Bono's Vocal Range

[SBU2]

Shout is what you do when you don't know how to sing it.
Have you been to any 360 shows? If you have, I can't understand how you can say that the songs sounded flat, sorry.

I went to Sheffield, although it was a brilliant show/experience, if i compared half the performances of the songs played that night to a show like Slane, you would see the difference straight away.

I also thing that his voice on the 360 is good but flat. That's the main reason why I prefer previous tours. Even Elevation tour is better to my eyes. Slane or (moslty) Boston are great shows. His voice in the Boston Elevation DVD is great. Bullet is unbelievable (due to his "not at all flat voice"), Fly, Stay....

I totally agree, i even think the strained/rusty singing voice he had back in 2001 added a unique style to his voice, almost like an accent. Its hard to explain, but it made his voice far from plain or flat, like it is now. I agree with everyone that his voice is in far better condition now, but Bono worrying every single show about the condition of his voice has almost made him forget how he actually used to sing. I admire the experimentation on WOWY, even though it didnt quite work, but if he sang alot deeper not only would it keep his voice in good condition, it would make half the songs sound miles better, and more old Bono like. Im not saying shouting is the way to go, but for a singer of his quality, he used to make shouting sound like singing, now though, when he shouts, it sounds like shouting, not singing with passion.

 

[last unicorn]

ATYCLB and the Elevation tour was his worst era, vocal-wise. Since then, his voice has started to recover. He could take some better care of his voice, then it would be even better, but most of the damage was done by singing the wrong way without proper training or warming-up, straining too much, singing with cold and sore throat and stuff like that. He basically ruined his voice in the 80s and it's amazing that he can still sing, with all the problems he's had.

At all the shows I went to last year, I was impressed by his voice. I didn't think it was "flat". Maybe he sometimes holds back a little too much or doesn't take enough risks, but I guess he tries to save his voice when on tour. This can be a good or a bad thing.

I've always thought that I would like to hear him do a solo record. I know that he doesn't want to do that and probably won't do it, but I would love to hear him sing songs that he doesn't get to sing in U2. Some of his side and solo projects are very interesting and sometimes I feel he can display his vocal abilities more there than he can when singing in his band.

 

[Vlaco]

Lovetown damaged his voice, but he never came close to that particular outstanding voice.

 

[U2387]

You make your case very well but I disagree. For me, it is besides the point that Bono didn't go for the high notes on TUF in 1987- I am more interested in the sound of his voice than whether or not he goes for high notes. Now, I think that Bono sang TUF very well last year but I preferred the deep, rich sound of his 87 voice. The same goes for UV- again, whilst Bono sang it beautifully last year, I still prefer the ZOO TV rendition because there was something magical about the sound of Bono's voice then. It is a matter of choice, I suppose. Some people want to hear Bono going for high notes, others (like me) prefer the sound of Bono's lower register and want him to use it more often.

Ok, so you and I are disagreeing on a matter of preference, as you pointed out. I too like his lower register, and that is not something he has lost to a significant extent.

What I was responding to was philsfan's suggestion of a marked decline since 1993, which is just not true by any objective examination.

I understand you prefer the lower register, but why should he not go for the high notes in the part of UF that is meant for high notes? That can't be discounted if we are having an objective quality discussion; as many have pointed out, it wasn't like the same struggles were absent in the 1980s.

I would be the last person to argue Bono is perfect. I want to know why in God's name he can't give One or WOWY a decent performance these days for than anyone, believe me.

 

[U2girl]

The difference between now and "back then" ?

He actually learned how to sing and take care of his voice (lessons, vocal aid pills). Which is probably why he's not only still singing at 30 years of career but making a noticeable progress on the last two tours compared to 1997 -2001 (both of which sounded like he's about to be gone as a singer very quickly). He is a better singer now, and whater he's doing now to preserve his voice is clearly paying off. He's blowing away his performances from 13 and 9 years ago. Ultraviolet now is giving its Zoo TV incarnation a run for its money at the least. And that's comparing almost 50 year old to a 32/33 year old at arguably his peak.

While he indeed won't get back to what he used to be capable of 20+ years ago (that "singing" technique and smoking payed off in spades) and he may be missing the falsetto and the bottom end, he's still beyond good considering what the vocal chords had to endure over the years.

 

[LemonMelon]

I have found the godfather of objectivity being taken far outside of its jurisdiction, this thread's predecessor:

http://www.u2interference.com/forums/f221/ok-rush-vs-u2-live-191056.html

From the above thread, we can infer not only that technical precision = enjoyment = greatness, but that all opinions can be considered fact if shouted in a repetitious manner. So, clearly, we can conclude that Bono's voice, by hitting an overall higher average amount of notes per gig (albeit at a much weaker, geriatric timbre), has eclipsed his Joshua Tree/Lovetown or "peak" voice (truly the very definition of a misnomer) by a quantity of 67 Moggios (see page 14 for a complete chart).

Ignore the fact that Moggio himself, the creator of this law on which we stand/barometer of objective artistic greatness, thought that Bono is "nowhere near the singer he used to be." We can easily negate his vestigial assertion by applying what we already know to be true:

all opinions can be considered fact if shouted in a repetitious manner

HE'S WRONG! HE'S WRONG! HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU POSSIBLY SAY THAT BONO'S VOCALS AREN'T UP TO LOVETOWN STANDARDS?? HE DOESN'T SHOUT ANYMORE! SHOUTING IS FOR AMATEURS! HE HITS THE HIGH C 1.89 MORE TIMES PER GIG, ON AVERAGE, AND HAS A SORE THROAT 23% LESS OFTEN PER TOUR! THAT'S FACT! THAT'S FACT! PETERRRRRRRRRRRR SAID IT -- I THINK THAT'S WHAT IT SAID -- AND NO ONE CARES AS MUCH AS HE DOES, SO IT MUST BE FACT!

 

[nielsgov]

That thread has made my day.

 

[BVS]

he knows people

 

[bono_212]

Fact: The better his voice gets, the more I hate it.

 

[doctorwho]

Fact: The better his voice gets, the more I hate it.

This may be true for you, but I outright cringe when I hear him on the Slane DVD or during the Super Bowl performance. His voice is so fried and ruined at those two performances that he sounds like a fraction of his former self. How anyone can say that they prefer a breaking, wispy, strained voice over now is beyond my comprehension. I heard Bono sing WOWY at Boston up close and from a distance. And he sounded great - the best I've heard him sing it since the JT tour.

FACT: The better his voice gets, the more he returns to his "glory days".

 

[The Sad Punk]

Bono's COH voice sits at the top of the mountain looking down on his current voice.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

he knows people

I wonder if they're coming now.

 

[Vlaco]

26/12/1989 is his best performance imo.

 

[Peterrrrr]

2009-07-07 - Milan - Ultraviolet

 

[Vlaco]

2009-07-07 - Milan - Ultraviolet

It's good, but during Lovetown he had everything. High notes, falsetto, energy etc etc.

 

[Peterrrrr]

It's good, but during Lovetown he had everything. High notes, falsetto, energy etc etc.

He couldnt hit notes clear back then, straining straning... He didnt have the opera power back then also.

 

[bono_212]

 

[BVS]

It's good, but during Lovetown he had everything. High notes, falsetto, energy etc etc.

No, he's never had everything. It's part of what makes Bono's voice interesting, it's changed, evolved, lost, gained so much over the years. Some points in his career he's had the lows and the falsetto but not the highs, other times he's had the highs but not the falsetto, etc...

Lovetown was great but he did strain quite a bit and he didn't quite have the 90's falsetto.

 

[prbiker15]

I kinda agree with this...Bono's singing kind of lackluster, some songs are sung in the wrong key, making him hard to sing the songs (example, why did they even put Streets in the original key when it was soo good on the other key)...but the quality has just shot up. With or Without You..it needs help.

 

[LemonMelon]

He didnt have the opera power back then also.

With or Without You..it needs help.

It would help if U2 had any palpable interest in the song.

 

[Vlaco]

He couldnt hit notes clear back then, straining straning... He didnt have the opera power back then also.

JT was much more straining. You're right about the opera part, but I don't care about opera that much.

 

[Vlaco]

No, he's never had everything. It's part of what makes Bono's voice interesting, it's changed, evolved, lost, gained so much over the years. Some points in his career he's had the lows and the falsetto but not the highs, other times he's had the highs but not the falsetto, etc...

Lovetown was great but he did strain quite a bit and he didn't quite have the 90's falsetto.

That's true, but his peak was during The Point Depot shows imo.
YouTube - U2 Where The Streets Have No Name Dublin New Year's Eve 1989
No high notes, no falsetto? The 26/12/1989 is even better.
YouTube - U2 - Angel of harlem - Suspicious minds (Day 26) - Point Depot
YouTube - Best ever One Tree Hill - U2, Dublin Point Depot
YouTube - U2 - Bad (Live from the Point Depot)
YouTube - U2 - She's A Mystery To Me (Day 30) - Point Depot

Don't get me wrong, I like his current voice and I think Zoo TV was excellent. But this is my favourite voice era.

 

[BVS]

No high notes, no falsetto? The 26/12/1989 is even better.

Not what I said... I said he often strained for the high notes and the falsetto was getting there but not quite like it was in the 90's.

 

[PhilsFan]

The difference between now and "back then" ?

The difference is that his voice has thinned significantly with age. End of story. Every vocal performance from 1983-1993 is better than every performance since, simply because of that.

 

[PhilsFan]

Look at Ultraviolet side by side Zoo Tv Washington and 360 Barcelona. "you bury your treasure..." sounds almost like he is talking it in Washington.

Way better in 1992. He sang one verse like the album version. Compare everything from the bridge on? No contest. 1992. Just listen to the outro of the Washington version. It blows me away every time. This tour in comparison? Weak.

 

[U2387]

Way better in 1992. He sang one verse like the album version. Compare everything from the bridge on? No contest. 1992. Just listen to the outro of the Washington version. It blows me away every time. This tour in comparison? Weak.

"You bury your treasure....." was much, much better than the album version on 360.

I agree, the Washington outro is absolutely amazing, but its really no better or worse vocally than 360, again, just different.

Saying his voice has thinned and no performance since 1993 matches anything before it is just not objectively true. Period. End of Story.

 

[Peterrrrr]

"You bury your treasure....." was much, much better than the album version on 360.

I agree, the Washington outro is absolutely amazing, but its really no better or worse vocally than 360, again, just different.

Saying his voice has thinned and no performance since 1993 matches anything before it is just not objectively true. Period. End of Story.

"I remember when..." was weak on every ZooTV performence compared to some of the 360 versions. 2009-07-07 is the best version ever.

 

[LemonMelon]

Well, that's just dandy. There are over fifty lines of lyric in Ultraviolet and 360 has ONE cornered. It's like someone on one of those crappy early 90s online groups said Bono didn't hit enough high Cs, so he took it upon himself to rectify this. 16 years, 250 glasses of raw eggs, 547594574764764694647674976 slurred sentences and five training sequences later, he fucking nails ONE line.

Never say that U2 doesn't care about their fans.

 

[Rob33]

Well, that's just dandy. There are over fifty lines of lyric in Ultraviolet and 360 has ONE cornered. It's like someone on one of those crappy early 90s online groups said Bono didn't hit enough high Cs, so he took it upon himself to rectify this. 16 years, 250 glasses of raw eggs, 547594574764764694647674976 slurred sentences and five training sequences later, he fucking nails ONE line.

Never say that U2 doesn't care about their fans.

there are more things that are better about the 360 version than just that one line....

I'd say they're about equal...the 7/7/09 Milan version and the Washington ZooTV being my favorites

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

"I remember when..." was weak on every ZooTV performence compared to some of the 360 versions. 2009-07-07 is the best version ever.

come on, he doesn't sing it the same way, not because he couldn't back then (92-93) but because he didn't want to sing it in a higher key.
During 360, the 1st verse is the same as ZooTV, it's from the 2nd verse that he goes higher and push his voice, it's a choice (change in the song), but it's not because he couldn't in 92-93.