NLOTH 2 First Single?
I really like this reasoning alot! U2 definitely needed to do something that was more in "keeping with the times" in terms of releasing music and catching peoples attention. I could not agree more on your choice of Moment of Surrender for this "accidental on purpose leak."
Count me among those who are shocked that Magnificent did not take off, maybe it was just too "U2" which is not a problem in a different context than the run up to NLOTH. Let me explain- ATYCLB and Bomb were kind of expected to be the straightforward, return to U2 by numbers that we were used to. Bono, Edge, Larry, Adam, Eno and Lanois ALL talked this album up as a major departure, of the order from JT>AB, blah blah blah, as we know.
Maybe when the album dropped, radio said Boots, Magnificent, well that's Vertigo and Pride updated, wtf is with that? Simplistic view, but probably not far from their thinking. After what they had heard hyped, they did not take too well to Boots or Magnificent.
So this just popped into my head a couple of days ago: What if U2 had released NLOTH 2 as the first single? Unlike the album version, which builds for a bit, brings the intensity level up and down and takes some getting used to, it catches you immediately and blasts all the way through. Along the way, there are ace performances turned in from Larry and especially Adam.
It is catchy, but not in the way that U2 standards like BD and Vertigo are catchy. It clearly says "we are changing directions" and it has a modern sound. There are some things I would change- I would definitely include "time is irrelevant, its not linear in there," but overall, there is not even a hint of the cheesy lyrics that are present in Boots.
Catchy, clear signal of a departure, good lyrics, strong guitar and bass performances, great drumming and to top it all off its the title track. "No Line on the Horizon" screamed over and over would have ensured no one forgot the name of the first single or the album!
Don't get me wrong, I think the album version is better overall, but it takes a while to grow on you. I don't know how you could release a non album track as the first single, so you would have to find a place for NLOTH 2 on the album. Maybe between Breathe and Cedars? UC and CT? I think the intro would sound great after the UC ending solo!
I think this, combined with Earnie Shavers' MOS suggestion, would have had a better chance at promoting and selling NLOTH than Boots or Magnificent did.
I definitely don’t think they should have released MoS as the first single. Maybe Magnificent, but to be honest, I don’t think there’s any potentially earthshaking single on there, and I think U2 are probably beyond having them, to be honest.
What I do think they should have done is let MoS ‘leak’ out there as the first song to be heard from the new album, before Boots, but with no hype at all. It wouldn’t be something that’s going to get picked up by radio as BIG NEW U2 SINGLE! but something that’s going to get passed around and talked about all over music forums and blogs the world over. That would have gotten them a far, far better initial reaction from a more… shall we say… discerning music buyer.
I don’t mean that a cool/hipster/whatever crowd is important, I just mean the first wider buzz would have been very different. I think if MoS were the first thing to be heard, it would have given pause to the haters, whereas Boots was a quick one to shoot down as more of the same Bomb-esque stuff. Reading around the internets when it came out, it was immediately clear it was a tanker, and that does set up the album for a fall. MoS would have been undeniable as at least, if not considered great by absolutely everyone, a sign that deeper, more interesting things were coming from Camp U2.
I really like this reasoning alot! U2 definitely needed to do something that was more in "keeping with the times" in terms of releasing music and catching peoples attention. I could not agree more on your choice of Moment of Surrender for this "accidental on purpose leak."
Count me among those who are shocked that Magnificent did not take off, maybe it was just too "U2" which is not a problem in a different context than the run up to NLOTH. Let me explain- ATYCLB and Bomb were kind of expected to be the straightforward, return to U2 by numbers that we were used to. Bono, Edge, Larry, Adam, Eno and Lanois ALL talked this album up as a major departure, of the order from JT>AB, blah blah blah, as we know.
Maybe when the album dropped, radio said Boots, Magnificent, well that's Vertigo and Pride updated, wtf is with that? Simplistic view, but probably not far from their thinking. After what they had heard hyped, they did not take too well to Boots or Magnificent.
So this just popped into my head a couple of days ago: What if U2 had released NLOTH 2 as the first single? Unlike the album version, which builds for a bit, brings the intensity level up and down and takes some getting used to, it catches you immediately and blasts all the way through. Along the way, there are ace performances turned in from Larry and especially Adam.
It is catchy, but not in the way that U2 standards like BD and Vertigo are catchy. It clearly says "we are changing directions" and it has a modern sound. There are some things I would change- I would definitely include "time is irrelevant, its not linear in there," but overall, there is not even a hint of the cheesy lyrics that are present in Boots.
Catchy, clear signal of a departure, good lyrics, strong guitar and bass performances, great drumming and to top it all off its the title track. "No Line on the Horizon" screamed over and over would have ensured no one forgot the name of the first single or the album!
Don't get me wrong, I think the album version is better overall, but it takes a while to grow on you. I don't know how you could release a non album track as the first single, so you would have to find a place for NLOTH 2 on the album. Maybe between Breathe and Cedars? UC and CT? I think the intro would sound great after the UC ending solo!
I think this, combined with Earnie Shavers' MOS suggestion, would have had a better chance at promoting and selling NLOTH than Boots or Magnificent did.