Classic or Dud: U2

can Bono still hit those notes?

Gonna say no. Here they are in 2018, and it sounds like some pre-recorded backing tracks are in the mix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LY_uxUhap0

Which is fine, U2 has long used backing tracks, plus people off-stage triggering stuff, adding additional instruments, etc.

I saw some clip of them doing "With Or Without You" some years back, and Bono struggling with the high notes actually really underscored for me what a singer he can be. For sure, he used to sing the hell out of songs like that, but there's no way I'd expect him to be able to keep it up. I think the same thing about someone like Springsteen. For years he was operating at 120%; dropping down to, like, 85% is still more than the work most people are doing.

xp Someone I know who absolutely hates U2 used to say "they're playing to f***ing machines!" which always cracked me up.

Bono hit the high notes on the album version of the fly but the edge has always done them live iirc

Ah that actually makes sense, given how Bono would need to sing the 'a man will beg' part

So my next question is, can Edge still hit those notes?

I saw them on the Joshua Tree tour in 2019, Bono's voice was fucked then

based on that 2018 video it sounds like the edge still does an alright job of it, just they've got a backing track of a choir or something in there too to make it sound fuller

The band sounded great and it was a really good show. I'd go and see an Achtung Baby/Zooropa show in a heartbeat.

That PopMart Vegas show was also marred by probably their biggest ever on-stage problems. Careful now U2!

I guess Edge falling off the stage isn't technically an on-stage problem.

Fortunately Bono took over the falling-off-the-stage department on the next tour (I was there).

A friend who helps:

https://external-preview.redd.it/nzTdgnDim6TidIX266eBGFSqYmediJcO6kOadAKzT5E.jpg?auto=webp&s=f690df8368033ed2a01e84a22154ece5e0aaf4c9

There's being clumsy where you step and then there's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbriItBGGLM

Gonna say no. Here they are in 2018, and it sounds like some pre-recorded backing tracks are in the mix:

As with “Even Better Than The Real Thing, “The Fly” was apparently always played in a different key for live performances. Which prompts the question, how many bands lowered the keys of brand-new songs (as opposed to older songs the singer may struggle with) in order to play them live?

It was said long ago that U2 didn't play 'Red Hill Mining Town' for long in 1987 for this reason (and didn't release it as a 45 because they couldn't play it live? - despite Neil Jordan having made a video?). Presumably it's never been played since.

I have an idea that 'The Unforgettable Fire' posed Bono a problem also, but then again I have a DVD of them playing that in USA 1987. It's exciting to see, but they can't really replicate the instrumental thrills in the middle.

"Just What I Needed" by the Cars is pitched sharp on the record because Roy Thomas Baker sped it up, but it was always played live in a different, lower key.

I have an idea that 'The Unforgettable Fire' posed Bono a problem also, but then again I have a DVD of them playing that in USA 1987. It's exciting to see, but they can't really replicate the instrumental thrills in the middle.

When I saw them in 1985 they didn’t seem to struggle with it, though Bono didn’t attempt the highest falsetto notes. The instrumental midsection worked well with Edge doing the string parts on slide guitar against a sequencer. But since so much of the chorus is at the absolute top of Bono’s range, I can see why they may not have played it live much.

how many bands lowered the keys of brand-new songs (as opposed to older songs the singer may struggle with) in order to play them live?

Would Friday I'm in Love count? The studio version of which was pitched up.

Energy-wise you ain’t gonna get these guys anymore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEyrhdBIyD8

Iirc they've been playing Even Better Than the Real Thing for years now with sort of energy-sapped verses. Maybe it's a purely artistic decision but idk.

Just watched that "The Fly" 2018 clip and it sounds pretty great. I think Edge is the one hitting those notes with just the organ/pad and percussive elements in the backing track, as it is on the album

FWIW, for post-2000 U2, the 2001 show at Slane is hands down the one to see IMHO. Cheap DVD's are easy to find for those who want a physical copy, and it challenges even the Red Rocks DVD for the best one they've released. (The Zoo TV DVD at Sydney is still my favorite, but a lot of people complain that the sound quality - perhaps the mix - isn't as good as it could be judging by audio-only releases from that tour, but I think the visuals make up for it.)

that 2018 version of the fly does sound really good. that one remains solidly within Bono's vocal wheelhouse, probably 3/4 of achtung baby remains well within reach for him -- wild horses, mysterious ways, and ultraviolet are the ones where he really stretched out i think but the former pair might be well-served by the lower register vox, they would prob sound better. ultraviolet is the one where i kinda wish he'd still be able to hit all the high notes.

Bono's own father pointed out early on that he was a baritone masquerading as a tenor. That being the case, a lot of U2's material had an inbuilt shelf-life. If even guys like Robert Plant lose their high notes, what chance did Bono have to still be able to sing something like "The Unforgettable Fire" by his sixties?

Bono's own father pointed out early on that he was a baritone masquerading as a tenor.

This makes sense. But did Bono take care of his voice? I feel like there's a lot of musicians for whom long-term self-care is an afterthought at best, or is maybe addressed too late to have much of an effect. I mean, Roger Daltrey is 78 and still singing "Tattoo" in its original key, and Paul Thompson is 71 and driving Roxy Music like he's 21, so it's definitely possible to retain one's strengths over the years.

Paul Thompson is 71 and driving Roxy Music like he's 21

lol he sooooo wasn't. PT is one of my all time favorite drummers, and my eyes were on him most of the show, but there was no way he was driving much anything. Still good, tho.

Daltrey, not sure he was ever much of a smoker, which may be key.

Bono def pushed his voice past its natural zone on earlier recordings and frequently sounded awkward in certain spots. i sense he probably got some vocal training after awhile which allowed him to lose that awkwardness and smooth everything out, but it all likely took its toll. He smoked for awhile too, which didn't help. He sounds good in the lower register, so it could be a net gain should he choose to go that route exclusively on future albums though who knows how many of those there will be.

as far as old timers who can still do it, Richard Thompson is in a class by himself

Andy McCluskey of OMD still has the chops, and the dancing

how many bands lowered the keys of brand-new songs (as opposed to older songs the singer may struggle with) in order to play them live?

Michael Penn recorded "No Myth" in C, but when he performed it on TV at that time he sang it in G.

regarding taking care of his voice, Bono is similar to Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge, he's very throaty and punches the high notes out, but his technique isn't actually very good, so no doubt he lost that range faster than if he'd sang properly - but even then, if you're operating at the top of your range in your prime and continue to tour for 100+ days a year for decades and decades, you're singing live more than the average musician, and for a longer time at each show, so the wear and tear adds up a lot quicker.

^^ that plus the fact that he did more between- (and during-) song patter than probably any vocalist of his generation, most of which was shouted. And he didn’t get any relief during the shows: it’s not like there’s any long U2 instrumentals or more than two songs that the Edge could sing on his own.

holy shit bono & edge did a tiny desk concert & it’s so great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxo-loXdcH0

I want a Tiny Desk Concert that is just Adam and Larry.

Mission: Tiny Desk

bugger.
i hate acoustic versions so was going to avoid this album.
but yeah .. this is really good.

I checked out when boner started directing the choir

Beautiful Day had strong Flight of the Conchords vibes for me but I bailed on the rest

rmde i should have expected nothing less

had no idea that the tiny desk space isn't tiny at all, I remember a Bono interview some years ago regretting not spending more time writing and recording new stuff, would have been totally possible and legendary to play the batman song acoustic though, and with a choir!? seems like a missed opportunity

My sister and I used to joke about the day they'd do a Vegas residency.

I remember them releasing an acoustic version of "Stuck in a Moment..."on that 7 CD EP that was a Target exclusive back in the day. Not sure if they stopped doing this, but IIRC they used to do short acoustic sets of a selection of hits at all of their shows (like three or four songs), and they usually held up pretty well that way.

Dud

they also did a BBC piano room session with One, Vertigo and this, SOS by ABBA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLbexDnt_a8

I listened to all of this yesterday. Better than I expected, not as good as I hoped it might be in the best case scenario, and it probably should just be regarded as U2: the acoustic sessions or as a bonus to Bono’s book vs any new path being charted. It’s not essential but not bad.

The last album suffered from overproduction so it’s nice to hear them a bit more back to basics. Just four two guys in a room, making music! Some of the versions are pretty stellar, some are a bit more perfunctory. I’m a completist, so I’m inclined to get this. but maybe not at the current price.

You mean the 4-cd thing? Is it like "U2: Naked," minus all the (mostly) awesome production?

More like Bono and the edge naked, in a room together, just two guys etc. etc.

boner and the wedge

I watched the Tiny Desk concert and thought it was awful. Like monumentally bad. It's time to retire and enjoy being billionaires for the rest of their lives.

Counter opinion: I thought it stripped away some of their heavy-handed seriousness, and looked like they were having fun. Note, I pretty much stopped listening to U2 circa Rattle and Hum, so I knew none of these songs previously.

It's not a completely bad idea - just to use one old example, they created a new, "less-produced" arrangement of the Pop-era B-side "North and South of the River" for a special broadcast that was held in response to the bombing in Omagh. To date, it's the only time the song's been performed live, and it's actually one of my favorites - I wish it was given an official release (it would've fit perfectly on this set had they been open to older recordings), but plenty of home recordings are out there:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueqt_KY1YlU

Having said that, most of this set is for collectors only as I can't imagine playing this whole thing ever again. It probably would've helped to make one LP of the best stuff and leave the complete four-disc set as a "limited edition" type of thing. "11 O'Clock Tick Tock," "Every Breaking Wave," and at least a few others made a nice impression, but they kind of get lost in a giant load of 40 tracks.

Nm, I didn't realize there was a single disc version!