Favorite Bono Guitar Parts

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gvox said:
We're comparing apples to oranges. You're talking about what they've put on the official DVD or what you hear over the PA. I'm talking about live in person.

I should have clarified: the 20+ times I saw him playing The Fly was on Vertigo. He was very audible at those shows, and I think it adds to the song, the Vertigo version really does kick ass. The rhythm guitar is a part of that. :up:

I can't speak to ZOO Tv shows but Vertigo is the tour where I found it kinda funny that he's actually playing but we don't really hear that on the official DVDs on alot of songs. :shrug:
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As someone who has heard MP3s from concerts he's been to (not U2, other bands), there's really not much of a difference when it comes to high quality recordings and the mixing of the instruments. I don't feel like the fact that you've been to these shows automatically makes you more qualified to talk about how they mix their instruments.
 
PhilsFan said:
As someone who has heard MP3s from concerts he's been to (not U2, other bands), there's really not much of a difference when it comes to high quality recordings and the mixing of the instruments. I don't feel like the fact that you've been to these shows automatically makes you more qualified to talk about how they mix their instruments.
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What the? Of course there's a difference from what you hear on an mp3 recording someone gets out in the audience than what you'd hear coming off the stage standing at the front. In the front row you're hearing mostly stage volume anyways! You and I both know that (or you should). There was actually a time once where I heard more Bono than Edge (I think he turned up his guitar too loudly). Do you think they let that go out over the PA like that? No way!!

I'm not saying it makes me more qualified to talk about how they mix their instruments, but it's fairly obvious that if I clearly heard Bono's guitar amp standing in the front row of a show and then listened to the bootleg afterwards of that same show and barely hear his amp if at all, well then it stands to reason that he's not being mixed out in the house very high if at all. And it could also explain why when I remark to someone who either was way out in the audience or in the stands or who only heard a bootleg recording (which is the house pa mainly) that Bono's guitar on The Fly is really cool and adds some kick to the song, they might look at me and go "what guitar, I couldn't hear it" well of course not, it wasn't coming over the house speakers loud enough to notice especially when the person is likely concentrating more on The Edge's solo than anything else!

I'm saying that Bono is actually playing on alot more songs than we might think by listening to recordings. I'm saying that his amp is in fact emitting guitar noises that are coming from his guitar. You can hear it clearly by standing near Bono's position on the stage, and you can hear it in IEM recordings of Bono's. Whether or not they've chosen to have it broadcast over the house that song/night...well that's their call to make.

You can always go stand in the front row and let us know if I'm wrong! (I know I'm not though :shrug: )
 
the vertigo chicago dvd of the fly (at least the audio i have of it) bonos guitar is very audible, and very badass.

i love the riff he plays after "it's no secret at all" :rockon:

another good one is last night on earth from sarajevo. probably the best audible rythym guitar from bono :drool:
 
:yes:

And whether or not that was polished up a bit in production...well maybe so, but it's still pretty much what came out of his amp on a nightly basis on that tour..so yep, he's playing on The Fly during Vertigo. Clearly.
 
Another great example..and sure, Edge coulda played that...and better, but then it wouldn't be the moment that it was. Also loved the "turn me down"..clearly he wanted to make sure his monitor mix was ok before attempting the tune! ;)
 
gvox said:
Ok, but some people call tracks "backing tracks"... I read it that way, and plus you did ask why there wasn't someone sitting in on BD and COBL...and while we don't see them, there is. "Backing musicians" is better :wink:
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No no lol, this entire conversation is filled with miscommunication. I can see why you interpreted backing as backing tracks. I meant backing musicians. And I didn't mean BD and COBL like that either.

Hear me out:

I thought bonocomet was saying that it was important that Bono played the guitar because he's a part of the band, instead of letting a backing musician play it.

So I brought those two songs up as an example as to perfect citations of instances that the band doesn't play the instrument and instead it's tracked/backed.

I was saying that Bono could just as easily be playing the other instruments - what makes the guitar so specific? (this was because I misunderstood the initial comments on it).
 
gvox said:
What the? Of course there's a difference from what you hear on an mp3 recording someone gets out in the audience than what you'd hear coming off the stage standing at the front. In the front row you're hearing mostly stage volume anyways! You and I both know that (or you should). There was actually a time once where I heard more Bono than Edge (I think he turned up his guitar too loudly). Do you think they let that go out over the PA like that? No way!!

I'm not saying it makes me more qualified to talk about how they mix their instruments, but it's fairly obvious that if I clearly heard Bono's guitar amp standing in the front row of a show and then listened to the bootleg afterwards of that same show and barely hear his amp if at all, well then it stands to reason that he's not being mixed out in the house very high if at all. And it could also explain why when I remark to someone who either was way out in the audience or in the stands or who only heard a bootleg recording (which is the house pa mainly) that Bono's guitar on The Fly is really cool and adds some kick to the song, they might look at me and go "what guitar, I couldn't hear it" well of course not, it wasn't coming over the house speakers loud enough to notice especially when the person is likely concentrating more on The Edge's solo than anything else!

I'm saying that Bono is actually playing on alot more songs than we might think by listening to recordings. I'm saying that his amp is in fact emitting guitar noises that are coming from his guitar. You can hear it clearly by standing near Bono's position on the stage, and you can hear it in IEM recordings of Bono's. Whether or not they've chosen to have it broadcast over the house that song/night...well that's their call to make.

You can always go stand in the front row and let us know if I'm wrong! (I know I'm not though :shrug: )
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I'm not talking about some guy with a video camera in the audience, I'm talking about high quality soundboards and official recordings and TV/radio broadcast recordings.

And yes the front row is different, but that's not really the point. In fact, if only a few rows of people can hear his guitar, that's my entire point.
 
What, that he shouldn't play to his own liking and U2 shouldn't dictate whether or not he gets broadcast over the PA, and to what extent?

Honestly, your argument doesn't make alot of sense, especially when he can be heard more often than not even on official releases and soundboards, just not as loudly. Not everyone hears everything the same. :shrug:
 
I think Bono has played some good parts on recordings I have listened to, and on the basis of these, I think he should play more.

It seems that as time goes by, Bono plays less and less guitar, and certainly the concerts in Melbourne that I saw, he hardly ever had a guitar, and it was rarely audible. The obvious exception was Bad, where he took a guitar and played a little solo that sounded really tentative, but as he found his feet and gained confidence, his guitar part made the song unique and a real standout.


Some good parts I've heard over the years
The Fly ZooTV - have a good listen to the homecoming concert version, an integral part of the song
Stay ZooTv is an obvious one
One at various times he plays a nice part (Irving Plaza 2000 is a good example) but at other times he is totally inaudible despite appearing to strum along, and I think the song is the worse (albeit subtly) for it
All along the watchtower R&H Point Depot
AIWIY on R&H -plays the intro solo, minor part during, then duelling parts with Edge for the outro


The idea of having someone else play his part is preposterous. Why does Larry not sit a few songs out and have someone else play? The idea of Bono playing complex keyboard parts is also.
 
PhilsFan said:
His guitar is very quiet in the mix in most instances when he's playing. How does that not make sense?
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Ok so now it's "very quiet" as opposed to what you earlier asserted, which I think was "inaudible" or (or non-existent, or maybe that was someone else) :huh: I don't think anyone is arguing that it's lower in the mix, he likes it that way, and probably for the better anyways.

Look..I don't think either of us wants to have a protracted argument about this but you started the thread as a mild joke but it is in fact a mild joke based on alot of inaccurate assumptions. I get that you're not the kind of guy who's going to let someone else try and sound like an authority - and I don't want to be that person either, even though I've made a fairly thorough technical study of this.

And, by the same token, the claims that people make that Bono isn't playing have always bothered me, and so I'm not the kind of guy who's going to let that accusation stand uncontested. I've got probably in the neighborhood of 300+ bootlegs, every official release, soundboards, and I've seen them 28 times. No, I'm not an authority, but I've got a bit of experience.

You mention songs that I can clearly hear either Bono or a second guitar. In almost all of those cases (that I can recall) I and others can hear him and think he adds a little to the song. But by and large your claims have been really broad and unspecific.

I'm content knowing that he does in fact play on most of the songs he's seen with a guitar on (yes, including the Strat in A Day Without Me, have bootlegs to prove it)

So if you want to convince anyone otherwise, give us something to work with:

- name the song and bootleg / official release

- list the equipment you are using incl DVD player (ie does it have multi-channel capabilities) and any EQ settings you've tried

- list the U2 show you heard it at (or DIDN'T) hear it at and of course the song..and where you were standing in the building

I'd be more than happy to go through the songs (again) and take an additional listen and then report a. if it's audible through my gear and b. how I heard it what settings etc I used to achieve it.
 
That sure sounds like a lot of effort to prove something I couldn't really give a shit about. And that holy union of "other listeners" that I need to prove this to beyond you sure sounds scary and intimidating.

I'll just go about my day, completely comfortable with knowing Bono's guitar is only heard from the front row and be done with this.
 
How about... how about just saying gvox thinks one thing and PhilsFan thinks another?

Jesus, you'd figure something like this is an opinion enough to just let it go.
 
PhilsFan said:
That sure sounds like a lot of effort to prove something I couldn't really give a shit about. And that holy union of "other listeners" that I need to prove this to beyond you sure sounds scary and intimidating.

I'll just go about my day, completely comfortable with knowing Bono's guitar is only heard from the front row and be done with this.
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Oh brother. If you don't give a shit about it, why bother making a thread about it and arguing it in the first place? Frankly, I figured you would give a bit more than a shit about it, being a musician. It wasn't a challenge to a duel, I wanted you to get specific so we could analyze some songs hopefully using some sort of technical common baseline, nothing more. Your holy union comment is just silly, I don't give a fuck about that stuff any more than you do, you should know that..

At any rate, most everything you "know" about this has been proven wrong by others in this very thread without me even saying a word. It's more than a little hilarious that I'm arguing this with someone who has seen them live very few (if any?) times live themselves, who has stated they don't have many bootlegs or even all of the official releases..hell, I don't even know if you're listening on decent equipment or with what settings? I don't mean that as a dig..think there might be a slight possibility that you could learn something here? Or is that impossible for you? :shrug:
 
LuckyNumber7 said:
How about... how about just saying gvox thinks one thing and PhilsFan thinks another?

Jesus, you'd figure something like this is an opinion enough to just let it go.
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Ah, when someone says they can't hear Bono's guitar in the mix, that's fine. They can't hear Bono's guitar in the mix. There's more than a few factors that can cause that to be different from person to person. That's opinion.

But if someone states as a fact that Bono's guitar isn't on or he isn't playing on, say, The Fly, that's not an opinion, that's simply just a misrepresentation of the facts.
 
gvox said:
Oh brother. If you don't give a shit about it, why bother making a thread about it and arguing it in the first place? Frankly, I figured you would give a bit more than a shit about it, being a musician. It wasn't a challenge to a duel, I wanted you to get specific so we could analyze some songs hopefully using some sort of technical common baseline, nothing more. Your holy union comment is just silly, I don't give a fuck about that stuff any more than you do, you should know that..

At any rate, most everything you "know" about this has been proven wrong by others in this very thread without me even saying a word. It's more than a little hilarious that I'm arguing this with someone who has seen them live very few (if any?) times live themselves, who has stated they don't have many bootlegs or even all of the official releases..hell, I don't even know if you're listening on decent equipment or with what settings? I don't mean that as a dig..think there might be a slight possibility that you could learn something here? Or is that impossible for you? :shrug:
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Did you not read my numerous posts about how this thread was a joke? Christ. Let me spell it out: I made this thread as a joke because I thought it was funny. Nothing more, nothing less.

Nothing's been proven at all. Posting a clip of him playing the Gone "solo," something I have for years now noted that he does play doesn't prove shit. And here are my facts: I have never been to a U2 show. I have all of their official releases both on DVD and with MP3s, and I have a number of high quality bootlegs. Not that any of that matters at all.

But I don't feel like I'm learning anything at all here. I've listened to these songs way too many times to feel like there's something I don't know about them. And yes, I'm a musician, which is why I feel quite confident in saying what I'm saying.

gvox said:
But if someone states as a fact that Bono's guitar isn't on or he isn't playing on, say, The Fly, that's not an opinion, that's simply just a misrepresentation of the facts.
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For the last fucking time, I never said this. This is what's making me so angry about discussing this with you. Why should I trust your opinion when you keep misrepresenting my statements?
 
You've no cause to get angry, you started the light jabs with the " you're not an authority" and "holy union" bullshit. I have no use for getting drawn into that have long left that crap with you behind.

Again, you're not saying much other than he's turned down more than you think he should be. Big whoop I guess, you've a right to your own opinion...But honestly can't wait for the day when you front a rock band and someone says "why the fuck is that singer wearing a guitar he adds nothing to the sound coming off the stage really" :lol:

Until then, some humour...and yes, I could lighten up too

YouTube - Psyco - Lighten up Francis

:wink:
 
Holy hell, guys. Seriously?

You posting that clip is the perfect representation of the pot calling the kettle black, gvox (except I think you're a bit darker in this scenario than the kettle). This thread was a joke.

I have no use for getting drawn into that have long left that crap with you behind.
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Then don't get drawn into it.

Lighten up indeed.
 
Clearly, I said I could lighten up about it. The thread may have been started as a joke, but all engaged in more serious discussion about it also.

I thought that in quoting a clip of Stripes it was fairly clear that I was trying to lighten the mood, not further antagonize anyone. And if I failed in that, I apologize.
 
gvox said:
The thread may have been started as a joke, but all engaged in more serious discussion about it also.
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I'm not picking on you specifically, but it never should've gotten to this. I mean it was clearly a joke. I don't know if it was PhilsFan directing it specifically at TheEdge25 for starting the other two threads and saying 'this is stupid' or just PhilsFan saying 'lol Bono can't play guitar' or what, but in the end it should've just been shrugged off/laughed at/whatever.

Maybe that's just my bias speaking because I see Bono's guitar playing as irrelevant, but that's just how I feel.
 
gvox said:
Again, you're not saying much other than he's turned down more than you think he should be. Big whoop I guess, you've a right to your own opinion...But honestly can't wait for the day when you front a rock band and someone says "why the fuck is that singer wearing a guitar he adds nothing to the sound coming off the stage really" :lol:
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Only if my guitar is down like Bono's will they say that. No one says that about Thom Yorke or Win Butler because you hear their guitars.
 
Dang. I thought it was part of the OK Computer > Achtung Baby in-joke. :wink:

Seriously tho I do hear Butler's guitar..at times..alot of sounds coming off their stage..I thought it funny you mentioned them..they have so many instruments he definitely doesn't need to play ;)
 
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