Let's send a collective prayer out to U2 during this last recording push
- Thread starter The Slow Loris
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
shaun vox
New Yorker
u2 needs to go back and listen to their own music.. this is easly better than anything they have put out in the past 14 years and its not even one of their hit songs like streets or one...
A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel by U2 (1989) - YouTube
A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel by U2 (1989) - YouTube
The Slow Loris
War Child
Man, I miss that voice. The truth is, U2's peak was driven by a voice that doesn't exist anymore. The voice Bono has now is still a great voice, but it's a very different one than the one that got them the title of "Rock's Hottest Ticket' back in the late 80s or the even the one that got them the greatest stadium tour (perhaps of all time) in the early 90s. Many of U2's greatest studio songs were driven by Bono's powerful vocals of the late 80s and early 90s. The general public couldn't help but take notice. Bono still has a beautiful voice, but it's more a pop voice now. The greatest rock n' roll is a spirit that is spurred into our material world by digging so deep, the spirit cannot but help reveal itself. It's that ability to dig deep with the flesh and grind out the spirit into our world that spread U2 like a fire across the globe. Now it's become about keeping those embers -- which were once relentless fires -- glowing beautifully into the night….
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
Oh, fuck no.
shaun vox
New Yorker
ok here ya go
U2 - Heartland - YouTube
U2 - Heartland - YouTube
david
ONE love, blood, life
I think if his voice was drenched with reverb again he could probably sound like that still.
last unicorn
Blue Crack Addict
U2 should not "go back" and listen to their old stuff. I know they don't like to do so. The moment they start recycling their past or trying to do stuff like they did 25 years ago is the moment they should just call it a day. I've always liked that they seem to focus of the present and the future. Many fans could learn something from them in that regard. I guess when you get older and more sentimental about things you start getting nostalgic and tend to glorify the past. I'm not like that. While I love and appreciate much of their past work from different eras, I'm mostly excited about what's to come, I want to hear new stuff and a new approach. Going back to the good old days may look like an act of despair. U2 should never try and sound like they did 20/25 years ago, that would be pathetic. But then again, I'm mostly a future-orientated person, so maybe that's why I'm not into any nostalgia, not even in my own life.
Super Yo
New Yorker
doctorwho
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I have to agree with Cori. That song is a strong b-side for that era. If I heard that song now, I'd think U2 were trying to channel some 60's era Mitch Ryder. It worked somewhat on R&H as U2 were exploring American music, but it would bomb hard in 2014.
As for the voice, I agree - Bono's screeches and Kermit voice were great at times back then. But it wouldn't work for a 50+ year old. And it would kill his voice. I prefer hearing him actually sing. If there's a part of Bono's voice I miss, it's his lower register and his more spoken moments (like in WOWY). He seems all about the big notes now, which he hits with ease, but sometimes he needs to scale back.
I do agree U2 of current can be a bit too pop sounding (well, pop for U2). Nothing wrong with that. But I would love a few more Moment of Surrenders and less Crazy Tonights. I would also like a few more rocking pop songs, like Mysterious Ways or Desires. Just skip the GOYB's please.
ClaytonsKitten
ONE love, blood, life
We ordered from Marco's Pizza for the first time last night and it was better than I'd expected. They recently partnered with Family Video in our area and so we were able to get a large 3 topping, cheezybread, and a video rental all for $17!
(Normally we go to a local place right around the corner from us but since we were getting movies anyways...
)That said, I never laughed so hard in my life. We rented "We're The Millers" and it was freakin' hilarious. I was afraid one of us would wake the kids, we were laughing so hard.
The Slow Loris
War Child
Perhaps a look at a quote by Bono's idol, Leonard Cohen, is in order (taken from his amazing speech below):
"I've always felt some ambiguity about an award for poetry. Poetry comes from a place that no one commands and no one conquers….In other words, if I knew where the good songs come from, I'd go there more often."
Leonard Cohen's Prince Of Asturias Speech - No Overdubbing - YouTube
Another great quote from the speech:
"If one of is to express the great, inevitable defeat that awaits us all, it must be done within the strict confines of dignity and beauty."
"I've always felt some ambiguity about an award for poetry. Poetry comes from a place that no one commands and no one conquers….In other words, if I knew where the good songs come from, I'd go there more often."
Leonard Cohen's Prince Of Asturias Speech - No Overdubbing - YouTube
Another great quote from the speech:
"If one of is to express the great, inevitable defeat that awaits us all, it must be done within the strict confines of dignity and beauty."
Hollow Island
New Yorker
- Joined
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They've been doing that since All That You Can't Leave Behind...and I think they essentially "called it a day" at the end of that tour. They became a part-time band, and none of the music they've released since then has the same feeling as the 1980-2000 music.
Regardless, I dig what you're saying. Nostalgia is the enemy personally and culturally; we must all move forward lest we be strangled by false memories of an invented past.
Hollow Island
New Yorker
- Joined
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I think Bono was trying to summon his 1988 rock voice on NLOTH's title track...it didn't really work for me. I think he should chill in his lower register from now on; he's a bit screechy these days.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
So what on those albums sound like a "look back" to you? I've never understood this argument.
ozeeko
Refugee
All That You Can't Leave Behind I've always found to be unique for them. It's like adult contemporary but done well. I like it. It's a chill album. Although I would've much rather they gone down the "Ground Beneath Her Feet" and "Stateless" route.
I'm not sure that the Bomb looks back to the past...it definitely feels like it's consciously trying to channel their 80's energy. It actually sounds like the album that would've happened if they quit after Rattle and Hum and returned 15 years later. To me there's no 90's residue on Bomb. It's steeped in their 80's image. But to try and explain that with the songs and music, technically, I can't say it's that easy...it's more to do with the energy and earnestness of it.
I don't care about looking back as long as the music's good. What bothered me about Bomb is that it sounds like they took everything that U2 haters HATE about U2 and amped it up to the extreme. It's like the album that would torture Henry Rollins. And me, to a much lesser degree, for I know they know better.
I'm not sure that the Bomb looks back to the past...it definitely feels like it's consciously trying to channel their 80's energy. It actually sounds like the album that would've happened if they quit after Rattle and Hum and returned 15 years later. To me there's no 90's residue on Bomb. It's steeped in their 80's image. But to try and explain that with the songs and music, technically, I can't say it's that easy...it's more to do with the energy and earnestness of it.
I don't care about looking back as long as the music's good. What bothered me about Bomb is that it sounds like they took everything that U2 haters HATE about U2 and amped it up to the extreme. It's like the album that would torture Henry Rollins. And me, to a much lesser degree, for I know they know better.
Musikwala
War Child
Good analysis! I more or less agree. ATYCLB is so much better than Bomb! At least ATYCLB has a truly unique sound to it. Bomb definitely sounds like a rehash.
And NLOTH is quality-wise the best of the three, in my opinion. But I cannot fully make up my mind on that one. Sometimes I prefer listening to ATYCLB than NLOTH.
I think ATYCLB at least has a consistent vibe and purpose to it. The sum is probably better than the parts. With the other two records you can plainly hear original intentions get watered-down, second-guessed, and abandoned.
Musikwala
War Child
This is certainly true. I agree with you.
Ugh... NLOTH had so much promise! And I still feel that songs like the opening trio, Breathe, Fez and Cedars are all much better than anything on ATYCLB or Bomb. But some of the other songs on NLOTH really drag that album down. The whole thing is not consistent at all.
Moser
Refugee
I feel strongly this way too. NLOTH had such a good foundation with Magnificent, NLOTH, MOS, Cedars, Fez, and White as Snow.
The middle three just stick out like a thorn, as if they belonged on HTDAAB or something. MOS is an extremely powerful song, but their decision to keep it vanilla instead of refining things such as the chorus (and length) seems to hurt it. That album is a masterpiece dragged down by a few mistakes (and inconsistencies).
The Slow Loris
War Child
If 'Winter' had replaced 'Stand Up'....that alone would have made it a near masterpiece. Poor Brian Eno. I can understand his frustration.
Moser
Refugee
Haha, exactly. The band was probably being self-conscious and felt they need a 'rock' number, and Brian Eno is probably banging his head on the keyboard.
ozeeko
Refugee
Is "Winter" regarded as such a lost classic around here simply because it was left off the album? It's nothing special. I'm glad Eno threw those strings to Coldplay. Do I prefer it to Stand Up Comedy, sure, but that's like preferring a black eye to a broken nose.
Moser
Refugee
From my perspective, Winter would contribute to the overall theme of the album better than Standup Comedy, and therefore wouldn't hurt the album's consistency. I don't think it is a classic.
The Slow Loris
War Child
I disagree. YouTube is a place where haters usually love to feast, but even they are nowhere to be found in the comments for 'Winter'. The opening lyrics are like something out of The Joshua Tree. Very cinematic:
The yellow sun
Well, it took the hand
Of a country boy
To a city in a far-off land
We made no mark
No shadow at all
On the ancient, holy streets
Where I learned to crawl
The broken and the bruised
The young and the used
The sure and confused
All here...
And then of course the bittersweet chorus...and not to mention the "helicopter" ending.
I agree with Brian Eno on this one. The original version of 'Winter' is indeed hauntingly beautiful.
The Slow Loris
War Child
Exactly right. The sound and feel of the song fits the album much more than a 'Stand Up Comedy'. That album needed a deeper story to weave itself together. That's why 'Winter' would have been the perfect fit.
ozeeko
Refugee
I could care less about youtube haters. I just don't think the song's that interesting.
The Slow Loris
War Child
And you have the right to your opinion. Most would, however, disagree with that particular opinion. Is it a "classic"? No. Is it interesting? Most would say yes. Is it a better fit than at least 3 songs on that album? Yes, for sure it is.
ozeeko
Refugee
Winter sounds like it's trying to tell me something deep as opposed to just showing me. That's my main criticism of it. Take Bullet the Blue Sky, for instance. Everything about it takes me to the heart of the situation. It places me in the middle of the crisis. Winter is like a Bruce Springsteen song (I'm not a huge fan of da boss) in that it's trying to relate to me too much on a human level. It's trying to wrap it all up nicely with some moral explanation. Forget all that, just show me what's happening.
RoKKeR
Refugee
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2013
- Messages
- 1,890
Love this track so much.
I just want to hear something that sounds like a band playing music in a room. Scale back the production, include takes that aren't 100% perfect and have some bum notes here and there, that's what gives music character. Moment of Surrender had some of this and I absolutely love it for it, especially knowing the story of how it came together. That's the magic of U2, the gems that come out of the noise of just banging it out. Yes there is room for great production to really get something right and U2 has been the beneficiary of that many times, (Streets, for example) but there is also something magical about stripping things back and letting the boys just hammer something out and calling it good.
There's a place for both, I personally would love to hear some of that more raw stuff we used to get quite a bit of.
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