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U22 Reviews

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Blue Silken Sky:
Though I've had it for a week, I only today had the chance to listen to both discs while driving across the state.

I found myself thinking, "Not bad, Bono," much of the time.  He's mostly successful adjusting his performances to fit the reality of his on-stage range.  It was interesting listening to the way his voice would vary from song to song; sometimes clear and youthful, sometimes a little raspy and thin.  To his credit, he definitely works with what he's got and changes up his phrasing or certain notes to accentuate or highlight the moments where he knows he can soar.  I don't know anything about singing or performing, but I know that Bono tries his best to earn his bread up there!

The only song that I think still needs some help is poor TUF.  Couldn't Edge step up and hit those high notes?  Every time Bono sang "don't push me too far," I had to cringe because I think those choruses are pushing him too far.  TUF seems like a really hard song to sing, period, so I guess Bono's a champ for trying.  Honestly though, it wasn't very enjoyable. 

Highlights for me were Stay, Walk On, UV, MOS, and OOC. These performances seemed passionate and focused.  Elevation, silly though it is, was fun and I couldn't help but sing along.  ;) Bad was as good as I've heard in a long time.

When I head home next week, I'll give the discs another listen.  I'll be interested to see how my opinions change.

jick:
It's better than No Line On The Horizon because it does not have Boots.

Cheers,

J

The Exile:

--- Quote from: jick on June 19, 2012, 02:15:56 AM ---It's better than No Line On The Horizon because it does not have Boots.

Cheers,

J

--- End quote ---

The Exile Likes This.

DGordon1:
I'm digging that version of UTEOTW.

dagobah:
Like The Exile, I also found many of the recordings on U22 inferior to other live recordings I have.  I took the time to listen with my headphones and compare.  Sometimes it's subtle and other times it's obvious.  Yes, it's time-consuming, but my goal is to keep my best two or three live recordings of a song (four in some instances).  I just don't need ten live versions of the same song.

I found better live recordings of most of the songs from:
- The Complete U2 digital box set (from iTunes)
- physical U2 CD-Singles
- Zoo TV Live From Sydney 1993 2-CD Set
- Go Home Live From Slane Castle 2001 2-CD Set
- U2.Communication CD/CD-ROM Set
- bootlegs

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not complaining about U2's performance.  I'm specifically talking about the sound of the recording.

I got to thinking about why this could be.  I tried to think of what is different about this tour compared to other tours.  The location of the stage speakers are different, aren't they?  Haven't previous tours had the speakers at the sides of the stages?  But with the 360 Tour, aren't the speakers above the stage?  And didn't the 360 Tours also have the speakers facing out in different directions . . . . . to go with the 360 degree concept?  Maybe this configuration is good for a live audience, but not so good for recording.  What do I know?  I'm just thinking out-loud here.

How do we really know what they used to record these tracks on U22?  I've heard of the term "soundboard", but I don't know what it refers to . . . . . . nor do I know if it has anything to do with the tracks on U22.  I'm going to assume that U2 did not have a person out in the audience holding up a microphone . . . . . recording the concert (at every concert).  That recording would sound like a bootleg, right?  Although some bootlegs sound pretty damn good.  I'm sure there's people on this forum who can elaborate more on this topic with more accurate info than me.

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