Songs of Ascent

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Snowlock

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Well, I'm guessing this is either never going to happen, or we already have it, split into two albums called Songs of Experience and Songs of Innocence. I do realize that Bono has said it's still out there. I just don't believe him. :lol:

So if Songs of Ascent exists somewhere between Innocence and Experience, what would it be? Combining them I came up with something and it's actually pretty cool.

1) Love is All We Have Left
2) Lights of Home (SP Strings)
3) Ordinary Love
4) Invisible (RED edit)
5) Every Breaking Wave
6) Iris
7) Book of Your Love
8) Love is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way
9) The Little Things
10) 13 (There is a light)

It kind of captures this idea of a mellower album that Bono described back in 2009, has the songs on it that we knew of back then in EBW and Little Things, and I dunno, something interesting to listen to I guess. There's probably an arrangement of the songs here that could take the listener on a journey through the ascent, given that there's some dark ideas going on here along with some redemption type ideas. But I just put it in an order that I liked the sound of bookended by the messages of the first and last song.
 
Not bad. I was thinking Sleep Like A Baby Tonight might also be a good addition because of the chugging Kraftwerk like synth. It does have a very (deceptive) smoothing and meditative feel to it - despite the content of the song - and I recall someone in the U2 camp(Bono, McGuinness?) describing the nonexistent album as such.

The only problem with this is didn't someone(Edge, Bono) say in the interviews right after the release of SOI that Songs of Ascent wasn't dead, and that it could still possibly see the light of day after they were done with SOE?? I am by no means suggesting the album will actually come into existence one day. I think the best we'll get is one day, many years from now, the vault will be opened and we'll get some demos, outtakes, mixes etc. Then we will get a rough idea of what direction SOA may have been headed in.

What I'm saying is, the songs written for SOI and SOE were probably, at best, only briefly considered for a theoretical SOA before they approximated to fit the themes of the two former albums.
 
This and SOON. The moment I heard that song on the 360 tour I was so stoked for an album of music like that. It always reminded me of "The Man Who Sold The World."

It's a shame that Soon hasn't appeared on an album (yet), I think it could have perfectly slotted into NLOTH. North Star though is the most boring U2 song I've ever heard and I hope to never hear it again.
 
I'd also like to hear Soon..... All of there "walk up" songs have been pretty cool even back to Harry's Game.... But for some reason I really dug Soon. Also I'd like to hear Mercy but I'm very picky about that song as I think I liked an early version that was a bit more raw to my ears than the later polished ones.
 
I still want to hear the finished version of North Star. We heard a snippet of it in that Transformers movie that I never saw, and then nothing else. One of the more confusing things U2 have done.
 
I still want to hear the finished version of North Star. We heard a snippet of it in that Transformers movie that I never saw, and then nothing else. One of the more confusing things U2 have done.

That's definitely a head-scratcher. The little bit from the movie sounded pretty good, from what I remember after watching the movie one time, several years ago. :lol: Which isn't much. But you know Edge probably has it stashed away for extensive tweaking.
 
Glastonbury was pretty bad live as was North Star but I have always been found of American Soul live...has a nice energy to it(save for the dreadful megaphone).
 
Songs Of Ascent should probably be the next album, since its been in the works for so long. Mercy and Winter need an album, plus final versions of both songs. I can imagine Songs Of Ascent being album filled with songs similar to Mercy and Winter.
 
I have no need to hear any of those songs on the next album. Soon is pretty cool, and would have been a nice opener on No Line, but please just give us new stuff. Still confused by statements of them having this album of beautiful songs and also wanting to do a straight up rock album. Who knows what mish mash we will end up with.
 
Assuming they release a third Best Of at some point (not sure what they would call it, 2000-2020?), I'd rather just see these outtakes on there instead of being shoehorned onto a new album.

And if the original Mercy isn't included on that bonus set they're all going to pay dearly.
 
Assuming they release a third Best Of at some point (not sure what they would call it, 2000-2020?), I'd rather just see these outtakes on there instead of being shoehorned onto a new album.

And if the original Mercy isn't included on that bonus set they're all going to pay dearly.
At that rate they should just release a career spanning set with a bonus set of rarities, because because because 2010-2020 had no hits
 
At that rate they should just release a career spanning set with a bonus set of rarities, because because because 2010-2020 had no hits



Let’s face it the last time they had a big hit and I mean a hit that will sit up there with the rest of the catalogue for all of time was vertigo in 2004. Don’t get me wrong theve had other hits since but nothing that will be put up there for a casual music fan over a long period of time
 
At that rate they should just release a career spanning set with a bonus set of rarities, because because because 2010-2020 had no hits

I think the saddest part, is that they cannot be trusted to choose their best songs from this past decade-ish. No Line and on.

They would probably choose:

Boots
Crazy
Magnificent

Miracle
Song For Someone
Every Breaking Wave

Best Thing
American Soul
Get Out
possibly Love is Bigger

Magnificent, and EBW should surely be chosen. And Best Thing i get cause its the closest thing they have had to a hit in many years.

But if they wanted to do a BEST of, these other choices certainly are not correct.

Better choices would be:

No Line on the Horizon
Magnificent
Moment of Surrender

EBW
Raised By Wolves
Sleep Like a Baby
The Troubles

Lights
Summer of Love
Red Flag
Little Things
Landlady

So seeing as they would never choose these actual best songs from the last 11 years, I think your idea of a more career spanning set would be better. But alas, they still are going to put on those weak ass songs instead of the good ones.
 
I think the saddest part, is that they cannot be trusted to choose their best songs from this past decade-ish. No Line and on.

They would probably choose:

Boots
Crazy
Magnificent

Miracle
Song For Someone
Every Breaking Wave

Best Thing
American Soul
Get Out
possibly Love is Bigger

Magnificent, and EBW should surely be chosen. And Best Thing i get cause its the closest thing they have had to a hit in many years.

But if they wanted to do a BEST of, these other choices certainly are not correct.

Better choices would be:

No Line on the Horizon
Magnificent
Moment of Surrender

EBW
Raised By Wolves
Sleep Like a Baby
The Troubles

Lights
Summer of Love
Red Flag
Little Things
Landlady

So seeing as they would never choose these actual best songs from the last 11 years, I think your idea of a more career spanning set would be better. But alas, they still are going to put on those weak ass songs instead of the good ones.

The best of album would be nothing but Ordinary Love Remixes
 
Some sort of career spanning collection was mentioned in the U2 Songs “crystal ball” feature of what we can expect from them next year.

If Songs of Ascent still “exists” as a collection of songs which were nearly finished (which seems to be the case), why not just finish them, release it and then move on to this next album or two (yeah yeah, no chance).
 
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