Best version(s) 'With or Without You'

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Everything from Popmart further on is mediocre at best. Without the extended solo and the Shine Like Stars verse (which may look cheesy on paper, but it really works live) it ain´t that great. Mostly.[/QUOTE]



Could not agree with you more. Until I got used to it, I was consistently disappointed with just another round of the "ohhhhhhhh....s" here and there sprinkled with a few spoken words from Bono like "happy christmas." Even the "shine like stars" brief comebacks at shows like Slane and Notre Dame felt empty to me, because they were nothing compared to the epic outros from the earlier tours.

Although I TOTALLY understand that U2 is not the same type of live act as Pearl Jam, I would love some extended "tag" creativity during the mellow final parts of WOWY, much as Pearl Jam brilliantly does at the end of live performances of Daughter. It would fit so well there.
 
The Washington 92 Show is fantastic and perhaps my favourite ZOO TV concert. Except for the mistakes in NYD and Pride I think the band were on top form, they were obviously a well-oiled machine by this point, playing with real spontaneity.

I think the show's a great mixture of fun, intensity and emotion. Bono's full of energy and in superb voice, he deinitely wants to give each and every song his all. Plus that version of Bad must be one of the most searing of the whole tour.
I can't stand that version of Bad, actually. :reject:
 
I can't stand that version of Bad, actually. :reject:

:angry: How very dare you :wink:

It's not that bad is it?

I mean it goes a little awry for a few minutes in the middle, but the band quickly get back on course and then it really flies, plus those final 'Wide Awakes' are up there with the very best JT and Lovetown versions, for me anyway. Part of its appeal for me is that I never really liked the falsetto 'Wide Awakes' Bono often resorted to on this tour.

kill him! send him to the gallows :p

LOL
 
:angry: How very dare you :wink:

It's not that bad is it?

I mean it goes a little awry for a few minutes in the middle, but the band quickly get back on course and then it really flies, plus those final 'Wide Awakes' are up there with the very best JT and Lovetown versions, for me anyway. Part of its appeal for me is that I never really liked the falsetto 'Wide Awakes' Bono often resorted to on this tour.



LOL

On the Zooropa leg, usually he falsettoed one of the 'wide awake' sets, and then did the other full voice. I like this technique - at Dublin and the first London night (the two boots I have handy from that leg), he hits the full voice wide awakes quite well... better than JT or LT or PopMart or Elevation, but not quite as clearly as TUF or Vertigo.

I just can't stand hearing those notes screamed. That's why I only listen to Bad from The UF, Zoo, and Vertigo Tours.
 
Could not agree with you more. Until I got used to it, I was consistently disappointed with just another round of the "ohhhhhhhh....s" here and there sprinkled with a few spoken words from Bono like "happy christmas." Even the "shine like stars" brief comebacks at shows like Slane and Notre Dame felt empty to me, because they were nothing compared to the epic outros from the earlier tours.

Although I TOTALLY understand that U2 is not the same type of live act as Pearl Jam, I would love some extended "tag" creativity during the mellow final parts of WOWY, much as Pearl Jam brilliantly does at the end of live performances of Daughter. It would fit so well there.
Hell yes. Daughter tag rules. :drool:
 
I think WOWY has been going downhill since Popmart, but is on its way back along with Bono's voice now. My favorites are hard to pick out, like many, I loved all the JT/LT versions and Zoo Washington 1992. If someone had a gun to my head:

1.)Rattle and Hum DVD- love the shine like stars, the speeded up extended outro, no other version has come close that I have seen.
2)Zoo TV Washington 1992-Extra solo by the edge, shine like stars does it for me.
3.)Saitima 1 11/30/06-Spectular; Bono's voice back on key, a little faster for this last leg of Vertigo, Bono makes an effort to actually sing with power where power belongs and with finesse where finesse belongs, a big contrast from earlier Vertigo versions where it was flat throughout. The parts of the song are clearly recognizable. Throw in shine like stars and this is the best Vertigo version hands down- unless someone could point me to a better one.
4.)U2 3D-A suprisingly good Bono vocal performance for a 2000s version, the oh-oh part, the crowd participation and the emotion is epic. They truly connect with the crowds in S America and they connect with them, you can tell for both band and crowd, it is personal/spiritual. Incredible.
5.)Slane Castle-Voice not the best, but a SOLID performance.

There are probably better ones than 3,4 and 5 on JT and LT, I would love to get my hands on rock's hottest ticket bootleg, I have heard for a long time that they pulled the best performance of this in Chicago that night. These are just the ones that stand out to me as being very good. 1 and 2 are the only ones I am sure of as being the best, 3, 4 and 5 all I am saying is that you can't go wrong with any of them.
 
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