Bono and Edge play with BB King: When love comes to town

[bigjohn2441]

that would be way cool.

yes it would, unfortunatly i dont think they have the balls to play that song again. it's too fast paced and bono couldnt sing it.

 

[bonocomet]

I also never thought I'd see When Love Comes To Town live again. But that was different circumstances so I suppose it doesn't count.
Still it doesn't hurt to have a bit of hope for some surprises.

 

[RedRocksU2]

One song I will die to hear live again, would be "Wire".

 

[bonocomet]

ooh that would be good. I love Wire.

 

[shaun vox]

when bono sings "Hawkmoon 269" like its on the album. i will buy everyone on INTERFERENCE a beer!(or any other beverage of their choice)

 

[Cactus Annie]

Bono's voice in 84-ish was his 'prime' in the sense that he never match that raw power. The Unforgettable Fire was probably his best album in that sense. By the time the JT tour came around, he basically fried his voice, and I consider that his second worst era, after attyclub (worse than PopMart). There were a lot of really raw vocal cuts on JT (see: Streets, One Tree Hill) that sound really cool, but he didn't have his 1984 range, or falsetto, or much else beyond a pretty-sounding voice in the lower register. It was all screaming and "kermitting".

Lovetown, I think Bono just stopped even trying to restrain himself. He screamed the whole time. And he damn near killed hiimself doing it... his voice sounded really good some nights, again, more in lower registers than higher ones (see: the Point Depot nights). I've heard rumours that the reason soundboard boots of those four nights leaked out in the first place is because they circulated to a doctor (or more than one doctor) for vocal advice, and the doctor told Bono to stop singing that way.

During Achtung and Zoo TV, Bono tried and succeeded in conserving his vocal energy. I personally think his voice sounded amazing, on most material. 90s material was, of course, great, as it was made for that voice. Some 80s material made the transition well (Streets has never sounded bad, RTSS and BTBS were amazing, NYD was fine, the 'new version' of Desire was pretty good, et cetera)... a lot sounded like crap (Angel of Harlem is, as you mentioned, probably the most glaring example). His uber-falsetto-skillz helped a bit, and he did have some nice unrestrained vocal moments (there were some really good Zoo TV Bad performances... most notably, IMO, the last RDS night), but a lot of 80s material suffered from not being sung the way Bono sang them in the 80s.

However, he blew his voice out again. Overuse (I think) and smoking (WHY, Bono?) made his voice go downhill each year... PopMart Bono was totally unrecognizable compared to Zoo Bono. Elevation was more of the same, but he had good vocal control, was starting to learn some good vocal techniques, and there were some really cool moments (most notably, Streets at Slane).

The 2003 recording sessions showcased some nice Bono work... Electrical Storm was nice. Hutdab was an improvement over attyclub, but not as good as the 2003 sessions. Vertigo was basically up and up the entire time, with highlights being at the beginning of the third and end of the fifth legs. Opera lessons helped a lot, and Bono's practicing much better vocal techniques now. He can hit high notes with 1984-esque-ease, and sound great in the lower registers... hopefully it'll be a treat for us in years to come.

When you put it like that I do agree with a lot of what you said there. Now I know why there seems to be a lot of people who don't like the way he sings now compared to the way he sings in the 80's. However, I do remember watching UF recording sessions at Slane and it struck me that he sang Pride like a man possessed. It's a great rock vocal sound but I thought that I hope he has more control over his voice nowadays, I was exhausted just watching it. Plus he also said that they had to record that track several times because he didn't have the timing he needed.

Going back to Little Richard and his version of Tutti Fruity whereby there is now trace of good singing but it's just pure energy. Then comparing it to Pat Boone's appalling version with "better singing" but limp and boring. Some material does require a rawer sound but singing like that every night is simply not sustainable on your voice.

 

[eltimbomofo]

YouTube - U2 sing Happy Birthday to BB King - Toronto 2005-09-16


BB King related...

I took this vid in Toronto in 05.

Pretty funny stuff.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Originally Posted by dbinteract
hi all,

I was there on Sunday, I was part of the production crew working on the taping, I will keep you all posted about its air dates as I am also a part of the post process on it.

All I can say is that watching them rehearse that song with BB early on was one of the greatest things I have ever seen. You could see how much fun Edge and Bono were having, it was very apparent. BB was also having a great time. It was truly a once in a lifetime kinda thing and everyone there knew it... by the end of the rehearsal the entire stage was ringed by incredible musicians all watching and listening. Herbie Hancock was playing piano, wayne shorter was playing in the horn section. It was unbelievable.

I will post back when I know more about the airing... you will all want to see it!

Any news?

 

[Cactus Annie]

What do you mean he sing's with more pitch?

 

[Peterrrrr]

What do you mean he sing's with more pitch?

I don't know if the word pitch is the right english word It is very hard to explain, but the sound he got in his basic voice(low and middle) now has more deep sound, more wide. Something he also had alot of between 89-95.

 

[Cactus Annie]

I don't know if the word pitch is the right english word It is very hard to explain, but the sound he got in his basic voice(low and middle) now has more deep sound, more wide. Something he also had alot of between 89-95.

I've been visiting this site for a while before I joined and I've got to say that you know an awful lot about his voice don't you?

The reason why I asked is not because I was being thick, I know what pitch means, but Blues music is one of the genre's whereby singing in absolute pitch isn't necessary. Actually most music genre's, apart from pop and classical types, don't require perfect accuracy. Especially the blues, which is usually supposed to be sang with a heavy downward inflection at the end of the lines. There's also supposed to be some blues singers who are known as singing in a style known as the 'blue note'. This means that the singer intentional sings with the occasional sharp or flat note. Muddy Walters used to sing like this, as did Billie Holiday, even when she crossed over to jazz.

Thank you not speaking into a condescending manner to me, which a few others have, and I'm not aloud to defend myself.

 

[Peterrrrr]

I've been visiting this site for a while before I joined and I've got to say that you know an awful lot about his voice don't you?

The reason why I asked is not because I was being thick, I know what pitch means, but Blues music is one of the genre's whereby singing in absolute pitch isn't necessary. Actually most music genre's, apart from pop and classical types, don't require perfect accuracy. Especially the blues, which is usually supposed to be sang with a heavy downward inflection at the end of the lines. There's also supposed to be some blues singers who are known as singing in a style known as the 'blue note'. This means that the singer intentional sings with the occasional sharp or flat note. Muddy Walters used to sing like this, as did Billie Holiday, even when she crossed over to jazz.

Thank you not speaking into a condescending manner to me, which a few others have, and I'm not aloud to defend myself.

What I mean about the deeper voice wasnt just for this performence. Overall of his voice after summer 2006 to now

If you want to know more about his voice just visit my website, the link is below

 

[Peterrrrr]

Originally Posted by dbinteract
hi all,

I was there on Sunday, I was part of the production crew working on the taping, I will keep you all posted about its air dates as I am also a part of the post process on it.

All I can say is that watching them rehearse that song with BB early on was one of the greatest things I have ever seen. You could see how much fun Edge and Bono were having, it was very apparent. BB was also having a great time. It was truly a once in a lifetime kinda thing and everyone there knew it... by the end of the rehearsal the entire stage was ringed by incredible musicians all watching and listening. Herbie Hancock was playing piano, wayne shorter was playing in the horn section. It was unbelievable.

I will post back when I know more about the airing... you will all want to see it!

Any news about this?

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

Thank God they won't. I hate the falsetto.

I want Bono to SING, not to scream. The screaming years are gone for good.

And it's very sad....

 

[doctorwho]

everything was better in the 80s
they don't mke em like that anymore

Sigh... no Culture Club, Def Lepard, Poison, Twisted Sister, Wham, big hair, designer acid-washed ripped jeans, alligator shirts, mullets, new Coke, Pepsi with a Twist, the 'Noid, Members Only Jackets, fragmented blocky video Atari games, huge shoulder pads, Ronald Reagan... why I miss... uh... actually, I miss none of this.

So maybe SOME things were better in the 80's.


As for the song, I have to admit, I kept wanting Bono to just scream out some lines as well. But that would probably ruin his voice - a voice he's worked hard to recover. Screaming is possibly the worst thing (besides smoking) one can do to one's vocals. Still, some lower register gravels would have been great. Given, though, that they really hadn't performed this live in 15 years, I think it was a great performance. Glad to see BB and U2 (or at least part of U2) hook up again!

 

[bonocomet]

Sigh... no Culture Club, Def Lepard, Poison, Twisted Sister, Wham, big hair, designer acid-washed ripped jeans, alligator shirts, mullets, new Coke, Pepsi with a Twist, the 'Noid, Members Only Jackets, fragmented blocky video Atari games, huge shoulder pads, Ronald Reagan... why I miss... uh... actually, I miss none of this.

Members Only Jackets... I worked for a men's clothing company in the 80's. I was able to get Members Only jackets (in every color imaginable) and give them away to my friends and family. They loved me.