Vertigo Japan shows perhaps the best Bono has ever sounded?

[Jdelbove]

I listen to the vertigo Japan shows all the time. When U2 came back for the 5th leg Bono sounded great but when they played in Austrailia Bono sounded strong but a little raspy that was all gone in Japan.

I think overal the Japan concerts might be the best vocal performances Bono has ever done. Each song on those nights he sings very clear and stronger than he maybe ever has and barely misses a note. He never shys away from the high notes and holds them longer than the CD versions is most cases. His voice sounds rejuvinated and alive. Songs like Pride and Where the Streets have no name never sounded as good. His voice sounds extremely strong on Somtimes and Miss Sarajevo. He sings Mysterious ways better than Zoo Tv the song sounds amazing on all 3 nights.
The performace of Bad from Japan is one of my all time favorites the way he hits and holds those wide awakes. Further, I have yet to hear a better performace of With or Without you from any tour than the November 30 Japan performance. Bono just gives it the power it deserves and finnaly for once his voice can keep up with him.

Great great shows wish I could have seen them and feeling a little robbed that they werent put on DVD to represent the vertigo tour.

 

[Axver]

Best on the Vertigo Tour? Probably.

Best ever? Not even close. I don't know how anyone could claim today's Bono packs even half the punch he did 1983-1992. In the early part of that period, he lacked some of the skill and control, but by the time you hit Lovetown and the first year of ZooTV, his vocal depth, strength, and power were great and he'll never be able to get that back. I think Where The Streets Have No Name from 1989-12-31 (or 1989-12-26) or One Tree Hill from 1989-12-26 easily slays Vertigo's vocal form.

The man's getting on in years, and although he sounded remarkably good on Vertigo compared to Popmart and Elevation, you can still tell quite clearly that he just doesn't have what he had at his peak around the late 1980s and early 1990s.

 

[xaviMF22]

*waits for Peterrrrr *

 

[last unicorn]

I LOVE the shows of the last Vertigo leg, all of them. Bono's voice is just amazing, it's the best it has been in years. Miss Sarajevo and Sometimes are the two best examples. It shows he has gained some self-confidence regarding his singing.

Of course it's not like when he was 20, you cannot really expect that from someone who has led a live like Bono has and toured so much, but still it is very good. He has certainly improved so much in technique. During most of the 80s, he was basically shouting to the audience. I guess that "wrong" singing took a major toll on his voice. Now his voice is clear and strong and I hope it stays like that for a while.

Also I feel that there are some very good bottlegs from the last Vertigo leg, some great sound quality. I have really listened to a lot of these recently.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Yes, his 5th leg voice is one of his best ever. Sure these days he dosnt have the same strength in screams and wide sound in his "basic" voice like he had in the 80's. But if we talk hitting high notes, holding notes for long time, singing techniques... Well then Bono's 5th leg vocals is the best ever.

Here are some proofs

- Bono did hit the HIGH C in "Wide Awake on Bad" several times on Vertigo tour. Also he sang the "Wide Awake" without probelms three times in the song a couple of times on Vertigo tour.

- He also hit the HIGH C in "Don't you look back" on WGRYWH, something he never has done, not even ZooTV.

- He has never hold high notes for so long like he did on Vertigo tour("Touch" in BD 5 sec, "Sing" in SYCMIOYO 8 sec, "L'amoure" in Miss Sarajevo)

- He now holds the chours in Pride, something he never even did on JT/LT tour.

- One of his highest falsettos ever was done 2006-11-18 on Vertigo when he sang a snippet of Ac/Dc's highway to hell. It was an E5. And on MW he sang the word "Child" in falsetto just like on ZooTV. Togheter with WITS Bono showed that his falsetto is back.

- He realy showed power when he sang the duet with Alicia Keys on the Oprah winfield show when he sang "Keep my AAAAAAAAAAAARMS down below"

- Bono's voice on the pirate song "A dying sailor to his shipmates" is incredible, it realy makes you think of the song "Wild Irish Rose" he did back in 89.

Also here are a clip with some of the best performences Bono did on Vertigo tour(alot of them are from the 5th leg):
www. send space .com/file/hut4kx

 

[Deamentia]

Great clip. Now where can I get the rest of the show

 

[last unicorn]

Great clip. Now where can I get the rest of the show

I got it from U2 start. It's a very good earpiece recording. Saitama, 06-12-04 that is.

 

[DevilsShoes]

Best on the Vertigo Tour? Probably.

Best ever? Not even close. I don't know how anyone could claim today's Bono packs even half the punch he did 1983-1992. In the early part of that period, he lacked some of the skill and control, but by the time you hit Lovetown and the first year of ZooTV, his vocal depth, strength, and power were great and he'll never be able to get that back. I think Where The Streets Have No Name from 1989-12-31 (or 1989-12-26) or One Tree Hill from 1989-12-26 easily slays Vertigo's vocal form.

The man's getting on in years, and although he sounded remarkably good on Vertigo compared to Popmart and Elevation, you can still tell quite clearly that he just doesn't have what he had at his peak around the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Thats interesting, I never knew you rated his Zoo TV voice up there with his Lovetown voice, as the two are quite different, I always felt that in 92 his voice was more lightweight and not as rich and powerful as in 89/90, thats not to say I didn't like it, there were some nights on Zoo TV when he displayed incredible intensity, but they were fewer and further between than in the late eighties.

Like you say during the 92 part of the tour he was great, but it seemed to me his voice began to decline in 93. Whenever I watch the Sydney film I'm always struck by how tired Bono appears, he still pulls off a great performance and its still a good night, but I often wish they'd have filmed the official concert release in 92 when he had more energy and passion. Thats partly why I like the Washington 92 Pro Shot so much.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Thats interesting, I never knew you rated his Zoo TV voice up there with his Lovetown voice, as the two are quite different, I always felt that in 92 his voice was more lightweight and not as rich and powerful as in 89/90, thats not to say I didn't like it, there were some nights on Zoo TV when he displayed incredible intensity, but they were fewer and further between than in the late eighties.

Like you say during the 92 part of the tour he was great, but it seemed to me his voice began to decline in 93. Whenever I watch the Sydney film I'm always struck by how tired Bono appears, he still pulls off a great performance and its still a good night, but I often wish they'd have filmed the official concert release in 92 when he had more energy and passion. Thats partly why I like the Washington 92 Pro Shot so much.

I agree with you. He did a very good job in 92, but it wasnt close to what he did on LT. In 93 his voice was very worn out. It is a huge difference beetween LT and ZooTV. His voice was much stronger on LT.

On Night And Day he did an amazing job, that song was recorded in 1990 and then one year later he sounds complete different on AB. What happend? Sure he started to sing more calm but even when he sang in that way it was different from year before. The rough way he sang on LT must have done alot of damage togheter with that he started to smoke more.

Great clip. Now where can I get the rest of the show

I got it from U2 start. It's a very good earpiece recording. Saitama, 06-12-04 that is.

What clip?

 

[last unicorn]

I thought you guys were talking about the Vertigo Japan shows.



Peter's clip is a sample of various shows.

Thanks for compiling and uploading, Peter, very good choices!

 

[major_panic]

The only problem I have with the Japan shows is the lack of atmosphere - listen to both Melbourne shows and compare them to the Japan ones, and you'll get what I mean.

Also, Melb 19 Nov Bad =

Easily among the best singing Bono has ever done, this last leg of the Vertigo tour. Better than the early years? It's hard to compare seeing as most of the time we're talking about completely different songs.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Thanks for compiling and uploading, Peter, very good choices!

Im glad you like it

 

[last unicorn]

The only problem I have with the Japan shows is the lack of atmosphere - listen to both Melbourne shows and compare them to the Japan ones, and you'll get what I mean.

You're right. Japenese audiences are rather reserved, which is a shame, not just with U2.
But the AUS/NZ shows are very good in terms of atmosphere.

 

[Peterrrrr]

The only problem I have with the Japan shows is the lack of atmosphere - listen to both Melbourne shows and compare them to the Japan ones, and you'll get what I mean.

Also, Melb 19 Nov Bad =

Easily among the best singing Bono has ever done, this last leg of the Vertigo tour. Better than the early years? It's hard to compare seeing as most of the time we're talking about completely different songs.

The 5ht leg versions of Bad was good, have you heard 2005-09-14 - Toronto and 2005-12-04 - Boston? The "Wide Awake" parts from these two are in this clip:

www. send space .com/file/hut4kx

 

[DevilsShoes]

I agree with you. He did a very good job in 92, but it wasnt close to what he did on LT. In 93 his voice was very worn out. It is a huge difference beetween LT and ZooTV. His voice was much stronger on LT.

On Night And Day he did an amazing job, that song was recorded in 1990 and then one year later he sounds complete different on AB. What happend? Sure he started to sing more calm but even when he sang in that way it was different from year before. The rough way he sang on LT must have done alot of damage togheter with that he started to smoke more.

The sudden change in his voice has always confused me too, the only thing I can put it down to is singing 'wrong' throughout the eighties, going for all those incredibly high notes without knowing how to protect his voice, plus the smoking he had started to indulge in the late eighties. It all finally caught up with him. After Lovetown I don't think he did much singing throughout 1990 and the voice does start to close up and lose its flexibility if you don't keep it in shape, somehow Bono's never struck me as someone who does vocal excercises at home to keep it in good condition. The voice is like a muscle and like any muscle if you don't excercise it and use it frequently it starts to lose its flexibility and strength. I think this may also be another reason for Bono's voice change.

 

[Peterrrrr]

The sudden change in his voice has always confused me too, the only thing I can put it down to is singing 'wrong' throughout the eighties, going for all those incredibly high notes without knowing how to protect his voice, plus the smoking he had started to indulge in the late eighties. It all finally caught up with him. After Lovetown I don't think he did much singing throughout 1990 and the voice does start to close up and lose its flexibility if you don't keep it in shape, somehow Bono's never struck me as someone who does vocal excercises at home to keep it in good condition. The voice is like a muscle and like any muscle if you don't excercise it and use it frequently it starts to lose its flexibility and strength. I think this may also be another reason for Bono's voice change.

But he sang alot in 1990 when they where starting to record the sessions for AB.

But his throat must have got a shock, after all the rough singing and screaming on LT tour and then he just suddenly stops to sing

Also the story behind the soundboard recordings on the Dublin shows on LT was that Bono recorded them for a a doctor who was going to analyze his singing on that tour. He gave Bono a big warning that if he would contunie to sing like that he would destroy his voice.

So I think that rough singing on LT did more damage then we think.

 

[last unicorn]

DevilsShoes, I think you may be right. I've read somewhere that Bono started to do more vocal exercises in recent years and that he even hired a voice coach. Maybe that's part of why his voice has been so much better recently.

 

[U2girl]

Personally I don't hear much difference between 1992 and 1993 Bono.
Zoo TV may be his most constant tour in singing. There are bad UF/JT/LT/Popmart/Elevation/Vertigo nights, but I never heard a bad Zoo TV show from him.

I think mostly what happened is the smoking ruined his natural UF-JT-Rattle and Hum tone. He could still belt when necessary on Zoo TV, plus he expanded his voice with the falsetto.

I'm more interested in what happened between 1993-1997, can that throat surgery really explain the change and drop in quality of his voice ? He didn't overuse it, because they didn't play any shows in that time.
And secondly, I'm interested in knowing what he did from circa 2003-onwards (Electrical storm being the first mark of the new found strength). Voice lessons, pills, singing exercises... on Bomb I was reminded of the UF era, the "post puberty" in his voice and how he learned to use it on JT, so maybe he can do the same on LP 12. He has the knowledge and the skill now to take care of his instrument.

Does he sound better than 15, 20 years ago ? No, but no one does. Not even trained opera singers can keep up their prime. But that said, I won't complain if he can keep himself at this level for a few years now.

 

[DevilsShoes]

But he sang alot in 1990 when they where starting to record the sessions for AB.

But his throat must have got a shock, after all the rough singing and screaming on LT tour and then he just suddenly stops to sing

Also the story behind the soundboard recordings on the Dublin shows on LT was that Bono recorded them for a a doctor who was going to analyze his singing on that tour. He gave Bono a big warning that if he would contunie to sing like that he would destroy his voice.

So I think that rough singing on LT did more damage then we think.

I just did some quick research and apparently the band didn't travel to Berlin to start recording AB until October 1990, so from 10th Jan 1990 the last date of the Lovetown tour that's a good portion of the year when he didn't do a lot of singing.

I'm more interested in what happened between 1993-1997, can that throat surgery really explain the change and drop in quality of his voice ? He didn't overuse it, because they didn't play any shows in that time.
And secondly, I'm interested in knowing what he did from circa 2003-onwards (Electrical storm being the first mark of the new found strength). Voice lessons, pills, singing exercises... on Bomb I was reminded of the UF era, the "post puberty" in his voice and how he learned to use it on JT, so maybe he can do the same on LP 12. He has the knowledge and the skill now to take care of his instrument.

I don't think he had any surgery from 93-97 U2girl, the only operation on his voice I know of was in 99/00 just after Popmart when he realised he needed to get to the bottom of his vocal difficulties if he was to continue having a career as a singer. He's says in U2 By U2 that he started smoking a different kind of cigarette during Zoo Tv because he liked the effect he had on his voice. That was Ok for the short term but it had long term damage, this along with drinking, unknown allergies and just not really taking any steps to preserve his voice I think all contributed to the slow decline from 93-97, and then including the making of Pop and Popmart.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Personally I don't hear much difference between 1992 and 1993 Bono.
Zoo TV may be his most constant tour in singing. There are bad UF/JT/LT/Popmart/Elevation/Vertigo nights, but I never heard a bad Zoo TV show from him.

I think mostly what happened is the smoking ruined his natural UF-JT-Rattle and Hum tone. He could still belt when necessary on Zoo TV, plus he expanded his voice with the falsetto.

I'm more interested in what happened between 1993-1997, can that throat surgery really explain the change and drop in quality of his voice ? He didn't overuse it, because they didn't play any shows in that time.
And secondly, I'm interested in knowing what he did from circa 2003-onwards (Electrical storm being the first mark of the new found strength). Voice lessons, pills, singing exercises... on Bomb I was reminded of the UF era, the "post puberty" in his voice and how he learned to use it on JT, so maybe he can do the same on LP 12. He has the knowledge and the skill now to take care of his instrument.

Does he sound better than 15, 20 years ago ? No, but no one does. Not even trained opera singers can keep up their prime. But that said, I won't complain if he can keep himself at this level for a few years now.

I think it is a differnece between his voice in 92 and 93. The 93 voice is so much weaker and also the 93 voice is a bit worn and tired.
Just listen to how he sings "Under a blood-red sky A crowd has gathered in black and white Arms entwined, the chosen few" on the 92 versions, well in the 93 versions he sang them almost with a whisperd voice and also started to use a falsetto in "chosen few", wich he had after that contunie to sing on tourd after(maybe on next tour he will change that )
In 93 most of the "Wide Awakes" in Bad was sang in falsetto, in 92 there where alot of normal "Wide Awakes", but also some falsettos, but not as many as in 93.

But the change between 93-97 was even bigger. One intressting thing is the years 95-97. Just compare One(Modena 95) to the Popmart versions. His voice in 95 was very good, listen to TSOHOSOS, The Cross and even Tommorrow from 96. Well there is a huge difference from 95-96 to Popmart tour.

And after the surgey in 98 the voice became even weaker, just listen to Slide Away(wich I think was done after the surgey)

On Elevation tour his voice got better and better, after the tour he was able to rest. And then they released Electrical Storm. In a half year he did an amazing improvement.

I just did some quick research and apparently the band didn't travel to Berlin to start recording AB until October 1990, so from 10th Jan 1990 the last date of the Lovetown tour that's a good portion of the year when he didn't do a lot of singing.

Thanks for the information

 

[Axver]

Thats interesting, I never knew you rated his Zoo TV voice up there with his Lovetown voice, as the two are quite different, I always felt that in 92 his voice was more lightweight and not as rich and powerful as in 89/90, thats not to say I didn't like it, there were some nights on Zoo TV when he displayed incredible intensity, but they were fewer and further between than in the late eighties.

I don't really rate the ZooTV Tour as a whole, but Bono's vocal range was very strong, especially in 1992. The early shows are interesting as you can still hear some faint aspects of Lovetown wearing off, just like how on Lovetown you could see some Zoo aspects creeping in unbeknown to everyone at the time (check out the falsetto at the end of Streets on 1989-12-31). Song-by-song comparisons are interesting: Bono easily gave his most ferocious and strong vocal performances for Bullet on ZooTV in comparison to Lovetown (or anything else), though Lovetown's Streets slays ZooTV's Streets.

If you ask me, for ZooTV, U2 should have released two videos: one from the indoor shows (they even have proshot from Stockholm!) and one from stadium shows any time in 1993 when the Zororopa material was in the set.

 

[DevilsShoes]

I don't really rate the ZooTV Tour as a whole, but Bono's vocal range was very strong, especially in 1992. The early shows are interesting as you can still hear some faint aspects of Lovetown wearing off, just like how on Lovetown you could see some Zoo aspects creeping in unbeknown to everyone at the time (check out the falsetto at the end of Streets on 1989-12-31). Song-by-song comparisons are interesting: Bono easily gave his most ferocious and strong vocal performances for Bullet on ZooTV in comparison to Lovetown (or anything else), though Lovetown's Streets slays ZooTV's Streets.

If you ask me, for ZooTV, U2 should have released two videos: one from the indoor shows (they even have proshot from Stockholm!) and one from stadium shows any time in 1993 when the Zororopa material was in the set.

Yeah you can definitely see hints of Zoo TV on the Lovetown tour, many things Bono said on stage he would later re-use under the guise of The Fly. Plus alot of the photo's and video's from 89 indicate Bono's gradual change of image, and growing weariness with U2's do-gooder image, he's smoking more and beginning to look more like the sterotypical rock and roller, something he'd consciously tried to avoid before but which he would indulge in completely in the nineties.

I've always been interested in your opinion of Bono's personality change from Lovetown to Zoo Tv, in the past I've often thought they were two completely different men, and I suppose the change of image and his change of voice emphasised this feeling for me. At the time it seemed so weird, here he was doing things his eighties self would never have done, it all seemed so out of character and that the earnest man of the eighties had been replaced by this hedonistic rocker. For a long time I couldn't reconcile the two.

Looking at it now i feel eighties Bono was actually a lot more like nineties Bono, but he kept that part of his personality hidden because he felt he had an image to uphold. He didn't want to dissapoint people or let them down. In the nineties this feeling loosened up alot.

 

[last unicorn]

The only really bad vocal performance of the Vertigo tour that I've heard was the South American leg, I think Bono wasn't healthy at this time. During PopMart, his voice wasn't good, it had no strength or volume, on many shows he was more mumbling or whispering than singing. During Elevation, he was often hoarse, his voice sounded raspy and would tire much more quickly. From 2003 onwards, his voice started to sound really good again, of course not like ZooTV, but on a different level.

I believe it has recovered from the surgery and he was undergoing medical treatment and maybe professional voice coaching. His voice isn't tiring so easily these days, it sounds much heathier.

 

[DevilsShoes]

I think you're right Last Unicorn, the healing from the surgery has been a slow process which has taken much longer than I thought it would. One of the things I noticed about the Boston DVD is that Bono's singing really well until about half way through, when his voice suddenly becomes much weaker and shakier. This didn't happen much on Vertigo he managed to maintain the quality throughout the whole show.

 

[Axver]

Yeah you can definitely see hints of Zoo TV on the Lovetown tour, many things Bono said on stage he would later re-use under the guise of The Fly. Plus alot of the photo's and video's from 89 indicate Bono's gradual change of image, and growing weariness with U2's do-gooder image, he's smoking more and beginning to look more like the sterotypical rock and roller, something he'd consciously tried to avoid before but which he would indulge in completely in the nineties.

You can tell Bono's tired of being pigeonholed into a particular role and having to play that role. I think he definitely swore more on Lovetown! And the music got darker: God Part II live was always more aggressive than in the studio, She's A Mystery To Me has direct lyrical connections to Love Is Blindness (though its earliest lyrics date from JT; the final lyrics appeared on Lovetown), and songs like Acrobat were born in Lovetown soundchecks.

Also, the vocal troubles Bono experienced at times on Lovetown seemed to serve to spur him on to the future as much as they hindered things at the time. I think he pushed himself more and began to develop the falsetto (perhaps as a fall-back if his range went to hell?). It's this kind of stuff that I think makes Lovetown Bono's best vocal era - while he was running into some problems, on the nights when he was healthy he had all the strength and depth he'd previously had, but they had matured over the years and were augmented by new aspects that were more fully realised on ZooTV.

I've always been interested in your opinion of Bono's personality change from Lovetown to Zoo Tv, in the past I've often thought they were two completely different men, and I suppose the change of image and his change of voice emphasised this feeling for me. At the time it seemed so weird, here he was doing things his eighties self would never have done, it all seemed so out of character and that the earnest man of the eighties had been replaced by this hedonistic rocker. For a long time I couldn't reconcile the two.

Looking at it now i feel eighties Bono was actually a lot more like nineties Bono, but he kept that part of his personality hidden because he felt he had an image to uphold. He didn't want to dissapoint people or let them down. In the nineties this feeling loosened up alot.

Never trust a man on stage, heh. Well, I think early eighties Bono was very earnest and sincere and hid little, but by JT, as I said, he was being pigeonholed and I think some Lovetown shows reveal a measure of rebellion against that. ZooTV is, I think, a well-considered choice to portray the other extreme and show that neither is the true Bono. Just like the real Bono began to creep through and weaken The Fly's persona as the ZooTV set progressed, the real Bono also began to creep through and weaken the do-gooder persona in the late eighties. In between the two extremes is the real Bono - the passionate guy who has both serious interests and a desire to have a good time.

 

[blm]

Never trust a man on stage, heh. Well, I think early eighties Bono was very earnest and sincere and hid little, but by JT, as I said, he was being pigeonholed and I think some Lovetown shows reveal a measure of rebellion against that. ZooTV is, I think, a well-considered choice to portray the other extreme and show that neither is the true Bono. Just like the real Bono began to creep through and weaken The Fly's persona as the ZooTV set progressed, the real Bono also began to creep through and weaken the do-gooder persona in the late eighties. In between the two extremes is the real Bono - the passionate guy who has both serious interests and a desire to have a good time.

Very well stated, Axver!! Are you a pschology major, per chance???

 

[DevilsShoes]

Just like the real Bono began to creep through and weaken The Fly's persona as the ZooTV set progressed, the real Bono also began to creep through and weaken the do-gooder persona in the late eighties.

Thats an interesting way of looking at it, I think Bono enjoyed Zoo TV much more than Lovetown (I think even now the band are a little unsure of what to make of it), but there are a few shows in 92/93 where the image seems less important or at least appears to fall away a little. The early Rotterdam shows at the start of the 93 leg show the band in a far more human and sensitive light and also on the Washington pro shot concert(which I seem to be mentioning alot lately), that, to my eyes, shows Bono more like his eighties persona, he seems less concerned with the image and posing as The Fly and more with connecting emotionally with the audience, the fact that he seems to borrow his JT/Lovetown voice for this night heightens that feeling.

Incidentally this was one of the reasons I liked Popmart, it seemed more emotional, less about style and more about substance, despite the gaudiness of the whole concept.

Now what was this thread about? Oh yeah the Japan nights on the Vertigo tour

 

[babyman]

The man's getting on in years

No. When you're a good singer, age doesn't mean a thing.

 

[Axver]

Hey, DevilsShoes, I was going to do a response, but to be honest, I don't think I've anything to really add to what you've said beyond "yeah" or "I agree". So yes, let's get back to the original topic!

No. When you're a good singer, age doesn't mean a thing.

Yes it does. Name me one singer nearing 50 who sounds equally as good or better than they did when they were around 25-30. Not even someone like Neil Finn, who still has most of his range, can sing some stuff he could do in his younger days.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

people's voices change as they get older... by age & by abuse. bono certainly still has a great rock and roll voice, but it doesn't touch his voice from, say, UF era through ZooTV