Okay, here goes. There seem to be two arguments going here, and I’ll try to address them both.
The first: “One, as a song, sucks.”
Some background first: I like the song as it exists on AB. If I were ranking the songs from the album, One would be near the bottom, but I still like it. Don’t love it, but like it just fine. It might have something to do with the fact that I didn’t grow up as a U2 fan; I bought JT when I was 17 (I’m 25 now) but didn’t pay much attention until I saw them live in 2005 and I went through my “Must… buy… all… U2 albums… NOW,” phase. I didn’t grow up with the song and don’t have any great memories attached to it, and it rarely gets played on the radio where I live. I was barely conscious of it, so I don’t really hold it in as high regard as a lot of fans seem to.
Some people don’t like it because musically, it’s very simple. There’s really nothing going on with the rhythm section at all, and guitar-wise, I’d say it’s one of the least interesting things the Edge has done. Fair enough; that’s a good enough reason for disliking a song, if you ask me. On the other side of that, simplicity can be a beautiful thing, especially when you have great lyrics on top of that (RTSS, anyone?) Simplicity in a song is one of those things that will make you stop and really listen to what the singer has to say.
And that seems to be the reason why a lot of people hate the song: the lyrics. Clichéd, sappy, Diane-Warren-could-write-this-in-her-sleep tripe, right? Well… I wouldn’t go that far. The chorus? Yeah, I’m there with you. “We’re one, but we’re not the same?” Ugh. In any other song, I’d roll my eyes and change the station, but I don’t. Why? Because I think the verses are fantastic, and they save the rest of the song for me. And here’s where I’m at a loss for words, because I’m not good at explaining why text or poetry moves me, but I think the verses (and the bridge) are beautifully rendered and subtle and otherwise awesome. When people bash the lyrics, it’s always the chorus. That’s a deal-breaker for some; in my case, it isn’t.
Also, I love Bono’s delivery of the song. The raspy, almost detached opening, the falsetto at the end… all of it’s lovely and fitting, and when I hear people complain about One, the vocal is rarely listed as a reason for the song sucking. And that brings me to…
Reason #2: the live versions are uninspiring and tired.
On this point, I agree completely. Of all the songs in U2’s repertoire, this could most benefit from a rest (yes, more than Pride or WOWY or BTBS, even.) God knows I love Bono, but his speeches on the Vertigo tour before the song bored me to tears. I have a lot of bootlegs in my possession, and I always skip over One after my first listen. Even when I think it’s a good version, like on ZooTV and Popmart, I don’t bother. And why is that?
Plain and simple: the vocal. One of the best things about the studio version is the rasp in Bono’s voice, and he just can’t replicate that live. Hell, it’s the main reason I don’t care for live versions of In A Little While. But more than that, I feel like Bono’s half-assing the song when he sings it in concert. His phrasing is clipped, and half the time it doesn’t even feel like he’s singing -- he’s, for lack of a better term, “talking on pitch,” kind of like Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady, if anyone gets that reference. For the same reason, I hate post-2000 versions of WOWY; in its studio version, it’s one of the most perfect pieces of singing I’ve ever heard in modern music. Live (at least recently), Bono can’t be bothered to hold a note for more than half a second during the song.
Also for that reason, I actually like the Mary J. Blige version. She’s actually singing it and investing it with some urgency, and because she’s doing so, Bono follows suit when he otherwise doesn’t.
And I don’t think the casual fans would mutiny if it was dropped from the setlist occasionally. I’ve only seen U2 once and I was a casual fan at the time; I still knew all but two or three songs they played. And the songs that most blew me away were Until the End of the World and Bad, which I’d never heard until that night. I don’t think the lack of one particular hit is as big a deal as some people are making it out to be.
So, uh, yeah. I think the song itself is fine but not great, and the live versions blow.
) and I'm isolated all alone in the kitchen with nothing but a radio to keep me company.
