With Force:
'Force' demos (1982) C3-G4-F5 (It's worth noting, however, that Tempest was already managing some live belted C5s in performances from 1981.)
With Europe:
Europe (1983) D3-C5-E5
Wings of Tomorrow (1984) D3-C♯5-E5
The Final Countdown (1986) D3--D5-E5
Out of This World (1988) D3-D5
Prisoners in Paradise + other recordings at this time (1991) A2-D5-E5
Start From the Dark (2004) B2-B♭4
Secret Society (2006) A2-B♭4-C5
Last Look at Eden (2009) G♯2-B2-B4
Bag of Bones (2012) D3-C5
War of Kings (2015) D3-C5
Walk the Earth (2017) C♯3-D5
Solo:
A Place to Call Home (1995) C3-C♯5
Azalea Place (1997) F♯2-C5-G♯5
Joey Tempest (2002) B2-G♯4-C♯5
Italics indicates non-melodic notes
Blue indicates clear falsetto notes.
Underline indicates notes in backing vocals or notes otherwise obscured in the mix
Boldface indicates notes of particularly good quality