‘Songs Of Surrender’ Exclusive Deluxe

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The process of selecting which songs to revisit started with a series of demos. I looked at how a song would hang together if all but the bare essential elements were taken away. The other main aim was to find ways to bring intimacy into the songs, as most of them were originally written with live concert performance in mind." Matrix / Runout (CD2): [Universal logo] 4814770 [Universal logo] AM77777-02 manufactured by optimal media GmbH

a b Brown, Helen (17 March 2023). "They haven't quite found what they're looking for". The Independent. Sec. 2, p. 36 . Retrieved 16 March 2023. Geraghty, Hollie (16 March 2023). "Watch U2 cover ABBA and perform 'Vertigo' with orchestra for BBC Piano Room". NME . Retrieved 19 March 2023. a b Jones, Damian (17 March 2023). "U2 – 'Songs Of Surrender' review: the classics, but not as you know them". NME . Retrieved 17 March 2023. a b c Slingerland, Calum (9 January 2023). "U2 Rerecord 40 Songs for New Album 'Songs of Surrender' ". Exclaim! . Retrieved 17 January 2023. a b c d e Willman, Chris (10 January 2023). "U2 Set to Release 'Songs of Surrender' Album in March, With 40 Remakes of Older Songs". Variety . Retrieved 10 January 2023.

Contributors

a b Edgers, Geoff (4 December 2022). "U2: One since '76". The Washington Post. sec. Arts, E11. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2023. a b c Petridis, Alexis (16 March 2023). "U2 Songs of Surrender review – all the anthems, but smaller". The Guardian . Retrieved 16 March 2023. a b Walshe, John (16 March 2023). "Album Review: U2, Songs Of Surrender". Hot Press . Retrieved 16 March 2023. a b Unterberger, Andrew (22 March 2023). "Will Morgan Wallen 'Surrender' No. 1 to U2 Re-Recordings?". Billboard . Retrieved 22 March 2023. Hailu, Selome (13 January 2023). " 'Bono & The Edge' Documentary Special With David Letterman Greenlit at Disney+ Ahead of Upcoming U2 Album". Variety . Retrieved 17 January 2023.

Blistein, Jon (10 January 2023). "U2 Reimagined 40 of Their Own Songs for New Album 'Songs of Surrender' ". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 10 January 2023. U2 haven’t shied away from expressing their political beliefs here, either. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Bono has publicly campaigned for peace: he and The Edge performed in a Kyiv subway station-turned-bomb shelter in May 2022, while he also recently joined Antytila for a surprise performance in London. Altered lyrics to the ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’ single ‘Walk On’ reference war-torn Ukraine, with Bono defiantly singing: “ And if the dancer on the street wears a veil of tears / It’s a dance no army can defeat.” Corcoran, Nina (12 February 2023). "U2 Announce Achtung Baby Las Vegas Residency in New Super Bowl Commercial". Pitchfork . Retrieved 12 February 2023. One song that saw the most extensive lyrical changes was " Walk On", which was originally released in 2000. At the time, Bono had written it for Burmese academic Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest from 1989 to 2010 for her pro-democracy activities. Following her ascent to the office of state counsellor, she was criticised for Myanmar's inaction to the genocide of the Rohingya people. Bono said he "felt so let down" by her and decided to re-write the song's lyrics for a different person, instead paying tribute to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his leadership against the Russian invasion of his country. [14] Bono and the Edge performed the new version of the song on 9 April 2022 for Global Citizen's Stand Up for Ukraine livestream, which was organised to urge world leaders to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees. [18] As vocals were being recorded for Songs of Surrender and preparations were being made to mix the album, Bono and the Edge were invited by Zelenskyy's chief of staff to visit Ukraine for a performance. They immediately halted work on the album and within 3–4 days boarded a train into Kyiv. [19] They performed the new version of "Walk On" for Zelenskyy in a subway station during their 8 May visit. [14] [20]Pareles, Jon (18 March 2023). "U2 Revisits Its Past, in the Name of ... What?". The New York Times (East Coast, lateed.). p.C3 . Retrieved 9 April 2023.

Sams, Aaron J. (14 June 2021). "Adam Clayton on What's Coming Next". U2songs.com . Retrieved 18 January 2023. Work on Songs of Surrender began in earnest in early 2021. [11] For the re-recordings, the band members decided that they did not need to remain faithful to the original versions of the songs; the Edge said, "We gave ourselves permission to disregard any sense of reverence for the originals." [9] The Edge began with a rough outline for each song by choosing the key and tempo, before he composed musical ideas on acoustic guitar and piano, [14] and improvised vocals that he would later play for Bono. Since the two share a similar vocal range, [11] the Edge believed that they would be able to determine the viability of a vocal idea once Bono attempted it. [14] The Edge conscientiously shifted songs into lower keys to better tailor them to Bono's vocal range, saying his goal was to "serve the song by serving the singer". [12] Heim, Mark (24 February 2023). "U2, Notre Dame team up for exclusive vinyl release of upcoming 'Songs of Surrender' album". AL.com . Retrieved 26 February 2023. It has been said that you can measure the greatness of a song if it holds up accompanied by just a guitar or a piano. Which is true to a point—but also plays into the idea that music production is somehow cheating, that sonic treatments are there to cover up flaws, not serve as actual compositional tools. Sexton, Paul (17 March 2023). "U2SOS40 Art Project Accompanies Arrival Of U2's 'Stunning' 'Songs Of Surrender' ". UDiscover Music . Retrieved 18 March 2023.The Edge has said that Songs of Surrender was made with the awareness that most people listen through earbuds now, which is a telling explanation of the trade-off being made on Songs of Surrender. The communal experience offered by U2’s greatest anthems is replaced with something more personal, more individual. The momentum and release and exhilaration they define at their best becomes instead something that’s alternately lovely and flat, revelatory and redundant. Towards the end of the new version of “City of Blinding Lights,” an electric guitar figure chimes out and suddenly, briefly comes the rush of hearing a U2 song.

Rettig, James (11 January 2023). "U2 Share Re-Recorded 'Pride (In The Name Of Love)' ". Stereogum . Retrieved 27 January 2023. a b Smith, Carl (24 March 2023). "U2 secure 11th UK Number 1 album with Songs of Surrender". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 25 March 2023. Matrix / Runout (CD4): [Universal logo] 4814772 [Universal logo] AM77777-04 manufactured by optimal media GmbH The duo were encouraged by the results of their first session together, during which Bono sang over the Edge's musical sketches. [11] In the cases of several songs, including "Stories for Boys", " Two Hearts Beat as One", " Desire", and " Peace on Earth", Bono liked the Edge's demo vocals enough that he encouraged the Edge to sing on the final versions. [14] While experimenting with new arrangements for the songs, the Edge changed their keys, chords, and rhythms, [9] while Bono often rewrote the lyrics. [10]

French album certifications – U2 – Songs of Surrender" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique . Retrieved 2 August 2023. Flanagan, Bill (interviewer) (17 March 2023). Songs of Surrender with Bono and the Edge (Radio broadcast). U2 X-Radio: Sirius XM.