I have a theory! - remix/dance album

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santiago

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I have just listened to the new Magnificent remix U2 have played in Mexico:

YouTube - U2 Magnificent Remix, Mexico City 2011-05-11

It's good, although I think they have cranked up the tempo a little bit and I preferred the more funky feel of the slower original

This makes it the third song they have played in a dancey "remix" version in this tour: Crazy tonight, Even better than the real thing and now Magnificent

I wonder if the dance-oriented album that they have been working on with dance producers is a kind of dance remixes record, a bit like the Cure's mixed up some years ago?
 
wow i didn't know they did a remix last night - just listening now... hope it's good :D
 
mama cass said:
meh
Click to expand...

I kind of thought the same thing. I was really looking forward to it, but then on hearing it I missed the beat and feel of the first version. But I know this was their first time, and I'm sure it will improve as they play it more, hopefully.
 
I haven't seen a 360 show, so I can only assume Magnificent is one of those "it's actually much better when you're in the stadium" songs. It's massively underwhelming on video/bootleg. This version too.
 
Earnie Shavers said:
I haven't seen a 360 show, so I can only assume Magnificent is one of those "it's actually much better when you're in the stadium" songs. It's massively underwhelming on video/bootleg. This version too.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's massively underwhelming in every form.
 
This is probably the most reasonable theory I've ever seen in this forum. Not sure if anyone will want it though.
 
All they've done is play an immensely dreary song at a higher tempo and a backing track...and it's still dreary as hell. This is another example how desperate they've become to try to get the new material to work.
It's really quite amazing that (with the possible exception of MOS) NONE of the NLOTH songs have worked well live. Thank goodness (for them) they've had their back catalog of heets to rely upon during this tour.
 
lemonfly said:
It's really quite amazing that (with the possible exception of MOS) NONE of the NLOTH songs have worked well live. Thank goodness (for them) they've had their back catalog of heets to rely upon during this tour.
Click to expand...

NLOTH has always sounded good live to me.

And Unknown Caller, which was kind of lame to begin with, marginally improved.
 
I think that possibility has been raised before. It might be possible, or might be possible now, but it didn't sound like that's what they (or Bono at least) meant when talking about the 'club' stuff, if that's what you mean. That sounded like original material.

Also, the addition of both the Even Better and Magnificent mixes seems like it's very Willie Williams led. Not band led, so maybe not a sign of something else on the bands radar. More likely, it's the show producer understanding that the Claw has a higher calling, and more jumped up dance music better helps it reach it's potential.

But, I'd be all for them commissioning a few new a-list remixes of older stuff, perhaps as part of any coming Achtung/Zooropa/Zoo orgy. I mean, the Perfecto remix of Even Better was fucking fantastic... in 1992.
 
cobl04 said:
Actually, it's massively underwhelming in every form.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but it does seem to be very popular, both on record and live.

There was a quote from Bono late last year, talking about No Line, where he said that their problem is that they can make a bad song sound good. I'm sure he wasn't talking about Magnificent - and probably not any specific No Line track, just a general working issue - but it did make me immediately think of Magnificent. It’s not a ‘bad’ song, but it is an incredibly weak song. There's really nothing there, it just sounds good care of Eno and/or Will.i.Am. The rhythm is good, but its also one of those ones where U2 are somehow able to make a very slow song sound faster than it is. So live, it seems they can’t replicate the ‘lushness’ of the record, it’s ‘true’ clunky pace is clear, and then in reality Edge and Bono bring absolutely nothing to it, so…
 
I've been waiting all tour long for them to adapt the Fred Faulke Dance Remix of this song. This is as close as we'll get, I guess. I dig it. Amazing visual.s
 
lemonfly said:
All they've done is play an immensely dreary song at a higher tempo and a backing track...and it's still dreary as hell. This is another example how desperate they've become to try to get the new material to work.
It's really quite amazing that (with the possible exception of MOS) NONE of the NLOTH songs have worked well live. Thank goodness (for them) they've had their back catalog of heets to rely upon during this tour.
Click to expand...

No line on the horizon is great live.

This reworking of fantabulous? Not so much.
 
NLOTH, GOYB, Breathe and (yes, I'll say it) Stand Up Comedy were the only moments on the album that any sense of energy. Everything just kind of trodded along.

Unknown Caller significantly improved live due to the tempo change.
 
Fuck it, as long as they keep playing Zooropa, I could care less what they do to the other songs.

Although, last night in Mexico City, Bono forgot to sing my favorite part, the "Uncertainty can be a guiding light". He repeated the "you've got the right shoes to get you through the night" part twice.
 
Actually I really like the original Magnificent live. I think the Motown-eseque bass is fantastic (best Adam bassline since Mysterious ways) and in the three concerts I saw it it really did sound good in a stadium. For me it's one of the best NLOTH songs and on one of the NLOTH singles there is a fantastic live version from one of the pre-tour concerts.

This remix however sounds a bit rushed to me. The backing track is not that special and the fast tempo, although it has energy, loses some of the grooviness. Then, in this clip we cannot really hear the bass, so it's hard to tell...

About the possibility of a remix album, it's not my favourite idea (that would be the original "Songs of ascent" material) , although I do find the Crazy tonight and EBTTRT remixes interesting and refreshing. I also like Larry playing along to pre-recorded electronic beats, it's a very "Pop" idea (the U2 album, not the genre!).

Santiago
 
I disagree Unknown Caller improved live. It felt really flat, repetitive (with the oooh-ooohs in the beginning and the repeated chorus in the end) and Bono was probably never as annoying as on that song (bah-bah-bah-bah during the organ... :confused:)...

No Line on the Horizon, Crazy Tonight and Sexy Boots are much better live. Well, the latter two are more tolerable live.

This Magnificent remix does nothing for me, and I believe as well that the intro was by far and away the best part of that song. As for being the best bassline since Mysterious Ways... I think Adam's work on stuff like Do You Feel Loved, Mofo and Velvet Dress is much, much better.
 
Adam hasn't had anything real noteworthy since Pop. But at least he's admitted he's given up trying to come up with the baddest baseline ever, and becoming more of a musical bassist trying to fit in with the song.

While he's been strong with his bass, he continues to choose to stay in the background instead of having that one or two songs a album where he leads the music.
 
Just listened for the first time. I'm all for trying new things - but that was not as good as the original. The thing that never made sense to me about Maggy was that the best part (the first few seconds of guitar) is never repeated later in the song. I don't get why that is. I would have thought bringing that sound back for a new more crunches right before the climax would have made more sense? And now its cut out entirely... oh well!
 
Jeez louise why can't they just make a version out of one of the dance remixes? They went and took out the kick on every beat which made the song reasonably good on the album. The song needs to be a dance track with a solid kick on every beat and the bass cranked - think Gloria from UABRS. I'm not one for being a complainer but this version is just blah, sorry. All they had to do was speed it up to one of the remix speeds, and incorporate some of the elements of that intro.
 
I didn't hate it, didn't love it. I do like that the drumming stops right before the chorus and then kick backs in, though.

And I think it sounds better slightly sped up too. Potential for sure, not totally realized though.
 
santiago said:
I have just listened to the new Magnificent remix U2 have played in Mexico:

YouTube - U2 Magnificent Remix, Mexico City 2011-05-11

It's good, although I think they have cranked up the tempo a little bit and I preferred the more funky feel of the slower original

This makes it the third song they have played in a dancey "remix" version in this tour: Crazy tonight, Even better than the real thing and now Magnificent

I wonder if the dance-oriented album that they have been working on with dance producers is a kind of dance remixes record, a bit like the Cure's mixed up some years ago?
Click to expand...

Bring up the speed up a little, and the intro needs to get back. It is only the first performance but EBTTRT and Crazy remixes are superior.
 
lemonfly said:
All they've done is play an immensely dreary song at a higher tempo and a backing track...and it's still dreary as hell. This is another example how desperate they've become to try to get the new material to work.
It's really quite amazing that (with the possible exception of MOS) NONE of the NLOTH songs have worked well live. Thank goodness (for them) they've had their back catalog of heets to rely upon during this tour.
Click to expand...

:down:

I like NLOTH, Breathe, MOS, and even Magnificent in the shows I've seen. I also really enjoyed the remixed Crazy, although this may agree with your "argument".

Unknown Caller is my "meh" moment. It's not a bad track, but a bit of an album filler and rather boring in concert. But there have been "meh" moments for all tours for all albums.
 
I've said it before and I'll say it again - if they had simply recorded the song anywhere near the same style and speed as one of the remixes and had put THAT on the album, I think it would have given the album a better chance. It could have actually maybe even been a legitimate lead single. It's a huge song imo that was just a tad too slow to begin with.
 
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