Bono a bad singer?

[Michael Griffiths]

Bono said it best himself: I can't sing but I've got soul.

Really, I don't care how technically perfect Bono is; what he does with his voice and what he makes people feel is something far beyond technical perfection. You can't touch the soul and stimulate the whole range of emotions while encouraging thought and imagination through technical perfection.

Exactly. Just look at Celine Dion. She's got a great technical voice - she's probably the gold medal olympic athlete of singing - but it does nothing for me. It's boring (to me). Bono's voice is unique. Even U2's pop songs have soul. I have a small story to share. When I was in India a couple months ago, I was at a party where people were listening to a mix CD. 'With or Without You' started playing and we all kind of sat around, stopped talking, and just listened to Bono's fantastic singing in that balmy midnight Indian air. After the part at the end where Bono explodes into the "Ahhhhhhh oohhhhh aaaah ohhhh, ohhhhh ohhhhh.....with or without you, aahhh ohhh.....I can't liiiiiiiiiive, with or withouuut you....", we all kind of just sat there in wonderment. My friend Nikhil said, "He's singing from the soul. That's true singing." It was quite the moment.

Tissue anyone?

 

[starsgoblue]

Bono's voice really does command your attention, doesn't it?

*sniffle*

 

[u2bonogirl]

i just got chills.
I was sitting in a bar last night- yes starsgoblue- i know im sounding like a total lush -
and they were playing a baseball game. i wasnt paying attention until i heard this odd noise. it sounded like u2
and my head jerked up.
it was like the first millisecond to vertigo.
then bonos voice came on and i about melted. theres something in that voice that shouldnt be legal and i just about fell off my stool because of it.
everybody kinda paused when the song came on and them resumed talking.
i dunno. theres something weird about u2

 

[Bono's shades]

Exactly. Just look at Celine Dion. She's got a great technical voice - she's probably the gold medal olympic athlete of singing - but it does nothing for me. It's boring (to me). Bono's voice is unique. Even U2's pop songs have soul. I have a small story to share. When I was in India a couple months ago, I was at a party where people were listening to a mix CD. 'With or Without You' started playing and we all kind of sat around, stopped talking, and just listened to Bono's fantastic singing in that balmy midnight Indian air. After the part at the end where Bono explodes into the "Ahhhhhhh oohhhhh aaaah ohhhh, ohhhhh ohhhhh.....with or without you, aahhh ohhh.....I can't liiiiiiiiiive, with or withouuut you....", we all kind of just sat there in wonderment. My friend Nikhil said, "He's singing from the soul. That's true singing." It was quite the moment.

Tissue anyone?

With or Without You was the first U2 song I ever heard. What struck my most about it (besides Edge's unique guitar playing) was Bono's voice. I had never heard anyone sing like that before, ever. It gave me goosebumps.

As far as technical ability, Bono obviously isn't as good as any opera singer (just listen to Miss Sarajevo and note the contrast between him and Pavorotti) - but for a rock singer, he's got amazing technical ability, not to mention soul.

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

Bono is one of the big factors of U2's success.

His voice is so amazing. So profound and full of emotion. He reaches notes that not everyone can sing. One of the greatest singers of all time.

Heartland and Pride are awesome examples. Let's see someone else attempt that.

 

[ADecentMelody]

Starsgoblue, if you wouldn't have looked it up, I would have.

Glad you did. I was actually consciously trying to feel my vocal chords as I do a falsetto and it's definitely a pinching. The open voice that Lanois described was...

...ahh, okay, you made me look it up. Here's a transcription from the JT DVD – it’s Bono and Lanois discussing Bono’s vocals on ISHFWILF and it’s playing in the background. This is Lanois talking:

“When you sing at the top of your range, there's an emotion that comes through...and 9 times out of 10 you end up doing that live. You bring things up in key because higher keys project to a big audience. But there's something wonderful about it – not many people can sing in that register. It’s just pushing the envelope. I love this vocal.

“This is before Bono (the ISHFWILF vocal isolated) hit on the falsetto. He’s very good at that these days. So, this is full open voice.

“I’m very attached to ISHFWILF…I think Bono did an amazing job – he’s singing at the top of his range. And, there is something very compelling about somebody pushing themselves. It’s like hearing Aretha Franklin almost – it just jumps on you and you can’t help but feel the feeling.”

And there you go – it does make ISHFWILF jump out at you. So, I guess I strayed off the topic of falsettos for a moment to show how Bono’s voice is also unique and compelling at the top of his range. I think Lanois tried to push for more of this open voice (as opposed to too much falsetto – like in Lemon, for example) during the recording of ATYCLB. Just listen to When I Look at the World. The chorus is in full voice – “So I tried to be like you, try to feel it like you do…” Or even Kite – “Who’s to say where the wind will take you...” Etc., etc.

The falsettos were basically kept to a minimum and were only called in to convey a stronger emotion.

 

[isabelle_guns]

He is okay

 

[Kerborus]

http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_vocalists.html

Bono's 32 on this list... For what it's worth.

 

[starsgoblue]

Thanks for that post ADecentMelody! Yeah, the more I am learning about the actual "doing" of the voice stuff...the more amazing Bono's talents seem.

I really wish I could sing well....

 

[skjuls]

I love Bono's voice. It is unique and has Character.

Plus, it's sexy!

Not that this means much, but I heard that Simon Cowell (of American Idol fame) thinks Bono has a great voice!

 

[ADecentMelody]

Stars, another great example of the purposeful "break" in Bono's voice - the studio (not live) version of North and South of the River: Some high ground is not worth ta-kin'...

It's a masterful talent.

 

[starsgoblue]

 

[macphisto777]

Bono's voice = sights unheard of, blood spilled so simply for Love, sullen embers of justice sentenced with a slight caress or flicker of a falsetto...

 

[david]

At the end of the day he gets the job done.

 

[doctorwho]

Hey! I like Josh Groban! He is exceptional! He is the epitomy of a great voice. Bono's sometimes I think is a little rough, hoarse, and off-key. But, at times I think it's excellent. I don't think he's the greatest singer out there, but he's very professional and he puts passion into it.

Josh Groban is a great singer, but horribly boring. I feel no passion when he sings. It seems he's all about sounding great, not feeling the music. He hits the notes, but they are meaningless.

Bono is never off-key unless there's a bad feed. He can get hoarse though - but then, I've heard some of the best get hoarse.

Is Bono voice as full and rich as it was during the R&H era? No, but then he couldn't maintain that voice anyway. He had to learn how to resing!!

Given the notes he's hit and the fullness of his voice in songs like ES, HTBA and "Vertigo", it sounds like the Bono we lost for much of the 90's is back. He started his comeback with ATYCLB and his voice now sounds as good as it did in '84!

Bono's voice is one of the big reasons I became a fan - and remain a fan. And a lot of people agree that Bono is one of the best singers ever. On VH-1, he was listed as the 4th best singer in the rock/pop world. I think this speaks volumes about his abilities.

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

They got it right though on that poll.

Freddie Mercury really is numer one.

 

[lady luck]

Stars, another great example of the purposeful "break" in Bono's voice - the studio (not live) version of North and South of the River: Some high ground is not worth ta-kin'...

It's a masterful talent.

every break in Bono's voice is a sorta sign to me. It means He's soulful and REAL!

 

[follower]

It´s all about soul and passion. He´s the best because he´s plenty of both. That´s what makes people feel moved by his singing, like Lanois explained. It´s compeling indeed and I love him because I love to feel what I feel when he sings.

MT

 

[U2Traveller]

Bono's voice fluctuates. It's unique, but at times it's not all that great. At other times Iit's exceptional. He has uncommon control of it. Altogether, I think Bono's voice is probably as multi-faceted as his personality.

 

[Kharon]

I don't know if this is a dumb question but here goes....Like I know opera singers and whatnot get thier voice from the diaphragm. Is the falsetto more nasally or something? Does my question make any sense?

I'm a singer of sorts. I mainly cover U2 vocals, and just haven't been blessed with a tribute or an originals band. I'd like to think I know enough about what I do to answer this. When I do a falsetto, it comes from a vocal technique I do in my throat, which is driven and dictated by the amount of air in my lungs and by how much force I use when I expel the air. I've never considered my nasal pathways to have much to do with it...lol.. Anyway, hope that helps to clarify things.

 

[Kharon]

Sorry, stars... I hadn't read far enough in the thread to see that you'd actually bothered to look up what I tried to explain from personal experience. lol

Oh well, it made sense when I read it, as I was nodding 'yes' throughout the explanation...

Just to touch on what others have posted.. in light of recent 'lip-sync-ing' incidents, nothing would make me feel more empty than paying to see a performer live, only to discover that I was sold something that turned out to be fake. If you're calling it 'live', it had better be. I'll take dozens of crackly, imperfect Bono's who are at least giving their best, over someone who doesn't give a crap about their fans, and sells them lies.

 

[macphisto777]

Power vocals versus vocals with character. I personally think that he had just as much character with his younger power vocal voice as he has now... it's just that now he doesn't have as much power. For example listen to " Helter Skelter " or " Bullet the Blue Sky" from Rattle and Hum. They display a voice without limitation and endless color. If you listen to " Bullet..." from Boston it still has the same intensity and heart but not the same power from his early days. He seems to struggle sometimes with songs that before his smoking days he definitely fully owned. Listen to " New Years Day ", he changes the melody and the octave to suit his capabilities for each particular show or specific evening ( if you have more than one live show from inbetween 1980 and 2001 to be able to judge the difference you will agree). As a man with the same range vocally as Bono, I find it hard to reach higher notes after a hard night of drinking... even more so if the drinking took place in a bar filled with smoke. Let's see... Bono not only entertains himself in smoky bars but also has been known to blow through a pack of cigs with a few more than necessary drinks full of dehydrating alcohol. A singer knows that in order to have a full range with your vocals you must stay super hydrated. He does everthing wrong to maintain his range.

 

[ShellBeThere]

I don't know crap about how to sing, but I know I love Bono's voice. Sometimes I hear myself saying out loud how I can't take it how gorgeous his voice is!
And at times it seems so absolutely precisely used, but it felt really relaxed in most of ATYCLB. And it did seem at least to me affected on that album by the smoking, like breath was a bit labored and there was definitely a little smoky-bar induced scritchiness.
Hell, just from a couple days of smoking in the last month for me I feel a scritchiness, a little extra need to clear the throat.
The vocals sounded stronger, more like AB, on the vertigo track, but that's not to say I don't like all the work on ATYCLB. Again, in my ignorance even with the relaxed-feeling vocals on that it still seems very purposefully phrased and gorgeous. I kinda took the well-used and lived-in feel of the voice as part of the trip for that recording, you know, allthatyoucan'tleavebehind? I've never heard a live bonovoice, so I don't know about concert crackings, but I'm pretty sure ballotproposaltext would sound good in that voice, sung or spoken.
Really, my reaction to this thread title is 'are you fucking kidding..he's fantabulous! '

cheers all!

 

[Aardvark747]

His voice sounds great at the moment to me, lets see how he is on tour next year tho..

 

[Lo-Fi]

The magazines I've read rave about his vocals. Bono is a singer that can actually create a character with his voice. Listen to Daddy Gonna Pay For Your Crashed car on the Live From Sydney video or The Fly from the same show. Two very distinct vocals for two very distinct characters. He can also come out of those vocals and do they typical Bono vocal for WTSHNN. That's amazing to me, I don't know any other vocalist that can do that.

It's not about range for me, it's about the personality he puts into his voice on different songs. To me that makes the B-man one of the great vocalists of our time.

 

[BluRmGrl]

I have to agree with Axver's well-made point: The B-man said it best himself on Elevation -- "...I can't sing, but I've got soul".

I think what people who love Bono's voice respond to more than anything else is the realness of it. It's not always perfect & therefore we can easily mold it into a reflection of ourselves, 'cause we're not perfect, either. Bono for me is just a great, every day reminder that if you really want something, you can do spectacular, amazing things with only mediocre talent or means. You just have to believe and PERSEVERE.

(So does everyone feel warm & fuzzy now? )