Songs that get better when you see them live...

[2orangecats]

Especially a lot of HTDAAB was better live...

 

[Alisaura]

I'm surprised that it took 3/4 of the thread for someone to mention Exit. It's practicaly pointless on the album. Besides the fact that the volume's halfway down on most copies of the CD, the only good thing about the album version is that the end of OTH is stuck on the beginning. Exit didn't really explode until it was done live.

Complete agreement here... Watching Rattle & Hum was my first big step towards U2 fandom. I hardly listened to the second half of JT before I really watched R&H properly and Exit hit me like a freight train. After that I liked it on the album, but you're right, it's infinitely better live. If I had a time machine, pretty much the first thing I would do is go back to one of the Lovetown shows and see it.
Closest I've been is seeing the local U2 cover band (which is really very good) play it... jammed into a crowded hot sweaty pub on the night U2 would have been here in March 06...

And wait... there are CDs where the volume isn't halfway down? Where?!

Exit is right up there as one of my favourite U2 songs... and mostly on the strength of the R&H performance.

Dirty Day is another one I didn't love until I saw it live (on video, admittedly). UTEOTW too.

SYCMIOYO's existence is justified by that one "Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing" when it's live.... And I'm glad I got to see that myself.

I always loved Mysterious Ways... but Edge's solo (or whatever you want to call it) at the end of the live version is just about the most sublime thing I've ever heard.

 

[annie_vox]

Especially a lot of HTDAAB was better live...

Yeah I agree... Specially LPOE. I didn't like it on the album but live I was blown away by that song Now it's one of my favourites from HTDAAB.

 

[jacobus]

BTBS, Discotheque, Gone , LNOE, Please

 

[U2lunatic]

A Sort of Homecoming, bono sings it on album too slow and lazy

 

[chicagoflyguy]

I'm surprised that it took 3/4 of the thread for someone to mention Exit. It's practicaly pointless on the album. Besides the fact that the volume's halfway down on most copies of the CD, the only good thing about the album version is that the end of OTH is stuck on the beginning. Exit didn't really explode until it was done live.

NOOOOOO!!!!! Sure, the volume is way down on the CD (as it was on the cassette that melted in the sun in my car just days before I saw PopMart, which was OK since I prolly was just gonna play the tape to death and be forced to buy the CD anyway), but perhaps that's just their signal to STFU while listening to it, no? The quiet at the beginning just makes the rest of the song that much more powerful. Still, I loved it live when I saw JT oh so many years ago--especially memorable because it was the show in DC where Bono slipped on the wet stage during Exit and separated his shoulder.

Have they even played Exit live since JT?

 

[Jeannieco]

New Years Day

I did not like this song at all when it was on MTV back in the day, but after seeing them perform it live it's one of my favs. OMG, Edges' guitar on this is amazing. Don't know why it didn't carry over on the studio cut for me.

And Streets ofcourse. How can you bottle the energy of 80,000 people jumping in unison on a cd? Can't be done. Live it is a whole other animal. Amazing feeling isn't it?
Gets me every time!

 

[LyricalDrug]

I'm gonna predict that when they play Window in the Skies on the next tour, the song is going to turn into an instant U2 live classic. It'll be a massive, massive sing-along song, the way "Pride" did.

Bono's gonna hold up the microphone, so 20,000 people can scream the "Oh can't you see what love has done" bit.

 

[Jeannieco]

I'm gonna predict that when they play Window in the Skies on the next tour, the song is going to turn into an instant U2 live classic. It'll be a massive, massive sing-along song, the way "Pride" did.

Bono's gonna hold up the microphone, so 20,000 people can scream the "Oh can't you see what love has done" bit.

Ya, that's what I think too! Even though I was the only one in my section singing and waving my arms in the air at the show in Hawaii, I couldn't help myself, that song makes my spirit soar!
Totally agree, it's a great song for an auidence to echo!

(That song connects with me because the lyrics are basically about giving thanks to God, and after the year I have had,( major health scare) I was feeling especially thankful to be there and to be alive!)

 

[clifedge]

Everything...

espicially Streets and Yahweh

 

[Snowlock]

The first one for sure is Please. I barely noticed it on the album, but really loved it live.

Another is the acoustic Staring At The Sun

Also

UTEOTW
Bullet
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car
Bad - Ah hell, this is easily the biggest difference live. I take it back about please and Staring At The Sun. The gap of my preferences between the album version of Bad and any live version is beyond gigantic.

How about songs that just didn't work live?

All Because Of You - Without that second guitar, this song is bland.

One Tree Hill - Blasphemy, probably, but I'd take the album version any day.

The Fly - Bono's guitar always seems to ruin it for me; and Edge typically plays it too slow; it was improved on the Vertigo Tour, but really hasn't sounded good live to me since the opening dates of ZooTV Outside Broadcast.

Gone - I mean, it sounds good, but Edge basically playing kareoke guitar with the other parts piped in seems lame to me.

Wire - Edge's guitar sounds disjointed without the atmospherics of the album version.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

How about songs that just didn't work live?

All Because Of You - Without that second guitar, this song is bland.

I actually found this got better live, especialy the chorus which sounds almost out of key on the album IMO

The Fly - Bono's guitar always seems to ruin it for me; and Edge typically plays it too slow; it was improved on the Vertigo Tour, but really hasn't sounded good live to me since the opening dates of ZooTV Outside Broadcast.

This one's debatable, I thought the Elevation version with the almost accounstic intro was nice but the album version is probably my favourite too.

Gone - I mean, it sounds good, but Edge basically playing kareoke guitar with the other parts piped in seems lame to me.

As I said before, this one was not a favourite until I saw it live and the version on the Boston DVD owns, Guitar kicking included.

 

[Alisaura]

I think Numb didn't work particularly well live... but I'm just going by the Sydney video.

 

[gump]

Discotheque live has a whole new dimension as well. Pop has lots of examples: Please, LNOE, Miami, Mofo... maybe it's because of its poor finishing.

From Bomb, I think COBL is the best example. The mixing ruined its momentum on the album.

Songs that don't work well live:
Stay (the album version is still miles ahead even in comparison to the Zoomerang version)
Staring at the Sun (not that the album version is great, but the live acoustic is too boring)