Obligatory Mercy thread

[Yahweh]

It would be funny if it wasnt even on the album after all the hype you guys give it

 

[xaviMF22]

It would be funny if it wasnt even on the album after all the hype you guys give it

 

[Salome]

it would be funny if the song was actually better than "I threw a brick through a window"

but it isn't

 

[Canadiens1131]

 

[Zoots]

It would be funny if it wasnt even on the album after all the hype you guys give it

 

[AtomicBono]

It would be funny if it wasnt even on the album after all the hype you guys give it

yeah, I love Mercy but I don't understand why everyone is assuming it's gonna be on the next album...it could end up as a b-side...it could be split up into many different songs like stuff from the Salome Outtakes...it could just never get an official release

 

[cobl04]

I say that sliced bread can take a hike.

Me too. Besides, I prefer bread rolls

 

[U2girl]

yeah, I love Mercy but I don't understand why everyone is assuming it's gonna be on the next album...it could end up as a b-side...it could be split up into many different songs like stuff from the Salome Outtakes...it could just never get an official release

True, but after we heard the "best B-side you ever heard" hype, I for one was sure Mercy is coming on one of the Bomb singles.

So, if it isn't a B-side now, and it nearly made the album so the band obviously think it has potential...the only thing I can come up with it is coming on the next album in one shape or another.

Maybe it's the rumoured "September single"?

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

Maybe it's the rumoured "September single"?

We can only hope....

 

[U2DMfan]

i dont want to be rude....

 

[Salome]

I don't think there is an opposition to Mercy
I think it's a decent song
not much to be opposed to, not much to be jubilant about

unless they do quite a bit of work on Mercy I do prefer Yahweh

neither are quite Lemon though

 

[lazarus]

This song shouldn't be touched. At all. Look at what happened on the New Mixes from the Best of 1990-2000. All the life was produced out of those tracks, most notably Gone, the original version of which was one of Bono's most naked vocal perfs.

Mercy is plaintive and searching, which is why it gets the label of dragging on or meandering. Is it necessary for every U2 song to know where it's going? After the radio-friendly conciseness of the last two albums (save COBL), it's refreshing to hear a track that actually goes exploring.

I fully believe that if Bad were to come out right now, it would get pasted with the same types of criticisms (to be honest, I'm not even a fan of the studio version).

The bottom line is that Mercy features guitar work by The Edge that is the most emotional I've heard him play in a LONG time. Bono's vocal goes from a vulnerability to an immense power over the course of the song.

What the blind followers that clutter Interference don't want to admit is that U2 may have clipped a great song from an album. They think that if U2 left it off, there's something incomplete or wrong with it (the same type of thinking that perpetrates the "unfinished" Pop idiocy). Well I can tell you that great bands DO make mistakes or have poor judgement at times. The Beatles opted not to put Harrison's Not Guilty on The White Album, and it's a blistering song that's better than 90% of what's on there now (and we're talking about my second favorite album of all time).

I don't know what The Beatles were thinking, and perhaps there's more to the Mercy removal than an album length issue (Larry, you damned fool!). Maybe they also felt it just didn't jibe with the rest of the Bomb. I hope it can help make the next album better, and point the way towards more complex compositions and recordings.

 

[AtomicBono]

Maybe it's the rumoured "September single"?

personally, I hope not. 402 and 404 are both more suited to be singles. Mercy is too meandering for radio. If U2 released it as a single, it would likely be half as long and not the same song I fell in love with. Mercy should be the centerpiece of an album, not a one-off single.

 

[U2girl]

Maybe they will go via Itunes/downloads only? This doesn't have to be the usual "radio/MTV attack" publicity machine in motion - it's not a new U2 album single, just a one-off song, like GBHF or HMTMKMKM.
I agree though that Mercy (and Fast cars) ought to be the starting point for the new album.

If they're thinking of picking something new, 404/All my life will probably be chosen.

 

[LMP]

The Borg, fuck yes

I think Mercy should be the "September single" too if one were to come out, and like U2girl said, it doesn't have to be on the radio, but could just be an iTunes-only deal.

I'd rather see the 400's saved for a new album, they're sitting on a gold mine Trebek!

 

[goincommando]

Mercy is a good song and all, but am I the only one that doesn't want a 2-4 year old song on a new album?

 

[LMP]

Mercy is a good song and all, but am I the only one that doesn't want a 2-4 year old song on a new album?

More than half of the HTDAAB songs stemmed from sessions dating back to ATYCLB, and I think City of Blinding Lights trickled down from Pop.

 

[Salome]

Well I can tell you that great bands DO make mistakes or have poor judgement at times.

indeed, but fans make mistakes and have poor judgement a hell of a lot more than great bands

and if U2 would come out with a statement tomorrow that Mercy is the best thing they've ever done I would say that I think they are wrong, because unless they rework it heavily it seems like a rather avarage offering to me

 

[Bonochick]

Mercy is a good song and all, but am I the only one that doesn't want a 2-4 year old song on a new album?

That wouldn't bother me.

"Mercy" is one of my favorite U2 songs. If it went with the feel of their next album, I'd love to see it on there.