the tourist
Blue Crack Addict
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2003
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Now, I fully understand if most of you are ready to draw and quarter me after I post this. But what if U2 hadn't decided to go and completely dream it up again? What if they had just taken the sound of Lovetown and pushed it one step toward where Achtung Baby went, and not gone the whole way? What if Achtung Baby was a natural seque from Lovetown with bits of electronic added in, instead of something completely different? And then if Zooropa was the natural progression from that alternate Achtung Baby?
Here's how I see how it could have worked:
Lovetown'd version of Achtung Baby:
(all guitars sounding like Lovetown guitars, tonewise, and without any modulation--delay, reverb and tremelo, however, are used extensively on the guitars)
01. Zoo Station (with a big organ intro and with a solid All Along The Watchtower-esque beat)
02. The Fly (with less "dancy" drums, but more "pounding-away" drums)*
03. Until The End Of The World (with God Part II-esque drums)*
04. She's Gonna Blow Your House Down (a much refined version from Salome tapes)
05. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses? (close to the Temple Bar version)
06. Mysterious Ways (with a Desire vibe to it)*
07. She's A Mystery Girl (with a Dancing Barefoot vibe to it)
08. Wild Irish Rose (a somewhat refined version of what we've heard)
09. One (with a much more grand, important, urgent With Or Without You sense to it)*
10. Ultraviolet (with better lyrics and Where The Streets Have No Name drums)
11. Acrobat (just as it is, but with better production)
12. Love Is Blindness (with a better outro)
*singles
all with a bit more poetic/Lovetown'd lyrics.
This would be my favourite U2 album.
In a natural progression world pt. 2: ZOOROPA
(all guitars sounding like Lovetown guitars, tonewise, and with no modulation--only the "sparkly" pitch shift sound as used in HMTMKMKM, and on songs like Slug and When I Look At The World's solo)
01. Zooropa (not quite so muddled, still just as ethereal)
02. Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me (exactly as it is)*
03. Some Days Are Better Than Others (with all real drums which are both creative and solid and without the random digital shit going on in the background, but with a layer of All I Want Is You-esque keyboards, and a layer of Always Forever Now-esque keyboards--oh and better lyrics)
04. The First Time (exactly as it is except for better quality production--very Running To Stand Still)
05. Stay (like With Or Without You and One--with a much more grand, important, urgent sense to it)*
06. Where Did It All Go Wrong? (a refined, Lovetown'd version of what we have)
07. Even Better Than The Real Thing (straight up ballsy rock with another All Along The Watchtower beat)*
08. Numb (with both electronic drums and real drums, the real drums played furiously like in Race Against Time)
09. Lemon (sung in full voice, not falsetto, and with guitar added, both rhythm and lead)*
10. Dirty Day (exactly like how it was done on ZooTV)
11. Slow Dancing (darker than the two versions we've heard--a sinister bit of Exit involved)
12. The Wanderer (the darkest song yet done by U2, musically more similar to Mothers Of The Disappeared and Love Is Blindness)
*singles
This would probably be in my top 4 U2 albums.
Here's how I see how it could have worked:
Lovetown'd version of Achtung Baby:
(all guitars sounding like Lovetown guitars, tonewise, and without any modulation--delay, reverb and tremelo, however, are used extensively on the guitars)
01. Zoo Station (with a big organ intro and with a solid All Along The Watchtower-esque beat)
02. The Fly (with less "dancy" drums, but more "pounding-away" drums)*
03. Until The End Of The World (with God Part II-esque drums)*
04. She's Gonna Blow Your House Down (a much refined version from Salome tapes)
05. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses? (close to the Temple Bar version)
06. Mysterious Ways (with a Desire vibe to it)*
07. She's A Mystery Girl (with a Dancing Barefoot vibe to it)
08. Wild Irish Rose (a somewhat refined version of what we've heard)
09. One (with a much more grand, important, urgent With Or Without You sense to it)*
10. Ultraviolet (with better lyrics and Where The Streets Have No Name drums)
11. Acrobat (just as it is, but with better production)
12. Love Is Blindness (with a better outro)
*singles
all with a bit more poetic/Lovetown'd lyrics.
This would be my favourite U2 album.
In a natural progression world pt. 2: ZOOROPA
(all guitars sounding like Lovetown guitars, tonewise, and with no modulation--only the "sparkly" pitch shift sound as used in HMTMKMKM, and on songs like Slug and When I Look At The World's solo)
01. Zooropa (not quite so muddled, still just as ethereal)
02. Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me (exactly as it is)*
03. Some Days Are Better Than Others (with all real drums which are both creative and solid and without the random digital shit going on in the background, but with a layer of All I Want Is You-esque keyboards, and a layer of Always Forever Now-esque keyboards--oh and better lyrics)
04. The First Time (exactly as it is except for better quality production--very Running To Stand Still)
05. Stay (like With Or Without You and One--with a much more grand, important, urgent sense to it)*
06. Where Did It All Go Wrong? (a refined, Lovetown'd version of what we have)
07. Even Better Than The Real Thing (straight up ballsy rock with another All Along The Watchtower beat)*
08. Numb (with both electronic drums and real drums, the real drums played furiously like in Race Against Time)
09. Lemon (sung in full voice, not falsetto, and with guitar added, both rhythm and lead)*
10. Dirty Day (exactly like how it was done on ZooTV)
11. Slow Dancing (darker than the two versions we've heard--a sinister bit of Exit involved)
12. The Wanderer (the darkest song yet done by U2, musically more similar to Mothers Of The Disappeared and Love Is Blindness)
*singles
This would probably be in my top 4 U2 albums.