After WITS I doubt we'll ever see Mercy.

[Earnie Shavers]

It is the Bad of this generation, and it's not even officially released, now if only it can be so it can get the live treatment Bad does.

Why do you think that? Loads of people here name Bad in comparison to Mercy - I don't hear it in any way, except that both are long songs.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Why do you think that? Loads of people here name Bad in comparison to Mercy - I don't hear it in any way, except that both are long songs.

- Well the whole constriction, the sound(first 8 sec) that Mercy opens with is nearly in the whole song in the backgorund, same with Bad with its sound.

- Mercy got "feel", Bad got "Wide Awake"

- The word Mercy isnt used in the song, same with Bad.

- Both are long songs

- Both got amazing vocals from Bono

- Mercy is so different from all the other songs from this decade, but still got some of the sounds they have now, same was with Bad in the 80's.

- Mercy and Bad are one of their best songs

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Riiiiiiiight....

 

[roy]

Riiiiiiiight....

Surprised you agree Earnie.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Well, I was expecting a bit more substance to the argument than "neither song names the title" "both are long" "both are good".

 

[phillyfan26]

Well, I was expecting a bit more substance to the argument than "neither song names the title" "both are long" "both are good".

A good point indeed.

 

[elevateandy]

Like I said before, you don't have to like it- but for an unreleased song it has a giant following and many feel as if it resembles Bad.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Like I said before, you don't have to like it- but for an unreleased song it has a giant following and many feel as if it resembles Bad.

There are alot of unreleased songs out there, but I can't realy come up with one that has got much attention. Well Mercy has got more attention then most of the released songs, so there must be something special with it.

 

[Galeongirl]

There are alot of unreleased songs out there, but I can't realy come up with one that has got much attention. Well Mercy has got more attention then most of the released songs, so there must be something special with it.

exactly... what's special about mercy is that it was able to split the people here in two camps...
the OMG MERCY IS THE BEST THING IVE EVER HEARD camp
and the
OMG MERCY IS THE SHITTIEST THING EVER! camp...

and when members of said camps come across a thread of either bashing or loving mercy, you get a discussion

and because this happens every once in a while, mercy continues being discussed

but thatr it's been and being discussed does not say anything about the quality.... it says more about the fact that it's a very debate-able song.... Don't get me wrong, I love the song myself, but I can understand that there are plenty of people cringing when they hear it,.... wich is probably the reason u2 didn't want it, because it's too 'much' for general crowds... I doubt it'd do good in the charts...

 

[Utoo]

There are alot of unreleased songs out there, but I can't realy come up with one that has got much attention. Well Mercy has got more attention then most of the released songs, so there must be something special with it.

Mercy garnered so much attention because it was an unreleased track that was leaked on the internet and had a mysterious story to it.

 

[elevateandy]

I don't know, I always look at myself as a harsh critic and I have to say I love the song- it just has a sound that I really like. Whether it was a released track or unreleased I would definitely be into it. I know it would not chart well, but I think among U2 fans it would be a cult favorite especially if it was done right live.

 

[witsa]

Okay, I read this thread, and I thought to myself, maybe I should play Bad and Mercy for someone who could be partial and give me an honest opinion of the songs. So I asked my nephew (15 years old, into totally different music, and can be very blunt with his opinions.). I played Mercy and all he said was "Wow, what CD is that from?" when I told him it was unreleased, he was amazed, he asked if I had a boot of it to put on his iPod. I told him that it has never been played live. He just walked away shaking his head, and commented, "That is just wrong". He told me he didn't need to hear Bad because he already has the Bad/40/ Where The Streets Have No Name (from the Electrical Storm single) on his iPod.

He added that in his opinion, if U2 ever decided to play Mercy, they should do a trio-like set with Bad, Mercy and 'that other song from the cd Elevation was on, the slow one' (which is actually Kite)

I love Mercy, I can only dream of hearing it live.

 

[shart1780]

I heard Mercy today and immediately orgasmed.

 

[Bonochick]

I heard Mercy today and immediately orgasmed.

We don't need to hear about things like that.

 

[Zoots]

 

[Salome]

exactly... what's special about mercy is that it was able to split the people here in two camps...
the OMG MERCY IS THE BEST THING IVE EVER HEARD camp
and the
OMG MERCY IS THE SHITTIEST THING EVER! camp...

I don't think many people actually think it's shitty

it's just that to me it sounds so unfinished without any clear vision that I don't understand at all what the hoopla is all about

the relentless raving about this song feels like some sort of joke that I just don't get

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I agree. It's not shitty, it's just... rambling? Unfocused? There are gripes I have with it (way overblown, shite lyrics, crappy vocal take) but it could easily be hammered into something okay. The two extreme reactions (this is a pile of shit/this is as good as Bad) are as ridiculous as each other. What I don't like about it's potential is only related to what U2 did with songs on the Bomb. Mercy, if it was finished and included, I think would sonically come out similar to Miracle Drug, keep the poor lyrics and poor vocal take, and have all of it's good parts squeezed together into an overloaded, overblown song, about 2 minutes shorter than the version we have. I guess what I'm saying is that an actual finished Bomb version of the song would be inferior to this version, but I think it currently does have the pieces to be taken apart and rebuilt into something good. Not great, but very good. I think this version is getting such an extreme reaction because for some people it's porn if they adore above all else a certain formula to a U2 song, and for others it's cringe worthy because it's an example of a certain stereotype of a U2 song.

For me, if it were an Achtung Baby outtake I would be yearning to hear how it could have ended up after going further through the creative machine they were plugged into then, but being a Bomb outtake I cringe to think about how overblown, overproduced and soulless it would have ended up had it gone through that particular creative machine/production line. That's just my personal opinion. I guess we'll know once we've listened to the new album. It might not be on there and I might be thinking "thank god for that" or I might be thinking "shit, they could have worked that into something great for this".

 

[elevateandy]

Poor Lyrics? They are the same lyrics that are found on Achtung Baby & some of Pop?

 

[roy]

For me, if it were an Achtung Baby outtake I would be yearning to hear how it could have ended up after going further through the creative machine they were plugged into then, but being a Bomb outtake I cringe to think about how overblown, overproduced and soulless it would have ended up had it gone through that particular creative machine/production line.

I thought Mercy was pulled at the very last minute after all the recording sessions for Bomb were complete.

 

[U2girl]

Yes, it was.

 

[Nisse]

Well atleast it sound like it's going to get "finished" so everyone can be happy.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Yes, it was.

Yes it was, but sonicaly it stands out from everything else. I'm sure what we have isn't a final mixed/mastered 'album' version. Maybe they didn't quite get that far before it was dumped, or maybe the version that leaked actually isn't the last version in existence, ie somewhere at U2 HQ there is mastered and mixed version, and whoever got hold of this got hold of it before that final stage. The version we have is certainly not exactly what would have been put on the Bomb.

 

[U2girl]

I think the fact that it was skipped at the last minute suggests that it was finished enough but here's the story on how the song got out - from skott100, in the "Mercy!! Edge answers" thread in EYKIW:

"I got HTDAAB about a week and half before it came out from an friend in the music business with Interscope connections. (It was on a cassette of all formats!) I went to my bass players house and we converted it into digital so we could go about learning the songs early (we play in Zoo Station, a Northern California U2 Tribute Band) and get the songs to our bandmates. The next night, we had a show at the Britannia Arms in San Jose and U2SJ had a little get together at her house afterwards. I had the CD with me, and it took some convincing but eventually she agreed to put it on the stereo for her and all the U2 fans that were there. There was some concern about "ruining the surprise" but as soon as the volume went up everyone was into it. And I thought it was cool to be around a group of fans like that, all of them hearing the album for the first time. Anyway, Mercy was on that advance copy. I didn't know what the title was because the tracklisting that had already been posted at U2.com didn't feature it. I left the CD for her as a souvenir, and that was that."

 

[Galeongirl]

I have the original of that rip, and it indeed says unknown album, with the release date of HTDAAB with it.... so I figure that the ID3tag for mercy was without title, but the rest all correct...