Anyone heard of the Shure 58 microphones U2 uses? Any good?

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There was a recent chat with Brian Eno who is co-producing U2's upcoming album. He has produced many of U2's older albums. While I never question the artistry, talent, creativity and music-making of the band, the sound quality of their recordings is a totally different story. So maybe this can be of help ..snippets from a recent chat with Eno on the new album:
BrianEno: well the fact is that Bono likes singing in the control room,
BrianEno: with the speakers as loud as are humanly bearable,
BrianEno: so we end up using the cheapest microphones that you can get,
which is the Shure 58,
BrianEno: and we spend a lot of our time trying to defend his microphone
against all the other noise in the room.
BrianEno: With a singer like Bono,
BrianEno: you don't need to do very much to the voice.
BrianEno: Just a bit of compression.

What is a Shure 58 microphone? Is it any good? Also, what does Eno mean when he says this? How do you translate what he just said in more everyday terms for a normal non- pro audio person like me to understand?
Why do they have to resort to cheap mics just because Bono like it loud in the control room?
What does "trying to defend his microphone against all the other noise in the room" mean?
What does not doing very much to the voice but adding a little compression mean?
Thanks in advance...
Jick

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Topic - Anyone heard of the Shure 58 microphones U2 uses? Any good? - Jick 06:34:44 09/21/00 (5)

Long answer. - RBP 22:13:52 09/21/00 (4)

B&K? - Kris 06:11:33 09/25/00 (1)

Re: B&K's !!!! - RBP 22:29:14 09/26/00 (0)

Very comprehensive and Knwledgable Answer! Thanks! (nt) - Jick 21:28:35 09/23/00 (0)

Re: Great answer ! - Goldson 15:59:06 09/22/00 (0)

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