Lovetown voice moments

[u2trinity]

Peterrrr , would you be able to send me Night & Day ?
Sadly I have dial up and I am not able to download such a large file .

vlucero7@msn.com

 

[Peterrrrr]

Peterrrr , would you be able to send me Night & Day ?
Sadly I have dial up and I am not able to download such a large file .

vlucero7@msn.com

www.s e n d s p a c e.com/file/0iyldw

 

[neilm]

Although for me, the Wide Awake In America version of Bad is still my favorite, wasn't it not recorded at the Birmingham (UK) NEC soundcheck on the UF tour and then had some overdubbing done to it in the studio?

 

[DevilsShoes]

Yeah that's right it was recorded in Birmingham at the NEC, the last note they screwed up so they had to do some work on it in the studio, which is why it ends on a single beat.

 

[neilm]

Hey DevilShoes, I thought that was the case but I didn't know the bit about the ending so thanks for that info!

 

[Peterrrrr]

Anyone here know any high falsettos on LT?

 

[doctorwho]

Well the voice took damage from Lovetown, he started to smoke more. For a while ago I saw an interview from 91 or 92, and you realy heard his smoking hoarse sound in his voice that he hadnt in 89/90. But I think Bono didnt give his all on ZooTV, I think he listend to what the throat doctor said tom him. He started to sing lower. But he had power, he managed to hit "Wide Awake" alot of times, wich he didnt do on LT. All "come on love"(MW), Take Me Higher(non-falsetto), Love Love Love(UTEOTW), Halelujah(RTSS) and all falsettos proved that his voice was very strong. the 93 shows he went weaker. But his 92 voice was very strong.

Some of those songs you referenced though are from '93.

Anyway, I do think he sounded fine for all tours. In fact, while we give Bono some hassle over the '93-'03 years (end of the Zoo tour through Elevation Tour), he had tons of brilliant moments. I just think we were so spoiled by his great voice from late '83 through '92 that any change (due to age, smoking, alcohol, extensive use, etc.) made us think his voice was suddenly "weak and bad". But truthfully, he was still able to belt out songs then. He had his weak moments, but some great ones too. For example, PopMart in Mexico City was very strong. Sadly, the Chicago DVD for Vertigo was not his strongest on that tour (at least I can say I was at that show!). I've heard him be FAR stronger on other nights for that tour (thank goodness for boots).

But I'm really writing to remind everyone of the change both U2 and Bono made for ZOO TV and AB. Comparing R&H and Love Town to AB/ZOO TV is truly apples and oranges. While there are some similarities (both apples and oranges are fruits and have seeds, while both albums and tours featured the same four band members), the differences are staggering. And one is the whole image - and with that image, came a different style and sound. For Bono to belt out AB or ZOO TV songs like he did with JT and R&H wouldn't have worked at all. In fact, it really took the Elevation and maybe even the Vertigo tour before Bono could nicely combine that "funky" side of songs (from the 90's and 00's) with those operatic moments ("Miss Sarajevo", "Sometimes..."). While it's obvious U2 has lost passion for some songs (like "With or Without You" - at least in comparison to the JT and Love Town tours), "Bad" is still fantastic.

So the change we hear for ZOO TV isn't due to Bono's "weakening voice". It was deliberate. In fact, the best example of this comes from the song "One". On AB, "One" is sung in a scratchy, weaker voiced style - a style Bono had not used before. This suited the song brilliantly and is one reason the song is so well loved. Mary J. Blige may have a great voice, but her belting out the song in that duet with U2 misses the whole point of the song. This is a song about a person at the end of his rope, begging, pleading, in pain, hoping - not a person joyously belting out how great life has been. This is why her duet wasn't that big of a hit - she missed why the song was so great! Bono's vocals on AB for "One" are near perfect. But even Bono had some "trouble" duplicating them, because on the ZOO TV tour, his voice sounds almost too rich and powerful for the song. Fortunately, he's able to tone it down again for more recent tours, making the song powerful once again.

 

[doctorwho]

That one is a classic., but my favorite version of that song is 2006-11-30 - Tokyo. I think his Vertigo voice fits the song more.

God Part 2 from the Syndey is another classic(the pro shot one).

Anyone knwo wich month in 1990 Night And Day was recorded in? And wich month Wild Irish Rose was recorded in 1989?

I adore the Dec. 26, 1989 version of "One Tree Hill" as well, for that outro. But I always hated when Bono dropped the notes on that second verse of the "when it's raining" bit. That's the only "bad" part of that song. As such, I've always adored the Austin, TX version (from the JT tour) version of "One Tree Hill" (yes, U2 did perform this song on the JT tour, just not frequently). Bono belts out this operatic "oh-oh" bit in the beginning then really soars on that "when it's raining" bit at the end. That version is my favorite.


Oh, and I forgot to ask - by 1990 version of "Night and Day", do you mean the studio version recorded on "Red, Hot & Blue"? Bono/U2 (actually Bono and Edge) only did one live version of that song, to the best of my knowledge, and it was at the MusiCares 2003 award show (on March 21, 2003) when Bono was honored as their Person of the Year. They did this song (with other musicians apparently). Bono starts off slowly and maybe even a tad off key, but he builds and by the time Edge rips in, Bono is soaring with that song, belting it out just as good as he did in 1990! However, I know of no other live performance.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Some of those songs you referenced though are from '93.

Anyway, I do think he sounded fine for all tours. In fact, while we give Bono some hassle over the '93-'03 years (end of the Zoo tour through Elevation Tour), he had tons of brilliant moments. I just think we were so spoiled by his great voice from late '83 through '92 that any change (due to age, smoking, alcohol, extensive use, etc.) made us think his voice was suddenly "weak and bad". But truthfully, he was still able to belt out songs then. He had his weak moments, but some great ones too. For example, PopMart in Mexico City was very strong. Sadly, the Chicago DVD for Vertigo was not his strongest on that tour (at least I can say I was at that show!). I've heard him be FAR stronger on other nights for that tour (thank goodness for boots).

But I'm really writing to remind everyone of the change both U2 and Bono made for ZOO TV and AB. Comparing R&H and Love Town to AB/ZOO TV is truly apples and oranges. While there are some similarities (both apples and oranges are fruits and have seeds, while both albums and tours featured the same four band members), the differences are staggering. And one is the whole image - and with that image, came a different style and sound. For Bono to belt out AB or ZOO TV songs like he did with JT and R&H wouldn't have worked at all. In fact, it really took the Elevation and maybe even the Vertigo tour before Bono could nicely combine that "funky" side of songs (from the 90's and 00's) with those operatic moments ("Miss Sarajevo", "Sometimes..."). While it's obvious U2 has lost passion for some songs (like "With or Without You" - at least in comparison to the JT and Love Town tours), "Bad" is still fantastic.

So the change we hear for ZOO TV isn't due to Bono's "weakening voice". It was deliberate. In fact, the best example of this comes from the song "One". On AB, "One" is sung in a scratchy, weaker voiced style - a style Bono had not used before. This suited the song brilliantly and is one reason the song is so well loved. Mary J. Blige may have a great voice, but her belting out the song in that duet with U2 misses the whole point of the song. This is a song about a person at the end of his rope, begging, pleading, in pain, hoping - not a person joyously belting out how great life has been. This is why her duet wasn't that big of a hit - she missed why the song was so great! Bono's vocals on AB for "One" are near perfect. But even Bono had some "trouble" duplicating them, because on the ZOO TV tour, his voice sounds almost too rich and powerful for the song. Fortunately, he's able to tone it down again for more recent tours, making the song powerful once again.

I don't agree with you in some ways-

His overall voice in 93 was much weaker then the 92 voice. On the Mexico show his voice is very weak, he still have some problems then after the Sarajevo concert. If you want to listen to godd voice moments from Popmart try the first Las Vegas opening show and 1997-07-16 - Amsterdam.

Also the story behind his voice on One is that he was very off that
day when they recroded the ab version. Bono has never sing in that way live on that song. Just like IALW they recorded it when Bono was off.

 

[doctorwho]

I don't agree with you in some ways-

His overall voice in 93 was much weaker then the 92 voice. On the Mexico show his voice is very weak, he still have some problems then after the Sarajevo concert. If you want to listen to godd voice moments from Popmart try the first Las Vegas opening show and 1997-07-16 - Amsterdam.

Also the story behind his voice on One is that he was very off that
day when they recroded the ab version. Bono has never sing in that way live on that song. Just like IALW they recorded it when Bono was off.

And I don't agree with you in some ways.

Come '93, Bono/U2 had been touring extensively with ZOO TV. So it's only natural for his voice to be strained and weaker. We have seen this many times. Bono's Love Town voice might have been rich, but it frequently "broke down" causing cancellations. This is the only tour where shows were cancelled due to Bono's inability to sing! And listen to the Boston Elevation DVD vs. Slane. Boston was recorded early in the tour, Slane was late. By Slane, while Bono is still able to hit notes, notice how airy and throaty his voice is. That is, he lost the richness he had in Boston. And that's to be expected after touring heavily for so long.

And your point about Bono being "off" is not quite right - the songs were intentionally recorded that way. That is, Bono WANTED to be off. Bono wanted that scratchy sound for both "One" and "In a Little While" for effect. But in concert, his more powerful voice makes it difficult for him to duplicate that effect - and to me, that's a GOOD thing. In other words, it takes a lot for Bono to get that scratchy, throaty voice - and when he achieves it, he still sounds great!

His change in how he sings is also appreciated by fans and even Bono. I don't know how many times Bono said he felt like he sang like a girl in the 80's. Again, he changed how he sang not only for effect or to suit the songs, but also so he could save his voice more AND so he actually liked how he sang. I have heard many fans say they like his voice better NOW than they did then (and how many people here have used that "kermit voice" comparison?).

So while I wish we could go back to 1987 and have that Bono's youth and endurance combined with the 2007 Bono's experience and willingness to experiment vocally, we at least have a man who sings VERY well for 47 years of age.

 

[Peterrrrr]

And I don't agree with you in some ways.

Come '93, Bono/U2 had been touring extensively with ZOO TV. So it's only natural for his voice to be strained and weaker. We have seen this many times. Bono's Love Town voice might have been rich, but it frequently "broke down" causing cancellations. This is the only tour where shows were cancelled due to Bono's inability to sing! And listen to the Boston Elevation DVD vs. Slane. Boston was recorded early in the tour, Slane was late. By Slane, while Bono is still able to hit notes, notice how airy and throaty his voice is. That is, he lost the richness he had in Boston. And that's to be expected after touring heavily for so long.

And your point about Bono being "off" is not quite right - the songs were intentionally recorded that way. That is, Bono WANTED to be off. Bono wanted that scratchy sound for both "One" and "In a Little While" for effect. But in concert, his more powerful voice makes it difficult for him to duplicate that effect - and to me, that's a GOOD thing. In other words, it takes a lot for Bono to get that scratchy, throaty voice - and when he achieves it, he still sounds great!

His change in how he sings is also appreciated by fans and even Bono. I don't know how many times Bono said he felt like he sang like a girl in the 80's. Again, he changed how he sang not only for effect or to suit the songs, but also so he could save his voice more AND so he actually liked how he sang. I have heard many fans say they like his voice better NOW than they did then (and how many people here have used that "kermit voice" comparison?).

So while I wish we could go back to 1987 and have that Bono's youth and endurance combined with the 2007 Bono's experience and willingness to experiment vocally, we at least have a man who sings VERY well for 47 years of age.

The later you come in a tour dosnt mean that you voice get vorse. Often it is so but for an example: on the third leg on Vertigo tour Bono sang much better then on the 1st and 2nd leg. And the 5th leg he was even better.

And his voice was much stronger on Slane then on the Boston. On the Boston show he was a bit off, very shaky. Just compare Kite and WTSHNN from Slane to the Boston versions. His voice is much better on Slane.

And with the One/IALW thing I agree with you. He wanted to sound off, I havent wrote that he didnt

Sure after LT tour Bono strarted to to use his voice more carefuly, but he didnt only change that because only to fit the songs. Bono is a rock singer, but after all high notes in the 80's, the smokin, drinkin, talking took real damage. It was a bit he canged the songs after his voice limit. He knew that he couldnt sing like he did before. Pop/Atyclb was the downhill in his voice era, he had to accept that he couldnt hit the high notes. Why do you think he changed so much on Vertigo tour? Compare BD on Elevation tour to Vertigo tour versions. Toooooooooooooooooooouch me, teach me(falsetto). Same with Discotheque from Vertigo tour, he complety played with the song. Compare how he sings WTSHNN, WGRYWH, ISHFWILF, Kite, AOH, Desire, Bad from Vertigo tour to Popmart/Elevation versions. He sing them now strong because he can, on Popmart and Elevation he couldnt. OTH wouldnt have been possibe on Popmart/Elevation and even on ZooTV he had problems singing the song(only snippet). If his voice would have contunie to be like it was on the 80's in the 90/early 00's he had contnuie to use his voice higher. But he had to write songs after what is voice was capable to. In the past three years he has a his best voice since the 80's he knew that he could go up higher and then wrote songs after that.