What could U2 do to top the Achtung Baby reinvention?

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Instead of the backing Bono falsettos ala lemon and numb, Bono operatic howls behind edges singing and bad ass guitar licks.
 
t8thgr8 said:



Ok, but what if they changed it up and shocked the world. What would the mass reaction be? Try to wrap your head around the concept and think of the outcome. It's the most extreme change i think they could make that would actually work and set them apart from all bands before them.

This supposed tour ep in 2006, which appears quite possible, could afford to go out to left field a bit and try something like this. It doesnt necessarily have to be all edge all the time but think of the possibilities? Rock Zooropa, what? It could be somewhere around 9 or 10 songs. Edge singing lead on 6, Bono on 2 and a shared song or two. Edge is the media whore this time around. And he has been on his fair share of magazines lately.
I just can't see Edge as a frontman. He's too selfless. I think he is at his full potential filling up the speakers from his spot next to the BMan.

Though, what you suggest would definetly be a reinvention :ohmy:
 
I think it would be nice if U2 did like Oasis.... Bono sings 9 songs, Edge sings 2 or 3. It would give Bono a nice breather if Edge sang live on like, songs 7 and 8, and then again at the 13 or something. And it wouldn't have to just be new songs, they could bring back Van Diemen's Land, Seconds, and Numb and rotate.
 
And since edge is singing the greater part of the new songs, that would leave room for bono to act out characters while singing opera, kinda like a two things going on at once setup.

Imagine a rock-opera tour record. With that vertigo tour discoteque trippy guitar sound mixed with a crunchy achtung type guitar. complete with 'your suggestion here' for the rythym section. And 'your suggestion here' for the theme.

Theyve adressed life on Atyclb and theyve addressed death on htdaab. whats left? How about life after death?
 
What would be interesting is if U2 made a theatrical musical album... not sure if any rock band has done something like that before. Imagine the live shows (loosely-similar to Broadway plays, but still a true rock show). It'd be a whole new kind of ZooTV - for the 21st century :drool:
 
Some of you have hit on it - the main issue is Bono not dedicating himself to the band aside from the tours. His songwriting is often half-assed in the post-2000 era. I won't list all the clunkers, but they nearly equal the number of gems.

Edge needs to get more going with the sounds. Really, the last HOLY CRAP u2 rapture moment ( for me) on vinyl was the solo in When I Look At The World. HTDAAB has nothing but crunching riffs and 80s chimes.

Edge on lead vocal should happen twice as often as it does - just give us 1 Edge song per album, all I ask. He just lacks the rock god ego to step up and do this, so I won't hold my breath...


I feel the choice of producer does make a difference. Having 4-5 of them is a bad sign. It's a miracle Bomb was not a total Charlie Foxtrot, merely mediocre. Maybe Rick Rubin? Do something new and ride it out all the way.
 
Nothing U2 could conjure would be good enough for the more poisonous members here;)


Anyway, I think an album of pure rock and roll, stripped down, tons of songs, would potentially be amazing..If theres a criticism I have of 2000-era U2, its that it doesn't sound like "four people in a room" its still very produced, there are still tons of ballads..I actually think an album in the vein I described could be amazing from them..imagine the songcraft of tunes like "Desire" "She's Mystery To Me" "Bullet the Blue Sky" etc. There have certainly been hints in U2's career that they could pull off such an album.
 
all 4 members get sex changes.


that would be pretty radical.:|



except for larry, he works either way.
 
just more Edge harmonies ON THE ALBUM

that would have made the last two albums that much better.

the Walk On harmonies are my favorite part of that entire album.

of course they are barely audible in the revisionist history single version, which does add the excellent hallelujahs, but that was such a beautiful part I can't belevie they botched it.

COBL has tremendous harmonies live, yet on the album they barely surface. All Because of You needed some harmonies as well during the chorus. How about the. Crumbs chorus with Bono and Edge singing, among other possibilities. What's done is done, I just hope for the next album they TRULY rediscover Edge's voice.

It's like having a kick ass instrument on the shelf, ready to go, ready to improve the sound and just saying eh, leave it. I blame the producers mostly

U2 needs to be pushed in that direction, somebody needs to have the balls to say to the band that the vocals need the harmonies because Bono doesn't want to sing into processed mikes anymore like the 90's and doesn't have the powerful voice that he had in the 80's. It sounds more full and more interesting than what has become Bono's half/speak/talk during the verses and the choruses are almost anti-climatic in several cases.

I really think it's the best weapon they aren't using enough in the studio. Think about The Beatles and think about Queen, and hw many songs drop off in depth if you subtract the harmonies. In this case, I am saying some songs would really benefit. Not through the whole song, mind you, but to bring changes to the songs that seem to float along without much dynamic.
 
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U2DMfan said:
just more Edge harmonies ON THE ALBUM

that would have made the last two albums that much better.

the Walk On harmonies are my favorite part of that entire album.

of course they are barely audible in the revisionist history single version, which does add the excellent hallelujahs, but that was such a beautiful part I can't belevie they botched it.

COBL has tremendous harmonies live, yet on the album they barely surface. All Because of You needed some harmonies as well during the chorus. How about the. Crumbs chorus with Bono and Edge singing, among other possibilities. What's done is done, I just hope for the next album they TRULY rediscover Edge's voice.

It's like having a kick ass instrument on the shelf, ready to go, ready to improve the sound and just saying eh, leave it. I blame the producers mostly

U2 needs to be pushed in that direction, somebody needs to have the balls to say to the band that the vocals need the harmonies because Bono doesn't want to sing into processed mikes anymore like the 90's and doesn't have the powerful voice that he had in the 80's. It sounds more full and more interesting than what has become Bono's half/speak/talk during the verses and the choruses are almost anti-climatic in several cases.

I really think it's the best weapon they aren't using enough in the studio. Think about The Beatles and think about Queen, and hw many songs drop off in depth if you subtract the harmonies. In this case, I am saying some songs would really benefit. Not through the whole song, mind you, but to bring changes to the songs that seem to float along without much dynamic.

:up:
 
The biggest thing in my mind is that they need to start exploring 'sounds' again. The thing that made U2 so special for the bulk of their career was that they always sounded like nothing you had ever heard before. Edge would make sounds with his guitar that would have you thinking, 'guitars don't make sounds like that'. Think NYD. Think Wire. Think Bad. Think Bullet. Think WOWY. Think God Part II. Think all of AB(especially the riffs of Zoo Station and The Fly and MW and UV). Think all of Zooropa(especially the intro to Zooropa/Babyface, the middle 8 of Numb, all of Lemon, all of Daddy). Think Disco/DYFL/Mofo/If God. Think of When I Look At The World. Etc. And Bono would do all sorts of things with his voice - he'd distort it(Zoo Station, The Fly, Discotheque), he'd sing in whispers and hushes(Velvet Dress, Wake Up Dead Man), he'd sing with a country twang(Trip Through You Wires, Desire, Love Rescue Me, Jesus Christ), he'd sing like a standards singer(Love Is Blindness, Two Shots Of Happy One Shot Of Sad, Jools Holland version of Velvet Dress), he'd sing with skillfully restrained emotion(Please, North And South Of The River), and as we know, he can even *almost* do opera sometimes. And Adam and Larry would always 'explore sounds' in their own way too. That was what made U2 so fucking great. And they are still totally capable of it, there is no doubt in my mind.

Honestly, they need to listen to Miracle Drug and - no offense to those who like MD(it does have its moments) - do everything in their power to make the exact opposite of it. I mean, the idea of 'U2 sounding like U2' was good(genuinly good) for one album, but it got stale. The riffs from Walk On, Electrical Storm, and Crumbs, are almost like variations of the same thing! The riff was great on Walk On, but should it be used over and over like that(even if it's not the exact same thing)? Whereas ATYCLB was a good record and, contrary to popular belief, an exploration of new sounds in its own right(poppy sounds), HTDAAB sounds, at some points, stale. Stale, but inconsistant. For, on the same record as songs like MD, COBL(good but doesn't have the magic for me), ABOY, Crumbs, and Yahweh(although Yahweh is outstanding acoustically live), are songs like Love And Peace Or Else, A Man And A Woman, One Step Closer, Original Of The Species, and Fast Cars, which are clear indicators to me(especially Fast Cars), that U2 are still very much capable of exploring sounds and making music that sounds like nothing you've ever heard before.

I just think they need to do a better job of focusing on making an ALBUM and putting everything they have into it, and making sure that all band members are around all the time. Honestly, I think the four of them and whichever producer they choose(It doesn't matter to me as long as they pick 1-3 producers and stick with them the whole way through, and as long as one of them isn't Lillywhite) should pick a city to go to, hide away in, and make this record. I believe ATYCLB and HTDAAB have been recorded in Dublin....I think recording close to home offers itself more easily to distractions, and that it would serve them well, musically, to record away from home(Achtung was recorded in large part in Berlin, and Pop was recorded in Miami). So just pick a city - Paris, New Dheli, Rome, Istanbul, Johannesberg, Baja California or just below the Mexican border, Montreal, I don't care - and go there, and stay there for a month or two, and put everything you have into exploring new sounds, blowing your own minds, and putting everything you have into a new album with a theme running through it - make it a rock opera, more make it an all-acoustic album(seriously), make it an electronica album, make it a trippy/psychedelic album, I don't care, just make an album whose first impression on people is something other than 'U2 sounding like U2', and where you do everything you can to avoid using Edge's chimes, Bono's standard 'soaring' vocal style, the U2 'sound'.

That's my two cents anyway.
 
namkcuR said:
That's my two cents anyway. [/B]

bravo! :applaud:

really well said, when I see emails like that I just wish there was some 'automatic post' button to send it directly to the band. Earnie Shavers is usually the other person that makes me want to reach for it. but seriously, you hit the nail on the head.

I just cant help being concerned with how much they seem to crave commercial success at the moment. Even saying this, I'm contradicting myself, because I love it that they're still the biggest band in the world. But, they seem to equate that with watered-down easy-to-digest 4 minute pop songs that are the musical equivolent of a childs teddy-bear.

I think thats why people went so crazy for Mercy, its a great song, but not the pinnacle that people seem to preach it as. What was exciting about Mercy was the scope. It showed that they're still interested in unconventional song structures and narratives. It sprawled like it could go on forever, that the possibilities were endless. And thats what U2 used to specialise in: like you said, they sounded utterly unique. Not just because they were U2, but because they kept defying your expectations of what U2 were...

God I love(d) that about them......and like you said, I know they can do it again. If anything, they're even MORE capable now than ever before. The way they mutate their music live shows how utterly creative they are.....changing Bullet from a aural carnage to a blues lament....i mean, watch that on the Chicago DVD, and listen to what Edge does to the second half of that song...at first I thought it sucked, now I cant stop listening to it....the sheer atmosphere of it is incredible. I also didnt like the new Zoostation when I first heard it, now I think its incredible....and need I mention Discotheque? even the texture edge used at the start of One at Live 8 while bono spoke..and how he OBLITERATES Electric co...these guys are at the top of their game.

all they need is the balls to use it.

my 2 cents. :|
 
Sounds like a plan to me. I would be all about them doing a new Zooropa, only a 21st century version. Call it Zoostralia. ;)
 
A couple of good haircuts in the group (you know who they are), some degreaser, and I AM GOOD!!!!! I love the "no flash" style!
 
namkcuR said:

That's my two cents anyway.


Absolutely, even though I do like both Bomb and ATYCLB, you're totally right.

It's what's kept U2 at the top for so many years.
 
namkcuR said:
And Bono would do all sorts of things with his voice - he'd distort it(Zoo Station, The Fly, Discotheque), he'd sing in whispers and hushes(Velvet Dress, Wake Up Dead Man), he'd sing with a country twang(Trip Through You Wires, Desire, Love Rescue Me, Jesus Christ), he'd sing like a standards singer(Love Is Blindness, Two Shots Of Happy One Shot Of Sad, Jools Holland version of Velvet Dress), he'd sing with skillfully restrained emotion(Please, North And South Of The River), and as we know, he can even *almost* do opera sometimes.

You're whole post is great, and I especially agree with this part. One of the things I loved about the 90's work, album tracks and non, was the way Bono used his voice. Perhaps the hushed tones (which, as someone of the female persuasion makes me :drool: ) were used to cover up a weak voice which has since grown stronger. That doesn't mean he can still experiment though.

What can be so maddening is that after hearing Fast Cars I've come to the realization that U2 are perhaps playing it safe intentionally for the albums. That they have the power to go somewhere new (and to be fair, I think a lot of ATYCLB, as much as it isn't my thing, did go off on a pop route that they had never explored before) AND are musically/vocally as tight as they ever have been and not putting out a greater amount of work and more experimental work proves to me that they may be very afraid of failure. Popmart put them in a place they never want to go back to, and that's a shame.
 
namkcuR hit the nail on the fucking head, as usual!!! Great post! :up:

And Lemonfix, I agree about what you're saying about Mercy. It grabbed everyone's attention cos it sounded different. Not the stereotypical Edge chimes and delayed guitar with Bono's soaring vocals.

They've got to start making exciting music again and as namkcuR said, make a real 'album', a concept!
 
5 eggs, a cabbage and 2 burritos. extra cheese.

i've 8 posts yet? yes
time post z thread.
 
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