Lillywhite has replaced Chris Thomas

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Oh, thank God! I've been praying for Lillywhite to produce for U2 again for years. He's always gotten the best immediacy out of them. Many of U2's hit singles have been produced by him, and are usually very guitar oriented.

It's a shame Chris Thomas is no longer there, though. I was really looking forward to hearing his sound come through and produce something different for U2. What he did with Pulp and INXS was exceptional. Hopefully, Chris Thomas hasn't been replaced, just added to.
 
real news at last!!!
lilywhite is probably the right guy to achieve the raw rock n'roll sound they wanted, beside being a guy that knows them for years and have spent so many time with them in the studio.
This is really good news concerning the album quality, no matter the release date.
 
u2log.com:

Steve Lillywhite to produce U2's new album
Just as we were beginning to wonder what on earth was going on with U2?s new album and the deafening silence surrounding the project, Billboard comes with the surprising news that Steve Lillywhite will be producing the album.

Such is the power of U2 that they can pull Lillywhite from semi-retirement. Steve will leave his job as Mercury U.K. joint managing director and start work on production next week.

But wait a minute? what about the work U2 had done with producer Chris Thomas? Does this mean Bono wasn?t kidding when he told RTE presenter Pat Kenny ?the band had just spent time in London working on three new songs with a lavish fifty piece orchestra, only to find that the songs were ?shite??.

At the time, The Edge added that it was merely ?back to the drawing board? on the songs in question. Now it seems that was too optimistic an outlook. One might speculate somewhere along the line the project derailed. Which means Lillywhite?s there to put it back on track.

This is, however, not the first time the band have switched producers during the recording process. U2 initially went into the studio with Nellee Hooper to record what would eventually become their album Pop, but the work was later overseen by Eno and Howie B.


Full Billboard story:
Mercury U.K. joint managing director Steve Lillywhite has left his role with the label to return to his roots in record production. Lillywhite tells Billboard.biz he will take no time off and will begin producing an album by U2 next week. The as-yet-untitled set is due from Interscope/Island later this year.

?It?s the first time I?ll have gone in to actually start a record with them in 20 years,? says Lillywhite. ?I worked on ?The Joshua Tree,? ?Achtung Baby? and ?All That You Can?t Leave Behind,? but this will be the first time I?ve really set up the mikes and done everything for a long time.?

Lillywhite also oversaw the band?s first two albums, 1980?s ?Boy? and 1981?s ?October.? He adds, ?I?ve heard some great songs. The Edge is playing some really great guitar.?

The new U2 album will be the follow-up to 2000?s ?All That You Can?t Leave Behind,? which debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 4.1 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. The set was named best rock album at the 2001 Grammys and placed three tracks in the top-10 of Billboard?s Modern Rock Tracks airplay chart: ?Beautiful Day? (No. 5), ?Elevation? (No. 8) and ?Walk On? (No. 10).

Lillywhite, one of Britain?s top rock producers, has a list of credits that includes the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Morrissey and the Dave Matthews Band. In 2002, he was brought to Universal U.K. by chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge.

?I?ve had two great years, and I?ve loved a lot of it,? says Lillywhite, ?but really I wasn?t that made out for getting up early in the morning. That?s 25 years of producing records. I got more and more of an urge to be in the studio, so Lucian and I had a chat and decided it was best that I return to that.?

? Paul Sexton, London
Click to expand...
 
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Finally some solid news and not just rumours, unfortunately this means the album definately won't be out for some time probably after summer. I'd say if their starting to re-record everything then probably 2-3 months recording and then 1-2 months mixing then 3 months from then to release date so September or October sounds about right :(
 
I am not surprised by Lillywhite joining the sessions. For the last one (too long so I wont write the name, but since I have typed this much I think I should have written it, but anyway) Lanois was a resident producer while Eno was working on in and out basis. I think they required Chris Thomas to tell them stories about the Beatles and Pink Floyds and as soon as his stories dried up, band must have got inspiration and now started to seriously record the album. His contribution wont be overlooked.I think most of the songs on the new album would be produced by "Rainey and Thomas and Lillywhite"

I hope Bono has started 'thinking' about the lyrics.
 
Steve Lillywhite! Yay!!!!!!!!! I love the work he's done with them before. Knowing he's on board might help me make it until the end of the year.
 
So much for new sounds, they're going back to an old producer. IF, and i mean IF, U2 are starting to record "again", we won't hear jack shit from them until next year.
 
They should just go ahead and call Lanois and Eno in just to get things back on track. They'll work hard in the summer and have it out by October. I'm excited to hear Edge's guitar everyone has been talking about. 7 months to go.....:crazy:
 
finally some news from the horses mouth...

Producer Steve Lillywhite has joined the production team as the band hit the final stretch in recording the new album.

Lillywhite, who produced U2's first three albums and has regularly been at the desk since, is set to begin work this week and is already delighted with the material he has heard.

'I've heard some great songs.' he told Billboard. 'The Edge is playing some really great guitar.'

During 2003, Chris Thomas worked closely with U2 on new material, while in the autumn, in between his own shows, Daniel Lanois also popped in to the studio.

'There are various producers involved in this album,' Paul McGuinness told U2.Com, emphasising the organic nature of the recording process. 'Chris Thomas has done some great work. It's good to work with Steve again but it's not as if we're starting from scratch.'
Click to expand...
 
JOFO said:
new album: December 2005.
Click to expand...
I thought it was even funnier when you posted this in the news forum
so I'm glad you went through the trouble of doing that
 
Thank you Paul McGuinness for finally sounding off. OK, first of all "I WAS WRONG" for a) the album is NOT finished and b) it will not be released in March/May.

Now, I am happy to see that Steve Lillywhite will be taking a much more hands on approach with the band than he has in some time. Every "great" U2 album has been worked on by Lillywhite in some form or another. I think, repeat "I THINK" U2 have decided to reshape the sound of a few songs and are going back to a trusted voice to help them. I now agree with Chizip and (I think) Acrobat that Lanois tinkered and tooled and gave them new direction back in November. I also think that the album will have various production credits and that the work they've done with Chris Thomas will show up on the new album. OK, I've got that off my chest and I feel better now.
 
its good to have you on board my friend

but now im thinking even september may not be realistic :yikes:

let's hope so though
 
who said its only a few tracks?

they said they arent starting from scratch, but that should be obvious since its been 3 years and counting...
 
"KEEP THE FAITH" - Bono's Tart

I dunno if I can. I had faith that the album would be released last fall. Then I had faith that the album would be released this spring. I have no faith at all that the band will release the album this fall. If they do, that will be great. But I am not holding my breathe for it.
 
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