Santeria - Sublime - Bradley Nowell Isolated Vocal Analysis (Light to Grit, Singing Tips)

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My Website: chrisliepe.com
Join me as unpack the subtle dynamics and wonderful, floating, rhythmic melodies of Bradley Nowell... And, as usual, we'll talk a little production! These isolated vocal tracks are quite the gem!

[@recklessyouth1]

What you are really hearing is this man's soul. He left a piece of it on every track he ever recorded.

[@maxcrowe]

Well said.

[@axandrasmith9357]

Yes! That is exactly what I am hearing!

[@drewsimon3500]

I was drawn to expressive and emotional music 🎶 like this as a kid, R.I.P Bradley, Love Sublime

[@vaultg8057]

Best Comment Ever

[@bgmill70]

Amen.... No doubt about it...

[@bgmill70]

He did this just naturally. It just flowed.... No doubt in my mind it was a divine gift.. RIP Bradley, you and Lou Dog. Music moves me everytime I play it...

[@brandall101]

He sounds like he's in love with the song.

[@preston5892]

I think bradley had a lot of soul. He sang naturally this way. He was just a gifted dude with a lot of passion.

[@zfatbcvxbthsbcv]

Yes tonnes of passion in his singing. Love his voice

[@royventura2650]

Can I ask Sir ,, how they recorded santeria song after Bradley Nowell had died ,,, I think there is already recorded voice of brad being prepared for studio ,,, With his two band mate the drummer and bassist I think they hardly take care this piece of record without knowing that brad could possibly died ... So amazing song where sublime band collectively made it with the rest of two band mate and lately brad ... Rip Bradley Nowell Salute and respect to ur legacy

[@tsdobbi]

@@royventura2650 "how they recorded santeria song after Bradley Nowell had died" um, he died before the release of the album but the album was already recorded. The album was release just 1 month after he died. He died while on tour to support the release of the album that was already recorded and set to be shipped.

[@T.Caldwell_Music]

So glad you did this video and gave this guy his props as a vocalist- so under-rated in that regard...

[@kurtgally526]

Thank you for doing this video about Brad. He's criminally underrated. He did most of his vocals in one single take. People would always say he would stand at the mic for 20 minutes looking at his lyrics totally silent. Then he would just sing the entire song perfectly in one take. Recording engineers would say they would drop everything and record as soon as Brad was ready to sing. Truly one of a kind. I love his singing style. So much energy and soul. It was real and genuine.

[@MarciRayn]

It sounds like he did the entire song in one take, which really shows you his talent.

[@DrahcirSmada]

To be honest I think he did. Don't quote me on that but it really seems like he was the type of genius to pull that off

[@ekojar3047]

It's just natural. Probably some punches. But he was going against the grain at the time when studios only liked pretty clear voices. That stigma was still around . Effortless, and Real is my best description

[@tobysshades]

​@@DrahcirSmadathere are multiple takes of isolated vocals shown on the documentary STLE. Paul Leary stacks a bunch for a Bradley Harmony on the mixing board

[@michaelkozma5929]

Not many people know this but Nowell was one of the only greats who was a bonafide Musical Genius on paper. He had an IQ of 142 even by age 12. His parents enrolled him into a program called M.G.M. (Mentally Gifted Minors) By age 25 his aptitude for music was most likely well over IQ 160. This is my first time coming across your videos, thank you so much for this video. Subscribed. Sublime is my most favorite band in the entire world. I will be releasing a new Documentary on Sublime this 2022. Also, if you enjoy Sublime my band will be performing covers on youtube soon. Much Peace and Love

[@booster330]

Bruh there's no way thats accurate

[@michaelkozma5929]

@@James-xn1oe JEsus Christ are people really that Lazy these days. Bro. You LITERALLY had to click "read more comments" and you would have seen that i provided the sources of this fact in the first comment reply. All people care about in this modern age anymore is being right instead of opening their ears and mind to listen and learn something. God have mercy on all you poor Lemmings. The government, media, educational institutions, and social media have all turned your brains into mush. It's sad.

[@doppeldogo3126]

Hey man ! Which date it's your doc coming out ? I'm very stoked , cheers !

[@michaelkozma5929]

@@doppeldogo3126 Heyya! I don't have a specific deadline planned, it all depends on if I can line up interviews with a few family members or not. I'm feeling like hovering around November. Can't wait for you to see it! They are long overdue for some coverage on them compared to other big bands I see on the internet.

[@Joselrmsilva]

@@michaelkozma5929 please let us know !

[@rydogrittman1871]

I’m so stoked that you emphasized the “slap her down” part in the song. Sublime has been my favorite band since I was like 12 and I actually thought the lyrics were “slap her bare hand” for the longest time until The internet blessed us with correct lyrics. In my opinion Brad has the most soulful voice ever recorded. No other voice is as convincing as his imo

[@jamesdilger8678]

I always thought the line was "slap her a-a-any-how" Amazing what we can learn, even after listening to something for (in my case) over 25 years, thanks to internet lyrics and great vocal analysis like this one

[@paulstiller6239]

I thought it was "slap her head around"

[@LeevitDeBeeva]

Bradley is one of my favorite vocalists of all time. There was so much style and personality in his voice

[@microwavetrash2501]

I didn't realize how much I wanted a video on Brad from Sublime

[@chrisliepe]

Glad it's here! :)

[@j.tsessions3132]

I get goose bumps every time I hear his singing voice isolated he could sing dude rip brad

[@KarlKarsnark]

Brad had so much soul and texture to his voice. His acoustic songs really show it off. Thanks.

[@charleyaguirre4655]

I cant ever listen to Sublime, without thinking of and feeling soul. Even though it wasn't soul music. That's what we got from him.

[@creizyfool]

that's the best video ive seen in a while! good work man

[@Madchris8828]

Its so funny to me how different isolated vocals sound than with all the effects and production behind it. You've made me realize how much production actually goes into vocals. Especially heavily stylized vocals!

[@armp1287]

Sublime is one of my favorite bands, Brad's vocals are very comforting for me

[@rome8180]

I love Bradley Nowell's voice. There's a certain fullness to it that's hard to describe. He sounds like a "grown man," if that makes sense. I'm not disparaging any of the lighter-voiced indie rock or emo singers, because I love that too. But it sounds like he has a huge resonator, even when he's in his head voice. I have to think that if he'd been trained in any way he would have been able to make his voice sound absolutely massive. In recent years, Sublime has really fallen out of fashion. I see negative comments about them every time they come up. I think that's unfortunate. Nowell was a great lyricist and vocalist.

[@michaelweber6329]

Brad's mom was a voice teacher. He was way more musically educated than people realize. Best male singer I've heard. And probably the best singer I've heard.

[@WristWatcher]

​@michaelweber6329 and used his perfect voice perfectly in every perfect song. 🥰

[@brandall101]

@@michaelweber6329 Where did you read that? She taught piano from what is out there. From what I understand he never took lessons

[@brandall101]

I tend to think of the tone of Bradley's voice being something as satisfying as Brian May's tone on the guitar.

[@michaelweber6329]

@@brandall101 Not sure...Don't quote me on that. But I resist the idea that he could have sounded better "if he'd been trained."(responding to rome8180). I don't think it gets any better than what he naturally was...

[@bodyworkwithbella]

Thank you for making this on Bradley, I never get tired of Sublime💕

[@2haveitall1]

The way Brad sings @3:49 will always give me goosebumps. Thank you so much for this video!

[@joshshannon6194]

I’ve always loved Sublime. Bradley always sang with raw passion and grit. I think his authenticity always came through on all their tracks. Thank you for the breakdown Chris!

[@slatzmusic]

Thanks, i love sublime and this song is one of my favs

[@reliablechild]

Crushed it Bradley 🙌

[@han36solo]

Awesome breakdown Chris! So much take away from this incredible stylistic performance. Talk about not being boring!!

[@tal23erez]

I just wanted to stop and say thank you chris!! Ive been following your work for a few months and I learned so much from you. I especially like videos like this where i get to not only learn and grow, but also hear and really understand what's going on vocaly in the songs i love so much, such as this one. So thanks man you are the best teacher I ever had by far!

[@jamiegunn]

Another great in depth video!! You really bring out the expression in singing in all the videos and singers you pull from. I'm honored with so many other singers who highly value the wealth of knowledge you share.

[@Gooby12337]

Such an underrated vocalist. Bradley is probably one of my favorites of all time

[@JerseyMiller]

The vocals in this song break my heart every time.

[@sake_jabetta]

So stoked to see you giving some love to Bradley on this channel Chris! My all time favorite singer and one of the best songwriters of the 90’s. So cool to see ya breaking down some of what he was doing on those magical recordings!

[@franciscoafonso7480]

Amazing content. This is pure gold.

[@THCMusicBlog]

i'm a huge sublime fan. Nirvana always got the "most innovative 90's-rock" spotlight, and i've always thought it was unfortunate Nowell was rarely if ever mentioned. thank you for this analysis, Santeria is the hardest sublime song to sing, i still haven't heard anyone do it justice. youre breaking it down better than ive ever seen before, catching a lot of the nuance only a true sublime fan would notice. i wish Nowell did an acoustic version of this song, im glad someone released the isolated the vocals.

[@carlosleon9581]

Post Malone does a pretty good job

[@monkut]

Probably my favorite vocalist. So much color in his voice.

[@nordhessen-vibes7320]

Thank you! Brad isn't forgotten. That's nice. I still love Sublime

[@icivmusic]

Very glad you made a vid about Bradley. Definitely an underrated singer. I made a comment about a year ago asking for some Sublime so it's awesome to see you make one. If you need more suggestions for deeper analysis videos his vocals on 5446 that's my number/ball and chain or on S.T.P have a lot of nuances there that I think would make for great videos. Keep up the awesome work your videos have helped me alot.

[@PMtoAM]

Freeway time in la county jail also has some kickass vocals

[@1VERZHN]

I have been performing this song in cover bands for over 20 years. He had such a cool style and influences me alot. I love sublime, and sublime with rome ramirez is great as well. Reggae rock is one of my favorite genres

[@prestongoulet4348]

This is the best vocal analysis I've ever seen. Thank you

[@axandrasmith9357]

Brad was amazing and had so much emotional emphasis on his sound. Know one sings like my heroes anymore....

[@dathorndike4908]

Bradley is a great example of a singer using his voice as an instrument.

[@ellielovesbands]

love me some Sublime 🙌🏻 thank you for this vocal analysis, Chris 🥲

[@bobbyzettlemoyer9747]

Awesome video. The story of this recording makes it all that much more special

[@xx7secondsxx]

Pure soul! Ots the man TRULY doing what he loved! His PASSION!! theres a difference between loving something and doing it... but when you have that passion behind it!!! Welp... that's why we're sitting here and reviewing it! Lmado I think it might be his best performance recorded. Bradley was the KING!

[@LuckeGabriel]

Fantastic analysis for an incredible song/performance from Brad.

[@simoneh4732]

I'm loving the recent choices for analyzing Rock type singers with character but not huge chops like Bradley Nowell, Kurt Cobain, and Julian Casablancas. There's so much more going on in their performances than I realized. I'd love it if you could take us back a few decades with Classic Rock singers like John Fogerty, Jim Morrison, and David Gilmour.

[@JoshBevAdventures]

Man it truly is awesome, watching someone appreciate Bradley's talent, and to break it down so well. Ill be keeping this video in my archives for years to come. It is an honor to hear it this way as a fan. It really feels like a tribute to Bradley Nowell. Well done sir, my applaud to you. 👏 I hope you do more Sublime in the future. Some of his other songs that arent played on radio, are other examples of his unique talent. Listen to the tracks, "Get Out!" Or "New Realization" on the album, "Everything Under The Sun."

[@bryanmunroe2372]

I would love to hear ‘Get Out’ to see how he hits the notes on “I neeeeeeeeeeeed a place to stay” that’s my favorite song to play but I can never match Brad’s vocals…. Some instructions would be nice!!!

[@JoshBevAdventures]

@@bryanmunroe2372 yes! Exactly!!! Killer vocals! I always try to hit that part, but its never as good as Bradley. Lol

[@Shakshuka69]

He wasn't thinking about singing, he was just pouring his soul into the microphone

[@ElSizzle]

I loved this, thank you. Bradley’s soul was poured into his vocals every time he stepped to the mic. Check out Gwen Stefani’s description of his cameo on No Doubt’s track Total Hate ‘95 for corroborating evidence of that. One thing I wish you had addressed more is his tone. You touched on it when you talked about his voice being pretty. It is such a sweet, honeyed tone to me. I’d love to hear more analysis about it.

[@jessicaowens6255]

One of my favorite vocalists! I’ve been an amateur singer since before I could talk and have tried to learn as much as I can about vocal science - you explain technique and nuance in a very simple, yet expert, way! Thanks for posting these videos!

[@chrisliepe]

Happy to help!

[@orrinedminsten506]

I love that he is getting some recognition for his incredible voice.

[@Becauseimme]

Bradley was a genius, the dope music he could have made after 1996 would have been amazing. He was one of a kind.

[@Jaysmooth4]

He was a perfect example of not trying hard yet sounding so amazing what a gem of a musician ❤️

[@joshuabyrne2220]

Brilliant video, great analysis

[@Big_C_4205]

He inspires me to sing along to my favorite songs. Makes me almost tear up because he was so damn good. I wish he was with us now, that happy surfer-stoner from Long Beach. Truly in my top singer list.

[@jammanmcguin]

Love the channel Chris!!

[@MaximusA444]

Brad is one of my all time favorite musicians, soul for eons ❤️

[@brianyates7255]

GREAT VID CHRIS...I WAS REALLY INTO SUBLIME BACK IN THE DAY..ANOTHER GOAT GONE B4 HIS TIME...THX MAN..PEACE FROM THE NORTHEAST

[@cncshep]

Another one of my favorite singers rip Bradley it's like all the greats who learn to tap into something amazing gets taken from us way to soon

[@PMtoAM]

I think melancholy really does a number on talent, kurt had depression which pushed him into his sound , bradley had addiction that pushed his talent, etc

[@CDeeez94]

Another great analysis Chris! Thank you!

[@easy24681]

Dude, do a video on recording vocals with the out of phase monitors! Love your content man, you've helped me so much! Keep it up!!

[@40ozjd]

I’m sorry, but the actual analysis of this is: pure love, soul, heroin and genius. You can’t duplicate or explain Brad.

[@dathorndike4908]

Plus, Bradley was doing these great vocals AND playing guitar when they performed live!

[@xx7secondsxx]

@ 3:33 my lord! You just pointed something to me I'd NEVER noticed because of no isolation of the vox! SCHWAAYYYY!!! Now i have a new technique I gotta try! Thank you!

[@mistold]

Dude! New here but you nailed it. Brad had a way of instinctively doing all of this by feel. I believe in life there is the mathematical/scientific way, sorta like you are breaking down and then the feeling/emotional way. If we can marry those two, like attack from two angles lol then its the end all be all... You said it best..."its pretty" its the frequency or resonance that just makes me tear up anytime i hear it haha great vid!

[@slashtrio]

Early sublime fan back in the day. Would always sing to these songs in the car and sometime with guitar. Such soul and attitude in his voice. Love that vibrato style. You could tell he was very influenced by some of the reggae greats. Such a cool mix of punk, ska, soul, rap, and reggae. Cool band, such a loss for music. I just heard his son Jakob Nowell and he clearly inherited his dads vocals.

[@sunday8983]

Subscribed! Huge sublime fan, thank you for this ❤

[@chrisliepe]

Thanks for the sub!

[@sublimeden]

Another cool thing he does is unique pronunciations, especially live. In a jailhouse performance, for example, instead of saying "Bottom" as you would normally, he says "The Bot-tums" and totally says it in this unique way you've probably never heard before. It's little things like that you love to appreciate, and Bradley was an amazing live singer and player, one thing that separated him was his willingness to just experiment live on stage and jam out in the crowd, it feels like every live performance has its own different twangs to it even though he's often playing the same songs. Sometimes he just experiments with his guitar lines and freestyles. In studio, some of the songs he just straight up is jamming out, a lot of the EUTS releases showcase this.

[@jaymeramirez7435]

Bradley’s acoustic album. Wow. You can hear it was recorded on tape on one track. But damn. You could hear his voice

[@bryanmunroe2372]

My absolute FAVORITE whenever I want to warm up my voice before playing I sing the whole album…so many beautiful songs!!!

[@killybilly685]

Thank you so much this video really helped my understand my singing voice. If you have time to do another sublime song can you do Get Ready? That song is so hard for me to sing, especially that “load up the bong, crank up the song” part. Thx sir love your videos

[@umitsever1692]

Love your videos been listening to some of your singing tips it's really helpful for sure

[@Gamewithsmokecheddar777]

Awesome break down!

[@fenderfox5080]

Love it Chris!! Love it!! Kurt will never really die with people like you keeping him alive. More nirvana please 😆

[@swearenginl87]

Thanks Hubert!

[@katherinej51679]

Have you heard his son Jakob??? So similar with more intentional control and technique. Both have incredible natural talent.

[@mrjamesmay3548]

He’s got one of the best voices in my opinion. Yes not technical but It makes you feel something

[@davidphillips9726]

This video was a lot of fun for me. Thanks

[@hbtubman]

I'm a good friend of Eric wilson.he said to me once .the secret of their sound was the tube preamp for the vocals and his amazing secret pickups.and just some of the best musicians I ever had the opportunity to play with.post production was just icing on the way they went on tape to start with.and amazing mix and producing

[@audi0slave]

Awesome analysis Chris! Bradley was such a unique singer☀️☀️☀️ Hard to believe so many great voices came out of the 90s. Would love to hear you dive into the voice of Travis Meeks from Days of the New🤘Love the videos man!

[@chrisliepe]

I totally agree!

[@Okaypeopleofearth]

Would love to see a video on Shannon Hoon from Blind melon, he’s such an amazing vocalist and definitely deserves a video

[@tylerzettler3092]

That’s one of the first things I thought of when I saw this video on Brads voice. Love Shannon, another that died way too young

[@chadlayman2799]

Favorite singer of all time🤘

[@ShredderTainment]

Thank you for this great video. Sad he died. I was on my way to his concert in a bus, and some kid on the bus got meningitis and then we got blocked by the snow. We had to turn around and all take orange pills for ten days. Then Brad passed shortly after that. 😢 Love his singing forever.

[@deadlined1833]

The music without the vocals is also incredible. Lincoln highway dub. You can hear the soul in it. Then combine Bradley's voice with it. OMG. I love it.

[@Step_aside_hombre]

man this video is great ure very talented

[@twistededge8307]

He really is underrated in his guitar play and his voice.

[@CipherSerpico]

Excellent video as always Chris. I just thought I’d leave a little FYI for people-regarding the meaning of the Santeria lyrics, since I’ve heard people criticize the song… *The lyrics are a metaphor* about Brad’s drug addiction, and how he needs to get clean for his son; *He is NOT “endorsing abuse/violence”.* The characters/story in the lyrics (Sancho and Jaina) are a personification/metaphor for his struggle with getting clean.

[@CipherSerpico]

@@James-xn1oe Solid point. I can’t argue with that.

[@__dudewitagun__4607]

loved this video

[@mdc21787]

Please do more brad nowell iso vocals!

[@recklessyouth1]

If Brad Nowell and Sublime would of done a unplugged on MTV it would of changed the world. Nirvana made a huge impact when they did it. Brad nowell would of poured his soul out and showcased his spirit. I really do believe they could of changed the attitude of society as a whole. It would of been a mass introduction that would of made the world a better place. Instead the introductions are one at a time through videos like this .

[@Psalms19.1]

I watched a 20 minute video of him yesterday playing guitar and singing. Just playing what he’s feeling… It’s almost like he’s possessed. 😂 It’s like he’s got a radio station playing in his head 24/7… Lmao

[@mlwsf]

Gonna keep asking for dUg Pinnick. It isn't like there aren't enough examples between King's X and all of his side projects. I will also add Raol Malo from the Mavericks.

[@idkDev]

Awesome video thank you!

[@ikegreen9333]

Good ole Chris

[@RychleTube]

Thank you for analyzing another great singer of the 90s. I would love to see you make a video on Michale Graves of the Misfits in the near future

[@felonius_punk]

Bradley’s vibrato was sooo real and sooo beautiful. He would sometimes end a lyric with vibrato but add this extra sound to it. Hard to describe. It was like he was using less air while constricting his throat and causing the vibrato with his chest? If that makes sense. Almost like he was almost out of breath, but on purpose. Also, he wrote about drug addicted pregnant women, poverty, heroin, crack, tweaking on meth, STDs, needles and violence, all in a Major Key! The juxtaposition of happy reggae and ugly darkness, all with a tongue in cheek humor to it? He was naturally happy and extroverted, a total surfer california kid. If Cobain represents our dark parts of our soul, Bradley could represent the happy side

[@trujih4d]

Thank you!

[@impulsivekind92]

Can you please do sublime-seed. I always thought he had the perfect natural ways of singing in that song with cracked voice raw grit and his pure natural voice just sounds so mortal. Really can’t find any backing track vocals for that one. He really had a lot of similarities with Kurt in that starting calm and going bipolar with the singing and music. Like an ocean wave calm to explosive energy.

[@ohanaathletics8953]

Bradley is the essence of what Bob Marley say: "He who feels it, knows it"

[@KombuchaSlim]

bradley was in touch with what cant be explained and only felt.

[@maxcrowe]

I would love to see you break down Ville Valo's voice, especially from some of the earlier HIM albums. Phenomenal range baritone with deep deep lows and a powerful chest and mixed voice.

[@mdc21787]

Do more from that self titled album, seed, same in the end, sooooo many good tracks

[@Kriekle10]

Good stuff, I'm really liking these analysis videos. I would love to see one on Dallas Green from Alexisonfire/City & Colour.

[@4upacfan]

Sublime songs touch my soul. Bradley was a gift to mankind and we didn't realize what we had until he was gone.. same with Kurt. Punched me right in the feels. You should help Jakob nowell now that he is the front man for sublime. I'd love to hear him add some of his dad's gifts like here to his live work

[@carloslehmann1]

He had a lot of soul for sure. When you got the time, try to listen to Superstar Punanni. I would really loved to see the analisys! Big hug!

[@almota7]

Oh Bradley!