SOE
Active topics
U2 - Songs Of Experience (2017)
 Tracks: 14
  1. Oh man, I had no idea that was almost three years ago now.

    Time flies.

    DOESN'T IT, BONO?!
  2. Whats everyone's take on why it takes u2 so long now between albums? I guess it's been like this since the gap between zooropa and pop but any theories or would anyone go as far as to blame any band member/ members in particular? My take on it is that at this stage of there career it's harder to produce the standard they and we are used to and just takes longer to make good songs. I do think some are overproduced as well and the pop album ( even though i think it's brilliant) probably leads them to paranoia about whether any song is ever finished. What's people's take on it?
  3. I think they are just older with plenty of money and competing priorities for their time.
  4. Yep, music isnt there top priority in life. They have been at the top, made more money than they will spend and gotten alot of interests that isnt music. They all have famalies now and they dont have any sense of urgency. No record company can tell them what to do. Think about not having to worry about your bills being paid and you can pretty much do whatever you want.
  5. Originally posted by amansman:[..]
    Yep, music isnt there top priority in life. They have been at the top, made more money than they will spend and gotten alot of interests that isnt music. They all have famalies now and they dont have any sense of urgency. No record company can tell them what to do. Think about not having to worry about your bills being paid and you can pretty much do whatever you want.
    Exactly. They're essentially making music now because they like doing it. The only band that has all original members that haven't broken up or anything. It's not like their fighting for their lives and for their voices to be heard like the 80s and early 90s.
  6. Originally posted by deanallison:Whats everyone's take on why it takes u2 so long now between albums? I guess it's been like this since the gap between zooropa and pop but any theories or would anyone go as far as to blame any band member/ members in particular? My take on it is that at this stage of there career it's harder to produce the standard they and we are used to and just takes longer to make good songs. I do think some are overproduced as well and the pop album ( even though i think it's brilliant) probably leads them to paranoia about whether any song is ever finished. What's people's take on it?
    I think it's a question we've all pondered on a at some point. It's very frustrating to keep hearing the same kind of quotes with no real movement, we'll all get bored of the studio pictures and new quotes in the end.

    Personally I buy the perfectionism that the band portrays, they know and we know that they like to think they are perfectionists when it comes to releasing a body of work, I believe that they will not release SOE unless they are totally happy with it. I also believe that having too many ideas at once can spoil it somewhat.

    I think they are a band who are not struggling for ideas and in Bono's case - lyrical ideas, only that they are trying to finalise and not have regrets when it's put out.

    I'm glad it's taking a while, I want and hope it's miles better than SOI, both in it's music and how it's produced / mixed
  7. It's the way they record it...
    They go in and record for 2 weeks then come back a few months later for another week or two etc... it's not really the best and most focused way to record an album! End result is the songs are 2 or 3 years old by the time they are released.
  8. Originally posted by ChargedVT:It's the way they record it...
    They go in and record for 2 weeks then come back a few months later for another week or two etc... it's not really the best and most focused way to record an album! End result is the songs are 2 or 3 years old by the time they are released.
    Indeed! I intervieweed a Spanish singer and songwriter the other day for the music magazine with which I collaborate and he said exactly that. Sometimes you write a song, then wait a few months for whatever reason until you go into the studio and record it, then it's still some more months until the album is released and you have to play the song live in your shows... You can imagine how "fresh" that song will sound This guy said that he certainly prefers to have a rigid schedule and even time constraints so the songs are written, recorded and released in a short time span and that helps keeping them alive, fresh and powerful. U2 have usually been more like the opposite, of course (except for Pop, Zooropa and maybe R&H), but it's getting worse and worse.
  9. I think another thing is, I wouldn't quite say they're perfectionists as such, but there has to be an element of that at play.

    Plus the band have become so gianormous over the last 30 years, that they have their place in the history books up there with the very best of the best, and I think that perhaps preys on their minds more so than it would do otherwise or for a band not as huge, so every album release they put out, they have to be 200% happy with because its likely to get scrutinised to the nth degree, not only upon release, but for many many years to come. The exception to this was perhaps something like 'Pop' where contractual obligations decided otherwise and they put out something that they were ultimately unhappy with.

    I personally think that's one of the main reasons why they are so deliberate over each album release.

    In one sense, it's a pity they aren't a little bit more carefree and prolific in the studio, it might have led to a bit more studio output over their career which could have seen quite a few more gems surface and the envelope pushed quite a bit more than it has been in recent years. However, the flipside of that is it could have also surfaced some 'duds' that could have been the two crap albums in a row situation that Bono often talks about being an end to the band. And I think they're also treading carefully to avoid that.

    It is a bit crazy though when you consider many quality bands in the early to mid 1980's recorded seriously good albums in a matter of just a few weeks, even less. I think technology since that time also plays a part in bands and artists perhaps over-tinkering with stuff, sometimes needlessly, causing the production process to drag out but that's understandable too, they're just trying to get the best out of what they do.
  11. by the way the voice of bono