That is true, Trev. Edge did suggest that lyric. To me, it's a worship song about God, but coming from a very personal perspective, which makes sense if Bono is saying it's about two lovers trying to turn their life into worship. Bono stated most of this album was written from the point of view of different characters, and Bono put himself into those characters and channeled those characters through himself. So when we say it isn't Bono's perspective, in a way we are right, but in a way we are wrong. Bono has always revealed himself through characters - it's just that on NLOTH, Bono admits this to be the case.
This is probably the best "club mix" of the song:
1) I disagree about the lyrics, as most people get hooked primarily by the melody of a song they hear on the radio -- unless it's a ballad, in which case it's first the melody and then the lyrics. When I was a teenager, I didn't know the lyrics to 'Where the Streets Have No Name' for some time, but I couldn't wait to hear it again on the radio. That song hooked me on U2, and it was not until I bought The Joshua Tree album, that I got into the lyrics. I don't think I am unique in this scenario.
I remember reading that too, but the version in the beach clips is the same version that we got on the album. It's just that it was muffled by the sound of waves and a bad recording, which gave it more of that "wall of sound" quality we missed from the old analogue recordings like Achtung Baby & Joshua Tree. Sometimes I wish U2 would record an album with their old analogue equipment and forget the digital. It sounds way to clean and stripped now. But everyone wants clean and stripped.
Don't let other posters dissuade your original taste. Trust your instincts. I actually love the slide guitar solo. It reminds me of the great slide guitar work in 'Wicked Game' from Chris Isaak. Say what you want about him, but that's a classic song. The guitar just creates a mood for lack of a better word. And that's what I love about 'Magnificent' -- the mood it creates. It's ecstatic, but it's a moody kind of ecstasy. It's almost like a memory, like a reflection being brought to life in the present moment....soon to be an afterthought, yet captured and preserved by something eternal....which makes it ethereal somehow. That's what that solo does for me.
Or 'Unknown Caller'? The best songs of this album were all written in Fez, and they all had a certain feel to them. If 'Winter' had been included instead of 'Stand Up Comedy', and 'Boots' totally dropped, this album would have been just about as perfect a U2 album they have ever put out.Why in the world is the title track (NLOTH) not being discussed?
That's a beautiful and cohesive album. Brian Eno was right that U2 were nuts for leaving off 'Winter'. I wouldn't even have minded them keeping a pop song like 'I'll Go Crazy' in there, as it's a nice change of pace after 'Unknown Caller' and blends in quite well. That would make it 11 songs, and just commercial enough for U2 to still get played on the radio. Oh what might have been....
