U2 Postponed New Album To Make It Concert Ready - Noise11.com
Bono, U2 perform at Etihad Stadium. Photo by Ros O'Gorman

Bono, U2 perform at Etihad Stadium. Photo by Ros O'Gorman

U2 Postponed New Album To Make It Concert Ready

by Music-News.com on September 22, 2017

in News

U2 stalled the release of their new album last year (2016), so they could perfect their new songs for a concert run.

The band began work on Songs of Experience in 2014, and wrapped up the project a year ago, but guitarist The Edge and his bandmates held off on releasing the album so they could polish the tracks.

“What we wanted to do was sit back and see how we felt about it coming out into a world that had taken a big lurch in a different direction,” he tells Rolling Stone.

“We had all of the songs figured out and most of them recorded to the extent that they were releasable towards September of last year. But a year ago we were kind of feeling that we wanted to explore other production approaches and other ways the songs could be arranged and performed. We felt the band chemistry wasn’t as represented as we thought it maybe ought to be.

“So in the fall of last year we went back into a room as a band, initially without Bono and then he joined us for a couple of days at the end of the period, and we just played the songs. We played them with half an eye and ear to how they might be performed in a live concert setting.

“Part of the reason for doing that is that we always went through this kind of routine where we’d record an album, put it out and then we’d start rearranging the songs live. Our producers would show up halfway through the tour and they’d be like, ‘Oh, s**t man, that tune is sounding so cool now. I really wish we’d had that arrangement on the album’.”

The rocker admits that by going back to the rehearsal space and re-recording some of the songs, the band was able to find “a synthesis of the raw band performances and some of the stuff we had created before”.

“It’s given it a more interesting aesthetic,” he says.

vvnmusic.com

Related Posts

Jimmy Barnes Cold Chisel perform at Rod Laver Arena Melbourne on Thursday 19 November 2015. Photo by Ros O'Gorman
Jimmy Barnes Returns To Victoria For Red Hot Summer Tour In Bendigo

Jimmy Barnes will make his first appearance back in Victoria since his heart surgery this weekend when he headlines Red Hot Summer in Bendigo.

16 hours ago
Richie Sambora: Photo By Ros O'Gorman
Richie Sambora Releases First of Weekly New Music ‘I Pray’

Former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora has released ‘I Pray’ with a new song coming every week for the next four weeks.

17 hours ago
Talking Heads Everyones Getting Involved
Talking Heads Tribute ‘Everyone’s Getting Involved’ Artists and Tracklisting Revealed

The full tracklisting for the tribute to the Talking Heads ‘Stop Making Sense’ movie has finally been revealed with Miley Cyrus and Lorde in there with appearances from Norah Jones and Money Mark along the way.

17 hours ago
David Gilmour of Pink Floyd To Release First Album In Nine Years

David Gilmour has unveiled his first album in nine years, 'Luck and Strange'.

1 day ago
Billy Idol photo by Ros OGorman
Billy Idol Celebrates 40 Years of Eyes Without A Face

Billy Idol takes viewers behind-the-scenes of the official music video for his first top 10 hit, “Eyes Without A Face,” in the latest instalment of Vevo Footnotes.

1 day ago
Neil Finn of Crowded House photo by Ros O'Gorman
Neil Finn Sells Song Catalogue To Primary Wave

Neil Finn has sold his songwriting catalogue to Primary Wave. Primary Wave now own Neil’s songs with Split Enz (including I Got You), Crowded House (including Don’t Dream Its Over) as well as Neil’s solo catalogue.

2 days ago
Mike Pinder of The Moody Blues
Mike Pinder of The Moody Blues Dies At Age 82

R.I.P. Mike Pinder, a founding member of The Moody Blues.

2 days ago