Originally posted by vanquish:[..]
Well, I don't recall Pride being a song that takes on a whole new life when played live as opposed to the studio versions (unlike something like Ultraviolet). I could be wrong though, recommend me a good live version.
And the whole "it's fantastic when you hear it at a concert" is too subjective a statement, as you'd be seeing everything through rose-coloured glasses on the night and even a dog of a song would sound pretty good.
I think people like Pride mainly for its MLK connotations, if the song wasn't dedicated to MLK it would be a lot less popular. Personally while instrumentally it's quite good, the lyrics and singing are rather underdone (Bono looking back, has also expressed disappointment with the song's lyrics) and the song sounds blustery and melodramatic. I personally think MLK is a better, more elegant tribute to the man.
However, my main issue with the song, is that it doesn't merit it's permanent status on their setlist, especially when they have other better songs than they either never play live or shelve on following tours. If they had kept Pride in rotation over the past tours, I would be much more tolerable of it, but after hearing it so many times the song just grates on me.
OK, not all the songs. With Or Without You sounded dead on the last show I went to and so did Stuck, Sometimes You Can't...and to an extent, One.