The Club Album - Will.I.Am

[mrex]

I'm not "worried" about the club album. I think that it might actually be interesting to hear the band just play and riff and groove for long periods without having to come up with...songs.

Actually, I imagine "Stingray Guitar" could be on the "club" album. That sort of sound would be great.

 

[Edge31]

Didn't Will.I.am help co produce the album version of "Crazy Tonight.." on NLOTH? That wasn't even the remixed version that they perform live. I don't think that this rumored dance album will sound exactly like the Black Eyed Peas or anything. It will still be U2.

After Zooropa, Pop, and all those awesome remixes it's obvious that U2 has a presence in the clubs around the world. This isn't anything new for the band. The "Crazy Tonight.." remix is awesome, and there's still live instrumentation on it.

I personally would like them to continue what was started for the "Crazy Tonight.." remix for this dance album, and add a Depeche Mode sound on things. I think that would go over really big.

Cheers!

 

[iota]

This coming from the person that said playing new songs on tour shows "a lack of courage".

But keep up the rehashed based on nothing complaints

Yes, I probably did say that...and it's true. If you have all those songs...release them. Do something with them. Especially after promising the fans new albums 4 or 5 seperate times. Playing them live and then hiding behind..."it's not finished" is a lack of courage. Do you interpret the last 2 years as particularly a courageous epoch for U2? If so why and give real life examples.

"Rehashed complaints based on nothing." I actually gave examples of what I based my disappointment on in my post...and I'm not in the minority. I haven't heard anyone over the moon about Will.I.Am (the most annoying name to type EVER) being linked w/ U2 as a producer.

See? There, I did it again. Avoided the ad hominem and discussed the actual topic.

 

[BVS]

Yes, I probably did say that...and it's true. If you have all those songs...release them. Do something with them. Especially after promising the fans new albums 4 or 5 seperate times. Playing them live and then hiding behind..."it's not finished" is a lack of courage. Do you interpret the last 2 years as particularly a courageous epoch for U2? If so why and give real life examples.

Bands have been road testing songs for decades, just recently Radiohead and PJ just to name a few. It's fairly new for U2 for they haven't done such a thing in decades... most would call that stepping out of their comfort zone. There was no "hiding behind" it, that's just your line of BS.

...and I'm not in the minority. I haven't heard anyone over the moon about Will.I.Am (the most annoying name to type EVER) being linked w/ U2 as a producer.

That's not the part of the post I'm talking about it was everything else. Bono didn't say they were going for the sound of the 90's remixes, there have been no real reports of rifts or even contradicting each other, having several different directions does not always mean no sense of direction for an artist. So you purposely misinterpret just in order to feed some frustration, you've done this since day one.

 

[ascender_RS]

Any mention of Bill being involved with U2 over the last while was met with cries of derision, whether it was for his producing work or playing with them or one of the many rumours. U2 are in a very unique position of having been going for over 3 decades now and still releasing music which is "relevant", so I don't think this kind of thing reeks of older rock stars desperately trying to be cool again. I also think it will be interesting to see what Bill can bring to the table so to speak.

One accusation levelled at U2 a lot recently is that they over-think (and produce) stuff, particularly while working with Eno, Lanois and Lilywhite. Surely anything or anyone who can maybe get them to work in a different way or bring a freshness to their sound is a good thing?

Those of us who've been around a while know to take the band's comments with a massive pinch of salt, particularly when it comes to how new music is sounding, particularly anything suggesting they've gone dance or what Edge's playing is like. But for me one of the most exciting times to be a U2 fan was the Achtung Baby/Pop era, where they did embrace new sounds and rhythms, not to mention some great remixes.

I know people can be quick to write off any collaboration with someone they maybe don't like (for whatever reason, personal or their music), but I think its something to be encouraged and be excited about. Not sure I understand the negativity given we've not heard a note of a single song, or got any sort of confirmation that we'll ever hear what happens anyway.

 

[corianderstem]

Will.I.Am (the most annoying name to type EVER) being linked w/ U2 as a producer.

Just call him William without the punctuation.

 

[U2girl]

Yeah, but that's the thing. Bono said that they were going for the sound of their 90's remixes. I know it doesn't mean much when Bono flaps his gums anymore but unfortunately that's all we have to go on. Of course every member of the band contradicts each other whenever they say anything - not a good sign. So putting it all together we have a very underwhelming premise (trying to recapture the 90's), no clear sense of direction, internal rifts in the band and a producer now that has nothing to offer but mediocrity. I hope I'm wrong but this is the same nightmare all over again; are we going to get another hybrid of 3 different sessions thrown together on one album? (SOA, DM and Hack.I.Am)? It's the same slow motion train wreck every time...

The 90's is just a vague reference. I would like a *club* album from U2, but I'm thinking more along the lines of U2 working with a good hip hop producer, not (yet again) more dance music...or another stripped down rock album.

It would appear they do have a direction now, with Danger Mouse producing one album. Will.I.AM and Guetta on the other, the club album. Spiderman being nowhere since Larry and Adam won't sign on it. And no one really knows about SOA. But no, they are not throwing all those things into a blender.

Internal riffs in the band ? Really ?



Interesting thoughts about newspaper lines tanking the "ultimate U2 rock album" Pop.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

 

[nielsgov]

Don't. Do. It.

 

[Inner El Guapo]

Pop was similar in that one comment/quote/article generates a thousand others. It kind of became a bit of a given. So even a little blurb about coming releases would be something like March: U2 releasing a new 'dance' album. sort of thing. And that, obviously, didn't seem like too much of a stretch given the path they seemed to be on leading into it. It was just the expectation for a long time. Pop had a LOT of hype and expectation too. A lot of attention was paid to it. Zooropa was easily seen as a smaller bit of fun on the side, Passengers pretty much ignored, and Pop seen more as the rightful big 'proper' follow up to Achtung.

You'd have to agree that the media climate of 1996 (when POP was being recorded) is a hell of a lot different than 2010. And one major publication in 1996 could stir the WHOLE pile of shit.

Whereas these days, the information (while much more easily disseminated) is probably too diluted for such bloated/distorted hype to have the same effect. I do get the spirit of what you're saying...I just think those who aren't willing to entertain U2 anymore, simply aren't.
Doesn't much matter what their creative choices are or are said to be.

It would appear they do have a direction now, with Danger Mouse producing one album. Will.I.AM and Guetta on the other, the club album. Spiderman being nowhere since Larry and Adam won't sign on it. And no one really knows about SOA. But no, they are not throwing all those things into a blender.

They aren't at the moment. But they surely will.

You're telling me they'll find 10 or more "club" sounding songs for its own project? This from a band that needed a solid 2+ years with two primary producers (also with additional producers as well) to produce what amounted to about 15 songs in the end.

or on NLOTH, they had two primary producers, (with additional exploratory work with a third) and close to two more years in the studio to produce about the same amount of songs...

And now we suddenly believe that U2 is prolific...because why?
Because they say they are? Because they want to be?

U2 is all of sudden going to trust the ears of these three 'young guns' to turn lose of more than an album worth of material? When it takes them YEARS to produce a single album working in the BIGGEST COMFORT ZONE imaginable (Eno/Lanois)?

Look, I hope you're right. But some of you should know better...

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Interesting thoughts about newspaper lines tanking the "ultimate U2 rock album" Pop.

I didn’t say that newspaper lines ‘tanked’ Pop, just that a similar off-base perception went around like wild fire, and became a factor (one of several factors – but that’s for another thread, one that is on schedule to reappear pretty soon I guess.) “U2 Working on Hip-Hop Album” is obviously not the case. But if that gets picked up and run with for a while… And that’s what happened with Pop. The “U2 Making a Techno Album” thing was everywhere to the point of becoming an assumption. To the point where even most clued up U2 fans seemed to think that might be what was coming. In the end, obviously, we did not get anything near a U2 dance/techno album, but yet still today you hear that assumption echoing around. "Pop, the U2 Does Dance Album? That's the one I don't own."

Inner El Guapo - agreed, different times, don't think it would happen now. Just pointing out the similarity.

 

[TheEdge_92]

I wonder if they release a club/dance album, will they play it live? like the did with the "crazy" remix. Would be cool, dont you think?

 

[dan_smee]

^ I actually think that the timing is excellent to get it out quickly BECAUSE they don't have to tyour it. The clubs playing the songs and coming off 360 will be enough.

If they get DM out before the US leg, and the clbu album just after the tour, this will be a nice productive period, they coulkd then put out their versions of spidey, and they have set sthemselves up for big run at wehatever is next for them

 

[TheEdge_92]

Yeah but the whole dance sounding music, being performed live would sound and look cool, just like "crazy tonight".

 

[Rachel D.]

I cannot stand BEP and the thought of U2 even being in the same room as them makes me shudder. But, that doesn't mean that if they work with Will.I.Am that the music will be horrible or as shallow as BEP music. I never have been that excited about U2 making a club album, though; all that pulsating repetitive stuff is really annoying and I hope it doesn't sound that way. My expectations are officially very, very low for the U2 club album; I am prepared to be surprised by it, though.

 

[TheEdge_92]

I too dislike BEP and that type off music, but its always good for a band to expand their genre. So i am actually looking forward to the prospect off this album.

Nothing worse than a band sounding the same on every album, i.e. greenday. Every album sounds the same and is so boring to listen too.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I don't think a U2 club album would actually be that kind of actual wholly electro, somewhat repetitive, pulsating thing. I've said this two dozen times before, but, think a U2 song meeting it's remix halfway. Take the album version of Magnificent, and, say, the Adam K Club Mix of Magnificent. Somewhere between the two. Jumped up, electro, oonts-ish, but with the structure of a rock song, and clearly U2 hand playing at least the key parts.

If you don't know it, look up a song like The Bravery's 'Honest Mistake' on You Tube (I'm lazy.) Too jumped up for U2, and not their style, but that's what I think they are probably thinking: Dance floor ready rock that needs no remix. The new Vertigo will be one you can dance too. But it will still, mostly, just be the new Vertigo.

I would think the Crazy Tonight Remix would be about as extreme as it might possibly get. And they would like it to be a whole album. Even within the loose genre (electro-rock) there's still a lot of room there. It would be, or could be, just as wide as any U2 album: Jumped up energetic singles, some slower and more heavy, some light and mellow... easy.

My only worry/beef with Will.i.am might be that it ends up too poppy.

 

[Jamescorymiko]

Another tidbit?

Facing foreclosure? Call Will.i.am! – The Marquee Blog - CNN.com Blogs

Facing foreclosure? Call Will.i.am!
In an effort to fight his country’s current housing crisis, Will.i.am is taking the matter into his own hands.

In an interview with U.K. newspaper “The Sun,” the Black Eyed Peas frontman, born William Adams, talked about his mortgage relief program called "i.am.home."

“I rescue families who are losing their homes because they have no jobs and they can’t pay the mortgage and the banks are foreclosing on their homes,” said the artist, who purchased a new home for his grandmother in 2009. “All the people we help are debt free, they don’t have to pay me back.”


Will.i.am cites his mother as the main source of inspiration for i.am home. “She’s supermom and also my best friend…She told me that, ‘No matter how successful you are, we are still struggling.' It’s those kinds of things that are like an ego smack – great reminders of where you are from and where you are in the world.”

Outside of charity, the super-producer, who has sold over 28 million records worldwide with group the Black Eyed Peas, also let the Sun in on some major music news: Will.i.am's currently producing the next album for the legendary international rock group, U2.

The man behind “My Humps” calls the collaboration a dream project and even has a few words for those who may think he’s too pop for U2.

“There’s only one type of music and that’s good music, no matter what genre it is,” he said. “Bono is one of those guys who sees it that way and there’s no right or wrong. There are no rules once you lift the veil off.”

Will even admits he’s gotten positive feedback on the new U2 disc from his celebrity peers.

“I went to Bono’s house for lunch and George Clooney and Cindy Crawford were there,” he recalled. “I played some of the songs we’d been working on together and everyone was blown away. They all left the finger food to come and hear.”

 

[Aygo]

I really really really hope that we're all just being mislead by all these information soundbytes and making wrong forecasts.

U2's career management has had several serious errors have hurt them and that can lead them to a similar (but even worse) reaction than the post-Pop one.

First, when I listen to the non-final versions that leaked (some of them shown on U2.com) of the NLOTH songs, I think: «WTF! So many missing opportunities». Yes, I love Magnificent and I like UC, but when I listen to those sessions and versions of these songs...
Then, the band dismisses Eno/Lanois advices of including songs like "Winter" (or eventually "Soon" and EBW), and brings again (!) Steve Lillywhite (we all remember HTDAAB's overproduction and cliché'd soundscapes) and... Will.I.Am (I still don't understand what did he added to CT)... And swap songs like these by CT and SUC, both some of the most uninteresting and poor songs ever recorded by U2... Ever.

360º. Many disagree, but I still think that this is the most uninspired and conceptually poor spectacle presented by U2 since 1992, relying on a exhuberant stage and adding a few show-off touches here and there to compensate it.
The "bonus" of this poisoned-gift is, CT. Not only CT already was one of U2's disposable songs, as well as they had to "play" it as a remix. A bad remix. And a bad performance. Probably the most cheesy moment of U2's touring history. I know 95% of the members disagree, but that's what I think.

After this, a whole idea for a conceptual and cohesive album (something that U2 never fully embraced - Passengers doesn't count) is slowly faded. Did U2 even tried to develop that promising idea? Most probably, we won't even know.

Months after this, we start to hear rumours of 4 very different projects all being cooked simultaneously. For many, this is U2 being prolific and very productive artistically, trying to explore several paths. For me, this (adding 360º's general idea - or lack of it) is a proof that U2 absolutely lost their way, that they're not focused in something particular that they can start from, and specially, the loss of their artistic vision (something that I already suspected many years ago).

The only good news in the middle of this mess was that Danger Mouse coming in. SOA was dead (I'm not seeing DM producing something similar to what most of we envisioned and associated to what SOA was going to be) but, at least, U2 were ready to leave their security blanket (Eno/Lanois and, pfeeww, Lillywhite) and try to work with someone new... Even if most of the songs were already conceived.

Now, Will.f******.Am is back... suposedly as the main producer for U2's next work. Is that the club album? Has Larry gave up on all this? Has U2 gave way to their artistic credibility and ready to release their effort that's similar to "The Time (Dirty Bit)" and, finally, have another Hot 100 #1 and beat JT's record sales?

All this in the middle of an era [the 360º era]?
Is 360º so big that it can "open its legs" to all kinds of concepts, albums, soundscapes, ideas?

In the end of this lament, I really hope that «Will.I.Am is the main producer for U2's next album» means that DM is producing the album and that Will.I.Am is only going to make the post-production and adding (not!) relevant elements to the song, the same way he didn't to Magnificent or CT.

Europop? I prefer the one I listened to in the 1990's: it was miles better than the s&%# that's made these days. Starting on BEP/Guetta/et al.

 

[gvox]

For the love of pete, I hope U2 never fucking reads these shitty threads.

 

[BVS]

x2

 

[purpleoscar]

U2 are aware of expectations and they know they are competing against themselves. Fans like to go into camps and pick favorite eras and then bash any that don't fit.

I think the main reason why hardcore U2 fans aren't as inspired with U2 now is because they've listened to the oldies so many times that they at anymore repetition. The casual fans of course are having a good time. It's true that the singles weren't done on NLOTH as well as they could have been and the long epic songs were much better but this album definitely competes with the best of them and blows any other band (old or new) out of the water. You can feel the passion in songs like NLOTH, Magnificent, MOS, UN, F-BB, Breathe. Those to me are GREAT. The rest are good. If you really compare U2 to other bands they are not making that many mistakes.

It's almost like drugs. The hardcore fans are tired of pot and now want to graduate to opium. Eventually the brain will tire of the same repetition and want a bigger high. Should the band now give the audience massages and head inbetween songs to make the experience even more mind"blowing"?

 

[iota]

You're telling me they'll find 10 or more "club" sounding songs for its own project? This from a band that needed a solid 2+ years with two primary producers (also with additional producers as well) to produce what amounted to about 15 songs in the end.

or on NLOTH, they had two primary producers, (with additional exploratory work with a third) and close to two more years in the studio to produce about the same amount of songs...

And now we suddenly believe that U2 is prolific...because why?
Because they say they are? Because they want to be?

U2 is all of sudden going to trust the ears of these three 'young guns' to turn lose of more than an album worth of material? When it takes them YEARS to produce a single album working in the BIGGEST COMFORT ZONE imaginable (Eno/Lanois)?

Look, I hope you're right. But some of you should know better...

The next album will be 11 songs. First third: Danger Mouse rock songs. 2nd third: Will.I.Am "singles" and last third will be SOA leftovers w/ Boy Falls From the Sky shoe-horned in there somewhere. It will flop and they'll say it flopped because they were "too bold" and "art house." Who needs Slow Loris with all this history repeating itself?

 

[nielsgov]

It must be fun to be able to predict the future.

 

[nirniva]

What the lyrics for the will.i.am-produced album will sound like:

I tied myself with wire
To let the horses roam free
Playing with the fire
Until the fire played with me

The stone was semi-precious
We were barely conscious
Two souls too smart to be
In the realm of certainty
Even on our wedding day

We set ourselves on fire
Oh God, do not deny her
It's not if I believe in love
If love believes in me
Oh, believe in me...

DIRTY BIT
*OONTS OONTS OONTS OONTS*

 

[corianderstem]

I was thinking about the comments wondering "gee, what does Larry think about all of this?"

You know, if Mr. I. Am. is indeed producing, then Larry is obviously on board with it. Which means that he probably knows something that we don't .... like that the music they're making is nothing like our worst assumptions and (gasp) will still sound like a U2 record.

 

[JamietheEdgefan]

I was thinking about the comments wondering "gee, what does Larry think about all of this?"

You know, if Mr. I. Am. is indeed producing, then Larry is obviously on board with it. Which means that he probably knows something that we don't .... like that the music they're making is nothing like our worst assumptions and (gasp) will still sound like a U2 record.

That's a very good point, they must be coming up with something all-together different rather than a cliche' black eye peas album.
Also, i'm fairly certain Will.i.am as a producer would make songs that sound completely different to Will.i.am writing BEP stuff, where he was a 'musician', working with 3 other 'musicians' of the same type.
After all, it will still (hopefully) be u2 writing the actual songs - Will.i.am will probably just be giving them a more glossy, club-like finish.

 

[nirniva]

I was thinking about the comments wondering "gee, what does Larry think about all of this?"

You know, if Mr. I. Am. is indeed producing, then Larry is obviously on board with it. Which means that he probably knows something that we don't .... like that the music they're making is nothing like our worst assumptions and (gasp) will still sound like a U2 record.

Yeah, you're probably right. Personally, I'm guessing it'll sound a bit like the first part of Pop - very much a "U2 album," but with some electronic sounds integrated into the mix.

 

[JamietheEdgefan]

The next album will be 11 songs. First third: Danger Mouse rock songs. 2nd third: Will.I.Am "singles" and last third will be SOA leftovers w/ Boy Falls From the Sky shoe-horned in there somewhere. It will flop and they'll say it flopped because they were "too bold" and "art house." Who needs Slow Loris with all this history repeating itself?

I pretty much agree, I predict that U2 will work with Danger Mouse to make 6 entirely new songs, and re-do 2-3 songs of Ascent tracks, and then work with Will.i.am to make 4 'club' songs.
So, 1/3 new DM songs, 1/3 DM SoA songs, 1/3 Will.i.am songs.
... that will all then be handed over to Steve Lillywhite.
Seriously, i actually believe what you said will happen - they won't manage to make entire albums with each producer, so they'll merge the songs, and then the album will be as confused as NLOTH.
What's more, they'll probably release the Will.i.am tracks as the singles, completely misrepresenting the rest of the albums DM style (which will probably be infinitely superior to the singles), and then people will be put off the 'club' style of the singles and not buy the album.
Then, u2, not realising what they've done, will say 'we need to go deeper' (inception style) and hire Ke$sha to produce their next album.

Ok, maybe it won't be that bad... but honestly, will they really release 2 albums?? I just don't see it happening. I seem them smashing these songs all together on one album.

 

[davmar]

I think they need to focus on writing great albums first for fans. Come on NLOTH, Magnificent, MOS, Breathe, CT are great songs and as a fan that is all I want. In the 80's they did not sound like a 80's band, in the 90's they again with AB to Pop did not sound like your 90's band - these sounds influenced a generation of current bands now U2 want to fit into the mould of Lady GaGa. Even in the 00's they were making rock albums when very few were and I think pretty good albums with some great songs. If you now have nothing to say just quit and leave the legacy before you are remember as the wannabe band that tried to recapture the past. 360 is big sure but I want more talk of the band not the stage. And this save the world thing has got out of hand and taken away from the band, do good for the world sure, but I want great music not photo's of Bono with world leaders. Desmond Tutu, men in spaceships etc is too similar to ZooTV. Wish they would stop looking at every little detail, make music because it feels right, it appears releasing a album these days is getting harder and harder to do, so maybe it is time to stop making them if it takes 5 years to make one and then you are still not happy with it because it only moved 5m units - are you happy with the music or the sales? does lots of sales mean that the music was good - if this is true them Lady GaGa would be considered better than U2. Finally what is this do not forget us routine at the end of concerts - no one will forget you, what are you begging for? But make sure you are not remembered as the band that had nothing left to say but kept saying it anyway. I am 40yrs old and followed U2 for 25yrs but this is how I see it.