Welcome back to Crazy Singing. I’m
Marc and I’m covering every singer in the world and their craziest vocal lines. And today it is time for Thom Yorke, from
Radiohead, which is the singer that got me into singing, back when I was 16; not that
anyone asked. A singer with a voice so beautiful that according to my own research, he developed
on his own, with no singing lessons whatsoever. So today we have his craziest vocal lines, from
the least crazy one, but still crazy enough to make the list to the craziest one ever. On spot
number 6 we have something potentially very surprising, especially if you are like me and
to tend to associate Thom’s singing voice with his higher, very angelic tone. But the truth is,
he can go remarkably low, like on spot number 6. So it’s not surprising that during my research
I came across a lot of posts trying to point out that maybe, he might be a baritone. I mean,
why not? It’s a solid theory, because he can go even lower than the previous spot, without
any sign of breathiness or struggle at all. Truthfully incredible, definitely baritone-like,
but I guess he’s a tenor because that’s where he chose to sing most of his songs. Like I said we
usually associate Thom’s voice with his angelic, higher tone, either belting or in falsetto, and
this example on spot number 4, from the song “The Tourist”, just has everything. A beautiful
high belt, with a lovely falsetto transition. He sings so effortlessly in that F# on the tenor
vocal break that it’s not surprising he’s able to take this even further like we’ll see on spot 2
and 1. For now, on spot number 3 we have another skill of Thom that is just remarkable. That is,
mixed voice and he has mastered this beautifully. Especially on this live performance
maybe it’s a little easier to hear that he’s not actually belting, but
his mixed voice is just outstanding. That’s such a beautiful,
controlled technique right there. But of course, he could go even higher, crazier, while belting, and adding distortion
or rasp too. So, he’s incredibly versatile. This note is actually the same
one from the ending of the song “Creep”. Another vocal line that could easily
share spot number 2. Although it’s technically shorter and it doesn’t have distortion like the
one we just played, there’s something to the vocals in “Creep” that are incredibly emotional
so it could definitely get spot number 2. But for Thom’s craziest vocal line ever, also from
the same album, we have this amazing scream. He is almost belting a tenor High C, with an
insane amount of distortion and raw vocal power. It’s just remarkable how great he sounds, with
no singing lessons. It’s even more remarkable to know that he was able to replicate these
things in live performances, and he never hurt himself that I’ve read, or developed vocal
nodules, or stopped singing certain high notes. Even when he sang “Creep” for the first time
in 7 years, he belted the final note perfectly. I guess if I had to add a spot number
0, however, for something even crazier, we have this interesting note from a
demo song I believe. It sounds crazy.
