Name U2's Biggest Weakness/Strength

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
J

JOFO

Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Joined
Dec 2, 2000
Messages
4,422
*Disclaimer: No fighting in here. This is a serious topic. Think about it before you post. I don't think this has been discussed before. Forgive me if it has been.*


For me, their biggest weakness is their lack of ability to change up setlists/play songs without months of rehearsal. That really shows a lack of a kind of musical discipline.

Their biggest strength, on the other hand, is the strength and conviction in which they play a live show. Really, most of the time they hit the ball out of the park live.

Those are my picks. Anyone else?
 
See this is a good topic!
Spot on. I think a lot of people will jump on you about the setlist thing, but whatever, good topic.

For me U2's biggest strength is their connection with their fans.

Their biggest weakness and it is hard to find one, is their actual musical ability. Clearly they are all bgood musicians and brilliant live, but even they needed some improvement. After Pop tour, I think it was Adam and Larry who went off for music lessons.
For me Adam is no way near as good a bass player as Flea for instance , but that does not mean he is not brilliant in his own right, I just think Adam and Larry maybe are not natural born musicians and clearly have to work at it more than others..

Perhaps Bono should have some singing lessons
(JOKE!!!! HONESTLY!):wink:
 
JOFO said:



For me, their biggest weakness is their lack of ability to change up setlists/play songs without months of rehearsal. That really shows a lack of a kind of musical discipline.
Click to expand...
i do agree that is my number 1 bugbare with u2,they hardly ever change the sets arrrrrrggggghhhh!!!!! They have 100's of great songs to choose from so why not chop and change it a liittle?

As for their strengths? THE SONGS!!!! Bono and Edge do have a great habbit of coming up with the goods time after time.

Great thread JOFO :bow:
 
Strength

The Edge ( One of many ). The guy just keeps me interested in the songs with all his great guitar lines. When HTDAAB came out then i was most eager to hear what Edge had in store for us.

Weakness

Their strengths make it hard to find a real weakness. Maybe the time it takes for them to release a new album.
 
Weakness: Their inability to stick to a deadline. They are perfectionists (which is good for us in a way) but this comes back to haunt them, with the time it takes to record an album, and the multiple changes a song goes through before being finished. I sometimes wonder what beautiful songs have been killed over the years by the band's constant need to change everything before finally settling (years later) on a finished song. Who knows what we have missed over the years?

Strength: Their passion, their conviction, their ability to reach into my chest and make my heart pound. No other band in the world can make songs that have global messages while speaking intimately to each individual listener. In a time when most "music" consists of a singer wearing too little clothing lip-synching and dancing to a song s/he didn't even write, U2 actually makes MUSIC. They write and perform their own songs, and those songs have heart and passion. Their stage shows are always spectacular, and again have the ability to affect each individual while reaching out to an entire stadium.
 
U2's biggest strength is also their biggest weakness.

Strength: Bonos ability to connect with those he's already converted to the U2 cause, in concerts and even through just audio

Weakness: Bono's ability to push people away through his political work and some of the mroe 'preachier' songs leading people to think 'hey im not listening to that loaded rock star telling me what to do'

A lot of my mates think the 2nd (im 16) but to me it's all part of the draw. A man who cares about the world, and showes it over and over through his music.

Another strength is the lyrical brilliance? How can
' Every artist a canibal every poet is a thief, all kill their inspiration and sing about their grief'

or

'i'll show you a place high on a desert plain, where the streets have no name'

compare with many modern chart lyrics? well it can't. They don't even deserve to be all put under the same title.

Even when discussing subjects of modern rap songs, like women,drugs and sex does Bono really do it in the same way? No, he does it far more tastefully (Well ok maybe not some achtung moments like 'and you can swallow or you can spit' ) But how drug abuse is talked about in, for example ,Bad, is so much ''better'' than some rapper going 'yo i took my (bling bling) drugs and then i got a bit high aye)

Which do you think is a better example? I think i'll go with the condemnation (Bono's Version) even if the average 16yo won't understand the meaning of the words.

Thats another U2 weakness... U2's lyrics are so thoughtfull, but inteligent. to understand the concepts of the music sometiems it is necessary to be quiet inteligent. This can push people away, especially those who prefer 'Throwaway pop' that just cruises over tehir heads.

I'll leave with my favorite line of U2 lyricisim,
'A man takes a rocket ship into the sky, and lives on a star thats dying in the night.' Beautiful
 
Strength is definitely their ability to keep their shows unbelievably powerful and intense after how many hundreds, night after night.

Weakness is probably the setlist thing, too, which I understand since not many people go to more than one show, but they could still mix it up a lot more. They have PLENTY of material to draw from. Maybe some of the album production, too--Until the End of the World never caught my attention until I heard it live, as many songs didn't. It's just not as standout as it could be on the album. That probably goes with the perfectionism, too; it sounds "polished," but it doesn't make you go WOW unless you hear it live.
 
Weakness - another one. Lack of Albums.. Clearly every one of U2's albums is brilliant, but they have only just realeased as many studio albums as the Beatles did and they were only around 8 years really..

Strength - Best Band ever!!!
 
matt76 said:


Their biggest weakness and it is hard to find one, is their actual musical ability.
Click to expand...


i think this is their biggest strength, for a couple reasons. first of all, when they had just started the band, they couldn't play any decent cover songs. so they had to invent their own uniquie sound and music in order to play it. also, i believe that their lack of outstanding playing ability kept them together, because the band and the music could not survive without all four of them together. and, when they play live, they're not the 100% percent polished musical group, like Edge mentioned in the Gutiar World interview. they get through each show on passion and emotion, not only on musical talent, which makes their shows really really good.



and, as a bonus, all of their songs are pretty easy to play :wink:
 
discothequeLP said:



i think this is their biggest strength, for a couple reasons. first of all, when they had just started the band, they couldn't play any decent cover songs. so they had to invent their own uniquie sound and music in order to play it. also, i believe that their lack of outstanding playing ability kept them together, because the band and the music could not survive without all four of them together. and, when they play live, they're not the 100% percent polished musical group, like Edge mentioned in the Gutiar World interview. they get through each show on passion and emotion, not only on musical talent, which makes their shows really really good.



and, as a bonus, all of their songs are pretty easy to play :wink:
Click to expand...


Fair enough

But what do you think are their Strengths and Weaknesses then ???
 
Strength - PASSION and EMOTION contained in their songs

Weakness - too slow in between albums (I'm greedy)
 
matt76 said:
See this is a good topic!
Spot on. I think a lot of people will jump on you about the setlist thing, but whatever, good topic.

For me U2's biggest strength is their connection with their fans.

Their biggest weakness and it is hard to find one, is their actual musical ability. Clearly they are all bgood musicians and brilliant live, but even they needed some improvement. After Pop tour, I think it was Adam and Larry who went off for music lessons.
For me Adam is no way near as good a bass player as Flea for instance , but that does not mean he is not brilliant in his own right, I just think Adam and Larry maybe are not natural born musicians and clearly have to work at it more than others..

Perhaps Bono should have some singing lessons
(JOKE!!!! HONESTLY!):wink:
Click to expand...

Adam and Larry took lessons just after the ZooTV tour.

Listen to the Pop album.

His bass teacher really pushed him giving him difficult exercises, and he was said to get them down perfectly, so it's hard to say what Adam can really do on the bass, I think he's like Edge, in that he's not gonna do "olympics" on the bass.

Think you have to compare a bass player within the context of the band they're in, not to other bass players.

Flea plays differently, because the Chili Peppers play different style of rock, has a bit more, not sure the right term, "funk" maybe, in their early work.

For the most part, Adam is said to be a solid player, plays what is right for the song, though he does a few adlibs on live songs, but nothing really flashy. Has a good idea of what the bass is for. <--what I read from a bass players message board.

I really don't know how good a drummer Larry is, or how to even evaluate that, but some drumming magazines say he does have a unique approach to drumming.
 
Last edited:
Adam plays the bass the way the songs require it; nothing more or less.
for example, imagine WOWY with flea on bass....do ya think his playing might distract from the heavenly vocals by bono? hmmmm...maybe justa little.:wink:
(I mean compare that with "soul to squeeze")
then again, listen to please, do you feel loved, mysterious ways, new years day, etc. different approach and very right for those songs.

larry, I think has an approach, especially on songs like streets, bad, wowy, sbs, and ISHFWILF that is completly unique to him; I can't any other drummers doing things like that.
 
i like this thread, good job JOFO

i have to say their biggest weakness and strength are one in the same:

their desire to be the biggest and best

this desire leads to perfectionism, which leads to amazing music and performances, but also leads to album delays/static setlists/paying too much attention to the critics.
 
I think their biggest strenght is the ability to come out with great album after great album consistently for twenty years.

Their biggest weakness is their unwillingness to mix up the setlists more when they only have one show in a city.
 
I think their biggest strength is how they work as a unit, each complimenting the other perfectly.

Weakness: trying to hard to stay on top and please the massess instead of just letting their music take to new places
 
Strength: innovation and moving along (even if I or others don't *love* the direction at any particular time, their albums are all very different in my opinion).

Weakness: too self-conscious, under all the ego maybe they aren't as self-confident as it seems (leading to static setlists, Pop-bashing, etc)
 
I think their greatest strength and greatest weakness are the same thing - their desire to be universally beloved. On one hand this leads to songs that stir our deepest, most fundamental emotions - ones everyone on the planet shares. On the other hand, in recent years as the music industry has been dumbed-down in general, it seems they are performing below their capabilities and making music that has less depth in order to stay in the mainstream.
 
I'd say their biggest strength is their power, emotion, and passion live. Nothing tops a U2 show; I think the setlist variation weakness though is partly related to this strength, in that U2 are so dedicated to performing the best show they can that they fear variation may reduce the quality of their performance.

Their biggest weakness would be the time between albums and their tour schedules. I would be a lot happier if they released more material and played it to more diverse audiences worldwide.
 
Strength:
1. Their capability of exploring different ideas and musical styles without loosing their own style and turn specific moments, actions and feelings into songs that describe those emotions so clearly weather it’s through words or through other kinds of sounds. Their lack of fear on songwriting.

2. Their passion, both live and on studio. How they can always, in every record and tour, do something completely new and exciting that shows a passion and a love for music that is hard to compare. Nothing beats the excitement of absorbing a new U2 record and watch as they find their way on tour.


Weakness:
How they don’t reach back and play their older songs as much as they could. I don’t know if this is a weakness or just something that I don’t like. They have amazing songs on their albums that they could play again, I know it’s not easy or fun to relearn songs but still some songs don’t deserve to stay on the shelf for so long. I think the Vertigo Tour is one of U2’s best tours ever and the reason is because of the many older songs that they are playing again, those songs have injected an extra excitement to their shows and performances.
 
Strength: It's a toss up. To me their biggest strength is in the songwriting department, although I'd also say their unique ability to connect with their audience is almost as impostant. Runner up spot would go to Bono's outstanding voice.

Weakness: Probably perfectionism. They take too much time in the studio, perfecting and re-perfecting each track until all of the life is sucked out of the recording. Witness COBL, which sounds sterile and overproduced on the album, but live it is one of their best. Maybe they should just go for feeling over perfection in the studio - the albums would sound fresher, and we'd get more music too.

Probably the next worst thing about U2 is Bono's preachiness, although that has admitettedly gotten better over the years. Bono's let dogmatic now. Witness Live 8, where his "One speech" was succinct and sincere, and then compare that to his "I don't mean to bug ya" schtick on Rattle and Hum. He's come a long way.....
 
Strength: Quality of music, the live show and the bands ability to connect with the crowd and enhance the studio tracks to sound better live.

Weakness: Setlist variation, time between albums and Bono's current voice. His voice may be decent but its nowhere near the strength it used to be hence the reason why we see less setlist variation and songs like UF, God Part II, Lemon etc will never be played properly live again.
 
Strength: their longevity. How many bands can stay together for more than 25 years, keep the same band members and still sell out on a worldwide tour that features stadiums and arenas?

Weakness: not enough Top 40 hits.
 
Strength:
Whatever it is that consists of their "magic", that intangible (sp?), or that ingredient that makes their music better than the sum of it's parts. 4 studio musicians playing Streets could never capture the essence of U2, even if they matched note for note in perfect timing. What this is, whatever you define it, is and always will be their strength. It's the strength of all the great musical acts.

Weakness:
Lack of productivity for the better part of 15 years.
5 albums, one of them an off the cuff mid-tour effort and another claimed to be "unfinsihed". By the time the next one comes out, this will be more like 17 or 18 years.

runners up:

Strength #2:
The broad spectrum of sounds from October to Passengers, everything in between, before and after. U2, despite ridiculous claimsthat they "sound the same", for good or bad have covered a whole gamut of sounds and most often have done it very well.
So this contrasts their biggest weakness IMO. They don't put out enough material, but when they do it's usually variant for the most part.

Weakness #2:
Their undying need to be loved by the masses, who in large part don't care anyway.
 
miss becky said:
Weakness: Their inability to stick to a deadline. They are perfectionists (which is good for us in a way) but this comes back to haunt them, with the time it takes to record an album, and the multiple changes a song goes through before being finished. I sometimes wonder what beautiful songs have been killed over the years by the band's constant need to change everything before finally settling (years later) on a finished song. Who knows what we have missed over the years?

Strength: Their passion, their conviction, their ability to reach into my chest and make my heart pound. No other band in the world can make songs that have global messages while speaking intimately to each individual listener. In a time when most "music" consists of a singer wearing too little clothing lip-synching and dancing to a song s/he didn't even write, U2 actually makes MUSIC. They write and perform their own songs, and those songs have heart and passion. Their stage shows are always spectacular, and again have the ability to affect each individual while reaching out to an entire stadium.
Click to expand...

:applaud: Completely agree with everything you've said Becky!
 
Strength: Passion, Conviction and the fact that every other band wants U2s hardcore fanbase and wont ever have it because they dont have the same kind of magic that U2 has. Also U2s worst songs would pretty much compete with anybody elses best tracks and that goes to show a great amount of quality in the work album after album, one of only a few acts out there that actually makes ALBUMS rather then just a few hit tracks.

Weakness: The time it takes in the recording studio, or for them to accept a tracks quality. U2 takes at least a year in the studio while other acts take at most only a few months but I think that is what really results in the quality recordings that they put out...so its always well worth the wait.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

W
A Boy Falls From the Sky is some U2's best work
Replies
3
Views
2K
zoocarolina
Z
U
Hello, From Dallas, Texas
Replies
3
Views
543
TheFlyZooTV
T
cobl04
Kiss the Future documentary
Replies
11
Views
3K
MrsSpringsteen
MrsSpringsteen
K
U2 Show Logistics Question/Theories
Replies
7
Views
753
lazarus
lazarus
MrsSpringsteen
Gilead States Of America
Replies
16
Views
916
MrsSpringsteen
MrsSpringsteen

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom