Songs of Ascent: the lost album

[subnet]

thanks, and we decided on the name Sarah after a half-hour brainstorm session after the birth, haha.

 

[VintagePunk]

thanks, and we decided on the name Sarah after a half-hour brainstorm session after the birth, haha.

That's my daughter's name. H's rule.

 

[gvox]

Yes it was a bad joke. I thought it would be obvious from the beginning. I'm not the type to post false rumors for shits and giggles. Sorry if it offended anyone!

I just got to it, and yes it was pretty obvious took me all of 2 seconds to see it. And then you added the acrostic hint so it's beyond me how this got anyone riled up, really. Good one, one of the more creative April Fool's Day posts in recent memory, even if you were a bit late for the party!

 

[Martinuk100]

Not posted for a while.

After a superb 2009 with a great album, and their best live performances since ZooTV tour, I have to say I'm disappointed in the the band.

I defend U2 to the hilt to my many music friends, and even put it to them that No Line on the Horizon was amongst their best ever work, which I still believe it is.

The nonsense that has come out in the last 6-9 months about Songs of Ascent and now it's all gone quiet is poor though. Nobody expected the band to put out a new album within 12-18 months of No Line on the Horizon, but consistently they pushed it in interviews, and as recent as January Paul McGuinness said an album was due by June.

I hope to be proved wrong, but gone are the days when U2 might actually do something spontaneous like put out Zooropa. Why hype up a new album if you aren't going to release it.

U2's live performances have been simply outstanding on the 360 Tour and I was blown away at Wembley Stadium in London, but they are effectively the Rolling Stones now, the only difference being that when they do release an album, they do still have the tunes.

Why can't the band be honest, and just say that gone are the days when they're banging out an album out every 2 years, touring 24/7, and just acknowledge that they still like playing, and every 4-5 years they'll get in the studio and put out some new material, and accompany with a tour.

Their legacy in Rock History is secured, and frankly they'll never do anything as ground breaking and era changing as Achtung Baby which for me re-defined 90's rock.

Just stop the bull*hit Bono about Edge being on fire, and being on the verge of your best album to date etc...

Looking forward to a new single at least!

 

[Catman]

U2 . . . are effectively the Rolling Stones now, the only difference being that when they do release an album, they do still have the tunes.

That's a pretty big difference.

 

[U2387]

they are effectively the Rolling Stones now, the only difference being that when they do release an album, they do still have the tunes.

False.

Who the hell could name a song the Rolling Stones have put out in 2000? No relevance at all for their new material.

U2 still gives it their best every time out, and while sometimes they just do alright(ATYCLB) or they do well(Bomb) or do great(NLOTH) in terms of quality of the album, they still make it a thing to not mail it in.

You won't catch the Stones playing 6 or 7 songs from their latest album these days.

ATYCLB and Bomb have the hits and NLOTH has the spectacular quality(should have had hits, but we'll leave that for another discussion). Stones 2000s material has neither.

The Stones are very up front about touring as a legacy act, whereas U2 rejects this off hand.

I agree with you, they should not have hyped a quick release when it was not coming, and I still hope for a single. However, just because they take some time between albums and tours they are not the Rolling Stones.

 

[zoopop]

Far from the Stones:

-Stones play the same 10-12 songs pretty much every night every tour.
Jumping Jack Flash
Its Only Rock N Roll
Honkey Tonk Woman
Tumbling Dice
Brown Sugar
Sympathy For The Devil
Start Me Up
Miss You
Satisfaction
You Can't Always Get What You Want

These songs have made of the core of any Stones show the past 30 years. Any casual concert goer would know these songs but they couldn't tell you what album its on. Fans know Joshua Tree songs.

-$$$$. Stones prices are out of control. $250 is quite a bit for U2 but seeing the Stones for $30, $50, even less than $100 is next to impossible.

-Stones have released 1 album this decade. The 16 track "Bigger Bang" in which the Stones played a total of 5 songs from it....Not 5 songs evernight, fans were lucky to get 1 maybe 2 a night from it. 5 total from the entire tour. Sad.

-Back in the early 80's & before Stones had 5 guys on stage and horn players (2) come out when needed. They would add piano/keyboard arrangements to some songs or the songs that required them. Starting with with the Steel Wheels tour (guys were in their 40's) they had 5 guys, horn players, keyboard player (every song), 3 backup singers, and other people. There would be nearly 10 people or more on stage singing "Jumping Jack Flash"??? Can you imagine if U2 did something like this???

I enjoy the Stones and their great live but Mick & Keith took the band a different route the past few decades. They love their fans but have tampered a bit with who they really were. Stones should have been playing theaters, writing blues/country songs, and toured arenas when needed. I see someone like Bob Dylan who tours and write songs that fit his style right now in his musical career. And the fans enjoy it and his music to this day is enjoyable.

Stones are trying to exemplify something there not or never were.

U2 is about 4 guys writing great alternative/pop rock songs that sound great live.

 

[bram]

Guys, why spend time rehashing the old U2 vs. Stones discussion in the new album forum when we could be comparing the band to Coldplay?

 

[zoopop]

^^^^ I'm ready for a Doves vs. Coldplay thread

Things are looking pretty bleak for any kind of EP. Tour resumes in less than 60 days?!?!?!

 

[super fly guy]

I actually like the stones last album,but U2 are nothing like them.

 

[subnet]

U2 is also nothing like NKOTB or Collective Soul, who presently play casinos.

 

[zoopop]

^^^But U2 played MGM on the Vertigo tour

 

[Niceman]

Far from the Stones:

-Stones play the same 10-12 songs pretty much every night every tour.
Jumping Jack Flash
Its Only Rock N Roll
Honkey Tonk Woman
Tumbling Dice
Brown Sugar
Sympathy For The Devil
Start Me Up
Miss You
Satisfaction
You Can't Always Get What You Want

These songs have made of the core of any Stones show the past 30 years.

Beautiful Day
One
Where the Streets have No Name
With or Without You
Pride
New Year's Day
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Mysterious Ways
Elevation
Until the End of The World
Vertigo
Bullet the Blue Sky

I grant that the U2 songs are WORLDS above the Stones songs (as are U2 themselves.) But you can see the direction the band is in danger of going in... And SOMETIMES they play 4 new songs, not 6.....

 

[Danny Boy]

Beautiful Day
One
Where the Streets have No Name
With or Without You
Pride
New Year's Day
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Mysterious Ways
Elevation
Until the End of The World
Vertigo
Bullet the Blue Sky

At least 3 of those songs are from the past decade.

 

[MikeyJB]

One of the problems with U2 is that the younger generations and my age-groups of early-20s don't know any U2 further back than Beautiful Day, Elevation, Vertigo, etc. I think that is pretty unprecedented for a band of their longevity and stature, and certainly in no way comparable to Rolling Stones.

 

[digitize]

And U2 aren't playing Pride or Bullet on this tour.

 

[powerhour24]

Beautiful Day
One
Where the Streets have No Name
With or Without You
Pride
New Year's Day
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Mysterious Ways
Elevation
Until the End of The World
Vertigo
Bullet the Blue Sky

I grant that the U2 songs are WORLDS above the Stones songs (as are U2 themselves.) But you can see the direction the band is in danger of going in... And SOMETIMES they play 4 new songs, not 6.....

Pride hasn't been played since the European Leg 1, Bullet isn't being played, NYD only showed up once in awhile last year, MW wasn't every night either, Elevation wasn't played regularly Leg 1, and Vertigo was the hit single 1 album ago... a lot of that doesn't qualify as playing greatest hits. SBS, WOWY, Streets, and One yes, but the band loves these songs and in a stadium that's granted to have a big number of casual fans, they do have to play some standby material.

Remember that they opened most 360 shows with 4 brand new songs.

 

[monsieur fly]

I don't agree with this Stones-bashing. Their sets are not complete hit parades. On their most recent tour, they did Sway, She's So Cold, Little T and A, She Was Hot, All Down The Line etc In fact they may well offer as much variety as U2 over a tour. Moreover, I think A Bigger Bang was a very good album, probably better than HTDAAB.

 

[Niceman]

At least 3 of those songs are from the past decade.

Yes, I know, but they're warhorses all the same.... Think they'll disappear next tour???

 

[Niceman]

"Pretty much every night every tour." Was what I was responding to. Yes, I know they somehow managed to take a break recently from Pride and Bullet, but it is just a break. No, not all get played EVERY night, but "Pretty much every night every tour"???? I think these songs qualify.

And yes, they open 360 with 3-4 new songs, but only play 2-3 more during the hour and a half that follows....

 

[doctorwho]

And yes, they open 360 with 3-4 new songs, but only play 2-3 more during the hour and a half that follows....

But there's only 11 tracks on the album! If U2 play 7 of 11, that not only is very typical (usually 6-8 new songs are played from every new album on the tour), but that's also a great representation. They dug up some rarities on the last tour, and people left to get beer. This time, they dug up rarities that are a bit more accessible (like "Ultraviolet") and people stay (also because it's near the end of the show).

If U2, by some chance, do release new material, I imagine it would be like the "Zooropa Tour" - a fair amount from the old album, some from the new and hits from the past. Perhaps one or two token rarities. I'd be happy with this (heck, even I enjoy seeing the big hits performed! )

 

[Niceman]

But there's only 11 tracks on the album! If U2 play 7 of 11, that not only is very typical (usually 6-8 new songs are played from every new album on the tour), but that's also a great representation. They dug up some rarities on the last tour, and people left to get beer. This time, they dug up rarities that are a bit more accessible (like "Ultraviolet") and people stay (also because it's near the end of the show).

If U2, by some chance, do release new material, I imagine it would be like the "Zooropa Tour" - a fair amount from the old album, some from the new and hits from the past. Perhaps one or two token rarities. I'd be happy with this (heck, even I enjoy seeing the big hits performed! )

I guess I was spoiled by POPMART.....

 

[Niceman]

I guess I was spoiled by POPMART.....

And all the tours before it.......

 

[U2387]

At least 3 of those songs are from the past decade.

Yes, and they cut across albums and decades.

The core of the stones set has been unchanged for 30 years as was pointed out and most of the warhorses come from the same time period. The Stones truly lean on material from when they were the biggest.

Take Niceman's premise that this is the core of a U2 set-for the sake of simplicity. I realize that its not the best representation, plenty of these songs have received numerous nights or even full legs or tours off!! UTTEOTW and NYD have not been a nightly staples since Popmart and they have both gotten played less and less the last 2 tours. But lets just accept his list as something easily comparable to the Stones.

U2's "core set"- Draws from 3 decades, numerous albums that were big and well known in their own right, and expands to include recent hit singles/popular tunes from the last album EVERY TIME OUT.

The Stones' "core set"-Draws from 1 interval of years when they put out the most hits and every night, fans expect to hear them and be taken back there. Band and crowd expectations of this as the core and as what should ultimately be the most pleasing are the exact same.

Plenty of people go to U2 shows(not 360 so much, but think Vertigo and Elevation) excited to hear the new songs. The band is excited to play them. Bono makes it a thing to give a big dissertation on his views on the topic in the Vertigo tour DVD that sold big time: "the best of the past we will bring with us, songs like Sunday Bloody Sunday, Streets and Pride, but we're ultimately looking to the future because that's where we are going." Mick giving you any of that??

No one goes to a Stones show these days because they are revved up to hear new material, diehard fan or casual. Most people on here, and other die hards, could not wait to get to 360 to hear NLOTH songs live, and that number would have been higher among the general public had NLOTH got the radio play it should have!

 

[The_acrobat]

I don't think we're getting an EP anymore. I now think throughout the tour, we'll be able to download them playing a few new songs live. Probably can do it either on your Blue Ray or just download them directly off U2.com. Promo for the new album that will then come out at the end of this year. Not a bad idea really. I'd rather have an EP, but if U2 were to actually utilize current media in an innovative way like this, I think would really help generate a buzz about their next album. Then release new album in 4th quarter, get huge sales, have a couple hit singles, and then the tour will continue into 2011 !!

 

[mikal]

i don't think we're getting any new songs in 2010 in any shape or form.

 

[monsieur fly]

Yes, and they cut across albums and decades.

Bono makes it a thing to give a big dissertation on his views on the topic in the Vertigo tour DVD that sold big time: "the best of the past we will bring with us, songs like Sunday Bloody Sunday, Streets and Pride...

Therein lies the band's problem though- why do they only look back to the 80s when talking about the best of the past? It's about time they started recognising Pop and Zooropa.

 

[Registered Dude]

I guess it's a good thing the tour was named the 360 Tour, and not titled after NLOTH or a song from it... they can keep the stage for touring a subsequent album this way.

 

[MikeyJB]

i don't think we're getting any new songs in 2010 in any shape or form.

Ah come on, why so negative? I still reckon there's a good chance we'll have a new album out before the end of the year.

 

[BEAL]

Not a chance. We haven't heard one peep about U2 being in a studio, or finishing songs, etc.

Nothing. Even they aren't this secretive.

All we know is that Bono and Edge were going to take two weeks to do some song writing. We didn't hear anything else in regards to the band getting together.

My opinion is they have shelved all material until after the tour.