Bono's voice..

[zoopop]

Hello everyone, well I leave tomorrow morning for the 5/7 Chicago show. I'm beyond pumped up!!! Anyway, I've always enjoyed hearing Bono live and just wanted to ask what everyone thought of his voice this tour? I've read that it is night and day compared to the previous tours (Popmart, Elevation) and just wanted to know what you guys have to say. Thanks.

 

[ruffian]

i think it's sounded amazing this tour--he's hit some notes that I expected would be out of his range this tour.

See you in Chicago

 

[OffAxis]

His voice is unreal. It will never be what it was during the Zoo TV era. His voice sounded so amazing then, he could hit the high notes with gusto. Now he's hitting the high notes, it just doesn't have the strength behind it that it once had.

 

[ElectricalVoice]

I think his voice is a lot better now than during ZooTV. He could hit some higher notes during UF and JT, but it sounds better now. Listening to the bootlegs from this tour, I really must say that I look forward to hear it live again.

 

[The OOTS]

I just got through listening to the ZooTV Dublin show and I was thinking how I wished Bono could still sing like that...with some power. He can hit the high notes now...but I agree with the earlier comment...it isn't with the same gusto as 12 years ago.
It is signicficantly better than Popmart and little better than Elevation.

 

[u2girlcj]

I thought his voice was better in Seattle than I ever heard at Popmart or Elevation. But the second Vancouver show he was obviously having some troubles - maybe a cold or something - he kept stopping to get water (like, stopping the show between songs) and coughing/hitting his chest. But I'm sure he'll be well rested and ready to go on Saturday!!

 

[whasjoewahn]

Sounds much better than popmart... But that´s not that difficult.

 

[zoopop]

THanks for the input. Im really stoked for the show and think Bono will come through. Another plus is the rest and there recording the shows for a DVD release.

 

[iratac]

I think that his voice was probably hurting a wee bit after singing COBL at least 20 times in 3 days... ! Hence the rest between Vancouver and Chicago... near the end of the video shoot his voice was sounding rough... probably cause of the workout. He's still in fine form though...

 

[dizzy]

I just got through listening to the ZooTV Dublin show and I was thinking how I wished Bono could still sing like that...with some power. He can hit the high notes now...but I agree with the earlier comment...it isn't with the same gusto as 12 years ago.
It is signicficantly better than Popmart and little better than Elevation.

I agree with you. His voice back then totally matched the concept of ZooTV--the swagger, the rock star power and all. His voice now is okay, but it goes well with songs like Miracle Drug, Walk On, etc. When he sings Mysterious Ways or The Fly now, it just doesn't go well with the power or energy of the band's instrument-playing.

 

[the olive]

To me his voice took a serious decline between '93 and '97. It doesn't seem to have changed much since then though.

 

[Liesje]

He's missing a lot of the intensity and fullness he had when he was younger. This is something he'll probably never get back. Decades of drinking, smoking, sinus problems, and poor technique are to blame. I think his actual technique has steadily improved since Pop. I think now that he's using better technique, he can find ways to work with the shallowness or raspiness that he sometimes has.

 

[starvinmarvin]

Yes, I agree that smoking, drinking, and poor technique were partly to blame for Bono's voice probles in the past, but....

Sometimes I wonder if Bono's voice problems in the mid to late 1990's were caused by under-use, as opposed to misuse. Think about it: U2 only toured once between 1993 and 2001. Just like anything else, the voice will wither if it is not used regularly. Accordingly, Bono's voice declined as it was used less frequently. Plus, Bono started using a different, lower voice circa Achtung Baby to better compliment the Euro-dance direction of the group's music. When he did go for the high notes, he tended to use falsetto (as opposed to his full voice, as he did in the 80's).

Bono abandoned his lower voice style for ATYCLB, and started going for the high notes with his full voice, just as he did in the late 80's. His voice sounded creaky and rapy on the album, but go MUCH better as the tour progressed. Now he's got his voice back, and it sounds even better on the Vertigo tour. Admittedly, it is not quite as powerful as it used to be, but it is powerful nonetheless. Plus, he is hitting all of the high notes, just like he used to.

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

Bono's voice was good at best on the Elevation Tour, but it is AWESOME on this tour. The two shows I saw I came away as impressed as I was the first time I saw them in '85 or the two Joshua Tree shows I saw in '87. My buddy who went with me and is not a huge U2 fan was amazed that Bono "sounded like he did on the CD's". I don't think that anyone will be disappointed with his voice.

 

[timothius]

Bono's voice was brilliant until Lovetown...was great on Zoo TV.... good at PopMart...was average on Elevation. But it has improved this tour. Somewhere between PopMart & Elevation.

The only real qualm I have is the how he can't sing as forcefully in some songs, Running To Stand Still is probably the best example... Compare a 89 recording to a 05 recording and it is such a massive differnce.

But people get old, smoke & drink etc.

I would really be interested if somone who was fully into all this voice stuff could give us a rundown of the reasons why Bono's voice would decline in the bizzare way it has...

 

[Jim]

The only real qualm I have is the how he can't sing as forcefully in some songs, Running To Stand Still is probably the best example... Compare a 89 recording to a 05 recording and it is such a massive differnce.

That's interesting... i've heard a boot from the Vertigo tour in LA, and to me 'Running' sounds amazing.. more soulful than ever before. I guess we all have different ears.

 

[innominata8]

i've heard the grumblings that many of the high notes bono has (during elevation, etc...) are pre-recorded. any one have any thoughts/input on this?

 

[KUEFC09U2]

i've heard the grumblings that many of the high notes bono has (during elevation, etc...) are pre-recorded. any one have any thoughts/input on this?

the woohoo's in elevation during the elevation tour were pre-recorded i belive, but he definatley sings them this time around, as this is the part where he interacts with the crowd, basically getting them to sing the same he just sang

 

[Liesje]

I would really be interested if somone who was fully into all this voice stuff could give us a rundown of the reasons why Bono's voice would decline in the bizzare way it has...

I'm not a singer, but my bf is (years of voice lessons and vocal scholarships) and he's explained this to me many times. Bono's technique has improved since he began singing. The actual quality of his voice (his VOICE, not his singing) has declined because of smoking, drinking, over use, and use of poor technique for so many years. He is now singing technically better than ever before in his life, but his voice has been considerably damaged to the point that he will never have the clean fullness of sound he had into the mid-90s.

 

[Liesje]

i've heard the grumblings that many of the high notes bono has (during elevation, etc...) are pre-recorded. any one have any thoughts/input on this?

I don't believe this. A lot of those "woooowhoos" were slightly out of tune. Why would someone pre-record their song out of tune?

 

[flangerchorus]

I don't believe this. A lot of those "woooowhoos" were slightly out of tune. Why would someone pre-record their song out of tune?

its not pre-recorded, they put a very small delay on his vocals which gives it a double-tracked sound

 

[MumblingBono]

Smoking and age have taken their toll.

I do feel that he needs to flex his pipes to get the best sound, and that happens on tour, not in the studio. His studio performances since POP have been consistently mediocre. Live, he's still got those lungs.

I've seen every tour since Joshua Tree, and have never come away feeling Bono did not give it his all.

 

[OffAxis]

Think about it: U2 only toured once between 1993 and 2001.

And they have only toured once between 1998 and 2005.

The time between Zoo TV, Popmart, Elevation, and Vertigo are all the same, 4 years. Plus they tour for 2 years and spend at least a year and a half in the studio. I don't think his voice is underused.

 

[dizzy]

I don't think his voice is underused.

Neither do I.

 

[Liesje]

underused? Are we all talking about the same Bono here? His voice is so completely OVERused I'm surprised and impressed he can still sing as well as he has been recently.

 

[starvinmarvin]

underused? Are we all talking about the same Bono here? His voice is so completely OVERused I'm surprised and impressed he can still sing as well as he has been recently.

Sure, he over-uses his voice on tour, but for every year that he tours, there are three more where he doesn't sing very often. It's this down-time that makes Bono rusty. He almost always sounds better as the tour progresses.

 

[U2girl]

IMO, the thing that hurt his voice the most was screaming for a decade before he started singing differently in the 90's. That is why he lost the higher range.
Smoking made him lose the clean, 80's colour of his voice that he never got back.

As for studio vs live: it's not hard to sound great in the studio, with hundreds of takes option. It's live where it counts. From what I've heard, Vertigo is the first tour where it seems he's holding back vocally. I don't mind if he wants to save his voice or if it's being in a character, but if not...

edit: I don't see how non-touring years could damage his singing. If anything longer breaks (and less smoking) should benefit him.

 

[KUEFC09U2]

IMO, the thing that hurt his voice the most was screaming for a decade before he started singing differently in the 90's. That is why he lost the higher range.
Smoking made him lose the clean, 80's colour of his voice that he never got back.

As for studio vs live: it's not hard to sound great in the studio, with hundreds of takes option. It's live where it counts. From what I've heard, Vertigo is the first tour where it seems he's holding back vocally. I don't mind if he wants to save his voice or if it's being in a character, but if not...

he seems to be brining it on more and more, but he is always going for the very very high notes, which is a good thing,

 

[u2bonogirl]

His voice had power in Denver.
Bad was amazing....running was amazing
I was really impressed with him