u2roolz Posted November 25, 2017 Share Posted November 25, 2017 I woke up this morning with this thought that I should look at the U2 fan sites to see if the album had leaked yet. It looks like someone did a vinyl rip via Facebook Live with a few comments that are audible on this leak: "this track fucking rocks!" precedes one song. Lol! I was short on time this morning, so I skipped over the 4 songs that were already released (You're The Best Thing/Get Out/American/Blackout). Upon first listen in this strange "leak", I was pleasantly surprised at how the rest of the record differs from these 4 tracks. This is a very atmospheric record and melodic. Lights Of Home, Summer Of Love, Red Flag Day all stood out. The recorded version of Little Things That Give You Away is another standout. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
opsopcopolis Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Listened to the record just now on my way home and I really enjoyed it. Par for the course with the last few U2 records, I particularly loved the second half. Little Things was probably my highlight on first listen. One thing I really love is how clearly this record is meant to be a companion to Songs of Innocence. When put in context, it's pretty clear that American Soul is supposed to basically be Volcano. The use of the lines from Iris and Song For Someone are both fantastically done IMO (reusing lines could be cheesy but I don't think it is) and I absolutely love 13. What a powerful ending Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scribex6 Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 I'm still waiting to get my copy that's supposed to come with my purchase of tickets on their upcoming tour but I heard the snippets played on the "U Talkin' U2 to me" podcast and like what I've heard. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 I heard the snippets played on the "U Talkin' U2 to me" podcast and like what I've heard. Oh, they did a new ep?! Awesome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Speaking of U2 I just hear When I Look At The World today on random on my ipod. How was this not a single. great underrated song! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scribex6 Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Speaking of U2 I just hear When I Look At The World today on random on my ipod. How was this not a single. great underrated song! Agreed! That's one of my favorites from that album. And after listening to Songs of Experience a couple times I'm enjoying it so far. It's a solid late-period with some songs like "The Showman" and "Red Flag Day" that I'm really enjoying. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Bono & Edge on Howard Stern is streaming free on Stern's site: https://www.howardstern.com/show/2017/12/4/u2s-bono-and-edge-creating-their-hits-hanging-springsteen-and-mccartney-and-only-fight-theyve-ever-had/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
auctioneer69 Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 I have had the chance to listen to ´Songs of Experience’ a few times now. IMHO - another middling effort from U2. I like the opening salvo of the first four songs. After that I am less impressed. Overall I’d compare it to ´Accelerate’ or ‘Collapse Into Now’ by R.E.M.. It’s a respectable but not brilliant addition to their overall body of work. It’s obvious a lot of work has gone into making these songs sound catchy for both the radio and an arena. I think Bono’s voice hasn’t sounded this good in ages. His lyrics? A few gems but a lot of platitudes too. The creative process for the last 2 albums which have been made with multiple producers over extended periods of time shows how desperate U2 are to remain relevant in 2017. I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing based on the results. I am sure, like many, I’d love them to make one more album before they quit that is a lot less calculated. Lastly, I thought this was a pretty funny article on how U2 are now synonymous with bad song titles: http://www.citypages.com/music/where-the-songs-have-bad-names-why-cant-u2-think-up-decent-song-titles-anymore/461152983 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Passenger Sid Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 All of the political lyrics, to me, sound really forced. I wish I could hear the record before they re-worked it after the election. "Middling" is a fair term for the record. I prefer "Songs Of Innocence", probably because it's personal nature likely helps make it sound truer. "Landlady", to me, is the best song on the new album. Really pretty. It would sound good as a track on Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky". "The Little Things That Give You Away" is nice, as is "Love Is All We Have Left". Really like "Get Out Of Your Own Way"....really fresh sounding for U2, but going back to my first sentence, it's like they shoe-horned a few political lines into a song that doesn't sound like was meant to be. Kind of a weird record overall. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Smith Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 They were on SNL this week and I was less than impressed. They seem to be posing all the time, looking for the right angles for their shots. I wonder if their whole performance was blocked before they started. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 I watched that online. It didn't do much for me. Last night I was watching the Red Rocks show. Time is a son of a bitch. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 I didn't care for the SNL performance either. It seemed strange to do American Soul with the Kendrick Lamar intro & then do Get Out Of Your Own Way with Bono doing the Lamar part on the bullhorn during the outro. Maybe if they had flipped them? The bullhorn worked during Bullet The Blue Sky on the Innocence & Experience Tour. I hope that it doesn't get used in a lot of songs on the next tour. I'm still loving the album. Here's U2 performing All I Want Is You with an orchestra. This will be on the BBC Dec 19th. Closest the song has sounded to the album. Also love the long Walk To The Water snippet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Now that is a great U2 song. I have not yet bought it. I will eventually. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Passenger Sid Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Maybe it's because I saw the Joshua Tree tour, which was very much focused on America, but I kinda didn't like that the SNL set seemed focused again on talking to America. Hard to not sound preachy coming from a band from Ireland. Kind of a minor complaint. I think they mean well and truly love the U.S. and like performing over here. All I Want Is You is a great song. The Slane Castle video on Youtube from years ago that is this song followed by Where The Streets Have No Name is one of the greatest things I've ever seen/heard of U2. The Red Rocks show from the early 80's is great! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 That Under A Blood Red Sky/War period was my introduction to U2 back in the day. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
auctioneer69 Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Maybe it's because I saw the Joshua Tree tour, which was very much focused on America, but I kinda didn't like that the SNL set seemed focused again on talking to America. Hard to not sound preachy coming from a band from Ireland. Kind of a minor complaint. I think they mean well and truly love the U.S. and like performing over here. All I Want Is You is a great song. The Slane Castle video on Youtube from years ago that is this song followed by Where The Streets Have No Name is one of the greatest things I've ever seen/heard of U2. The Red Rocks show from the early 80's is great! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
auctioneer69 Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Maybe it's because I saw the Joshua Tree tour, which was very much focused on America, but I kinda didn't like that the SNL set seemed focused again on talking to America. Hard to not sound preachy coming from a band from Ireland. Kind of a minor complaint. I think they mean well and truly love the U.S. and like performing over here. You’d think that given their longstanding and recently re-confirmed status (via the Paradise Papers) as tax-dodgers they'd have the common-sense to tone down the preaching. https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/5011767/bono-u2-tax-haven-paradise-papers Even more ironic / galling given Kendrick Lamar’s lines in ‘American Soul’ on the new album about the filthy rich. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 A few interesting tidbits regarding U2's next tour which kicks off next month in Oklahoma City: U2 posted a rehearsal video of Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses to their social media page. Extremely cool to see this one possibly dusted off for the tour. Then Rolling Stone had a quote from Willie Williams (creative director of tour) that mentioned that this tour should feature some rarities that U2 will play live for the first time. We'll see about that. It's also expected to feature some "augmented reality". The screen is supposed to have 9 times the resolution as the one used on the 2015 tour. It'll be the same setup. It's just an upgrade. A U2 fan site broke the story over the weekend that U2 will be rehearsing for their upcoming tour in Laval, Quebec at Place Laval which is about 20 minutes north from Montreal's Bell Center. I think they have the place booked from today until April 24th or so. A lot of reports have come out in the past during these scenarios about what the band is rehearsing etc, so it's expected that this trend will continue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 They should do a "No Songs From This Decade" tour. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 They should do a "No Songs From This Decade" tour.Funny you should say that. I'm hearing rumors that U2 might not play anything off of The Joshua Tree on this tour, since they played the whole album last year on the stadium tour. I think something like that would happen for the first couple of shows and then they'd feel the need to add a few songs from it. A lot of what I've been hearing has been pointing to a very heavy 90s U2 on this tour. The songs that were worked on last night include The Fly, Until The End Of The World, Lights Of Home and (spoiler text) Acrobat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I've always loved the song Acrobat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Yes, that's always been one of my favorites. It was rehearsed in Hershey, PA right before the start of the Outside Broadcast tour (Zoo TV) in 1992. It has never seen the light of day on stage. I hope that it's played on this tour. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 The old Edge shreds in that solo. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winston Legthigh Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Funny you should say that. I'm hearing rumors that U2 might not play anything off of The Joshua Tree on this tour, since they played the whole album last year on the stadium tour. I think something like that would happen for the first couple of shows and then they'd feel the need to add a few songs from it. A lot of what I've been hearing has been pointing to a very heavy 90s U2 on this tour. The songs that were worked on last night include The Fly, Until The End Of The World, Lights Of Home and (spoiler text) Acrobat.I'm always impressed with how successful their tours are. But having said that, my older sister, an entrenched Bono-apologist, did not have kind things to say about the state of his voice at the Joshua Tree show she went to last year. He sounded fine when I saw them a couple years ago. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 I saw them in June at Gillette Stadium and his voice sounded amazing. Perhaps she saw them when they came back in the fall. Bono's voice sounded meh during the SNL performance in December. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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