Next Album Rumours Thread III - The Gospel of Adam

[lazarus]

If You Win The Belmont Stakes

 

[LuckyNumber7]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/tulsaw...e88380da-f3c9-5a4e-b5fa-485b625ba985.amp.html

 

[Irvine511]

Seems Bono has his very own Stella in Eve.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/tulsaw...e88380da-f3c9-5a4e-b5fa-485b625ba985.amp.html

Tell me why

 

[lazarus]

Seems Bono has his very own Stella in Eve.

GAF wishes he had his very own Fella in Eve.

Spoiler

He's not alone.

 

[Irvine511]

GAF wishes he had his very own Fella in Eve.

Spoiler

He's not alone.

Isn’t she like 28 tho?

 

[lazarus]

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

 

[gweeps]

Release songs of ascent. By all accounts it probably wouldn’t translate into a mega tour anyway.

I bet this album was more of a fragmentary idea anyway. Whenever it's been talked about, things never seems solidified.

 

[mikal]

U2 is releasing a shortened EP version wit of their Under A Blood Red Sky EP with 4 songs. Wow what a treat.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Well technically speaking the Under A Blood Red Sky EP isn't all recorded at Red Rocks. Only Gloria and Party Girl are. The rest are from Germany I think.

So if all four of these tracks are from Red Rocks, at least two of them would be never before released (at least in this format).

 

[mikal]

Well technically speaking the Under A Blood Red Sky EP isn't all recorded at Red Rocks. Only Gloria and Party Girl are. The rest are from Germany I think.

So if all four of these tracks are from Red Rocks, at least two of them would be never before released (at least in this format).

Ah ok then it’s not as bad. They should release the whole show though.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Can't disagree there

 

[Hewson]

Well technically speaking the Under A Blood Red Sky EP isn't all recorded at Red Rocks. Only Gloria and Party Girl are. The rest are from Germany I think.

So if all four of these tracks are from Red Rocks, at least two of them would be never before released (at least in this format).

11 O'Clock Tick Tock is from the Orpheum in Boston. Rest are from Germany as you said.

 

[PopFly]

I mean, U2 are rock royalty at this point and if they contacted the Grammys saying they were available (assuming they had new material out), they wouldn't be turned away.

And unlike most of these big acts, they won't feel pressured to do a medley, and understand the power of one good song performed well.

There's a better chance U2's next Grammy appearance isn't until 2026, when they have a one-off TV special celebrating the band's 50 years and it's a bunch of performances from modern artists covering U2 songs.

 

[MattD]

Must be the first time in their careers there hasn’t been an impending album. They were always working on something - something always in gestation but it’s complete radio silence now.

Seems like a proper hiatus. The relative failure of Songs of Experience (regardless of the handful of very good songs on it - notably those without Tedder) must surely be posing questions and reevaluations of what they want going forward.

They’d be off their fucking heads if they just churn out another album of MOR mush for the next one. The last few years has proven that it’s no way to success for the band anymore.

 

[AndrewCowley]

Sad thing is, I don’t think any of their past 3 albums were intended to be MOR at the outset. But decisions were made along the way that resulted in this. Each time, the end result didn’t match their instincts at the outset.

 

[Hollow Island]

They don't see SOE as a relative failure, though. They think it had hits and great reviews...

 

[DeVaul]

The bundle-in with ticket purchases gave them the number 1 album (for a week) designation they wanted.

 

[mikal]

I obviously don't know the band, never met them, but I would think their mindset at this point is probably that the next album they release could very well be their last because you never know what kind of health things could pop up. So I'm guessing that will only make the process longer because they will put a lot of pressure on themselves. My wish is that they call Eno and Lanois up and give them a lot of power to veto shitty ideas and have a clause that U2 can't bring in Pop producers this time.

 

[Joey788]

Yep - they need a no-nonsense producer who will directly tell them when something sucks or just isn't working. Eno, Lanois and Flood could all do that. Nigel Godrich would be another one. I read that when he worked with McCartney on Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, he vetoed any clichéd or overly-sentimental songs. That's what U2 needs - someone to push hard against the subpar material they seem to think are hits nowadays.

The question is if they'd ever be willing to give a producer that power.

 

[mikal]

I still wonder how their relationship with Eno is after NLOTH. I thought I heard that Eno was pretty pissed about some of the changes they made last minute. Does anyone know the full story on that?

 

[pacemaker]

I wonder if their egos are so fragile these days that the only people willing or able to work with them anymore are "Yes" folk. It would be interesting to get an inside account of McGuiness-U2 vs. Oseary-U2, because from the outside it feels like management has just been enabling their worst instincts for close to a decade.

Ultimately, they probably won't do what the majority of us want them. Hopefully the music we get before they stop is at least mostly good. SOI really surprised me, and I'm hoping they do it again. Otherwise they're just becoming Bono & The U2s.

 

[DeVaul]

They’re old and out of touch but fragile egos? I doubt it’s that dramatic.

I think they’re just misguided in how to achieve their stated goal of being relevant. I’m hoping they eventually realize relevancy is relative and doesn’t require a #1 album or hit single to be meaningful. Recent interviews lead me to believe at least one of them “gets it” (Adam).

I think a new album is not as important as what they do next, which is why I think we’ll get Zoo ‘22 - ties their established music into relevant themes, puts them back in a stadium setting and an easy sell to an audience desperate to return to live events. Reconnection and reaffirmation of that relationship.

Album after that won’t matter to anyone but them and the hardcore audience, so we’ll either end up with something special or Atomic Bomb 2 (which would probably also be ok) because, well, they’re a bit daft. Arena tour for that one, even if it’s a surprise banger. They only played 5 NYC area shows on e+I, only 3 at MSG - the market was saturated after 2 shows the year before for JT30. So depending on how soon the album comes out after Zoo Redux, maybe max 2 shows in a market. An underplay would serve them well - less physically taxing and low inventory means easier sellouts, which keeps demand high for...

Stadium return in 2030 for the 50th Anniversary wall-to-wall hits tour which, in my wild dream, includes a few arena dates dedicated to album cuts and b sides either mixed in or are on a separate leg.




Anyway, what about ol sour puss?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

let's be honest - outside of interference, where everything has sucked since 1997, and Pitchfork, 'cause Pitchfork? The "Songs Of" period likely would have been heralded generally as a solid return to form for an aging band and frosting on the legacy cake if not for the Apple release debacle.

 

[mikal]

let's be honest - outside of interference, where everything has sucked since 1997, and Pitchfork, 'cause Pitchfork? The "Songs Of" period likely would have been heralded generally as a solid return to form for an aging band and frosting on the legacy cake if not for the Apple release debacle.

Yep. Removing that debacle, SOI is probably my favorite U2 album since POP.

 

[lazarus]

let's be honest - outside of interference, where everything has sucked since 1997, and Pitchfork, 'cause Pitchfork? The "Songs Of" period likely would have been heralded generally as a solid return to form for an aging band and frosting on the legacy cake if not for the Apple release debacle.

Probably, the key word being "solid". They would have been seen as acquitting themselves well enough.

What I find more interesting is the seemingly even split between people who prefer SOI and those who prefer SOE, and it's usually very clear-cut for them. That goes beyond Interference.

With ATYCLB and Bomb it seems more lopsided in favor of the former.

Personally, I think both have enough glaring flaws to prevent them from being great albums, but each has a great album's worth of songs, if you substitute outtakes. And fixing the track listings helps too.

 

[ascender_RS]

let's be honest - outside of interference, where everything has sucked since 1997, and Pitchfork, 'cause Pitchfork? The "Songs Of" period likely would have been heralded generally as a solid return to form for an aging band and frosting on the legacy cake if not for the Apple release debacle.

Both those records were well received critically and has been said on here more than a few times, are way better than we should logically expect from a group with an unchanged lineup who’ve been around for 40 years or so.

Record sales aren’t what they used to be, so even though they got that number one, the tours were massive successes in every way, so again, they’re still a very healthy position.

I agree with the others, a no-nonsense production team for the next album and a commitment to stick with them to the end would be a step in the right direction.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Probably, the key word being "solid". They would have been seen as acquitting themselves well enough.

What I find more interesting is the seemingly even split between people who prefer SOI and those who prefer SOE, and it's usually very clear-cut for them. That goes beyond Interference.

With ATYCLB and Bomb it seems more lopsided in favor of the former.

Personally, I think both have enough glaring flaws to prevent them from being great albums, but each has a great album's worth of songs, if you substitute outtakes. And fixing the track listings helps too.

Let's be fair... how many albums by artists 40+ years into the game can really be heralded as anything more than solid? A solid B+ effort?

It's a handful - and even cases of truly excellent late career work are often thought less of because they are compared to the artist's previous work.

And I would venture to guess the overwhelming majority of albums that are considered late career masterpieces are by solo artists.

What keeps me excited about U2 is that there are stilk magical moments hidden amongst the vapid attempts to chase hits. It gives me hope that they can break the mold and actually put out a late career masterpiece if/when they're ready to embrace their oldness.

 

[ascender_RS]

Let's be fair... how many albums by artists 40+ years into the game can really be heralded as anything more than solid? A solid B+ effort?

It's a handful - and even cases of truly excellent late career work are often thought less of because they are compared to the artist's previous work.

And I would venture to guess the overwhelming majority of albums that are considered late career masterpieces are by solo artists.

What keeps me excited about U2 is that there are stilk magical moments hidden amongst the vapid attempts to chase hits. It gives me hope that they can break the mold and actually put out a late career masterpiece if/when they're ready to embrace their oldness.

The solo artist thing is a definite advantage once you’re established as you can literally do whatever the hell you want. I’m sure we only know a fraction of the band politics that go on in inside U2 when it comes to recording and touring.