New band members in u2.

[corner]

Really?

I don't mean to sound cheeky, but where did you hear about that? Sounds like an interesting interview/article....

 

[LJT]

Really?

I don't mean to sound cheeky, but where did you hear about that? Sounds like an interesting interview/article....

Its kinda detailed in the making of the Joshua Tree DVD thing..only a few of the ideas for the songs on the album came from Bono and Edge and even then they were really only tiny pieces of the song..like with Streets Edge had a wee bit of music he was working on...the rest of the songs came from the guys closing themselves off in a room jamming..if a good bass riff came about they would keep repeating that one riff while everyone else worked around that then...and so on and so on...

Its how they work as a band...you can even here this approach in the Achtung Baby outtake recordings.

 

[corner]

Its kinda detailed in the making of the Joshua Tree DVD thing..only a few of the ideas for the songs on the album came from Bono and Edge and even then they were really only tiny pieces of the song..like with Streets Edge had a wee bit of music he was working on...the rest of the songs came from the guys closing themselves off in a room jamming..if a good bass riff came about they would keep repeating that one riff while everyone else worked around that then...and so on and so on...

Its how they work as a band...you can even here this approach in the Achtung Baby outtake recordings.

Thanks for that LJT. I'll need to get my paws on a copy of that dvd. Sounds like interesting stuff!

 

[Meghan]

"One -- it's 1976 -- Larry Mullen's kitchen. About the size of the drum riser he uses now. It's a bright red -- scarlet, really -- Japanese kit and he's sitting behind it in his kitchen. And he's playing and the ground shakes and the sky opens up -- and it still does, but now I know why. Cause Larry Mullen can't tell a lie. His brutal honesty is something that we need in this band."
--Bono.

Larry and Adam are like the censors of the band. If they were replaced by virtually anyone else, we would get a whole heap of Bono/Edge crap. They need Adam and Larry at least just to filter their genius from their crap.
(And yeah, I realise some of you think that the last two albums are crap, so Larry and Adam don't really do anything anymore, but I like them so to me they are still doing a great job.)

 

[sue4u2]

Larry not in U2...surely you jest

this is all bullocks..

There would be no U2 because all of them would agree to leave at the same time.. no one in this band will be fired.. EVER!

 

[gareth brown]

Now don't shout at me please but i was wandering if Bono & Edge sacked Larry & Adam would it have a detrimental effect on the overall sound of the band?
It could be argued that the main driving force behind the group seems to be Bono & Edge and the 'other 2' are really only session musicians After all,who creates and writes all of the songs??who makes the 'live' sets work? You can't really say that if larry wasn't there that you would miss him,yes?no?
I'm not advocating that Bono sacks the 'dynamic duo' but they could be easily replaced
Please try not to swear to much in my direction in your replies,ta.

The ideas that Larry and Adam are just session musicians in your eyes and that Bono and Edge could continue without them are just bollocks.

 

[thrillme]

"It is really striking how much of the U2 sound frequently credited to Edge alone depends on Adam and Larry. Adam often plays with the swollen, vibrating bottom sound of a Jamaican dub bassist, covering the most sonic space with the smallest number of notes. Larry, who taught himself to drum and consequently got some things technically wrong, plays with a martial rigidity but uses his kit in a way a properly trained drummer would not. He has tom-toms on either side of him, and has a habit of coming off the snare onto them that is contrary to how most percussionists use those drums. We're not talking about huge technical innovations here; we're talking about personal idiosyncraises that have over fifteen years solidified into a big part of what makes U2 always sound like U2, no matter what style of music they are playing. It is also why bands that imitate U2 never get it right, and why all guitarists who try to play like Edge end up sounding so lame; their rhythm section never sounds like Adam and Larry. The great joke is that Adam's and Larry's playing so perfectly reflects their personalities. Larry is right on top of the beat, a bit ahead--as you'd expect from a man who's so ordered and punctual in his life. Adam plays a little behind the beat, waiting till the last moment to slip in, which fits with Adam's casual, don't-sweat-it personality. The great bassists and composer Charles Mingus said that musicians should not think of the beat as a dot that has to be landed on precisely, but as a circle in which one has to land somewhere. Adam and Larry, who have learned their instruments together since they were schoolboys, are working illustrations of Mingus' point. They've played together so long that they seem to spread the beat out between them. And they create a blanket on which Edge's chord layers rest."

--Bill Flanagan in Until the End of the World (1995) (Someone who has sat in on U2's recording sessions. )

Flanagan also wrote a forward to a book of U2 sheet music I saw at a bookstore, and he wrote that he has seen Adam pick up a guitar and play a guitar part for Edge to try out.

Larry plays bass on the intro to "Zooropa," the song.

Well one way to prove this point or disprove is listen to the Sydney boot when that Bass tech took Adam's spot for the night.

And compare to the Live From Sydney tape or boot, I think that would work.

I don't think that would work to prove or disprove this point, because the bass lines he was playing, were already composed/ made up, by Adam.

++++++++++

Adam also did a lot of groundwork early on in U2's career as their first manager. Booked gigs, set up meetings with people, he also talked to people, sought out the advice of others who were already in bands/music industry.

Larry's involved with other things too, he's in charge of the merchandise, make sure it's not from sweat shops, things like that.

 

[indra]

I think once you've heard one drummer you've heard them all.Even if they are struggling to replace Larry (i find that hard cos there would be a massive queue to get his job) Bono could always buy a drum machine.

No, no, no, no, no! Trust me, you do not want them to do the drum machine. Do you want U2 to go the way of The Church? It's all because of a fucking drum machine! ...well...not quite, but the drum machine certainly didn't help them any.

If they had to switch drummers and bass players early in their career (say 1983-84), yeah, I think they could have done it successfully. But not now. It would be kind of pointless to continue if two wanted to quit now.

 

[corner]

U2 would probably sound different without Larry/Adam...but would you be able to tell, whilst listening to the NEXT album if Larry/Adam had been discreetly substituted for another able drummer/bassist?
Didn't Larry have back problems during the making of Pop and U2 had to get drumming machines to fill in for him? Maybe I'm not as well attuned to percussion, but I certainly couldn't identify with confidence, the songs which have more input from Larry by simply listening to the album.

 

[beli]

... and employ the Bass guitarist/lead singer from level 42,Mark King i think his name was.At least he could sing a bit

Oh my gawd, no. Mark King was a spunk but his bass style is completly girlie.

And he pulls his pants up too high

 

[Pero]

U2 are, after expelling Larry and Adam
Bono
The Edge
I.P.Freely(bass)
U.R.Booger(drums)

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Beli! Mark King was NEVER cute!

Well one way to prove this point or disprove is listen to the Sydney boot when that Bass tech took Adam's spot for the night.

And compare to the Live From Sydney tape or boot, I think that would work.

I attended that concert. Bobo the clown could have been playing bass for all we knew.

 

[beli]

Beli! Mark King was NEVER cute!

Oops. I just checked. I have the wrong band. I was thinking of that band from the 80's that had the dusky bassplayer. He looked a bit like Mick Karn

They had an upbeat hit. The video was shot in a desert. This is going to annoy me until I remember.

 

[corner]

Just think how devasted Mark King is now, if he's been reading over this forum!

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Oops. I just checked. I have the wrong band. I was thinking of that band from the 80's that had the dusky bassplayer. He looked a bit like Mick Karn

They had an upbeat hit. The video was shot in a desert. This is going to annoy me until I remember.

It's not Mick Karn himself? Vid in a desert?

 

[beli]

Who is the second on the left? This is not the best pic of him. He looks fab in the 20 year old video replaying in my head.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Dunno about the left but the second on the RIGHT is Mark King. He used to play his bass around chin level

 

[beli]

Ah, I think I have fused these two into the one person in my mind.

 

[Cassis]

I agree.He certainly is starting to look old all of a sudden.Maybe he should retire?!?!?

let's do a little test here

i replace half of your brains with other brains
see if you still are the same

 

[boystupidboy]

let's do a little test here

i replace half of your brains with other brains
see if you still are the same

No need for personal attacks I'm just pointing out that Larry is starting to look his age all of a sudden whereas the other 3 have steadily aged Anyway this thread is about replacing Larry/Adam not if they require facelifts

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

Larry is a very special drummer. He rarely uses convential styles of drumming. He uses the toms a lot and crashes fairly little.

Bad would not be Bad or Streets wouldn't be Streets if a conventional drummer would have played on it.

Larry is so special that U2 would NOT sound the same without him.

 

[bobbyhewson]

this is ridiculous really. we all know that u2 could never function if any one of the members was sacked. after nearly 30 years together who of those among us actually believes this could ever happen? I think, barring catastrophe, u2 will grow old together, perhaps performing and releasing albums way into their 60's and maybe 70's and possibly beyond. u2 is a cultural and musical phenomenon of mass talent and ability. i would never want to underestimate these fellows. Let's see what they can do. as long as we all keep buying it i'm saying they will keep dishing it.

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

^What he said. Right on the money.

 

[Cassis]

No need for personal attacks I'm just pointing out that Larry is starting to look his age all of a sudden whereas the other 3 have steadily aged Anyway this thread is about replacing Larry/Adam not if they require facelifts

i was quoting you to make sure i was talking to you
my point was, that if you replace half something with another half, it's never the same

 

[corner]

I thought the POINT of this thread was to discuss whether Larry or Adam's departure (not necessarily sacking) would be to the "detrimental effect of the sound of the band".
Everyone surely agrees that the sound would be different but that doesn't necessarily equate to U2 being worse.

 

[Lemonfix]

It's also not just about musical technique but musical DIRECTION (as Meghan already pointed out--great name by the way ) Each member brings ideas and each member can put a veto on an idea if it's too "out there". It's not like the rhythm section simply is under control of the Great All-Powerfull All-Knowning Commander General Mr. The Edge.

Also, there are things like tours and image that can not be discounted, I'm sure all four members have a say in those things.

 

[thrillme]

"It is fair to say that Bono writes most of U2's lyrics, but he does not write them all. Edge has come up with more of U2's signature riffs than any of the other three, but the other three have all written plenty. I've watched U2 compose and record. What surprised me was how they switched roles depending on who was feeling inspired. Listening to a playback, Larry came up with an idea for a new melody and sang it to Bono, who tried it on the track. When Bono left for the night, Edge took over writing lyrics. When Larry left the room, Edge sat down behind the drums and put down a beat for a demo. Adam picked up Edge's guitar and suggested some chords. The four members of U2 have been a band since they were schoolboys; they taught each other to write and play. It is almost impossible for an outsider to tell where one leaves off and the next begins. The songs truly come from all four of them."--Bill Flanagan.

Was taken from the forward to a book of U2 sheet music. (The book will have to be updated though, as it only covers up to ATYCLB).

 

[Carmelu2fan]

there are 4 pillars that make the band. Take any one away then the whole thing falls apart.

Well said!!!

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Oops. I just checked. I have the wrong band. I was thinking of that band from the 80's that had the dusky bassplayer. He looked a bit like Mick Karn

mick karn

 

[AtomicBono]

"It is fair to say that Bono writes most of U2's lyrics, but he does not write them all. Edge has come up with more of U2's signature riffs than any of the other three, but the other three have all written plenty. I've watched U2 compose and record. What surprised me was how they switched roles depending on who was feeling inspired. Listening to a playback, Larry came up with an idea for a new melody and sang it to Bono, who tried it on the track. When Bono left for the night, Edge took over writing lyrics. When Larry left the room, Edge sat down behind the drums and put down a beat for a demo. Adam picked up Edge's guitar and suggested some chords. The four members of U2 have been a band since they were schoolboys; they taught each other to write and play. It is almost impossible for an outsider to tell where one leaves off and the next begins. The songs truly come from all four of them."--Bill Flanagan.

Was taken from the forward to a book of U2 sheet music. (The book will have to be updated though, as it only covers up to ATYCLB).

you've provided some quotes that basically end this arguement.

U2 could not go on if ANYONE quit. They could do solo projects or whatever, but it would not be U2. It's not just that Adam and Larry have a unique rhythm sound (though they do), it's that I don't think Bono and Edge would feel as comfortable with anyone else. It just wouldn't be the same. Remember, they've been together for almost 30 years.

If your arguement is that Edge makes U2's signature sound and everything else is secondary, you can listen to Coldplay and tell me if that is U2.