Is U2's Best Work Still To Come?

[quietguy]

The Vertigo Tour has proven the band have improved in performing:

-Larry can still drum those Boy songs with authority and speed, while maintaining the robot-like precision and time he developed in the 90's.

-Edge is better at playing chords now than ever before, as shown by his acoustic version of Yahweh, where all five or six strings (depending on the chord) were strummed in perfect time (same intervals between strings down to the nanosecond) and in perfect volume (no note was louder than the other because mere mortal guitarists usually get lazy when they reach the last two strings and the time is slower and the levels lower).

-Adam has intensified his showmanship with his walk around the B-stage with New Year's Day, and plays the old songs with more groove

-Bono has found a new voice in his screams (the "yous" in All I Want Is You Buenos Aires were better than any Lovetown version) and his operatic exercises (Miss Sarajevo and Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own)

U2 did release some promising albums in the past starting with the Joshua Tree. But those albums were one-dimensional. The Joshua Tree felt like watching a widescreen movie in middle America and some desert imagery, except perhaps for WOWY and Exit.

Achtung Baby was just all dark and gloomy and made the listener feel hopeless. Zooropa belongs to the year 3000. Pop was an exciting techno party (first three songs) turned into a bad hangover (to the eerie bombastic WUDM).

But ever since, U2 has shown variety in their musical genres with motown (Stuck In A Moment), soul (In A Little While), punk (The Saints Are Coming), melodic Beatle-esque (Window In The Skies), opera (Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own), pure riff-laden rock (Vertigo, Elevation), latin (Fast Cars), piano (Hands That Built America). But through it all, they proved they can still play their classic sound (Miracle Drug, Walk On).

To me it seems U2 just keep on evolving.

I know there are those who say "it's been downhill since the Joshua Tree" or that "Achtung Baby was the pinnacle" or "they lost their balls after Pop."

These are people who think U2's best is behind them.

I think it is still ahead of them. They still have a Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Rumours, Hotel California, or Dark Side Of The Moon within them.

The Vertigo Tour performances, coupled with the variety of their musical styles as of late, are just signs that their best is ahead of them.

They just need to give us one cohesive album that links up all the lessons they have learned over the decades, and make it all solid tracks without any fillers that will never get played live (Peace On Earth, One Step Closer).

Do any of you feel this way? That the best is yet to come? Or does their past shine brighter than their future?

...qg

 

[gman]

I think u2 peaked creativley back in the 90's. While I enjoy the last couple of offerings, they are not a patch on the 80's and 90's work

 

[BVS]

If it is, it will be delayed...

according to rumors.

 

[pacemaker]

pure riff-laden rock (Elevation)

boooooooooooo.

 

[LemonMelon]

If it is, it will be delayed...

according to rumors.

Bono is too fat, and needs to get in shape for the album release.

Or so I hear...

 

[U2girl]

Realistically ? Yes, there is a very slim chance of beating JT (AB, depending on which you consider their best).

But there's still a part of me - and probably a part of the band too - that kind of hopes they would make another masterpiece. Not for the critics or the fans, but just for the sake of satisfaction of still being a band capable of greatness throughout one album.

 

[JulioArca]

But through it all, they proved they can still play their classic sound (Miracle Drug, Walk On).

So, what in your opinion, is their 'classic sound' as you refer to their albums as totally different??

 

[Airseven]

U2 will never again equal the urgency of War, the progressiveness of Fire, the scale of Joshua Tree, or the intensity of Achtung. Their best work is behind them. As they get older and enjoy more and more success, they are less focused, less creative, and less motivated. Based on the direction of the latest "trilogy" of albums, they seem to be satisfied with grammy awards.

 

[Galeongirl]

If it is, it will be delayed...

according to rumors.

Are those confirmed rumours?


I think that we don't know wether they've had their best yet. We can only wait and see..

and if I may ask you a question Quietguy, why are you so obsessed with chords?

 

[Purplereign]

I think it is still ahead of them. They still have a Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Rumours, Hotel California, or Dark Side Of The Moon within them.


...qg

I sure hope so

 

[last unicorn]

Since I'm only interested in the future and not in the past, I say Yes to this question. I would hope so. I don't think I'd be here if I believed U2's best work was long ago. I'm curious to see where they are going.

 

[MikeyJB]

-Edge is better at playing chords now than ever before, as shown by his acoustic version of Yahweh, where all five or six strings (depending on the chord) were strummed in perfect time (same intervals between strings down to the nanosecond) and in perfect volume (no note was louder than the other because mere mortal guitarists usually get lazy when they reach the last two strings and the time is slower and the levels lower).
...qg

I'm sorry this is just - as a guitarist - quite ridiculous, and judging by your other recent posts about the Edge being 'the worst guitarist in U2' or some such rubbish, you do not have a clue about the guitar or how it is played - not even the best guitarists ever could play to the nanosecond.

How The Edge played chords when he was 18 in a sweaty club in Dublin is probably no different to how he plays it now in a stadium. I'm sorry I just can't get over how stupid that entire notion is. As far as U2's best being in front of them - I highly doubt it. I really hope so, but I just don't think they need to prove themselves so importantly as they did around the time of 'Joshua Tree' or 'Achtung Baby'.

 

[Anji]

Since I'm only interested in the future and not in the past, I say Yes to this question. I would hope so. I don't think I'd be here if I believed U2's best work was long ago. I'm curious to see where they are going.

I am amazed people are so stuck on JT, yes it was BRILLIANT album. But they have released some amazing stuff since then! Some right mingers too

I also think we are faced with more amazing work to come in the future, I for one can't wait No I really CAN'T! - GET THAT ALBUM OUT NOW U2

I'm sorry this is just - as a guitarist - quite ridiculous, and judging by your other recent posts about the Edge being 'the worst guitarist in U2' or some such rubbish, you do not have a clue about the guitar or how it is played - not even the best guitarists ever could play to the nanosecond.

OMG well said! Edge is a blinding guitarist! He can make that guitar sing! It really hurts the heart to listen to some of his stuff! Melancholic and Haunting it is, as U2 do best

 

[AtomicBono]

i think it's possible. It'll be hard to top JT and AB in the critics eyes, but who knows. I think Pop is their best, most people don't. I'm sure this next album will be some people's favourite U2 album.

also wtf is your obsession with chords? They're not hard to play. They're really not. Nobody judges a guitarist based on how well they play certain chords, unless you're purely a rhythm guitarist, and even then there's no "oh, his Em is wonderful, but his F is rather lacking."

 

[popacrobat]

I hope they create their best work yet. There's no reason they can't. is it likely? no, because the bar has been set so high. Is it possible? sure. and i hope they do. I hope each album is better than the last and I hope every album from here on out is better than the joshua tree. however since that is such a high bar, it's not likely.

 

[Screwtape2]

No. We might get a classic in the next album if they don't destroy it in production. That's the problem really. The band seems to second guess and lack confidence during the recording process. They want to make their best album but aren't willing to be as creative as the 90's or as honest and passionate as they were in the 80's. It doesn't add up.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

possible but unlikely. doesn't have to be, either. springsteen's magic is one hell of an album... it's still no darkness on the edge of town or born to run.

sometimes when you set the bar so high with previous works you can still produce greatness without even scratching the surface of your best work(s).

 

[quietguy]

I'm sorry this is just - as a guitarist - quite ridiculous, and judging by your other recent posts about the Edge being 'the worst guitarist in U2' or some such rubbish, you do not have a clue about the guitar or how it is played - not even the best guitarists ever could play to the nanosecond.

How The Edge played chords when he was 18 in a sweaty club in Dublin is probably no different to how he plays it now in a stadium. I'm sorry I just can't get over how stupid that entire notion is. As far as U2's best being in front of them - I highly doubt it. I really hope so, but I just don't think they need to prove themselves so importantly as they did around the time of 'Joshua Tree' or 'Achtung Baby'.

I never said The Edge was the worst guitarist in U2. Quite the contrary, I think he is the best.

Chords are the guitar lifeblood of a song. Guitar players do chords more often than solos. Have you heard Edge's A-minor in the studio version of Staring At The Sun? Now, that is something to marvel at.

To play a chord well, the space/gap between the strumming of all the five or six chords must be on perfect time. Each string must be on the same volume or tone, while the hands should not get in the way of the strings. There has to be a natural decay of each note, and if possible they should also decay and leave harmonics at the same intervals.

Edge's acoustic version of Yahweh has shown us that his playing of C has gotten to a new level ever since his Staring At The Sun acoustic performance in Popmart Mexico.

But The Edge is just 25% of the equation. Yet he is not the only U2 member who has vastly improved and broadened his horizons. It is for this reason that I feel U2's best is still ahead of them - the album that will finally fulfill the promise of The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby.

Some people peak later in life and I think U2 will follow this rule. Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict into his late 70's. The US Presidential candidates are either the mid-40's guy or the early 70's guy. The U2 members have now a wider range of experience, making money is no longer their objective since they are filthy rich by now and even their grandchildren are set for life - so the next two or three albums will just have them flat out make good songs without thinking about commercialism, reputation, or prestige.

Their best is yet to come.

...qg

 

[65980]

I'm really enjoying these posts by "quietguy". It's like the U2 poster from the Twilight Zone...

I never said The Edge was the worst guitarist in U2. Quite the contrary, I think he is the best.

Gee... You think?

Have you heard Edge's A-minor in the studio version of Staring At The Sun? Now, that is something to marvel at... ...Edge's acoustic version of Yahweh has shown us that his playing of C has gotten to a new level ever since his Staring At The Sun acoustic performance in Popmart Mexico.

This may be the single most bizarre observation I've yet read amongst many odd posters on this site. Besides which, since when does it matter how "perfectly" a rock'n'roller plays a barre chord? Like, who would even notice the difference? Or care?

Furthermore, why in the world would you define Joshua Tree and Achtung as "promise"? It's like saying Michelangelo showed "promise" with the Sistine Chapel; James Joyce with Ulysses...


Aside from the stranger points of your posts, I do appreciate your open-mindedness about U2's future. Unlike many on this site, I consider How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb to be an absolute masterpiece -- not a masterpiece of originality perhaps, but certainly one of songs and performances. Based on that, I'd rank it their 3rd or 4th best album. U2 are so surprisingly energetic and ambitious in middle-age (so far) that nothing would really surprise me, even producing their best album yet.

Still, it's not likely... but I'll take what I can get at this stage of the game.

 

[AtomicBono]

I never said The Edge was the worst guitarist in U2. Quite the contrary, I think he is the best.

Chords are the guitar lifeblood of a song. Guitar players do chords more often than solos. Have you heard Edge's A-minor in the studio version of Staring At The Sun? Now, that is something to marvel at.

To play a chord well, the space/gap between the strumming of all the five or six chords must be on perfect time. Each string must be on the same volume or tone, while the hands should not get in the way of the strings. There has to be a natural decay of each note, and if possible they should also decay and leave harmonics at the same intervals.

Edge's acoustic version of Yahweh has shown us that his playing of C has gotten to a new level ever since his Staring At The Sun acoustic performance in Popmart Mexico.

I thought you were joking at first, but I think you might be serious.

...

all I gotta say is: there is more to guitar playing than chords vs solos. Lead guitar can go throughout an entire song, and it's not a "solo" but it doesn't have to be chords.

Also: PLAYING CHORDS IS NOT HARD. do you want me to youtube myself playing some perfect chords? I can, and no one will be impressed, because chords are the first things most guitar players learn. I agree there's a difference between clean vs. sloppy chords, and there are amazing chord progressions, but the emphasis you're placing on individual chords is...strange, to say the least.

 

[Bottle Bono]

How many bands make their best music after reaching 40 years of age?

 

[The John Tree]

To Bottle Bono: Not sure if you're a Metallica fan, but from what I'm hearing, they've just done it.

To the rest of the thread:

I believe that U2, as songwriters, only get better with age. I feel like as song craftsmen, they are at the top of their game and will only continue to get better with songwriting.

But, for some reason, I think they can make an album with 14 of the best songs ever written and I won't like it as much as Achtung Baby.

Achtung Baby is, to me, the best album ever written. It's more than an album, it's an experience, it's a timeframe.

I can see U2 writing songs that are just as good as "One" and "Mysterious Ways". But I don't think they'll ever be as dark as they were on that album. That's what makes that album so good, to me: the darkness.

Hell, when I'm 43, maybe Achtung Baby won't be my favorite album anymore. But I'm 22 years old, and with the lifestyle I lead and with the frame of mind I've had for the past 6 years, Achtung Baby is the album for me.

So, do I think U2 can continue to improve as songwriters? Yes. But I don't think they'll ever make an album as interesting as Achtung Baby.

 

[jarvis]

You glorify the past when the future dries up as Bono once sang. They already have 3 Best Of Albums, and are doing reissues with the Joshua Tree 20th Anniversary and the first 3 albums remasters. Zoo TV Sydney, Popmart Mexico, and soon UABRS will make their way to dvd. The last delayed leg of the Vertigo Tour was basically the greatest hits tour they vowed they would never do. They said they'd never be their own tribute band.

The short answer is U2's best work has already come and gone. If you haven't heard it yet, give it a harder listening.

 

[digsy]

i really hope they can pull something phenomenal out of the bag, but sadly i doubt their best is still to come.
maybe it's a very simple way of looking at it, but i just think 30 years on, if something is that good they would have found it by now.

 

[MikeyJB]

Edge's acoustic version of Yahweh has shown us that his playing of C has gotten to a new level ever since his Staring At The Sun acoustic performance in Popmart Mexico.


...qg

I dunno what to make of your posts to be honest. Although i have a funny image in my head of the guys coming off stage after the Mexico gig, someone going 'that was a good gig wasnt it Edge?' and him going 'yeh for you maybe, but I really didn't play that C chord during Staring at the Sun to the best of my ability'.

 

[Screwtape2]

i really hope they can pull something phenomenal out of the bag, but sadly i doubt their best is still to come.
maybe it's a very simple way of looking at it, but i just think 30 years on, if something is that good they would have found it by now.

I only know two examples of artists releasing albums that were thier best or at least breathing down the neck of their best 30 years on or more. I can't see U2 joining them because the band doesn't have the focus or fearlessness that they had.

 

[Bottle Bono]

To Bottle Bono: Not sure if you're a Metallica fan, but from what I'm hearing, they've just done it.

Thats because all of Metallica's stuff before was utter crap.

 

[quietguy]

all I gotta say is: there is more to guitar playing than chords vs solos. Lead guitar can go throughout an entire song, and it's not a "solo" but it doesn't have to be chords.
...
...but the emphasis you're placing on individual chords is...strange, to say the least.

I'm really enjoying these posts by "quietguy". It's like the U2 poster from the Twilight Zone...
...
This may be the single most bizarre observation I've yet read amongst many odd posters on this site. Besides which, since when does it matter how "perfectly" a rock'n'roller plays a barre chord? Like, who would even notice the difference? Or care?

Let us not underestimate the important of chords. Remember when Bono said that all he has was three chords and the truth?

If you know your U2 history, you will realize the chords propelled U2's chart success in their two major markets, the USA and UK.

Instead of ending with a wild guitar solo in WOWY, Edge just stuck to chords and it gave the song its uniqueness and was the #1 hit in the USA in 1987.

Desire opens with an urgent D-chord. Actually too urgent because it wasn't really strummed with the right spacing and balance. The last strum right before the riff is a bit "dirty" . But its still a three-chord song and it is what makes the song. Yes, it was their first UK#1.

Then there's All I Want Is You, another 3-chord melodic song. When U2 were struggling to play Staring At The Sun live, they came up with a chord version, and it is the D in the chorus that gives it a unique flavor. Live, it was strummed much better, although Bono's tempo was not as precise as The Edge's.

U2's best cover songs are plucked chords - Satellite Of Love and Can't Help Falling In Love from Zoo TV. They also changed their approach towards Angel Of Harlem from the cold unfeeling bar-chord version in Lovetown, to the just plain chord version in succeeding tours, that had much more warmth and a homey feel. But more than the feel, Edge's command of the C-chord has greatly improved in timbre, timing, acoustics and uniform time and decay.

One of U2's most important topics is God. When they played Yahweh live, they decided to go through the chord route. Edge's Am there is reminiscent of the Popmart Staring At The Sun.

That's why I wanted to ask if anyone thought Bono had overtaken the Edge because he did play some guitar. But in my opinion, Bono's A chord needs a lot of work. He last strummed it during the live versions of Original of the Species. i wasn't too impressed with the time. That's why I think Edge is still the sheriff in town.

Back to U2, their improvement in musicianship, and the tightness of chords of Edge, and the rest of my praises about the band are indications that the best is still to come.

I wonder what their showcase chords will be for their next album.

...q

 

[Screwtape2]

I wonder what their showcase chords will be for their next album.

Are you related to Peterrrr?

 

[u2search]

Wasn't craft the enemy of art?

That said, I still think U2 can produce their best work yet. On the larrystuff video you can clearly hear how fanatic Bono still is and that's at least as important.