any new updates anyone?

[LemonMelon]

Thank you very much.

Wow. Those two are very special. All My Life is gospel; I don't see any way U2 will hide it this time around. But I definitely like it, especially the guitar at the end. Doesn't seem much like the Edge's typical work, though. In a good way.

402 sounds really special to me; I almost want to say it might have more potential. Obviously, it's way too early to tell. It feels more atmospheric and interesting than much of HTDAAB to my ears.

Sorry to waste space with reactions to year-and-a-half old clips, but I am very grateful for your post.

I hope the new direction doesn't mean completely leaving these behind.

I agree. The beach clips sound incredible to me, especially 402 which I've been in love with for over a year.

Thank You For The Day was the only track I didn't care for, and now I think it's a Danny Lanois song anyway.

 

[shart1780]

For some reason 402 reminds me of Roxy Music's Avalon.

 

[Rob33]

402 sounds like a song that would be absolutely epic in a live setting...

 

[The_Edge89]

Thank You For The Day was the only track I didn't care for, and now I think it's a Danny Lanois song anyway.

I wonder why people still think it's a exclusive Lanois track.

1) OK, Daniel recorded a version of his own.
2) It is (was?) a collaboration between Danny and Bono.
3) Bono/U2 made their own "version" of the song, with completely different lyrics and melody except the "Thank You For The Day" lyric.
4) Daniel released his album in December and if Thank You is a Lanois song, wouldn't it have been on it in that case? Falling At Your Feet was included on Daniel's album Shine as well as the soundtrack of The Million Dollar Hotel altough slightly different.

 

[Axver]

I wonder why people still think it's a exclusive Lanois track.

I think they're trying to be optimistic because, my goodness, those lyrics Bono quoted are utter shit.

 

[PookaMacP]

While I disagree about leaving 402 and 404 behind, I definitely agree with you about Window in the Skies. I wouldn't go as far as Bono in claiming it as a contender for best U2 song, but it's definitely up there with some of their better ones. It had great single potential - especially in the US, I would imagine - that was limited by its U218 release. I have to say, it probably would have been best to hold on to that one until the album was ready.

Absolutely. It should have been huge.

I've been thinking about one more thing: the rumours of U2 making two different albums (from Steve Averill) and Bono's comments about having enough material to make two albums. This has made me extremely curious about how the material from the Eno/Lanois collaboration will fit with what came before, such as the material recorded with Rick Rubin in Abbey Road. I get the feeling that the lines were quite distinct between the two at the start, but whether they have blurred as time has progressed is probably the question that will answer what the next album will sound like. In other words, will we get the experimental sound, or will we get something, like, I think, Achtung Baby that hints at that experimental edge, but which has strong enough tunes to carry them through a full album's worth of strong material. (As a side note, if anyone's listening, please give us 45 minutes maximum, and ten songs maximum - brevity should be the watchword.)

Also, the article mentioning No Line on the Horizon mentioned a 'mellow title refrain', which is not what I hear when I listen to the beach clips, nor do I think that the description accurately fits them, but, as I said before, rather sounds like one of the clips from the u2.com Daniel Lanois trailer.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

am i the only one who thinks the beach clips sound like muddled background music with a lot of waves?

i mean you can barely make out what's going on... it's very rough. potential, yes... but to say they sound amazing? really?

 

[jphelmet]

am i the only one who thinks the beach clips sound like muddled background music with a lot of waves?

i mean you can barely make out what's going on... it's very rough. potential, yes... but to say they sound amazing? really?

your not the only one. i could only stand to listen to them about two times, and amazing never came to mind.

 

[Utoo]

you guys need to stop using your 8-track

 

[Rob33]

your not the only one. i could only stand to listen to them about two times, and amazing never came to mind.

then clean out your ears...if you don't recognize the greatness in these clips then you need to keep listening to them...

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

apparently

can't we agree that there's a huge difference between greatness and great potential?

i mean it's my entire issue with mercy... it's not a bad song, it has tremendous potential, but it's spoken about like it's the holy grail. come on... it's a low res demo. let's all drink a reality milk shake here.

 

[U2girl]

I'm going to stick my neck out and say that I hope it does leave those behind. I've had enough of that sound, and I hope they have too. My favourite of the beach clips was always 400, which became Window in the Skies, because it had a very different timing, different attitude, and moved HTDAAB and ATYCLB on a bit towards a perfect pop song. Now that would have been a great lead single for an album, rather than being buried on a boring compilation.

I'm glad WITS came out if it meant they got the pop out of their system. It's a nice single (Saints got more airplay though), but not album material.

I liked 402 best (I only like the solo and chorus on 404). I'd like to see them go into this ethereal-yet-U2-yet-still-fresh direction that they hinted at with Stateless, Ground beneath her feet and Mercy.

Is that "two albums" plan Steve Averill talked about still on ?

 

[jphelmet]

then clean out your ears...if you don't recognize the greatness in these clips then you need to keep listening to them...

not saying they are bad songs, its just so hard to tell. i don't like hearing a new song from a good concert bootleg before the studio version. its just not the same, you miss so much of what is happening in the song from even a good audience recording. the beach clips are absolutely dreadful recording, and you can't hear anything other than a rough outline.

 

[ludvic]

I'm glad WITS came out if it meant they got the pop out of their system. It's a nice single but not album material.

I disagree; I think it's way better than a lot of dross that we've been subjected to over the last few albums, for instance:

Babyface
SABTO,
Miami,
Playboy Mansion,
Wild Honey,
Grace,
A Man & A Woman

etc.

IMO

 

[dmalezi]

Can someone email I Believe to me? I can't download it for some reason. I was able to get All My Life though.

dmalezi@zoominternet.net

 

[LemonMelon]

I wonder why people still think it's a exclusive Lanois track.

1) OK, Daniel recorded a version of his own.
2) It is (was?) a collaboration between Danny and Bono.
3) Bono/U2 made their own "version" of the song, with completely different lyrics and melody except the "Thank You For The Day" lyric.
4) Daniel released his album in December and if Thank You is a Lanois song, wouldn't it have been on it in that case? Falling At Your Feet was included on Daniel's album Shine as well as the soundtrack of The Million Dollar Hotel altough slightly different.

Even if it's not exclusive, what are the odds that something like that would make the cut anyway? I am of the opinion that it'll show up eventually, somewhere, but not on a proper U2 album.

Of this I am indeed thankful.

 

[shart1780]

I don't think the beach clips were very good. I liked 402. Not a lot, but I liked it.

The two after that were bad IMO. That slow piano one has a bad melody and it's just boring. The "All My Life I've Been Waiting... " blah blah song is bad too. The verses are not catchy, boring, and the chorus sounds like a Christian rock song. It was cool until the second time I listened to it. The only good part was the guitar solo.

I's be ok with only 402 making the cut (and if it doesn't I probably won't care at all) , but if the other two do it will be a shame. They would go great on an album with WitS, aka they suck.

 

[FullonEdge2]

I think we need an update pretty badly.

 

[Rob33]

I think we need an update pretty badly.

uhhhhh yeah....i'm getting a little desperate over here...

everything got quiet all of a sudden

 

[Zoots]

Good. Let things be quiet while they still can be. As it gets close to album release time, it is going to be insane. They're going to overhype the shit out of it! They do not know the meaning of the word moderation.

 

[PookaMacP]

Is that "two albums" plan Steve Averill talked about still on ?

Who knows, but here's original story from last October.

I'm not sure whether this would be a good thing or not, but it shows that they seem to be on a bit of a roll as regards writing. The strongest possibility might be that we get another album a little bit quicker than the last time, or, possibly, another Million Dollar Hotel scenario where the more experimental stuff is released elsewhere.