There is one very interesting fact that many people may have forgotten, but I'mnot surprised. Hot Press magazine (Dublin) is the only one who mentioned it at the time.
A big factor in U2's seeming lack of musical direction and coherence (there are many other factors, which I discuss at length in the John Waters review thread somewhere here in the News area) may be the untimely death, in 1997 or '98, of a man named Bill Graham. Not to be confused with the man who founded Bill Graham Productions, the famous concert agency in the U.S. This was a totally different guy. He just may have been, besides Paul McGuiness, THE most important "power behind the throne" in the U2 camp over the yrs.
Not many people know much about him. At least he isn't discussed much in the media, and the band have only brought him up at length to Hot Press over the yrs. I happen to live in an area where we get Hot Press in the local bookstores, even though I'm a Yank. So I've read it for a while.
It seems that ever since the late 80's, U2 had a shadowy, little-mentioned but VERY influencial "musical advisor". I forget what Bill was--a music historian or professor or if he was ever in band or what. But he was a veritable walking musical encyclopedia with a brilliant mind and a fantastic record collection, and ears like sponges; he was, for the decade 1985-95 or so, THE man the band turned to to "beef things up" whenever they wanted fresh new ideas. I forgot how they met him. For example, when the band told him that they wanted to explore American roots music on their next album, (which became JT), Graham was the one who brought them the BB King albums and old gospel stuff and introduced them to Leadbelly, "Lady Day", Jelly Roll Morton, etc. He found them allthese acts they'd never heard of. And not only that. He also not only introduced them to groupa, the band used to have long "bull" sessions with him in which he showed them how these musical strains interlocked, how one insired the other, etc. it was like going to Music College. Brian Eno may have been their "public" music teacher, but this guys' influence was far more deep and subtle. And unlike Brian, he was like a sponge, with a much more comprehensive depth of knowledge. he used to suggest ways to interweave ideas and organize the new materialinto a coherent whole. I remember reading the Hot Press article that had Bill's obit. He died young, in his mid 50s, and his death was quite sudden. The band was devestated and said they'd miss Bill more than they would ever know. They even indicated that their music would never be the same, and he could never br replaced.
So what the band hve been consciously trying to do ever since Pop, in bringing in all these producers in so many fields of sound, from Flood to Danny lanois and Brian Eno, to Jackknife Lee, etc, is trying to surround themselves with a variety of people to replacate the experience they had with Bill. But all these people have never been able to replicate Bill's brilliance in packaging it into one coherent piece. Sadly, the band's prediction that nobody would be able to replace him has proven true.
So things are progressing along. 
Only saw it once, but I can't watch MTV for any length of time anyway and probably missed it. Can't wait to see tonight. 
