Bono: "My voice annoys me"

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I somewhat agree with Bono here. Not to say that I don't like how he sang those songs, but I'm not particularly crazy about it either. I think he overcompensated for it on the Joshua Tree tour, though.

By ZooTV, he had found his best voice.
 
i agree with him somewhat, i guess it depends on the songs. on their pre-boy demos yeah, his voice was laughable. but it improved by the time they cut their first record and on their albums i think for the most part he sounded okay. some songs are questionable though. for me though the big thing was the lovetown tour, where he just decided to scream the whole time. what a maroon.
 
How many singers have you heard say; "I love the sound of my own voice, the only music I listen to these days is our own records"?
 
I wouldn't take it too seriously. It's Bono. He's always been saying stuff like that.

I'm sure he secretly listens to a lot of U2 songs and enjoys the sound of his voice. :lol:

Btw, I liked that bit on the Ellen show when he said that and Ellen kind of cut him short by saying how much she loves his voice and singing and how much she enjoys U2's music. Guess it's one way to get compliments. :wink:
 
BVS said:
How many singers have you heard say; "I like the sound of my own voice, didn't give anyone else a choice"?
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Fixed. :lol:


Seriously though, you're right. I think alot of singers are a bit self-conscious about hearing themselves. It's like there's always something you wanted to fix about that take.
 
KhanadaRhodes said:
i agree with him somewhat, i guess it depends on the songs. on their pre-boy demos yeah, his voice was laughable. but it improved by the time they cut their first record and on their albums i think for the most part he sounded okay. some songs are questionable though. for me though the big thing was the lovetown tour, where he just decided to scream the whole time. what a maroon.
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26/12/1989 is still my favourite bootleg, most of all because of Bono's incredible vocal performance.
 
The article states how Bono was annoyed with mostly the early 80's because he "sounds like a girl". He's said this before - many times before.

There are some songs that Bono's higher range is glorious. I transitioned from general fan to monster fan with TUF mostly because of Bono's voice. I loved how he sang "Pride". While many here are tired of that song - especially in concert - when I hear it on the radio I love it. That passion, the notes he hits - incredible.

But I agree, sometimes he is a bit too high. With JT, he started exploring his lower range and that continued on. Lovetown was a great mix of high and low ranges, but he often resorted to what many call the "Kermit Voice" to hit some notes or give a richer sound. It's just a falsetto and it can work when used sparingly. But on that tour, it was used a bit much. AB showcases lower range well, with tidbits of upper range.

I think the most recent NLOTH has it all. This is yet another reason why I hope U2 keep that album in mind when moving forward.
 
I became a fan mostly because of his voice in 88-89..... so, Bono, you're out of your mind! But of course it has to be taken with a grain of salt I guess...

I would say that his voice is more "annoying" now than ever.....too much on the same tone, less variation and passion. Best voice was between 84-92, end of story.:love:
 
On a semi-relevant note, is it Bono or Edge that does the falsetto (soprano?) in what sounds like Latin at the start of Fire?
 
Yahweh_OMG said:
I would say that his voice is more "annoying" now than ever.....too much on the same tone, less variation and passion. Best voice was between 84-92, end of story.:love:
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That's your opinion, I disagree. There are some moments of his 80s voice that I like but most of the time he was just shouting without knowing how to make use of his vocal abilities.

Nowadays he's fine. There's nothing annoying about Bono's voice. The screaming and overstretching in the 80s was annoying and sometimes painful to listen to. If Bono sings like he did in Amsterdam a couple of days ago for the rest of his carreer I'm more than happy. The man has soul and passion. I'm glad he learned how to train his voice and use it in a more technically skilled way.

Apart from that, it's Bono being Bono.
 
I never said you did say that the entire tour sucked or whatever. I'm just saying that his voice was on during that night (and actually many other shows imo). Appreciate the cynism:up:
 
Yahweh_OMG said:
I became a fan mostly because of his voice in 88-89..... so, Bono, you're out of your mind! But of course it has to be taken with a grain of salt I guess...

I would say that his voice is more "annoying" now than ever.....too much on the same tone, less variation and passion. Best voice was between 84-92, end of story.:love:
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As was stated, your opinion, but I also disagree.

Bono's "weakest" voice was from about '94 to '02. He lost a lot of power, couldn't hit a lot of notes, was often hoarse, etc.

His voice started a comeback with HTDAAB and, IMO, sounds great now.

The difference is that the 50-year old Bono doesn't always put as much passion and emotion into the songs in concert now as he did back in the late 80's. But that's probably due to age and an effort to save his voice for the many shows on tour. Belting it out early on in the JT tour really did some damage. He's learned.
 
last unicorn said:
The screaming and overstretching in the 80s was annoying and sometimes painful to listen to. If Bono sings like he did in Amsterdam a couple of days ago for the rest of his carreer I'm more than happy. The man has soul and passion. I'm glad he learned how to train his voice and use it in a more technically skilled way.
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But this is rock-and-roll man, not opera ("Miss Sarajevo" live notsithstanding). Screaming is how you show soul and passion in rock. I do love his vocals on NO LINE ON THE HORIZON...hasn't sounded that strong for at least fifteen years.
 
doctorwho said:
As was stated, your opinion, but I also disagree.

Bono's "weakest" voice was from about '94 to '02. He lost a lot of power, couldn't hit a lot of notes, was often hoarse, etc.
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I would say that 1995 was a great year :) So 96-02 :)
1995-03-30 - Dublin The Cross feat. Prince*
1995-09-12 - Modena One**
1995? Two Shots Of Happy One Shot Of Sad performence.
 
nothing new here - hes felt this way for a long time

I think his weakest voice has been currently on some live occasions - i havent heard the lower register which compliments his style so well

Anyone notice when he talks he sounds different and is developing some sort of lisp?

I recall edge saying himself his voice has changed

All age related im sure - just happy he is still singing
 
God said:
But this is rock-and-roll man, not opera ("Miss Sarajevo" live notsithstanding). Screaming is how you show soul and passion in rock. I do love his vocals on NO LINE ON THE HORIZON...hasn't sounded that strong for at least fifteen years.
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However, a nonexistent voice shows neither soul nor passion, so I'm happy that Bono has avoided that. It would be nice if his 80s singing was sustainable, but it wasn't.
 
Gonna Run 2 U said:
nothing new here - hes felt this way for a long time

I think his weakest voice has been currently on some live occasions - i havent heard the lower register which compliments his style so well

Anyone notice when he talks he sounds different and is developing some sort of lisp?

I recall edge saying himself his voice has changed

All age related im sure - just happy he is still singing
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His talking/speaking voice sounds really rough, like a chain smoker's voice. His singing voice can still be brilliant (listen to last week's performance of One).
 
Vlaco said:
His talking/speaking voice sounds really rough, like a chain smoker's voice. His singing voice can still be brilliant (listen to last week's performance of One).
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Maybe he has a cold. I thought he'd stop smoking last year after he had his back procedure. Can anyone else hear a lisp? Is it possible to suddenly develop a lisp from nowhere?

Do you think Ali and his children like his voice?
 
Cactus Annie said:
Maybe he has a cold. I thought he'd stop smoking last year after he had his back procedure. Can anyone else hear a lisp? Is it possible to suddenly develop a lisp from nowhere?

Do you think Ali and his children like his voice?
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I don't know, his speaking voice sounds always rough to me. Watch from the sky down for example.

I really don't have a clue if Ali and his children like his voice :lol:
 
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