jick
Refugee
Reading most U2 polls from the past, fans usually vote One from the Pavarotti and Friends concert in Modena as the best version ever of one.
During the Popmart Tour, when Bono and Edge started doing the b-stage acoustic version of Staring At The Sun -- virtually all the fans were unanimous in saying that the acousitc version was much better than the full band version.
Many have preferred the Elevation Boston version of Stay (Faaway, So Close!) over the Zoo TV versions citing that the former was more emotional and poignant over the latter.
The Edge Popmart version of Sunday Bloody Sunday was so popular among most U2 fans. While not as popular as the Joshua Tree Tour and War Tour versions, fans reminisced over Edge's Popmart version more than the much abridged (and soon dropped from the setlist) Zoo TV version, or the slowed-down-to-turtle-pace version of the Elevation Tour.
Just most recently, a lot of fans selected the Jools Holland version of If You Wear That Velvet Dress featuring Bono as the sexiest song - above the original POP album version.
The common thread of all those songs I just enumerated are that Clayton and Mullen did not take part in the performance of those songs. It was either Bono and Edge, or Bono alone or Edge alone. No Clayton. No Mullen.
So what am I getting at? It just seems that in a number of significant musical highlights in U2's career, Clayton and Mullen have been missing the boat.
Sure both Clayton and Mullen have their own highlight with the Mission Impossible Theme that did well in the charts. But purists and critics alike don't agree with Mullen's shortcuts towards the beat of the theme, converting it from the more complicated 5/4 to a standard simple 4/4. It should be worth noting that Mullen has never drummed a U2 song 5/4 ever. Perhaps it is for lack of skill that he had to simpify the theme song?
While Clayton and Mullen seem to miss out on the highlights - they are included in some of the lowlights. Clayton's drug bust in `89 to his missed gig in `93 are examples. For Mullen, it's a matter of unprofessionalism - from dropping the drumstick in the studio recording of Ultraviolet (and not even bothering to correct it thus leaving us fans with a "broken" version of the song in the album version - listen a somewhere after the two minute mark) to missing most of the POP recording sessions to back surgery (leaving the album unfinished) to being the single reason the live full band version of Staring At The Sun was scrapped.
So what if Clayton had that cool fur coat when he was younger? So what if it was Mullen who posted the note in the bulletin board? I think these members of the rhythm section should contribute a little bit more to add even more musical highlights for the band. At least it's been a longtime since they gave U2 lowlights, but that's just about it. They haven't been pushing the musical envelope of their playing.
I hope the new album and the upcoming tour will show Clayton and Mullen with more passion, more drive, more professionalism and more love. While they possess these traits in abundance already, a little more of everyting good won't hurt.
Cheers,
J
During the Popmart Tour, when Bono and Edge started doing the b-stage acoustic version of Staring At The Sun -- virtually all the fans were unanimous in saying that the acousitc version was much better than the full band version.
Many have preferred the Elevation Boston version of Stay (Faaway, So Close!) over the Zoo TV versions citing that the former was more emotional and poignant over the latter.
The Edge Popmart version of Sunday Bloody Sunday was so popular among most U2 fans. While not as popular as the Joshua Tree Tour and War Tour versions, fans reminisced over Edge's Popmart version more than the much abridged (and soon dropped from the setlist) Zoo TV version, or the slowed-down-to-turtle-pace version of the Elevation Tour.
Just most recently, a lot of fans selected the Jools Holland version of If You Wear That Velvet Dress featuring Bono as the sexiest song - above the original POP album version.
The common thread of all those songs I just enumerated are that Clayton and Mullen did not take part in the performance of those songs. It was either Bono and Edge, or Bono alone or Edge alone. No Clayton. No Mullen.
So what am I getting at? It just seems that in a number of significant musical highlights in U2's career, Clayton and Mullen have been missing the boat.
Sure both Clayton and Mullen have their own highlight with the Mission Impossible Theme that did well in the charts. But purists and critics alike don't agree with Mullen's shortcuts towards the beat of the theme, converting it from the more complicated 5/4 to a standard simple 4/4. It should be worth noting that Mullen has never drummed a U2 song 5/4 ever. Perhaps it is for lack of skill that he had to simpify the theme song?
While Clayton and Mullen seem to miss out on the highlights - they are included in some of the lowlights. Clayton's drug bust in `89 to his missed gig in `93 are examples. For Mullen, it's a matter of unprofessionalism - from dropping the drumstick in the studio recording of Ultraviolet (and not even bothering to correct it thus leaving us fans with a "broken" version of the song in the album version - listen a somewhere after the two minute mark) to missing most of the POP recording sessions to back surgery (leaving the album unfinished) to being the single reason the live full band version of Staring At The Sun was scrapped.
So what if Clayton had that cool fur coat when he was younger? So what if it was Mullen who posted the note in the bulletin board? I think these members of the rhythm section should contribute a little bit more to add even more musical highlights for the band. At least it's been a longtime since they gave U2 lowlights, but that's just about it. They haven't been pushing the musical envelope of their playing.
I hope the new album and the upcoming tour will show Clayton and Mullen with more passion, more drive, more professionalism and more love. While they possess these traits in abundance already, a little more of everyting good won't hurt.
Cheers,
J