U2 Songs of Innocence

Nunu · 09-09-2014 8:45pm #1

Dave Fanning playing U2s new album right now on 2FM.
I nearly crashed the car when it came on!

Also FREE to download on iTunes.

Enjoy:)

perrier · 09-09-2014 9:06pm

Apple just announced the new U2 album is available free to all itunes customers until October 13th.

johnpatrick81 · 09-09-2014 9:17pm

Mind blown!!

On first listen it sounds very........very good. Good man DangerMouse.

gymman39 · 09-09-2014 9:43pm

yes first listen is awesome

moby2101 · 09-09-2014 11:12pm

Just finished listening..
It's a bloody good album..

Nunu · 09-09-2014 11:20pm

It's excellent alright.

First 3 tracks are on the face iof it the big hitters. US audience will lap them up.
Rest of the album is like a story telling of U2 in the 70's in Ireland.
Fantastic listening. Really sublime stuff..

johnpatrick81 · 09-09-2014 11:24pm

Can't say there's a bad track yet. And another album to come, Songs of Experience, confirmed by Bono on U2.com. Exciting times ahead!

jim-jam · 09-09-2014 11:33pm

Just finished listening. Great album! It was worth the wait.

PropJoe10 · 10-09-2014 1:22am

I dig this album. I have no more to say at the moment until I listen to it again.

rubberdiddies · 10-09-2014 1:30am

I've yet to find my usual 2 to 3 songs on every album that I never listen to again.

Each and every song appeals to me.

Every breaking wave is standing out for me right now though I know that'll change many times over the coming days

karaokeman · 10-09-2014 7:54am

Will need to listen to this at some point today.

eviltimeban · 10-09-2014 9:35am

Tried to go on iTunes store this morning but it kept crashing. Then I read after that it automatically appears in your Purchased section? I didn't look in there. Do you have to physically download them still?

poundhound · 10-09-2014 9:43am

It shows up as "purchased" on icloud.

You just hit the cloud the start the download.

Ive only listened to it once but enjoyed it.

Edge's trademark guitar sound is notable by its absense, or at least its featured very sparsely.

Looking forward to listening to it again.

piersquared · 10-09-2014 9:44am

eviltimeban wrote: »

Tried to go on iTunes store this morning but it kept crashing. Then I read after that it automatically appears in your Purchased section? I didn't look in there. Do you have to physically download them still?

Store seems to be working now. When I went to the store it said it was downloaded but I couldn't see it in my purchased items. Easiest thing to do is sign out of itunes and then click on the free option on the album to download. Then sign in when prompted and it downloads and appears in purchased playlist.

On first play sounds like a decent album..

eviltimeban · 10-09-2014 9:49am

I read that you have to click the Purchased link in iTunes store and then the Cloud button to download it.

SO glad the Edge's guitar sound isn't featured - I'd grown well sick of that in fairness! Gutted I couldn't get this in time this morning - will have to wait till this evening to get it.

johnpatrick81 · 10-09-2014 9:54am

It showed as purchased for me. I signed out and back in and it showed as free and allowed me to click the free button and the download started.

I really love it. The songs are so interesting. I can't see many of them winning over any people who already don't like U2. Maybe The Troubles due to Lykke Li's presence. But for fans I would imagine most of us are delighted.

eviltimeban · 10-09-2014 10:09am

So it only works if you sign out? Trying to download on my iPhone but I don't see any Cloud symbol to click.

laraghrider · 10-09-2014 10:24am

eviltimeban wrote: »

So it only works if you sign out? Trying to download on my iPhone but I don't see any Cloud symbol to click.

For those having trouble getting this on your phone as it's a bit of a pain do this.

Open iTunes -> More -> Purchased -> Music -> Various

In there you should see the cloud so you can now download.

eviltimeban · 10-09-2014 11:01am

Got it. Thanks.

Does anyone know that if you download it on your phone, can you still download it on your iTunes on your PC? I don't normally use my iPhone for music and will want to get it onto my iPod later on.

NIMAN · 10-09-2014 11:10am

If this is free to download, how much will it cost if I want to buy it on CD?

johnpatrick81 · 10-09-2014 11:18am

Won't be available to buy in stores until October 13th.

Seve OB · 10-09-2014 11:21am

It wouldn't work for me, told me it was there, marked purchased but yet no cloud sign, no way to download it and all I could do was listen to 1:30 of each tune.

So here is how to fix it.

In Preferences, Store tab, bottom section

Tick box to "Show iTunes in the Cloud Purchases"

Then go into your music library, scroll down to U2, the album is there for you to download

Big C · 10-09-2014 11:23am

Listened to it 3 times, glad it was free, It's pure muck, what a disappointment.

johnpatrick81 · 10-09-2014 11:37am

You must really have wanted to like it:D

If something sounds pure muck to me on 1st listen, it generally doesn't change on 2nd, 3rd, 4th listens.

poundhound · 10-09-2014 1:14pm

The Oct 13th release will come as a delux package, featuring 4 additional songs and an accoustic version of one of the 11 tracks from the free download.

eviltimeban · 10-09-2014 2:09pm

Listened to the first four or five songs... was pretty good, not ground breaking but at the same time a little different from the last two albums.

PropJoe10 · 10-09-2014 3:35pm

Listened to it a couple of times now and its definitely a solid album. As with the last couple of albums, there's a few great moments and lots of OK ones. Not going to be up there with their best work but its definitely a step up from HTDAAB. Must go back and listen to NLOTH again to see how it compares.

Han534 · 10-09-2014 3:37pm

Got it for free great album

eviltimeban · 10-09-2014 3:49pm

PropJoe10 wrote: »

Listened to it a couple of times now and its definitely a solid album. As with the last couple of albums, there's a few great moments and lots of OK ones. Not going to be up there with their best work but its definitely a step up from HTDAAB. Must go back and listen to NLOTH again to see how it compares.

I found I disliked about 90% of NLOTH immediately, and my opinion didn't change. I disliked most of HTDAAB as well, with the exception of one or two songs. None feature in my regular listening.

However I found I enjoyed these new ones more straight away - I listened to them walking through town, sun shining, so that helped...

Achtung Maybe · 10-09-2014 4:10pm

A magnificent return to form following the decidedly mediocre (by U2's standards) No Line On The Horizon

Tombo2001 · 10-09-2014 11:10pm

Interested to know what the U2 fans think?

I have always liked them, but in the two albums preceding this there are only two songs I would return to, the brilliant Sometimes you cant make it on your own, and another song off the last album, the last song, cant remember its name.

I listened to In Gods Country as a compare and contrast, as a few of the new songs I thought had a similar guitar sound.

There are two problems with recent U2 as I see it...

(I) they are over produced, and in particular they take ages to get to the point, the start goes on for ages, the song kicks in proper after 30 or 40 seconds. Cedarwood Road is a good example on the new album. Decent riff for the first 20 seconds, but then the riff disappears. In Gods Country gets straight to the point in contrast.

(II) Bono's vocals (I) he is writing an essay for every song. With rock music, simple is better. and (II) Bono's vocals are too clearly enunciated, which means you cant gloss over a dud lyric.

To be fair, the new album seems less guilty on both fronts and there seem to be a few very decent tunes.

lukin · 10-09-2014 11:11pm

Been listening to it for most of it this evening and I have to say I am disappointed.There are only two or three good songs on it in my opinion.
It's certainly not in the same class as All That You Can't Leave Behind or How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.
I think U2's creative juices have dried up.It happens to every band eventually,we shouldn't be surprised.
I can see them becoming like the Rolling Stones;releasing a new album every five or so years that doesn't sell well and touring on their back catalogue.

MisterAnarchy · 11-09-2014 12:53am

Tombo2001 wrote: »

(I) they are over produced, and in particular they take ages to get to the point, the start goes on for ages, the song kicks in proper after 30 or 40 seconds. Cedarwood Road is a good example on the new album. Decent riff for the first 20 seconds, but then the riff disappears. In Gods Country gets straight to the point in contrast.

They are certainly overproduced ,5 producers for an album is ridiculous.

The ironic thing is that the best songs in my opinion are the ones originally recorded with danger mouse before they brought in the additional producers.

The first half of the album is very easy listening ,its almost pop music whilst the latter half is much superior .

On first listen I liked the album but the more I listen to it ,something seems off ,there are no real anthemic ,powerful songs like on previous albums.
Too many of the songs sound like retreads of material from their 2000s albums, just not as good.
There is no guitar here that pushes the envelope. ATYCLB and HTDAAB had unique and outstanding guitar moments - Beautiful Day, Walk On, Kite, even When I Look at the World had strong guitar (no matter what you thought of the song as a whole); Vertigo, Miracle Drug, Sometimes,COBL and Yahweh.
Soaring atmospheric anthems like "Walk On" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" are nowhere to be found.

I can't think of any moments on this new album as good as those. The guitar riffs are few, far-between, and forgettable. The songs are synth and vocal-driven, and Edge seems to just be tagging along for the ride.
For all of U2's best songs, Edge drives the car, or at least steers it.

I like California,Sleep Like a Baby Tonight ,Raised by Wolves and The Troubles .
Sleep Like a Baby and The Troubles have a Zooropa feel .

Dont think much of Volcano or The Miracle ,they are like Get on Your Boots ,too generic.
I actually prefer the original version of Every Breaking Wave that was played on the 360 tour.

Its a decent album ,but not a patch on ATYCLB their last excellent album.
I wasnt expecting much to be honest ,5 years is far too long between albums and their best work came when they didnt care about mass appeal ,they are trying to play it too safe now .

Songs of Experience, the sister album will hopefully be released next year and accompany the tour which could be interesting .

johnpatrick81 · 11-09-2014 10:01am

I dunno, I think it might be overall their best since Pop. I'm a huge fan, and generally I have adored every album they have released. Over time their true worth has shown. To be honest if you wanna look at ATYCLB now I'd only rate 6 or 7 of the songs. HTDAAB is even lower at 4 or 5. NLOTH (i realise their album titles need to go back to one worders:D even google recognizes the acronyms!) also has around 5.

Currently I cannot see a bad song on this album. Sure there are no real outstanding amazing all time classics, but it's remarkably consistently good. Even songs I thought I didn't like (Iris) have real moments of genius and wonder. I'm sure some of these will fade like other tracks on past albums have, but at the moment it's far more consistent than any of the previous 3.

poundhound · 11-09-2014 10:23am

Interesting how opinions differ.

I disliked "All that you cant leave behind" and regarded "No line on the horizon" as average.

"How to dismantle an atomic bomb" is one of my favourite U2 albums.

The previous posts dont reflect my opinion, but thats what makes the world go round.

Where "Songs of Innocence" stands amongst their body of work will only become apparent in due course.

Mint Sauce · 11-09-2014 10:27am

Its alright.

AlanG · 11-09-2014 10:29am

Pretty poor album in my opinion. They are trying too hard to show they are in touch with regular people. Vocals are more like something a rich politician would write than a rocker.

Tombo2001 · 11-09-2014 10:33am

poundhound wrote: »

Interesting how opinions differ.

I disliked "All that you cant leave behind" and regarded "No line on the horizon" as average.

"How to dismantle an atomic bomb" is one of my favourite U2 albums.

The previous posts dont reflect my opinion, but thats what makes the world go round.

Where "Songs of Innocence" stands amongst their body of work will only become apparent in due course.

The other thing for me anyway is that the way we listen to albums has changed.

When I bought say Pop I'd have listened to it dozens of times even though I never really warmed to it.

On the other hand, the last album I listened to once or twice at most, and after that I'd play the one or two songs that I liked.

johnpatrick81 · 11-09-2014 10:35am

Most criticisms are subjective, but saying the lyrics are like those a "rich politician" would write is absolute rubbish. Most of it is written from the eyes of a middle class teenager in Dublin in the 70s.

eviltimeban · 11-09-2014 12:47pm

Have given it a few listens now, and I gives it the thumbs up!

I'm a hardcore Pop / Zooropa / Passengers fan, so anything that sounds like trad-U2 normally gets the thumbs down from me, though ATYCLB won out due to the quality of the songs.

I think the new album really kicks in by song 6, as someone else pointed out. The songs get more interesting and the production is amazing - I'm so glad there is barely any trademark Edge guitar - in fact, the guitars are the grungiest they've been since the 90s. I couldn't give a flying f**k about soaring anthems, I prefer the smaller, more intimate U2 songs, and there's touches of that here. There's isn't anything as outre as "Velvet Dress" or "Your Blue Room" of course, but I'm glad they went for a second half of more experimental (for them) material.

Favourite songs so far would be Volcano, California, This Is Where You Can Reach Me, and Cedarwood Road. Raised By Wolves is slightly ridiculous but I really like it - the chorus reminds me of something like 30 Seconds To Mars.

It'll be interesting to hear "Songs of Experience", if it does come out next year - perhaps they'll release both before the tour?

Seve OB · 11-09-2014 1:06pm

I've not had much opportunity to listen to the new album yet but hopefully will get it on over the weekend.

It is interesting to read the comments above regarding older stuff.

Lets face it, "The Joshua Tree" is and probably always be their best album, hell it's one of the greatest albums of all time. And it made U2 what they are today.

Then came "Rattle & Hum", the Joshua Trees poor relation, but still some cracking tunes

"Achtung Baby" ... Back in the day I remember thinking as a lot of other people did......what the hell is this?????? But my jeysus, it is a serious piece of work.

"Zooropa", mehhh maybe not a lot more than Achtung outtakes

"Pop" basically drivel

"ATYCLB" up there with Joshua and Achtung. IMO, and this says a lot for the album, "Beautiful Day" is probably one of the weaker songs on it.

"HTDAAB"... honestly I wasn't a fan when it came out. Maybe it was the stupid title name that turned me off it. It's like, "ah Bono is having a go at world peace here or something". I liked a couple of tunes on it allright, but then, like Achtung did before, it grew on me and when I listen to it now, it really is another cracking album. I'm still not a fan of "Vertigo" though!

"NLOTH".. well what can I say, it's magnificent!

Well at this stage I need to go back before "Joshua", Take a listen now to "Boy". "Out of Control" is possibly their best song ever, certainly top 5, and "I will follow" is not far behind.

"October" is ok. probably not unusual that we don't hear much of it nowadays.

"War" a statement of intent... U2 are here to stay, and here are some strong songs that will stand the test of time.

"The Unforgettable Fire" the warm up to "Joshua"

So really they have a catalogue of cracking albums, with probably the exception of "October" and "Pop". My expectations of the new album so are most likely I will pick out some stuff I like, other stuff I won't be a fan of straight away, but many many listens later will realise that it's tripe or yet another classic!

porsche959 · 11-09-2014 1:10pm

lukin wrote: »

It's certainly not in the same class as All That You Can't Leave Behind or How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

Each to their own, but those two albums were the start of the rot IMO. NLOTH, though I really liked at it first, but have scarely listened to it since 2009, it doesn't have the staying power of the truly great U2 albums from the 1980s and 1990s.

lukin wrote: »

I think U2's creative juices have dried up.It happens to every band eventually,we shouldn't be surprised.
I can see them becoming like the Rolling Stones;releasing a new album every five or so years that doesn't sell well and touring on their back catalog

Agreed here.

porsche959 · 11-09-2014 1:24pm

stevieob wrote: »

"Pop" basically drivel

Pop is probably the most divisive of all U2 albums. Personally it's probably my favourite, definitely in top 3, but many U2 fans, like yourself, can't stand it.

JohnnyChimpo · 11-09-2014 1:35pm

Nunu wrote: »

Dave Fanning playing U2s new album right now on 2FM.
I nearly crashed the car when it came on!

Suicide is never the answer

eviltimeban · 11-09-2014 4:40pm

stevieob wrote: »

"Pop" basically drivel

Absolute nonsense.

thegreengoblin · 11-09-2014 5:00pm

eviltimeban wrote: »

Have given it a few listens now, and I gives it the thumbs up!

I'm a hardcore Pop / Zooropa / Passengers fan, so anything that sounds like trad-U2 normally gets the thumbs down from me, though ATYCLB won out due to the quality of the songs.

I think the new album really kicks in by song 6, as someone else pointed out. The songs get more interesting and the production is amazing - I'm so glad there is barely any trademark Edge guitar - in fact, the guitars are the grungiest they've been since the 90s. I couldn't give a flying f**k about soaring anthems, I prefer the smaller, more intimate U2 songs, and there's touches of that here. There's isn't anything as outre as "Velvet Dress" or "Your Blue Room" of course, but I'm glad they went for a second half of more experimental (for them) material.

Favourite songs so far would be Volcano, California, This Is Where You Can Reach Me, and Cedarwood Road. Raised By Wolves is slightly ridiculous but I really like it - the chorus reminds me of something like 30 Seconds To Mars.

It'll be interesting to hear "Songs of Experience", if it does come out next year - perhaps they'll release both before the tour?

Good post. I'm also in the Pop/Passengers/Zooropa/Achtung Baby camp, as it's where the band pushed themselves the most and were rewarded superbly in my opinion. Songs like the title track of Zooropa, Dirty Day, Miss Sarajevo and Your Blue Room are as good as anything they've ever done. Interesting to hear what songs of Songs of Innocence are appealing to you. I'd say California and This Is Where You Can Reach Me are my two favourites so far. But I need to give the album a few more listens before I can pass any real judgement on it.

But a few things really bug me about U2 in general. The first is that Bono's voice is letting the band down big time. I know he was technically never the best singer but he got the message across. Nowadays, he's reaching for notes that he can't hit anymore and the songs are suffering. On the live version of Miss Sarajevo from the Vertigo tour he sings the operatic section stunningly (similar to the one in Hands That Built America) and I thought he was going to go down this path a lot more. I really wish he had.

And the lyrics. Oh lord. There's no sublety there anymore, everything is so clunky and awkward. I'm talking Dolores O'Riordan awkward. Look at that line in Cedarwood Road. 'Northside just across the river to Southside, That’s a long way here'.....christ almighty, that's a horrible line. From Every Breaking Wave...'Every sailor knows that the sea
Is a friend made enemy'
I think the trend started with Peace On Earth from ATYCLB, which contains some of the worst lyrics from any U2 song. It's a shame because Bono used to write some amazing lyrics.

Lastly, they seem to be trying way too hard to prove themselves as relevant. All these producers and collaborators. I don't care if they're relevant. I just want them to make the music that comes from their heart, the music they want to make for themselves. I just don't believe they're really doing that anymore. Maybe we'll get that on the next one, I hope so.

Dcully · 11-09-2014 5:07pm

I quite like it,as far as lyrics go i havent paid much notice,im well past the stage of caring too much about lyrics,music can get too serious at times

I tend to like a song if it sounds good to me be it a nice melody,guitar rift or whatever.

thegreengoblin · 11-09-2014 5:07pm

stevieob wrote: »

"Zooropa", mehhh maybe not a lot more than Achtung outtakes

"Pop" basically drivel

"ATYCLB" up there with Joshua and Achtung.

Seriously?! Do you know the recording process behind Zooropa, how it was put together? Writing Pop off as drivel is laughable. And ATYCLB is simply not in the same league as The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby.

foxtrot101 · 11-09-2014 5:34pm

thegreengoblin wrote: »

Good post. I'm also in the Pop/Passengers/Zooropa/Achtung Baby camp, as it's where the band pushed themselves the most and were rewarded superbly in my opinion. Songs like the title track of Zooropa, Dirty Day, Miss Sarajevo and Your Blue Room are as good as anything they've ever done. Interesting to hear what songs of Songs of Innocence are appealing to you. I'd say California and This Is Where You Can Reach Me are my two favourites so far. But I need to give the album a few more listens before I can pass any real judgement on it.

But a few things really bug me about U2 in general. The first is that Bono's voice is letting the band down big time. I know he was technically never the best singer but he got the message across. Nowadays, he's reaching for notes that he can't hit anymore and the songs are suffering. On the live version of Miss Sarajevo from the Vertigo tour he sings the operatic section stunningly (similar to the one in Hands That Built America) and I thought he was going to go down this path a lot more. I really wish he had.

And the lyrics. Oh lord. There's no sublety there anymore, everything is so clunky and awkward. I'm talking Dolores O'Riordan awkward. Look at that line in Cedarwood Road. 'Northside just across the river to Southside, That’s a long way here'.....christ almighty, that's a horrible line. From Every Breaking Wave...'Every sailor knows that the sea
Is a friend made enemy'
I think the trend started with Peace On Earth from ATYCLB, which contains some of the worst lyrics from any U2 song. It's a shame because Bono used to write some amazing lyrics.

Lastly, they seem to be trying way too hard to prove themselves as relevant. All these producers and collaborators. I don't care if they're relevant. I just want them to make the music that comes from their heart, the music they want to make for themselves. I just don't believe they're really doing that anymore. Maybe we'll get that on the next one, I hope so.

I totally agree about the lyics, but I think the rot started as far back as POP with gems like...

Jesus, I'm waiting here boss
I know you're looking out for us
But maybe your hands aren't free
Your father, He made the world in seven
He's in charge of heaven
Will you put in a word in for me

thegreengoblin · 11-09-2014 5:45pm

foxtrot101 wrote: »

I totally agree about the lyics, but I think the rot started as far back as POP with gems like...

Ha, spot on. Such a shame too, as it's a great little tune.

lertsnim · 11-09-2014 7:43pm

Listened to it twice. That's more than enough for me. i think it's awful.

U2 Songs of Innocence

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