AndrewCowley
Refugee
The reason they were so good is that they are rock songs that were played that way. Watered down acoustic arrangements are crap, made worse when U2 do it on account of them not being very good at it.
It would have been great to do that. I think most the songs from the Era could be played acoustic. I know because I've done it. The one thing with Bono not playing anything these days the band could benefit from is a synth/keyboard player if they wanted to go all acoustic. The Killers had a really cool version of Caution recorded in the bathroom last spring, different but still great.The band actually had a great opportunity here to do a stripped-back, partially-acoustic show of ATYCLB-era songs that could work in an Instagram or YouTube setting.
A short set like this would've been cool for casuals and diehards:
1. Kite
2. Summer Rain
3. In a Little While
4. The Ground Beneath Her Feet
5. Stuck in a Moment
Encore:
1. Sweetest Thing
2. One (cause of course they'd close with One)
Besides being a cool move for their fans, a short virtual show like this likely would have gotten much more attention on the anniversary box set than old music videos upgraded to HD.
Alas
I can’t accept that point about stones being greater because they were in the Beatles shadow while u2 were unobstructed either.
For a start - for that argument to hold water, then you have to acknowledge the stones had already long past their own greatness - because if they were great, then surely U2 would have been in their shadow as an active band? That means that they had 40 years of decline which HAS to negatively impact your legacy.
Secondly, U2 unobstructed? Seriously? They had Queen through the early 80s, oasis through the 90s, Coldplay in the 2000s.
All the while there was also REM, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Bowie etc.
I think Rolling Stones fans really over play their greatness - I’m not saying they weren’t great, and shouldn’t be in a conversation, but to consider them peers or on a level with the Beatles is madness.
2024 it is then.Looks like no new material anytime soon:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/...rview-all-that-you-cant-leave-behind-1078907/
"Final question: What’s the status of the next record?
As you know, I’m always working on ideas for U2 songs. I have a huge bag of ideas. Some of them are very developed. Some are sort of half-finished. We don’t have any plans right now, but right now I’m just enjoying writing just because it’s a great moment to get back to creative things when there’s not much else you can do.
It’s like a blank canvas and I love this phase where you really don’t have to worry too much about where it’s going. You really just go with the imagination. So, lots of great ideas going around, but I’m not sure what it will become or when it might start to take on its own identity as an album."
Maybe they just want to keep their heads down, stay isolated/safe during the pandemic (which is fair enough). But it looks like Edge is working alone and the band won't be together for a while. I had (naively) hoped that they might have met up a few times recently, but it doesn't sound like it from this.
Maybe they'll start new sessions in 2021, but who knows.
Nothing is certain right now...
Such a fantastic album ruined by a PR catastrophe
Yup, was and is still a great album and the whole thing was just a tad overblown.
Apologies for discussing U2 on a U2 forum
Yes. It's a U2 article from today. There aren't many, but this is one.