Complain & regret: Why so many songs sound worse on 360 ...

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gman said:
When i listen back to JT tour and Zoo Tv versions of songs like NYD, WOWY, BAD, SBS etc they were all superior to the washed out versions we get now. I dont think they will ever recapture that electricity in their performance they had in them days. I still really enjoy the performances now, but is it just a case of it being better than nothing?
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Zoocoustic said:
Why do some songs sound worse on this tour?

First, Bono's voice is MUCH worse than it has ever been before in his career. He can't scream anymore. He can't falsetto anymore. And now he's having problems singing. He is "speaking" the lyrics (as opposed to singing them), WAY too much.

Second, the tempo of so many songs is WAY too slow. This mainly applies to the classics. Live performances are supposed to pick up the tempo!

Third, the band isn't "improvising" anymore. They used to take their classics and re-invent them for each tour (OK, not EVERY song was reinvented, but a lot of them were). Think of RTSS on ZooTV, Streets on Popmart, The Fly on Elevation, Elevation on Vertigo - these are all examples. Reinventing a song means that you have to focus on what you're doing rather than just put yourself on auto-pilot. You have to get creative and passionate about the song. U2 hasn't reinvented any songs for this tour. They are basically just the songs in standard form. And the shame is, they could do so many cool things by giving some of their classics an "outer space" sort of feel. I'm not sure how I'd describe that, but maybe I'd liken it to how Streets and BTBS got a "Pop" feel to them during the Popmart tour.
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these posts explain my "issues". all the classics are slow and dumbed down. my band used to kick ass, but now they play them like a lounge act.
 
Which is weird because during the Vertigo Tour the classics were pretty respectable. What has changed since then? Has U2 got bored with themselves? If so, why are they playing still on autopilot? So many questions.

I seriously hope during the next leg things change because I can't see how they can remain interesting to the fans song wise with only they 'claw' structure to really boast.
 
U2387 said:
Well, most here agree that U2 should play more from Horizon, if not in number of songs per night than in diversity of songs. They can give SUC a shot, or WAS or COL in the acoustic slot.

In terms of live shows, they are promoting the album alot, and with quite a deal of criticism since so few people are familiar with it compared to the last 2. I maintain, the only problem with the promotion of NLOTH was someone forgot to promote GOYB when it came out, so it completely and totally flopped.

However, when you consider how other bands that have been around a while play 2 or 3 songs max off of their new albums(really just excuses to tour), then U2 can not be criticized here.

I have heard alot of people criticize U2 for playing 7 songs off NLOTH and neglecting "the hits" Not that I agree, just saying what I hear out there in the real, non interference world. I have to defend U2 all the time against charges that they don't give the fans what they want by playing the hits.

I think the theme of the show was kept up alot better on Elevation, with songs fitting the stage and the mood U2 was seeking to create, etc. However, I would much rather see 360 with all of its flaws than I would Elevation with Bono's voice shot, 19 songs per night and everything toned down a couple steps. Just compare SBS 2001 to SBS 2009. You get the idea!

I don't however, disagree that 360 has a long way to go in terms of bringing the songs in line with both NLOTH and the stage set.
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But we're talking about U2, the band that happened to play 10 Achtung Baby songs in Zoo Tv shows or 10 Pop songs in Popmart. There were Vertigo shows with 9 HTDAAB songs.

Plus, I think that Elevation Tour fits very well in the spirit of ATYCLB. I think that this album was designed for something much more simple than what Popmart was, with a homecoming feeling. That's what Elevation is for me.

For that, I prefer (by miles) a well-conceived (even if simple) 19-setlist show with good performances, than a 24-setlist show with a doubtful concept and lots of average and dismissable performances.
 
gvox said:
Crazy Tonight is about as drastic a reinvention as anything they've ever done, live. Actually , it is, period.

Also, Bono's falsetto is better than it has been over the past few tours. He's actually deferring to it a bit too much, perhaps!
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This.
 
I honestly don't know how anyone can say Bono's falsetto is better now than it has been in the past few tours. He's shying away from the high notes left and right! Why else does he not sing the falsetto during the chorus of Ultraviolet? And the Elevation "oooh's" are just awful!

I can see an argument for many other points but not this one. Bono can't do the falsetto well anymore. You think he could belt out "Lemon" or the high notes at the end of "Please" today? No way.
 
Zoocoustic said:
I honestly don't know how anyone can say Bono's falsetto is better now than it has been in the past few tours. He's shying away from the high notes left and right! Why else does he not sing the falsetto during the chorus of Ultraviolet? And the Elevation "oooh's" are just awful!

I can see an argument for many other points but not this one. Bono can't do the falsetto well anymore. You think he could belt out "Lemon" or the high notes at the end of "Please" today? No way.
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:lol:
 
Aygo said:
But we're talking about U2, the band that happened to play 10 Achtung Baby songs in Zoo Tv shows or 10 Pop songs in Popmart. There were Vertigo shows with 9 HTDAAB songs.

Plus, I think that Elevation Tour fits very well in the spirit of ATYCLB. I think that this album was designed for something much more simple than what Popmart was, with a homecoming feeling. That's what Elevation is for me.

For that, I prefer (by miles) a well-conceived (even if simple) 19-setlist show with good performances, than a 24-setlist show with a doubtful concept and lots of average and dismissable performances.
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I understand that they played more from current albums in the past, I did not deny that. Just pointed out that 7 songs from the new album is more than you get from any band their age today, and they have kept playing it despite it not being a big, well known U2 album. Thats all, I would like it to be different just like you!

I agree with you on the concept fitting well with Elevation tour and somewhat poor with 360, but I can not agree on the performances. Aside from MW and WOWY, everything is being performed brilliantly. UF, UV, SBS and all of the new material are just a few stand outs. Bono's voice is better now by any objective standard, the band sounds tighter, and Adam, frozen in place on Elevation, continues where he left off on Vertigo by moving about and interacting with the crowd.
 
Zoocoustic said:
I honestly don't know how anyone can say Bono's falsetto is better now than it has been in the past few tours. He's shying away from the high notes left and right! Why else does he not sing the falsetto during the chorus of Ultraviolet? And the Elevation "oooh's" are just awful!

I can see an argument for many other points but not this one. Bono can't do the falsetto well anymore. You think he could belt out "Lemon" or the high notes at the end of "Please" today? No way.
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Is this a serious post?
 
ZOOTVTOURist said:
...which is the reason, why I think :down:
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No, the reason why you think :down: is because God Himself could come down and tell you that U2360 is a good tour and you would still hate it and everything related to it. It's not U2360 is bad because of the Crazy Tonight remix and every other think you hate about the tour. It's that they are bad because they are branded "U2360".

Just like politics.
 
if someone didn't know about u2, and read this board, they would think NLOTH sold 100,000 copys (us wise) and were playing small clubs and touring with old bands on nostalgia shows. the new songs stink, old songs stink, everything stinks etc lol
 
allbecauseofu2 said:
if someone didn't know about u2, and read this board, they would think NLOTH sold 100,000 copys (us wise) and were playing small clubs and touring with old bands on nostalgia shows. the new songs stink, old songs stink, everything stinks etc lol
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Or they'd think U2 fans are a bunch of whiney assholes who can never be happy about anything?

Or we're just too arrogant, too perfectionistic? :wink:
 
I think that SBS is excellent, One started out mediocre but is better with the Hear Us Coming->Amazing Grace->Streets transition, WOWY is somewhat of a joke but fits in well with where it needs to be, Streets is always beautiful, SHF is the best it has been since the 80s, Mysty Ways is a joke (but it has better "fun" value than Vertigo!), and Pride is gone.
 
Zoocoustic said:
Why do some songs sound worse on this tour?

First, Bono's voice is MUCH worse than it has ever been before in his career. He can't scream anymore. He can't falsetto anymore. And now he's having problems singing. He is "speaking" the lyrics (as opposed to singing them), WAY too much.

Second, the tempo of so many songs is WAY too slow. This mainly applies to the classics. Live performances are supposed to pick up the tempo!

Third, the band isn't "improvising" anymore. They used to take their classics and re-invent them for each tour (OK, not EVERY song was reinvented, but a lot of them were). Think of RTSS on ZooTV, Streets on Popmart, The Fly on Elevation, Elevation on Vertigo - these are all examples. Reinventing a song means that you have to focus on what you're doing rather than just put yourself on auto-pilot. You have to get creative and passionate about the song. U2 hasn't reinvented any songs for this tour. They are basically just the songs in standard form. And the shame is, they could do so many cool things by giving some of their classics an "outer space" sort of feel. I'm not sure how I'd describe that, but maybe I'd liken it to how Streets and BTBS got a "Pop" feel to them during the Popmart tour.
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Spot on. Especially the third part. That was a side of U2 that I loved the most.
 
Slapnutz said:
Did U2 actually reinvent Crazy themselves? I thought they were basically just doing a cover version of the remix?
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yes, i know what you mean and you're right, except technically it wasn't covered. redanka's remix was played and U2 played over it vocally and musically. i loved it, but i don't consider that reinvention. ZooTV RTTS, elevation and vertigo Fly, i consider those reinventions. on 360, perhaps TUF and UV came the closest to partial reinvention, in how they differed from studio and previous live versions. the rest of the pre-NLOTH songs, however terrible or awesome any particular version sounded to you, were pretty much U2 paint by numbers.
 
i was joking before , but they seemed to be more into playing "where is the love" the some older songs. proly because of the novelty of doing that kinda of cover. It is kinda funny that they are in any way shape or form covering a band thats 20+ years their junior and meanwhile you can't get a album cut from RAH live. lol.
 
digitize said:
No, the reason why you think :down: is because God Himself could come down and tell you that U2360 is a good tour and you would still hate it and everything related to it. It's not U2360 is bad because of the Crazy Tonight remix and every other think you hate about the tour. It's that they are bad because they are branded "U2360".

Just like politics.
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Are you saying ZooTVTourist is a partisan hack? I agree :up:
 
By the way, did anybody really like the Jay-Z shared performance of SBS in Berlin? Because in my ears everything worked rather fine, even better than previous tour versions, until the rapper did "his thing". Bono even with a foot on a monitor box posing as in the good (?) ol' days. But musically then the tune faded ... A missed opportunity for a real great version at the Brandenburg Gate.
 
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