Re: RE: Random Thoughts (Best "one", setlists, etc.)

J ([email protected])
Thu, 4 Feb 1999 03:45:42 -0800 (PST)

Interesting point about Pride, I seemed to have overlooked that song.
But on the other side of the equation, Pride is a popular song and was
released as a single so it may in a way be justified. BTBS, however,
already has an album version, a R&H version, a Stay single version (3
official versions), and that song is not even a top 40 song or a single.

However, I aprreciate very much U2's efforts to reinvent BTBS for
every tour. It always seems to have a new arrangement and new melody.
 Sadly, the same cannot be said of their other songs. New Year's Day
has been played the same way, and the same with Streets (except for
the instrumental "epilogue" in the end which really is more of an
extension rather than a new arrangement).

Pride and ISHFWILF are basically the same, unless you consider
stopiing the song and letting the crowd finish it a new arrangement or
if you consider tuning he songs down two keys lower something new
(which IMHO was done just to be less straining to Bono's aging voice).

WOWY has taken a turn for the worse. I'd really be surprised if there
is even just one person out there who would say that Popmart WOWY is
the best version there is. Larry doesn't drum the first half of the
song anymore, and Edge has no more guitar solo. But the arrangements
of this song is definitely different from all the tours. JT Tour,
Lovetown, ZOO and Popmart had different versions of WOWY.

The live arrangement of AIWIY in Popmart is a far cry from the
Lovetown version. However, they seem to have backtracked and gave the
song another kick-ass arrangement in the Omagh Late Late show thingie.

If were are just going the hear NYD, Pride, and the rest of their 80s
songs in exactly the same arrangements, then might as well not play
them since they have made it to virtually every tour sounding the same
(except for Bono's changing voice and the stadium's bad acoustics).
But then we have to balance these interests with the new fans wh came
to watch U2 perform their old hits. If only U2 could find a way to
make their old hits fresh again. What I mean by fresh is not that
they let a drum machine drum WOWY at the start, but to try something
totally new yet faithful to the essence of the song (just as they do
with BTBS although I never liked that song).

Cheers,

J

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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b2 on Thu Feb 04 1999 - 03:46:29 PST