Native Son and Always Appreciation

[Justin24]

Both Song are great and I wish they were on the HTDAAB CD. I prefer Native Son over Vertigo and Always is just Awesome.

 

[JCOSTER]

Always

Here today, gone tomorrow
Crack the bone, get to the marrow
To be a bee and the flower
Before the sweetness turns to sour

What we have we’re gonna keep, always
What we’ve lost we don’t need, always
What is it that won’t let you sleep, always

Be the arrow and the target
Put your head over the parapet
Be uncool, yes be awkward
Don’t look in the obvious place
The soul needs beauty for a soulmate

Get down off your holy cloud, always
God will not deal with the proud, always
Well if you dream then dream out loud, always
Eternally yours, always

I want you
I want you
I want you
Touch me now inside
I wanted to be a man
I wanted to call

You say you come to know yourself, always
Don't find yourself in someone else, always
And always wear a safety belt, always
Wait for me I’m running late, always
This is the moment that we share for always
Turn each song into a prayer, always
Now and forever
For always

 

[waynetravis]

Alwaaaaaaaaays!!!

 

[BVS]

Well Always would have been on ATYCLB not Bomb.

Native son is good, when he holds that note on the bridge , but something about it feels somewhat akward. Something right in between Vertigo and Native Son would have been perfect.

 

[The Disciple]

Always is AMAZING. I'd kill 2 hear that one live one day.

 

[RademR]

Always is awesome, and Native son is pretty good, but both are killed but their final products in Vertigo and BD

 

[catlhere]

^I agree

 

[vRS]

Both awsome songs, Summer Rain is another great one (was another BD b-side)

 

[Peterrrrr]

"Free" note on Native Son

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Native Son has a jerky mix/production which would simply relate to the stage of recording it was at when the decision to trash it and turn it into Vertigo was made, but I think its a better song. Better single? No, of course not. Better song? Yes, definitely IMO. Anyway, at the very least, I can't listen to Vertigo now without wishing that "Freeeeee" part (the guitar behind it) kicked in after the solo as per Native Son. Much better.

Beautiful Day > Always though.

 

[U2Man]

I can't listen to Vertigo now without wishing that "Freeeeee" part (the guitar behind it) kicked in after the solo as per Native Son. Much better.

qft.

 

[gherman]

Always is awesome, and Native son is pretty good, but both are killed but their final products in Vertigo and BD

Could not agree more

 

[xaviMF22]

Native Son


awesome song

 

[rihannsu]

Native Son has a jerky mix/production which would simply relate to the stage of recording it was at when the decision to trash it and turn it into Vertigo was made, but I think its a better song. Better single? No, of course not. Better song? Yes, definitely IMO. Anyway, at the very least, I can't listen to Vertigo now without wishing that "Freeeeee" part (the guitar behind it) kicked in after the solo as per Native Son. Much better.

Beautiful Day > Always though.

Well technically it was supposedly finished and ready to release according to everyone but Larry and Adam. I have to say that although Native Son is a good song I am glad they went back in with Steve to redo/finish the album. I really cannot picture two years of touring Native Son and according to Steve neither could Bono when he thought about it.

Dana

 

[Aygo]

I wouldn't be sad if "Beautiful Day" was not invented and if in it's place there was "Always". It's a great song (although BD is better)!

"Native Son", I equal it to "Vertigo". I wouldn't mind to have the "Native Son" intro (first 25 seconds) in the place of the immediate start+1/2/3/14 of "Vertigo" and add the guitar bridge and the "Free" screams before the "all of this can be yours" part. We'd have a bigger, but better "Vertigo".

 

[xaviMF22]

Native Son

what HTDAAB could have been

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

Native Son

what HTDAAB could have been

It would've been the odd man out in that collection of songs.

HTDAAB has some great songs, but the songs just don't flow together like ATYCLB or the Joshua Tree.

Native Son is fun to listen to, but I prefer the polish and power of Vertigo.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

It would've been the odd man out in that collection of songs.

If you trade one for one and leave the rest the same, but I think the shift in direction that came at that time shifted a whole collection of songs that may in the end have flowed better. Native Son, Xanax and Wine, something similar to that alternate version of All Because of You - it's all more raw rock and although it still doesn't have that perfect flow of Achtung or JT, it makes for a potentially exciting complete album. Think of it with a less over-produced but just as guitar heavy Crumbs, with a 'quieter' reflective Sometimes holding that 7th or 8th position on the album similar to the likes of Tryin' to Throw, rather than it trying really hard to be this big single. You can even fit a couple of the overblown anthem songs in there like Miracle Drug and/or Mercy, and City of Blinding Lights with the Edge's guitar part brought further to the front. It could easily have been the lead/big single in place of Vertigo if the production was right.

I don't know if it's the direction they were headed in originaly, and then scrapped, but I do think there's a great album there that would have been just as well received as The Bomb commercially, but at the same time made a bigger impact beyond just a good collection of radio friendly U2 songs. It would have sounded more as they were describing it - 4 guys in a room/punk rock from wherever/U2 stripped back etc.

In the end I think it's the overproduction/trying to hard to be a single that went into every song that killed a lot of the soul of the album. Strip most of those songs back a notch and they are tenfold better in my opinion.

 

[mandrake]

They are good, but they are what they are: demos. They have rough edges. Always has great lyrics though.

 

[U2girl]

but both are killed but their final products in Vertigo and BD

Yes.

 

[Copy]

Vertigo killed Native son.

But in the wrong way.

 

[An Cat Gav]

Native Son

what HTDAAB could have been

Always is ok, but nothing compared to BD, the line "Be uncool, yes be awkward" makes me shiver, but not in a good way...

 

[WCF]

Beautiful Day is a great song and all, but over the years it just doesn't do anything for me anymore. I just discovered Always a couple weeks ago and I love it!

 

[last unicorn]

I take BD and Vertigo over Always and Native Son every day.
Not to say the two tracks are bad, they just seem quite raw and not really finished, at least to me.

 

[gherman]

Native Son

what HTDAAB could have been

I would have never bought it then