I dunno, have you seen their t-shirts?
New Album Discussion 1 - Songs of..... - Unreasonable guitar album
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If Bono isn't going to sing the Pavarotti part live, then they should never play the song again.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
it's interesting how individual it is for everyone ... my husband, who is a casual, and usually comes with me on one show per tour and generally enjoys them (although he enjoys watching me experience every possible human emotion even more), absolutely LOVED the Sphere show, said it was by far his favorite. and he was fully engaged, i believe, the entire time. i didn't check in with him during So Cruel or whatever, because i was living out my dream of them playing that live that i've had since 1992, but he thought it was great and still talks about it -- the visuals, but also the perfect sound.
and this was someone who nodded off during RHMT on the JT tour.
i think they still do play for an audience of 80% casuals, 20% die hards, and that's reflected in their set lists, and i think that's fine. casuals are going to nod off during the rarities, and that should be expected -- i knew less than half of what Pearl Jam played when I saw them this past spring, but i still enjoyed the show, and of course the stuff form their first three albums (which i know by heart). they will probably always do this, and they probably always should.
all that said, it was kind of breathtaking watching them barrel through the first half of the JT tour with inarguable song after inarguable song -- an absolute tour de force. it's why, despite the fact that they've been super uncool since the Apple debacle, everyone secretly still loves at least a dozen U2 songs. it would be something to watch them do 24 songs that are familiar to 90%+ of their audience, just to see what that would look and sound like and make it nearly impossible for anyone to take a pee break. they have that much depth.
super fly guy
New Yorker
Larry could be a dancer if he can't drum?
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
And then to follow it up with Ultraviolet, even though I love that song, did nothing to bring the energy back.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
How could you argue with this for-the-Basics setlist:
Grand Opening
1. COBL
2. IWF
Bono chat: "Hello, St. Louis! You rock so much harder than (checks notes) Kansas City!"
Let's Rock
3. Vertigo
4. Gloria
5. UTEOTW
6. SBS
7. NYD
Sing Along Time
8. ISHF
9. BD
10. Stay
11. Wild Horses
B-Stage
12. Desire
13. Angel of Harlem
14. SATS
15. AIWIY
Darkness to Light
16. BTBS
17. RTSS
18. Bad
19. Streets
20. Pride
Bono speech: "Remember there are poor people!"
21. One
Encore
22. Elevation (sorry, but the kids, who are now in their late 30s) love this one)
23. MW
24. WOWY
25. 40 (wow, bonus song!)
Please, go ahead and argue.
Grand Opening
1. COBL
2. IWF
Bono chat: "Hello, St. Louis! You rock so much harder than (checks notes) Kansas City!"
Let's Rock
3. Vertigo
4. Gloria
5. UTEOTW
6. SBS
7. NYD
Sing Along Time
8. ISHF
9. BD
10. Stay
11. Wild Horses
B-Stage
12. Desire
13. Angel of Harlem
14. SATS
15. AIWIY
Darkness to Light
16. BTBS
17. RTSS
18. Bad
19. Streets
20. Pride
Bono speech: "Remember there are poor people!"
21. One
Encore
22. Elevation (sorry, but the kids, who are now in their late 30s) love this one)
23. MW
24. WOWY
25. 40 (wow, bonus song!)
Please, go ahead and argue.
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cm
The Fly
I would remove 13. Angel of Harlem and add 18.5. Please.
monkeyskin
Refugee
Can't really argue with that Greatest Hits setlist. Nothing post-Bomb feels right.
What I'd love is a Lovetown revival, toss in some covers and just blast through a fun set.
What I'd love is a Lovetown revival, toss in some covers and just blast through a fun set.
cobl04
45:33
What examples do you have of his lower register being gone? I think it sounds great. I think it's his best asset now, and I wish they'd fucking lean into it more. It's why Cedars of Lebanon is maybe my favourite post-Bomb track. 40Ft Man has a bit of it, SLABT, Troubles, Landlady. All their horrible songs of the past 15 years are the ones where he's straining to hit these soaring notes that they've conditioned themselves to think that's all people want from U2.
AndrewCowley
Refugee
Literally all of SOS.
Great job with this!
Seriously! I'd see it as many times as money and time off from work allow.
I think that project just comes off that way because the performances are a lot more raw & off-the-cuff than we're used to and he's using it on songs that were never written that way in the first place. Overall, it's jarring, he wavers, and it doesn't quite work in a lot of places; but I don't think it's indicative of his low register just being worthless. He just needs to make sure it's a little more conditioned I'd say.
I'll eat my words if they do a bunch of brand new material where he sings lower and it blows, but they won't because...
david
ONE love, blood, life
Remember how epic they tried make live performances of Every Braking Wave come off as? Its peak performance was at the 2014 MTV EMAs:
First of all sorry for quote all of you but now is done LOL
It's a long time I was missing to speak with others U2 fans and found this classical masterpiece of forum, thank you to receive me
Well About Happyness...
I really enjoyed this song; obviously, it’s no classic masterpiece, but it's the best rock single since the HTDAAB album itself. It even has a refreshing, youthful energy that I felt right away. And it’s not like Take Me Out, as I’ve seen many people say. Sure, it has that guitar-driven vibe, but it doesn’t sound like a copy.
When U2 moves away from the romantic, sugarcoated style of *The Joshua Tree* and *All That You Can’t Leave Behind*, I tend to not like it at first. That was the case with *Invisible*, with *Vertigo*, with *Mofo*, with *Elevation*, and even with half of *Achtung Baby*, which took me about two years to really appreciate and add to my favorites list. But with this song, as with *Stars Don’t Go*, I loved it right from the start. It’s the kind of song that could easily put U2 back on track, at least returning to the *HTDAAB* era, which took them back to the top.
That intro is a bit cringy and kind of annoying, but I can easily imagine them shouting it on the Vertigo Tour stage, just like they did with "All Right" in *Zoo Station.*
It also made me ask: Why Larry and specially Adam doesn't help on chorus anymore, I think Adam since TJT is not helping on vocals.
And the only part that tops it for cringiness is the first hook of the chorus, *"Happyneeeeessssss,"* but once it explodes with *"Stop Talking! I'm talking to you,"* the song takes off.
Adam is phenomenal on the bass, and as for Edge’s solo, don’t even get me started—it wouldn’t surprise me if they said this song came from the same sessions as *Love and Peace or Else.* It would fit perfectly between *LPOE* and *Vertigo.*
As I said, it will probably never become a classic hit, but it's easily better than a lot of the stuff they’ve released recently. *"The Miracle (of Joey Ramone),"* I’m talking to you, *Blackout*, *American Soul*, etc. It’s a song where the production reminds me of Steve Lillywhite and The Edge producing alone in the studio with his guitar. We need more of that.
Sabe, nunca desgostei de Misericórdia e nunca me apaixonei por ela também.
It's a long time I was missing to speak with others U2 fans and found this classical masterpiece of forum, thank you to receive me
Well About Happyness...
I really enjoyed this song; obviously, it’s no classic masterpiece, but it's the best rock single since the HTDAAB album itself. It even has a refreshing, youthful energy that I felt right away. And it’s not like Take Me Out, as I’ve seen many people say. Sure, it has that guitar-driven vibe, but it doesn’t sound like a copy.
When U2 moves away from the romantic, sugarcoated style of *The Joshua Tree* and *All That You Can’t Leave Behind*, I tend to not like it at first. That was the case with *Invisible*, with *Vertigo*, with *Mofo*, with *Elevation*, and even with half of *Achtung Baby*, which took me about two years to really appreciate and add to my favorites list. But with this song, as with *Stars Don’t Go*, I loved it right from the start. It’s the kind of song that could easily put U2 back on track, at least returning to the *HTDAAB* era, which took them back to the top.
That intro is a bit cringy and kind of annoying, but I can easily imagine them shouting it on the Vertigo Tour stage, just like they did with "All Right" in *Zoo Station.*
It also made me ask: Why Larry and specially Adam doesn't help on chorus anymore, I think Adam since TJT is not helping on vocals.
And the only part that tops it for cringiness is the first hook of the chorus, *"Happyneeeeessssss,"* but once it explodes with *"Stop Talking! I'm talking to you,"* the song takes off.
Adam is phenomenal on the bass, and as for Edge’s solo, don’t even get me started—it wouldn’t surprise me if they said this song came from the same sessions as *Love and Peace or Else.* It would fit perfectly between *LPOE* and *Vertigo.*
As I said, it will probably never become a classic hit, but it's easily better than a lot of the stuff they’ve released recently. *"The Miracle (of Joey Ramone),"* I’m talking to you, *Blackout*, *American Soul*, etc. It’s a song where the production reminds me of Steve Lillywhite and The Edge producing alone in the studio with his guitar. We need more of that.
Sabe, nunca desgostei de Misericórdia e nunca me apaixonei por ela também.
Scorpionac
War Child
I think any greatest hits show should definitely feature HMTMKMKM. I've only seen the band once and even though they played like my five favourite songs of theirs and tons of hits, HMTMKMKM was easily the best song of the night. It rocked!
Somewhat related, I don't live in an area that U2 will ever play again, so I don't really care about them touring. I'm much more interested in hearing demos, rarities, unreleased stuff etc. New music would be nice but I'm not expecting much.
Somewhat related, I don't live in an area that U2 will ever play again, so I don't really care about them touring. I'm much more interested in hearing demos, rarities, unreleased stuff etc. New music would be nice but I'm not expecting much.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
Excellent point.
Registered Dude
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
did I miss discussion on the Record Collector interviews? some new album stuff in there.
Summary here: u2songs | Record Collector Out Today |
highlights for me.. stripping away loops, additional instrumentation, production, etc. Moving away from Songs Of... approach to lyrics. An acknowledgement from Adam that they're not chasing relevance anymore
Summary here: u2songs | Record Collector Out Today |
highlights for me.. stripping away loops, additional instrumentation, production, etc. Moving away from Songs Of... approach to lyrics. An acknowledgement from Adam that they're not chasing relevance anymore
ascender_RS
Refugee
I forgot that was out, will try to pick up a copy later today.
From that u2songs summary, it does sound like the same old soundbites.
From that u2songs summary, it does sound like the same old soundbites.
JamietheEdgefan
Refugee
Good catch, there is some interesting info in here!
What caught my eye the most was Bono saying that the retrospective songs about his past - that they covered in SoI & SoE- are over and done with. So it seems we are officially beyond that era now.
They were working with Ryan Tedder in 2019 on another album, after the JT tour ended and before the pandemic. Now that it's been years since that, with no mention of him, and they're expressing a whole new way of writing/recording, which by extension implies (at least to me) that they're only just getting started on the album as of now... it all makes me wonder if they were initially going to do another 'Songs of...' album, but have now ditched that to try something completely new?
I'm also quite excited by the sentiments expressed by Adam, Edge and Bono about letting the songs take shape through the act of playing together. Sounds way more like their pre-SoI approach, where they'd jam until something indefinable but magical happened, something that couldn't quite be quantified (and might not sound as good on an acoustic guitar), but was undeniably great. I think that's where their magic really lies, whereas writing 'songs' first so they could be stripped back seemed to put 'competence' above that magic.
I'm getting the sense an album is still quite a way off, but I actually feel quite optimistic about what's next based on what they've said. I think I'd actually prefer it to an announcement of "here's our third 'songs of' album out today, produced by Ryan Tedder, we think it really showcases our songwriting skills and we can't wait to promote it with just Bono, Edge and an acoustic guitar."
Of course, these could all just be lines to avoid drawing focus onto the next album/away from the HTDAAB reissue, and maybe the only issue is waiting for Larry to get better. But they do seem to be making a point of drawing a line under the 'songs of' era, in terms of both theme and song writing, and I don't think they'd do that if they really were continuing with the same approach as in the 2010's.
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Registered Dude
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
I really like this from Adam... feels like a fresh take. And a good reminder not to read too far into tentative tour date & venue bookings
Adam: Our diary is always completely overbooked. Whether or not we turn up for the dates in the diary is another thing. We realise that we’re at a critical phase in our career. Very often at this point in a band’s life, they see that the end is in sight. We’re not getting any closer to the culture. We’re not getting any more relevant, so our songwriting is less important. What you really acquire after being a band for a long time is an audience, and that audience represents a field, as in agriculture. You can go to that audience maybe every three years, or whatever, and you can present yourselves differently to them. But then you have to leave them alone. You have to leave a little bit of space.
Adam: Our diary is always completely overbooked. Whether or not we turn up for the dates in the diary is another thing. We realise that we’re at a critical phase in our career. Very often at this point in a band’s life, they see that the end is in sight. We’re not getting any closer to the culture. We’re not getting any more relevant, so our songwriting is less important. What you really acquire after being a band for a long time is an audience, and that audience represents a field, as in agriculture. You can go to that audience maybe every three years, or whatever, and you can present yourselves differently to them. But then you have to leave them alone. You have to leave a little bit of space.
JamietheEdgefan
Refugee
I like that he specifically says songwriting is less important when there's no need to stay relevant. Sounds like a direct jab at SoI/Ryan Tedder-style production.
I'm not sure I fully understand that point about giving the audience space/leaving them alone... Maybe that's their narrative/reasoning for the 8 year gap (at least) that we'll end up with between albums.
I'm not sure I fully understand that point about giving the audience space/leaving them alone... Maybe that's their narrative/reasoning for the 8 year gap (at least) that we'll end up with between albums.
super fly guy
New Yorker
Yeah,not getting that last quote either. We want more,not less!
namkcuR
ONE love, blood, life
That's a great set, but I'd take it even a step further. Somebody mentioned an Eras-type set, and someone else mentioned a one-ticket-for-two-nights-with-no-repeats model similar to what Metallica's been doing on their current tour. Swift is doing 40+ song sets, and U2 has never done sets that long even when they were younger, so why not spread it out over two gigs per city? Eras style, 50 songs over two nights. Something like this:
Night 1: The 80s
1979-82
1. I Will Follow
2. Out Of Control
3. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock
4. An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart
5. Gloria
6. Electric Co.
7. Party Girl
8. October
1983-85
9. New Year's Day
10. Two Hearts Beat As One
11. Sunday Bloody Sunday
12. Pride(In The Name Of Love)
13. A Sort Of Homecoming
14. The Unforgettable Fire
15. Bad/MLK(snippet)
1987-89
16. Where The Streets Have No Name
17. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
18. With Or Without You
19. Bullet The Blue Sky
20. Running To Stand Still
21. Desire
22. Angel Of Harlem
23. One Tree Hill
24. All I Want Is You
Closer
25. 40
Night 2: 1991-2006
1991-93
1. Even Better Than The Real Thing
2. The Fly
3. Mysterious Ways
4. Until The End Of The World
5. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
6. Stay(Faraway, So Close)
7. Ultraviolet(Light My Way)
8. Numb or Lemon or Dirty Day
1995-98
9. Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me
10. Discotheque
11. Mofo
12. Gone
13. Please
14. If God Will Send His Angels
15. Staring At The Sun(Acoustic)
16. Sweetest Thing
2000-06
17. City Of Blinding Lights
18. Vertigo
19. All Because Of You
20. Elevation
21. Beautiful Day
22. Stuck In A Moment
23. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own or Original Of The Species
24. Walk On
Closer
25. One
It's mostly singles, and the ones that aren't have reason - ACD/ITH and Electric Co. are old-school fan favorites and were very well received on the Vertigo Tour, October was on the Best Of 1980-1990, Party Girl has been an unlikely fan favorite, ASOH had some exposure from the WAIA live version, One Tree Hill is perhaps the best known song on Side B of JT(and it actually was a single down under), Bad and UTEOTW are so ubiquitous that they may as well have been singles, Ultraviolet was performed on SNL in 2009, and Gone was more well-liked than some of Pop's singles(and was on the Best Of 1990-2000). There are really no deep cuts here.
I like some of the segues between eras too...October/NYD is an old-school thing they used to do on the War Tour, Bad/Streets is obvious, and that mini-acoustic set at the end of 95-98 culminating with Sweetest Thing goes well into the poppier 00s material.
You could swap some tracks out for others, but that's the idea.
And yes, I stopped after Bomb. I toyed with cutting some songs from Night 2 and adding a 3-5 song post-Bomb set covering NLOTH/SOI/SOE at the end(think MOS, Ordinary Love, EBW, Love Is Bigger OR Best Thing OR Little Things), but when I envisioned it all I could see was a ton of people leaving early to beat the traffic.
phanan
Blue Crack Addict
On Rush’s last tour they did one song an album, starting with the latest and going backward. U2 has less albums so could simply do two or three songs from the bigger albums to help fill out the set list (or alternate as needed).
I think they'd set out to do this, get lazy, and combine it all into one night.
Alas - this would be a dream scenario for a U2 tour right now, for me.
Or, better yet, another round of shows at Sphere. Tour a new album next year, then come back to Vegas for the U2 Eras residency.
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
"Now we kind of want to go back, and kind of take the layers off, and get down to what the band does really well. Which is to play live in a room. There’s a freshness to that now, and i don’t know if there’s many bands that can still make records that way. "
There are plenty of indie bands who don't have the money to all kinds of crazy shit that make record this way, all the time.
"We’re not getting any more relevant, so our songwriting is less important."
Great to hear from him, but it would be better to hear it from one of the two actual songwriters who have been hijacking the total essence of this band for the last 10 years.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
one ticket, two nights would be amazing for me.
HEAR THE ALBUM FIRST
They're mixing HTRAAB in dolby atmos! Just one step away from producing it on bluray for the best quality. I would definately buy such a disc! A great step for the band to release another atmos mix (after AB), because they're not really famous of great sound quality .
They're mixing HTRAAB in dolby atmos! Just one step away from producing it on bluray for the best quality. I would definately buy such a disc! A great step for the band to release another atmos mix (after AB), because they're not really famous of great sound quality .
I already can hear the trailer of it
"ONE TICKET"
"TWO NIGHTS"
"TRIPLE OF PRICE"
"FOUR CLASSIC MEMBERS"
"U2 FOREVER TOUR 2025"
TinKnight
Refugee
I volunteer to be anyone's +1 for the NYC playing.
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