Songs of Ascent - Part II

[uuu222]

NLOTH will sell more after the tour begins......

Exactly...the album will see a steady bounce once the tour begins.

 

[Rich79]

The album might start selling a little better as the tour begins, yes (and a DVD release of the 360 tour possibly this fall will help a lot); but it's not going to bounce back. I think the promotion behind this album was simply a lot weaker than HTDAAB and even ATYCLB. I mean think about it. When Bomb came out, the entire world knew there was a U2 album coming out; but when NLOTH was released, it felt more like just the U2 fans knew an album was coming out. I think if they would have released the album back when they originally were going to (Fall '08); we would've had stronger material and stronger promotion behind it. This album is stuck on the fence between wanting to be a little more experimental and wanting to have mass appeal and trying to hard to do both makes it feel a little like a failure on both parts. This is the album that should be called "All that you can't leave behind"; they wanted to experiment, but couldn't leave behind the idea of selling records and making grand pop anthems. So, it comes out all disjointed and in a slightly ironic twist, is not selling terribly well.

And so I believe Songs of Ascent will either be used as an "end-cap" for this era of the band and be released quickly or it will be used to try and "make up for" the sales of NLOTH with the logic of "Hey, maybe if we spend more time on this material, it'll get better". I think we'll be able to tell which of these happens by whether they release it in Spring of 2010 or Fall of 2010. I'm praying for Spring.

 

[mama cass]

^ agree with the above post!

it does feel very disjointed to me... it does not make a cohesive whole imo

the more i'm hearing NLOTH the more i'm feeling it's ended up as Brian Eno featuring U2... feels like they stayed in their comfort zone and played it safe... their "experimental" in this case just = Eno's sound

i hope the next album will be better

 

[U2DMfan]

No, but we were given the titles "Solar" and the song "Full Metal Jacket" around 2002. Turned into HTDAAB and SYCMIOYO not for another 2 years.
.

FYI "Solar" was a fan-made hoax.
It was never a provisional song title or album title from U2.

And SYCMIOYO was called Tough.
Full Metal Jacket=Vertigo

 

[KUEFC09U2]

^ agree with the above post!

it does feel very disjointed to me... it does not make a cohesive whole imo

the more i'm hearing NLOTH the more i'm feeling it's ended up as Brian Eno featuring U2... feels like they stayed in their comfort zone and played it safe... their "experimental" in this case just = Eno's sound

i hope the next album will be better

Define what you mean by "better"? because myself and many other people see this as one of U2's best, its certainly in my top 3.

 

[mama cass]

Define what you mean by "better"?

no KUEFC09U2, i cannot be arsed

just messin - i'm working on a deadline right now and being eejity - i'll be back later...

 

[mama cass]

better, in that i'm comparing U2 with U2, and when i listen to NLOTH i'm hearing a bit too much Eno and Lanois and other influences...

i think the album starts off strong with the first 2 tracks, but then by the time it gets to Boots it's pretty much going downhill by U2's standards (this is all just my opinion i hasten to add) - i think Boots, Stand Up and Breathe are really weak tracks (again just by U2's standards)... even Cedars (which i love) is very reminiscent of Bono/Lanois Million Dollar Hotel...

when i listen to U2 i wanna hear fresh vibrant U2... i don't wanna hear Bono screaming like Robert Plant, i don't wanna hear a drum beat and think oh that sounds like Jon Bonham, or whatever sounds like the Beatles... U2 were always a shit cover band and they don't do themselves justice when they're not being themselves... they've got it in themselves to be great, they've been great, so they're quite capable of it

and when i think back to the video snippets they gave us pre-album and they're all there around the dinner table doing their harmonies and that, well it was just really really dull and boring and totally unexciting and miles away from rock n roll! i think they played it too safe sticking with Eno and Lanois... i would love to see what U2 would come up with if they produced themselves, or if they brought in say Jimi Page or Mike Scott, both amazing musicians and fantastic producers... i mean look at Waterboys' Fisherman's Blues - they came up with that tracklist out of the 150 plus songs they'd recorded - and the selection was perfect and pure genius i'd say - no mean feat... and then i think of NLOTH and i think well with all the songs they were meant to have written, why are there still such weak tracks on there??

i'd just love to see them cut loose and shake it up a bit and see what they come up with...

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

Im really interested in hearing leaked Rubin sessions. Im actually starting to think Bomb is better than NLOTH after a few months. I only really like NLOTH and Magnificent, Cedars is ok sometimes. They started going in the right direction with the album then they sort of crash landed.

 

[Irishteen]

Im really interested in hearing leaked Rubin sessions. Im actually starting to think Bomb is better than NLOTH after a few months. I only really like NLOTH and Magnificent, Cedars is ok sometimes.

Just listen to Saints and WITS

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

They aren't very good but I wouldn't consider Saints a U2 song.

 

[Irishteen]

They aren't very good but I wouldn't consider Saints a U2 song.

Well imagine that for an album, and you'd have the Rubin sessions

 

[scottyT]

wouldn't be a bad album.

 

[mikal]

yeah, the Rubin sessions were obviously in the same mindset as HTDAAB.....trying to pump out immediate hits. the "All My Life" clip was probably the best example. i guess to each their own. if you loved HTDAAB, you would have loved the Rubin sessions. personally, i prefer NLOTH, since it's not as immediate and actually makes you think a little.

 

[U2girl]

Maybe we will get to hear the Rubin songs someday...they saved the songs right ? It wasn't all scrapped like the Chris Thomas sessions for Bomb.

 

[Aygo]

Maybe we will get to hear the Rubin songs someday...they saved the songs right ? It wasn't all scrapped like the Chris Thomas sessions for Bomb.

Anyway, we haven't heard yet the original versions of "Original Of The Species" (only an excerpt, isn't it?) or "City Of Blinding Lights" (which had another name/lyrics and was sightly different, right?), nor "North Star" or "Treason", for instance...

 

[dan_smee]

FYI "Solar" was a fan-made hoax.
It was never a provisional song title or album title from U2.

And SYCMIOYO was called Tough.
Full Metal Jacket=Vertigo

further to that, Full Metal Jacket was always a demo name. It was announced by Bono as such.He categorically stated that Every Breaking Wave is the name of the first single of the album. He enver came close in 2002 to saying:

"The next album is called Solar, and the first single is Full Metal Jacket."

He also never said in 2002 that the album would be out in a year or even two. There was no date set

 

[jacobus]

next album is called Songs Of Ascent?
another crap name for an album
any song titles known?
what happened to a song called North Star

 

[BVS]

I think the title is great it's taken from the Psalms...

 

[bram]

I like the title, as it conjures up mid to late-80s U2. "Every Breaking Wave" is supposedly the first single. And this news is 3 months old.

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

What do we think kind of song "Every Breaking Wave" is going to be? Unforgettable fire? NYD? Boots?!

Is this the song where Bono says "I dont know if im that strong" ?

 

[bathiu]

What do we think kind of song "Every Breaking Wave" is going to be? Unforgettable fire? NYD? Boots?!

Is this the song where Bono says "I dont know if im that strong" ?

More like UF, I think.
And it's the one with "every sailor knows that the sea is a friend made enemy"...

 

[Cactus Annie]

Do you think this new album will sound like NLOTH 2 or will it be an actual different album? If it is the former I may spend my money on Muse's furthcoming classical album instead. Do you think Bono actually will sing on this album?

 

[last unicorn]

^ No, he will fart, snore and read the menu of his local Chinese restaurant.

You're better off with Muse, believe me.

 

[BVS]

Do you think this new album will sound like NLOTH 2 or will it be an actual different album? If it is the former I may spend my money on Muse's furthcoming classical album instead. Do you think Bono actually will sing on this album?

It will have beautiful melodies and singing.




















Just like NLOTH.

 

[Cactus Annie]

Biut the vocal on NLOTH isn't very melodic and this is what I mean when I say that I (and others who've reviewed the album on Ebay and actual music critics) can't hear melodies. I like my music to have huge, sweeping melodic vocal lines as well as from the lead instruments. Josh Tyrangale from Time magazine said there's load of effects from Eno but the most surprising effect, an obvious big melody, dodges in and out. So whilst Bono is appears to be singing one note (unlike tracks on Bomb and some on ATYCLB which must be more difficult to sing if a song has more challenging vocal lines) but Edge's playing has gone back to old "riff orientated U2" rather than melodic U2 . Now I'm probably gonna be shot down for this, but then I am used to it, but I have never been too keen on RTSS, BTBS, NYD or SBS, these are always tracks that I skip. Why? Well I find the first song too slow and it lacks something which I think Bad has. BTBS- I've said before that I don't like Bono's singing from the 80's or early 90's and in this song his style grates on my nerves, plus I just don't like the song. As for NYD and SBS I don't get to listen to War too ofter mainly because I only have it on vinyl and my record player doesn't work at the moment. I have got these tracks somewhere on CD and New Year's Day, I always play NYD. It's ok, I think the piano is catchy, but I can't like it that much as the January 1st was the last time I played it. My favourite track on War is 40. I don't care if the lyric was taken from Pslam, I just like the tune.

 

[mikal]

well, if the people on Ebay can't hear melodies......then there must be no melodies!

 

[mama cass]

^ No, he will fart, snore and read the menu of his local Chinese restaurant.

*snorts!*

 

[last unicorn]

Biut the vocal on NLOTH isn't very melodic and this is what I mean when I say that I (and others who've reviewed the album on Ebay and actual music critics) can't hear melodies. I like my music to have huge, sweeping melodic vocal lines as well as from the lead instruments. Josh Tyrangale from Time magazine said there's load of effects from Eno but the most surprising effect, an obvious big melody, dodges in and out. So whilst Bono is appears to be singing one note (unlike tracks on Bomb and some on ATYCLB which must be more difficult to sing if a song has more challenging vocal lines) but Edge's playing has gone back to old "riff orientated U2" rather than melodic U2 . Now I'm probably gonna be shot down for this, but then I am used to it, but I have never been too keen on RTSS, BTBS, NYD or SBS, these are always tracks that I skip. Why? Well I find the first song too slow and it lacks something which I think Bad has. BTBS- I've said before that I don't like Bono's singing from the 80's or early 90's and in this song his style grates on my nerves, plus I just don't like the song. As for NYD and SBS I don't get to listen to War too ofter mainly because I only have it on vinyl and my record player doesn't work at the moment. I have got these tracks somewhere on CD and New Year's Day, I always play NYD. It's ok, I think the piano is catchy, but I can't like it that much as the January 1st was the last time I played it. My favourite track on War is 40. I don't care if the lyric was taken from Pslam, I just like the tune.

If songs like MOS, Breathe and Magnificent aren't "melodic", I don't know what is.

And the album version of 40 sucks.

 

[Tyagu_Anaykus]

How can one say that NLOTH has no melodies on it, is beyond my understanding....

 

[BVS]

Biut the vocal on NLOTH isn't very melodic and this is what I mean when I say that I (and others who've reviewed the album on Ebay and actual music critics) can't hear melodies.

Well the guy that sold me the velvet painting of Jesus in an 18 wheeler on Ebay said he loved the melodies. His name was HeySus420.

Any reviewer who said they don't hear melodies should be fired on the spot and never write about music again for they don't know what they are talking about...

I like my music to have huge, sweeping melodic vocal lines as well as from the lead instruments. Josh Tyrangale from Time magazine said there's load of effects from Eno but the most surprising effect, an obvious big melody, dodges in and out. So whilst Bono is appears to be singing one note (unlike tracks on Bomb and some on ATYCLB which must be more difficult to sing if a song has more challenging vocal lines)

Josh is an idiot. I'm not saying that because he said something bad about a band I like, but if he honestly said that he doesn't know shit about music.

I don't know how anyone can think any song off Bomb or ATYCLB(or really any of their albums) is more challenging to sing than anything off NLOTH. That just doesn't make sense.

but Edge's playing has gone back to old "riff orientated U2" rather than melodic U2 .

You'll have to explain this one to me, because Edge has never been "riff oriented", except for a very few exceptions.