What U2 Should Have Done

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DPrinceNY said:


Wow I don't think so. Mercy is a more interesting track then WITS. Its not as simple with a 3 part chorus and sounds a lot more original. Besides the theme of "love" runs through both tracks, with Mercy conveying this theme with more strength.
Okay so the poster you quoted made an excellent point, and you replied with two things that have absolutely nothing to do with what makes a song a great single.

As for this entire thread

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I just added an entry to the frequently posted thread thing. I can't believe we forget Mercy.
 
I think the difference between the beach clip version of WITS and the album version of WITS is enough to show that a well-produced and refined version of Mercy has the potential to be really great.

Can any of you imagine what we would think if we heard Mercy playing from bono's Eze patio the way we heard the beach clips this summer....the kind of hype and excitement for that song would be 100x what All My Life got.

(ps. i know someone is going to bring up that a "well-produced and refined version of Mercy" means it would be bad because U2 always waters down the rough brilliance of their songs. I meant more along the lines of getting rid of the static and buzz, refining the vocals etc. NOT the kind of Native Son vs. Vertigo production)
 
The sad thing here is as soon as Mercy is released people here will pan it for being a Bad/All I Want Is You ripoff. They complain about "the horrible lyrics", the "weak guitar" and everything else in between.

I say it's better left to the box set, if and when we get that.
 
Reggie Thee Dog said:
The sad thing here is as soon as Mercy is released people here will pan it for being a Bad/All I Want Is You ripoff. They complain about "the horrible lyrics", the "weak guitar" and everything else in between.

I say it's better left to the box set, if and when we get that.

people will complain about the new song no matter what it is. WITS is "repetitive" and "a Beatles knockoff" with "cheesy lyrics"

you can't please 'em all :shrug:
 
Mercy has been released.

Through illicet means, but it's out there.

It's on our computers and our burned CDs.

Stop talking about how "you hope it will be released" and go listen to it.
 
Chizip said:


its a time like this when i wish i had never learned to read


Based on the content of most of your posts, I assumed you never did.

:sexywink:

WITS is a catchy single *perfect* for a "Best Of" type of album as it's really a light fluffy throw-away song.

"Mercy" is not a single in any context of the word. If songs like "Elevation" and "All Because of You" and "Walk On" and "Sometimes" have trouble on the U.S. charts, "Mercy" wouldn't have a chance. But it has the potential to be a fantastic album track and maybe do well in concert, if it's tweaked just a bit.

That said, I still feel that if "Mercy" - just as the song is now - replaced "A Man and a Woman" and/or "One Step Closer", HTDAAB would have been a far better album. Those two songs really drag down the album. Of course, I feel that there are at least 2 songs that drag down every U2 album, so what do I know? :scratch:
 
Mercy would never be a hit single these days- but it would probably be the MOST popular single among U2 fans, especially if it was played right Live.

I see it being a GIANT request at concerts like "BAD" is now.
 
dazzlingamy said:
Now where are these beach songs people keep talking about? where are they from and what are they?

Well, basically, in July (or was it June?) this year, Bono was playing some U2 demos rather loudly at his beach house in southern France. A fan outside recorded them and posted them online. If you imagine that the quality of such recordings isn't quite spectacular, you would be right.
 
elevateandy said:
Mercy would never be a hit single these days- but it would probably be the MOST popular single among U2 fans, especially if it was played right Live.
if I had to choose between going to a U2 concert where "u2 fans" put together the setlist or a u2 concert where no "u2 fan" could go to I would happily choose the latter
 
Don't almost all the hardcore fans owned "Tower Of Song", "Miss Sarajevo" (live), OOTS (live) and many other before the official release? Why can't Mercy be released, at least as a b-side? I'm sure it's be the bestseller and the most popular due to its history.
 
I think Mercy is a fan favourite because it is a virtual orgasm for people who love a certain type of U2 song, and that's also what divides this forum in half over it. A commercial hit it would not be though, and for those outside of the hardcore fan category, it wouldn't represent a certain type of U2 song, but would simply magnify a certain stereotype of U2.
 
The lyrics on Mercy suck, reminds me of the lameness of All Because of You. I hope it doesnt see the light of day.

When you look at the amazing lyrical work of the past: One Tree Hill, Running to Stand Still, One, Stay, etc. Mercy just doesnt cut it.
 
bono_man said:
The lyrics on Mercy suck, reminds me of the lameness of All Because of You. I hope it doesnt see the light of day.

When you look at the amazing lyrical work of the past: One Tree Hill, Running to Stand Still, One, Stay, etc. Mercy just doesnt cut it.

The lyrics of Mercy suck? They are very Achtung Baby- think of WGRYWH or Ultraviolet - same type of lyrical writing.
 
WITS is a great track for the compilation.

its a fine tune. i hope they add it as a bonus track on the next album as well. might as well, throwing a song on the end of a 11-track album can't hurt, who cares...just like "ground beneath her feet" on ATYCLB.
 
RademR said:

its a fine tune. i hope they add it as a bonus track on the next album as well. might as well, throwing a song on the end of a 11-track album can't hurt, who cares...just like "ground beneath her feet" on ATYCLB.

yeah, having it be a bonus track may be the best way to go. that way it gets official release so the people that like it are happy but it's not taking up space on the regular album tracklisting so the people who don't like it are happy.
 
Mercy is good but not a single. It has too many problems - The overly repetitive screechy guitar part at the start, the melody not quite being squeezed out enough in the verse. Still great though.

Window in the Skies is just damn catchy, although still has a bit too much repitition, the chorus is played far too often! But I do like the song very much.
 
bugo said:
Mercy is good but not a single. It has too many problems - The overly repetitive screechy guitar part at the start, the melody not quite being squeezed out enough in the verse. Still great though.

Window in the Skies is just damn catchy, although still has a bit too much repitition, the chorus is played far too often! But I do like the song very much.

Mercy is not a "melody-based" song, that's why the verse has so much of melody as Zoo Station.
In the other hand, I think that the "screechy guitar" fits well in the song since it's a song based in riffs and not in melody, and it's a good way to start and to finish the song, or even to make transport to/from another song.
 
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