Is Bono is realy singing on Miss Sarajevo

[Jdelbove]

This came up in a forum about his Bono's voice on HTDAAB and I posted it there too but I thought it deserved its own new topic because basicly I took alot of time to write this and find clips so enjoy

About the italian part is miss sarajevo there has been some debate as to whether its all Bono. I believe it is completely live no effects, and its all Bono. However somone made a good point where they said somtimes on big nots he sounds thinner normaly like the sing in Somtimes on HTDAAB and on the lamour in Miss Sarajevo he sounds thicker and powerful. this is true and I have noticed it too

but I think this deomstrates that this is just the nature of the power of his voice - examples and clips follow

he has had this ability for a long time and I have been noticing it for about 5 years. Its almost as if he 2 voices somtimes. His normal sining voice and then a voice he can call upon at certain moments where he can produce huge bursts of power. Have u heard the music cares version of Night and Day where he sings an improvisation towards the end of the song with extreme operatic power as if his voice has no top. Dont tell me they did a backing track for that rare random one off prefomance.

The ending of Walk On at 2002 grammys around 5:10. Where is rough elevation touring voice is still able to reach this register - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pthck2ZfLH4

New Years Day live from Buenos Aires (its true its truuuuuue, we can break throooough, though torn in twooooo part) around 2:15 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw7M...rs buenos aires argentina tour live bono edge

Hands that built America live on the Today Show in 2004. Listen to the end the way he sings Americaaaaaaaaa his voice is huge about 4:14 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI7LjGVO0ik

Even Beautiful Day at Slane on the DVD at the end where he starts singing "you dont need it now, dont need is nooooow it was a beautiful daaaaaay its almost as if his voice changes into a different register much bigger and thicker.

These examples deomonstrate the operatic power Bono's voice has had in the past few years. Clearly as his voice has become stronger Miss Sarajevo became possible. Further I truely beleive they only started preforming this song to show of Bono's new voice so to speak and with good reason too. Listening to the clips posted you can hear the same quality in those notes that you hear in the live preformaces of Miss Sarajevo's opera part. So either they have used backing track on all these various preformances or maybe its the most oviouse conclusion Bono has always had a strong voice and still does perhaps even more so now.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Definitely no backing track - finding examples of him fucking it up will win you the argument. Look for the first Sydney Vertigo gig. He couldn't hold it and gets visibly pissed off.

 

[u2trinity]

Of course it's Bono .

whether Bono's voice is in top form or if he has laryngitis .
when Bono's singing it's Bono singing !

 

[cobl04]

Woulda made the concert I went to pretty fucking weird if it wasn't.

 

[last unicorn]

Why do we have to bring this up again, it's already been discussed in the other thread. It seems that some people simply cannot accept that Bono has a great voice and is indeed able to pull off this and other difficult parts live. Not always, because sometimes he clearly messes up and he never sings the L'Amore part the same way twice. It's the opratic voice he's getting into, the song builts up to that very beautifully. I totally believe that's only him singing, and it's live. U2 would have never taken this song into the set if it wasn't for Bono's great voice. He wouldn't have been able to sing it during Elevation.

btw, sometimes you can see him reading the Italian part from the teleprompter (sorry Bono, I know .... ), so why should he do THAT if he isn't singing it himself?

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Of course it's Bono .

whether Bono's voice is in top form or if he has laryngitis .
when Bono's singing it's Bono singing !

Aren't the woo-hoo's for Elevation (from the Elevation tour) pre-recorded?

 

[The_Edge89]

Hands that built America live on the Today Show in 2004. Listen to the end the way he sings Americaaaaaaaaa his voice is huge about 4:14 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI7LjGVO0ik

I just want to point out that this version actually has a backing track so it's not only Bono that is heard here as he sings on top of the backing track opera part as well.
But you can hear the differences between the two (the recording and the live voice) at least.
The performance at the Oscars is better in my opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl72aA4U2SY

 

[cobl04]

Aren't the woo-hoo's for Elevation (from the Elevation tour) pre-recorded?

As they were walking in they were, but I was pretty sure during the song they weren't. And I don't see the need, because if he doesn't want to sing those parts, he can always motion the crowd to do it anyway, which gets done heaps. He'll come in and sing maybe -hoooo, or Edge will step up...

 

[BVS]

Aren't the woo-hoo's for Elevation (from the Elevation tour) pre-recorded?

I think this was a timing thing, in case Bono missed his cue since he basically starts the song, for it's only the first ones that have a backing track...

Never understood why that was so hard for some to understand.

 

[Axver]

Just for the record, Bono actually doesn't sing at all. Edge doesn't play guitar. Adam doesn't play bass. Larry certainly doesn't play drums.

It's all Dallas Schoo underneath the stage.

Yeah, he's just that talented.

 

[BVS]

Why make this another thread? It's been talked to death, anyone who still believes it's not Bono or there is a backing track are just holding on to that to get a rise out of people or don't know what the hell they are talking about...

 

[rihannsu]

Just for the record, Bono actually doesn't sing at all. Edge doesn't play guitar. Adam doesn't play bass. Larry certainly doesn't play drums.

It's all Dallas Schoo underneath the stage.

Yeah, he's just that talented.

And we're not really in Kansas any more Toto.

Dana

 

[MsMofoGone]

Why make this another thread? It's been talked to death, anyone who still believes it's not Bono or there is a backing track are just holding on to that to get a rise out of people or don't know what the hell they are talking about...

Totally agree with you on that!!

 

[Peterrrrr]

This came up in a forum about his Bono's voice on HTDAAB and I posted it there too but I thought it deserved its own new topic because basicly I took alot of time to write this and find clips so enjoy

About the italian part is miss sarajevo there has been some debate as to whether its all Bono. I believe it is completely live no effects, and its all Bono. However somone made a good point where they said somtimes on big nots he sounds thinner normaly like the sing in Somtimes on HTDAAB and on the lamour in Miss Sarajevo he sounds thicker and powerful. this is true and I have noticed it too

Ok, how many time should we be telling you that he dosnet use a backing track on Miss Sarajevo. Bono was very proud of his voice on Vertigo tour and wanted to show us that, so he sang the opera part. WHY WOULD HE USE A BACKING TRACK THEN? The whole point would be meaningless then. If it was like you are saying, Bono would have resonate like this "Ok im going to impressed the crowd with a backing track as help", does that sound good? NO.
And If you resonate like that Bono must have use a backin track on every tour.

And I told you in your other thread that the "Sing" note and the "l'amoure" are two different things. The "L'amoure" note is sing in a classical opera sound and he use his brighter sound on "Sing"

he has had this ability for a long time and I have been noticing it for about 5 years. Its almost as if he 2 voices somtimes. His normal sining voice and then a voice he can call upon at certain moments where he can produce huge bursts of power. Have u heard the music cares version of Night and Day where he sings an improvisation towards the end of the song with extreme operatic power as if his voice has no top. Dont tell me they did a backing track for that rare random one off prefomance.

Even Beautiful Day at Slane on the DVD at the end where he starts singing "you dont need it now, dont need is nooooow it was a beautiful daaaaaay its almost as if his voice changes into a different register much bigger and thicker.

Theres no strange with that, almost every singer has a low reigster and a very high register. On Popmart and Elevation tour he sang often very low but still he had power to go up higher, but not as high as on Vertigo tour. And not to often because he would have be alot worn out then.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

would i be stunned if pitch correction was used at u2 shows? no... most major acts use it

but is it bono singing? of course. i've been told from someone who sings for a living who's also a big u2 fan that the register/octave whatever the heck the right term for it is that he sings the opera part in sarajevo is really not as difficult to sing as, say, the falsetto parts at the end of with or without you, one, lemon, etc. bono can't get up that high anymore without his voice cracking, which is probably why they changed the ending to one to the "woahhh ohh ohhh ohhh ohhh ohhh ohhh ohhh" part. but the strength of his voice is certainly there still, better than it was on elevation even... and that's why he's able to pull off sarajevo.

or at least that's what i was told... i could be wrong, i don't know. only time i sing is in the car and drunk at kareoke. hardly an expert.

 

[Liesje]

Um, I don't see how it couldn't be Bono. I watched him sing that at like half a dozen shows, most of which I was within spitting distance of him, once in the very front row. It's him b/c it sounds different every time and most of the time there ARE little mistakes (poor technique, voice cracks, off pitch) here and there. I haven't read all the posts here but I can't think of any reasons someone would think it's not him. I have some video clips of the song sung at various shows (recorded it myself every time) that are proof.

 

[Peterrrrr]

as, say, the falsetto parts at the end of with or without you, one, lemon, etc. bono can't get up that high anymore without his voice cracking

Im not sure about that, one of Bono's highest falsettos ever was done on 2006-11-18 - Vertigo on the snippet Higway to hell. It was an E5. Stronger then anyhting he did on ZooTV. I think the only falsetto that is stronger is in the end of
1989-12-26 - Dublin - WTSHNN.
He also used the ZooTV falsetto sound on "Child" in MW. And the falsetto on WITS was another strong one.

 

[gvox]

well it's definitely not 'effect-less' like someone mentioned in the the thread...but it's definitely him singing it....

 

[last unicorn]

I believe the only effect they are using on his voice is the echo, which, by the way, I could do without, even though it sounds cool sometimes.

But other than that, Bono's voice isn't so perfect that you could say they are using a lot of effects. It's him alone. If he messes up or his voice is shit, then you'll hear that.

 

[ElectricalVoice]

Yes, hm, he never fucked up. Even his mistakes are prerecorded.

 

[gvox]

I believe the only effect they are using on his voice is the echo, which, by the way, I could do without, even though it sounds cool sometimes.

But other than that, Bono's voice isn't so perfect that you could say they are using a lot of effects. It's him alone. If he messes up or his voice is shit, then you'll hear that.

Effects are effects. Backing tracks are backing tracks. Let's not confuse the two. Yes, Bono is alone on the vocal track (save when Edge is providing harmonies, of course). However there is definitely more than just an 'echo' on his voice.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

^and it's not as if bono's alone in this practice. heck, i'm sure pavarotti himself used modern technology to make his voice sound as good as it possibly can. it doesn't mean that the voice isn't good to begin with, and great in perfect situations, but when you're performing night in and night out for thousands of people who paid at least a hundred bucks a pop for a seat there's obviously a lot of pressure to make sure things sound copasetic.

 

[ZOOTVTOURist]

Why do we have to bring this up again, it's already been discussed in the other thread. It seems that some people simply cannot accept that Bono has a great voice and is indeed able to pull off this and other difficult parts live. ...

... Na, not this discussion again. Me & some other have discussed this topic a zillion times. There are the purists, who think this is Bono 100% unplugged live aka with mic. And others like me believe, that there actually is a kind of effect enhancing the mic- and sound-thickness during the higher Italian lines. But, please, we won't solve this ...

 

[BVS]

who think this is Bono 100% unplugged live aka with mic.

Never heard of a mic that you don't plug in.

 

[gvox]

There are the purists, who think this is Bono 100% unplugged live aka with mic. And others like me believe, that there actually is a kind of effect enhancing the mic- and sound-thickness during the higher Italian lines. But, please, we won't solve this ...

Any purist who resides on this site or in this thread and asserts that Bono is 'unplugged' and no effects, they are 100% wrong.

Effects by simple definition are there TO ENHANCE and/or PROCESS THE SIGNAL PASSED THRU THE MIC. They can add thickness, character, echo, or whatever other un-technical way you want to describe it. Every singer uses them to one extent or another.

Bono's mic is very much so treated with effects. End of discussion, it's not even possible to argue this point, it's fact, not opinion.

That is not the debate, as far as I can see. People might be wondering whether or not there is some sort of pre-recorded augmentation to Bono's voice during those parts. That is the only aspect of this discussion that is even remotely debatable.

As for my personal opinion, given what I know effects can do for a singer (read: ALOT, believe me), given the huge difference I've heard between IEM recordings of Bono, soundboard recordings of Bono, DVD release recordings of Bono and finally, what I personally heard on the floor at a show....and given the extreme risk with prerecorded tracks, I am of the camp that believes that no there are no prerecorded parts during that vocal part.

 

[Jim]

On a sidenote I heard the soundcheck for 'Sometimes' in Sydney with the band and some pre-recorded vocals. Basically every "And it's you.." has a pre-recorded vocal. I don't think this is in anyway to compensate Bono's live vocal, instead compliments it by adding some subtle weight to the delivery.

 

[EdgeIsTooSexy]

he's been taking voice lessons.

 

[BVS]

As for my personal opinion, given what I know effects can do for a singer (read: ALOT, believe me), given the huge difference I've heard between IEM recordings of Bono, soundboard recordings of Bono, DVD release recordings of Bono and finally, what I personally heard on the floor at a show....and given the extreme risk with prerecorded tracks, I am of the camp that believes that no there are no prerecorded parts during that vocal part.

I haven't met a singer that doesn't use any effects...

Are you in the camp that believes he uses live pitch correction?

 

[gvox]

I haven't met a singer that doesn't use any effects...

Are you in the camp that believes he uses live pitch correction?

I feel a trap here

That's a very good question..

If I were to answer based on what I know, I would have to answer no.

However if I were to base it on what I think I've heard a few times, I would say maybe. There were moments on Vertigo where I thought I heard certain little nuances in the tone of his voice that reminded me of experiments with pitch correction I had done and reminded me of what others have said pitch correction does to your voice. They were very few and far between, those moments, so I don't think he's using it very much, if at all.

To be honest though, pitch correction isn't the 'cure all' it is made out to be. You still have to hit the note for the processor to recognize the note you're trying for, as far as I understand the theory behind it. One thing I do know is that it won't make a bad singer great, that's for sure.

 

[gvox]

On a sidenote I heard the soundcheck for 'Sometimes' in Sydney with the band and some pre-recorded vocals. Basically every "And it's you.." has a pre-recorded vocal. I don't think this is in anyway to compensate Bono's live vocal, instead compliments it by adding some subtle weight to the delivery.

I can't remember, so don't laugh, but isn't that mainly an Edge vocal anyways? In that case it isn't really all that uncommon, he's had some prerecorded voices backing him up on a few other songs too..