Is There Still Any Point In U2 Making A New Album?

[miryclay]

We'll see what happnes, hopefully there is some serious re-invention happening.

[tigerfan41]

MOS is one of the best things U2 has ever done though.

Exactly. I can't quite put my finger on why it is, but the song is just great. I would definitely rank it in the top 10 (or maybe even top 5) best U2 songs.

And it's even better live.

[MLP Midnight]

MOS is one of the best things U2 has ever done though.

Exactly. I can't quite put my finger on why it is, but the song is just great. I would definitely rank it in the top 10 (or maybe even top 5) best U2 songs.

And it's even better live.

I felt a real sense of emotion coming from the band on MOS. It had a feeling that not many of their songs seem to have nowadays.

Bono's singing really is icing on the cake in MOS. Instead of worrying about it sounding perfect, he seems to let his voice have a rawness quality to it, almost reverting to the type of singing he did on Pop. The rawness just gives it this edge that I really love.

[tigerfan41]

Didn't they say MOS was recorded in just one take vocally and musically? It shows....and I mean that in a good way. A very good way. Like you said, you can just feel the emotion coming from the band (not just Bono and his lyrics, which are top notch, btw). Every time I hear that song--and I've listened to it a lot--I can just feel the emotion. And the band--every single member--just sounds fantastic. From the bass to the guitar to the drums to the vocals, it's just perfect.

I'm really beginning to believe there's something to the theory that overproduction has hurt the past several U2 albums. While they're all good CDs, I can only imagine how great they would have been with a little less polish. It seems like U2 is one of those few bands that produces better material at first than after lots of takes/editing.

[MLP Midnight]

Didn't they say MOS was recorded in just one take vocally and musically? It shows....and I mean that in a good way. A very good way. Like you said, you can just feel the emotion coming from the band (not just Bono and his lyrics, which are top notch, btw). Every time I hear that song--and I've listened to it a lot--I can just feel the emotion. And the band--every single member--just sounds fantastic. From the bass to the guitar to the drums to the vocals, it's just perfect.

I'm really beginning to believe there's something to the theory that overproduction has hurt the past several U2 albums. While they're all good CDs, I can only imagine how great they would have been with a little less polish. It seems like U2 is one of those few bands that produces better material at first than after lots of takes/editing.

Oh I agree, the band shines. Larry has this little sort of trip-hop rock beat going that sets the mood, while Edge does this little beat-boxing guitar thing similar to Beautiful Day's intro (not in sound, but in execution). Adam's part I find to be the heart of the piece though, that bass with Bono's voice swirling together fits perfect.

And its ironic to mention that, considering the band have never been good improvisational musicians. I even remember Edge saying that he loathes trying to play guitar improvs.

I think it's not on first take that hurts them, its the amount of time they take.

I think their best work was working under pressure to get music out. Look at Pop and Zooropa. Both were efforts created in a time window that had to be completed in a hectic manner. And both are brilliant if I say so myself.

[tigerfan41]

^ Adam's bass line is perfect on that song. It, along with Edge's short solo and Bono's vocals, really makes the song what it is. A lot of times when listening to MOS, I really get lost in just listening to and focusing in on that bass line. With how well the song is layered musically, it's easy to get lost in just one aspect of it.

And I agree, I think it might also be the amount of time that hurts them the most. There gets to be a point where you can't change/revise the song anymore without decreasing the quality of it. I think U2 understands this, but on some songs have clearly given into the temptation to continue working on something that would be better left alone.

Agreed about Pop and Zooropa. It's funny because up until maybe 3-4 weeks ago, I hadn't really heard either album. Since the first listen of each, both have been in near constant rotation in my CD player. They're fantastic CDs in their own right.

It would be awesome if U2 does something different from here on out. Maybe doing something ambitious like releasing a new CD every year for the next 4-5 years? I'm sure they've got a ton of inspiration to draw from. And if they're like most procrastinators/pressure workers, they'll thrive on the tight time window for each CD, much like they seemed to have done with Pop and Zooropa.

[MLP Midnight]

^ Adam's bass line is perfect on that song. It, along with Edge's short solo and Bono's vocals, really makes the song what it is. A lot of times when listening to MOS, I really get lost in just listening to and focusing in on that bass line. With how well the song is layered musically, it's easy to get lost in just one aspect of it.

And I agree, I think it might also be the amount of time that hurts them the most. There gets to be a point where you can't change/revise the song anymore without decreasing the quality of it. I think U2 understands this, but on some songs have clearly given into the temptation to continue working on something that would be better left alone.

Agreed about Pop and Zooropa. It's funny because up until maybe 3-4 weeks ago, I hadn't really heard either album. Since the first listen of each, both have been in near constant rotation in my CD player. They're fantastic CDs in their own right.

It would be awesome if U2 does something different from here on out. Maybe doing something ambitious like releasing a new CD every year for the next 4-5 years? I'm sure they've got a ton of inspiration to draw from. And if they're like most procrastinators/pressure workers, they'll thrive on the tight time window for each CD, much like they seemed to have done with Pop and Zooropa.

It depends if they have the drive to work at such a pace anymore. I don't see them ever doing something like that again, although it would be nice to think about.

4 albums in maybe 5 years? That would be incredible if they pulled something like that out of the blue.

[mdmomof7]

And you can dream, so dream out loud 

[The Exile]

4 albums in maybe 5 years? That would be incredible if they pulled something like that out of the blue.

That's not realistic. What is doable, though, is U2 releasing a mini-album very soon, with around 5-6 of the best songs they have to date. If they did this, all the pressure on them would immediately disappear. Then, after 12-18 months have passed, do the same thing again.

If they went this route, they would become immediately relevant, both in the sense of being in the spotlight of the music world, as well as by their having the freedom to make daring music without much thought (if any) to whether these songs would be sufficiently banal to appeal to all the fair-weather fans who come to their shows without buying any of their new material.

[Sugarcube]

4 albums in maybe 5 years? That would be incredible if they pulled something like that out of the blue.

That's not realistic. What is doable, though, is U2 releasing a mini-album very soon, with around 5-6 of the best songs they have to date. If they did this, all the pressure on them would immediately disappear. Then, after 12-18 months have passed, do the same thing again.

If they went this route, they would become immediately relevant, both in the sense of being in the spotlight of the music world, as well as by their having the freedom to make daring music without much thought (if any) to whether these songs would be sufficiently banal to appeal to all the fair-weather fans who come to their shows without buying any of their new material.

I'd love them to do this - sadly I imagine they've signed deals to release whole albums and accompanying enormo tours with Live Nation. REM did this - it was amazing how quickly they split up at the end of their contract.

This was one of the reasons Radiohead didn't resign with EMI and went to XL. It gave them the chance to do things on their own terms. U2 give them impression they're in control but I rather suspect they're shackled by contracts.

[tigerfan41]

4 albums in maybe 5 years? That would be incredible if they pulled something like that out of the blue.

That's not realistic. What is doable, though, is U2 releasing a mini-album very soon, with around 5-6 of the best songs they have to date. If they did this, all the pressure on them would immediately disappear. Then, after 12-18 months have passed, do the same thing again.

If they went this route, they would become immediately relevant, both in the sense of being in the spotlight of the music world, as well as by their having the freedom to make daring music without much thought (if any) to whether these songs would be sufficiently banal to appeal to all the fair-weather fans who come to their shows without buying any of their new material.

It most definitely is realistic. Artists used to release new CDs every year. At some point, that changed into every 2 years and now it's a little more common for that to be every 3-4 years. Point is, if U2 wanted to release to release a new CD every year for 4-5 years, they could do that. After all, they don't have the stress that many other bands have (that is, the pressure to tour and make lots of money on album sales by releasing a single CD that is commercially "successful). Not to mention, they have excellent recording technology at their disposal, so recording a song will take them less time than it used to back in the pre-digital days. They could literally spend only 3-4 months per year working on a new CD, if that.

The thing is, it appears that U2 are more content to take their time with each CD and rework material over and over to "perfection". There's nothing wrong with that, per sa, but doing a new CD every year when we've seen that they tend to thrive under tight deadlines would probably work better. And it'd win them back some love from the fans and critics, unless whatever they release is truly bad (which I doubt it would be, given what the past seems to indicate).

[mattressjedi]

If the band has about 3 albums worth of material right now, they certainly could do a series of EPs.

I just have a hard time seeing that band doing it though.

Hey, surprise me.

[mattressjedi]

Didn't they say MOS was recorded in just one take vocally and musically? It shows....and I mean that in a good way. A very good way. Like you said, you can just feel the emotion coming from the band (not just Bono and his lyrics, which are top notch, btw). Every time I hear that song--and I've listened to it a lot--I can just feel the emotion. And the band--every single member--just sounds fantastic. From the bass to the guitar to the drums to the vocals, it's just perfect.

I'm really beginning to believe there's something to the theory that overproduction has hurt the past several U2 albums. While they're all good CDs, I can only imagine how great they would have been with a little less polish. It seems like U2 is one of those few bands that produces better material at first than after lots of takes/editing.

In U2 by U2 Adam states a few times during the HTDAAB section that there is sometimes a point during their jam sessions(which is how the band creates new music) when you can capture a magic sound and/or vocal, but that you can also work it to the point that it falls apart and you have to start all over.
I think that's what happened with all the Lillywhite stuff from their last 3 albums. Too much thinking and not enough raw power and presence t just let the songs breathe by themselves. Hammered with production.

[singnomore]

Didn't they say MOS was recorded in just one take vocally and musically? It shows....and I mean that in a good way. A very good way. Like you said, you can just feel the emotion coming from the band (not just Bono and his lyrics, which are top notch, btw). Every time I hear that song--and I've listened to it a lot--I can just feel the emotion. And the band--every single member--just sounds fantastic. From the bass to the guitar to the drums to the vocals, it's just perfect.

I'm really beginning to believe there's something to the theory that overproduction has hurt the past several U2 albums. While they're all good CDs, I can only imagine how great they would have been with a little less polish. It seems like U2 is one of those few bands that produces better material at first than after lots of takes/editing.

In U2 by U2 Adam states a few times during the HTDAAB section that there is sometimes a point during their jam sessions(which is how the band creates new music) when you can capture a magic sound and/or vocal, but that you can also work it to the point that it falls apart and you have to start all over.
I think that's what happened with all the Lillywhite stuff from their last 3 albums. Too much thinking and not enough raw power and presence t just let the songs breathe by themselves. Hammered with production.

I do suspect they over think things - but watching Bono on From the Sky Down they are always looking for different things - so i guess that's a real positive (for me)

[Tumbling Dice]

Didn't they say MOS was recorded in just one take vocally and musically? It shows....and I mean that in a good way. A very good way. Like you said, you can just feel the emotion coming from the band (not just Bono and his lyrics, which are top notch, btw). Every time I hear that song--and I've listened to it a lot--I can just feel the emotion. And the band--every single member--just sounds fantastic. From the bass to the guitar to the drums to the vocals, it's just perfect.

I'm really beginning to believe there's something to the theory that overproduction has hurt the past several U2 albums. While they're all good CDs, I can only imagine how great they would have been with a little less polish. It seems like U2 is one of those few bands that produces better material at first than after lots of takes/editing.

In U2 by U2 Adam states a few times during the HTDAAB section that there is sometimes a point during their jam sessions(which is how the band creates new music) when you can capture a magic sound and/or vocal, but that you can also work it to the point that it falls apart and you have to start all over.
I think that's what happened with all the Lillywhite stuff from their last 3 albums. Too much thinking and not enough raw power and presence t just let the songs breathe by themselves. Hammered with production.

In future, will you please quote chapter and verse.