Anyone who thinks anything about Bono's singing is better now than it was then has a screw loose. Since when has rock singing been about "technique?" Christ on a bike. Bottom line: his voice has been getting thinner and thinner since ZooTV. Just because he can still hit a high note doesn't mean he sounds nearly as good singing normal notes as he did then. Just compare a song like Unforgettable Fire on this tour to the version of 1987 in Paris. He just had a better voice back then in every way.
1987 Paris Unforgettable Fire, he did not even sing the high parts at the end.
I think his current voice gave TUF the best performances it has ever seen in Milan this past summer.
Bottom line, you can find versions of TUF that were lacking voice wise in 1987 and you can find them on 360. Notably toward the end of 360. Overall, I think he sang it much better on 360.
Look at Ultraviolet side by side Zoo Tv Washington and 360 Barcelona. "you bury your treasure..." sounds almost like he is talking it in Washington.
I don't think you can accurately make such a broad statement about the decline since Zoo TV. I would take any 5th leg Vertigo performance of Bad over a Zoo TV performance of it any day. Objectively, his voice was much fuller for that leg than it was for Zoo TV. Listen to Zoo TV Sydney- granted it is the end of the tour, but do Pride and Streets sound a little tuned down to you?
The trajectory has not gone like you describe at all. Popmart he struggled, continued to decline throughout Elevation but has markedly improved since then.
Back in the 80s and to a lesser extent on Zoo TV, he had to scream to hit alot more notes that he hits pretty routinely now.
I don't think anyone attending the last 2 tours has ever had to sit through a concert where Bono's voice was admittedly blown out or have them postponed(Rotterdam Lovetown for example) due to Bono's voice being shot. His peaks in the 80s were awesome, but his valleys often led to poor or postponed shows.
I would like UF smoothness meeting Lovetown power every night too, but given the amount of years Bono has been at this, it is pretty amazing that he can still tour 100plus shows at all.
Besides, I think Vertigo and 360 has seen him combine the technique and smoothness that were present in the UF period with an increasing amount of power that we heard in the late 80s.
The strength of his voice is much improved over 2001 and alot of his power is coming back.
I have always taken the advice of my aunt and other people I know who have seen U2 live many times since the early 1980s. All of them tell me Bono's voice is not better or worse, just different.