"Eno and Lanois producing again"

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Irvine511 said:
:shrug:

Scorsese always edits with Thelma Schoonmaker.

Spielberg always films with Janus Kaminski and edits with Michael Kahn.

this is no different.

Nice one.
 
Roland of Gilead said:
I rembember going "WTF!?!?" when Zoo Station started up on my stereo for the first time. "What the hell is wrong with my cd? Or is it my stereo crashing out?" How could this possibly be the same Eno/Lanois from the UF and JT?

I guess you just had to be there for that mind bender.

I remember loaning my friend my AB CD so he could play it in his lab. And just like you, when he heard those first sounds of "Zoo Station" he thought I accidentally gave him the wrong CD!

I was more prepared for that era of U2 - in fact, I longed for it. Had U2 done another JT, I think I would have been disappointed. Best move ever on their part - just as the UF/JT transition was a brilliant move after their "Boy"-"War" phase. And, of course, returning to their "roots" was also wildly successful. Who was there for all of those? Eno/Lanois. Let's not forget the input from Lillywhite either (who had a hand in a lot of U2's work on those albums too). It seems that those three, with Flood, produce some great stuff. And while it's good for everyone to take a step away from each other for an album or so, clearly these men produce some of the best music ever these past few decades. Why mess with that magic?
 
Headache in a Suitcase said:


so baisicly what you're saying is that henry rollins was right.

Henry Rollins is always right. :drool:

Especially his choices in movie roles. :up:
it isn't correct? what rollins has said was that u2 are a mediocre band that were taken to new levels by the genius of brian eno. you're pretty much saying the exact same thing, just ignoring the fact that you're more or less saying the exact same thing, just with a nicer spin on it.


In a more serious reply, I view Eno/Lanois more like coaches. Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patiots NFL team, is often considered a "genius". But much like Eno/Lanois, he lays the groundwork. Then it's up to the team to play. The players are the ones executing. They are the ones left to create plays on the spot when a designed play falls through. Analogously, U2 are the ones creating. Bono still writes the lyrics and melody. Edge, Larry and Adam still create the music. What Eno/Lanois do is guide them to produce their best - they challenge U2 and create an environment for them to shine.

So if Rollins feels U2 are mediocre, that's fine - because U2 did indeed have the insight and wisdom to use Eno/Lanois to create some of their finest work.
 
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Utoo said:
it seems that we're essentially on the same page, although i wonder, if we have been all along, what all the prodding was required for at all.

alas, please accept the humblest of apologies. vaya con dios. may the sun shine on your children and your children's children. keep on rockin' in the free world. amen.

May your first child be a masculine child.
 
Canadiens1160 said:
More Eno and less U2 always helps a record, IMO.

what?! how does that make any sense?? You do realize we're talking about a U2 album...
 
It makes a lot of sense if you consider U2 to have weaknesses which need to be restrained/minimized/controlled/channeled. And if you consider Eno to have a very different musical approach, outlook, aesthetic to that of the band--one that adds to their raw musicianship and complements and enhances their strengths.

Both are probably true.
 
bram, I understand what you're saying i guess...but you're referring to the "more eno and less U2" theory...so basically you want more of the producer than you do the band...:lol:...why didn't I ever think of that? :banghead:
 
Terrible interpretation and logic on your part I'm afraid.

There is a HUGE difference between wanting more Eno and "less" U2, and wanting more Eno THAN U2.

I would like the former. The latter is a bit silly (or is it Passengers?).
 
well I can understand that...everything said thus far has been a bit vague, I would hardly call it terrible logic...i mis interpreted Canadien's statement...alright then, now I understand where you're coming from...well, ultimately it's U2's decision, so anything from Eno and Lanois will be filtered through U2 so to speak...ok enough of this! lets just wait for the damn thing...how much longer do you think bram?
 
On second thought: remember that talk about Eno/U2 argument on songwriting credits on ATYCLB ?
Perhaps this time Eno demanded (t)he(y) get the credit...
 
My prediction?

I am quite certain the album will be released on one of these 5 days in the USA:

10/28/08
11/04/08
11/11/08
11/18/08
11/25/08
 
I never really understood that idea. McGuinness says that it's so the album can sell through two holiday seasons. But U2 has released something virtually every year after 200 in the fall. So why would they need the album to last for two holiday seasons if it would compete against something else they release?
 
Joey788 said:
I never really understood that idea. McGuinness says that it's so the album can sell through two holiday seasons. But U2 has released something virtually every year after 200 in the fall. So why would they need the album to last for two holiday seasons if it would compete against something else they release?

Because an album has more of a mass-appeal than, say, a live dvd or a book, or even a greatest hits album. A U2 album nowadays will have 5 singles, release just so far enough apart that a new fresh hip single gets dropped November of the Christmas following the album's release, therefore upping sales on the album. Too bad the single version of said song won't be on said album....
 
bram said:
My prediction?

I am quite certain the album will be released on one of these 5 days in the USA:

10/28/08
11/04/08
11/11/08
11/18/08
11/25/08

How album December 2nd? Or the 9th? I could see either of those dates as well.
 
What date is Thanksgiving in the US in 2008? You can almost guarantee the new album will be released the Tuesday beforehand to maximise its Black Friday sales. It's what happened with HTDAAB. Because, of course, shitloads of American sales and being #1 on the US album charts is all that matters.

Oh, and the lead single will follow about a month beforehand, timed so that it just qualifies for the preceding Grammy's cycle to the new album.
 
Axver said:
What date is Thanksgiving in the US in 2008? You can almost guarantee the new album will be released the Tuesday beforehand to maximise its Black Friday sales. It's what happened with HTDAAB. Because, of course, shitloads of American sales and being #1 on the US album charts is all that matters.

Oh, and the lead single will follow about a month beforehand, timed so that it just qualifies for the preceding Grammy's cycle to the new album.

As cynical as that sounds, I have to agree. On one hand that's fine with me, because it gives them more time to work on the album, on the other hand it's getting pretty redundant...:eyebrow:

As for the direction of the new album, I hope they stretch out a little more and color the sound up a bit. As much as I love ATYCLB, and enjoy HTDAAB it's time to branch out again. Hopefully Eno is twiddling the knobs and tinkering with the sound...:up:
 
Yeah, it's cynical, but I think it's a fairly safe assumption given the oft-cited attitude of McGuinness. If you're going to release in the fourth quarter because it has the best sales potential, then release it at the point within the fourth quarter when that "best sales potential" is at its peak, i.e. just in time to have your first week sales and Black Friday sales co-incide. As nowhere else in the world has a sales period as extraordinarily high as Black Friday, you can just go ahead and base the worldwide release on US sales.

Personally, I actually don't buy McGuinness's attitude, as a release for U2 during an ordinarily quiet period might actually get them more exposure than late November, when they have to compete for exposure with numerous other highly popular acts releasing albums.
 
Well, to be fair, I'm sure McGuinness is prodded by the company U2 records for too...I'm not saying he doesn't act like a lemming at times for them, but sometimes they set the schedule.

Still Ax, you're observations are spot on...:up:
 
There's also the thing they like to do - release album in the Fall and tour in Spring. I personally don't care if it's September/October/November of *insert year* (presumably they won't do a quickie release like Zooropa or Spring to avoid another Pop).

I doubt "McCash" is calling the shots when they release something. However, if you can do both - release in the Fall AND try to crank up the sales by selecting the best date possible - go for it.
 
They have a lot of material, right? What if they recorded two albums worth of songs, released the first one and went on an American leg of a tour, then release the second one in between the American and European leg of the tour?
 
U2 can call the shots on release dates. Especially if they call it early. But they're going to be after maximum commercal impact, so it would be in consultation with Universal at every step, and then in turn Universal are working with the major retailers to nail down and simplify their overall schedule as well. No-one likes more than one major, major release on any given date. Not just because of just competition or whatever, but simple logistics. U2 though, if they call it early enough, would be the lion in the room that everyone else works around.
 
Earnie Shavers said:
U2 though, if they call it early enough, would be the lion in the room that everyone else works around.



i wouldn't put this out of the realm of possibility.

the dropping of a double album and reuniting with Eno/Lanois in the spring would catch lots of attention.

just saying.
 
I'm not so sure about a double album. I mean it's a possibility, but HTDAAB did not flow so well, and I think that hurt it a bit. U2's best albums have had a nice transition to each song, that HTDAAB just didn't. A double album would only make this worse.

If they have two albums of material my guess is it will be a split release...or they'll release one album and work on the left overs for another album later on.
 
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