Move a track to a different album

[Oregoropa]

U2 often leaves hints of their new album sound in a track on the current album most notably God Part II hinting at the harder edge of Achtung Baby. Now that they are older some songs have a retro feel. See if you can logically make a case for a track fitting into a different album, how it would change the album, and the trajectory of band. If you're adventurous enough there are some scenarios I've imagined where you can seriously alter the musical landscape of a decade by U2 making contact with its younger self, ala Back to the Future. "It's your cousin Marvin !"

Raised By Wolves into War

Certainly fits thematically and style wise. Some would wonder why Bono is singing in hushed tones, but his voice would crush the chorus. Critics would be impressed by the maturation in songcraft between October and RBW. Would take its place as the third best song on the album, get heavy radio airplay, and become a concert staple through Joshua Tree tour. War sells more copies, generates more fans.

 

[bobsaget77]

"Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me" onto Zooropa.
It was originally conceived during the Zooropa sessions. Would've been perfect for the MacPhisto encore and probably would have given Zooropa a smash hit single. Could have drawn in more fans and been considered by more people to be a classic. The band gives Zooropa it's own remastering and re release and plays the album in it's entirety during the 360 tour.
I would have placed it in the 2 slot after Zooropa on the album track listing.

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[Oregoropa]

"Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me" onto Zooropa.
It was originally conceived during the Zooropa sessions. Would've been perfect for the MacPhisto encore and probably would have given Zooropa a smash hit single. Could have drawn in more fans and been considered by more people to be a classic. The band gives Zooropa it's own remastering and re release and plays the album in it's entirety during the 360 tour.
I would have placed it in the 2 slot after Zooropa on the album track listing.

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Agree 100%

 

[Salome]

If Iris (Hold Me Close) has been somewhere on the b-side of Unforgettable Fire that album would have been the best album ever.
It would just have given a bit more body to an already very good, but somewhat directionless, group of songs.

 

[LemonMelon]

HMTMKMKM and Holy Joe onto Pop, turn it into a showy rock album. I don't think the former fits on Zooropa even slightly. Doesn't fit the theme or the music. As a commentary on the life of a musician but not the role of technology on the development of society, it's a much better fit for Pop.

They want you to be Jesus
To go down on one knee
But they'll want their money back
If you're alive at thirty-three,
And you're turning tricks
With your crucifix.
You're a star

That even sounds like a verse that could wind up on Gone.

SUC and Crazy Tonight: move to trash

 

[Oregoropa]

SUC and Crazy Tonight: move to trash

I think you can disassemble most of NLOTH.


I almost think Moment of Surrender could go to The Joshua Tree as the 11th Track and bump MOTD to 12. Just another momentous song on the back end.

 

[PopFly]

U2 figure out the orchestral version of Every Breaking Wave six years ago and put it onto NLOTH. It takes the place of one of the "commercial three" (Boots, Crazy Tonight, Standup Comedy) and so the band are more comfortable having a lower-key overall record, and thus Winter and North Star also make the cut in favour of the other two and NLOTH is a much more cohesive album. This leaves a slot on Songs Of Innocence for either Invisible or Crystal Ballroom, both of which make more thematic sense than EBW did.

Mercy goes onto ATYCLB, giving some oomph to the back half of that record.

 

[bobsaget77]

HMTMKMKM and Holy Joe onto Pop, turn it into a showy rock album. I don't think the former fits on Zooropa even slightly. Doesn't fit the theme or the music. As a commentary on the life of a musician but not the role of technology on the development of society, it's a much better fit for Pop.

They want you to be Jesus
To go down on one knee
But they'll want their money back
If you're alive at thirty-three,
And you're turning tricks
With your crucifix.
You're a star

That even sounds like a verse that could wind up on Gone.

SUC and Crazy Tonight: move to trash

Good point about Hold Me, etc.
Musically (and probably thematically) it fits better on Pop. But I was just speaking in terms of how I think it would've been cooler on Zooropa. I would've loved to see the song played in the MacPhisto character. It would have also been interesting to see how a huge single would have affected the album's legacy.
Personally, Zooropa is my favorite U2 album and maybe my favorite of all time, so for me it doesn't need a big hit single in order to love it. But it certainly would be interesting to see how Zooropa would've been affected as a whole if it was more popular. We've seen them play so much Achtung Baby and if Zooropa was just as big (or at least nearly) we probably would've seen more Zooropa material live.
Also, I would absolutely love to hear what the original cut of Hold Me, etc sounded like from the '92-'93 sessions. I wonder if it sounded more Zooropa-ish or if they decided it was too much of an odd fit and that's why they elected to wait on the song.
Anyways, just another one of my pointless, random, incoherent schpeels. Carry on with your day.


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[bobsaget77]

If we're including b sides......
"North and South of The River" on Pop. Phenomenal song. Top 30 U2 song of all time imo. The one live version was beautiful as well. Would've thematically stood side by side with Please.
North/South-Please-Wake Up Dead Man would've been a great trifecta to close the album.
Invisible on SOI as the opening track is a no brainer. Thematically makes perfect sense. Musically makes perfect sense. And it flows very nicely into either California or The Miracle in the #2 slot (at least on my custom playlists). This would've given the album a great anthem to kick things off. Probably wouldn't have changed the general opinion of the public due to release method, but would have made it a better album.
Love Comes Tumbling and The Three Sunrises on TUF. Again, this should've been a no brainer. I guess it sort of got redeemed by being on WAIA. Wouldn't have changed the album's legacy, but if placed in the proper spots, could've improved the albums flow a little bit better.
Stateless and TGBHF on ATYCLB. Stateless would've been a good album closer and is a massive improvement over Grace. TGBHF is just a great song that is way too under the radar. Could've been another big single for the album.
I probably took this thread way off topic and just single handedly destroyed it (sorry Oregoropa). Being a custom album track listing nerd, I really like this thread idea.


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[Oregoropa]

It's all good Bob


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[TheFox]

A properly finished North Star onto any album.,i really love it.

 

[Oregoropa]

Remember don't feel compelled to account for tracks you move on their previous albums. You're changing the fabric of space time so U2 may replace it with something we don't even know about.

OK. Here is my crazy move

Vertigo to October

Track 1. The big caveat is you have you to strip out the 2000s bells and whistles + recorded with 1981 Bono voice. Huge international Hit. October flies of the shelves. The power chord usage in 1981 spawns imitators. The grunge sound goes mainstream a bit earlier than 1991. Vertigo is remembered as one the best songs of the 1980s. U2 become superstars earlier. Bottom line U2 has created great music post 2000 and we haven't yet developed the nostalgia for it.


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[Axver]

Heartland onto JT is the no-brainer, and join it with Spanish Eyes - as a single, so that U2 don't develop such an extreme reputation as serious bastards.

 

[bobsaget77]

"One" onto Rattle and Hum
The band is never able to come together during the Achtung Baby sessions and calls it quits. We never get anything else after Rattle and Hum.


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[Oregoropa]

Damn Bob. That's pretty rough Alt-History


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[Headache in a Suitcase]

Grace to Human Clay

 

[bobsaget77]

The entire album of October becomes a B-Side to Boy and the band quits U2 to join the Shalom Fellowship in 1981.


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[Mack_Again]

I'll move the First Time to this album A Rush Of Blood To The Head

 

[Oregoropa]

The entire album of October becomes a B-Side to Boy and the band quits U2 to join the Shalom Fellowship in 1981.


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Obscure one hit wonder trivia


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[Axver]

Move I Will Follow to U2:3. U2 become an overnight sensation, are snapped up on a dodgy multi-million dollar deal by a US record label despite McGuinne$$'s opposition, and are expected to churn out songs. They release a couple of really shitty albums put together hastily, blow all their money, go into massive debt and owe the record company their very lives, and have an acrimonious breakup during the miserably unsuccessful tour for their second album, where they have to downgrade to small club venues because of poor ticket sales.

Post-punk fans remember them as a case of "what could have been", music historians cite them as an example of dodgy practice in the music industry, and everybody else forgets about them.

 

[bobsaget77]

Sunday Bloody Sunday, Raised by Wolves, Please, and Love is Blindness to Boy.
The songs are smash hits, but they get assassinated by the IRA the day before their tour starts. The band is revered for it's incredible debut album. They become immortalized forever.
Because of this, bands like Coldplay, The Killers, Arcade Fire, etc. never exist and Nickleback is the most popular band of the last 15 years.

(I'm a sick, miserable bastard)
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[nbelcik]

Sunday Bloody Sunday, Raised by Wolves, Please, and Love is Blindness to Boy.
The songs are smash hits, but they get assassinated by the IRA the day before their tour starts. The band is revered for it's incredible debut album. They become immortalized forever.
Because of this, bands like Coldplay, The Killers, Arcade Fire, etc. never exist and Nickleback is the most popular band of the last 15 years.

(I'm a sick, miserable bastard)
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Jesus Christ, this is fucked up, you should go see a therapist


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[An Cat Gav]

Love Comes Tumbling and Boomerang 2 onto TUF, make it a 12 track album.

 

[kabigon]

U2 take 17 years to release their first album. After the tour they immediately disown it and never record again.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Pretty much every U2 album has hints of the next phase somewhere on it. I see Staring At The Sun, in retrospect, as a big blinking light, a red light, for where they were about to head. Well that and some of the stuff Bono was coming out with mid-popmart-tour, in interviews.

So I guess what I'm saying is, move Staring at The Sun to ATYCLB. If you want.

 

[Kieran McConville]

God Part II totally belongs to the proto-Achtung-Baby era, not so much specifically for its sound, as for its jarring note of self-consciousness. Bono could totally have done God Part II in the Fly, or more likely, Mirrorball Man, persona, and it would have made sense.

 

[bobsaget77]

Jesus Christ, this is fucked up, you should go see a therapist


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I know. The Nickleback part was a bit over the line.


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[Mack_Again]

move "Big Girls are Best" to ATYCLB, that's gotta be done.

 

[Mack_Again]

Nickleback is the most popular band of the last 15 years.

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personally this part made that whole story come alive.

 

[Oregoropa]

Sunday Bloody Sunday, Raised by Wolves, Please, and Love is Blindness to Boy.
The songs are smash hits, but they get assassinated by the IRA the day before their tour starts. The band is revered for it's incredible debut album. They become immortalized forever.
Because of this, bands like Coldplay, The Killers, Arcade Fire, etc. never exist and Nickleback is the most popular band of the last 15 years.

(I'm a sick, miserable bastard)
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Genius alt-history