Bono & Elevation lip-syncing

[doctorwho]

It's definitely B or C. Hitting those high "Woo-hoos" as the first notes of a concert are really tough! He'd need to warm up his voice for that. Heck, even the JT-era Bono couldn't always hit those high "woos" without scratchiness or his voice cracking (see R&H performance of "Bad"). So it's clearly a backing track there, with Bono perhaps singing over it slightly. But as soon as the "woo-hoos" are done, it's his voice. And that's fair.

 

[Noopie]

I'm sure it's B....100% sure!

You can hear it very clearly on the Bono glasses cam on the Boston DVD. There was also an audience video recording from one of the concerts where Bono misses his cue and his mic isn't even in front of his mouth. All of the WooHoo's from every concert on the elevation tour had the backing vocal track (that means throughout the entire song, not just the opening). Why is this such a surprise? An aggressive falsetto would be difficult to hit at the beginning of every concert every night. Do you think they would want to start off the show with Bono's voice cracking immediately?

You can also hear it VERY clearly at the MTV awards where they had some technical difficulties and the WooHoo's were the only thing that came out of the speakers. That definitely wasn't Bono singing live.

Please note however that all of the elevation pre-tour dates (Irving Plaza, SNL, Farm Club) were sung live, including the WooHoo's.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

Isn't there a double standard here?

 

[Blue Room]

Bono sang to a backing track of himself for the woo hoos at most Elevation shows. He was singing though also, but he had help from the backing track, only on that part though. There are some early shows of Elevation where he is not using the backing track and you can tell. Otherwise its all Bono completely live.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

So it's ok to use vocal backing tracks for small parts of a song? Or should the use of vocal backing tracks only be criticized if singers use backing tracks for the entire duration of a song?

 

[caragriff]

no, everybody should be criticized.
all the time.
non-stop.
for every last little thing.
in fact, while he was lip synching to his backing track, he was simultaneously losing one hair, developing a wrinkle and gaining two pounds.
please, somebody start a thread on that.
oh, sorry, i guess we already have 100 of those threads going.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

no, everybody should be criticized.
all the time.
non-stop.
for every last little thing.
in fact, while he was lip synching to his backing track, he was simultaneously losing one hair, developing a wrinkle and gaining two pounds.
please, somebody start a thread on that.
oh, sorry, i guess we already have 100 of those threads going.

Do we? I believe you're being too harsh in terms of your judgements. I don't see why you're so against backing tracks to that degree that you have to criticize everything down to Bono's hair and skin.

 

[Do Miss America]

This is one funny fucking thread.

I agree with BVS. This isn't something they were trying to disguise. They needed the "backing track" to make the transition from them walking in to playing live. This isn't like Brittney using backing tracks because she can't sing.

 

[caragriff]

Do we? I believe you're being too harsh in terms of your judgements. I don't see why you're so against backing tracks to that degree that you have to criticize everything down to Bono's hair and skin.

LOL.
anyway, yeah, it definitely is a backing track.
and it does not seem like a big deal to me considering it is the very beginning of the show and it seems so obvious that it is a backing track--that it is clear they are not trying to trick anyone with it.
so just to clarify--his hair, skin, and limited and obvious use of backing tracks--all fine by me

 

[Judah]

For the concerts, i also only noticed the obvious woo-hoo backing track as the introduction, not during Bono's performance.

SNL's Elevation didn't use any backing tracks...not that i could notice. (But they did use backing tracks for BD on SNL...the wash of background vocals...it's pretty obvious and i don't think they were trying to hide it.)

 

[popacrobat]

Bono sang to a backing track of himself for the woo hoos at most Elevation shows. He was singing though also, but he had help from the backing track, only on that part though. There are some early shows of Elevation where he is not using the backing track and you can tell. Otherwise its all Bono completely live.

correct, and most of the time it's completely bono, you can definitly tell this in comparing 3rd leg bootlegs compared to first leg ones.

additionally, obviously the woo-woo's and everything were played as a backing track when they walked on stage...it's called an intro...

 

[FullonEdge2]

correct, and most of the time it's completely bono, you can definitly tell this in comparing 3rd leg bootlegs compared to first leg ones.

additionally, obviously the woo-woo's and everything were played as a backing track when they walked on stage...it's called an intro...

That's also because the intro was a remix of Elevation. As soon as the band started the live Elevation, the remix was finished.

 

[Blue Room]

Was anyone referring to the intro music? I missed that if so. Obviously thats pre recorded. When the band isnt even on stage when it starts I dont think they are trying to make it look like its being done live!

 

[doctorwho]

So it's ok to use vocal backing tracks for small parts of a song? Or should the use of vocal backing tracks only be criticized if singers use backing tracks for the entire duration of a song?

I might not say the answer you want to read, but yes, I do think it's fair to use a backing track for a very small part of a song (such as a "woohoo" or a backing chorus that cleary can't be reproduced in concert as in "Beautiful Day"). However, if one uses a backing track for the entire song to sound "richer", then that seems fake. Because at what point is it lip-synching?

If my logic isn't rational to you, that's because I really don't think having a backing track for a few second "woohoo" is not the same as the having one for an entire 4 minute song.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

I might not say the answer you want to read, but yes, I do think it's fair to use a backing track for a very small part of a song (such as a "woohoo" or a backing chorus that cleary can't be reproduced in concert as in "Beautiful Day"). However, if one uses a backing track for the entire song to sound "richer", then that seems fake. Because at what point is it lip-synching?

If my logic isn't rational to you, that's because I really don't think having a backing track for a few second "woohoo" is not the same as the having one for an entire 4 minute song.

I have no problem with your answer. I do not like absolute lip synching where there is no singing involved but I have no real problem with the use of backing tracks to help make a voice more full.

However, when it comes to instruments, I'm