New Album Discussion: Electric Lady Studios

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Not wanting to hijack the thread and I'm not sure if it's been mentioned elsewhere - but if U2 could pull off something atmospheric, moody and catchy like Editors have done with The Weight Of Your Love - forgetting 'radio friendly' and spitting out something from the heart, they'ed have a number 1 for sure (IMO). :drool:
 
A LOT of people hold Elevation in extremely high regard. I didn't go, as it was relatively late into the ATYCLB promotional cycle when I became a fan, so I'm stuck with bootlegs that, yeah, are pretty poor compared to their other tours. Short setlists, Bono's in weak voice, lots of ATYCLB material...it's just not my thing. 19 songs and you've been around for 25 years? Get the fuck outta here. They were powering through longer, livelier shows a decade later. But people who went didn't care, so I defer to their opinion. I probably would have loved that show no matter what. I wish every tour had its spirit, just with longer, more exciting sets.

sorry but i don't rate my gig going off the back of bootlegs... i was there, and i sure as hell wasn't counting the songs, neither was i following every gig online and comparing setlists :lol:

i saw Zoo TV, Elevation, Vertigo, and both 360 tours (just one gig per tour every time) and i would rate Elevation and Zoo TV as the best ones i've seen - just my personal opinion though, but screw the "consensus" :lol:
 





All of this. Too bad more people can't put personal stuff aside and evaluate this tour from a more removed perspective. The band may have been trying some back to basics approach, but it was way too limited in scope, and if it were truly "about the music" the band could have represented a lot more of their repertoire.

I'd rather "rate" any tour on personal stuff than on any other stuff because the emotional connection is important when it comes to music. Since I'm not a professional music critique (thank God), I don't rate anything on a "objective" level, there's no such thing as objectivity anyway. And I can totally relate to people who felt and feel emotionally attached to the Elevation concerts, maybe also because they weren't "perfect".
 
CM's flat out denial at Electric Lady...now this...I have a horrible feeling in my gut that Martian has contributed something to the new songs...**shudders**
 
Bono's voice sounds good to me. That's good news.

Are we sure that the harmony vocals are Chris Martin's? The voice sounds like Edge's to me.
 
Bono's voice sounds good to me. That's good news.

Are we sure that the harmony vocals are Chris Martin's? The voice sounds like Edge's to me.

Totally agree... that was The Edge harmonizing and I didn't see Chris Martin in the footage. Someone is trying to piss us U2 fans off with saying Chris Martin is harmonizing.
 
All of this. Too bad more people can't put personal stuff aside and evaluate this tour from a more removed perspective. The band may have been trying some back to basics approach, but it was way too limited in scope, and if it were truly "about the music" the band could have represented a lot more of their repertoire.

Would they have still connected with fans playing, say, the second half of TUF for five songs in a row at every show though? Not quite as simple as that. A lot of the songs they appeared to play at the shows worked pretty well for their return to arenas at the time.

I think the band has said they weren't going to try 'topping' 360 in terms of size or touring stadiums, so I'm not really sure why that's up for debate (I'll eat my crow when they're playing in outer space though... :D).
 
All of this. Too bad more people can't put personal stuff aside and evaluate this tour from a more removed perspective. The band may have been trying some back to basics approach, but it was way too limited in scope, and if it were truly "about the music" the band could have represented a lot more of their repertoire.

Yeah. Because no way the band should have played a lot of songs off their universally acclaimed, bestselling record that put them back on top. In the interest of playing a "lot more of their repertoire" I'm sure you would have been happier with more of a greatest hits tour like 360 became. But some of us were glad to hear the new music. :)

Did you even attend an Elevation show?
 
any music-tech heads in here have a term for how to describe Danger Mouse's production sound?

to me, his stuff sounds so -- I dont know -- dry? I dont know how better to describe it. It seems very distinctive.
 
All of this. Too bad more people can't put personal stuff aside and evaluate this tour from a more removed perspective. The band may have been trying some back to basics approach, but it was way too limited in scope, and if it were truly "about the music" the band could have represented a lot more of their repertoire.

Looking forward to a new album, and hopefully strong material that stands up in the live setting. Exciting news this past weekend, and hopefully we'll have something official by next month...:)

But to respond to laz's comment...you evaluate something from your perspective, and most fans who attended the Elevation shows can tell you they were among the best of U2's career.

Whether or not 'you' like ATYCLB the tour was AMAZING. Setlists are so overblown and overrated on this website. I agree that the boys need to vary it much more, but what we got in 2001 was emotionally incredible on a nightly basis.

Limited scope...it wasn't a greatest hits tour...it was a tour promoting ATYCLB. U2's tours up to Vertigo (and the first half of the 360 Tour) were about promoting their current album/CD so the Elevation Tour was in line with that...and it was awesome!

I hope that the next tour follows the format that the Elevation Tour did...a strong, well received album and a setlist dripping w/emotion and power...:drool:
 
Would they have still connected with fans playing, say, the second half of TUF for five songs in a row at every show though?

Why do so many people resort to strawman arguments around here? Once again there's a lot of gray area between playing five songs from the older album and having a larger pool to draw from and rotate throughout the tour.


Yeah. Because no way the band should have played a lot of songs off their universally acclaimed, bestselling record that put them back on top. In the interest of playing a "lot more of their repertoire" I'm sure you would have been happier with more of a greatest hits tour like 360 became. But some of us were glad to hear the new music. :)

Did you even attend an Elevation show?

One can still feature a new album, even playing a majority of it, while still having more songs in their current repertoire to choose from.

And yes, I saw multiple Elevation shows both times they passed through California. Thanks for questioning my credibility as a witness though.
 
All of the activity at Electric Lady was pretty anticlimactic. I was hoping someone would actually talk to a band member and find out something or we'd get to hear a new song snippet. :| U2 are getting good at being secretive. I don't think I like that very much. :grumpy:
 
Thanks for questioning my credibility as a witness though.

Hmmmm. Well, first you say that there's "consensus" and it was "common knowledge" that Elevation was one of the weakest U2 tours and that you don't want U2 to repeat something like that. Then you say that if we disagree you're "all ears". But when a number of people subsequently do in fact disagree and say they loved Elevation, and actually would like to see another stripped down tour, you tell us we only like Elevation because of "personal stuff", and oh if only we could be "removed" (whatever that means) from that we'd feel differently (i.e. like you). So thanks for questioning the credibility of those of us who supposedly like Elevation because of "personal stuff" (and what is liking or disliking a show other than a personal reaction to what you've seen and heard?) After that you apparently ran out of things to say and starting posting gifs.

I understand that "consensus" and "common knowledge" (to use your words) may be very important things to you in determining somethings worth, but next time, try just speaking for yourself.

No need to reply. Or perhaps another amusing gif? :)
 
To me the "stripped down" tours worked better for me. When I saw them on the War and TUF tours it seemed more about the music and it was TUF tour that made me a lifelong fan..... JT tour I saw both in arenas and Stadiums and I much preferred the arena shows. ZOO TV arenas kinda blew away the Outside Broadcast. POP Tour I wasn't too enthused at all with. Elevation was great, the enthusiasm of the Band and crowds just lifted me up and then of course the post 9/11 shows may have been the most emotional, cathartic spectatles I've ever been a part of. Vertigo was good but didn't seem to equal the intensity of Elevation. 360 was fun and more of an event it seemed - but the sound was so awful in the stadiums I went to, not sure if anyone else noticed this and maybe it was just the stadiums I saw them in.

For next tour I would like them to take it back a notch and maybe find a median between Elevation and Vertigo.
 
Odd, I thought the sound on the 360° shows I went to was excellent, but it is also venue dependent, too.
 
I dug up my old review of Elevation gig in Torino from u2tours website.
I have to say that I LOVE spectacles, ZOO TV is still my favorite tour. I love it when they go as big as they can. And I had no idea what was waiting for me in Torino on this stripped down tour. And what I got was the longest gig of the whole tour, with extra unplanned encore. I drove all night back to Zagreb, and when I reached my PC this is what I wrote:

"I can't believe what I just witnessed last night in Torino!!! I was on Zoo TV and Popmart, and I thought that nothing will ever beat Zoo TV, but oh my God was I wrong! The concert in Torino was the most beautiful thing that I ever witnessed and experienced.
First it took me 14 hours to get from Croatia to Torino, Italy. I got in the stadium around 15:00, so I was late to go near the "hart" area. I went to the stands (the lower ones – my ticket was for grass and lower stands), and I must say that it's has terrific view and it's really close to the stage. In the hart (as I heard) were around 3000 people, so it was much bigger than in arenas.
We had 3 support acts, 2 Italian bands and Fun loving criminals. The crowd was fabulous, guys were playing football (that's soccer for you Americans), girls were sunbathing in their bikinis and we were all wet from the showers that were turned on all of the time. And I have to say that Dele Alpi (Stadium for FC Juventus – go Juve) is beautiful.
Around 21:20 the elevation mix started playing and than our 4 guys came on stage, picked up their instruments and launched in elevation without any effects or light show. CROWD WENT NUTS!!!! Even beside me on the stands everyone was jumping and shouting like crazy, and down on the football field thousands of hands were clapping and bodies were jumping. I never experienced such euphoria and atmosphere on a concert, not on POPmart, and even not on Zoo TV (for which I thought was unbeatable), these Italian people are really great for parties!!!
After elevation they played their standard setlist but every song was played perfectly, and the crowd around me sang every song and every line. Kite was amazing, gone too, then new York, I will follow… if I continue I'll name every song and there's no need for that…
After 3 tours I finally heard Bad and it was everything I expected and than my all time favorite moment in U2 concert – Streets – the moment when all the lights in the house come on and it seems like daylight – and you can see Bono on the tip of the heart and around him 80.000 strong crowd moving in waves, singing in full voice and clapping. Bono was visibly moved and he repeatedly banged his fist on his heart and "throw" it to the audience. This evening he didn't pull any girl out of the crowd – he communicated with all the people instead, and it seemed that this night the stadium was club – they don't need the arena to get intimacy!!!!!
Another fine moment was in the middle of IALW when Bono sang "… a man build a rocket ship…" , and at that moment the big airplane flew directly above and low over the stadium – nice coincidence.
They finished the first part with The Fly which is one of my favorites, and that Bono chant "…we must go, go, we must go…" – I say just put that chant above any decent techno or trance rhythm and you've got an instant hit.
They came back for the firs encore and did Bullet with Bono giving a homage to rattle and hum by carrying a light with him, and than a great moment at the end of WOWY – Bono called to willy to turn off the lights, and when willy obeyed he said "Let the people light it" and than all the crowd put up their lighters – a moment to carry with you for a long time.

AND THAN the best moment of the gig, and the whole elevation tour so far, happened. They came back and played One, wonderful Wake up dead man, and at the end Walk on. At the end of walk on the lights turned of and than Bono said to the mic: "one more, one more for you…" and the Pride blasted out on the speakers!!! At the beginning I said to myself that I don't want pride on this tour 'couse I was tired of it, but this night they played it and bono sang it honestly and passionately like 15 yrs ago, it was really moving to see all their emotions and happiness on their faces, they were thanking the crowd all night like they thought the crowd can not recognize that they really meant it. After Pride they went of stage and than Edge appeared on stage and the rest of them followed him, Larry was shirtless so he had to put it back on. They made one more lap across heart catwalk, and Bono just didn't want to go away, he was sending kisses an waved to the crowd like he wanted to stay there forever. At the end he put his arm around Larry or Adam (I can't be sure) and whispered something into his ear), and he said ONE MORE ONE MORE TIME!!!! I was happy like a little child for I knew that I'm witnessing something unusual, something that will go into U2 history as one of the best gigs ever!!! Than Bono said "…this is our first single…" and they launched in to Out of control - that confused me, because I expected 11 o'clock - but I don't mind, this was fabulous also. And than they left the stage at last (not that I was pleased with that) and over the speakers we could hear Grace (some people thought that they came back). It took me 14 hrs to get back home to Zagreb, Croatia, but it was a trip filled with big memories and great feeling. I just have to say that after Munich (zoo tv), an Viena (POPMART), I'll never go back ther, now my country for U2 is Italy (unless they decide to come to Croatia), the crowd was terrific, on the stands beside me people were pulling their hair, crying their eyes out, singing to every word, clapping and jumping. Unbelievable experience. I think that there is no concert beside Slane that has a chance to top this one In Torino….

All best from a grateful fan from Croatia!!!

I wish you all a concert like this one"
U2 Fan Concert Review on U2tours.com

This is still, to this day, emotionally the best and biggest U2 gig for me. I couldn't care less for spectacle that night.
 
Totally agree... that was The Edge harmonizing and I didn't see Chris Martin in the footage. Someone is trying to piss us U2 fans off with saying Chris Martin is harmonizing.


THere is another video of this exact performance, with the camera facing the both of them. Edge is singing in it.

However, Martin was likely in the room, and it's pretty cramped quarters. Was he standing just off-camera, singing along? Very likely, if someone actually there says he was singing..
 
And yes, I saw multiple Elevation shows both times they passed through California. Thanks for questioning my credibility as a witness though.

Yeah. Nothing like knowing very little about the long time members of this board (and previously, Wire)

lol


fwiw..I don't think Elevation was the weakest, but in retrospect, "removed" as you call it, and with a healthy dose of objectivity, it wasn't the strongest either. I think a great many of the perceptions of that tour are shaped by the admittedly very strong and powerful emotions of a. Bono's dads death, and b. 9-11. And these are very valid emotional responses that took the tour and the vibe surrounding it, to another level. And, if I'm completely honest for a sec, there was alot of shit going on in my life that ATYCLB/Elevation tour spoke very powerfully to. So there's the "personal" aspect that causes me to really love that tour. But strictly objectively? It wasn't the strongest. But I love it.
 
Odd, I thought the sound on the 360° shows I went to was excellent, but it is also venue dependent, too.

I saw them at:

Gillette Stadium - Awful sound
Giants Stadium (old) - A little better sound
Tampa - Better than the other two but still heard a bad echo.
Giants Stadium (new) - This was prolly the best of the bunch

But how I'm trying to describe the sound would be a very loud "echo" especially on the low end, when Larry hit his bass drum and Adam was on the low end... I always wondered if anyone else noticed this?
 
Yeah. Nothing like knowing very little about the long time members of this board (and previously, Wire)

lol

Gabe, while I'm an intelligent person, I have to claim ignorance on the personal background of every member of this forum and what tours they've attended. I'll leave that particular area of study to others.

I do know the shows I've attended, however, and Elevation is among the best...both subjectively, and objectively speaking. Of course, I'm only speaking for myself, and don't claim a consensus. :)
 
I dug up my old review of Elevation gig in Torino from u2tours website.

I wish you all a concert like this one"
U2 Fan Concert Review on U2tours.com

This is still, to this day, emotionally the best and biggest U2 gig for me. I couldn't care less for spectacle that night.

Beautiful story Marko, thanks for sharing it. It sums up how a lot of us felt about that tour, what with judging a concert based on personal stuff and all. :) My experience was much the same...though not as epic is yours I'll admit! :up:

Thanks for reminding us that a enjoying a show is more than looking at the set list.
 
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