U2 playing slower

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babyman

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in the 80's U2 were playing much more faster in their live shows, they had a very faster rhythm, most of all larry and adam. look at the songs of under a blood red sky, the joshua tree tour and lovetown...they were damn faster! they gradually became very slower during the 90's. for instance streets, bad, pride, sbs, wowy, in short all the classics, are played in a half speeding rhythm compared to the past. where does it come from, and how would you call this, evolution or involution?
 
I don't think they've slowed down much. I think it's just that they are better musicially, where things are much more clear. Sure, some songs are faster, or slower, but that's just a tempo thing. It would be pretty boring if all songs where played the same way.
 
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I think it's a consequence of age, Larry's bad back, and Bono's voice. I usually don't mind it so much, but one song where it really gets me is Out Of Control. Everyone raves about the Slane performance of that song, but it's sooo painfully slow I almost can't listen to it. Especially during Edge's little solo in the middle. I know that they're not going to play it the same way they did in 1980, but still.
 
I think it has absolutely nothing to do with age. The first three records had faster songs. After that most of their songs are more mid tempo. I like those songs but I like when it's faster! As good as Achtung Baby is all of those songs are mid-tempo, or slow songs. I really think, and I've said this about a million times now, that U2 needs more up beat songs. I think that they are suffering from having too many mid tempo songs as you can see on the Boston dvd. U2 needs songs as fast or hopefully faster (why not?) as I Will Follow, Out Of Control, Like A Song, New Year's Day, (and maybe All Along The Watchtower) mostly I think it also needs more aggression. One of the many reasons that I know that a lot of people don't like U2 is because they think that they are boring and the mid tempo songs don't help change that stupid idea. Where The Streets Have No Name is an up-tempo song though, if Streets was played differently of the way Larry plays it, if he played it in a more ?normal? way (don?t know how to express myself) then it would be more obvious that it?s an up-tempo song. But still the way that Larry plays it is where the force of the song is, no wonder people love that song live. In a live situation the faster songs helps people still be interested in the show as it goes on for 2 hours.
 
They have slowed the pace on purpose. Its as simple as it makes it easier to play and for Bono to sing. Its a combination of age and mainly Bono's vocals (which is also partially due to age as well). Its been discussed before ad nauseum on here and some of our musicians here can elaborate on the ease issue and reasons for slowing down. But it is definately intentional and very noticeable. It has nothing to do with the pace of the albums they have done since War???? Why would that make any kind of difference? seriously.

The songs I notice it the most on are Sunday Bloody Sunday and Pride. SBS is just sluggish now, I wish they would drop it live. Pride needs to take a break for a tour also. But both will probebly be played next tour. U2 is about pleasing the masses live, not the small percentage of die hards like us.
 
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Blue Room said:
It has nothing to do with the pace of the albums they have done since War???? Why would that make any kind of difference? seriously.

I was talking about the STUDIO ALBUMS I wasn?t talking about U2 LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :censored: :banghead:

In terms of their live performances EVERY band at the beginning is faster!!!!! If they do slow it down yes it is because of age and also because with time they are not as worried as in the very beginning when they didn't have so much experience, that doesn't mean that they don't worry nowadays (now I have to make sure I don't leave anything behind, fucking ANNOYING!!).
 
TheBrazilianFly said:


I was talking about the STUDIO ALBUMS I wasn?t talking about U2 LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :censored: :banghead:

Then maybe you should have made that clear!!!!!!!!!11eleven Read the first post, this thread was discussing live shows.
 
Well, you did reference my post when you disagreed about their age being a factor. But you're right, I should have let Blue Room correct you. I don't want to pick a fight, okay? :)
 
ThatGuy said:
Well, you did reference my post when you disagreed about their age being a factor. But you're right, I should have let Blue Room correct you. I don't want to pick a fight, okay? :)

Good, cause that's the last thing I want too and the thing that I most dislike. But that's just us.
 
Out of control was slow, but still really fast compared to the rest of the Slane show... except for Elevation maybe

But I Will Follow in the Boston DVD absolutely BLEW MY MIND... amazingly fast from star to finish... and Bono with guitar...
amazing.

we need power songs or we might fall sleep...

in the Pop Mart show in Santiago, I sat down during Bullet the blue sky... because n?1: I didn't knew it, N?2: it was DAMM TOO SLOW...

we need something power... like GLORIA or the holy amazing DESIRE/ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER at the 89 New Year show...

that's what we need... and hope
 
They're much better musicians now than in the 80's. Naive musicians always think "faster" is a better display of skill. It's not. The band now play steady and solid, something that wasn't always there in the early days. Simply put, they're a much better band now.
 
It depends on the song.

Faster is better on songs like Pride, SBS, NYD. These songs seriously need a shot in the arm because they are embarrassing the past 3 tours. Either speed them up or drop them.

Other songs don't sound so bad at a slower pace. Again, it just depends.
 
BrazilianFly, I wasnt picking a fight either, but the thread is about them slowing it down live if you read it. So naturally I thought that is what you were referring to.

I agree with MrBrau in that I think they are better musicians. The more you do something, generally the better you get at it. I think Bono has learned to use his voice more effectively now without destroying it in the process. Bono's voice is obviously not the same though. You can argue whether or not is better or worse now (subjective) but I dont think anyone can argue that it is different now. Its due to him singing incorrectly up to around 1989 and due to age. So age is definately a factor. There is no reason to slow down SBS or Pride and even NY Day as pointed out by someone else other than to make it easier for Bono. Very few fans I know think those sound better now versus what they sounded like in the 80's.
 
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I think that Out of Control on Slane is a good tempo


What really bothers me is the slowness of 11 O'Clock Tick Tock on the Elevation tour and especially the Irving Plaza show on the ATYCLB promo tour. It's just too slow.




But Pride is ok, and Sunday Bloody Sunday is still a great live song.



A problem with New Year's Day?! No way! It's Perfect!
 
MrBrau1 said:
They're much better musicians now than in the 80's. Naive musicians always think "faster" is a better display of skill. It's not. The band now play steady and solid, something that wasn't always there in the early days. Simply put, they're a much better band now.


yeah, no doubt that they're better musicians, it would be ashamed if they would have remained the same when they were starting :wink: anyway, until popmart U2 were claimed as probably the best band in the world playing live shows, the show is everytime there but sometimes the songs, i'm talking mostely of the old songs, are quite powerless and sleepy! pride, wowy, bad, out of control, sunday bloody sunday and other songs have been killed by them in the last tours, oh, i'm damn sorry to say this but it is so! i've watched rattle and hum last night and the songs were so penetrant, you can't forget any second of the way they were performing! and i say you this, oh my god, i've seen deep purple last year, they're almost 60, but they were tear fire out of they're instruments, i've never seen something so powerful and quite shocking! ok, they play hard rock, but with 60 they play the songs in the same way like they were performing 20-30 years ago!!i probably agree with the fact that larry's back misfortune and bono's voice problem are the main reasons why some songs are just going off, but right for these reasons i think it's better to cancel them of the setlists rather than downplay them with forced performances. maybe do them just a few times, only in the biggest events, there are a lot of other songs that would sound better. you know, i consider their old classics absolutely sacred, to ruin them after 15-20 years is a very pity...you know, it's just my opinion
 
discothequeLP said:


A problem with New Year's Day?! No way! It's Perfect!

I agree with this. For whatever reason, they chose to play it faster in concert than the album version during the 1980s tours. The way they've played it live recently sounds closer to the original tempo.
 
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