New U2 Album in 2014 (Supposedly)

But they're saying "why can't they go in with the songs fully written and bang the songs out in a couple of takes" -- and U2 have never done that.

 

I prefer the original version of Wanderer(soundtrack mix with a minute added), All Because of You(Burn the House/Xanax) and Vertigo(Native Son)

 

I'm with Squealy: they made the right call to turn "Native Son" into "Vertigo."

 

I know why vertigo was a hit and NS put on the shelf. Maybe I got sick of the single, but NS remains my personal preference.

 

And that is a shame...

Actually they have.....the studio tracks on Rattle and Hum.

 

............ and now it's a Neil Young thread.

 

Ha, OK you got me there.

But you know...Rattle and Hum isn't exactly universally beloved. I'd still rather have another laboriously constructed album than another album of U2 playing the blues.

 

True, but Angel,of Harlem, Desire, and When Love Comes Town are among the most beloved songs..and highlights live

 

And even then they were doing/changing things up to the last minute. "40" was supposedly recorded while the next band was about to kick U2 out of the studio and set up their own instruments. On October they ran out of time and Bono was scrambling to get lyrics (often improvising on the spot).

In one of my favourite quotes from The Edge "U2 albums don't get finished, they get released."

(But yeah, it would be nice if there's a producer with enough power to pry the 'tapes' from their hands and release them so U2 can't keep on tinkering with them)

 

Yeah, Native Son does not work. Though it took me until the 360 Tour to warm up to Vertigo too.
And for the other songs that were released on ...Bomb for which early versions exist (Fast Cars, ABOY, SYCMIOYO) they also made the right call to work on it a bit more. The only exception for me is Yahweh, but that has probably more to do with the fact that I don't like that song. I just dislike the early version a little less.

 

Well, I don't think the CD sounded THAT bad, and don't see it as the reason for the downgrading of its musical content.
Plus, Songs from bomb were kept on the set through the very end of the tour and beyond: Blinding Lights, Vertigo are still being performed to this day.

The doubling of Vertigo, as you mentioned, only happened in the first leg of the tour. And I don't think it was due their lack of good material. However, I did find it odd!

Sometimes You Can't Make It... was also a huge success live, as well as Yahweh, usd to wrap the shows up in such "religious" form, with Bono leaving his rosary on the mike.

Solid album.

PS: I never read the band trashing Atomic Bomb. Just comments pointing out that the album was great, but "missing something"

They always say that kind of thing afterwards, by the way.

 

Steel Weels was released in 1989 and Voodoo Lounge in 1994. The Rising in 2002. Horizon was released much later in 2009 and still sold over 5M world wide.

 

My point wasn't that they should release underproduced, first take rough demos of their songs. It seems from the outside that they "overbake the souffle" and need to set themselves schedule deadlines that they stick to, something they have been loathe to do since Pop and the Popmart tour deadline.

I'm glad they care deeply about the product they are putting out and wouldn't want it any other way. But it seems from the outside that they care too much about what that the general public/media think about that product. Too careful about not having another Rattle and Hum or Pop. Bono had some quote around 2000 or so where he said "We want to bring rock and roll back to the top of the charts, push aside the boy bands and Britney". On the one hand I was laughing and happy about that statement, but why are they trying to fit into the pop charts instead of making the pop charts follow their lead. I would have preferred they surprise and shock us with another "The Fly" or "Discotheque" than a middle of the road anthem like "Elevation".

I want at least one more moment where I scratch my head and go "That is U2????"

 

No Line sold more than I thought.

Bono is now 53 and Voodoo Lounge at 6m and the Rising around 3 million seem to be the fairest comparison for that age bracket. Cher at around 52 did upwards of 10mil on the Believe album but that's another genre.

 

If you've heard the vinyl, you will NEVER even think about hearing the cd again. Almost different albums. The mastering of that cd is one of the main reasons I'm far less of a fans than I was before.

Pretty sure the double vertigo happened a bunch on the US arena leg then lots in Europe outdoors.

There are no weak songs. But as an album, the whole isn't greater than the sum of its parts, and it f u c king annoys me." Bono Rolling Stone November 2005.

 

and then he was annoyed that people didn't get no line on the horizon....

its been a tough decade.... except for vertigo

 

So I'd better listen to! A full needledrop is appreciated, of course (pvt)

 

I've managed to get it on vinyl. Now I can make the comparison with the CD version.

 

Further tidbit regarding new song "Invisible" from U2.com. There's speculation on U2 fan forums over whether this means that "Invisible" will not be on the album, but rather will be a stand-alone single for the RED campaign, but I would assume it will be the lead single from the album:

http://www.u2.com/news/title/invisible-for-red

 

As someone who's done his fair share of telling U2 what to do, I think it's worth commenting on the fact that they still seem to really care about their work. You could never accuse them of coasting or releasing an album for the sake of a lucrative tour. Now, while I think they sometimes care about the wrong things (like having a huge pop charts hit single), I always appreciate that they are still making music because they want to be, rather than because they have child-support payments to make or whatever.

I think their willingness to play with the setlists on the 360 tour (I saw 'Love Rescue Me', not a thing I thought would ever happen!), as well as some of their comments since the end of the tour about what they want/need out of this next album are also encouraging signs, as is the use of Danger Mouse as producer. Partly because I like his work, and partly because I think they needed a little bit of a shakeup of their production team. Great as Eno/Lanois/Lillywhite have been for them, turning to a new producer should help them avoid retreads, I think.

In short: I'm quite optimistic that this next album - whenever it comes out... - will be one I genuinely love, rather than one I think is quite good but which never really becomes central to my U2 fandom.

 

Agreed on the point that they still care. That has never been a question in my mind. I have to say that "Ordinary Love" has continued to grow and grow on me. Is it their biggest ultimate anthem? No, but I like a lot of the buried album tracks like "When I Look At The World" or "The First Time" that aren't necessarily the huge hits.

 

I'm with you on 'Ordinary Love' and 'The First Time', but I've never come around to 'When I Look at the World'. I like everything up to (& including) 'Wild Honey' on ATYCLB, and nothing after it.

Still surprised they included 'The First Time' on The Best of 1990-2000, though...

 

The "Peace on Earth" --> "When I Look at the World" --> "New York" sequence is my favorite part of that album.

 

Huh. I think of the first two as amongst U2's weakest album tracks, and 'New York' as a good instrumental let down by the lyrics.

Look at us, a perfect microcosm of how even u2's fans can't agree! What are some of your least-favourite (album) tracks? I bet I love at least a couple of them...

 

I could do without "Love and Peace or Else," "God, Part II," and "Elvis Presley and America," among others.