Bono's Vocal Range

[DevilsShoes]

Put me down as another who thinks Bono's voice was at its absolute apex from 84-89. He just got better and better throughout the eighties and I firmly believe that his vocals on R & H have yet to be surpassed. I often wish Bono had learnt how to preserve his voice during this era, he may have been able to limit that steep decline during the nineties. Going for insanely high notes is fine providing you know how to protect your vocal chords, he had terrible technique and basically blew his voice out.

I'm totally with Yahweh_OMG regarding the quality of the voice on songs like One, WOWY or ISHFWILF. There's no way he could top any of them nowadays. The vocal performance on these tracks is a major factor behind their immense popularity, not just with fans but the public at large.

The stuff he's doing on MOS is undoubtedly impressive. especially considering how erratic his voice has been since Popmart, but IMO, it's nothing his younger self couldn't have pulled off with far more intensity and power. On listening to some of the 360 boots, he seems to have no real problem singing in his higher register. If anything it's his lower register which appears more inconsistent and raspy.

One of things I loved most about Bono as a live performer throughout the 80's and early 90's was his commitment to every word, it didn't matter how easy or difficult a line was he'd give it 100% everytime. I sometimes feel as though this particular element of his performance has been lost.

 

[U2girl]

Liked his tone on 80's if only he hadn't screamed so much of the time. He got more control in the 90's but payed the price of smoking. I liked his Zoo TV voice where he got some more control, and added the falsetto.

I also enjoy his current (ES and onwards) phase. No doubt he got better after 1997-2001 period, whether it's taking vocal pills or surgery or singing coaching, it's clearly working.

 

[MissMoo]

As my vocal teacher used to say, Celine Dion has great technique but who wants to listen to it, it's totally cold. I much prefer Bono's "throat singing" years only because of the emotion he was feeling and singing with. Granted that messed up his voice and perhaps if he had learned technique he could have preserved some of that, but I'm glad we got to hear it back then. And that it's in the records.

 

[toscano]

I've heard all the so-called wanna be experts wax lyrically about how much "better" he is now, how his range is better blah blah

Bottom line is he sounds like shit now compared to the 84-89 era

 

[Jdelbove]

i dont think he sounded that good on Joshua tree live from Paris at all - but his live singing in 84 and 85 he sounded great i think thats the best he has ever sung and maybe the 5th leg of the vertigo tour

 

[BVS]

Bottom line is he sounds like shit now compared to the 84-89 era

Bottom line, I sell my opinion as fact blah blah blah.

 

[toscano]

Bottom line, I sell my opinion as fact blah blah blah.

Oh jeez, do we REALLY have to preface everything with "in my opinion" ???

So, no more NLOTH is a great album, it has to be "in my opinion NLOTH is a great album" ????

Reallly ?????

Always ????


Or only when the opinion being expressed is different than yours ?

 

[LemonMelon]

His range is certainly better now that it was in 1987-1989.

This is indeed true. He just sounds like shit when utilizing it. Like Thom Yorke, Bono's voice is getting noticeably thinner and whinier with age.

 

[Dalton]

I wish the Edge was the lead singer of U2. He has far greater range than Bonoe.

 

[toscano]

This is indeed true. He just sounds like shit when utilizing it. Like Thom Yorke, Bono's voice is getting noticeably thinner and whinier with age.

Oh look BVS - Someone else you can chastise for not clarifying that an opinion was being stated..........

 

[Dalton]

Oh jeez, do we REALLY have to preface everything with "in my opinion" ???

So, no more NLOTH is a great album, it has to be "in my opinion NLOTH is a great album" ????

Reallly ?????

Always ????


Or only when the opinion being expressed is different than yours ?

 

[BVS]

Oh jeez, do we REALLY have to preface everything with "in my opinion" ???

So, no more NLOTH is a great album, it has to be "in my opinion NLOTH is a great album" ????

Reallly ?????

Always ????


Or only when the opinion being expressed is different than yours ?

Not what I said. Look at your quote:

I've heard all the so-called wanna be experts wax lyrically about how much "better" he is now, how his range is better blah blah

Bottom line is he sounds like shit now compared to the 84-89 era

You complain about folks talking about something objective like range and counteract it with something completely subjective without anything else, that flys in fourth grade.

This is indeed true. He just sounds like shit when utilizing it. Like Thom Yorke, Bono's voice is getting noticeably thinner and whinier with age.

See LemonMelon acknowledged the objective and answered it with the subjective but then said why... This works in the real world.

 

[toscano]

Not what I said. Look at your quote:



You complain about folks talking about something objective like range and counteract it with something completely subjective without anything else, that flys in fourth grade.



See LemonMelon acknowledged the objective and answered it with the subjective but then said why... This works in the real world.

Way to rationalize.......but he still sounds like shit compared to the latter half of the 80's

 

[VintagePunk]

How anyone who has heard this tour's version of Ultraviolet can say he "sounds like shit" is beyond me. It blows away the Zoo version.

 

[Peterrrrr]

I think he has done his best performences ever in 2005-2009!

2005-03-14 - New York Until The End Of The World, Vertigo The "Love Love Love" part in Until The End Of The World is very strong and Bono sing Vertigo very strong
2005-04-25 - Seattle Bad *U2 High C in "Wide Awake".
2005/2006 Vertigo Tour Pride(In The Name Of Love) Bono holds the chours in the song on most of the shows on Vertigo tour.
2005 July Amazing Grace The song is a snippet on songs serveral times on 2nd leg on Vertigo. The word "Me" is powerful.
2005-07-20 - Milan Miss Sarajevo The "L'amoure" note is much stronger then rest on the tour.
2005-07-21 - Milan Miss Sarajevo The "L'amoure" note is much stronger then rest on the tour.
2005-09-14 - Toronto Bad High C in "Wide Awake"
2005-09-20 - Chicago Discotheque Near the end Bono does some screams
2005-10-03 - Boston Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own "Sing" in 8 seconds
2005-10-03 - Boston Miss Sarajevo *U3 Very strong opera part
2005 Ocotber and November Vertigo Bono screams crazy the "Rock 'N' Roll ******" snippet.
2005-12-04 - Boston Bad High C in "Wide Awake"
2006-03-02 - Buenos Aires Vertigo The last "Feel" in the second chours is powerful.
2006-03-02 - Buenos Aires Mysterious Ways Bono does a amazing performences in the end of the song
2006-03-02 - Buenos Aires All I Want Is You *U1 In the end of the song Bono holds the high "You" note in 7 seconds.
2006-10-13 - Oprah Winfrey show Don't Give Up feat. Alicia Keys Bono hits an B4 in the word "Arm" in "Keep My Arms Down Below".
2006 November December New Years Day The line "Say its true..." is very powerful on the 5th leg of the tour.
2006 November December Miss Sarajevo Bono holds the "L'amoure" note in 11 seconds.
2006 November December Beautiful Day "Touch" is strong and is hold for 5 seconds.
2006 November December Kite Bono sings beautiful in the beginning of the song and later he pushes his voice in the line "Im A Man".
2006-11-12 - Sydney Kids feat. Kylie Minogue Bono does an amazing job on this song, before the performence Bono do some rehearsal, durning that he shows some power.
2006-11-18 - Melbourne Vertigo Bono sings a snippet of Ac/dc's "Highway To Hell" in a falsetto, the falsetto is an E5. One of his highest ever.
2006-11-18 - Melbourne Mysterious Ways The word "Child" is in ZooTV falsetto, there are more perforemences of this type on the 5ht leg of Vertigo tour.
2006-11-25 - Auckland One Tree Hill Bono sings the "Rain" note
2006-11-30 - Tokyo Elevation *U2 Falsetto and scream.
2006-11-30 - Tokyo All I Want Is You *U2 Different notes, amazing vocal performence.
2006-12-01 - Tokyo Vertigo The first "Feel" in the first chours is a little longer that usual
2006-12-04 - Tokyo Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own In the end of the song Bono sings an amazing Opera note.
2006-12-04 - Tokyo Bad *U2 High C in "Wide Awake".
2006-12-09 - Hawaii Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses Bono hits the high C in "Don't You Look Back", it is a bit strained but still good.
2007-11-23 - London Stay Bono sings that "Stay" note high in the end of the song.
2007-11-23 - London Desire Bono brings back the power from the Studio version on the line "Sister I Can't Let You Go".
2007-11-23 - London Angel Of Harem "Yeah Yeah" is a High C.
2007-11-23 - London Waves Of Sorrow "Wave" note is 10 seconds = long.
2008-06-27 - London Happy Birthday *U2 High C in "Happy Birthday", the whole vocal performence on this song is amazing.
2009-02-03 - Dublin No Line On The Horizon *U3 "Rewind" is very strong
2009-06-27 - Barcelona Mysterious Ways*U3 Strong falsetto in "Child"
2009-07-07 - Milan Magnificent *U3 Opera singing in the middle of the song and a very strong "Only Love"
2009-07-07 - Milan In A Little While *U3 Falsetto
2009-07-07 - Milan Ultra Violet *U3 Strong performence by Bono

 

[digitize]

I like Bono's voice from the beginning through TUF tour and TJT album, but I can't really listen to him on TJT Tour. Lovetown was beautiful when he wasn't screaming. I really liked his voice through the Zoo era, of course, but part of that may be that I love me some falsetto. I actually don't mind PopMart... of course it's a bit hoarse and his range was nuked, but it wasn't anything like Elevation. Elevation was an absolute trainwreck (ehh... maybe nuclear submarine collision might be a better description). Vertigo leg five, NLOTH, and most of the first two legs of this tour have been beautiful again, but I wish Bono would go into opera-mode a bit more.

 

[Marien]

Bono had really hard problems during Popmart and Elevation tours, since then he's recovered very well, especially in the high notes, he still has some problems with the falsetto and the low registers that are always the most difficult to recover when your vocal chords have been damaged, this tour he's had two amazing first legs, he sounded wonderfully during the European leg and very well for almost all the US leg, although at the end his voice was a bit tired, he is singing better than in other tours because he projects his voice with real strength, the colour of his voice has also started to improve, I will never forget the first time I listened to Ultraviolet and Unforgettable Fire in Barcelona, it blew my mind, I never thought he would be able to sing like that again. I think he should be congratulated, he's made such a difficult thing, I'm sure it is due to lots of care and instruction on his side.

 

[LemonMelon]

How anyone who has heard this tour's version of Ultraviolet can say he "sounds like shit" is beyond me. It blows away the Zoo version.

Coming from someone who weeps fanboy tears of joy every time that song is performed, even now...no. No, it really doesn't.

YouTube - U2 - Ultraviolet (Light My Way)

I don't consider Zoo his vocal peak, as his lower register was sacrificed somewhat, and I personally consider that his greatest asset as a vocalist, but holy shit, that vocal is incredible. Far more powerful than anything he can muster now. Ironically, he still nails Ultraviolet, so I feel like I'm splitting hairs here. I just can't think of a 360 performance that comes anywhere near that one vocally.

 

[digitize]

I would rate the vocal performances on Milano and Washington's Ultraviolets equally "good" for different reasons. There is no way that Bono could sing the second verse and the bridge in the way that he did in Milano at any point other than 2006-present.

 

[VintagePunk]

No, it really doesn't....Far more powerful than anything he can muster now. ... I just can't think of a 360 performance that comes anywhere near that one vocally.

Agree to disagree then, because I don't see the superiority of this performance. I still prefer the 360 version.

Regardless, my point was that when he's that vocally on, hearing someone describe him as sounding like shit is a big giant pile of WTFery, to say the least.

 

[LemonMelon]

And that's great. Clearly, the positives and negatives of Bono's range fluctuate from tour to tour, and it all comes down to personal taste in essence. The fact that we're discussing that in this thread, however, tells me that it's going off track a bit. Yahweh_OMG, bless his heart (and I agree with him fully), was misguided in stating his favorite vocal era because that takes into account tone as well as range, and this thread was specifically made to discuss the latter. I hate the tone of Bono's voice now -- a wholly subjective statement -- but any of the vocal scholars here will tell you that his range has improved dramatically, which is a more-or-less objective statement. So who am I to argue with them? Honestly, I realize that Bono's range was nonexistent on the Elevation tour, but I think his tone suited the music, so I love that era. All personal taste. But this thread was made to discuss how his current range differs from his range on past tours, so I will shut up now. Snarky hit-and-run comments may still be on the horizon, however.

 

[VintagePunk]

Snarky hit-and-run comments may still be on the horizon, however.

Of course. This is Interference, after all.

I fully agree that tonal quality is subjective, and while I do agree that he's lost something in some areas, he's also gained in others, so it's kind of a wash to me. Some songs are more suited to his current style than others, but I don't think that even the worst of those not suited are awful when sung now, by any means. He's held on to a hell of a lot more of his vocal prowess than many other singers his age, and I'm very happy about that.

Just out of curiosity, since you're so averse to his current tone, how do you feel about NLOTH in that respect? Does it ruin the album for you?

 

[LemonMelon]

Just out of curiosity, since you're so averse to his current tone, how do you feel about NLOTH in that respect? Does it ruin the album for you?

As you said, the merits of his tone vary from track-to-track. I honestly can't say that it ruins the album for me to any degree because (though this sounds vaguely hypocritical) this is the only tone I've ever heard these songs sung in; it's classic tracks like Streets and ISHFWILF being run through that new filter that puts me off because I've experienced (what I perceive to be) the peak of their greatness. Perhaps that sounds curmudgeonly, I dunno.

I recall stating that Bono was NLOTH's greatest asset upon its release, and I do stand by that. He sounds like hell on a number of tracks, tired on others (especially Winter...God, I hate that vocal, on either version), but I think it suits the sound of the record. He sounds downright brilliant on White As Snow. He's sounded kinda wheezy on 360 though, particularly toward the end of leg 3. This has been one of the few tours where he hasn't bettered the album vocally IMO.

 

[VintagePunk]

As you said, the merits of his tone vary from track-to-track. I honestly can't say that it ruins the album for me to any degree because (though this sounds vaguely hypocritical) this is the only tone I've ever heard these songs sung in; it's classic tracks like Streets and ISHFWILF being run through that new filter that puts me off because I've experienced (what I perceive to be) the peak of their greatness. Perhaps that sounds curmudgeonly, I dunno.

No, that makes perfect sense. I suppose I just accept those classic tracks for what they are now, live: songs sung by a vocalist whose voice has undergone some changes over the decades. Beyond that, I guess I don't really analyze it. If I want to hear the definitive versions, I have them.

 

[Rob33]

really?

haha...yes...the OP started a fairly objective thread....and you respond with "his best voice was 85-89," not really answering the OP's question...I don't even mind...Bono's voice is of much interest to me. I'm just pointing out the irony in your original "you just dropped a bomb here" statement

 

[Rob33]

No, that makes perfect sense. I suppose I just accept those classic tracks for what they are now, live: songs sung by a vocalist whose voice has undergone some changes over the decades. Beyond that, I guess I don't really analyze it. If I want to hear the definitive versions, I have them.

Sure, but everyone has their own "definitive" version of Streets though...same goes for any other song....all of this boils down purely to personal taste....For example, I'm not sure, but I think this might be the greatest version of ISHFWILF in U2 history:

YouTube - U2 I Still Haven't Found What Im Looking For Live From Milan

There's just something about that performance that is pure magic...there is an angelic, heavenly quality to his voice here that really puts this whole moment beyond the music...beyond the performance...

 

[youarenotimmune]

I like Bono's voice from the beginning through TUF tour and TJT album, but I can't really listen to him on TJT Tour. Lovetown was beautiful when he wasn't screaming. I really liked his voice through the Zoo era, of course, but part of that may be that I love me some falsetto. I actually don't mind PopMart... of course it's a bit hoarse and his range was nuked, but it wasn't anything like Elevation. Elevation was an absolute trainwreck (ehh... maybe nuclear submarine collision might be a better description). Vertigo leg five, NLOTH, and most of the first two legs of this tour have been beautiful again, but I wish Bono would go into opera-mode a bit more.

dude, this is like reading a transcription of my own thoughts. i agree completely with everything you've said!

one thing i'd like to add about his voice during Zoo TV is how velvety it was. it was such a drastic change from his 80s singing style.

the band's musical change in direction at that point in time is oft-discussed, but the degree of change in Bono's singing style (particularly live) was equally impressive and laudable

 

[popacrobat]

i like his voice

 

[gweeps]

I have always treasured the emotion he could find in his singing over his actual vocal range.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Coming from someone who weeps fanboy tears of joy every time that song is performed, even now...no. No, it really doesn't.

YouTube - U2 - Ultraviolet (Light My Way)

I don't consider Zoo his vocal peak, as his lower register was sacrificed somewhat, and I personally consider that his greatest asset as a vocalist, but holy shit, that vocal is incredible. Far more powerful than anything he can muster now. Ironically, he still nails Ultraviolet, so I feel like I'm splitting hairs here. I just can't think of a 360 performance that comes anywhere near that one vocally.

To me the "I remember when..." verse on this one blows away every ZooTV versions vocal on this song. Theres no way he would be able to hit "lie" that high and clean in 92.
Turn up the speakers and listen:
w w w.send space.com/file/0kt608