Songs that get better when you see them live...

[elevated_u2_fan]

In honor of my 100th post I thought I would start a new thread, here goes...

With every new album there are always a couple of songs which I initially do not like but become favorites after seeing them live:

Achtung:
UTEOW

Zooropa:
Dirty Day

POP:
Gone
Please

ATYCLB:
Kite
New York

HTDAAB:
Miracle Drug
OOTS

I realize in allot of ways that most songs are better live but for me I hated most of these above songs until hearing them live... Anyone else find this?

 

[Devlin]

40! I literally cannot stand the cd version of that song - Bono's young voice bothers me. The song just seems so..I dunno, unfinished. But the live version I heard on the Chicago DVD was lovely. And Miracle Drug - okay this is more just seeing Larry singing, than anything! OOTs, too, I like live. Bullet, that whole thing - And Gone.

 

[xaviMF22]

where the streets have no name...the album version doesn't do this song justice

 

[mandrake]

Elevation on either Elevation or Vertigo is great live.

And there are some songs that get worse live....like Lemon, but thats another post probably.

 

[martha]

Miracle Drug. It didn't work for me at all until I heard it live.

 

[U2Girl416]

I Please live, and Gone. I esp love Edge during Mysterious Ways. these songs I like normally but definitely awesome live. Bullet I don't mind live either.

 

[YBORCITY]

UF:
Bad - as great as it was on the album they took it to a much higher level live

JT:
Where the Streets have No Name- Could be my all time favorite Live U2 song.
One Tree Hill - I was lucky enough to see them do this song live and all I ask is that I get one more chance to see them play this
WOWY - good song on the Album but when you add the great guitar work and the outtro with a Shine Like Stars snippett - you get a classic
RTSS - I actually love the "Helicopter" Intro they played on the ZOO Tour.

Achtung Baby:

UltraViolet - Average song on the album but seemed to have new life to it Live.
The Fly - LOVED the Album version but when Edge opens up a can of whoop ass Live with this song brings it to sonic nirvana

ZOOROPA:
Dirty Day - seemed to be played with a certain type of meanness that was lacking in the Studio version.

POP:
Gone see above

ATYCLB:

Kite - Very emotianlly driven with the impending/death of Bono's Dad
Walk On - I may be a bit speaking emotionally but after 9/11 this song helped me heal. To see this song at the end of the post 9/11 shows with everyone (including me) around me crying it was something special

BOMB:

A Man And a Woman (just joking)
OOTS - I guess if I had to pick one song that would be it

 

[kinkajou7]

Definitely agree with Please. I didn't like Love and Peace much but thought it was awesome live. Yahweh also improved live but I still hate the song...

 

[pepokiss]

Electric Co
Streets
Fast Cars
Kite
New York
Miami
COBL
LAPOE
The Fly
Even better Than The Real Thing... God.. that thing live was the real showstarter in Santiago 98
MOFO
Mysterious Ways... but only ZooTV and maybe Popmart... from then on it's a dissaster
WOWY
Bullet (that doesn't mean I like the song)
GOD F'N PART II
UTEOTW
Last Night On Earth
Zoo Station
40


there...

now, songs that don't make it live...

ONE... no version can match that beauty that's track 3 of AB... (maybe the NotreDame version)

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

RTSS - I actually love the "Helicopter" Intro they played on the ZOO Tour.

For this one I have always felt the album version was far superior. it had a very live feeling to begin with that I don't think they have ever recaptured...

Originally posted by kinkajou7
Definitely agree with Please. I didn't like Love and Peace much but thought it was awesome live. Yahweh also improved live but I still hate the song...

I forgot about Yahweh, I think the stripped down arrangement suits it and they lost the "Your love is like a drop in the ocean" part...

Same goes for ABOY, when I first heard it I HATED the chorus but it really grew on me after seeing it live.

 

[bratty_cat]

UTEOTW - so much better live.

Elevation - such stupid lyrics ("a mole digging in a hole"). Could barely listen to it before but it worked live and now I really like the song.

New York - hated this song on ATYCLB but they semi-redeemed it live.

WITS - only heard it a handful of times before hearing it live at Tokyo 3. It's much better live.

 

[The Disciple]

Streets and Pride. Especially STREETS.

 

[moussy]

Well, these are the songs I liked even before I heard them live, but live versions took them to a whole new level:
Where The Streets Have No Name (26.12.89 or Rattle and Hum)
Mysterious Ways (28.08.93 - best version ever )
Bad (Live Aid or R'n'H)
Bullet The Blue Sky
Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
With Or Without You (Rattle and Hum)
Until The End Of The World
In God's Country
New Year's Day

These songs only work live for me:
Gloria
Sunday Bloody Sunday
The Electric Co.
"40"
Dirty Day

Right now I can't think of anything else, but I'm sure there are some more.

 

[coolian2]

From the shows i was at...

New Year's Day

 

[martha]

Yahweh also improved live but I still hate the song...

My thoughts exactly.

 

[djerdap]

There are so many... I will only mention the biggest ones:

The Electric Co.
Bullet the Blue Sky
One Tree Hill
Mothers of the Disappeared
Hawkmoon 269
God Part II
Zoo Station
Mysterious Ways
Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World
Love is Blindness
Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car
Dirty Day
Last Night on Earth
Gone
Miami
Please
Walk On
Kite
Love and Peace or Else

It's unbelievable how much a U2 listener misses when he doesn't hear a single note of their live performances. They're so much better live that I barely listen to the studio U2 anymore.

 

[mads]

Miami wins this one by a lot.

 

[JCOSTER]

All Because of You
Dirty Day
Fast Cars
New York became a fav after seeing it on Boston Elevation
same with the Fly.

 

[coolian2]

As for generally

All Because Of You (that opening note )
Dirty Day
Miami
Last Night On Earth

 

[mandrake]

Almost forgot: Mysterious Ways ZooTV. That extended intro makes the song soooooo much better. Oh yeah and the dancer.

 

[U2Kitten]

New York!

 

[thelaj]

Almost every U2 song gets better live. It would be easier to list the ones which get worse.

I think there are a couple that really take off live versus their album incarnation though:

The Electric Co
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bad
Where The Streets Have No Name
Bullet The Blue Sky
All I Want is You
Mysterious Ways
Until The End of The World
Love is Blindness
Gone
Please
Mofo
New York
Elevation
Walk On
Love and Peace or Else
City of Blinding Lights

 

[chicagoflyguy]

My list begins with Bad. The UF version is slow and plodding. They added tons of energy with the Live Aid performance, and it's only gotten better since. Chicago 9/21/05 when they closed with the full version of The First Time and then Bad left me with warm fuzzies.

That said, other songs much better live:
COBL (I was scratching my head about them opening the Vertigo shows with this song until I actually HEARD them do it)
Bullet (esp on the Elevation tour)
Kite
Party Girl
Walk On
MLK (watch the Rattle and Hum movie again)
Vertigo (Adam just KILLS with the bass after Bono's "yeah yeah yeah yeah," then the whole band rocks out for another full minute.)


Achtung and JT are such great albums that it's hard to improve on most of the songs live.

 

[Jeffo17]

Streets
Elevation
Kite
Bullet
SBS

 

[Liesje]

Pretty much all of them. The only songs I don't like better live are ones I didn't like to begin with (Bullet, Mysterious Ways, TTTYAATW).

Some of my favorite songs live I rarely will listen to off of their albums. For example, Streets (PopMart or Elevation), UTEOTW (Elevation), Electric Co (Vertigo), Last Night On Earth (PopMart), Sunday Bloody Sunday (any tour but the solo Edge).

 

[phillyfan26]

Like a few have said, practically all of them get better. The specialties:

Mysterious Ways - ZooTV
The Fly
UTEOTW
Zoo Station

Dirty Day
DGPFYCC

All of Pop, which was unfinished.

Electric Co.
Bad
ASOH
Streets
WOWY - Joshua Tree/LoveTown
Exit

Stuck in a Moment - Acoustic
Elevation - Vertigo
COBL
LAPOE

 

[Boom..Cha..Hey!]

Two great versions to check out if you haven't already:
Last Night on Earth (Leeds: 8-28-97)
Wild Honey (Providence: 10-31-01)

 

[schnumi]

Last night on earth live owns everything.

What a great ending!

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

Almost every U2 song gets better live. It would be easier to list the ones which get worse.


I totally agree...... and I still have no answer about the Yahweh haters..... why????

It's the best song since POP.....

 

[Utoo]

Exit

I'm surprised that it took 3/4 of the thread for someone to mention Exit. It's practicaly pointless on the album. Besides the fact that the volume's halfway down on most copies of the CD, the only good thing about the album version is that the end of OTH is stuck on the beginning. Exit didn't really explode until it was done live.