your favorite version of Bad?

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:hyper: I'm all for extra points.

Mega Bad fan here, my all-time favourite number, loads of great versions to choose from but the 10th January 1990 Lovetown rendition is the most majestic for me. Plenty of control and focus from the band, Edge's outro solo is sublime, Larry's drums are full of power and propulsion plus Bono's voice is absolutely unbeatable.

YouTube - U2 Bad/Norwegian Wood live from Rotterdam 1990-10-1 Lovetown

I also adore the Washington 92 version too, maybe the most unrestrained performance of the song during the ZOO TV tour, one of the longest too I think.

YouTube - U2 - Bad - Washington DC - 1992-08-16

Other than the WAIA version is obviously astounding but I also love Santiago 98, Tokyo 06, Dublin 89, Conspiracy Of Hope tour 86...ah the list goes on really.
 
Well of course I couldn't find youtube of mine, I think video exists of one of these but not the other...

1985-04-15 East Rutherford - epic version nearly 15 minutes long, the entire show is great, this might be on u2start or some such place

1989-10-20 Sydney - not sure if this counts but All I Want Is You>Bad is great...sound quality isn't brilliant and there's a VERY annoying screamer but the version is brilliant

1993-08-12 London - the one with the violin, another one where the whole show is pretty nice
 
The first rendition I saw in person (Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, April 3, 1985) was astonishing. First time I'd seen Bono do the Ian Curtis dance during this song, and heard the live arrangement. It was chilling.

Live Aid will always be up there a the top, though. What a brave choice of song. The inclusion of Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love" was at the time touching but in reflection a neat bit of foreshadowing of the Zoo TV era, and Bono's leap into the crowd was perhaps the most dynamic thing to happen at either of the Live Aid concerts, although Bowie's "Heroes" was brilliant.

I'd have to give the vote to U2, though, for the sheer humanity of that moment when the expanse between the crowd and performers was knocked away.
 
Easy question. The version from the Boston Elevation DVD is my all-time favorite performance of any song.

I like most versions during the Elevation tour. I think his voice in that period fits the song better than ZooTV or even any time in the 80s.

ETA: And of course, I was ecstatic when they played it in Chicago on May 7th 05
 
CTU2fan said:
Well of course I couldn't find youtube of mine, I think video exists of one of these but not the other...

1985-04-15 East Rutherford - epic version nearly 15 minutes long, the entire show is great, this might be on u2start or some such place

1989-10-20 Sydney - not sure if this counts but All I Want Is You>Bad is great...sound quality isn't brilliant and there's a VERY annoying screamer but the version is brilliant

1993-08-12 London - the one with the violin, another one where the whole show is pretty nice
Click to expand...

Listen to this guy. I would add Rotterdam 1992 as well.
 
Honestly, this is one of the few cases where I think an official release actually succeeds in being definitive. I've heard just about every Bad there is to hear, and the one I come back to the most is the version on Rattle And Hum.
 
2861U2 said:
E

ETA: And of course, I was ecstatic when they played it in Chicago on May 7th 05
Click to expand...

I was at the same show!! I remember being amazed at how great Bono sounded on the song compared to Elevation versions I had heard. Everybody says it was the worst of the Chicago concerts, but I thought it was pretty damn awesome. LAPOE was kind of an awkward opener though...

Rattle & Hum version is actually my favorite version.
 
Great question, and tough choice. Live Aid was the first and most important version for me as it was the performance that turned me into a U2 fan. The Point Depot concert from new year's eve in 1989 is a great version too - Bono actually creates some feedback into the sound from the power of his voice.
 
Rattle and Hum Excerpts promo cd. :drool:

I love the '85 Bologne 5-12 (?) Bad with the Take me to the River snippet. Killer version.

Also, check out the last time Bad was played. 12-04-06 (?) Last gig in Japan. There is a high quality boot of this show and it does more than PROVE that Bono can sing this song better now than he ever could in the past 12 years. (Simply put, it is this concert that created a very high expectation I have for Bono's voice on this next album. So far, the song NL2 lives up to all the expectations and more, vocally)
 
Album version forever and always. Easily. The synth bits are distracting from the subtle guitar.
 
Rattle & Hum, though I don't have an audio-only version.

Also, the last Los Angeles Vertigo show that I saw where he segued into Patti Smith's People Have the Power at the end was fucking amazing.
 
Roland of Gilead said:
Rattle and Hum Excerpts promo cd. :drool:

I love the '85 Bologne 5-12 (?) Bad with the Take me to the River snippet. Killer version.

Also, check out the last time Bad was played. 12-04-06 (?) Last gig in Japan. There is a high quality boot of this show and it does more than PROVE that Bono can sing this song better now than he ever could in the past 12 years. (Simply put, it is this concert that created a very high expectation I have for Bono's voice on this next album. So far, the song NL2 lives up to all the expectations and more, vocally)
Click to expand...

The whole last Saitama show is amazing. A must-have bootleg.
 
Axver said:
Honestly, this is one of the few cases where I think an official release actually succeeds in being definitive. I've heard just about every Bad there is to hear, and the one I come back to the most is the version on Rattle And Hum.
Click to expand...

I think R&H overall does a good job re: live version selections, with the notable epic phail of PITNOL. And AATW but sadly Lovetown hadn't happened yet.
 
For a long time it was Live aid for me. But now it's got to be Washington '92 Zootv tour.
I really love the ending where he starts his "tududu" from lou reed and the drums lift off the song once more. Great singing and a great sound from the edge on this one.
 
Axver said:
Honestly, this is one of the few cases where I think an official release actually succeeds in being definitive. I've heard just about every Bad there is to hear, and the one I come back to the most is the version on Rattle And Hum.
Click to expand...

Take this post and replace Rattle And Hum with Wide Awake In America. There you go.
 
I don't really understand how anyone's favourite version can be one where Bono screams the wide awakes, instead of hitting them cleanly. It always makes me cringe when he does that. :reject:
 
No spoken words said:
I've thought about this, and I think I have an explanation:

Tastes in music are subjective.
Click to expand...

Then what is the point of this thread, anyway? The original poster wants suggestions... but tastes in music are subjective, so this thread must be totally pointless, because the original poster very well might like the performance from Farmclub.com during the ATYCLB promo tour better than Live Aid.
 
digitize said:
Then what is the point of this thread, anyway? The original poster wants suggestions... but tastes in music are subjective, so this thread must be totally pointless, because the original poster very well might like the performance from Farmclub.com during the ATYCLB promo tour better than Live Aid.
Click to expand...

Read your own post, dude.

You didn't take the time to merely recommend a version you liked, you had to question why people would like other versions. How is that necessary? My post in this thread was a simple "I like the R&H version", did not add a few lines about how I cannot fathom how anyone would like another version.

So, if the thread is about taking a piss on what other people like while talking about what you like, then I offer my profuse apologies.
 
No spoken words said:
Read your own post, dude.

You didn't take the time to merely recommend a version you liked, you had to question why people would like other versions. How is that necessary? My post in this thread was a simple "I like the R&H version", did not add a few lines about how I cannot fathom how anyone would like another version.

So, if the thread is about taking a piss on what other people like while talking about what you like, then I offer my profuse apologies.
Click to expand...

My suggestions were posted earlier in this thread, no? I'm not 'taking a piss on what other people like', I'm really just saying what I like out of a good version of Bad.
 
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