amen brother. 
tutakea wrote: 

could be the most uninspired cover version in pop/rock-history. this is really embarrasing beyond belief. everything about this is wrong.

 RParadise wrote: 
No, it doesn't. 

There are very few U2 songs that I would say that I just do not like, but this would be one of them.  Just because you like a song or think the original writer / singer is an icon, that doesn't mean that you can add something to it by covering it (ala Peter Gabriel covering Mirrorball).  Bono doesn't even attempt to hit a note through most of this turd.  The only other things I don't like from U2 are when Bono goes all falsetto.  I didn't like it when Barry Gibb did it, and I sure don't like it when Bono does it!  And it is on their "Best of" album?  Please.

I like a fair bit of U2, but this is so wrong! The soliloquy at the end of the original is all about being a woman. Having the song sung by a man completely neuters its essence. They completely don't get it.

Got to agree with the crowd: better hear Patty Smith rendition than this soulless cover.

Bono by =BikerScout
©2007-2010 =BikerScout

Digital painting of U2 frontman, Bono.

I'm pushing for hyper-realism with this one. High contrast black & white portraiture is my preferred style which is why I didn't take much persuading to do this piece.

I've lost track of the time spent on this since I've been on artistic hiatus for a while. At a guess, I would say perhaps 12 hours, give or take...

Hope you like it Yvan.

The guitar saves it.

Discovered this on the soundtrack to Threesome (bad movie) a long time ago and put it on a dance mix that just tore people UP!  Great, great stuff!

Not a great song from the ol fav band.

Fantastic!!!!!

I love this song, but the faulty grammar always tweaks me out of complete reverie.

There is just no emotion in this version, horrid

Bill, have Patti's version follow this to show how this song should be sung! 

Why not playing Patti's orginal version? 100 times better!!!!!! Bono sucks and this dam awful guitar yuck!

Hmm. The guitar is a bit overwrought, but Larry Mullen, Jr.'s drumming is spot on.

Rancid Gingko Berries.

I got no problems with this version. It rocks. Good to have some variety! 8

Absolutely dull and dead compared to Patti.

 lattalo wrote: 
Again this is sacrilegious, play Patty Bill, please!!!!

Rating -100

 BlueHeronDruid wrote: 
The Feelies version was much better, and came out, I think, just a little before this version.

Ho-hum

I think this cover sucks the life out of this song.

About the worst cover I have ever hard.

1. 

Ross, you are completely right.
Awful cover. :P

 peyotecoyote wrote: 
Sorry about that, Coyote.

This was a fine B-side when it came out in the 80s and it's held up well. While it's not "definitive", it's a good performance (esp. Edge's guitar work).

 Otomi wrote: 

HOLY CRAP!!!! That really freaked me out for a second or two.  Whew!  Okay all better now. 

+9 for the song, -7 for Bono = +2.  Poor use of an awesome song.  The original makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.  Bono just causes faint nausea.

 fredriley wrote:

 

...i was just thinking the same thing!..

 TheKing2 wrote:



 
Just a guess, but I think you meant 'classic rock'?

This sure don't sound like no Mozart to me.

actually liked hearing this again

It's a shame. Bono should leave his hands from classical music. Please, Bill, play the original. Thanks

MM_Prague wrote: Yep, can't disagree with that. Personally I've always rated The Mission's cover of this, which absolutely crackles with sexual energy, not something I'd ever associate with U2. It's hard (and unpleasant) to envisage St Bono engaged in sex...

This sacrilegious, and hideous to boot!

old_shep wrote: The other 3 could just do instrumentals for awhile and I'd be happy.

You know, its entirely possible that I have heard enough Bono.

What's the point of this cover? Adds no energy, no inventivness, no different slant or style. Just a watered-down version of Patti's excellent original rendition...

DrCyKosis wrote: Comfortably numb less than a week ago believe it or not.

This has got to be the least U2 sounding song they made... except the vocals maybe.

I just don't like any version of this song, regardless of singer.

jhorton wrote: Wow ... I can only hope so. It would be like the other day when I called a lumber supply company and got to listen to some pretty serious rap while on hold. What a great surprise and much superior to the typical junk. (The guy at the company was also surprised that their on hold music was rap, and didn't seem to be as excited as I was. Oh well, back to Muzak for them.) Oh yeah ... not a great rendition of a great song, but not horrid either. I'll call it underwhelming.

dumas wrote:

jhorton wrote: Speaking of that, I heard The Who's "Happy Jack" in the grocery store the other day. Bizzare!

The guitar in the end sucks. "Oh let me try that sound on my pedals..." Gnaarnnnggg

Awful performance of a great song.

love the song. i hate U2 doing it.

I am scoring that a solid 1. I love U2 and Patti Smith, but that arrangement and performance just plain suck. Trust me, someday you will get on an elevator and hear that playing. How it ever made it onto a, " Best of," album is beyond me...

A great song. But a little thin from U2. I'd much rather hear the original. Kinda reminds me of the dead doing "Jumping Jack Flash." The original has soooo much more power and bite.

I have really liked some U2 (their own work, anyway), but this is just trreading water - and not well. Bono's not in tune either.

There are just some songs that U2 just should not do, and this is one of them. Bono's vocals are hurting my ears. I would have love to seen Patti Smith's face when she heard this.

yeah! haven't heard this in a looong time. Great lyrics.

Please.... the Edge can play. This cover is worthy.

i NEVER thought i would find a U2 song i don`t like. it`s not bad but.... it suffers in comparison to patti`s version! subdued. good to know it`s out there, maybe.... who`s version came first?

This is the best of...? IT'S GOT NO SOUL!

Ha! This gif actually makes this atrocity by U2 bearable.

I don't like any version of this song I have decided.

Chumbawamba-1984 wrote:I see no improvement on the original either

IMHO, Patti rules on this song head and shoulders over Bono. And I am a U2 fan.

Without actually hearing it, there is no way that I would have believed that this band could possibly have delivered such a lifeless version of this song.

Patti's version, please !!!!!

Only a band as horrible as U2 could ruin such a great song.

Patti Smith was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame yesterday. The quote below is from today's Globe & Mail. Long live Patti Smith. It would be nice to hear the original version today. "Shy and fighting back tears as she accepted induction, Smith recalled friends and family who didn't live to see the day. Shortly before he died, Smith's husband Fred "Sonic" Smith asked her when she did make the hall of fame to "please accept it like a lady and not to say any curse words." The bohemian poet straddled the hippie and punk eras, with her album Horses setting a standard for literate rock. She performed her biggest hit, Because the Night, co-written with Bruce Springsteen, and the Rolling Stones' classic Gimme Shelter. Smith's mother also didn't live to see her daughter make the hall of fame, but passed on some instructions. "I'm not going to make it," she recalled her mother saying. "When you do, sing your mother's favourite song, the one I like to vacuum to." Saying "this is for you, mom," Smith performed her 1977 song Rock 'n' Roll N-----."

CanuckBeaker wrote:

I am a U2 fan, but this version does not seem to work for Bono and Company, I prefer Patti and Xymox to this.

CanuckBeaker wrote: Ditto.....meh.

Sorry, had to shut down RP and listen to Patti's version. Ooh lah lah.

meloman wrote: And something is really off with Bono's vocal. He sounds flat as hell. The longer it goes on, the more I find myself wondering: Was U2 being forced to perform this song at gunpoint? Did they just need to play something for a sound check? This is terrible!

dogpound wrote: Heard the opening notes and got my hopes up, too. This version is practically devoid of emotion.

mrrmt wrote: I have to agree. This is "nice", Patti's is "raw".

I love some U2 and I hate some U2. I love this one. It was a good choice for a cover and an improvement over the original.

Not a patch on the Mission version (was that the original?) - just doesn't have the same verve and sexual drive. Maybe Bono just doesn't do raunchy sexuality...

Guess I really don't like Patti . . . didn't like the song before (Paths That Cross) and don't like this one, even sung by someone else. Apropos the posts below: whatever BONO may have become he's still got the pipes. Now, if only he had the music. . .

hippiechick wrote: Thanks for saying that! I agree, and I think Bono's voice is really nice on this one. I'll admit I'm pretty picky (judgmental) when people do covers of songs I love/revere...but I think U2 do it justice here. You can tell they have some investment in doing it right!

this does not compare to patti's version of this song. disappointing....

I totally had forgotten that I LIKED U2!!! That was before Bono decided that he should be sainted. I mean, he's a great humanitarian, but I think maybe he reads his own press...

dogpound wrote: Bono takes all the fun out of this.

I too was hoping for patti

ScottN wrote: ah Bono, whom I used to freakin' luv ever so fiercely, then he became BONO and decided to become one of Oprah's guests and use a song written by Peter Gabriel and performed by Pete and Kate Bush, deciding that he wrote it with freakin' Alicia Keys (ie. what have you done since 2001?) for his African project without giving any credit WHATSOEVER for said ditty, being "Don't Give Up.' Ahh, what fond opinions I have of his ASSHOLENESS now. Can someone please fucking get me the no. of Pete Gabriel's lawyer?

MissHell9 wrote:oh darn, and now Tux is gone too. You can almost hear Patti in the background vocals. Nicely done cover, imo.

Posted 17 years ago by ScottN    [ Reply ]

supremo wrote: With so much canned, prefab music production around (commercial radio, muzak, TV), it's nice to think that someone behind the board really loves & is paying close attention to the music. There are even subtler themes that often tie together a set, fun to pick them out when I can.

I hear the opening thinking Patti but U2 Bummer

I would seldom chose Patti Smith's voice over anyone, but she really put her stamp on this song and this cover doesn't meassure up as being better or different enough.

gandalfbmg wrote: silly thing to say..

tzzart wrote: Damn straight ;) (and thanks ploafmaster :D ) I've never seen Patti live, nor would I particularly want to (I guess if it was free and I had nothing else to do, I'm certainly not going out of my way see). Seeing someone live is not the sole way to measure their talent. I've heard quite a bit of Patti (from constant listening to RP and through other sources) and I base my dislike on about as solid a foundation as I'm ever likely to have. Don't get me wrong, I have the utmost repsect for her. Whenever I hear a performer I like (U2, 10,000 Maniacs) perform one of her songs, I almost always enjoy it. I respect her as a songwriter, and also a pioneer and influence on some of my favorite artists (like REM). But I dislike her performances (the ones that are recored and that I've heard, there's a qualifier for you). I've heard people make similar assertations about folks like Bob Dylan, and though I don't agree with them I don't think they're IDIOTS for disliking his performing.

Good song - agreed its just that... this version lacks the emotional depth of Patti Smith's. Just sounds like they are going through the motions and not much else.

Just a great song, no matter who sings it.

ploafmaster wrote: My apologies.

tzzart wrote: But we don't know the level of knowledge on the other end here. You're assuming. It's quite possible that somebody has heard much of an artist before deciding not to like him/her. Consider the connotation the word, "idiot" carries in the English language before you say it's not an insult. While your intentions may have been mere observation, you should be more careful with the words you choose when you observe.

ploafmaster wrote: Not an insult, an observation. There is a difference between taste and knowledge. I can acknowledge talent and like it or not like it, that's taste. To make a blanket statement by someone who hasn't taking the time to listen or experience an artist live is pointless.

Particularly on this day of CBGB's closing, I'd love to hear Patti's version!

I'll take the original Patti Smith version over this. Or even the Johnette Napolitano cover version (who sounds alot like Patti Smith anyways).

tzzart wrote: When all wit fails, lash out like a three year old and insult somebody because they don't like music that you do.

I like it alot!! Very cool..

gandalfbmg wrote: Spoken like a true idiot.

Koan wrote: agree..........

SoundsGoodToMe wrote: Ha!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-) Seriously, I don't see the point of keeping this on the playlist when we could be listening to Patti Smith's original everytime. This cover diminishes her song and U2.

Luv the geetar in this one. It makes up for the somewhat lackluster vocals. Overall, I think it does the original justice.

"She is sublimation" Check it out....cool

yep, sew 'em up gud!!hcaudill wrote:

this song is barely tolerable when it's Patti Smith...please stuff it back in the vault, Bill

It was great to hear Paths that cross and then Dancing Barefoot... I really like this cover Thanks RP

I have always loved loved loved this cover. But then, you knew that about me, din't cha?

IIRC this was the B-side for the "When Love Comes to Town" single. I do know there was a remix of "God Part II" along with this track on the 12-inch. I still have a copy somewhere.

hcaudill wrote: Funny though, the literal Dutch translation of "to sew" (naaien) means "to screw" in Dutch slang. So maybe Tux had a Freudian slip of the tongue there.

:roll: what a maroon.

Sorry...even this guy can't cover Patti...leave 'er alone...

bc wrote: Because as with all Patti Smith music, it's best left performed by someone else...

supremo wrote: The game is getting old.

hcaudill wrote:

rgr0707 wrote: Crap?

It gives you a great perspective of this band's evolution from this crap to music gods!!

bc wrote: I think it's fun when Bill follows a cover with another cover by the original artist of the previous song. It's like a game, play along!

Nice transition from Mulvey's cover of U2's "the Fly" U2 covering Patti Smith's "Dancing Bearfoot" Both better that the next.

Okay, I'm trying to think, here: 1980? Is that before U2 was, like, really a band? Couldn't get their own stuff recorded? Had to do bland covers of music they didn't actually give a rat's ass about? Or does this just sound that way?

Leslie wrote: Well, it bears saying again. This really lacks any emotion whatsoever.