Bono's range/singing on HTDAAB

[Jdelbove]

I am interested to know more about Bono's sining on HTDAAB.

I am wondering if anyone knows the keys or range Bono used on HTDAAB. Any different techniques? For example he seems to sing a lot higher than other U2 albums. What notes are the FEEEEELS! in Vertigo, the SIIIIIIIING in Somtimes, the Under Controooooooool in Original and the Yahweh's. I know nothing about singing but his vocals on HTDAAB sound the most similar to his October vocals. How does his vocals on HTDAAB compair to other U2 albums.

Bono's HTDAAB vocals seem to be an improvemtn from ATYCLB and Pop and I think he sounds the best on either A man and awoman where he sounds 20 again or Original where he just belts that stuff out. What do u guys think is the best song vocaly on HTDAAB and what do u think of the vocals on the album in general.

 

[BVS]

Look up any Peterrr thread...

 

[The_One1932]

Yes, they are better than atyclb, but its also hard to contrast/compare the singing on bomb to pop because its completely different music and singing styles. That being said, considering bono was 40 something when recording bomb and doing the tour... well, he and freddy mercury stand alone when it comes to vocal prowess.

 

[65980]

I'm not an expert on this, but I agree that he sounds much better on Atomic Bomb than on the two previous albums. I read that he was himself very dissatisfied with his early vocal takes on All That You Can't Leave Behind, and he ended up recording them many times to try to get the "soulful" sound that he and the band seemed to be going for on that record. (The best example of that is probably 'In A Little While' where he seems to be trying to sound a bit like Marvin Gaye.)

By contrast, I think he was going for more of an open and loud vocal on Atomic Bomb. This would make sense in that the original conception of the record was to do a no-holds-barred rockin' thing; they later somewhat reneged on that and diversified the tunes a bit. But I guess that, yes, he was probably trying to sound more like the October type of "letting it all out" singing style, albeit with a huskier, more mature voice.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Yes his voice on HTDAAB was very good, better then in a very long time.

The notes he hit was:

- "Sing" on SYCMIOYO is an A

- "Feel" on Vertigo is an B

- Also Native Son's long "Free" note is it a B???? or?

But on Vertigo he took the HTDAAB songs to higher levels-
Vertigo tour is one of has one his best voice era ever, in some views it is the best ever. Sure these days he dosnt have the same strength in screams and wide sound in his "basic" voice like he had in the 80's. But if we talk hitting high notes, holding notes for long time, singing techniques... Well then Bono's 5th leg vocals is the best ever.

Here are some proofs

- Bono did hit the HIGH C in "Wide Awake on Bad" several times on Vertigo tour. Also he sang the "Wide Awake" without probelms three times in the song a couple of times on Vertigo tour.

- He also hit the HIGH C in "Don't you look back" on WGRYWH, something he never has done, not even on ZooTV.

- He has never hold high notes for so long like he did on Vertigo tour("Touch" in BD 5 sec, "Sing" in SYCMIOYO 8 sec, "L'amoure" in Miss Sarajevo in 11 sec)

- He now holds the chours in Pride, something he never even did on JT/LT tour.

- One of his highest falsettos ever was done 2006-11-18 on Vertigo when he sang a snippet of Ac/Dc's highway to hell. It was an E5. And on MW he sang the word "Child" with the ZooTV falsetto sound. Togheter with WITS Bono showed that his falsetto is back.

- He realy showed power when he sang the duet with Alicia Keys on the Oprah winfield show when he sang "Keep my AAAAAAAAAAAARMS down below". Now imagine him use that force in ISHFWILF.

- Miss Sarajevo was amazing, "L'amoure" was an A.

- Bono's voice on the pirate song "A dying sailor to his shipmates" is incredible, it realy makes you think of the song "Wild Irish Rose" he did back in 89. He realy has a very deep sound in his voice on that song.

Heres a mix with voice highlights from Vertigo tour I mad for a some time ago:
www. send space .com/file/z3rytq

 

[thelaj]

It says that file is no longer available

 

[blm]

A voice teacher told me that if you see someones' neck muscles bulging while singing, then that person is straining their voice, and not singing "properly". Is that true? or is this teacher a farce?
I don't think B has had much voice/singing lessons- and i don't care if he has or not. I am just wondering if he has forever been straining his voice, since we almost always see that ( . sorry)in his neck.

 

[Peterrrrr]

It says that file is no longer available

It is

A voice teacher told me that if you see someones' neck muscles bulging while singing, then that person is straining their voice, and not singing "properly". Is that true? or is this teacher a farce?
I don't think B has had much voice/singing lessons- and i don't care if he has or not. I am just wondering if he has forever been straining his voice, since we almost always see that ( . sorry)in his neck.

On Vertigo tour it wasnt to much straining. But he sounded very strained on Elevation...

 

[U2opra]

I believe Bono just has big neck muscles, and I believe the reason for his veins showing is because he has good blood circulation around those points.

 

[BVS]

A voice teacher told me that if you see someones' neck muscles bulging while singing, then that person is straining their voice, and not singing "properly". Is that true? or is this teacher a farce?

Yeah if you see the veins in someones neck then they are straining... Not properly singing.

It's pretty common in rock.

 

[The_Edge89]

Heres a mix with voice highlights from Vertigo tour I mad for a some time ago:
www. send space .com/file/z3rytq

Whoa, that really is awesome!
We're in for a excellent album if Bono keeps treating his voice properly.

I have to admit the Highway To Hell falsetto sound scared the shit out of me
Which show is the first Bad from?
And just to finish things of I have to said that it sounded like he had to struggle to reach the "Look back" in Wild Horses and near the end of "Child" in Mysterious Ways but overall a real improvement from the last ten years when all these troubles started getting serious!

Edited to add: Thank you for uploading the clip for us Peterrrrr.

 

[Liesje]

I think the quality of Bono's voice has declined steadily since UF-era. However, the quality of his technique is far better recently than PopMart, Elevation, even ZooTV. He is singing better, but unfortunately he has done some irreparable damage to his voice from years of smoking, drinking, over-use, and improper technique.

 

[Jdelbove]

is it just me or do guys think is sining on HTDAAB sounds a little like the vocals on October. Do u guys think it sounds like any other album?

 

[phillyfan26]

He can hit higher notes, but his normal singing voice is raspier than ever before.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Whoa, that really is awesome!
We're in for a excellent album if Bono keeps treating his voice properly.

I have to admit the Highway To Hell falsetto sound scared the shit out of me
Which show is the first Bad from?
And just to finish things of I have to said that it sounded like he had to struggle to reach the "Look back" in Wild Horses and near the end of "Child" in Mysterious Ways but overall a real improvement from the last ten years when all these troubles started getting serious!

Edited to add: Thank you for uploading the clip for us Peterrrrr.

The First Bad is from 2005-12-04 - Boston and the second is from 2005-09-14 - Toronto.

He sounded a bit strained on Wild Horses, but hey he hit the note, something he never did on ZooTV
He sang the "child" falsetto in almost every version on MW. I think I've heard one that was even stronger...

He can hit higher notes, but his normal singing voice is raspier than ever before.

I can't agree with you here, he was much raspier on ATYCLB/Elevation tour. Also there is no Bad thing with the raspier thing. Just listen to Wild Irsh Rose from 89, his voice is kind a raspy but it adds more feeling to the song. I realy got reminded of Wild Irish Rose when I hear "A dying sailor to his shipmates", his voice is very deep and you realy can hear he has a real power and strength in the background of his voice. The same is with the raspy thing in One and IALW.

 

[U2girl]

He's been singing raspy since 1990/1991.
I think when rested he can sound a bit cleaner, a la Japan 2006 shows.

A thread, Peterrrr, on the baritone/tenor question. http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=483771

 

[Peterrrrr]

He's been singing raspy since 1990/1991.
I think when rested he can sound a bit cleaner, a la Japan 2006 shows.

A thread, Peterrrr, on the baritone/tenor question. http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=483771

I read on that site for some time ago, and after that I started this:
http://forum.interference.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179306&highlight=bono+tenor




I think he was more of a barritone in the 90's and early 00's but on Vertigo tour he was definitly a tenor. After all the HIGH C on Bad, WGRYWH and Miss Sarajevo from Milan...

In the 80's he did some tenor things, Bad for an example. I watched the UF documentary for some time ago, when Bono sings Pride in the studio, wow! He pushes his voice so much...

 

[U2girl]

I should have known you of all people can't be surprised by a thread on Bono's voice.

I don't know...can a singer shift ? I remember reading a little while ago that the famous tenor Placido Domingo will switch to baritone roles in his latter-day career.

 

[Canadiens1131]

Modern pitch correction is a wonderful thing.

 

[rihannsu]

I should have known you of all people can't be surprised by a thread on Bono's voice.

I don't know...can a singer shift ? I remember reading a little while ago that the famous tenor Placido Domingo will switch to baritone roles in his latter-day career.

But around the time of Pavarotti's funeral I saw several reports talking about how most operatic tenors are actually baritones who are trained to sing tenor such as Domingo but that Pavarotti was a natural tenor. Bono's dad always said that Bono was a baritone trying to sing like a tenor.

Dana

 

[Peterrrrr]

Modern pitch correction is a wonderful thing.

??

 

[ZOOTVTOURist]

he just wants to say, that even with Bono giving it all & singing from the top off his lungs – there is manipulation in the sound. You know, the old "Miss Sarajewo" debate – with me still thinking, too, that the pavarotti part is not 100% live "only" Bono ...

 

[U2opra]

well I'm pretty sure it is, as his performance of that part isn't always the same.

 

[BVS]

with me still thinking, too, that the pavarotti part is not 100% live "only" Bono ...

Then what else is it?

All it takes is two boots to realize it's live. This is one of the dumbest theories I've seen in here.

 

[AchtungGirl219]

Yeah, he never sounds the same during the Pavarotti part if you compare different boots; and when I was at Melb 1 and 2 there was a definite difference between the nights (both amazing, mind you)...

 

[U2girl]

I'm sure he has some effects like the echo/reverb (Edge is an outright hack, then) and maybe some extra push at times (compare how much thicker Miss Sarajevo's "l'amore" sounds to the thinner "sing" on Sometimes, or the album/live "sing" bit) but that still doesn't mean he doesn't have to actually get the note on his own.

Factor in how considerably different he sounds, and has sounded, live/studio throughout his career, and the times when he is out of tune. Is it that far fetched to think he has improved by knowing more about singing and having a vocal coach ?

 

[Peterrrrr]

I'm sure he has some effects like the echo/reverb (Edge is an outright hack, then) and maybe some extra push at times (compare how much thicker Miss Sarajevo's "l'amore" sounds to the thinner "sing" on Sometimes, or the album/live "sing" bit) but that still doesn't mean he doesn't have to actually get the note on his own.

Well "Sing" and "L'amoure" a two different things. He uses more traditional opera sound of Miss Sarejevo and more of his bright voice(don't know if bright is the right english word...) on "Sing". I think that the "Sing" note is much harder for Bono to hit then the "L'amoure" note. And he hold the "Sing" part in 8 Seconds on one show on the 3rd leg of Vertigo.

But why do people think he use something on the "L'amoure" note? Becuase people STILL havent realize how good his voice is now! Lets ask this question. Why shouldnt he be able to hit the "L'amoure" note without help? When he is able to hit the HIGH C on Bad better then ever in his whole life? After all he did on Vertigo tour Im not suprised about Miss Sarejvo. Also another proof that he dosent use any help is that every "L'amoure" note dosnet sound the same to an another, and also have different.lengths(belive me, I have clocked them ).

The only effect Bono use on concerts is the echoes. But thoses echoes dosnet make your voice sound different or dosnet make the NOTE longer(just an echo of it).

 

[last unicorn]

I agree about Miss Sarejevo. If you listen closely to several shows where they played that song, it becomes clear that he never sings it the same way twice. Especially in the early shows of leg 2, when they had just started playing that song, his voice tends to be a little shakier during the L'Amore part. On the last leg, however, it's much stronger and he can hold the note without his voice shaking. I think it's amazing. It's one of those notes that Bono says he has to "climb into". To me, it's clear that they only added Miss Sarajevo to the set after Bono became aware how great and strong his voice had become again. Otherwise he would never have pulled that one off. It's good to see him become more self-conscious as a singer.

 

[ZOOTVTOURist]

I'm sure he has some effects like the echo/reverb (Edge is an outright hack, then) and maybe some extra push at times

That's what I think, too – and you really can listen to the difference between the higher 'Italian' parts and the lines before and after. There is Hi-Tech-support for Bono's voice to create the effect – and that's why it is not a 100% live performance for me ...

 

[U2girl]

Well, you did notice he sings all of the Italian lines a bit differently than the rest of that song ? It's a bit like going in the Hands that built America opera-ish, "wider" sounding voice if you know what I mean. He does switch between that voice and the almost murmuring of the rest of Miss Sarajevo.

I don't know, at times he sounds very thin on those notes (Sometimes, Vertigo) and at times it sounds stronger (Miss Sarajevo, Bad). It could be just a bit of echo, it's not cheating to me as long as it is really him singing the notes.