Mercy Vocals: How?

[Miggy D]

Hey guys,

Bono sounds awesome on "Mercy." I remember a few interferencers here thought it was a vocal cut from the early 90s. This was later disproven, and it leads me to wonder 2 things:

1.) How did Bono manage this vocal these days
and
2.) If he is able to sing like this, why didn't he keep doing retakes until he sounded like this on the rest of the album?

His voice sounds so much stronger, fuller, and more clear here than the rest of the album. It kind of frustrates me that we only get this kind of vocal on a track they threw away.

-Miggy

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

He is excellent on Mercy, but I feel you're doing his vocals on the album a disservice...particularly on songs like SYCMIOYO, Original Of The Species etc

 

[U2girl]

Mainly the vocals are in the lower parts of his range in Mercy, he has to reach higher on the album.

That said, IMO he sound really good on HTDAAB - better than Pop and ATYCLB.

 

[Miggy D]

I agree that he does sound better on HTDAAB than he does on ATYCLB and most of Pop. Maybe he should have sang in his lower range on more of the album? That way he probably wouldn't have had to use that 'deep Bono talk' backing track he used about 3-4 times. He sounds really good in his lower range, and the damage doesn't really show when he sings that way.

-Miggy

 

[U2girl]

He has three tracks with double voice: Crumbs, the closer and All because of you. I don't think any of them are that hard on his voice that it meant he had to sing twice.

 

[Miggy D]

I think he sang it twice to fill out his voice. I think, alone, his higher range is kind of thin. I think he sings a deeper backing vocal to give his voice some fullness. He also does his own backing vocal during certain parts of LAPOE.

 

[U2girl]

I just think he thought it sounded cool. Which it does.

 

[KevLW]

The vocals on Mercy, particularly the opening lines, could have been Echo & The Bunnymen.

Just listening to it again - superb.

 

[ultrraviolette]

His voice sounds excellent on Mercy, I love it!

 

[VertiGone]

I was listening to the album for the millionth time the other day, and was just wondering what it would be like to have 80's and early 90's Bono singing the last two records. And then i got to wondering if the band has ever had a great musical idea that they just couldn't do because of Bono's more limited vocal range. Just makes you wonder what could have been....

 

[Miggy D]

Yeah, that's interesting. I don't think some of the songs they've made would work with Bono's 80s vocal style. Just look at the original version of 'The Sweetest Thing.' It sounds so much better with the restrained (or, limited) vocal Bono uses in 1998. The Sweetest Thing did not sound great when being wailed.

That said - it would have been interesting to hear the last 2 albums with Bono's 'Achtung Baby' voice, which had mastered both the sing-speak style and the occassional wail (WGRYWH). Oh well.

-Miggy D

 

[amniar]

He sang twice on Discotheque remember... and a fair few vocals on Achtung Baby had a vocoder on them.

 

[U2DMfan]

How exactly was it disproven that the vocal track isn't old?

Not that I doubt it was, I just haven't read it. The vocals sound like Bono when he was about 30.

 

[Miggy D]

Bono talked about Mercy in a magazine interview (think it was NME?). Mercy and Fast Cars were originally slated to be on the record but the band decided it would be too long with them. So Mercy went on to become 'the best B-side you've ever heard', or something along those lines. Bono was really pulling for the song to be on the album but I think he was out-numbered in the end.

You can tell in certain parts of the song that it's modern Bono, but it's still an amazing vocal.

 

[U2DMfan]

I am aware of that interview, all they said was it was considered to be on the album. COBL is on the album and parts of it are 8 years old.

I think it's probably a new vocal track, as you said you can tell in parts that it might very well be his current voice, but that article hardly verifies anything.

If anything he was drinking some super juice on that day in the studio, that's the best his voice has sounded on a actual studio song in years.

 

[ramblin rose]

I am aware of that interview, all they said was it was considered to be on the album. COBL is on the album and parts of it are 8 years old.

I think it's probably a new vocal track, as you said you can tell in parts that it might very well be his current voice, but that article hardly verifies anything.

If anything he was drinking some super juice on that day in the studio, that's the best his voice has sounded on a actual studio song in years.

Yeah, but on the time line in the book it looks like Mercy was the last song created, while it's clear COBL was the first.

 

[Miggy D]

Did Bono make a pact with the devil in order to sound that good on Mercy?

And, if so, how pissed must he be that he sold his soul and the song didn't even make it on the album?

Perhaps the song didn't make it on the album because it's the only song with a title that doesn't actually appear in the song...ooooooh!

 

[david]

Maybe Bono is starting to try again.

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

Does anyone else think Smile sounds like Achtung Baby? amazing song, and I think Mercy sounds like the 1991 opus as well..would have been great to have them on the new album or a future release.

 

[doctorwho]

I think he sang it twice to fill out his voice. I think, alone, his higher range is kind of thin. I think he sings a deeper backing vocal to give his voice some fullness. He also does his own backing vocal during certain parts of LAPOE.

Then he must have been doing this for a while, because he also did his own backing vocals (or double voice) on "Even Better Than the Real Thing" back in 1991.

The vocals on what we're calling "Mercy" sound as good/bad as the rest of HTDAAB. In fact, I think all of HTDAAB is Bono's best vocal work since AB. He's scratchy when he needs to be (ala "One") and hits the high power notes when he needs to as well ("Vertigo"). He can also scream like he did in on R&H (in ABoY). It's clear that on some tracks on HTDAAB, Bono sang some great, clear power vocals. Therefore, on other tracks, he clearly wanted a more scratchy voice. This decision, of course, works well as the scratchy voice adds more depth to the song (as it did on "One" and "In a Little While"). Recall, John Lennon often used an extra scratchy voice for vocal effects, even singing songs on his back after 24 hours in the studio (when he barely had a voice left).

So I wish people would stop ragging on Bono's vocals. It's clear that his voice is not as rich as it was during the R&H era, but he's still got range and power and he sounds great on HTDAAB. Furthermore, his voice now still sounds 1000x better than most lead singers, including famous ones, like Jagger, Bon Jovi, Cobain, etc.

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

Good post Dr. Who!

 

[believer75]

I agree, I think his voice is incredible on 'Mercy'. I think if they had wanted to go that direction on "How to Dismantle...", I believe Bono could have found a way to put that 'Mercy' voice on the record. Instead, I think they went another direction and I think it suits the songs. 'Mercy', the song itself, is pretty different than what is on "Dismantle" so it might hint at a future direction for U2, maybe?