Larrry
The Fly
Special report: U2 album playback, London
13 October 2004 - 12:03:02
It's the 27th floor of London's Centre Point - one of the city's
tallest structures. Security is tight with the insistence that all
potential recording devices are left in lockers on the ground floor.
The room is decked out like a nightclub with low, red lighting and
speakers mounted in every direction. It's the U2 playback. No
expense spared.
Manager Paul McGuinness introduces the record to a small number
gathered from national press. Tomorrow, the whole affair will be
repeated for regional press and on Thursday, for TV and Radio.
McGuiness starts by talking about the band's label. "It's odd to be
on such good terms with the record company. Of course, there's
always a little pushing and shoving, but it's great to have all the
records in one place and not be squabbling with former labels over
best ofs. The people at Island are the smartest in the business and
the most fascinating thing over the last 25 years is that they
continue to do their best work."
On U2 and the forthcoming album, he says, "The band have become more
and more ambitious. Yes, the albums get longer and longer to make."
He continues, "London is the centre of the musical world, mostly
because of the paranoia it induces and the savage criticism. We are
as scared of that as we always were."
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - Preview:
On first listen, this is an entirely different record to 2000's All
That You Can't Leave Behind, in fact, there appears to be no natural
progression between the two. The relative calm, assured and complete
tones of the former album have been usurped by a more consistently
upbeat slab of work. The majority of tracks on HTDAAB swagger with
uptempo melodies and adventurous guitar lines, probably resembling
something more similar to 1997's Pop.
And, as is typical of a U2 album on first listen, the melodies and
song structures are not entirely discernible. No doubt a few plays
will correct that, but for the time being, only Miracle Drug, Love
And Peace Or Else, All Because Of You and Original Of The Species,
are the instantly accessible tracks.
The others: Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, City Of
Blinding Lights, A Man And A Woman, Crumbs On Your Table, One Step
Closer and Yahweh appear to have almost confused, ramshackle song
structures that demand more patience from the listener. Undoubtedly
these will become the album's masterpieces.
While HTDAAB is standard U2 fodder, it is more appealing that the
band has not settled for a remake of ATYCLB and has instead created
something that could be described as a cacophony of the best in U2
sounds, and how they vary: HTDAAB incorporates shreds of so many
brilliant and familiar moments from the past - Bono's urgent vocals
from War re-surface, the atmospherics of The Unforgettable Fire are
ever-present, the adventure of Achtung, Baby! and the dirty
distortion of Pop all seem to have been wrapped up, dismantled, and
wrapped up again in that intricate bomb that is U2's distinct sound.
Track by track:
Vertigo:
First single. U2 return the glory days of the early 80's when it was
all confidence and style over content. The riff from October's Two
Hearts Beat As One used in the middle eight will excite the most
ardent U2 fans.
Miracle Drug:
Edge digs up the guitar sound that is synonymous with the Joshua
Tree, while the ending has the rousing drums that first appeared on
U2's slight foray into hard rock on Exit. Begins downtempo, but in
true U2 fashion, rouses before too long.
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own:
Slow ballad that again, invokes sounds more familiar on Joshua
Tree's Where The Streets Have No Name. An honest, heartfelt ballad
that drops rather unexpectedly to a sinister minor key two thirds of
the way in.
Love And Peace Or Else:
Bono and Edge's love of Bowie and Stooges, plus Larry Mullen's
continued Ramones influence is plastered all over this track.
Reminiscent of Mofo on Pop, it flaunts distorted basslines and
dampened drums, yet manages to be simultaneously progressive.
City Of Blinding Lights:
Sounds as though it is a lost track from 20 years ago that could
have appeared on The Unforgettable Fire - this is mainly owed to the
production that seems to have Daniel Lanois written all over it. Not
a particularly obvious song, but one that has the potential to be a
U2 classic.
All Because Of You:
This is undoubtedly one of the most obvious and accessible tracks on
the album. It arrives with a warning bell sound and proceeds to kick
in like Pop's Discoteque. Pure swagger and rock 'n' roll. U2 at
their finest.
A Man And A Woman:
The vocals on this sound as though they were recorded in 1983 for
War. How Bono has managed to pull this off after ageing 20 years is
beyond belief. The combination of this and the acoustic guitar sends
flashbacks of War's Drowing Man, however, the incredibly slick
production serves to remind us that this is, after all, 2004.
Crumbs From Your Table:
Maybe one of the slightly weaker songs, this is modern U2 which is
almost as adventurous as Achtung, Baby! and at times, sounds a
little like Mysterious Ways. The breakdown at the end, however, is
stunning.
One Step Closer:
Very traditional downtempo, atmospheric classic U2 number.
Original Of The Species:
Very accessible, pop melody that isn't too far removed, in some
senses from mid-career Beatles. It's a love ballad that could have
featured on All You Can't Leave Behind.
YahWeh:
Huge chiming guitars, incredibly uptempo song that seems to be
calling out for the ancient Hebrew God.
Fast Cars:
Features arabic style drumming that gives way to marriachi rhythms.
Excellent energetic song and unusual for U2 to complete an album on
an upbeat note.
13 October 2004 - 12:03:02
It's the 27th floor of London's Centre Point - one of the city's
tallest structures. Security is tight with the insistence that all
potential recording devices are left in lockers on the ground floor.
The room is decked out like a nightclub with low, red lighting and
speakers mounted in every direction. It's the U2 playback. No
expense spared.
Manager Paul McGuinness introduces the record to a small number
gathered from national press. Tomorrow, the whole affair will be
repeated for regional press and on Thursday, for TV and Radio.
McGuiness starts by talking about the band's label. "It's odd to be
on such good terms with the record company. Of course, there's
always a little pushing and shoving, but it's great to have all the
records in one place and not be squabbling with former labels over
best ofs. The people at Island are the smartest in the business and
the most fascinating thing over the last 25 years is that they
continue to do their best work."
On U2 and the forthcoming album, he says, "The band have become more
and more ambitious. Yes, the albums get longer and longer to make."
He continues, "London is the centre of the musical world, mostly
because of the paranoia it induces and the savage criticism. We are
as scared of that as we always were."
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - Preview:
On first listen, this is an entirely different record to 2000's All
That You Can't Leave Behind, in fact, there appears to be no natural
progression between the two. The relative calm, assured and complete
tones of the former album have been usurped by a more consistently
upbeat slab of work. The majority of tracks on HTDAAB swagger with
uptempo melodies and adventurous guitar lines, probably resembling
something more similar to 1997's Pop.
And, as is typical of a U2 album on first listen, the melodies and
song structures are not entirely discernible. No doubt a few plays
will correct that, but for the time being, only Miracle Drug, Love
And Peace Or Else, All Because Of You and Original Of The Species,
are the instantly accessible tracks.
The others: Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, City Of
Blinding Lights, A Man And A Woman, Crumbs On Your Table, One Step
Closer and Yahweh appear to have almost confused, ramshackle song
structures that demand more patience from the listener. Undoubtedly
these will become the album's masterpieces.
While HTDAAB is standard U2 fodder, it is more appealing that the
band has not settled for a remake of ATYCLB and has instead created
something that could be described as a cacophony of the best in U2
sounds, and how they vary: HTDAAB incorporates shreds of so many
brilliant and familiar moments from the past - Bono's urgent vocals
from War re-surface, the atmospherics of The Unforgettable Fire are
ever-present, the adventure of Achtung, Baby! and the dirty
distortion of Pop all seem to have been wrapped up, dismantled, and
wrapped up again in that intricate bomb that is U2's distinct sound.
Track by track:
Vertigo:
First single. U2 return the glory days of the early 80's when it was
all confidence and style over content. The riff from October's Two
Hearts Beat As One used in the middle eight will excite the most
ardent U2 fans.
Miracle Drug:
Edge digs up the guitar sound that is synonymous with the Joshua
Tree, while the ending has the rousing drums that first appeared on
U2's slight foray into hard rock on Exit. Begins downtempo, but in
true U2 fashion, rouses before too long.
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own:
Slow ballad that again, invokes sounds more familiar on Joshua
Tree's Where The Streets Have No Name. An honest, heartfelt ballad
that drops rather unexpectedly to a sinister minor key two thirds of
the way in.
Love And Peace Or Else:
Bono and Edge's love of Bowie and Stooges, plus Larry Mullen's
continued Ramones influence is plastered all over this track.
Reminiscent of Mofo on Pop, it flaunts distorted basslines and
dampened drums, yet manages to be simultaneously progressive.
City Of Blinding Lights:
Sounds as though it is a lost track from 20 years ago that could
have appeared on The Unforgettable Fire - this is mainly owed to the
production that seems to have Daniel Lanois written all over it. Not
a particularly obvious song, but one that has the potential to be a
U2 classic.
All Because Of You:
This is undoubtedly one of the most obvious and accessible tracks on
the album. It arrives with a warning bell sound and proceeds to kick
in like Pop's Discoteque. Pure swagger and rock 'n' roll. U2 at
their finest.
A Man And A Woman:
The vocals on this sound as though they were recorded in 1983 for
War. How Bono has managed to pull this off after ageing 20 years is
beyond belief. The combination of this and the acoustic guitar sends
flashbacks of War's Drowing Man, however, the incredibly slick
production serves to remind us that this is, after all, 2004.
Crumbs From Your Table:
Maybe one of the slightly weaker songs, this is modern U2 which is
almost as adventurous as Achtung, Baby! and at times, sounds a
little like Mysterious Ways. The breakdown at the end, however, is
stunning.
One Step Closer:
Very traditional downtempo, atmospheric classic U2 number.
Original Of The Species:
Very accessible, pop melody that isn't too far removed, in some
senses from mid-career Beatles. It's a love ballad that could have
featured on All You Can't Leave Behind.
YahWeh:
Huge chiming guitars, incredibly uptempo song that seems to be
calling out for the ancient Hebrew God.
Fast Cars:
Features arabic style drumming that gives way to marriachi rhythms.
Excellent energetic song and unusual for U2 to complete an album on
an upbeat note.
REALLY CAN'T WAIT ANYMORE 
