She's A MysteryTo Me

[MrBrau1]

Anyone heard the Roy version? I've heard the band play it full and snippet tons, but the Roy Orbison version is best. Bono and Edge wrote a beauty, and Bono plays a nice geetar on it, but Roy's vocal, WOW! The man had no top.

 

[Axver]

Haven't heard it myself, though I'd love to. Have U2 done a studio version of it themselves, or do we only have the live versions?

 

[rafmed]

As far as I know there is a rough studio version, more like a demo, but I agree with MrBrau, Roy Orbison version is great.

 

[wolfeden]

I owned Roy's version long before I ever knew U2 had cut versions of it... I knew the B-man had written it. *sighs* I bought that album the day Roy died. Not two weeks earlier he'd played a gig in Boston that I couldn't get to... Forever kicking myself for that one.
Haunting and beautiful, just like we knew Roy always was.

 

[Angela Harlem]

I think the Roy version is the only one I've heard.

Tis good though.

 

[Popmartijn]

I have that song on a Roy Orbison best of. The liner notes also contain a comment from Bono:

He was a bit of a magician. He was as gentle and wise and as mysterious as his voice. I felt completely out of my depth in writing a song for him. When he went to sing the song in the studio, I stood beside him and sang with him. He didn't seem to be singing. So I thought, "He'll sing it the next take. He's just reading the words." And then we went in to listen to the take and there was this voice, which was the loudest whisper I've ever heard. He had been singing it. But he hardly moved his lips. And the voice was louder than the band in its own way. I don't know how he did that. It was like sleight of hand.

A great song, written by a great musician and performed by a great singer.



Marty

 

[Blue Room]

U2 did record a full version with full production during the Sun Studio Sessions. It exists obviously but I doubdt it will ever see the light of day unless U2 decides to issue it when they do a box set someday. Personally, I would like to hear the full production version of The Wanderer with Bono on vocals that was also done.

 

[U2Soar]

Beautiful song ? vocals / lyrics / music. Bono plays guitar and he produced it too. A wonderful lyrical sister to Slow Dancing which was written during the same period but this time for Willie Nelson.

U2 did record a studio version of ?Mystery Girl? during their R&H recording session at Sun Studio. Years ago I heard what was purported to be it. My only memory of it is was that the sound quality was not that good. Maybe it came from R&H Outtakes Videos?

There are 2 full versions by the band and both of them are live. The Dublin Lovetown Tour version is an excellent soundboard recording. According to FLOM the Rotterdam Lovetown Tour version of ?Mystery Girl? is rated as ?very good audience recording.? Maybe someone has remastered it? It is a very good performance with Bono hitting the high notes at the very end of the song better than the Dublin version. The Dublin version has BB King?s Band?s horns played throughout whereas the Rotterdam version has throughout the backing vocals of 2 women from BB King?s Band.

I highly recommend seeing the excellent documentary on Roy?s life called ?In Dreams? which is on TV from time to time. I believe it can be purchased too. Bono is interviewed several times. (At one point The Beatles and The Rolling Stones opened for Roy! When Elvis was asked who was his favorite singer he answered - Roy Orbison.

 

[U2Soar]

Bono: "The song that stood out for me on the soundtrack of Blue Velvet -- which was a film I really liked -- was Roy Orbison's 'In Dreams.' One night when I couldn't sleep in London, just before we played Wembley Arena, I stayed up listening to this tape. Y'now the way you can put a tape in and it just keeps going 'round and 'round and you come in and out of consciousness --well I always seemed to wake up on that song, 'In Dreams." And I thought it was the most extraordinary song 'cos it breaks all the rules of pop music. And then there was that extraordinary baroque voice.

"So next day I woke up and I started this song, 'She's a Mystery to Me.' I became a bore and talked about Roy Orbison all day. I played the song -- or what I'd started of the song -- to the others in the band and they liked that. Or maybe they liked the fact that it stopped me talking about Roy Orbison (laughs). I was just going on and on about him. Anyway, after the concert in Wembley Arena I came back and I was sitting down in the dressing-room, working on this song and basically trying to order everybody into buying every Roy Orbison record ever made, when there was a knock on the door.

"It was our security man, John, and he says, 'Listen, I've got Roy Orbison outside, could he come in?' And everybody just looked at me and I said, 'Look, I didn't know he was at the show.' Nobody had told us he was coming. So there was much laughter and abuse?

"And he walked in and just said (quiet American accent) 'I'm an instinctive kinda guy and I can't tell ya why I loved the show but I loved the show.' Then we got talking about songs and he asked for one, so I just took out the guitar and I played him 'She's A Mystery To Me.?

"Later when I was in Los Angeles I met him a few times and we started off a few things together. And his family opened up to me, were very good to me. I found him to be a very wise man, he had a lot to say. He seemed to be a man who was incredibly surprised at his own talent. I mean, he had the voice of an angel -- and, well, now he is one."

 

[cass]

Fortunately, my local radio station play it regularly( they also give Daniel Lanois reasonably regular airplay...they rarely play U2). I heard Roy sing that song just a few days ago and floated off with it. My eldest sister LOVED Roy Orbison( Uncle Roy..I named my dog after him) so I heard him a lot when I was little and his voice and his songs( eg kd Lang"crying") always gives me the warm fuzzies. What I can hear right now in my minds ear is the intro to " Pretty Woman" dada da da da da dada...... mercy
**warm fuzzies**
I haven't heard any U2 versions of that song, I'd like to.