Should U2 have waited?

[Chizip]

U2 by U2 and U218 are both supposed to be definitive recaps of the band's career. But their career isn't over. As soon as they release another CD, both of these products will become outdated. It seems like these releases would have been better suited if they had waited until their career was at the end...

 

[coolian2]

$

 

[indra]

Maybe they are planning a Christmas or New Year's surprise announcement....

 

[silvrlvr]

I don't think they had a choice. They were a year late on U2 by U2, so they had to fulfill that commitment to HarperCollins. Likewise, they had one album left on their contract with Island, so they probably figured they might as well get it over with.

Given the lead time in publishing, the contract for U2 by U2 was probably signed in 2002 or 2003, aiming for a 2005 pub date. That would have made sense at the time, given the cadence of Bomb in 2004 and the book in 2005 (with no thought to a hits album, i'm assuming,) Instead, everything got jammed together -- the end of the Vertigo tour, the book and the hits album.

I don't think the question is, should they have waited. I think it's, "is this too much U2 at once?" Certainly not for the faithful, but it runs the risk of overkill.

 

[MrBrau1]

I think they should've put out 2 or 3 more "Singles" albums with differerent tracklists.

Kinda like the Stones did in the late 60's.

 

[Jeffo17]

they could of waited but its been like this for ages there is about 5 different best of Billy joel Albums so i expect a few more from U2.

 

[coolian2]

U2 being rammed down the publics throats

 

[corianderstem]

No.

 

[Jeffo17]

U2 being rammed down the publics throats

agreed

 

[J_NP]

As bono said in the C4 interview i think :

'We are in a period of time that cd are starting to disappear , to become dusty , so we tried to release this that followed our years , before the cds do come to their ends'

Or s

 

[J_NP]

As bono said in the C4 interview i think :

'We are in a period of time that cd are starting to disappear , to become dusty , so we tried to release this that followed our years , before the cds do come to their ends'

Or somthin like this

 

[MrBrau1]

you can say that again.

 

[ntalwar]

They were timely releases. More and more younger music fans were starting to believe that U2 were a 2000s band who didn't exist before BD.

 

[europop2005]

i dont see why people keep overlooking this:

wasnt U218 a commitment to Island Records so that they could leave?

 

[coolian2]

you can say that again.

Ah ha ha ha.

 

[Liesje]

i dont see why people keep overlooking this:

wasnt U218 a commitment to Island Records so that they could leave?

That's how I understood it. And I think the book is good so far (I've only paged through). The Flanagan book is my favorite U2 book even though it's scope is limited to a single tour. They can always update U2 by U2, like Stokes does with Into The Heart.

Also, it could be timing with popularity. Say they go back to the studio for a year, but then call it quits and never tour again. If they waited and released the book then, it would probably never get the same publicity or interest it is now while they're touring.

 

[Yahweh]

No they shouldnt have waited. The album is a good album to put out so they can buy some time for the next album. Good business plan and keeps the casual fan interested and maybe when the new album comes out they would be more likely to buy it.

 

[BVS]

I don't give a shit, it's fun for me to read. Who else has lasted this long(same lineup and still relevant)? There is no formula...

 

[U2Man]

yes, they should have waited.

u2 by u2 would have been a lot more relevant at the very end of their career.

 

[U2girl]

I would have preferred a definite Best of (as in one that actually represents all the albums) but this was a contract obligation. Wish they'd go with a live Best of this time.

I see U2 by U2 more as "the story so far" rather than "this is our career and we're looking back".

The Best of 2000-2010 is looking bad, what with BD, Stuck, Walk on and Elevation already being on U2:18.

 

[Utoo]

U2 by U2 has the vitality of a band still in the game. If they were to do the book years after they're definitely done, the whole book would've had a different feel. They may have written about most of the albums the same way they wrote about Pop for all we know.

If U2 by U2 were written years after the band were finished, even more people would be criticizing them for making a "cash grab" or futile attempts to get relevant again. They may as well do it while they're at the top of the game. Similar things by bands who've been long-gone seem overly lame, IMO.

 

[corianderstem]

Oh, I misread the original post.

No, they shouldn't have waited for the CD.

The book? Mmmm ... maybe. But I don't think it's in any way bad or negative that they did put the book out at this point in their career.

 

[david]

They waited 26 years!

 

[ntalwar]

i dont see why people keep overlooking this:

wasnt U218 a commitment to Island Records so that they could leave?

I can't see U2 risking artistic integrity simply to fulfill a record deal, escpecially since they had input in the record deal.

 

[corianderstem]

Oh no ... can we please not have the artistic integrity/sell out argument again?

 

[craigp]

They were timely releases. More and more younger music fans were starting to believe that U2 were a 2000s band who didn't exist before BD.

their best stuff was pre 00's! why cant i get that into my 12 year old cousins head who knows elevation as the "tomb raider" song

anyway, like the person said before, the cd was to end the contract with island records (they were signed for 3 GREATEST HITS albums). as for the book

 

[Utoo]

As soon as they release another CD, both of these products will become outdated.

Along with "U2 Show," "U2 Live," "U2: Into the Heart," and about a million other things. And those aren't things that random people have done (like the books on faith, etc.), as the band or management worked directly with the authors of each of those books.

 

[Axver]

They waited 26 years!

Exactly! The best part of the book was the part on pre-Boy, so why did U2 not put this out in 1980?

 

[Zoots]

yes, they should have waited.

u2 by u2 would have been a lot more relevant at the very end of their career.

Maybe this IS the very end of their career. Maybe there's no more albums coming up and just false rumors floating around.

 

[U2Man]

Maybe this IS the very end of their career. Maybe there's no more albums coming up and just false rumors floating around.

this is the end of YOUR career because you just got one of my threads closed