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

[Headache in a Suitcase]

“I’m not sure U2 are going to turn into AC/DC exactly," Edge warns, tempering expectations fuelled by Bono recently that he might pull an Angus Young on the next album.

"I’ll still be trying to find ways to use the instrument that are new and unfamiliar. But I’m absolutely convinced that the guitar is going to be front and centre within mainstream music culture in a year or two, and I want to be part of that revival.”

I wonder what Edge is listening to for him to believe that guitar is going to make a comeback in today’s pro tools- hip hop world? Any guitar resurgence seems related to the niche instagram/ TikTok virtuosos or church worship music crowd.

Unless Edge was listening to this https://youtu.be/kwbJrxxqDtI

And was thinking to himself, U2 can do something more interesting than the above.

i think at some point there's an inevitability to the pendulum swinging back the other way.

 

[mikal]

SOI as a whole featured really good guitar playing by The Edge.

 

[DeVaul]

too bad bono vomited all over the track.

“Ba ba ba ba ba”

 

[ferball415]

All comes down to Larry’s readiness. Will they go work in the studio without him able to play?

Pop 2: Toppermost of the Poppermost

 

[MattD]

By the way, in retrospect, ATYCLB or HTDAAB were probably the last interesting Edge guitar moments!

I was listening to When I Look At The World recently and was struck by the fuzzy discordant guitar driving that tune. Loved it.

If Edge wants to make an album where the guitar is front and centre, I do hope it's not the conventional and generic rock riffs he's been playing of the last 10 plus years.

I hope it's a return to the finely crafted effects laden, dense and orchestrated guitar sound that make U2 the band they are. That doesn't mean a return to an old style but when I listen to Discotheque, The Fly, A Sort of Homecoming, Beautiful Day, these are all very different songs but common denominator being the textured soundscapes that come from them. If he can do that with something heavier then amazing.

Outside of that with his conventional 'rawk' riffs of late, he's just another guitarist rather than the sound pioneer we know him to be.

 

[MattD]

One of the guitar magazines interviewed edge in the last couple of weeks and he mentioned that they have “tons” of new material to pick from for the new album. I don’t think they are starting from scratch - maybe they just think SOA on the back of SOS might be a bit too mellow and they are mining their unreleased catalogues for a more update release. Either way, after 6 years of no new music I’m sure they will drop something next year.

Knowing U2, it's almost a guarantee they will start from scratch!

"We feel a bit removed from that material now".

I hope we get some massive anthology from them with all the demos, sessions and jamming. Final gift to the world is spamming all itunes users with millions of unfinished/unheard tracks.

 

[DeVaul]

"We feel a bit removed from that material now".

Shiiiiit, could totally see it

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

theory: songs of ascent is done and will be the last album released, and without a tour. there will be more more massive global tour, tied to an album of heavy guitar songs to appease lawrence, who is done with this shit and wants to call it a day. which he will, after said world tour. he'll sit at home and count his dollarydoos from the songs of ascent album - the last with the original 4.

they'll continue to perform as a 3 + 1 into the future, with larry retired.

 

[clerks]

Or Larry gets a new dick and new arms -- last man standing touring until the year 3000.

 

[DeVaul]

theory: songs of ascent is done and will be the last album released, and without a tour. there will be more more massive global tour, tied to an album of heavy guitar songs to appease lawrence, who is done with this shit and wants to call it a day. which he will, after said world tour. he'll sit at home and count his dollarydoos from the songs of ascent album - the last with the original 4.

they'll continue to perform as a 3 + 1 into the future, with larry retired.

No sir, I don’t like it. Could see it happening though. Bono cutting back on his extracurriculars to re-commit to U2 feels like something is certainly at play. Larry would be quitting what had become a part-time job.

 

[ferball415]

I was listening to When I Look At The World recently and was struck by the fuzzy discordant guitar driving that tune. Loved it.

If Edge wants to make an album where the guitar is front and centre, I do hope it's not the conventional and generic rock riffs he's been playing of the last 10 plus years.

I hope it's a return to the finely crafted effects laden, dense and orchestrated guitar sound that make U2 the band they are. That doesn't mean a return to an old style but when I listen to Discotheque, The Fly, A Sort of Homecoming, Beautiful Day, these are all very different songs but common denominator being the textured soundscapes that come from them. If he can do that with something heavier then amazing.

Outside of that with his conventional 'rawk' riffs of late, he's just another guitarist rather than the sound pioneer we know him to be.

Yep. And WILATW's solo is great.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

No sir, I don’t like it. Could see it happening though. Bono cutting back on his extracurriculars to re-commit to U2 feels like something is certainly at play. Larry would be quitting what had become a part-time job.

final tour wraps in 2026. #U250

 

[DeVaul]

final tour wraps in 2026. #U250

At this rate, it might START in 2026

 

[Flying FuManchu]

theory: songs of ascent is done and will be the last album released, and without a tour. there will be more more massive global tour, tied to an album of heavy guitar songs to appease lawrence, who is done with this shit and wants to call it a day. which he will, after said world tour. he'll sit at home and count his dollarydoos from the songs of ascent album - the last with the original 4.

they'll continue to perform as a 3 + 1 into the future, with larry retired.

Didn’t Larry and or Adam get scammed out of some money a while back and aren’t they the guys that were not into the U2 investment group angle Bono and Edge had back in the day? I would think Larry would still want those buckaroos! He always came off as the “it’s got to make sense dollars wise guy.”

 

[JamietheEdgefan]

theory: songs of ascent is done and will be the last album released, and without a tour. there will be more more massive global tour, tied to an album of heavy guitar songs to appease lawrence, who is done with this shit and wants to call it a day. which he will, after said world tour. he'll sit at home and count his dollarydoos from the songs of ascent album - the last with the original 4.

they'll continue to perform as a 3 + 1 into the future, with larry retired.

I agree with most of this prediction, except the no tour for SoA part. I think SoA - if ever released - won't be as experimental and averse to radio play as it may have been, had it come out in its originally intended form in 2010, as a quick follow up to NLOTH.

When Bono played some tracks being worked on for SoA in that NYT interview last year, he described it as "a very cool, Beatle-y thing, a ridiculous pop sort of Rubber Soul".

I'm sure SoA will be different to the guitar album, more mellow and stripped back, but I reckon it'll still have that U2 DNA that makes it try to connect to a big audience. Not necessarily in a cynical 'we want a top ten radio hit' way, but something that people will connect with, especially live.

I could imagine them releasing it mid-way through the tour for the rock album, and treating the whole thing as a giant, epic 'farewell' tour.

... I could also see SoA being a 'spiritual' album but with a huge stadium sound, where every song has traces of 'where the streets have no name'.

 

[DeVaul]

I can’t see Bono quitting. Not yet. He still wants it too much. But I also can’t see them carrying on as U2 without Larry. A “touring” drummer for a 25 show residency while Larry is recovering is one thing. We’ve all made our peace with that to some degree. If he’s not contributing to new songs or - outside of Vegas - behind the kit live, the band is over. Call it something else.

 

[clerks]

Why do people think Larry is out? He's been there the whole time. He's hurt now.

 

[DeVaul]

Why do people think Larry is out? He's been there the whole time. He's hurt now.

His grumpy comments didn’t inspire a lot of confidence, coupled with Bono’s notion of making the band the priority moving forward and how he thinks everyone needs to but might not be willing to leads to…

Larry Is Not On Board, for good

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I'm sleeping with Paul McGuinness. He told me Larry was not on board.

 

[DaveC]

I'm sleeping with Paul McGuinness. He told me Larry was not on board.

yes i'm sure larry probably wisely avoided boarding your sex yacht

 

[DeVaul]

yes i'm sure larry probably wisely avoided boarding your sex yacht

that’s The Love Boat

 

[DaveC]

that’s The Love Boat

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

It was definitely exciting and new

 

[MattD]

Sounds weird I know, but if worst case scenario was Larry quit, it would make things easier if they replaced him with a drummer in their inner circle.

What's the Virgin Prunes drummer doing these days...

 

[clerks]

Larry has always been grumpy, but every comment I see is about "when Larry gets back" so I don't get why you think Larry wants to quit for sure when it seems no musical artist every quits wanting to play...

And the drummer is usually the last one to leave...

I am not enjoying this Larry bashing. It's not becoming of a true U2 fan. I'm ashamed to call at least 2 of you "people I might be friends with if they were 100% different in every single way."

 

[super fly guy]

What if Larry writes and records with them,but they tour with another Drummer. And Larry plays the odd show,could work??

 

[dan_smee]

People read what they want into things based on their inherent fears/predisposition for drama.

Despite much reassurance and no real reason to believe anything other than Larry is injured and will be better soon, people choose to believe one thing based on little evidence over many other things with just as much, if not more insight. But then again, look at the state of the world. Trump won, climate change isn’t a thing. FML

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I think that the "Larry isn't happy" narrative does have some legs.

I also think Larry hasn't been happy at many points, and it could all easily blow over in time.

Larry seems to be the crankiest of the lot, being a guy who was known for wearing a hat with an acronym for Fuck Off And Die and all.

So hey, who the heck knows.

 

[clerks]

Larry approved the new drummer and they went out of their way to find someone NO ONE has heard of when being U2 they could have gotten the best of the best... maybe new drummers every night.

So to me that means... Larry is just hurt and you're all being a bunch of overhang bitches.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

And you know that Larry approved him because...