vocals on White as snow, Cedars and SUC

[U2girl]

In White as snow, who is singing with Bono (especially noticeable at the end of the song) ? Is that Daniel Lanois or Edge ?

The "return to call" home part in Cedars of Lebanon. Is that Edge and Daniel Lanois singing - neither of the two falsettos sound like Bono.

Stand up comedy - there is another vocal throghout the song, especially noticeable in the "Josephine, be careful of small men with big ideas" line. Is this Bono doing two vocal takes (like Crumbs, Discotheque...) or is it Edge ?

 

[bathiu]

I think the video on U2.com "till your wells run dry"... or something, was a hint from the band about WAS and Cedars, so I think it's Bono, Edge and Eno.

 

[An Cat Gav]

I think Eno's heavily involved, especially on the "return the call to home" part.

 

[last unicorn]

I always thought the COL part - return the call to home - is Edge, and that in WAS, it's Bono singing the background vocals, probably with some support from Edge. What do the liner notes say?

 

[U2girl]

Eno and Lanois have vocals credited on the credits page but as far as I can tell, they were singing on Unknown caller, MOS and FEZ.

I think it's Lanois on White as snow with Bono ("Now the wolves are every passing stranger Every face we cannot know" line is the most audible example)
and on Cedars my guess is Lanois with Edge. It sounds like two vocals, as opposed to multiple voices on the above mentioned songs.
I'm leaning towards double Bono vocals on SUC.

 

[Ronnie269]

Eno and Lanois have vocals credited on the credits page but as far as I can tell, they were singing on Unknown caller, MOS and FEZ.

I think it's Lanois on White as snow with Bono ("Now the wolves are every passing stranger Every face we cannot know" line is the most audible example)
and on Cedars my guess is Lanois with Edge. It sounds like two vocals, as opposed to multiple voices on the above mentioned songs.
I'm leaning towards double Bono vocals on SUC.

I agree with this although I think Eno is defo involved in the COL chorus! and also I can hear his voice the most in MOS and UC,

COL - Eno/EDGE
UC - Bono/EDGE/Eno/Lanois
MOS - EDGE/Eno

 

[discothequeLP]

backing vocals in White as Snow definitely sound Edge to me. Cedars sounds very Edge as well, but maybe some Eno/Lanois in the mix. as for SUC, who cares?

 

[BVS]

In White as snow, who is singing with Bono (especially noticeable at the end of the song) ? Is that Daniel Lanois or Edge ?

The "return to call" home part in Cedars of Lebanon. Is that Edge and Daniel Lanois singing - neither of the two falsettos sound like Bono.

Stand up comedy - there is another vocal throghout the song, especially noticeable in the "Josephine, be careful of small men with big ideas" line. Is this Bono doing two vocal takes (like Crumbs, Discotheque...) or is it Edge ?

Lanois on WAS.

"Return the call to home" sounds like both Eno and Edge with Edge being mixed a little louder.

SUC is definately Bono double tracked.

 

[last unicorn]

I think the backing vocals on WAS are beautiful.

 

[Jdelbove]

I think the backing vocals on WAS are beautiful.

agreed

by the way i think on MOS the backing vocals have a second Bono in there too

 

[bram]

If SUC is indeed double-tracked, then double-tracking is starting to look like a U2 "trick" when they know a song isn't quite working/not a classic. See HTDAAB for further examples.

I think you are spot on with WAS and COL u2girl. I don't hear Eno on those.

 

[Chill Mike D]

I don't know, Bono double-tracked on Even Better Than The Real Thing which is a standout song to me.

 

[Scorpionac]

I think it's supposed to make their songs sound more exciting. Imagine how different EBTTRT, Daddy's Gonna Pay or Babyface would be without double-tracking.

But on the whole, I don't like it. It's good when it sounds creepy or psychotic, but why is it on Bomb? Kinda screwed over ABOY and Yahweh.

 

[dan_smee]

I agree with this although I think Eno is defo involved in the COL chorus! and also I can hear his voice the most in MOS and UC,

COL - Eno/EDGE
UC - Bono/EDGE/Eno/Lanois
MOS - EDGE/Eno

I think you are short on voices in all the songs. Unless Eno recorded 3 or 4 vocal tracks (which im sure he would do to get the effect!).

UC - despite what may appear in the video has some Larry in there.

COL - Edge, Eno and Lanois. I'm sure you can hear all three if you listen for the hallmarks of each voice

MOS - Lanois may not be in there, but Listen to the zootv version of SHFWILF with him, then the chorus of MOS, id be buggered if hes not in there too.

Lanois is low in the mix, but I think hes in all of the songs. Eno is a bigger presence in all, and Edge is definately the prominant voice.

 

[dan_smee]

If SUC is indeed double-tracked, then double-tracking is starting to look like a U2 "trick" when they know a song isn't quite working/not a classic. See HTDAAB for further examples.

I think you are spot on with WAS and COL u2girl. I don't hear Eno on those.

Watch the joshua tree classic albums doco. Exit double tracked was gold. They should have been ballsy enough to do it on the disc.

I just think the whole concept fit HTDAAB because it works well with straight up rock songs

 

[Cactus Annie]

The little twit in Uncut magazine got it wrong again when he was talking about the vocals on NLOTH. I know that Beautiful Day also involved Edge and Danny on backing vocals, agian he got this wrong.

 

[BVS]

Context!!!

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i think cedars is edge and will.i.am in the back background.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

if you listen real hard you can hear Fergie peeing her pants

 

[bram]

if you listen real hard you can hear fergie peeing her pants

lol

 

[PolarCamel]

most fans/journalists for hype and ignorance reasons, tend to underplay Lanois role in U2's recordings.
We should remember that he's a musical personality just as prominent as Eno, and anyone who had seen him performing, read Dylan's chronicles regarding "Oh, Mercy", or heard different artists he had produced would know that.
I'm almost certain that COL is mostly a Lanois affair, the return the call to home part is def sung by him, he is on lap steel there, as well as on an electric playing the arpeggiated chords in the verse, and I bet he came up with the song's chord progression as it is a very typical Lanois prgression and a-typical U2 one. plus the bluesy lick with larry's rolls bear heavy resemblance to Lanois' instrumental work with Brian Blade, and on this song specifically, you can hear that the way the bass drums and keys gel together sound-wise. Brian Blade and Larry shared percussion and drumming duties on Emmylou Harris' "Wrecking Ball" produced by Lanois, and one of the things I find interesting about this album is how Dan incorporated all the knowledge and experience of Drums+Bass recording he got over the years, and especially on Shine and Here Is What Is, to create really intricate yet warm sounding textures with Larry and Adam, making them "sing" together as if they were the Jazz folks he plays with on other affairs. COL and UC are great examples.

Eno's most obvious contribution to COL is that high-pitch shimmering synth loop more audible towards the end.

WAS has also tons of vocals from Lanois.

 

[Cactus Annie]

Is this is because Bono voice isn't thta strong as it was on Bomb? Please tell me why?

Eno and Laonis are begining to irritate me

 

[last unicorn]

^ What? Why?

What do backing vocals have to do with the strength of Bono's voice? Bono's fine on that album.

 

[BVS]

Is this is because Bono voice isn't thta strong as it was on Bomb? Please tell me why?

Eno and Laonis are begining to irritate me

Oh Annie, you make me sad.

 

[Marien]

Yes, when your voice is bad, the best thing you can do is get as many back voices you can get and then try to sing above them, but I wouldn't worry until Bono takes a choir with a hundred children and thirty tenors with him.

 

[Cactus Annie]

I am very sorry people. I tell you why I left that message. I was reading a review of Nloth in Uncut magazine and the stupid guy was was writing it said that on the vocals Eno used an array of effects. Unless effects are used to create an atmosphere (which I have absolutely no problems with BTW, I have said many time that Believe is an extreamely clever crafted pop tune along with Burt Bacharach and SAW best tunes), effects can be used to turn screaching cats with their tails stuck underneath a door into chirping little nightengales. Strong backing singers can also turn crap singers into good one's. Brian Wilson may have had the largest range in recorded history, but he also had a wobbly weak voice and live he needed backing singers to make his voice sound stronger.

And I'm sorry about what I said about Brian and Danny. When I'm wrong I like to think that I admit when I'm wrong. Two years ago I heard the snippet of this beautiful haunting instrumental advert for a children's charity. I've recently heard it on an advert for another charity. It has no lyrics or voices but still provokes more emotion than many songs with a voice and lyrics, similar to Barber's Adaggio For Strings that is also used in charity advertising campaign's. I just asked Jeeve's what it was and I found out it was a song by Brian Eno called An Ending.

 

[BVS]

I am very sorry people. I tell you why I left that message. I was reading a review of Nloth in Uncut magazine and the stupid guy was was writing it said that on the vocals Eno used an array of effects.

Can you hear the "effects" or is it just because the guy writing the article told you?

What songs did he use an "array of effect"?

effects can be used to turn screaching cats with their tails stuck underneath a door into chirping little nightengales.

This is just flat out false. Wrong. Garbage.

You really don't understand how this works, do you?

No effect in the world can make someone who can't sing sound like an amazing singer. Yes, you can bring it back in pitch, or add a little reverb, what not but at the end of the day you can tell who's a good singer and who's not.

Strong backing singers can also turn crap singers into good one's. Brian Wilson may have had the largest range in recorded history, but he also had a wobbly weak voice and live he needed backing singers to make his voice sound stronger.

Wrong again.

I give up...

 

[Cactus Annie]

Can you hear the "effects" or is it just because the guy writing the article told you?

Forget about it. This guy is an idiot. He got it wrong. The U2 special edition in Uncut has so many mistakes in it's ridiculous. They should fire the researcher.

Wrong again.

I give up...

Please don't give up on me. I conisder you to be one of my best friends on interference. I am so happy today I can't even begin to tell you how ecstatic I feel. I haven't felt this happy in ages. I listened to Nloth yesterday. It's begining to warm. on me. I still love HTDAAB I don't care what anyone says, I still think it's a great album, it's just that I find Nloth really hard to get into. I always thought that I was receptive to unusual music, I've bought loads of CD's from the New Age section at my record shop. And Eno's An Ending is a truely gorgeous piece of music. He's back in my good books.

 

[Marien]

Brian Eno has been using effects on Bono's voice since The Unforgettable Fire, sometimes it has been just reverb, but in U2's most experimental albums he's gone so far as to use distorsion in the voice, for example in Zoo Station distorsion can be clearly heard, there are several effects in Zooropa and Pop too, it's in the 2000's when they almost stopped using them because they were looking for a more raw sound. This use doesn't have to do with Bono's singing being good, bad or regular, it has to do with treating the voice as one more instrument within the band and looking for new sounds, Bono is one of the few singers who allows this, most singers just allow effects which reinforce their voice (doubling and reverb), Bono likes playing with sound as much as Edge does and his voice has a strange quality that makes it very difficult to double it when recording, that's why when his voice is harsh he can't disguise it.

 

[gvox]

Brian Eno is a cheat and a liar, clearly. Lanois also.