You're the Voice - Chris Thompson & Alan Parsons Projetc

[ImperialAerosolKid]

I'm surprised to see Chris Thmpson gets stick here. He is one of my favourite singers ever and yes he did co-write this song. Of course he didn't write Blinded By The Light but that is the song that brought him to my attention. Listen to Questions from the Roaring Silence album. Oh yes Farnham is the cute one with the power voice but Thompson is the one who moves me, goosebumps singing.

[captstephen]

CT Your'e TWO K, and TWO BOB !!!

lol xxx

[LesJupes]

I just hope Glee doesn't do this too, they're supposed to have some anthem thing going this season.

[suprsonickath]

Who else has done it, apart from Farnham, Heart, Blind Guardian and Forever After?

[kimjalh99]

Nonsense - Chris Thompson does a much better job than John Farnham. Glad to hear what one of the original author's intended

[xj6001991]

@kimjalh99

No offence to Chris but he is copying how John sing's it.

[CarradineF]

Timeless...



[CarradineF]

Timeless...



[redhairkid]

Just totally wonderful!

[ekke32]

The Estonian version of this great song: "Marju Länik ja Kontakt - Terasmees"

[bds1167]

Chris Thompson and some other dude sang during the 1994 APP concert I saw. Who was the other guy???

[rmoore615]

Chris Thompson is possibly one of Rock's best singers

[emmulator]

most here never heard chris or john live. chris wrote the song, fine a perfect recording in a studio. but remeber chris sings it the way he wrote it...as well he has a reputation of one of the best studio singers in the world...i have seen both john and chris live....chris without doubt..

[snaffuu]

I'm a huge fan of APP. and anyone associated with APP. As for this song...John Farnham..obviously took a look at it.. decided it fitted his voice range..and did his cover version. The timing for Farnham was perfect..his career going through a revival at the time and the song well within his range and power. Plenty of people I knew at the time..just assumed that it fitted John's style..so therefore it had to be "his song". They liked it.. they like him.. and that was enough.

[nzoz1975]

oh yeah, thompson being a kiwi who wrote one of Australia's most popular songs... quite funny!

[paulytlws]

Chris may have co-wrote but he's no Farnham just as that bridge is no sydney Harbour Bridge,

[fjphotography]

Incredible performance - just as good as JF - but too bad about the muted response from the crowd. WTF, he's just finished an awesome, 5-minute-long performance, and instead of screaming and whistling in appreciation, they're singing some classical (Mozart?) piece.

[paulytlws]

@fjphotography This was in the Netherlands I believe

[AnthonyP73]

After 20 years of associating this song with our own Johnny Farnham, its SO weird seeing & hearing the song performed by APP!! Bizzarre! ;)

[MrTonV]

Best concert I have ever attended...

[zilam98]

everything in this is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!! magnificent setting, vocals and song!

[laskov93]

john farnham does it the best. ps its his song

[kingpaul74]

PSS - Chris Thompson was the co-writer of this song. He owns it more than Farnham. John just sang it.

[ecksile]

LoL Just sang it? Use ur head dude...

[db080575]

@kingpaul74  next you will be claiming Chris Thompson wrote "blinded by the light" too. Farnham has the better voice hands down.

[kupa890]

read more pal, he has no rights over the song.

[Haivieh]

hey music lovers! its simply the best voice 4 the best music hands up in the Air 4 Chris best rock voice @ the 70s 80s and 90´s

[SpideyVids]

I also meant to say that John Farnham sang the song in exactly the same way that Chris sang it on the demo.What also happened and cropped up early in the tour was that Alan Parsons had dropped the key of the song by a semitone without telling Chris as HE thought it would make it easier live! Chris only realised this because it put the song into an awkward range for him because of vocal break points, etc.. Alan owned up to his "crime" under duress and got a good bollocking from Chris! What fun.

[SpideyVids]

Chris is actually better live than in the studio. He has a very powerful live voice which doesn't totally get to the recording in the studio, although it is still good, but when you try double tracking him there is something about the frequency of his voice that kind of cancels out the previous track - very odd indeed. I would venture that if Chris didn't sound good live, it was down to the mixing engineer/equipment/acoustic conditions, and not Chris himself.

[patsdayout]

Listen to him singing live with Manfred Mann the great song "for you", and be surprised! In this video he has an off-day, but still does a far better job then Farnham would do it nowadays..!

[SpideyVids]

Chris wrote the song, by the way , along with another friend of mine called Maggie Ryder!

[elielfer]

Belissima interpretação Chris....parabens.

[paulytlws]

Lucky Johnny ended up singing it. No offence to Chris but this is ordinary

[aristocrap]

If you're a fan of Chris Thompson, then you have to check out his work with Steelhouse Lane, where he sang all the background vocals and co-wrote most of the songs with guitar wiz Mike Slamer. On the album Slaves Of The New World, if you listen closely, you'd be able to tell it's him in the background.

[todaysreporter]

That's a voice!! :)

[angus4463]

oh..its a voice. Just not the one to sing this song. doesnt have the "head" voice range at top end of scale

[todaysreporter]

I think he's doing fine :)

[darkkitchenwitch]

I love Chris Thompson... Saw him live in War of the Worlds. He was great!

Such raw, emotional voice!

Chris, you rule!

[GJmusique]

agreed.

don't forget his work with Manfred Mann's Earth Band ;-)

[aussiek67]

He's more a studio singer & this is a "powerful voice" song, especially live. Great song even so. Great lyrics & music. He did pretty good overall.

[SpideyVids]

You should try working with him and then you would know how good he is!!!! And YES, I have!!!!!

[aussiek67]

He's weak at live shows so stop trying to convince me otherwise.The proofs there for all to see. I didnt say he was awful just not that good live. Hes a great studio singer. Thats life! Great for U if you've worked with him.

[sunboyfun]

I would have to disagree about Chris being weak. I saw him with Alan Parsons on the 1995 tour at the Beacon Theatre in NYC. I was amazed at just how solid he was continuously. His intonation and range never faltered. The crowd really took to him as a powerhouse!

[Nebnyr]

I agree with those who like Thompson. He is a good vocalist as he shows on several studio versions and the majority of this live recording. It is his song as much as anyone's and the Alan Parsons Project has obviously seen a kindred spirit in Thompson. Who could deny the raw emotive force of this performance compared to Farnham's music video?

[commander272727]

the song is fantastic--- pitty about the singer..

[dthevan]

a bit unfair methinks as thompson wrote the song, farnham only sang it as the record company wanted a "bigger" name to put on it

[xviisecolo]

It should be Alan Parson's Project lets Chris Thompson sing. The album song would be titled "hold your ears and stomach"

Alan, how could you let this happen?

[xRosje]

Hmm, but I still thinkJohn Farnham's version's better. This guy doesn't reach the same heights, and that's crucial for giving the song the power that's inside. ;)

[szt1964]

Well, I prefer Chris to John F. Actually, Chris is much more straight forward.

[loesjewageningen]

Dutch Xfactor 2009-Liveshow 6-Lisa is better !!!!

[KeviintJahh]

idd, =)

[aqua31958]

I found this hard to listen too. John Farnhams version is far superior, he is the best vocalist in the world

[themasquerade1]

omg.that is beautiful.the place where its sung.

[GAJ0003]

I like this version too. I would love to hear a young John Farnham sing with this group of musicians. Outdoor venues are the hardest to get the best sound.

[ccOleJahncc]

DAMN ! That song is sooo genial !!! Great life-gladly ! Thank you for it !

[relicofgold]

amazing this song.....how it inspires and provokes.

it was a hit everywhere except in the usa. wtf is that all aboot?

regardless, one of the great songs of all time.

should play a loop of this for dick "satan" cheney and his monkey george "kill em all" bush.

[vaughanwilliams1]

That's right, it was a huge hit pretty much everywhere except in the USA--for example, it reached:

#1 in Australia

#1 in Germany

#1 in Norway

#1 in Denmark

#6 in the U.K.

and

#80 in the U.S.

[zakysmith]

one of greatest humanitarian ballads of all time gives me goosebumps evertime i hear it knowing that through all th evil done in world we all aspire to goodness and therefore greatness.

[24may1988]

I personally think Thompson phrases some parts rather oddly("we're all someone's daughter" comes to mind), but I must say he is a fantastic singer. And of course Alan Parsons Project do a fantastic job. Though I do prefer Brett Garsed's guitar playing in the original.

[djshotty1969]

Actually 'Beat Of Love' is in my opinion the best track he's ever done, closely followed by 'Blinded By The Light'. Funny thing, if you ask any John Farnham fan, they'll say he does the best version but Chris craps all over Farnham both live and in-studio.

[SanityBytes]

I kind of like 'Runaway Son' (from Mike Oldfield's 'Earth Moving'). Not one of his better known performances, however.

[SanityBytes]

It might be worth noting that Chris Thompson (along with Andy Qunta, Keith Reid and Maggie Ryder) actually wrote the song, even if John Farnham sang it first.

[verkie]

this is crap! there's only one voice and that's John!

[andressen]

Don't agree - He's doing actually good. Don't know how John would sing today. You should never compare a studio recording from the 80s with a live performance of this millenium.

John was "just some singer" this is Chris Thompson - the voice of Manfred Mann etc, not some casted one-hit-wonder guy.

[flipflopsneeded]

He's right!!!

[urbania70]

and Thompson is one of the authors of this song

[urbania70]

@kunsta. First, I just quoted an objective and correct information. Second, everyone has right to have different opinions, but you don't have right to call me idiot. That classifies you as an individual.

[hootersnooter]

And the singer with Manfred Mann - he is the voice of Bline by the light...and much more

[urbania70]

@hooter.. Yes much more.. even a part in Jeff Wayne's live show of his War of the Worlds.

[pedroalex14]

i agree but give some credits for mr. Alan Parsons, please....

[jackienormal]

awesome! Worlds best vocalist in my opinion

[renesainceman]

Sound and acustics is good

[Seppel3003]

What a grat Song... i love it

[lobo81865]

I always loved Farnham's version best, but wow, Thompson's is great too. I've loved his voice since his Manfred Mann days.

[marcecilie]

After you heard Farnham, it will be difficult to find other versions good. But I like any way Thomson's song; he has also a great voice; great vocalist!

[Droless]

I really don't like the way he sings!

[mickrocks1]

Unfortunately no one will ever compare to Farnham singing this song.

Huge props should go to the writers for writing a phenomenal song, but I certainly believe it was released by the right person.

[MrKyleMatthewJ]

John farnham is a truly amazing singer,but il always prefer thompson singing this song!

[YTubeAdmin01]

P.R.O.J.E.C.T plz ;-)

[naychud]

Great to hear the writer of the song singing it so well. Chris should have originally performed it with his base band Manfred Mann`s Earthband..what a hit it would have been. John Farnham, to be fair, owns the song and his live 2003 version, on You Tube, is THE greatest version. The bagpipes really make the piece. Thompson and Farnham, what a pair of power vocalists!!!

[apologeticsman]

This song came from a poem I wrote for world peace and sent to the Reagan administration. I received an honorable mention from Reagan himself, and NEVER got even a single word of credit from Alan Parson's Project. To this day A.P.P. reps refuse to comment...

[dunlopclan123]

um...actually if you did your homework you would know that it was a song by Aussie John Farnham back in '85...

[hifi05]

This song was written by John Farnham

It was not written in the Reagan era

This is a cover version

Where do you get off taking credit for other peoples work?

Get a life

[svaran]

it was written by chris thompson who's singing it in the video for john farnham you twit.

[hifi05]

Well yes, sorry, I apologize, I should have said John Farnham was the original performer, and technically it was written when Reagen was in power, however my point was more about the stupidity of the original comment, although I should probably should have been more specific.

[mrsandyq]

Actually, the song was written by my husband, Andy Qunta, (of Aussie band, Icehouse) Chris Thompson (Manfred Mann's Earth Band), Keith Reid (Procol Harem) and Maggie Ryder (Eurythmics) in Dec 1985. Andy gave the song to John Farnham's "people" when he was in Australia with Icehouse. John recorded it and the rest is history. But I do certainly agree that the idiot trying to take credit for writing it needs to get a LIFE!!! Some people have a lot of freaking NERVE!!!

Mrs Andy Q

[cepiroth]

they probably don't comment on matters proposed by retards that don't even realise this is a cover of a johnny farnham song

just a hunch

[mrsandyq]

My husband co-wrote this song, dude. Get a life other than trying to take credit for something you did NOT freaking DO!

"You're the Voice" was written by Andy Qunta, Chris Thompson, Maggie Ryder and Keith Reid (Keith, of 'Procol Harem' "Whiter Shade of Pale" fame wrote the LYRICS to YTV!)

Mrs Andy Qunta

[Abby1225]

The reason you never got credit from Alan Parsons is because they had nothing to do with writing the song! Andy Qunta, Chris Thompson, Keith Reid and Maggie Ryder wrote it. You can check the credits on any version, including the one on The Alan Parsons Live CD. Both the Chris Thompson and John Farnham versions credit these same songwriters. I'm sure President Reagan didn't forward your poem to anyone involved in the writing of this song. Happy trails!

[monkmann]

best version ever. great singing by one of the finest singers around

[samueldelgado]

desde mexico, what a gr8 song, the chorus is uncomparable, and the lyrics, so deep, i hope everybody understand the lyric, such a great meanin.

[zatopecara]

This is one of the best 'anthem' songs ever written. This version is excellent, no doubt. David from US Idol deserves huge praise for even attempting this song (and for bringing it to the attention of the American public) and Chris Thompson may have been one of the co-writers but John Farnham's version is THE bench mark. End of story.

[wilmafsc]

Wow! The voice of John Farnham is wonderfull!

I love his version.

[wjvanmiltenburg]

This video was recorded at the World Liberty Concert in Arnhem, The Netherlands on May 8th 1995. This concert was held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War 2. The bridge you see in the background was the scene of heavy fighting in a crucial battle of WW2. Chris Thompson, lead singer of Manfred Mann's Earth Band, is one of the finest singers in rock history (to my humble opinion).

[wilmafsc]

Thanks for the information!

[mrsandyq]

Amen, few can compare to Chris Thompson live... Even at his worst, he's amazing!!! :)

[alonsfz6]

magnífica cançó

[Abby1225]

Any version of this amazing song is worth hearing. We need this song today more than when it was written in 1986! It's wonderful! And Chris's incredible voice handles it superbly!! Great video, and great song!

[seputus]

Mmmm... I never comment on YouTube but --

(and I don't generally like 'American Idol versions') -- that live version of John singing the song is quite horrible. He's shouting the song and way off pitch for chunks of time.

Tuned low or not, the song keeps its range and David sang it with ease and with passion!

Chris Thompson's vocal on the album version is better still.

I'll thank John for writing the song tho! (unless someone wrote it for him ;) ..)

[MrLateNite1]

Chris Thompson (not John Farnham) co-wrote this song with three others.

Although Chris Thompson's voice is off here... it would have been absolutely wild to have been there to sing along.

[svaran]

David version's weak even if is in key and to quote David Farnham is an amazing singer.

[cepiroth]

who is david farnham

[cepiroth]

oh, lack of punctuation, never mind

[AnnHattieAnn]

@svaran JOHN JOHN JOHN Farnham, hon! Not David...

[irock20081]

i agree, thank you david a for bringing our attention to this song

also i think david a can get really far but he probably will not win

[goboywonder]

David Archuleta sang this on American Idol on Tuesday. Thanks David for bring America's attention to a wonderful song.

[Danno21F]

Exactly. Great song; I'd never heard it before.

[dougerber]

haha. true shit!

[dougerber]

the alan parsons i was talking about did have a famous "project". it was some sort of ritual where he tried to bring about the anti-christ (sort of like rosemary's baby). thanks for letting me know about the other alan parsons!

[dougerber]

different alan parsons i think. i saw a documentary on aleister crowley (the guy ozzy is talking about in mr. crowley). crowley was a famous satanist and parsons (a nasa engineer) got involved with him and his weird rituals. i always thought the name of this band was a reference to him, i didn't know there was also a music producer by that name.

[wilmafsc]

As hificanuck said, yes.

[dougerber]

alan parsons was a satanist who worked for nasa! (and yes i know he wasn't in the band)

[hificanuck]

Yes Chris was the singer from Manfred Mann

[BritishRG]

Chris Thompson is fantastic, saw him sing this song when the toured with Alan Parsons Live. It was one of the most memorable vocal performances I can remember. Buy the Alan Parsons Live album to hear the original.

[gilgauser]

He sucks...seriously. I know its a live performance and everything, but he butchered that song. Should have stuck to being a writer

[AngelStarMan]

In short: 6 minutes and half of the most PURE and POWERFUL energy.

Man, how I wish I'd been there! Or at least to have a dvd...

[fedorGLM]

This is realy good.

Wat ben ik blij dat er zo veel van dit concert in Arnhem bewaard is gebleven

[wazza712]

And isn't it coincidental that the bridge in the background looks like a mini-Sydney Harbour Bridge! - Home of John Farnham.

[frankfunkfire]

That's the John Frostbridge in Arnhem, Holland. It played an important role in World War II. A bit of googling for 'operation market garden,' 'John Frost,' or even 'a bridge too far' will reveal much more interesting facts than it's slight resemblance to the bridge in Sydney (and lots of other bridges around the world -it's hardly a unique design, try 'Brienenoord, Rotterdam', for example) ;)

[sunboyfun]

I love John Farnham's voice, but I actually prefer Chris Thompson's version found on the '95 Parsons Live CD. In fact, I felt that Heart did a great version but the melody was always rendered best by Thompson (especially the pre chorus "barrel of a gun" part"). Thompson always is on 100% and never dodges a note. Ann and John F. never dodge either, come to think of it.

[tjmpiano]

one of the best on the planet singing for one of the best bands in the galaxy....

[wilmafsc]

Really, this song is originally performed by John Farnham.

[Metalhead1979]

Yeah, Chris Thomson co-wrote You're The Voice. John Farnham owns it.

[Godofwrath68]

Chris Thompson if phenominal! I love his voice! He sounds best with Manfred Mann's Earth Band though! :)

[monkmann]

Chris Thompson - fantastic singer. Have a look at the songs he performed with Manfred Mann's Earth Band

[Luckiestboyinworld]

Inspiring performance. I can't understand why the crowd isn't more into it. I would be going NUTS!

[Pensfan1618]

Great song!!!! Does anyone out there have a DVD of this whole concert????

[wilmafsc]

You can find everything about Alan Parson on his official web site. ;)

[JackGarand]

i got it...

[geezerart]

WOW! Awesome!

[1975DCS]

Ah the bridge concert near Arnhem! This means a lot to me!

Back than I thought it was the lead singer of the Simple Minds who was singing this song...

So I asked about every record shop about this song of the Simple Minds... Then a year later one record shop said to me: John Farnham? I now have that CD single!

After buying the CD single I believed it was Jim Kerr who covered this song. Now I know better!

[wilmafsc]

You can find this song on the CD "The Very Best Live".

[caempi93]

Love this version with Chris Thompson on vocals, he`s such a great singer! Wish I would have been there. Thank you very much for sharing this :o)