Interview: U2 Producer Steve Lillywhite on the Alchemy of Hit-Making

[jenniferh aka jen]

http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/interview-u2-producer-steve-lillywhite-alchemy-hit-making

[mdmomof7]

http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/interview-u2-producer-steve-lillywhite-alchemy-hit-making

Terrific article! Thanks for finding it!

I find this very intriguing.

Basically, the moment he started singing the song with the band, Bono projected himself a year into the future, on a stage at Madison Square Garden, and he suddenly realised he couldn’t sing it with the passion he really wanted. Bono has this great knack, which I’ve never really seen with anyone else, of putting a song in the set as he’s writing it. He’s thinking, ‘Ooh, this could replace such-and-such; or this could be a great opener.’ He looks at the album as being the tour as well, and the last thing they want to do is a tour that’s embarrassing when they play the new album. Most bands from their era, that’s the reality: the crowd just go crazy for the hits. U2 manage to still play half a dozen songs off the new album every time and it really works. 

That's wily fantastic, but this round, 360, they didn't do 6 songs off NLOTH. Did they EVER on 360? Even at the beginning?

[lorijane]

From U2 gigs.  This was the first show of the 360 tour in North America, and the second leg of the tour.

360° Tour 2nd leg: North America
2009-09-12: Soldier Field - Chicago, Illinois, USA

Setlist: 1.Breathe
2.No Line On The Horizon
3.Get On Your Boots
4.Magnificent
5.Far Far Away (snippet) / Beautiful Day / Blackbird (snippet)
6.Elevation
7.I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / Stand By Me (snippet)
8.Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
9.Unknown Caller
10.The Unforgettable Fire
11.City Of Blinding Lights
12.Vertigo
13.I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
14.Sunday Bloody Sunday / Oliver's Army (snippet)
15.Pride (In The Name Of Love)
16.MLK
17.Walk On / You'll Never Walk Alone (snippet)
18.Where The Streets Have No Name
19.One
20.Bad / Fool To Cry (snippet) / 40 (snippet)

encore(s):

21.Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
22.With Or Without You
23.Moment of Surrender
 

Seven NLOTH songs.  They were still doing seven when I saw them in Norman, OK, in October of 2009.

[jick]

He should just produce the next U2 album.

Cheers,

J

[mdmomof7]

Baltimore June 22 2011

SET LIST
Even Better Than The Real Thing
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Until The End Of The World
I Will Follow
Get On Your Boots
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Beautiful Day
Elevation
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Miss Sarajevo
Zooropa
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy / Discotheque
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Scarlet
Walk On
ENCORE
One
Where The Streets Have No Name
ENCORE 2
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
With Or Without You
Moment Of Surrender

Pittsburgh July 26, 2011

SET LIST
Even Better Than The Real Thing
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Until The End Of The World
I Will Follow
Get On Your Boots
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Beautiful Day
Elevation
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Miss Sarajevo
Zooropa
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy / Discotheque
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Scarlet
Walk On
ENCORE
One
Where The Streets Have No Name
ENCORE 2
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
With Or Without You
Moment Of Surrender
Bad

But, the really important thing is that I got both UV and Bad out of it! 

Seriously, not even Magnificent or NLOTH? CRAZY!!!

[lorijane]

Yeah, the later shows had a totally different focus.  The NLOTH songs weren't real warmly received in Norman, but I figured that had a lot to do with it being Oklahoma. No offense meant to any of you who may be Okies.

[MarsGirl~Descends to Hell for a bottle of milk]

I'm really sad that I missed the part of the tour where they played Breathe, Unknown Caller, and NLOTH.

I'm glad I got to see them on the second half--I think EBTTRT was the best opening ever. But, still, I wuold have liked to have seen more of their new songs.

[The Exile]

1.Breathe
2.No Line On The Horizon
3.Get On Your Boots
4.Magnificent
5.Far Far Away (snippet) / Beautiful Day / Blackbird (snippet)
6.Elevation
7.I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / Stand By Me (snippet)
8.Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
9.Unknown Caller
10.The Unforgettable Fire
11.City Of Blinding Lights
12.Vertigo
13.I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
14.Sunday Bloody Sunday / Oliver's Army (snippet)
15.Pride (In The Name Of Love)
16.MLK
17.Walk On / You'll Never Walk Alone (snippet)
18.Where The Streets Have No Name
19.One
20.Bad / Fool To Cry (snippet) / 40 (snippet)

encore(s):

21.Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
22.With Or Without You
23.Moment of Surrender
 

I saw that setlist, too. I was happy to hear seven NLOTH songs, but the fact that they only played TWO from the ENTIRE decade of the '90s is what made me seriously question their judgment. In fact, 360 as a whole sort of dampened my enthusiasm for NLOTH.

[xy]

Yes...the 90's truly being overlooked on the tours of this decade.

[Chip]

It's a great interview, but "Native Son" had a chutzpah to it that "Vertigo" lacks. I think that "Vertigo" is the better end product, but "Native Son" is more interesting and daring. (I tend to think that of virtually all the Chris Thomas versions I've heard. "Tough," particularly, is far more interesting, although less commercial, than SYCMIOYO.)

[Droo]

I saw them in Toronto in 2009, and Crazy Tonight and No Line On The Horizon (surprisingly) had the best reception of the new tracks.

[mdmomof7]

1.Breathe
2.No Line On The Horizon
3.Get On Your Boots
4.Magnificent
5.Far Far Away (snippet) / Beautiful Day / Blackbird (snippet)
6.Elevation
7.I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / Stand By Me (snippet)
8.Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
9.Unknown Caller
10.The Unforgettable Fire
11.City Of Blinding Lights
12.Vertigo
13.I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
14.Sunday Bloody Sunday / Oliver's Army (snippet)
15.Pride (In The Name Of Love)
16.MLK
17.Walk On / You'll Never Walk Alone (snippet)
18.Where The Streets Have No Name
19.One
20.Bad / Fool To Cry (snippet) / 40 (snippet)

encore(s):

21.Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
22.With Or Without You
23.Moment of Surrender
 

I saw that setlist, too. I was happy to hear seven NLOTH songs, but the fact that they only played TWO from the ENTIRE decade of the '90s is what made me seriously question their judgment. In fact, 360 as a whole sort of dampened my enthusiasm for NLOTH.

We should have switched concerts, but I'm not complaining about the 90s load we got! 

[The Exile]

1.Breathe
2.No Line On The Horizon
3.Get On Your Boots
4.Magnificent
5.Far Far Away (snippet) / Beautiful Day / Blackbird (snippet)
6.Elevation
7.I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / Stand By Me (snippet)
8.Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
9.Unknown Caller
10.The Unforgettable Fire
11.City Of Blinding Lights
12.Vertigo
13.I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
14.Sunday Bloody Sunday / Oliver's Army (snippet)
15.Pride (In The Name Of Love)
16.MLK
17.Walk On / You'll Never Walk Alone (snippet)
18.Where The Streets Have No Name
19.One
20.Bad / Fool To Cry (snippet) / 40 (snippet)

encore(s):

21.Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
22.With Or Without You
23.Moment of Surrender
 

I saw that setlist, too. I was happy to hear seven NLOTH songs, but the fact that they only played TWO from the ENTIRE decade of the '90s is what made me seriously question their judgment. In fact, 360 as a whole sort of dampened my enthusiasm for NLOTH.

We should have switched concerts, but I'm not complaining about the 90s load we got! 

It's funny, I saw all three of 360's incarnations (NLOTH Tour, Comeback Tour, '90s Nostalgia Tour), and although I am in principle in favor of the idea of a NLOTH Tour, that night (Vancouver) was my least favorite. And the Nostalgia Tour should have been my least favorite (Seattle) was the best in terms of overall performance.

[Johnny Feathers]

It's funny, I saw all three of 360's incarnations (NLOTH Tour, Comeback Tour, '90s Nostalgia Tour), and although I am in principle in favor of the idea of a NLOTH Tour, that night (Vancouver) was my least favorite. And the Nostalgia Tour should have been my least favorite (Seattle) was the best in terms of overall performance.

Not trying to hijack the thread, but this is why I've stopped particularly caring about "was it a greatest hits tour or not?" debate.  Seeing the 2nd night in Chicago was by far my least favorite U2 show, and it was largely BECAUSE it was, at that time, largely a NLOTH/00's tour.  Maybe doing a 90's-era show is going back to the well, but I'd rather they go back to songs I like then stick to some principle of "we can't do a greatest hits show", when the newer material (to me) is so far below par.

Ok, back to whatever we were talking about.