Let´s talk about THE EDGE

[thavidesco]

What do you think about his work on this new album?

I like the album a lot. It is a big departure from U2 sound, BUT it works.

What I´m not very happy about is Edge. I don´t hear any good riffs or sounds from him on this record. Did he run out of the ideas in this area? I don´t like at all his hard rock style riffs and the 70´s sound he often uses nowdays. These are sounds and riffs every other band can do, I would confuse Edge with every other guitarist on this album. That never happened to me in history of U2. It seems like meeting Jimmy Page influenced him maybe too much

His songwritings is brilliant, though. Maybe he subordinated to the sound context of this record... But still...

 

[SpiralStaircase]

I think it's a GREAT Edge record. Some of his stuff is very subtle, like in the second verse of EBW and the pre-chorus (and in fact the chorus) of SfS. And much as I dislike Led Zep and that kind of thing I think the heavy riff from Cedarwood Road is fantastic.

 

[jeevey]

I thought it was interesting that he shares lyrical credit on this album, which is quite new other than a few rare songs like WUDM and OOTS. I wonder if they were writing separately and checking together or if the whole process was quite collaborative like Gavin and Bono writing for In the Name of the Father. It may just be the very good writing in this article, but the scene where Edge plays Iris for the journalist in this writeup hints at the intimacy and the connection he has to these songs. And I really, really like his guitar work on this album. It is restrained but intense; some of the songs are downright exhausting in their intensity. And of course there are a few killer riffs like Cedarwood Road, which really should not have been pulled out of the mix on the verses like it was. This does not sound like Edge on autopilot to me--it sounds like a man who knows himself very well carrying his own work forward.

 

[BVS]

This is exactly what was said about Edge on AB. It's the danger of having "a sound". You stray and you get accused of copying, you don't and you get accused of being lazy.


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[dismantlemyfly]

Overall I think he crushes it. That Zeppelin riff on Cedarwood is just sick, and sounds really good loud. I wrote elsewhere that I'm just impressed with his backing vocals which seem to be everywhere on this record (Song for Someone )

I only wish that he took one solo and really went for it; most are a little repetitive and I'm pretty sure Song has the same solo as Crazy Tonight. The only time he really goes for it is in The Troubles but I think everyone agrees that they hit the faders too soon.

 

[hasin73]

I think it's a GREAT Edge record. Some of his stuff is very subtle, like in the second verse of EBW and the pre-chorus (and in fact the chorus) of SfS. And much as I dislike Led Zep and that kind of thing I think the heavy riff from Cedarwood Road is fantastic.

 

[SpiralStaircase]

..oh, and for guitar obsessives like myself, the TONE on "TIWYCRMN" from 0.37 is pure

 

[quadcaster]

Edge is on form with this record. You're just missing "the chimes"


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[LarryMullenFan]

Actually, to me, this is the first time since AB that "Edge is on fire" is a true statement.

I love the melodic guitar lines that go alongside the more standard rock riffs. There's so many different hints to earlier work on this album and he managed to combine all those different styles into a great sounding album.

 

[JTbaby]

There's more to Edge than Jangly chiming guitar. He's no Page for sure but like Pop and AB he's getting out of his comfort zone here and the results are great.


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[Tim Wallach]

To me, this record is the essence of Edge being Edge. And I don't mean in the signature chiming sense.

I mean in the sense that the Edge from day 1 has been primarily focused on complementing the song. He has never seen himself as the driving force like so many of us want him to. Often when he does step out and try that, it doesn't work like on Boots and SUC.

On this album, he lends a unique tone and melody to each and every track and often (like AB) has 4th, 5th and 6th tracks layered to capture the essence of the song.

For me, the only thing missing is a beautiful Edge solo or outro like we could have had on the Troubles. But the work is impeccable.

 

[thavidesco]

Best record by far for him was Achtung Baby (apart from making up his distinctive sound of course in earlier albums).
I also admired a lot (and it didn´t get enough recognition), how he incorporated arabic scales on the last record. Not an easy thing if you don´t want to make the songs sound odd for casual European/American listener.

But on the new record I have strange feelings about his playing. I know that Miracle should have been reminisence of Ramones, but the chord progressions on it and the way Edge plays it...awkward. I agre Caderwood main riff is good but the end of it ruins it. I mean that descent progression in the last bar...that´s in my opinion the most cheesy guitar moment in U2 history. Caderwood little solo piece also lacks invention and as someone said Edge robs himself in Song for Someone. It´s a pity there is no good solo on the album. At the end of Where you can reach me there is a room for it for example.

BTW. Is there any explanation why Troubles ends so abruptly, that is very, very weird. It almost sounds like a bug, while Sleep like a baby fades for so long. It almost looks like they ran out of tape

 

[MackTheCasbah]

I know it was weird record for Edge as he did so much for this record (look at credits, he's all over), but he barely plays solo or what not. I think it's kind of okay for him though, because his job is to provide space and color to the song like Johnny Marr did to Smiths songs. And wasn't Zooropa same thing where though Edge produced the album, the album barely contained any guitar-heavy tracks? Love Edge's work in the album, btw

 

[jeevey]

I think that's a salient comparison. It's like Edge's fingerprints all over the record even though the sound of his guitar is largely subsumed in the character of the album as a whole. Adam and Larry sound awesome and Bono stepped up his game, but this one 'sounds' like an Edge record to me.

 

[RoKKeR]

..oh, and for guitar obsessives like myself, the TONE on "TIWYCRMN" from 0.37 is pure

Yes it is.

I think it's a solid Edge record. I love Iris, we haven't heard that guitar sound from Edge since the 80's. I love The Zep-inspired Cedarwood Road riff. The bridge on Volcano/Glastonbury is immense. (poorly mixed) Hell I even like his uber-crunchy sound on Miracle.

I wish he was more foreword in the mix so his guitar stuff could shine more but overall I think it's a pretty good Edge record, better than No Line I'd say.

 

[bedouin fire]

i've mentioned this in the slabt threead but it looks that this is the right place: this album bings back the genius of the edge at its highest level.

on the last 3 albuns the edge relied mostly on his talent to produce big guitar riffs and got lazy for everything else, but for me the best edge is the one that uses the guitar to provide depth, textures and sonic landscapes (or, as i've seen mentioned anywhere, the wall of sound) to the music as he did so well in the 80s and in the 90s. this is the album brings that edge back: iris, volcano, rbw, slabt and the troubles are great examples and all of them with different guitar approaches from each other.

 

[Moser]

Raised by Wolves:

The return of the fast-picking delay with reverb that you really haven't heard since the 1980s. It adds so much to that song.

And the palm-muting in Every Breaking Wave adds a lot of texture.

 

[thavidesco]

I´m happy at least Glastonbury didn´t make it to the album, that Edge´s 70´s riff is absolutely awful, but its ghosts creeped into the album anyway.

If I think about it, I wouldn´t find more terrible songs like Glasto in U2 catalogue, maybe Miami or Playboy Mansion

 

[Moser]

I´m happy at least Glastonbury didn´t make it to the album, that Edge´s 70´s riff is absolutely awful, but its ghosts creeped into the album anyway.

If I think about it, I wouldn´t find more terrible songs like Glasto in U2 catalogue, maybe Miami or Playboy Mansion

Glastonbury was just........

I admired their enthusiasm.

 

[Afliktor]

i've mentioned this in the slabt threead but it looks that this is the right place: this album bings back the genius of the edge at its highest level.

on the last 3 albuns the edge relied mostly on his talent to produce big guitar riffs and got lazy for everything else, but for me the best edge is the one that uses the guitar to provide depth, textures and sonic landscapes (or, as i've seen mentioned anywhere, the wall of sound) to the music as he did so well in the 80s and in the 90s. this is the album brings that edge back: iris, volcano, rbw, slabt and the troubles are great examples and all of them with different guitar approaches from each other.

I completely agree with this. 00's has some of Edge's best work - Vertigo is a classic riff, UC solo is beautiful - but as a whole there's been a subtlety and colour missing since Pop that SOI brings back. I'm noticing a lot more different tones than the past three albums, where it felt more like Edge was on one generic "Edge" preset throughout. SOI is not a guitar-centric album, but I'd argue Edge hasn't been this creative since the 90s.

 

[vaz02]

So refreshing to hear Edge without the chimey guitar

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[Flying FuManchu]

SOI Edge is much better on this album than he was the last two albums.


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[hasin73]

TROUBLES solo will be fleshed out more in LIVE..... that's i am sure of.

 

[hasin73]

Not since POP album, i have loved EDGE's work this much in an album.

 

[owl]

I feel that Edge had a great record.

Sounds like he's choosing his textures very carefully & giving each song it's own colour.

 

[Musikwala]

Overall I think he crushes it. That Zeppelin riff on Cedarwood is just sick, and sounds really good loud. I wrote elsewhere that I'm just impressed with his backing vocals which seem to be everywhere on this record (Song for Someone )

I only wish that he took one solo and really went for it; most are a little repetitive and I'm pretty sure Song has the same solo as Crazy Tonight. The only time he really goes for it is in The Troubles but I think everyone agrees that they hit the faders too soon.

Agreed with everything you have written. That Cedarwood Rd riff is reminiscent of Jimmy Page. Great stuff! Cedarwood Rd is basically Stand Up Comedy done right.

Edge is on form with this record. You're just missing "the chimes"


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Bingo! Spot on.

TROUBLES solo will be fleshed out more in LIVE..... that's i am sure of.

Indeed I also hope that would be the case. We all knows how much the solos in songs like Mysterious Ways, Last Night On Earth and Kite improved in the live setting.