something less bloody obvious, more thought provoking and something with more atmosphere....a darker, more brooding but off kilter album..
shy away from verse, chorus, verse...ban edge from chiming, force bono to sing in his lower register, get larry and adam unshackled and come up with something that sets u2 apart.
lose the pop veneer, the crappy cheesy keyboard fills and the over production.
All of this! I think SOI would have been greatly improved by not having every song filled with keyboards pads. They were suffocating.
Bono's voice - or the way he chooses to use it - is piercing. Even if it was lower in the mix it would be better.
Edge
has to stop chiming. He did his best work when during the time chiming was basically banned. It's possible that he's done everything he can do, but if he's going to repeat himself I'd prefer it was with laying parts laden with different effects, or the muted riffing on War than the chiming.
Larry and Adam are better players than they've ever been, but it doesn't come through on the album. A more balanced mix would bring them up more, but it would also be great if they played parts that were a bit more complex or inventive.
If I could have U2 grant me one wish, it would be for Bono to quit with the damn love songs, and the self deprecating songs that are basically humblebrags, and with the attempts at cleverness which have always fallen flat this century. I guess that's three wishes.