SOE 19: Back To The Studio Part II

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Wherever The Joshua Tree is in the set, how would you prefer it to be played?


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My sense is that some of Thomas' work is intact, but I dont know if he's been involved for a while now.

Here's a recap of what's been happening:
Most of sessions from 2015 onward have been Barlow and Thomas. This is the stuff the band was working on during the ie tour. I guess Barlow had some sort of mobile studio set up for them.

Late Summer 2016, Lillywhite came in initially to mix what was to be the first single, The Best Thing, in anticipation of a fall release for SOE. However, the decision was made to hold off, and do more work. I believe Lillywhite's role was then expanded to working on the other songs they'd recorded as well

Tedder, Jackknife Lee became involved in this later period as well, but I dont know how in depth they ever got. We shouldn't be surprised to see their names in the credits in a few spots.

These last weeks had the band working to various degrees on the record in NYC and the south of France. Not sure what this means in terms of who was involved... probably just Edge with producers/engineers? Though there was mention at one point over the winter that the desire was to re-record most of the material, to try and find better arrangements, so maybe the whole band has been in and out.

Work will continue in the coming weeks (months?) as the band embark on the TJT tour. I think Lillywhite is done for now, and I think Barlow will be back with them on the road for this period. At least for rehearsals and the first show in Vancouver.
 
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So annoying to read about the potential of re-recording. I know that's what this band does, but they really don't know how to just do a quick follow up or trust initial instincts.

Granted, those initial recordings could be shit.....but I expect another SOI clone in regards to production. Squeaky clean and devoid of any space or atmosphere.
 
So annoying to read about the potential of re-recording. I know that's what this band does, but they really don't know how to just do a quick follow up or trust initial instincts.

Granted, those initial recordings could be shit.....but I expect another SOI clone in regards to production. Squeaky clean and devoid of any space or atmosphere.

I'm scared of that too..

though if it's any consolation, I think the idea was not to tweak but to rerecord songs to try and get a more live feel, so as to avoid situation like Joey Ramone, EBW, etc,, where the song needed a new arrangement to work live. Hope this tip proves to be true
 
I hope so too

Although that was one of my favorite aspects of U2 songs (and most of the best live bands) was the anticipation of how the song would transform live.

I felt with nearly all the SOI songs, they were pretty much the same way live. Minus a stripped down arrangement, and some better guitar parts from Edge in the versus for Miracle
 
My sense is that some of Thomas' work is intact, but I dont know if he's been involved for a while now.

Here's a recap of what's been happening:
Most of sessions from 2015 onward have been Barlow and Thomas. This is the stuff the band was working on during the ie tour. I guess Barlow had some sort of mobile studio set up for them.

Late Summer 2016, Lillywhite came in initially to mix what was to be the first single, The Best Thing, in anticipation of a fall release for SOE. However, the decision was made to hold off, and do more work. I believe Lillywhite's role was then expanded to working on the other songs they'd recorded as well

Tedder, Jackknife Lee became involved in this later period as well, but I dont know how in depth they ever got. We shouldn't be surprised to see their names in the credits in a few spots.

These last weeks had the band working to various degrees on the record in NYC and the south of France. Not sure what this means in terms of who was involved... probably just Edge with producers/engineers? Though there was mention at one point over the winter that the desire was to re-record most of the material, to try and find better arrangements, so maybe the whole band has been in and out.

Work will continue in the coming weeks (months?) as the band embark on the TJT tour. I think Lillywhite is done for now, and I think Barlow will be back with them on the road for this period. At least for rehearsals and the first show in Vancouver.

Thanks RD. Love to get some idea of what's going on, and just glad to hear that Barlow and Thomas were pretty heavily involved.
 
My sense is that some of Thomas' work is intact, but I dont know if he's been involved for a while now.

Here's a recap of what's been happening:
Most of sessions from 2015 onward have been Barlow and Thomas. This is the stuff the band was working on during the ie tour. I guess Barlow had some sort of mobile studio set up for them.

Late Summer 2016, Lillywhite came in initially to mix what was to be the first single, The Best Thing, in anticipation of a fall release for SOE. However, the decision was made to hold off, and do more work. I believe Lillywhite's role was then expanded to working on the other songs they'd recorded as well

Tedder, Jackknife Lee became involved in this later period as well, but I dont know how in depth they ever got. We shouldn't be surprised to see their names in the credits in a few spots.

These last weeks had the band working to various degrees on the record in NYC and the south of France. Not sure what this means in terms of who was involved... probably just Edge with producers/engineers? Though there was mention at one point over the winter that the desire was to re-record most of the material, to try and find better arrangements, so maybe the whole band has been in and out.

Work will continue in the coming weeks (months?) as the band embark on the TJT tour. I think Lillywhite is done for now, and I think Barlow will be back with them on the road for this period. At least for rehearsals and the first show in Vancouver.

Thanks for the update RD :up: it's great to get an insight like this.

I feel pretty confident that we'll get decent production this time round based on this NYC session focused on re-recording to capture a live style.

I am admittedly a bit worried about the odds of a fall release if they're still going to be working whilst on tour... I'm just skeptical they can really do much on top of touring, and there's not really much time between august (when the tour ends) and when they'd need to be finished to get the album out before the end of the year.

Well, hopefully they're truly in the last stages, but we'll see.
 
Thanks for the update RD :up: it's great to get an insight like this.

I feel pretty confident that we'll get decent production this time round based on this NYC session focused on re-recording to capture a live style.

I am admittedly a bit worried about the odds of a fall release if they're still going to be working whilst on tour... I'm just skeptical they can really do much on top of touring, and there's not really much time between august (when the tour ends) and when they'd need to be finished to get the album out before the end of the year.

Well, hopefully they're truly in the last stages, but we'll see.
I'm sure I'm only getting partial truths and there's more to the story, but yeah, we can hope for great production, and an authentic sound
 
I wonder what the chances are now of them playing any new material on the JT tour.

If the album's still not done, maybe they wouldn't want to debut anything.

But if they're actively working on finishing touches between shows, maybe they'll be in the right mood to show off something new...
 
If they really did hold off to try and get a live sound then I am happy for that. That was my biggest issue with SOI, it was just so lifeless and sterile and it really sticks out like a sore thumb when you are listening to a mixed U2 playlist. Even when its compared to NLOTH material.

Although if The Best Thing was already there by the time Tedder came along maybe it was produced with Barlow, that worries me haha
 
So annoying to read about the potential of re-recording. I know that's what this band does, but they really don't know how to just do a quick follow up or trust initial instincts.

In my own (and probably horrid) attempts in songwriting, I sort of sympathize with the process a bit more. Re-recording and redoing things is probably something most acts do anyway. The problem is that this is one of the biggest bands in the world and most of their moves or either talked about or expanded on in interviews.

I don't think that means we can't be impatient with these things, excuse interviews where they claim a follow-up is imminent or want to wait 4-5 years again for another album. But imo, quickness doesn't always equal great.. unless you're on one heck of a writing streak and by some miracle, it somehow comes out with wide acclaim no matter what. I doubt anyone's that superhuman though.

I think Bono was the one that said around the ATYCLB album that he was curious to see what a U2 album would sound like if they only gave themselves some limited amount of time to do it. He then said that it might make a "good" album, but not necessarily a "great" one. You can have some good ideas lying there initially, but it doesn't mean they can't be fleshed out a bit more to become better over time.

Granted, those initial recordings could be shit.....

... which is exactly why people re-record these things. Sometimes you record those 12-16 songs, get excited because it's new material and trust those initial instincts. Then you lay off for it a few weeks or months to give it a break, go back to hear it, and realize that a lot of the songs just don't cut it. Hence leading to recording new songs, trying things in different keys or instrumentals, etc.

That's sort of why I never subscribe to the idea that, somehow, the earlier versions of NLOTH or SOI were automatically better than the final ones. Could each of us prefer some versions of whatever those songs were (assuming they were even completed)? Sure, but that would go for just about any case where we hear something different anyway. There might be a few out there that settle for Always over Beautiful Day or I Feel Free over UTEOTW, but it seems like more often than not, it's come out a bit better.
 
My sense is that some of Thomas' work is intact, but I dont know if he's been involved for a while now.

Here's a recap of what's been happening:
Most of sessions from 2015 onward have been Barlow and Thomas. This is the stuff the band was working on during the ie tour. I guess Barlow had some sort of mobile studio set up for them.

Late Summer 2016, Lillywhite came in initially to mix what was to be the first single, The Best Thing, in anticipation of a fall release for SOE. However, the decision was made to hold off, and do more work. I believe Lillywhite's role was then expanded to working on the other songs they'd recorded as well

Tedder, Jackknife Lee became involved in this later period as well, but I dont know how in depth they ever got. We shouldn't be surprised to see their names in the credits in a few spots.

These last weeks had the band working to various degrees on the record in NYC and the south of France. Not sure what this means in terms of who was involved... probably just Edge with producers/engineers? Though there was mention at one point over the winter that the desire was to re-record most of the material, to try and find better arrangements, so maybe the whole band has been in and out.

Work will continue in the coming weeks (months?) as the band embark on the TJT tour. I think Lillywhite is done for now, and I think Barlow will be back with them on the road for this period. At least for rehearsals and the first show in Vancouver.



Is this just speculation? How do we know that they aren't done and that they will be recording while on tour? I think we are hoping that it is in the bag and just waiting to be released after the tour.
 
Is this just speculation? How do we know that they aren't done and that they will be recording while on tour? I think we are hoping that it is in the bag and just waiting to be released after the tour.
It was info passed on to me by someone who's in tune with what's going on in u2 land. They tell me bits and pieces because they know I'm a nutjob fan.

They don't tell me everything, but like to give little tidbits here and there
 
Thanks for the heads up RD... better than nothing! So curious as to whether or not we'll see it this year or not.
 
It was info passed on to me by someone who's in tune with what's going on in u2 land. They tell me bits and pieces because they know I'm a nutjob fan.

They don't tell me everything, but like to give little tidbits here and there



Thx! There's still time to tinker, but hopefully they'll just tweak a bit here and there and release it BC as they've said U2 albums are never finished, they just get released.
 
My sense is that some of Thomas' work is intact, but I dont know if he's been involved for a while now.

Here's a recap of what's been happening:
Most of sessions from 2015 onward have been Barlow and Thomas. This is the stuff the band was working on during the ie tour. I guess Barlow had some sort of mobile studio set up for them.

Late Summer 2016, Lillywhite came in initially to mix what was to be the first single, The Best Thing, in anticipation of a fall release for SOE. However, the decision was made to hold off, and do more work. I believe Lillywhite's role was then expanded to working on the other songs they'd recorded as well

Tedder, Jackknife Lee became involved in this later period as well, but I dont know how in depth they ever got. We shouldn't be surprised to see their names in the credits in a few spots.

These last weeks had the band working to various degrees on the record in NYC and the south of France. Not sure what this means in terms of who was involved... probably just Edge with producers/engineers? Though there was mention at one point over the winter that the desire was to re-record most of the material, to try and find better arrangements, so maybe the whole band has been in and out.

Work will continue in the coming weeks (months?) as the band embark on the TJT tour. I think Lillywhite is done for now, and I think Barlow will be back with them on the road for this period. At least for rehearsals and the first show in Vancouver.



Thanks man.

Do you know what the significance of Barlow being there for the first show in Vancouver is?
 
Thanks man.

Do you know what the significance of Barlow being there for the first show in Vancouver is?

Maybe he's brought the mobile studio back with him?
I can't imagine what else it could be. Unless he's the new Terry Lawless :wink:
 
All good - the wording just made it seem like there was a reason for Vancouver 1, and it seemed like not there after it.
Oh, I see.. I guess I meant that he's supposedly going with them to Vancouver to work, but I don't know if that's extent of it, or of he'll continue to travel with them
 
Remember how Adam said that playing the JT tour would "inform the finishing" of SoE?

Maybe they'll do more of what they did with Lillywhite (recording live style arrangements), but in the midst of actually performing live to get them more in that headspace, i.e. see if the tour helps inspire them to really nail down these arrangements.

They could even perform a new song or two, trying different versions each time and going right into the mobile studio with Barlow after the gig...

I feel like working with the same producer (Barlow) in the same style (mobile recording studio) is potentially like coming full circle. As others mentioned, maybe this is like when Danger Mouse returned at the end of SoI sessions. Maybe they want to cap off the whole thing with the approach they had to start with, in 2015.
 
Ok, so I know that this is U2 we're talking about and what I'm about to say is madness... but based on all of the little soundbites of wanting to capture a "live" feel, and the report that Barlow will probably be tagging along for some of the tour, I don't think it's totally out of the realm of possibility that U2 will actually road test new material on TJT tour, so as to have recordings of the songs for reference for all parties involved.

That being said, new material during the concert would probably be limited to one or two potential singles. Maybe the rest of the new stuff will be given a shot during soundchecks. But again, it's U2 and they haven't played new material on tour in a very long time, and this is a wild pipe dream.
 
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Other than Glastonbury, did any of the "new" songs get a full band treatment? Forgot....Mercy

North Star and Every Breaking Wave were snoozes with just B&E.
 
Other than Glastonbury, did any of the "new" songs get a full band treatment? Forgot....Mercy

North Star and Every Breaking Wave were snoozes with just B&E.



Boy Falls From The Sky got a remarkably good full-band treatment, but it was only debatably new, and it was never released as a U2 song.
 
Ok, so I know that this is U2 we're talking about and what I'm about to say is madness... but based on all of the little soundbites of wanting to capture a "live" feel, and the report that Barlow will probably be tagging along for some of the tour, I don't think it's totally out of the realm of possibility that U2 will actually road test new material on TJT tour, so as to have recordings of the songs for reference for all parties involved.



That being said, new material during the concert would probably be limited to one or two potential singles. Maybe the rest of the new stuff will be given a shot during soundchecks. But again, it's U2 and they haven't played new material on tour in a very long time, and this is a wild pipe dream.


A cool idea would be the new album is a double album. New songs on "disk" 1 and a live version of those songs on "disk" 2.

I would prefer that over a remix version but perhaps that is just me.




Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
A cool idea would be the new album is a double album. New songs on "disk" 1 and a live version of those songs on "disk" 2.

I would prefer that over a remix version but perhaps that is just me.




Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

I like that idea, and I think it's plausible. With SoI the second disc had acoustic versions of a few songs - I guess to showcase what they saw as the strength of the song writing (something they played up before and around the release of the album)?

So (assuming they end up with live style production) maybe this time round they'll want to showcase a strength again, specifically that production/how well the songs translate on stage by doing something like you suggest.

They apparently toyed with playing the entirety of NLOTH during a SNL performance. So, whilst not guaranteed, it's an idea they very well could consider.
 
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