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!

Patti Smith's version grabs you and pierces your soul.

Patti wins hands down. This one is merely meh.

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? :puke: :puke:

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

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.