I've heard some of the album!

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Jim

Jim

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I was in Dublin this weekend and yesterday, along with some very nice fans spend some time inside the studio with Bono..

The album is being mixed, but as Bono said it only really comes together at the very end (and then the songs come to life on tour). They still don't know if it's "a boy or a girl....or an elephant - which is always a difficult birth!".

The music that I heard sounded amazing. Totally different to ATYCLB. Layers of loud and fast classic edge guitar, but it also felt like when I first heard Acthtung Baby very rhythmic - something really new and different. The section I heard - Bono was also giving it all vocally.

Edge said that there will be only a couple of ballads on the record.

One of the fans had an article from Beligum listing the rumoured song titles. Bono was amused at some of the titles that he has seen to date as they are mostly wrong. From what I remember, the following are NOT songs.

Full Metal jacket
SkyHawk

Songs that WILL be on the album are:

All Because of You
War and Peace or Else (is that right?)

There are others but I can't remember.

American Prayer will not be on the album.

No album title yet for the reasons above - that will come at the very end.

Lastly Bono was looking great and in good spirits, I do think some recent photographs don't really do him credit. Edge was on form too. Larry and Adam arrived later but we didn't meet them.

Lillywhite is in the studio with them.

Gotta run!

Cheers,
Jim
 
SAS ( Sweet Ass Sweet! ) !!!!!! I hope this is true. Excited excited excited!
 
If you could compare the songs you heard to a previous U2 song what would it be? Can't wait to hear these tunes!!!!:drool:
 
We were in the mixing room for a short time so I only heard about 30 seconds of that one. When we were chatting in the next room, I could hear a different sound coming from the mixing desk and I immediately thought of 'I Will Follow'.. of course is was very different but had that kind of raw guitar sound. I would say that Edge has decided to 'sound like The Edge' on this record (remember the comments during the recording of Beautiful Day?), so there is a vibrant youthful energy to the sounds with some incredible rhythms and layers which is more like 90s U2. The sound didn't seem too structured (but then this was the mixing desk).. it sounded LEAST like say 'Walk On'.

I'm sure you can imagine that there were a million things going on (like having a conversation with Bono), so it's hard to be more specific. To my ears, it sounded VERY VERY exciting.
 
Jim said:
We were in the mixing room for a short time so I only heard about 30 seconds of that one. When we were chatting in the next room, I could hear a different sound coming from the mixing desk and I immediately thought of 'I Will Follow'.. of course is was very different but had that kind of raw guitar sound. I would say that Edge has decided to 'sound like The Edge' on this record (remember the comments during the recording of Beautiful Day?), so there is a vibrant youthful energy to the sounds with some incredible rhythms and layers which is more like 90s U2. The sound didn't seem too structured (but then this was the mixing desk).. it sounded LEAST like say 'Walk On'.

I'm sure you can imagine that there were a million things going on (like having a conversation with Bono), so it's hard to be more specific. To my ears, it sounded VERY VERY exciting.
Click to expand...

Did you hear any lyrics or words that Bono was singing?
 
You'll have to ask Bono that - last time I met him was in 93 and he took me into the studio then too! I'm a lucky boy. :)
 
I don't want to say too much away as this is only my interpretation of what I heard. you might choose different words if you had listened it. I'm happy to wet your appetites though!

I was blown away by the energy of what I heard. There were signature U2 sounds in there but it also sounded totally new. More 'crafted' than ATYCLB but less 'polished' if that makes sense. Bono's voice sounded very sharp. The bit I remember he's kind of 'going into one' - wailing over and over. The sound components were crystal clear and not at all muddy (probably partly due to the fact that I was listening though a very expensive sound system!).

To be honest Bono was taking us into the next room and I just wanted to stay where I was and listen to more!

brazilian fly - the songs I heard were faster and harder, but not harder in a Hendrix way - more like full-on Edge. The term 'Punk Rock on Venus' fits.

Don't forget I only heard a fraction of the new stuff!
 
Jim said:
brazilian fly - the songs I heard were faster and harder, but not harder in a Hendrix way - more like full-on Edge. The term 'Punk Rock on Venus' fits.

Don't forget I only heard a fraction of the new stuff!
Click to expand...

Great thanks for the info man. But is it as hard as The Fly or harder?

Another little question: is the speed of the song like New Year's Day and I Will Follow or maybe a bit faster?
 
It's so hard to make comparisions like that. It was special. It felt like as was as fast as IWF, but think of 'Bad' or 'Until the End of the World', and how they aren't madly fast but have an intensity to them....

Put it this way, hard like 'Wire' more than 'The Fly'. But it has new textures, so it hits you like the first time you heard 'The Fly'. Think how you felt when you first heard 'Zoo Station' the layers and the way it isn't structured like you would expect. Think the polar opposite of 'Love Rescue Me'.

OK - I've been thinking about it..it sounded like 'Zooropa' meets 'I Will Follow'.... that kinda direction.
 
holy crap! Comparisons with I Will Follow, Zooropa, The Fly, Until The End of the World, AB, farther away from ATYCLB..... I am typing this with a huge smile on my face and a excited buzz in my head.

Jim, although your details are somewhat sketchy and you only heard that small bit, I think I know where you are coming from. Not necessarily "harder" than some of the past songs, but more intense, dare I say dirty or dark, which fits more into 90's U2 sound. Thanks so much for trying your best to describe your experience when I'm sure you had a lot going on.

I find it strange that Full Metal Jacket my not be a title when it seems like that was about the only one that seemed concrete. This band is a quandry.

Oh yeah, who was mixing or working on stuff when you were there? Lanois? Lillywhite, others?
 
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One of the words that Bono used to describe the new album a few months ago was "visceral". Does that seem like an accurate choice of words, Jim? It would seem so from your description.
This is really, really starting to get exciting!:hyper: :applaud:
 
It wasn't like I heard 'songs', basically the mixing room is a small room with the mixing desk etc. and some f*** off speakers. When we went in Bono said it was like an un-manned ship, and there was music coming out of the speakers but Bono never refered to the music at all, he was just telling us about what 'happens' in the room, as if it was the radio on in the backround, and I was totally frozen/jaw adrop. So they were, I assume, playing though reels of music while in another room Flood and Lillywhite were working their magic (who by the way stopped what they were doing to speak to us - great fellas). When we were chatting in the corridor, I could hear what was probably a different song, which as I said had an IWF vibe to it.

Sorry I don't know what visceral means and dictionary.com only seems to have medical descriptions..:)

One think I will say is that I will not be downloading any of this material and listening to it though crappy PC speakers, I'm going to buy the album and play it all..LOUD!!

over and out,
Jim
 
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