Jeff Scott Soto recently shared his opinion on lip-syncing vocalists in a video Syncin’ Stanley requested. Soto discussed how he used to have backing tracks during studio sessions and appreciated Queen for manipulation overdubs in gigs.
Jeff toured alongside numerous acts over the years, even briefly fronting Journey, and well, when it comes to putting on a successful show for fans, he has quite the experience. So, while discussing other vocalists who used backing tracks rather than singing live during concerts, the rocker couldn’t help but say it was a rather controversial topic.
Soto recalled how he needed to use backing tracks while overdubbing songs in the 80s while recording at the studio. His Eyes bandmates didn’t have the best vocals, so he would use backing tracks to add dimensions to the track. However, it was apparent that was a studio-only thing, not extending to live shows.
The singer on vocalists lip-syncing and using backing tracks in studio sessions:
“It really is a controversial issue at the moment, and it’s really strange that people are paying attention to it now more so than ever when there were way more bands doing it back in the ’80s, especially when I was doing my stuff. We actually used a lot of backing tracks with Eyes, for instance.
Nobody in the band actually had decent enough voices, and when I used to record those backing vocals, it was, like, 30, 40 tracks of backing vocals, and then you get these guys just kind of barely sputtering them out. The songs just sounded horrible without them So we were doing all that stuff back then as well. We just used them for backing vocals; we never used them for lead vocals.”
He then further exemplified how Queen excelled in using backing tracks while overdubbing their songs during studio sessions but always preferred to play live when it came down to live shows. The act succeeded in both using overdubs in the albums and performing without backing tracks at gigs. Fans also loved both versions, never questioning why the Brits used backing tracks at the studio.
Jeff’s words on not being against using backing tracks and how Queen excelled in that:
“So I’m not against it. I know there are a lot of bands that are against it that would never do it. But then there are bands that kind of need it to get through their set. I’m kind of in the middle. I agree it’s always best to be as good as you can be. A band like Queen, they had massive overdubs on all their songs, on every single song that they ever did back in the day, but they found a way to kind of manipulate it.
And Queen were kind of two different machines — the live machine was totally different than the studio machine — and you accepted it. You didn’t go to a show disappointed, going, ‘Oh, where’s all those big, luscious backing vocals and all the guitar harmonies that Brian May was doing?’ You don’t really miss all of that when you’re able to kind of find a way to get through the songs without all that stuff.”
So, it’s evident that while Soto is not against using backing tracks in the studio to overdub the songs, he’s in the middle regarding lip-syncing at live shows. However, he pointed out how Queen excelled in using backing tracks while recording their albums, playing their songs live, and succeeding in both versions.
