It's no secret Ed's voice has changed over the years, but one factor that explains why Ed just doesn't sound the same is that, to me, he used to sing more subdued than he does now.

Here's Ed in 1994 singing All Over You. Subdued.

http://youtu.be/Ph_W7bvlyD8

Now here's him in 2008. Happy as a whistle, smiling, singing it loud and proud like the song is a celebration number.

http://youtu.be/OzwKBemT5xg

As you can hear, the notes change as he changes his mood. The song just isn't the same.

But here's the thing. Ed still has the ability to sing subdued. Here's an example of Ed singing Lightning Crashes in 2012, happy:

http://youtu.be/LSfN6qpdLUE

Now here's him in 2014, subdued:

http://youtu.be/WzY8Z30oWH0

It's a NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENCE. Ed singing joyfully sounds terrible, but when he sings subdued, it's much much closer to the old Live we know and love.

This isn't just true for old Live stuff. It's true for Ed's solo stuff too.

Here's subdued Ed singing his 2013 single Seven:

http://youtu.be/foWSThaHyNE?t=28m35s

Now here's happy Ed singing Seven:

http://youtu.be/pE1X5t5YkSA

Again, subdued Ed blows the pants off Happy Ed, and the subtle difference makes him sound much more like Live-era Ed.

This does give me hope that Ed will return to singing in his old style. The videos I was seeing between 2008-2012 tend to feature happy Ed. But in the last year I've seen more and more vidoes of subdued Ed making a comeback.

One important thing to point out. The videos I posted of subdued Ed singing Seven and Lightning Crashes came from a 40 minute interview on Rover's Morning Glory. It's the only interview I've seen where Ed was really pressed hard about the breakup and why they don't get back together. Maybe it takes getting under Ed's skin to get him to sing that way. Or he was just tired. Or he was trying something different. Who knows?