I can see it losing a lot of it's power on a recorded version, but it was absolutely amazing to have seen it live. Keep in mind this was right after September 11. Bono noted during the introduction of the song that his wife pointed out how eerily similar the lyrics reflected that day (i.e. "September, streets capsizing, spilling over down the drain, shards of glass, splinters like rain, but you can only feel your own pain, etc.). The scaled down performace by he and The Edge made the song seem much more personal...and VERY haunting. So, perhaps if you listen to it with that in mind it may be a little better listening experience for you.
However, you're absolutely right: The full band version is mindblowing