Whats your thoughts on this???

[gman]

I know there are a couple of Eno/Lanois threads already on the go. But I thought this merited a thread of its own given the ground breaking nature of it. And I am amazed no one has already picked up on this.

According to Mr Macguiness, Eno and Lanios are "co writting" u2s next album.
What are your feelings/thoughts on this?

 

[Axver]

Hello normal U2 album.

 

[gman]

I dont think they have ever been creditied with "co writing" any of the albums before. I could be wrong tho.

 

[U2girl]

I wonder what that means for a) songwriting credits on the album and money issues and b) live performances.

 

[Axver]

I dont think they have ever been creditied with "co writing" any of the albums before. I could be wrong tho.

Wasn't there some minor spat re: writing credits on ATYCLB?

 

[U2girl]

Only on Eno's side. I didn't hear Lanois complaining.

 

[U2girl]

I dont think they have ever been creditied with "co writing" any of the albums before. I could be wrong tho.

Mostly it's something like "keyboards: Eno" or "additional guitar: Lanois".

I presume this time it will be "Music by U2, Eno and Lanois".

 

[the tourist]

That would be interesting if Eno and Lanois played with them live. That way they wouldn't have to use any overdubs.

 

[powerhour24]

Even if we get Music by U2, Lanois, and Eno (which will probably only be on certain tracks) that's a long stretch from them actually joining the band.

 

[ahittle]

Hello normal U2 album.

Maybe the Eno flap over Eno's credits on ATYCLB convinced the band to play nice this time around and just call it like it is.

I always considered Eno & Lanois as producers-as-writers. I mean, piecing together Exit or Bullet the Blue Sky or Beautiful Day in the studio is "songwriting" in a way. None of those songs (or lots more I'm sure) would've happened if not for the cobblers working overtime.

But I like these guys and I'm pleased to see them at the front-end of the process in this case.

 

[LemonMelon]

Hello normal U2 album.

You do know, of course, that in rock n roll, most producers generally do not write the material for the band. It's up to U2 to decide whether or not they wish to try something new, not Eno. He may be able to spice up the material a bit, but that, in and of itself, is not experimentation. Give the band a little credit.

 

[mofo82]

Hello normal U2 album.

For the overwhelming majority of your posts, I like what you contribute through your posts, but I can't even understand why you of all people on this forum would mention something like this. Every U2 album has stumbled across something new, even if only comparing previous works of their own. Not to mention, they've changed location and their approach to building this next body of work, albeit with Eno and Lanois. People grow and change, especially artists, as all parties involved in this group are. What does "normal U2 album" mean anyways? Only in retrospect, once an album has had a chance to sink in and I've played and blended it with their older material does it seem somewhat 'normal', but never to the point where it dulls their future work. What's to be bored or afraid of with this awesome tandem being involved?

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

You do know, of course, that in rock n roll, most producers generally do not write the material for the band. It's up to U2 to decide whether or not they wish to try something new, not Eno. He may be able to spice up the material a bit, but that, in and of itself, is not experimentation. Give the band a little credit.

Maybe they should work with Mutt Lange...

 

[The_Edge89]

According to Mr Macguiness, Eno and Lanios are "co writting" u2s next album.
What are your feelings/thoughts on this?

We've know this for some time now and it's going to be interesting to see what two additional musicians can come up with in the group. But as ahittle said, Eno and Lanois have probably done lots of work behind the scenes in the past without it being mentioned in the booklets. Who know if it's going to sound like it's always sounded or if this is actually going to change the U2 sound this time around and turn it into something experimental.

The thing I am most excited about is that Paul verified that not only will the dynamic duo help writing material but they will also produce the record! That wasn't totally unexpected but it's nice to finally get an official comment about who's in charge this time.

 

[bram]

I think Axver was just referring to the fact that Eno and Lanois normally contribute music to the process. So it's nothing new...but maybe just a little bit more from the Eno and Lanois end, hence the obligatory song-writing credits.

He was not referring to the album as a "normal-sounding" U2 album--at least that's the way it reads to me.

 

[U2DMfan]

I think it's absolutely fucking great.

It let's them off the hook.

Instead of trying to pass off Eno's synth parts as their own, or having Edge re-dub them or be weary in the studio of having 'someone else' lay down a guitar track, they're just going to let it fly.

Get the absolute best versions of whatever it is, credit ENo and Lanois as co-writers for most of the album, who cares?

The critics who think Eno and Lanois fashioned U2's sound will think this no matter what and to some small extent it's a valid point. They have been a big part of U2's finest moments in the studio.

As far as live performances, I think it's fair to say there is NO chance that Eno and Lanois play with them for the tour. Maybe a show here and there? Who knows?

They'll use backing tracks for all kinds of things, nothing AT ALL wrong with that. The people who criticize this sort of thing can't tell their arse from their head on this issue. What's the difference between Dallas Schoo or whomever playing a guitar and Edge cueing it a back track with a foot pedal? There is only so many instruments 4 humans can plat at one time. Does it make any difference at all where the sound originates from? It's one thing to mime playing, it's another to play along to an accompaniment.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

How often do you read a story from the studio and it's Eno figuring out a line, Eno in there early finishing off an idea for a bridge, Eno coming up with the keyboard part that ties something together blah blah. If it's just about the formal recognition he most likely fully deserves, nothing will really change. But they are making quite a point of it - which I do think means something a little more exciting.

 

[ahittle]

How often do you read a story from the studio and it's Eno figuring out a line, Eno in there early finishing off an idea for a bridge, Eno coming up with the keyboard part that ties something together blah blah. If it's just about the formal recognition he most likely fully deserves, nothing will really change. But they are making quite a point of it - which I do think means something a little more exciting.

Well put.

From my perspective, U2 have realized what valuable input these two have been on their best records and instead of presenting broken songs or half-baked fragments and getting guidance while recording, U2 have brought them in at the beginning of the process. I'm excited about the idea of U2 entering the studio with fully realized songs. I think it will make a stronger album - I have a feeling that it won't be one of those records that they only figure out after touring for months.

Come on, everybody - it's Brian and Danny! It's not like they're getting in Diane Warren to pen some big Aerosmith power ballad

 

[Rob33]

well if that is indeed what Axver meant then I agree entirely...nothing has really changed here, except that they actually going to give them credit in written format in the actual album case...

 

[Earnie Shavers]

The Unforgettable Fire, With or Without You, Lemon, etc - Eno = ?

He deserves an expanded formal role IMO.

 

[Axver]

I think Axver was just referring to the fact that Eno and Lanois normally contribute music to the process. So it's nothing new...but maybe just a little bit more from the Eno and Lanois end, hence the obligatory song-writing credits.

He was not referring to the album as a "normal-sounding" U2 album--at least that's the way it reads to me.

Exactly. Glad someone gets it. This really doesn't revolutionise U2's process of creating an album. The sonic result may be different - after all, JT, Achtung, and ATYCLB don't sound the same - but this is hardly an outside-the-square kind of development.

And LemonMelon, no need to be patronising. I know exactly the role of producers, and I also know that U2 and Eno/Lanois do not have the standard band-producer relationship.

 

[namkcuR]

The production certainly can't get any worse than Lillywhite's overbaked, burnt(if you will), suffocatingly in-your-face production on Bomb.

 

[U2DMfan]

How often do you read a story from the studio and it's Eno figuring out a line, Eno in there early finishing off an idea for a bridge, Eno coming up with the keyboard part that ties something together blah blah. If it's just about the formal recognition he most likely fully deserves, nothing will really change. But they are making quite a point of it - which I do think means something a little more exciting.

Absolutely. That's the exact thought I had, if Eno is given more licence to sort of mold the sound rather than merely guide it (if that makes any sense) than it has to be a positive and very exciting.

Besides those things, I think Eno would likely be the finest musician in the room in terms of dialing up something a little out of left field (for U2). I get the impression that he could do something like odd time sigs standing on his head and he could really be the actual influence of those "polyrhythms". A 6/4 shaker or tambourine playing over a straight 4/4 conga from Mullen.

That said, I expect a pretty organic approach. So Lanois and Edge should have a big influence as well. I think the band could be saying "fuck off" to drum machines and trying to come up with those beats and rhythms on their own. Larry is probably trying to push himself more, Adam I think could be a wild-card and really try something new. Dream out loud, right?

The production certainly can't get any worse than Lillywhite's overbaked, burnt(if you will), suffocatingly in-your-face production on Bomb.

Yeah, I don't want to beat a dead horse but I listened to 5 or 6 tracks from HTDAAB a week or two ago for the first time in ages and that was the exact impression I was left with.

I wasn't thinking about Bono's vocals, lyrics or missed opportunities or any of that, I was left thinking "boy, this sounds like shit" , the production that is. Awful.

 

[U2girl]

It will easily be better than anything Flood did with Pop, too. I'm surprised he's still allowed near U2 albums.

As for the above, we don't know how much Eno and Lanois really do since we don't get studio input. I could see Eno throwing some ideas and starting points but from what I read Lanois is the one in the trenches with the band, spending more time in studio so who's to get more credit ?
It's not like they don't always state "keyboards: Brian Eno" or "additional guitar: Daniel Lanois", they certainly acknowledge their help with the albums in interviews etc.

 

[guill]

I wonder what that means for a) songwriting credits on the album and money issues and b) live performances.

and c) who has the final cut privilege now ?

 

[Dorian Gray]

Absolutely. That's the exact thought I had, if Eno is given more licence to sort of mold the sound rather than merely guide it (if that makes any sense) than it has to be a positive and very exciting.

it wasn't very positive for Passengers...
thankfully, Lanois will be there this time around.

 

[U2girl]

 

[U2DMfan]

it wasn't very positive for Passengers...
thankfully, Lanois will be there this time around.

Why not mention Zooropa? You know, an actual U2 album where U2 were still interested in sounding a bit like U2.

Shall we count the ways in which Passengers is nothing like an actual U2 album, even Pop?

Anyhow, Lanois is the vanilla in this equation.
He's fine, in fact he's pretty great but he adds less to their sound than Eno. If you need evidence, just put on any album they've made with the both of them.

Could U2 have made anything like Passengers with Danny Lanois that would have sounded anything other than exactly like U2? I think it's pretty obvious who adds more to the equation.

That said, I like Daniel Lanois just fine, I just don't agree that he adds more to their sound than Eno.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

it wasn't very positive for Passengers...
thankfully, Lanois will be there this time around.

As an aside, (because I know people are talking now about the actual music on it) I think Passengers is better produced/mixed than at least 9 of the 11 standard U2 albums.

On the music: It was never intended to sound like a standard U2 album, which makes up a good 50% of the logic behind not calling it a U2 album. Obviously the boundaries would be brought in much closer should it be for a standard U2 album, and in the 00s, no matter what you are hearing from Bono about new this/experiment that, I still think those boundaries will be very, VERY close in. Fear not Passenger haters. Remember Eno takes a decent chunk of the credit for what you probably describe as and yearn for in 'classic' U2 all the time. If anything, his influence hopefully will be mostly in forcing them to give the songs a bit of room and space. If that is all he does, just brings back some delicacy and musicianship to U2's music, then he deserves double whatever they're paying him.

 

[david]

I'm all for a more commercial Passengers.