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Post by matt on Sept 14, 2020 9:47:45 GMT -5
ATYCLB is a good album- but it drops off a cliff near the end. When I look at the world, New York and Grace add nothing. I think it's let down a few times by strange production choices, and some great songs could be tidied up a bit more (Elevation, Walk On, Kite) Atomic Bomb had some great songs on it (All Because of You, Original of the Species) but it was definitely just a record done to get back on the radio and touring again. The tour was good, but Bono was a bit preachy and they played Vertigo twice. The long gestation periods of the subsequent records, added to the fact that it's Producer overload on them, with direction changing so often- they're struggling for relevancy and must be focus grouping the shit out of things. I thought SOI and SOE suffered from the release strategy. They were definitely better than NLOTH Ah no, When I Look At The World is one of my favourites! Sums up the album well for me. And I like New York - nothing major but it harks back to the more impressionistic and experimental tendencies under Eno. Grace is a nice understated closer too I think, evidence that less is more on the album and balancing the bombast of the start with a subdued meditative ending. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own is the only essential song I'd take from Atomic Bomb. Even the much vaunted City of Blinding Lights, while very nice, isn't a truly great U2 song in my opinion. |
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Post by matt on Sept 14, 2020 10:01:13 GMT -5
I don't mind Love Is Bigger, it's alright (forgot it was a single). I think American Soul is awful though. It's just generic dad rock and I find it faintly embarrassing when they go 'rawk'. Don't like You're The Best Thing or Get Out... either - I feel it's generic cut and paste chorus and really uninspired. Don't know what they're trying to achieve but if its the euphoria of songs like Beautiful Day then they are kidding themselves (working with Ryan Tedder does not help either). The Blackout has potential but again, it's a cut and paste generic chorus isn't it - nothing that contrived or bombastic on Achtung Baby (if that was the vibe they were going for)? For all the talk of the 'Songs of...' albums being concept albums, they are incredibly unfocused and messy. There's loose threads of themes here and there, and there's nothing sonically coherent in them either. They really do suffer from 'too many cooks' and it's no surprise that the last album they made that felt complete and focused was All That You Can't Leave Behind with just Eno & Lanois (with Steve Lillywhite mixing). I do think keeping with one producer would help things massively - the songs that Andy Barlow from Lamb did on Songs of Experience (Love Is All We Have Left, Book Of Your Heart, Little Things) all felt more restrained and introspective, and didn't suffer from the ostentatiousness of the Ryan Tedder singles produced nonsense. The Little Things in particular being a big achievement as I think it's by far their best song since Walk On. I'm glad you showed some love to Walk On. That track is one of my favorites from ATYCLB and one of my favorite post-Pop songs. I definitely agree that one producer would've been great for them. Andy Barlow did a good job for them on those three tracks and, going back to SOI, Danger Mouse did a good job for them SOI. I think if you had those two handling production, with Steve Lillywhite to give the songs a little more edge when needed, you'd have gotten some cohesive-sounding songs that wouldn't have been as sloppy as the last two albums have turned out (SOE more than SOI). Them working with Ryan Tedder was a huge mistake. That felt like U2 submitting themselves to the adult contemporary stereotype that they didn't really have, a la Coldplay working with Stargate was like submitting themselves to the top 40 stereotype that they didn't really have; both bands didn't have those labels until they worked with the respective people that they did. Thing with Coldplay is that while I dislike the decision to go with Stargate from a creative point of view, it worked commercially. A Head Full of Dreams sold shit loads and I get the point with its more poppy elements such as a duet with Beyonce. I'm not a fan of such pop music personally but I get it, and it works. Ironically, the offence I take from Head Full of Dreams is actually not to do with the Stargate production but the really poor filler that makes up most of the album like Amazing Day and Everglow. This hasn't anything to do with any modern commercial sound (which they do well with), these are just really really bad songs. But aside from this, they reach the audience they wanted. In fairness, Chris Martin has got his finger on the pulse all the time and never seems to fail. With U2 and Ryan Tedder - what is the genuine point in working with him? They're writing pop songs that are an insult to the earlier work, they're not creating any hits and they're not reaching the mass audience they want. The only thing they're doing is pissing off the hardcore fans who want something soulful and spiritual from them, with more thoughtfulness attached rather than the vague Hallmark card platitudes that make up Bono's lyrics (as for The Edge, where the hell is he as his signature sound and invention is completely absent). All wrapped up in some cheap cut and paste chorus. |
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Post by 2nz on Sept 14, 2020 10:43:25 GMT -5
I'm glad you showed some love to Walk On. That track is one of my favorites from ATYCLB and one of my favorite post-Pop songs. I definitely agree that one producer would've been great for them. Andy Barlow did a good job for them on those three tracks and, going back to SOI, Danger Mouse did a good job for them SOI. I think if you had those two handling production, with Steve Lillywhite to give the songs a little more edge when needed, you'd have gotten some cohesive-sounding songs that wouldn't have been as sloppy as the last two albums have turned out (SOE more than SOI). Them working with Ryan Tedder was a huge mistake. That felt like U2 submitting themselves to the adult contemporary stereotype that they didn't really have, a la Coldplay working with Stargate was like submitting themselves to the top 40 stereotype that they didn't really have; both bands didn't have those labels until they worked with the respective people that they did. Thing with Coldplay is that while I dislike the decision to go with Stargate from a creative point of view, it worked commercially. A Head Full of Dreams sold shit loads and I get the point with its more poppy elements such as a duet with Beyonce. I'm not a fan of such pop music personally but I get it, and it works. Ironically, the offence I take from Head Full of Dreams is actually not to do with the Stargate production but the really poor filler that makes up most of the album like Amazing Day and Everglow. This hasn't anything to do with any modern commercial sound (which they do well with), these are just really really bad songs. But aside from this, they reach the audience they wanted. In fairness, Chris Martin has got his finger on the pulse all the time and never seems to fail. With U2 and Ryan Tedder - what is the genuine point in working with him? They're writing pop songs that are an insult to the earlier work, they're not creating any hits and they're not reaching the mass audience they want. The only thing they're doing is pissing off the hardcore fans who want something soulful and spiritual from them, with more thoughtfulness attached rather than the vague Hallmark card platitudes that make up Bono's lyrics (as for The Edge, where the hell is he as his signature sound and invention is completely absent). All wrapped up in some cheap cut and paste chorus. Suppose the hardcore fans aren't going to be going anywhere- will be interesting to see how quickly they have another album out. Can U2 ever be relevant again though? If the songs are turds, and the Edge isn't bringing the goods- then maybe having the likes of Tedder there can bring something out of them? Once they've settled into one album every 5 years with a nostalgia tour in between, they may not have much room for a fully Lamb produced album. I genuinely don't know. |
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Post by matt on Sept 14, 2020 12:01:25 GMT -5
Thing with Coldplay is that while I dislike the decision to go with Stargate from a creative point of view, it worked commercially. A Head Full of Dreams sold shit loads and I get the point with its more poppy elements such as a duet with Beyonce. I'm not a fan of such pop music personally but I get it, and it works. Ironically, the offence I take from Head Full of Dreams is actually not to do with the Stargate production but the really poor filler that makes up most of the album like Amazing Day and Everglow. This hasn't anything to do with any modern commercial sound (which they do well with), these are just really really bad songs. But aside from this, they reach the audience they wanted. In fairness, Chris Martin has got his finger on the pulse all the time and never seems to fail. With U2 and Ryan Tedder - what is the genuine point in working with him? They're writing pop songs that are an insult to the earlier work, they're not creating any hits and they're not reaching the mass audience they want. The only thing they're doing is pissing off the hardcore fans who want something soulful and spiritual from them, with more thoughtfulness attached rather than the vague Hallmark card platitudes that make up Bono's lyrics (as for The Edge, where the hell is he as his signature sound and invention is completely absent). All wrapped up in some cheap cut and paste chorus. Suppose the hardcore fans aren't going to be going anywhere- will be interesting to see how quickly they have another album out. Can U2 ever be relevant again though? If the songs are turds, and the Edge isn't bringing the goods- then maybe having the likes of Tedder there can bring something out of them? Once they've settled into one album every 5 years with a nostalgia tour in between, they may not have much room for a fully Lamb produced album. I genuinely don't know. I don't think they're at a stage where everything they do is shit though. It's that incessant need to be 'relevant' that is restricting them creatively and that drive for hit singles that massively hampers their albums. In that sense, Ryan Tedder is a major problem. They'll never have another hit single, and they'll never have a smash hit massive selling album again. They've got to accept that and just create art they want rather than making music they think others want. Do what their peers done - artists who haven't clamoured for popularity in their latter years and as a result gives them creative freedom, thus producing still excellent work. This wasn't an issue 20 years ago when their ear for a smash hit was still there. But they still can write interesting songs - U2 have always been an albums band, and not a singles band anyway. That's where their strength lies and I'm sure if they have the right creative muse alongside them and the motivation that they can produce a holistic and satisfying piece of work again. |
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Post by World71R on Sept 14, 2020 15:22:49 GMT -5
Suppose the hardcore fans aren't going to be going anywhere- will be interesting to see how quickly they have another album out. Can U2 ever be relevant again though? If the songs are turds, and the Edge isn't bringing the goods- then maybe having the likes of Tedder there can bring something out of them? Once they've settled into one album every 5 years with a nostalgia tour in between, they may not have much room for a fully Lamb produced album. I genuinely don't know. I don't think they're at a stage where everything they do is shit though. It's that incessant need to be 'relevant' that is restricting them creatively and that drive for hit singles that massively hampers their albums. In that sense, Ryan Tedder is a major problem. They'll never have another hit single, and they'll never have a smash hit massive selling album again. They've got to accept that and just create art they want rather than making music they think others want. Do what their peers done - artists who haven't clamoured for popularity in their latter years and as a result gives them creative freedom, thus producing still excellent work. This wasn't an issue 20 years ago when their ear for a smash hit was still there. But they still can write interesting songs - U2 have always been an albums band, and not a singles band anyway. That's where their strength lies and I'm sure if they have the right creative muse alongside them and the motivation that they can produce a holistic and satisfying piece of work again.You hit the nail on the head here. With the last three albums, they've reached a point with each one where they've worked with a producer or a couple of producers and put together a cohesive-sounding album with solid songs on it, but then there's "not enough 'hits'" or they want to "make it sound like four guys in a room playing together." Then what they put out ends up being some of the worst material on the album and it gets pushed the hardest by the band. Get On Your Boots, I'll Go Crazy..., Stand Up Comedy, The Miracle, You're the Best Thing About Me, Get Out of Your Own Way, American Soul, a bunch of same-y sounding stuff that sells the strong concept album-oriented approach that makes U2 great, for the weak single moment, preachy, clamoring for mass appeal approach that has made U2 not as great as it could be. It pains me, too, because they can write good material and put out great albums. The last three albums are fantastic when you take out the weak material, but their clamoring for attention kills that quality. I wish for them to go out and make an album with one or two producers that takes on the approach I mentioned in here: A more songwriter-focused ambient rock album with a mixture of personal lyrics and character-focused lyrics. U2 could do well with that. |
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Post by matt on Sept 14, 2020 16:03:19 GMT -5
I don't think they're at a stage where everything they do is shit though. It's that incessant need to be 'relevant' that is restricting them creatively and that drive for hit singles that massively hampers their albums. In that sense, Ryan Tedder is a major problem. They'll never have another hit single, and they'll never have a smash hit massive selling album again. They've got to accept that and just create art they want rather than making music they think others want. Do what their peers done - artists who haven't clamoured for popularity in their latter years and as a result gives them creative freedom, thus producing still excellent work. This wasn't an issue 20 years ago when their ear for a smash hit was still there. But they still can write interesting songs - U2 have always been an albums band, and not a singles band anyway. That's where their strength lies and I'm sure if they have the right creative muse alongside them and the motivation that they can produce a holistic and satisfying piece of work again.You hit the nail on the head here. With the last three albums, they've reached a point with each one where they've worked with a producer or a couple of producers and put together a cohesive-sounding album with solid songs on it, but then there's "not enough 'hits'" or they want to "make it sound like four guys in a room playing together." Then what they put out ends up being some of the worst material on the album and it gets pushed the hardest by the band. Get On Your Boots, I'll Go Crazy..., Stand Up Comedy, The Miracle, You're the Best Thing About Me, Get Out of Your Own Way, American Soul, a bunch of same-y sounding stuff that sells the strong concept album-oriented approach that makes U2 great, for the weak single moment, preachy, clamoring for mass appeal approach that has made U2 not as great as it could be. It pains me, too, because they can write good material and put out great albums. The last three albums are fantastic when you take out the weak material, but their clamoring for attention kills that quality. I wish for them to go out and make an album with one or two producers that takes on the approach I mentioned in here: A more songwriter-focused ambient rock album with a mixture of personal lyrics and character-focused lyrics. U2 could do well with that. No Line is a pretty poor album for its awful dad rock middle section, and even an experimental song like Fez Being Born doesn't work for me (not offensive though, I admire them trying something like that than outright hating it like the generic rock of the middle). But the first few songs and the last few songs indicate something different. When it's expansive in its sound and more bombastic, you've got atmosphere and multilayered sonics like No Line On The Horizon and Magnificent, and the other side you have the more meditative, hymnal tunes like Moment of Surrender, White As Snow and Cedars of Lebanon. It's an album that should have been more meditative and more atmospheric than the watered down 'rawk' we got. Breathe was ruined in the studio apparently, going from a more exotic sounding, slower song to dad rock, so it's not just the outright shit songs in the middle that ruins that album. Basically they had the genesis of something brilliant with these handful of songs, but I have never seen such a blatant example of self-sabotage as this album with the majority of shite that made its way on to it. Not just tuneless, but musically insipid. Always makes me intrigued what Songs of Ascent was going to be as the description seemed more in keeping with the songs I mentioned. But hey, the band thought we needed a collaboration with coffee salesman Will.I.Am on the downright awful I'll Go Crazy thus starting a habit of endless fuck ups that really started on this album. |
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Post by 2nz on Sept 14, 2020 16:14:33 GMT -5
Suppose the hardcore fans aren't going to be going anywhere- will be interesting to see how quickly they have another album out. Can U2 ever be relevant again though? If the songs are turds, and the Edge isn't bringing the goods- then maybe having the likes of Tedder there can bring something out of them? Once they've settled into one album every 5 years with a nostalgia tour in between, they may not have much room for a fully Lamb produced album. I genuinely don't know. I don't think they're at a stage where everything they do is shit though. It's that incessant need to be 'relevant' that is restricting them creatively and that drive for hit singles that massively hampers their albums. In that sense, Ryan Tedder is a major problem. They'll never have another hit single, and they'll never have a smash hit massive selling album again. They've got to accept that and just create art they want rather than making music they think others want. Do what their peers done - artists who haven't clamoured for popularity in their latter years and as a result gives them creative freedom, thus producing still excellent work. This wasn't an issue 20 years ago when their ear for a smash hit was still there. But they still can write interesting songs - U2 have always been an albums band, and not a singles band anyway. That's where their strength lies and I'm sure if they have the right creative muse alongside them and the motivation that they can produce a holistic and satisfying piece of work again. I don't think what they do is shit though, and a u2 album is still an event, but it's definitely just a vehicle for them to tour now, and since they realised they can redo classic albums and have a back catalogue malleable enough to craft shows (the Joshua Tree show could easily be followed by a massively ambitious Zoo 2 tour) which can make loads of money and still be creative enough. |
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Post by World71R on Sept 15, 2020 1:10:53 GMT -5
You hit the nail on the head here. With the last three albums, they've reached a point with each one where they've worked with a producer or a couple of producers and put together a cohesive-sounding album with solid songs on it, but then there's "not enough 'hits'" or they want to "make it sound like four guys in a room playing together." Then what they put out ends up being some of the worst material on the album and it gets pushed the hardest by the band. Get On Your Boots, I'll Go Crazy..., Stand Up Comedy, The Miracle, You're the Best Thing About Me, Get Out of Your Own Way, American Soul, a bunch of same-y sounding stuff that sells the strong concept album-oriented approach that makes U2 great, for the weak single moment, preachy, clamoring for mass appeal approach that has made U2 not as great as it could be. It pains me, too, because they can write good material and put out great albums. The last three albums are fantastic when you take out the weak material, but their clamoring for attention kills that quality. I wish for them to go out and make an album with one or two producers that takes on the approach I mentioned in here: A more songwriter-focused ambient rock album with a mixture of personal lyrics and character-focused lyrics. U2 could do well with that. No Line is a pretty poor album for its awful dad rock middle section, and even an experimental song like Fez Being Born doesn't work for me (not offensive though, I admire them trying something like that than outright hating it like the generic rock of the middle). But the first few songs and the last few songs indicate something different. When it's expansive in its sound and more bombastic, you've got atmosphere and multilayered sonics like No Line On The Horizon and Magnificent, and the other side you have the more meditative, hymnal tunes like Moment of Surrender, White As Snow and Cedars of Lebanon. It's an album that should have been more meditative and more atmospheric than the watered down 'rawk' we got. Breathe was ruined in the studio apparently, going from a more exotic sounding, slower song to dad rock, so it's not just the outright shit songs in the middle that ruins that album. Basically they had the genesis of something brilliant with these handful of songs, but I have never seen such a blatant example of self-sabotage as this album with the majority of shite that made its way on to it. Not just tuneless, but musically insipid. Always makes me intrigued what Songs of Ascent was going to be as the description seemed more in keeping with the songs I mentioned. But hey, the band thought we needed a collaboration with coffee salesman Will.I.Am on the downright awful I'll Go Crazy thus starting a habit of endless fuck ups that really started on this album. That's interesting about Breathe. I've always liked that tune, but a slower, exotic-sounding song has a better vibe to me, especially to fit with some of the other songs on there. What gets me about NLOTH is that there was a strong concept there, especially with U2's work with the film, Linear, that involved their music. However, they never fully pursued that on NLOTH, even though the songs can be arranged in a certain order to tell a story similar to Linear. U2 missed a good opportunity with that album, especially with Bono wanting to do more character-based writing anyways. (Also, unpopular opinion, but aside from the "Baby baby baby" bridge, I don't mind I'll Go Crazy. It would've been a decent standalone single, a la The Sweetest Thing, to reflect the mood of the U.S. after Barack Obama was elected (the inauguration U2 performed at), but it did not fit on NLOTH at all. The only way is if it reflected the point in which the character was about to leave their hometown and go off to war but that's it.) |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 30, 2020 20:01:37 GMT -5
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Post by 2nz on Nov 5, 2020 6:44:54 GMT -5
Reviewing the context more than the music. It's not this album's fault that Sept 11th happened, or the iphone launch happened. |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Nov 5, 2020 10:12:55 GMT -5
Reviewing the context more than the music. It's not this album's fault that Sept 11th happened, or the iphone launch happened. Its interesting, I re-read a bunch of 2000 and early 2001 interviews with Bono and listened to their Boston show from May 2001. It feels so weird how much Bono points out how much the world sucks and how people are being treated horribly. The world was just heating up because the next 20 years we would fail into darkness. |
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Post by matt on Nov 6, 2020 18:36:05 GMT -5
Nails it, particularly regarding latter U2. Could have said it myself! |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Nov 2, 2021 10:56:25 GMT -5
Rumors of U2 doing a 30th anniversary for Achtung Baby.
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Post by matt on Nov 9, 2021 16:57:07 GMT -5
Rumors of U2 doing a 30th anniversary for Achtung Baby. Wondering what they could do in all honesty if there is anything. They pretty much emptied the vault for the 20th anniversary. A tour like Joshua Tree wouldn't work; Achtung Baby, along with the tour, is very much a timepiece compared to the more universal and timeless themes of Joshua Tree. It's culturally of that early 90s moment. Plus the band as individuals would never get away with it these days - they are so far removed from the guys they were now that it would be nothing but insincere to try and replicate. Live album of Zoo TV would be great though. Incredible for a band of their reputation that the only thing they've ever done is Under A Blood Red Sky back in 1983. |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Nov 9, 2021 17:06:46 GMT -5
Rumors of U2 doing a 30th anniversary for Achtung Baby. Wondering what they could do in all honesty if there is anything. They pretty much emptied the vault for the 20th anniversary. A tour like Joshua Tree wouldn't work; Achtung Baby, along with the tour, is very much a timepiece compared to the more universal and timeless themes of Joshua Tree. It's culturally of that early 90s moment. Plus the band as individuals would never get away with it these days - they are so far removed from the guys they were now that it would be nothing but insincere to try and replicate. Live album of Zoo TV would be great though. Incredible for a band of their reputation that the only thing they've ever done is Under A Blood Red Sky back in 1983. I mean they have issued dozens of live albums via their U2 fan club. PopMart and Zoo TV. I have both of them. Great stuff. Does it not count as a live album if it doesn’t end up at a chain outlet or Spotify? |
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Post by World71R on Nov 10, 2021 16:32:19 GMT -5
I'm curious as to what the guys are going to come up with next because after the SOE era slowly faded out, it just felt like the band was walking at a casual pace more than carrying a head of steam, and the song from Sing 2 is, interesting. I want them only to keep going if it's going to not be derivative music and we'll have to see about that.
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Post by matt on Nov 16, 2021 13:54:53 GMT -5
Wondering what they could do in all honesty if there is anything. They pretty much emptied the vault for the 20th anniversary. A tour like Joshua Tree wouldn't work; Achtung Baby, along with the tour, is very much a timepiece compared to the more universal and timeless themes of Joshua Tree. It's culturally of that early 90s moment. Plus the band as individuals would never get away with it these days - they are so far removed from the guys they were now that it would be nothing but insincere to try and replicate. Live album of Zoo TV would be great though. Incredible for a band of their reputation that the only thing they've ever done is Under A Blood Red Sky back in 1983. I mean they have issued dozens of live albums via their U2 fan club. PopMart and Zoo TV. I have both of them. Great stuff. Does it not count as a live album if it doesn’t end up at a chain outlet or Spotify?I'm not a member of the fanclub so I don't count those as official releases - I've been able to get downloads of them somewhere but until its available on Apple/Spotify and in the stores, nobody apart from hardcore fans know of it. The exclusivity of such live releases is bizarre. For a band of their live reputation, can never understand why they don't release even some kind of anthology of live performances. Some great performances, especially the deeper cuts like Mofo, go under the radar like Popmart in Leeds 97. |
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Post by matt on Nov 19, 2021 17:56:03 GMT -5
 30 years since one of the greatest albums of all time was released. With all said and done, still their best. |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Nov 19, 2021 23:59:56 GMT -5
30 years since one of the greatest albums of all time was released. With all said and done, still their best. Couldn’t agree more! |
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Post by matt on Sept 5, 2022 12:55:13 GMT -5
I think at worst he's a dopey clown with some of the things he does, but he means well and I'm genuinely looking forward to reading Bono's autobiography in November. Most likely accompanied by a soundtrack album of U2 doing alternative versions of their songs (a pointless exercise if it isn't, as has been rumoured, rarities and hidden gems like Drowning Man or When I Look At The World)
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Post by matt on Nov 28, 2022 14:55:14 GMT -5
Interesting comments from Larry Mullens regarding U2 in an interview with Washington Post. The article says if the band plays live in 2023 it will likely be without him, as he needs surgery to continue playing. www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/11/28/u2-kennedy-center-honors/"You only do this if you’re having the best time. And not everyone is going to make it because the price is so high. So I think the challenge is for more generosity. More openness to the process. I am autonomous and I value my autonomy. I don’t sing from the same hymn sheet. I don’t play to the same version of God. So everyone has their limits. And you only do this if it is a great time you’re having, you know?” He also claims band decisions would be made by what they called the “Politburo,”. In Larry’s view, the system that served the band well for so long has now become more of a benevolent dictatorship. Some rumours that they are setting their stall out for (a) a future without Larry (b) continuing with other drummers and letting him contribute when he can or (c) demanding Bono and The Edge be more flexible and accommodating with touring/album plans. I can't imagine U2 without any of the four of them so would be a sad day without him. What with Bono's heart operation a few years ago and Larry's back problems, it's striking for what seemed like an invincible band not that long ago are so much older and fragile now. |
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Post by World71R on Nov 28, 2022 22:57:05 GMT -5
Interesting comments from Larry Mullens regarding U2 in an interview with Washington Post. The article says if the band plays live in 2023 it will likely be without him, as he needs surgery to continue playing. www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/11/28/u2-kennedy-center-honors/"You only do this if you’re having the best time. And not everyone is going to make it because the price is so high. So I think the challenge is for more generosity. More openness to the process. I am autonomous and I value my autonomy. I don’t sing from the same hymn sheet. I don’t play to the same version of God. So everyone has their limits. And you only do this if it is a great time you’re having, you know?” He also claims band decisions would be made by what they called the “Politburo,”. In Larry’s view, the system that served the band well for so long has now become more of a benevolent dictatorship. Some rumours that they are setting their stall out for (a) a future without Larry (b) continuing with other drummers and letting him contribute when he can or (c) demanding Bono and The Edge be more flexible and accommodating with touring/album plans. I can't imagine U2 without any of the four of them so would be a sad day without him. What with Bono's heart operation a few years ago and Larry's back problems, it's striking for what seemed like an invincible band not that long ago are so much older and fragile now. The last time this happened was during Pop and the band went forward with incorporating more samples into the music but the band's at an entirely different point in their career than 1997. I think they would take some time off or the other three (or Bono & The Edge + Adam) would go do something or Songs of Ascent might take more of that "future hymn" approach they thought about when it first became an idea. Even if they decide to call it and pack it in, I wouldn't be mad. All I'd ask for is one last tour with sets spanning their career or more stripped-down shows and maybe one final song. Their 1980-2005 run is phenomenal and one of the greatest of all-time. Even NLOTH, SOI, and SOE have some very good songs on them (Moment of Surrender, Cedarwood Road and The Little Things, one from each but I could go on...) that show the band always had it, even if some of their producer and stylstic choices hit a bum note (like the crazy plethora of producers including greats such as Ryan Tedder and will.i.am). The selfish side of me still wants a great, final Songs of Ascent with the band and Eno or Andy Barlow producing to close things out but that's just me lol |
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Post by Let It Bleed on Jan 11, 2023 19:39:03 GMT -5
This is a great cover…..
Happy new year.
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Post by matt on Jan 12, 2023 16:17:05 GMT -5
This is a great cover….. Happy new year. I love Patti Smith's version of Until The End of the World. And welcome back. |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Jan 12, 2023 16:37:55 GMT -5
The new re-imagined album sounds promising. Like the clips I’ve heard so far.
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Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5
Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5