What’s Andrew Watt up to? I love the work he did with Pearl Jam on the new album. Then again, does the world really need a new U2 album? Probably not. And U2 is my favorite band.
Steve Albini would be a no go for both sides. Albini is very picky about who he wants to work with (although he has caved to the $$$ to keep his studio alive and running). But the guy also hates overproduced music and has referenced U2 in regard to choosing that direction when they work on albums. For U2, I think working with Steve Albini would be the same oil and vinegar situation they had with Rick Rubin. They are not going to work with a producer who tells them to set up in the studio and bash out a raw, minimally produced record. The band are never truly satisfied with their songs and always want to tinker away on them. That type of thought process is not going to work with Albini.
Well the fact that they didn't do anything from the last two albums says quite something about their own confidence in their latest work. If they don't want to play them, it isn't surprising if people think they aren't very good.
Not disagreeing. although when I listened to the live comp they put out with all those songs, it quickly was apparent they had significantly more music in the backing tracks than ever before (even Pop). I was hoping those live tracks would sway me on a few of those songs, but the differences were so minor compared to their past outings, and it sorta emphasized how bad the “modern” production was on those albums. They’ve always had backing tracks for minor touches like repetitive synth loops or percussion, but now it’s extra guitars, more vocals, etc. Didn’t dig that at all.
I'm actually thankful for what they did with the "iPhone thing", as you call it: They openly exposed what those tech companies are capable of doing on the devices of their users in bulk at merely the push of a few buttons, most likely. Glad to find out this way that Larry Mullen is doing better health-wise these days.
When they did the Joshua Tree album tour a few years back, they didn't feature stuff from their entire career either. They were legacy shows. As such, I wouldn't have expected anything different for the recent shows. The tours for the last few albums have all had many new songs played, so I dont' think they have a lack of confidence in their new material.
Though to be fair, the Sphere shows were kind of its own entity - designed to be a throwback to Achtung Baby / ZooTV era as its main core set with the hits around it to celebrate AB's anniversary as well as to showcase the Sphere's capabilities so they did more of a best-of thing They did similar things with the Joshua Tree anniversary tour with the entire Joshua Tree album wedged in between the Songs of Innocence/Experience tours - with their recent material played much more heavily on the latter - I think the true barometer would be their next normal tour
If I had to pick an album from them since 2000 I'd probably go with NLOTH. Missteps on it for sure but it's the most interesting album since Pop. SOI has aged quite well. I didn't think to much at the time but on returning to it it's stronger than I gave it credit for. SOE I liked immediately on release but faded away pretty quick and I seldom go back to it. Save for Little Things, Landlady and 13 which always stood out.
Since they didn’t want to play anything from the Joshua Tree on the Experience & Innocence tour are we supposed to think that album isn’t good? fwiw, the average set list from the E&I tour featured seven new songs, and the average set from the E&I tour featured also featured seven new songs. The average zoo tv set featured nine, and the average set from elevation featured seven. So their confidence in their latest work is consistent.
The Vegas show was mainly about "Achtung Baby". They ignored most of their albums. The regular setlist included all of "Achtung", 2 songs from "Joshua Tree", 2 songs from "ATYCLB", 1 song from "Atomic Bomb", and the new song "Atomic City". An acoustic set usually involved 4 "R&H" songs, but that varied to a mild degree. So on most nights, nothing off the 1st 4 albums or "Zooropa" or "Pop" or "No Line" in addition to nothing off "SoI" or "SoE". This wasn't a show meant to encompass their broader career. It was "'Achtung Baby' and a Selection of Other Favorites". They may well completely ignore "SoI" and "SoE" when they do another tour. But that's not unusual. Most legacy acts play the new songs when they're new and that's essentially it.
I love Songs of Experience so would love to hear another album from them. Especially if it means I can get Atomic City on a CD.
I was kind of hoping the Songs of Surrender re do compilation was them easing back into a studio. A warm up so to speak. Feeling out where they wanted to work and who with perhaps. But those didn't sound great, so hopefully they don't do anything of the sort. They're definitely due. You'd think not touring pre Sphere and being locked in for Covid would have been a ripe garden for writing new songs.
I've always maintained that no album has to be an artist's magnum opus to still be worthwhile. This is especially true of artists who have been around for decades like Paul McCartney, the Stones, and U2. If they want to keep recording new music, then great! Bring it on!! It'll still have value to me even if it's not the absolute best work they've ever done
I hate to admit out loud that I kinda feel the same way. I honestly found two of the last 3 albums embarassing, and the third just disappointing. And that isn't even counting the awful remakes album that came out last year, which in itself wasn't a terrible idea, but shouldn't have even been released as "U2" since really only Bono and Edge had any presence on it whatsoever. An interesting idea for a stopgap project that, in late-era U2 fashion, got overthought into a puddle of nothingness. Watt seems to get good results musically, but at the same time I find his mixes/masterings really unpleasant to listen to, not at all capturing the live sound of the very live bands he was producing. So not sure how U2 would fare with him, but nothing to lose at this point. But I just don't think there's anything left creatively. "Atomic City" didn't really fill me with a lot of hope there. I know it was just a tie-in with the Vegas thing, but when you release your first song in several years, you gotta at least try to make it interesting.
That’s how I feel. I want new albums even if they don’t equal the classics. Even a few decent tracks is worth it to me.
