California (There Is No End To Love) - Song Discussion

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I actually like the acoustic version a bit more, if only because the "whoaohohoh..." part is slightly different and less Katy Perry-ish.
 
Still my favourite track on the album. Although TIWYCRMN is there in the background, biding it's time.

Looking forward to hearing the acoustic version.
 
I actually like the acoustic version a bit more, if only because the "whoaohohoh..." part is slightly different and less Katy Perry-ish.

Not sure if I like it better, but I like it very much. It proves to me that Bman can sing this live and I was concerned it wouldn't be easily sung. Thus, they might not do it live.

Now I am even more sure we'll get this live. :love:
 
This song will likely be the highpoint of the new stuff on tour for most people (especially the casual audience). Not only is the tune catchy as hell, but I imagine it will have a wicked intro (with or without the Santa Bar-ba-ra-s). That forceful "woah-oh-oh" with people singing along is definitely going to be a shiver-to-the-spine moment. :up:
 
This song will likely be the highpoint of the new stuff on tour for most people (especially the casual audience). Not only is the tune catchy as hell, but I imagine it will have a wicked intro (with or without the Santa Bar-ba-ra-s). That forceful "woah-oh-oh" with people singing along is definitely going to be a shiver-to-the-spine moment. :up:

Spoken like a true Californian...:hyper:
 
This is really the only song from the new record that effectively straddles the midway point between being stadium/arena friendly and also reaching the cathartic and emotional highs of the work they've done in the past.

Generic Rockers: The Miracle, Volcano, Raised By Wolves
Adult Contemporary Tunes: Song For Someone, Iris
Experimental Stuff That Doesn't Fully Connect: The Troubles, Sleep Like A Baby, This Is Where..

Then there's the mid-tempo Cedarwood Road that does nothing for most people. By process of elimination it's only Every Breaking Wave and this number that tow the line between the band's groundbreaking and mainstream sides. And they will surely be the most memorable tracks in concert for the majority of people that aren't hardcore fans.

I do have an interest in seeing those "experimental" tracks I listed get performed though. Bono attempting the falsetto in "Baby" while the band tries to recreate the mood music of that number...same for The Troubles...This Is Where could become a live stomper similar to Love and Peace or Else (a song I really never dug before the Vertigo Tour).

Those first five tracks in the above list (rockers/AC stuff) and Cedarwood literally have nothing to offer. They're just there.
 
The album version, has anyone else heard a weird noise around 1:24 in the left channel on this track, kind of like a whistle or chirp ?
 
Great song. I only wish that Bono sang the album version in a more restrained way like he does on the acoustic version. My main issue is how he sings during the verses, sounding very thin and screechy at times, not to mention out of breath from the over singing. A little restraint in the version would have made the chorus pop out even more. That being said, love the song and think it's going to be amazing live!
 
Great song. I only wish that Bono sang the album version in a more restrained way like he does on the acoustic version. My main issue is how he sings during the verses, sounding very thin and screechy at times, not to mention out of breath from the over singing. A little restraint in the version would have made the chorus pop out even more. That being said, love the song and think it's going to be amazing live!

I think Bono is too overextatic about the new material he doesn´t realise his age and his singing limits. I wonder if any member of the band or their team dares noting it to him :)
 
Single! Single! Single!

I'm thinking single #3 now that they performed Every Breaking Wave on television the other night instead of this one. EBW is the ballad following the rocker...kind of like "Sometimes" following "Vertigo"...

This was surely the tune that would have been remembered the most by listeners on the radio (particularly on the Triple A format), so it's kind of a shame that they didn't launch with it. But as long as their are at least three singles from the record, this should end up being one of them.
 
I'm thinking single #3 now that they performed Every Breaking Wave on television the other night instead of this one. EBW is the ballad following the rocker...kind of like "Sometimes" following "Vertigo"...

This was surely the tune that would have been remembered the most by listeners on the radio (particularly on the Triple A format), so it's kind of a shame that they didn't launch with it. But as long as their are at least three singles from the record, this should end up being one of them.

In the US, it must be a single and in mid spring so that it hits its peak in the summer! Perfect!

I remain convinced the album's first three songs are the first three singles. I could see more than 3 singles...
 
In the US, it must be a single and in mid spring so that it hits its peak in the summer! Perfect!

I remain convinced the album's first three songs are the first three singles. I could see more than 3 singles...

I could see Troubles being a single.
 
Given what I've been reading about this song over the past 6 weeks, I didn't see many people liking the intro.
I do. It's one of my favourite bits of the album. Some may find the "Bar Bar Barbara Santa Barbara" cheesy, ill-placed, tacky, eventually manipulative. In my opinion it is one of the most creative little bits of the album and I think it fits pretty well and make the song start in a crescendo, instead of starting abruptly like "Volcano".
Cheesy, awkward and non-sense is (still is), for instance, the "Uno... Dos... Tres... Catorce!". 10 years later, I still don't get where that came from, what it really means (in fact, I still don't know exactly where "Vertigo" wants to go lyrically).
I think that the "Bar Bar Barbara Santa Barbara" have the double advantage of (1st) being related with the song theme and (2nd) being referential to another band's classic, that's enough to give it some substance.

On the other hand, I also like Bono's vocal delivery throughout the song and... Those keyboards - I'm glad they choose to highlight it and not switch it by some Edge plain guitar (which would turn it into another random rocker like "Volcano" sounds sometimes).
 
The most interesting thing about the intro is that while lyrically it references Barbara Ann, musically it seems a nod to The Beach Boys' Smile album (Love to say Dada / In Blue Hawaii).
As the Smile sessions were a watershed moment for The Beach Boys, I find this intriguing.

Could well be a coincidence though.
 
Given what I've been reading about this song over the past 6 weeks, I didn't see many people liking the intro.
I do. It's one of my favourite bits of the album. Some may find the "Bar Bar Barbara Santa Barbara" cheesy, ill-placed, tacky, eventually manipulative.


Your not so passive aggressive phrasing is you taking the high road?

It must be lonely on that cross.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
Given what I've been reading about this song over the past 6 weeks, I didn't see many people liking the intro.
I do. It's one of my favourite bits of the album. Some may find the "Bar Bar Barbara Santa Barbara" cheesy, ill-placed, tacky, eventually manipulative. In my opinion it is one of the most creative little bits of the album and I think it fits pretty well and make the song start in a crescendo, instead of starting abruptly like "Volcano".
Cheesy, awkward and non-sense is (still is), for instance, the "Uno... Dos... Tres... Catorce!". 10 years later, I still don't get where that came from, what it really means (in fact, I still don't know exactly where "Vertigo" wants to go lyrically).
I think that the "Bar Bar Barbara Santa Barbara" have the double advantage of (1st) being related with the song theme and (2nd) being referential to another band's classic, that's enough to give it some substance.

On the other hand, I also like Bono's vocal delivery throughout the song and... Those keyboards - I'm glad they choose to highlight it and not switch it by some Edge plain guitar (which would turn it into another random rocker like "Volcano" sounds sometimes).

I love the intro and song, but I think they should have full Brian Wilson and added the sleigh bells from God Only Knows.
 
The intro to me is what makes the song. I think people don't realize what an impression a small twist like that in a song can make. Even though the Uno, Dos, Tres, Catorce, thing with Vertigo is kinda silly, I think it was a big reason for that song being a hit.
It gets it into people's heads and memory. That's what you want.
And it's one of the main reasons I think this could be great single material.

It's unique for the band, interesting and memorable for radio, and catchy as hell.
 
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