What 4 songs were one take?

[redhill]

Mos, nloth + ?

 

[Dragonfave]

UC and Fez-Being Born.

 

[edgeplaytheblue]

UC and Fez-Being Born.

correct ... took 2 hours the other song 2 years

 

[Utoo]

Am I correct in noting that all 4 of these songs were written in Fez? I'm less certain about MOS, but I think that's true for the other three.

If that's the case, then their work in Fez must've been pure magic.

 

[U2DMfan]

I was under the impression that only MOS was one take.
And even then, they had to go back and tweak some small things.

Is there a source for this?

 

[catlhere]

The whole "one take" phrase is misleading and probably BS, but it sounds good.

 

[Utoo]

^Exactly. Even if a song was recorded in one take, it wasn't written on the spot---and that's the case even with MOS.

 

[U2DMfan]

Clearly none of it is actually "one take".

I read an interview with someone credible, close to the album (i.e. not Bono) that said most of MOS was all done at the one time and left alone, and then they went back to tweak it. So it as described as essentially one take.

The idea that there are 4 of them is a stretch but I don't know the supposed source, so I'll wait and see.

 

[SpaceBoy]

Is there a source for this?

Wondering the same thing...I had only known about most of MOS being recorded in one take.

 

[redhill]

Wondering the same thing...I had only known about most of MOS being recorded in one take.

Bono says 4 in the NRJ Interview and it was also mentioned in another interview.

MOS I am sure Bono had the lyrics already...

The thing I don't get is how the melody fit so well over the music?

How did that happen?

Did Bono make up the melody or did it just happen to work with the music?

 

[U2girl]

MOS was pretty much one take.

 

[TheEnd]

Check out the Brian Eno's Moment of Surrender thread. It links to a video that explains the creation of MoS.

 

[bsp77]

Check out the Brian Eno's Moment of Surrender thread. It links to a video that explains the creation of MoS.

Yeah, there was no writing process, at least for the music. I assume Bono used lyrics he had already written that he felt fit the improvisation.

 

[oceane]

Clearly none of it is actually "one take".

I read an interview with someone credible, close to the album (i.e. not Bono) that said most of MOS was all done at the one time and left alone, and then they went back to tweak it. So it as described as essentially one take.

The idea that there are 4 of them is a stretch but I don't know the supposed source, so I'll wait and see.

The source is the Zane Lowe video/extended interview with Bono and Edge, available on BBC radio 1 website.

 

[santiago]

I think they are "one takes" in the sense that the main structure and instrumentation of the song (plus most vocals and lyrical ideas) was recorded in one take.

Then they were overdubbed. In the case of MOS it was just a few overdubs (apparently the cello of the intro and some of Bono's vocal and the choir, according to different Eno/Edge interviews).

In the others it was probably more. You can see the overdubbing of backing vocals on Unknown caller in the Lanois DVD, but most of the music actually does sound like one take (hence the long intro where everybody starts playing little by little).

I like this approach and I think the songs benefit from it.

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

They most likely jammed out the song together in one take, loved it from the start then began recording it piece by piece.

 

[sadisticpenguin]

Bono didn't come up with the melody or the lyrics on the spot, I would guess. I'm sure the songs were already written, and may even have been played a few times completely. It just took one take to record them.

 

[rihannsu]

Bono didn't come up with the melody or the lyrics on the spot, I would guess. I'm sure the songs were already written, and may even have been played a few times completely. It just took one take to record them.

Why is it so hard to believe this? It's not the first time they've done this. Exit was a jam that was edited down into a song, Running to Stand Still was an instant with Bono actually getting a good bit of the lyric as well in the first take. U2 write like this quite often but it's just that they sometime work more on the songs afterwords. This time MOS was barely touched after the initial session.

Dana

 

[dan_smee]

Why is it so hard to believe this? It's not the first time they've done this. Exit was a jam that was edited down into a song, Running to Stand Still was an instant with Bono actually getting a good bit of the lyric as well in the first take. U2 write like this quite often but it's just that they sometime work more on the songs afterwords. This time MOS was barely touched after the initial session.

Dana

This is why you are one of my favs Dana

 

[santiago]

Why is it so hard to believe this? It's not the first time they've done this. Exit was a jam that was edited down into a song, Running to Stand Still was an instant with Bono actually getting a good bit of the lyric as well in the first take. U2 write like this quite often but it's just that they sometime work more on the songs afterwords. This time MOS was barely touched after the initial session.

Dana

Actually I think Edge said (forget the interview!) something like the singing in MOS was a bit like Running to stand still, where Bono got most of the lyric in one go.

I think the hallucinatory lyrics really speak for that. They do not feel written, but rather they have the feel of stream of consciousness. He probably later re-wrote some bits and added some parts to the original impro.

I think it's some of the best writing he has done in years and is a way out of the (great, but by now overdone) very personal straight narration he was doing on ATYCLB and HTDAAB.