New Album Discussion 1 - Songs of..... - Unreasonable guitar album

[Fly-2000]

There's also the possibility that they already had a stockpile of his drum recordings from before his surgery, and they've been using those as a basis. I only mention this because it's what Edge has said that they'd been doing for a while during SOI's recording: https://songexploder.net/u2

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

What’s happening now? Are you guys deep into the next album?

We’re working on so many different things. During the whole Covid lockdown, I just went crazy into creating tracks and song ideas. So we’re starting to go through some of those, and we’ve got an awful lot of material to wade through to see what it is. And I guess we’re at that great honeymoon period of a lot of experimentation, and looking at all kinds of possible themes musically. I think the guitar will be a big part of the next record, but I don’t think it’s going to be a heavy rock album. I think it’s going to be a very different kind of use of the guitar, not a straight-up rock thing.

We’ve never done that. It’s just not who we are. We’ve always tried to avoid using the instrument in a way that’s too mainstream and kind of normal. We’ve always tried to find ways to use the guitar that has never been heard before, and it seems that that’s an important part of what gets us excited.

It’s almost like we’ve got to find our way into the counterculture, and it’s bringing that to the masses rather than ever trying to find what’s happening, what’s fashionable, what’s going on. So the same is happening with us right now, and the songs will tell us the direction of the album. Music starts to come into focus.

This part gets me the most excited about what they're thinking. Seems to be the opposite the approach of everything from the middle of the No Line

 

[Fly-2000]

Noticed this got released yesterday, the track that Larry worked on for the documentary film 'Left Behind'.

 

[ascender_RS]

I always love reading about the songwriting and recording process as U2 always seem so enthusiastic and excited about it. Full of possibilities.

Got to stay optimistic about what we'll hear and then we'll hear it, every day is Christmas Eve....

 

[DomCobb]

I'm liking Happiness more and more as I listen, but man those "heyayeyay"s are really bad. I don't know if they felt like they were leaning into the rough around the edges vibe, but man it sounds like Bono just half heartedly making some sounds while the band is playing, and I'm sure that's exactly where they came from. Wish this was the song they did another vocal pass on instead of "Luckiest Man."

 

[The Disciple]

I'm liking Happiness more and more as I listen, but man those "heyayeyay"s are really bad. I don't know if they felt like they were leaning into the rough around the edges vibe, but man it sounds like Bono just half heartedly making some sounds while the band is playing, and I'm sure that's exactly where they came from. Wish this was the song they did another vocal pass on instead of "Luckiest Man."

I think I’m the only one who likes his weird wails on this track.

 

[dan_smee]

So is tomorrow the last realistic chance of hearing Luckiest Man in the World in advance of the album? There are a few albums recently where I’ve seen songs drop a few days before an album, but conventional wisdom is that Fridays are the likely days?

 

[Zooptom]

Again I feel oddly optimistic after reading this.

The more time they put between now and previous albums, and the more they once again get 'lost in the music', the more likely I reckon it is that they'll make a clean break from Ryan Tedder, and the 'songs of' era, and do something completely new.

In 2019, when they were still clearly in that 'songwriting' phase, and Ryan Tedder said they were working with him again, it seemed like the band was doubling down on the SoI/SoE approach, I was at my least enthusiastic about future music. I didn't like Tedder's style with the band anyway, but that path felt already well-trod, and continuing down it felt like it would be at the expense of any novel evolution and exploration of the bands sound. But now it feels like we could get the same sort of stylistic clean break we used to get between albums. The unknown, rather than more of the same, is way more exciting to me.

We've now had multiple quotes from the band emphasising their desire to jam together in a room, focusing on improvisation and whatever magic comes out of that. It feels like a real step away from the attitude they took from Rick Rubin, where songs 'didnt count' unless they could be played on an acoustic guitar, and all the atmosphere, riffs, and alchemy of the band was treated as a disposable element, or even something that got in the way of the music. For me, it's all that atmosphere, improvisation, and lack of clear, calculated songwriting - almost the moments made by accident - that are behind much of the bands best work. And it seems they're embracing that direction again.

Even the talk of the guitar being front and centre, but not wanting to make a straight up 'rock' album, avoiding any mainstream sounds, using the guitar in ways that haven't been heard before etc... is pretty much exactly what I'd want from them right now. I'm sure we'll still end up with a ton of classic Edge sounds in the end (and probably some 'straight up rock' riffs too), but the fact they're even in that headspace right now is very promising.

Last time they took so long and just try to reach a brightness criativity they went from the huge HTDAAB to the hippie NLOTH so definetely thats is not a good mark

 

[Zooptom]

Yea! POP was started with drum loops in Larry’s absence due to, IIRC, a back injury.

I wouldn’t want loops or samplers or drum machines to replace Larry, but as a POP stan, I’d be interested to see what an album started with a similar approach would sound like these days.

Maybe thats the reason POP is one of their weak jobs + SOS

By coincidence or not both without Larry

There’s no way to run, the U2 of Bono is too pop music, with Edge becomes experimental, with Adam get some body, with Larry comes some breaks and becomes the U2 we loved. When any of them is out of work the band lost their essence

 

[Zooptom]

I'm liking Happiness more and more as I listen, but man those "heyayeyay"s are really bad. I don't know if they felt like they were leaning into the rough around the edges vibe, but man it sounds like Bono just half heartedly making some sounds while the band is playing, and I'm sure that's exactly where they came from. Wish this was the song they did another vocal pass on instead of "Luckiest Man."

LOL
Thats really true
To be honest I am getting used already, as I said a few pages ago, it reminds me those nonsense screamings of "All right" from Zoo Station - Vertigo Tour, that's the way I am trying to imagine haha



Anyway Edge said this song it was not released with the album cause they could not finish it, maybe this explains a bit, never could find a good intro and bridge.

In my point of view this song is a daughter between Vertigo and Love and Peace or Else

 

[JamietheEdgefan]

Last time they took so long and just try to reach a brightness criativity they went from the huge HTDAAB to the hippie NLOTH so definetely thats is not a good mark

True, although the gap between NLOTH and SoI was even longer, and was a creative change in the complete opposite direction to NLOTH.

All u2 albums do indeed seem in part to be a reaction to/evolution from the one before; as you say, NLOTH was made in response to/as a move away from the more commercial, sentimental and big rock sounds of ATYCLB and HTDAAB, and with a sense of adventure and desire to experiment after cementing their status as one of the biggest bands in the world, which they had done with more radio friendly music.

After SoI and SoE, with it's focus on songwriting over band sounds, they're now emphasising the importance of instruments, arrangements, the band working and improvising together to create elements that make the song 'bigger than the sum of its parts'. The 'response' to SoI/SoE is more about reclaiming the sound of the band after having stripped it away in pursuit of songwriting, whereas the response to HTDAAB was about doing something deliberately weird and experimental after the radio-friendly approach of the 00's. I think it's a different headspace.

(Also, NLOTH was made after the huge hits of Beautiful Day and Vertigo, and the band probably felt confident they could repeat those successes even with some experimentation, evidently overestimating their ability to write a hit in an experimental context. They also probably felt they could afford to take the risk given they were at the top of the world at that point. No matter what they say, I'd bet a part of them is yearning to win another big radio smash hit before they retire, and that this will still be at the forefront of their current strategy, where it felt like more of an afterthought for NLOTH.)

Also worth noting: when promoting SoS, Bono expressed a desire for 'big guitar sounds' etc on the next album, whilst specifically referencing NLOTH as a mistake they didn't want to repeat. I think he said something about how they feel confident in writing a strong core of a song (i.e. not neglecting that part whilst distracted by arrangements), and with that skill, they're now interested in applying the 'big guitar sounds' again as well, so that they get the best of both worlds. Big swirling atmospheres and big band moments, coupled with good songwriting at its core.

... But we're a long way from a new album, so we'll see if any of that actually happens! No doubt between now and 2025/6/7, they'll start working with a new producer, settle on a particular sound and approach even they didn't predict, and that will be the narrative of the next album.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

So is tomorrow the last realistic chance of hearing Luckiest Man in the World in advance of the album? There are a few albums recently where I’ve seen songs drop a few days before an album, but conventional wisdom is that Fridays are the likely days?

i think they hold on to it so that the 2% of the world who only gets their music by purchasing it has a reason to buy the set

 

[mikal]

Maybe it'll leak!

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

LuCkIeSt LeAk In ThE wOrLd!!!

 

[lazarus]

I still buy music but even at the lowest price I’ve seen ($95 at ImportCDs), it just doesn’t seem worth it. Especially as I already have the video of the Chicago show, better shows are available as boots anyway, and we already know those remixes aren’t on the level of the stuff from the AB-Pop era.

What’s weird is, correct me if I’m wrong, they aren’t offering a 2-disc (or vinyl) set of just the original album + Re-assembled. It’s basically either the single album or the deluxe sets. I might have shelled out $20 for a two-fer but now I’m just going to get Re-assembled via alternate means, for the low price of Go Fuck Yourselves.

 

[DeVaul]

Re-Assembled is a standalone RSD release.

RSDBF '24 Special Release: U2 - How to Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb

Exclusively available for RSD Black Friday pressed on limited edition Black & Red Vinyl, How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb is a collection of ten songs taken from the original recording sessions for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb -- U2s critically acclaimed, eight-time Grammy-winning album -...

recordstoreday.com

20k being pressed, won’t be hard to find.

 

[Zooptom]

Something that annoys me is their way to release AGAIN Chicago, I mean, it was not the whole show in Milan who get lost, maybe only 3 or 4 songs, they could release it instead of repeat chicago again.

And btw, I remember some shows from that tour it was professionally made a film in good quality, which were? Mexico, Brazil, Argentina...

 

[lazarus]

Re-Assembled is a standalone RSD release.

RSDBF '24 Special Release: U2 - How to Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb

Exclusively available for RSD Black Friday pressed on limited edition Black & Red Vinyl, How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb is a collection of ten songs taken from the original recording sessions for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb -- U2s critically acclaimed, eight-time Grammy-winning album -...

recordstoreday.com

20k being pressed, won’t be hard to find.

That’s vinyl only, which is itself overpriced and a ripoff. I’m looking for a CD.

 

[DeVaul]

Gotcha. Reality is, CDs simply aren’t a focal point for legacy artists outside of boxed sets.

On the plus side, for anyone interested, the vinyl will likely be readily available at under MSRP if you keep your eyes open. They print a ton.

 

[ascender_RS]

I just can't look at this album artwork without thinking Edge is wearing a bald cap or someone has photoshopped his beanie out of it.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Society: why does Edge always have to wear that damn beanie?

Edge: takes off beanie

Society:

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Also Bono looks like he's in the process of failing a field sobriety test

 

[lazarus]

Bono should go on Hot Ones to promote the re-release.

They'll have to explain to him that you don't eat a whole plate of wings for each sauce.

 

[mikal]

Also Bono looks like he's in the process of failing a field sobriety test

I have also walked like that when leaving a Pizza Ranch.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

 

[pacemaker]

That’s just the Xanax + Wine stance

 

[Rich79]

I might have shelled out $20 for a two-fer but now I’m just going to get Re-assembled via alternate means, for the low price of Go Fuck Yourselves.

Same. I mean, I'll prob buy the digital tracks for what a CD should be and then put it all on...wait for it...a CD with the added bonus of no liner-notes or art!

 

[wolbersu2]

Anyone been at the hearing sessions in London tonight? Please share your reviews!

 

[super fly guy]

Couple of people on the U2.com forum saying how great luckiest man sounds. Better than the original.

 

[aMansAman]

Couple of people on the U2.com forum saying how great luckiest man sounds. Better than the original.

Must be the Atmos Mix.
Not the sand inside the pearl.
Or is it really superior to Mercy? Mercy is all we have left