Which Album Has The Best Bono Vocals?

[DevilsShoes]

For me I think its Rattle and Hum, I love the overall tone and timbre of his voice during the late eighties and this album encapulates this perfectly (more so that JT IMO). He just sounds so accomplished and confident on every single one of the studio tracks. He really had become a brilliant singer and his development throughout the eighties is both amazing and evident, not only that he's still unpredictable, daring to push his vocals into new areas, and pulling off some superb stuff.

He's lustful on Desire, explosive on Hawkmoon, euphoric on Angel, seductive on Heartland and velvety smooth on All I Want Is You. For me this is a singer at the top of his game and confident in his abilities.

Don't get me wrong he's been brilliant since , its just that I feel for consistent excellence, he was never better, there have been peaks and valley since.

Perhaps techincally he wasn't the greatest in 89, but just purely for the overall quality and sound of his voice during this period, it wins out for me every time.

What do you think?

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

The J. Tree.

 

[coolian2]

He's lustful on Desire, explosive on Hawkmoon, euphoric on Angel, seductive on Heartland and velvety smooth on All I Want Is You. For me this is a singer at the top of his game and confident in his abilities.

He also sounds like a totally different singer on Van Diemen's Land

 

[U2girl]

He sounds different on each album...If I had to pick one, I'd probably choose Rattle and Hum.

I like the tone he had during UF-JT-Rattle and Hum.
For ability I'd pick AB-Zooropa with that added falsetto (though I miss the above tone as he started to sound more gravely).
I also liked the vocals on Bomb, I'm reminded of the new-found voice of UF compared to the first three albums when I compare Pop and ATYCLB to Bomb. He has yet to completely explore the new voice to the fullest (as he did after UF, on JT).

 

[Vibe90]

He also sounds like a totally different singer on Van Diemen's Land

I think that's because he wasn't singing in that song, Edge was.

 

[Axver]

I think that's because he wasn't singing in that song, Edge was.

You might want to switch your sarcasm detector on.

 

[Salome]

definitely Rattle & Hum
not really a contest

though the 90s brigade could barge in any minute now

 

[Acrobat51829]

Re: Re: Which Album Has The Best Bono Vocals?

He also sounds like a totally different singer on Van Diemen's Land

For me, it's either UF or Achtung Baby--though I think he sounded better during ZooTV than on the album itself. During UF, his voice finnaly lost the remainders of his would-be British accent (a la pre-Boy) and he demonstrated much more control than on War. Achtung Baby--the richness of both the falsetto and deep notes, and everything in between.

 

[Vlaco]

R&H...no contest

 

[JCOSTER]

I would say Achtung Baby, although the toughness in his voice on JT is awesome too.

 

[shaun vox]

Achtung baby (and zooropa) and then Joshua tree and (R&H) the End!!!!!!!!

 

[Peterrrrr]

Uf and HTDAAB.

The new albums vocals will be great

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

JT / R&H / AB

I also like his voice in A Man and a Woman a lot.... not the song, but the voice!

 

[theFly51]

Zooropa

 

[TheBrazilianFly]

Definitely Rattle And Hum for me! Great strong, raging and soulful vocals. Lots of beautiful melodic singing and lots of pissed of first rate screaming!

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

Hmmm, I know he's a bit shrieky on War, but I always dug the urgency in his voice on that album.

Can't wait for that remaster to come out...

 

[bonocomet]

Definitely Rattle And Hum for me! Great strong, raging and soulful vocals. Lots of beautiful melodic singing and lots of pissed of first rate screaming!

R&H here too for the same reasons. But I also like the sound of his voice a lot on AB, HTDAAB, and even Boy, Oct, & War. The vocals on those are great in a different way. It's really hard to choose. Bono's voice is really wild.

 

[DreamOutLoud13]

This thread was right by the 'Bands who sound like U2' thread and I thought it said "Which band has the best Bono vocals?" and I was like wtf, we've hit a new low.



But uh. I think his vocals on Zooropa are pretty good. There was a real smoothness there that isn't really present anywhere else.

 

[The Sad Punk]

JT, I think.

I'm cool with opinions and all but I'm curious about how the Zooropa votes came to be. It's probably my favourite U2 album, but I think Bono is rather weak in it, perhaps bar Lemon.

 

[DevilsShoes]

I'm cool with opinions and all but I'm curious about how the Zooropa votes came to be. It's probably my favourite U2 album, but I think Bono is rather weak in it, perhaps bar Lemon.

I agree, for me its not one of Bono's stronger outings, but then he did become more of a subliminal presence on the nineties albums.
With that said I do think his vocal for Stay is absolutely stunning and certainly a contender for one of his best ever.

 

[Zoots]

Actually the whole run from UF and JT to R&H had great vocals!

POWERFUL
Pride
Bad
RHMT

SEXY
The Unforgettable Fire
Promenade
With Or Without You

Of course, the 90s had stuff like Velvet Dress and UTEOTW low register amazing stuff so I don't know.

 

[ponkine]

Unforgettable Fire

 

[Nilthoron]

definitely Rattle & Hum,but I also like his vocal on AB

and I agree with DevilsShoes , his vocal for Stay is really amazing

 

[the tourist]

83-91.

 

[LemonMelon]

Joshua Tree, no contest.

Kermit took over vocal duties on Rattle & Hum.

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

You might want to switch your sarcasm detector on.

You might want to check post counts before coming down on someone.

 

[Axver]

You might want to check post counts before coming down on someone.

Yes, because post count totally influences the comprehension of obvious sarcasm.

 

[LemonMelon]

Yes, because post count totally influences the comprehension of obvious sarcasm.

The point he was trying to make is that the guy who said that was obviously not a regular and would have no idea how often coolian utilizes sarcasm. Besides, it wasn't terribly obvious to me, and is a mistake U2 n00bs could actually make, which is why it was so clever.

 

[Axver]

The point he was trying to make is that the guy who said that was obviously not a regular and would have no idea how often coolian utilizes sarcasm.

I got that, and I disagree. You don't need to be regular or know Ian to be able to easily spot that was a sarcastic remark. It's just basic comprehension.

But let's not suck the humour out of things by over-analysing it.

 

[coolian2]

No, lets.