The Fly vs. The Fly vs. The Fly

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All are good versions, but the irony of liking 360 and disliking Vertigo version, considering they're pretty much the same, is sweet.
 
Agreed! First of all: Edge is using a Strat again and not some semi-acoustic! It sounds much heavier (and frankly, better) with a Strat. Second, Bono is hitting those notes again in the chorus, whereas during the Vertigo Tour he would go low at the end of each sentence of the chorus, which really killed the excitement of the song.

I've seen all 4 versions live and I have to say I really enjoyed the 360 version, followed by Elevation (which was something different), followed by Zoo (don't know why there's always this big fuss about that version) and last and thank God least: Vertigo! HORRIBLE guitar choice, ridiculous sound.

And as a note: I also absolutely adore the studio version. That's the only thing I missed during 360 --> they didn't distort his voice enough, it was way too clean.

Yep...agreed on all points, except I'd give Elevation a slight edge over 360 (Gotta go...gotta go....and that great intro)

So...Elevation/360/ZOOTV

Like the Vertigo version of Zoo Station, I found the Vertigo Fly to be a little weak and uninspired. And you're correct it sounds nothing like the 360 version, which is far superior.

It's a shame about Zoo Station, I haven't heard a truly great version of that since ZOOTV, and it's one of my favourite songs on that album.
 
Seeing the fly being played at glastonbury with the retro zoo tv video flashes was imense.it was the best live song ive ever heard from anybody

Would have been awesome to see in person... Past meets Future, Zoo TV meets 360... such a rush!
 
If you compare how radically different the ZooTV, Elevation and Vertigo versions are, the 360 version basically is the Vertigo version with a different guitar. It also has that weird rhythmic play-back thing, but that's about it. For some reason, I prefer the Vertigo versions - not all of them featured tired Bono's vocals - some were more energetic than anything I've heard from this year.

exactly
Besides a diferent guitar, is the same thing. Larry plays the same beat the same way, the chorus breakdowns are the same, the finale is the same...

The ZOO TV version has something special, it leaves no chance to breathe, between the screens and the music you're wraped in a musical delirium.
It flows amazingly well, unlike the Vertigo/360 versions that have those chorus breakdowns that slow the song down just too much, that when they come back to the verse is like they have to rebuild all the mommentum.

And me being a drummer, I still can't figure out how the hell Larry came up with THAT drum pattern, because is really weird. For the VT/360 tour is like the "obvious" drum pattern.

But I really like the Elevation version because is actually different.
 
It flows amazingly well, unlike the Vertigo/360 versions that have those chorus breakdowns that slow the song down just too much, that when they come back to the verse is like they have to rebuild all the mommentum.
What? The chorus moves faster on 360 than it did on ZooTV. Larry's riding the crash instead of keeping the same verse beat and Bono's playing a louder guitar sound. It definitely moves quicker.

And please, 360 is different than Vertigo. Just because it's not as drastic as the other ones doesn't mean it's automatically the same. That's silly.
 
I said that the BREAKDOWN of the chorus makes the song slow down. From the "it's no secret at all"part until the "it's no secret..." verses

The chorus is fine
 
The lack of falsetto puts Elevation last for me, even though I like the intro a lot. I think Vertigo is a major improvement over ZooTV, and 360 is the perfection of that, so my rankings are:

1) 360
2) Vertigo
3) ZooTV
4) Elevation
 
Surprised so many don't like the version from the Elevation tour. For me it says pretty much everything about what makes them a great live act. Damn near their best live song ever IMO. It is epic. Such intensity.
 
As far as Larry's playing is concerned, you may notice a difference between his drum pattern in 2005 and 2006, where he suddenly simplified it even more, making the whole sound a bit hollow. This is why the 2005 versions of The Fly are my favourite ones.
 
Thing I like about the 360 (and to an extent later Vertigo) versions is it's about as sheer rock n roll as U2 gets. They rocked it hard on ZOO, yes...but on 360 it just becomes this epic monster imo.
 
Zoo TV seemed like a slight retooling of the album version, other than the graphics, it just doesn't excite me.

Elevation is where they got the solo right imho

Vertigo was great for the graphics, but i'll vote the Sao Paulo version over Chicago
 
The 360/ZooTV versions of the The Fly will always be the ultimate renditions, IMO. On the Elevation Tour it was cool because to me they made the song more ethereal, plus the solo was fucking killer, and I love it for those qualities. Boston is just otherworldly. It's really got its own thing going on and don't like comparing it to any other versions. I never really warmed up to Vertigo, the guitar wasn't powerful enough and Bono's vocals were spotty. I feel they totally nailed it on this past tour, though. Just fucking great. I hope it sticks around in that style and with added graphics next tour!
 
I think this was previously discussed somewhere but without a definitive answer.

I notice in the live versions the Edge will sing the chorus.

Do we know definitively whether it's Bono or the Edge singing the chorus on the studio version?

I've been thinking its Bono but not sure.
 
steveskg said:
I think this was previously discussed somewhere but without a definitive answer.

I notice in the live versions the Edge will sing the chorus.

Do we know definitively whether it's Bono or the Edge singing the chorus on the studio version?

I've been thinking its Bono but not sure.

It's Bono. The Fly showcases the first appearance of what they call Bono's "fat lady" voice, which is most prominent on Lemon. This is confirmed in Niall Stokes's book "Into the Heart."

Edge does a great job of matching it fairly closely live, though he doesn't get it exactly like the album.
 
steveskg said:
Awesome. Thanks for the cite.

Edge does do a great job. So much so that I actually questioned it. Pretty impressive I think.

No worries! I agree---I think Edge's vocals are an under-appreciated gift in the band.
 
It took Edge a while to figure out that part. He seemed to struggle with it on the first few legs of ZooTV. But once he figured it out, he did a nice job.
 
PhilsFan said:
It took Edge a while to figure out that part. He seemed to struggle with it on the first few legs of ZooTV. But once he figured it out, he did a nice job.

It must have been awesome to hear it live in person on 360.
 
It's Bono. The Fly showcases the first appearance of what they call Bono's "fat lady" voice, which is most prominent on Lemon. This is confirmed in Niall Stokes's book "Into the Heart."

Edge does a great job of matching it fairly closely live, though he doesn't get it exactly like the album.

I used to always think it was Edge singing. I wish Bono could still sing falsetto like that.
 
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