If Bono took 15 years to release an album ...

[Myke Hawke]

Hi all. I posted a thread a few weeks back called "Does Bono = U2". I got some very interesting and even some crude answers as a response.

For those that missed the thread, let me catch you up a bit on myself. I joined the forum because it seemed like a cool place with some interesting discussion. I'm not a big U2 fan. I don't even know the members aside from Bono. I like the radio classics, but each of their albums that I have heard contain a lot of filler as well, imo.

I'm a diehard Guns N Roses fan. I had to wait from November 23, 1993 to November 23, 2008 before getting to hear any new music from my favorite band. When "they" did resurface, Axl Rose was the sole original member left.

My questions to you all are:

1) If U2 took 15 years to release a follow-up album, what would your expectations be?
2) Would you even bother to buy it if Bono released an album under the U2 banner as the only sole original member?
3) What would you expect the material to sound like - classic U2 or a more modern approach?
4) Would you root for it to fail under these circumstances?

Just curious ...

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

it would probably sound like shit.

u2 = Bono, Edge, Adam, & Larry. No more, no less.

im sorry for your loss, GNR used to be so awesome.

 

[digitize]

1) Pretty high, actually.
2) Yes, but then my expectations would be significantly diminished.
3) Probably classic U2
4) No

 

[65980]

1) If U2 took 15 years to release a follow-up album, what would your expectations be?

Basically, I would hope they'd be able to stand up for the whole show, since they'd be senior citizens.

2) Would you even bother to buy it if Bono released an album under the U2 banner as the only sole original member?

As a protest against calling a Bono solo-album "U2" (which would be heinous), I personally would never buy it. And I'm sure there are about 10 million other U2 fans who feel the same. Saying that, it's unlikely (if not inconceivable) to actually happen. Bono has even said several times before that "it wouldn't be the same" if even one member changed. Despite their 2000s' reinvention as corporate shareholders of Louis Vuitton, I doubt any of the U2 guys has lost his mind enough to think that the name "U2" can be brandied about if it's Larry Mullen drumming for my local garage band. (Which is what Axl Rose did to the Guns'n'Roses name -- i.e., he whored it out.)

3) What would you expect the material to sound like - classic U2 or a more modern approach?

Here is the Tracklisting to the Bono-only album:

1. Please (buy my album)
2. I Once Threw My Back Out Near a German Window
3. With or Without Edge, Adam, Larry
4. If God Will Throw Me a Bone
5. Stay (Faraway from this album!)
6. Not as Good as the Real Thing
7. The U2 Refugee
8. This Time I’m not Making it on My Own
9. Career Out of Control
10. One Heart Beats as One
11. McGuinness’s Gonna Pay for my Crap Album

4) Would you root for it to fail under these circumstances?

It's absurd to root for any U2-related album to fail -- unless you are referring to one member using the "U2" moniker to front his solo project, in which case, yes, I would root for it to fail.

I think your attempt here to bridge U2's theoretical future with the current freakshow of "Guns'n'roses" is a little far-fetched. For one things, Guns'n'roses period of influence and success is roughly 1986 to 1992 or 1993 (and I'm being generous with the latter dates), a period of about 6 or 7 years that included two real albums (yeah, one a double) and some filler. By contrast, U2's period of influence and success is roughly 1983 to today, a period of 27 years and 10 or 11 albums. Then, Guns' real peak is merely one album and tour, whereas U2's real peak is about 1984 to 1993, a period of 5 albums and as many tours.

Man, if you're a "diehard" fan still, you must be strong, since the real Guns'n'roses hasn't existed since about 1994.

 

[ShipOfFools]

No, I wouldn't buy an album from just Bono. U2 to me is a collaboration between all four members. If one member left, I would no longer consider it U2.

 

[popacrobat]

I would definitely buy a Bono solo album. Regardless of it's U2 or not, I'd like to see what Bono came up with on his own.

I don't wish we get to that point, but I think Bono probably is a better songwriter than we give him credit for on here and I bet he would release some interesting stuff.

 

[Earl-Of-IMDb]

No, I wouldn't buy an album from just Bono. U2 to me is a collaboration between all four members. If one member left, I would no longer consider it U2.

my thoughts exactly. U2= Bono, Larry, Edge, Adam, it's that simple.

Here is the Tracklisting to the Bono-only album:

1. Please (buy my album)
2. I Once Threw My Back Out Near a German Window
3. With or Without Edge, Adam, Larry
4. If God Will Throw Me a Bone
5. Stay (Faraway from this album!)
6. Not as Good as the Real Thing
7. The U2 Refugee
8. This Time I’m not Making it on My Own
9. Career Out of Control
10. One Heart Beats as One
11. McGuinness’s Gonna Pay for my Crap Album

this list its just too funny

 

[U2girl]

Hi all. I posted a thread a few weeks back called "Does Bono = U2". I got some very interesting and even some crude answers as a response.

For those that missed the thread, let me catch you up a bit on myself. I joined the forum because it seemed like a cool place with some interesting discussion. I'm not a big U2 fan. I don't even know the members aside from Bono. I like the radio classics, but each of their albums that I have heard contain a lot of filler as well, imo.

I'm a diehard Guns N Roses fan. I had to wait from November 23, 1993 to November 23, 2008 before getting to hear any new music from my favorite band. When "they" did resurface, Axl Rose was the sole original member left.

My questions to you all are:

1) If U2 took 15 years to release a follow-up album, what would your expectations be?
2) Would you even bother to buy it if Bono released an album under the U2 banner as the only sole original member?
3) What would you expect the material to sound like - classic U2 or a more modern approach?
4) Would you root for it to fail under these circumstances?

Just curious ...

1) I'd be curious, but I wouldn't have great expectations.
2) Bono is not Axl. But if it happened, yes, I would. I would be curious about any album any U2 band member would release solo, whether or not it has the "U2"label. I had downloaded that soundtrack the Edge did in...1986.
3) I don't think Bono solo would sound like U2, although it's plausible he'd call up the Edge to co-write and so it might be a little closer to U2 sounds. *
4) I wouldn't root to fail.

*This if course is assuming the band members are on friendly terms, unlike Guns'n'Roses original lineup members. Hopefully they'll make a reunion someday and realise the solo-led efforts (current "Guns'n'Roses" and Velvet Revolver) dont' work.

 

[Catman]

I would definitely give the album a listen, but my expectations would be pretty low, to be honest. In my opinion, I don't see how it would be possible NOT to be disappointed after waiting for fifteen years... I think many of the fans would expect an artist to have worked on the end result for fifteen years, but no doubt the mood and interests of the artist has changed during the decade and a half duration of the record's gestation.

I guess what I'm trying to say (and very poorly, I might add) is that what an artist begins with is very often not what he/ she ends up with... and that is *especially* true for something that's taken 15 years to reach fruition.

 

[last unicorn]

Bono would NEVER do this. He would never pull off an Axl Rose and release a "U2" album under his name. Neither would any other band member.

You don't know much about the band and the individual members, otherwise you wouldn't even bother to ask such a question.

However, if Bono ever released a solo album, no matter if he's still in U2 or not, I would definitely buy it, simply because he's a great singer. But Bono said he didn't want to release a solo album, otherwise he would have done so long ago.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Neither would any other band member.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XArklQ-NK80

 

[nirniva]

My questions to you all are:

1) If U2 took 15 years to release a follow-up album, what would your expectations be?
2) Would you even bother to buy it if Bono released an album under the U2 banner as the only sole original member?
3) What would you expect the material to sound like - classic U2 or a more modern approach?
4) Would you root for it to fail under these circumstances?

1) Moderate to low. The thing about U2 is that they're always at least trying to move forward creatively, so I don't know if a 15-year break would be the best for them.
2) Like some of the other posters have said, it's very unlikely that Bono would continue to use the U2 name if even one member couldn't/wouldn't go on, much less three out of the four. That being said, I'd at least give a Bono solo album a listen, though I might not actually buy it. Seems like it could presumably end up like the new Brandon Flowers album - good, well-written, but missing a certain "spark."
3) Classic U2, definitely, for the reasons mentioned in #1.
4) I wouldn't actively root for it to fail, but I certainly wouldn't expect it to sell gangbusters.

Here is the Tracklisting to the Bono-only album:

1. Please (buy my album)
2. I Once Threw My Back Out Near a German Window
3. With or Without Edge, Adam, Larry
4. If God Will Throw Me a Bone
5. Stay (Faraway from this album!)
6. Not as Good as the Real Thing
7. The U2 Refugee
8. This Time I’m not Making it on My Own
9. Career Out of Control
10. One Heart Beats as One
11. McGuinness’s Gonna Pay for my Crap Album

Excellently done, sir.

 

[coolian2]

it would either be passengers or an album full of elevations.

 

[nielsgov]

1.Probably high.
2. Of course.
3. I don't know. But without Edge it probably wouldn't sound like U2.
4. Of course not.

 

[Inner El Guapo]

Without Edge there could never be anything resembling U2, even if you had Bono. You could put together a crude copy without Larry and Adam but without Edge it just wouldn't make any sense at all (that is, under the premise that Bono would carry the band on like Axl with GnR).

My questions to you all are:

1) If U2 took 15 years to release a follow-up album, what would your expectations be?
2) Would you even bother to buy it if Bono released an album under the U2 banner as the only sole original member?
3) What would you expect the material to sound like - classic U2 or a more modern approach?
4) Would you root for it to fail under these circumstances?

Just curious ...

1) in general or in the GnR analogy? In general, they would be high.
IN the GnR/Axl analogy they were would be hideously low.
2) No (see above the quote).
3) Schmaltzy overwrought banal crap mixed with occasional brilliance. Bono can fart out some cool ideas but he needs to be saved from himself at times.
4) I would think Bono had sold out his principles and wouldn't care anymore.

 

[65980]

How about replacing Edge with Slash?

 

[doctorwho]

1) If U2 took 15 years to release a follow-up album, what would your expectations be?
2) Would you even bother to buy it if Bono released an album under the U2 banner as the only sole original member?
3) What would you expect the material to sound like - classic U2 or a more modern approach?
4) Would you root for it to fail under these circumstances?

1. I would expect it to be a bit like NLOTH - some modern "pop" sounds, some classic U2 and some "new for U2" moments that push the envelope a bit.
2. I'd buy it, but accept that it is really a "solo" album more than U2. In fact, I'd have a hard time accepting Bono doing this - he'd probably release it as a solo album.
3. See answer to #1.
4. No.

 

[sue4u2]

Maybe in some "Fringe" universe would Bono release a U minus the 2 album.
I would buy it because in this alternate universe Adam and Larry would be producing it.
Edge would be playing from (his) universe and it would sound like something from, well, an alternate universe. I'd love to see video of this.
k - so I've been watching too much tv.
Just an example of how absurd this idea is.

 

[nirniva]

Edge would be playing from (his) universe and it would sound like something from, well, an alternate universe.

Would it sound anything like punk rock from Venus?

 

[last unicorn]

I agree with Edge's guitar making a U2 song a U2 song. As I said, I wouldn't mind solo projects, but I would never consider them as U2 projects if they are only done by single members. And I just don't see the guys labelling their stuff as U2. That will never happen.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

If Bono releases a solo album without Buckethead...

 

[cobl04]

I agree with Edge's guitar making a U2 song a U2 song. As I said, I wouldn't mind solo projects, but I would never consider them as U2 projects if they are only done by single members. And I just don't see the guys labelling their stuff as U2. That will never happen.

i think you and Myke are perfect for each other!

 

[kabigon]

Here is the Tracklisting to the Bono-only album:

1. Please (buy my album)
2. I Once Threw My Back Out Near a German Window
3. With or Without Edge, Adam, Larry
4. If God Will Throw Me a Bone
5. Stay (Faraway from this album!)
6. Not as Good as the Real Thing
7. The U2 Refugee
8. This Time I’m not Making it on My Own
9. Career Out of Control
10. One Heart Beats as One
11. McGuinness’s Gonna Pay for my Crap Album

I just found an exclusive list of the B-Sides

1. All I want is me
2. Sometimes you can make a solo album on your own
3. Bono ate U2
4. 4th of July II: Independence day redux
5. Chad
6. The Guy
7. Mahweh
8. Cheese
9. No Mercy
10. Hysteria Pays
11. Acrobat II*



*This is a secret file that allows you to install an old version of Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

[Niceman]

Hi all. I posted a thread a few weeks back called "Does Bono = U2". I got some very interesting and even some crude answers as a response.

For those that missed the thread, let me catch you up a bit on myself. I joined the forum because it seemed like a cool place with some interesting discussion. I'm not a big U2 fan. I don't even know the members aside from Bono. I like the radio classics, but each of their albums that I have heard contain a lot of filler as well, imo.

I'm a diehard Guns N Roses fan. I had to wait from November 23, 1993 to November 23, 2008 before getting to hear any new music from my favorite band. When "they" did resurface, Axl Rose was the sole original member left.

My questions to you all are:

1) If U2 took 15 years to release a follow-up album, what would your expectations be?
2) Would you even bother to buy it if Bono released an album under the U2 banner as the only sole original member?
3) What would you expect the material to sound like - classic U2 or a more modern approach?
4) Would you root for it to fail under these circumstances?

Just curious ...

See, I have a basic problem with your premise. I think that Axl claiming that his band is still Guns N Roses is in incredibly poor taste. U2 is four guys who went to high school together. Bono has integrity, unlike train-wreck Axl.

It is inconceivable to me that he would do what Axl has done.

I miss Guns N Roses, but as far as I'm concerned it was over after use Your Illusion.

 

[secretly alone]

Hi all. I posted a thread a few weeks back called "Does Bono = U2". I got some very interesting and even some crude answers as a response.

For those that missed the thread, let me catch you up a bit on myself. I joined the forum because it seemed like a cool place with some interesting discussion. I'm not a big U2 fan. I don't even know the members aside from Bono. I like the radio classics, but each of their albums that I have heard contain a lot of filler as well, imo.

I'm a diehard Guns N Roses fan. I had to wait from November 23, 1993 to November 23, 2008 before getting to hear any new music from my favorite band. When "they" did resurface, Axl Rose was the sole original member left.

My questions to you all are:

1) If U2 took 15 years to release a follow-up album, what would your expectations be?
2) Would you even bother to buy it if Bono released an album under the U2 banner as the only sole original member?
3) What would you expect the material to sound like - classic U2 or a more modern approach?
4) Would you root for it to fail under these circumstances?

Just curious ...

I have to say...you make me think you are conducting some kind of sociological survey on us. Which would be cool I guess. Oh, and U2 albums are not full of "filler".
Your questions...
1)Pretty high. After all that time, I would expect whatever they were cooking up to be damn good!
2) It's hard to answer such a question knowing that it would never happen, but in theory, yes I would.
3) I would expect it to be reminiscent of U2, but without the other three, it couldn't sound very much like them. It would just sound like Bono fronting another band. The greatest similarity would probably be the lyrics, assuming he is the one writing them.
4) Of course not. Though it would be sort of sad, I can't imagine wanting anything he does to fail.

 

[nirniva]

4. 4th of July II: Independence day redux

This should have been "4th of July II: Electric Boogaloo."

EDIT:

I have to say...you make me think you are conducting some kind of sociological survey on us.

I really wish the "OMG BONO GOT VOICE SURGERY INSTEAD OF BACK SURGERY CONSPIRACY" thread was still open, as this would have been a perfect fit.

 

[secretly alone]

I didn't mean it as a conspiracy I've taken a buch of sociology classes and this kind of thing is a means of gathering info. Nothing strange about it.

Myke is probably just trying in vain to draw some parallels between U2 and GNR.

 

[nirniva]

I didn't mean it as a conspiracy I've taken a buch of sociology classes and this kind of thing is a means of gathering info. Nothing strange about it.

Myke is probably just trying in vain to draw some parallels between U2 and GNR.

I know; I was just kidding.

Spoiler

I really do miss that thread, though.

 

[Chill Mike D]

I don't think I'd expect anything more than an album full of stuff like "I Can't Help Falling In Love."

Which wouldn't be terribly interesting.

 

[Canadiens1131]

U2 definitely = Bono, Edge, maybe Smadam and Schlarry too.