February 2009 Archives

By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY

HOLLYWOOD - Trading a woozy tingle for a restorative jolt, Bono and Edge abruptly switch from margaritas to coffee as they prepare to leave their hotel for a rehearsal stage in downtown Los Angeles. They grew accustomed to such giddy and pronounced mood swings while recording U2's 12th album, No Line on the Horizon, a kaleidoscopic quest that rivals 1991's Achtung Baby for audacity and innovation.

"We had to learn a lot before we could do this," Bono, 48, says. "Normally, you zone in on a particular area and make it your own. On this, we seemed to be able to meander from joy to despair, from introspection to exhibitionism. And there's a lot of humor. I'm surprised, because people don't generally buy a U2 album for the laughs.

David J. Prince, Billboard

Last.fm founder Richard Jones responded forcefully today (Feb. 23) to accusations that the company had given user data to the RIAA in order to track illegal downloads of U2's upcoming album, "No Line On the Horizon." Jones' refutation follows a similar denial made by the RIAA on Saturday.

The controversy started with the leak of U2's "No Line On The Horizon" last week. The album appeared on file-sharing sites after Universal Music's Australian arm accidentally began selling downloads two weeks early. But on Friday, the technology blog Techcrunch sparked privacy concerns when they posted a rumor claiming that Last.fm, the CBS-owned music streaming and social networking site that allows registered user to keep track over their digital listening habits by "scrobbling" tracks played on computers, MP3s players and other streaming sites, had shared private user data with the RIAA that could identify individuals who had listened to the unreleased U2 tracks.

Emile Laurac, Irish Independent

THE lead single from U2's much-hyped new album last night failed to breach the UK Top Ten, with the band hitting the charts at their lowest point in over a decade.

'Get On Your Boots' was the highest new entry of the week in the UK, but fans were bitterly disappointed that it only charted at 12.

This is in contrast to the Irish charts, where the first single from album 'No Line On The Horizon' shot straight to the top spot.

Online U2 fan forums last night blamed a host of factors for the relatively low UK placing, ranging from the changed nature of the charts to internet leaks.

By MAIL ON SUNDAY REPORTER

There was a time when bands like The Beatles could manage a recording session with a piano, a couple of guitars and a long-haired sound engineer.

Not now - especially if you are the supergroup U2.

Here, working on new album No Line On The Horizon - out a week on Monday - at Olympic Studios in Barnes, West London, it's obvious the band clearly don't do off-the-shelf recording.

They began with an empty wood-panelled, sound-proofed room and laid out four mini-recording areas - one for each member's contribution to be recorded separately.

Nick Kelly, Irish Independent

I'm having a hard time reconciling the glut of four-star reviews I've been reading for U2's new album with the record that I heard last week.

To these ears, it sounds frustratingly disjointed and jumbled; a set of songs that don't really belong together, that rub each other up the wrong way.

This lack of continuity is only to be expected, when you consider that it was recorded in four different countries in three different continents.

And this doesn't include the original sessions with uber-producer Rick Rubin, which were jettisoned in 2006. It appears to have been a case of rip it up and start again.

Review: 5 stars (out of 5)

David Fricke, Rolling Stone

"I was born to sing for you/I didn't have a choice but to lift you up," Bono declares early on this album, in a song called "Magnificent." He does it in an oddly low register, a heated hush just above the shimmer of the Edge's guitar and the iron-horse roll of bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. Bono is soon up in thin air with those familiar rodeo yells, on his way to the chorus, which ends with him just singing the word "magnificent," repeating it with relish, stretching the syllables.

But he does it not in self-congratulation, more like wonder and respect, as if in middle age, on his band's 11th studio album, he still can't believe his gift -- and luck. Bono knows he was born with a good weapon for making the right kind of trouble: the clean gleam and rocket's arc of that voice. "It was one dull morning/I woke the world with bawling," he boasted in "Out of Control," written by Bono on his 18th birthday and issued on U2's Irish debut EP.

David K. Randall, Forbes

Recorded music sales continue to trip up even the most seasoned artists.

For the second consecutive time, it appears that a U2 album has leaked before its official on-sale date. Fans on a U2 message board were elated Tuesday that Universal Australia, the Australian arm of Universal Music Group, began selling No Line on the Horizon as digital downloads for two hours before the tracks were pulled. The album is scheduled to be released on March 3.

A spokesman from Universal said that he was not aware of the leak, and calls to Interscope, the label that put out the record, were not returned.

Pete Paphides, The Times

3 stars (out of 5)

Talk about raising the stakes. "If this isn't our best album, we're irrelevant," Bono declared when asked about U2's new album, No Line on the Horizon, released on March 2. Anyone who has heard the current single, Get on Your Boots, surely won't need reminding how quickly such statements can repeat on you. Quite how such a dog's dinner of Dylan-esque free association and Bolan-esque electric boogie made it beyond the rehearsal room is anyone's guess.

But even before that point the drip-feed of information around No Line on the Horizon had been worrying. Sessions with Rick Rubin were abandoned early. The group made better progress with Brian Eno and Danny Lanois, the producers of U2's 1987 album The Joshua Tree, which prompted Universal to set a deadline for release for autumn 2008. And yet no amount of frantic finessing could ensure the album's arrival in shops by Christmas.

From Morocco to Dublin, via meetings with presidents and royalty, the making of the new U2 album saw the band confront a changing world, and face up to their own vulnerabilities. Over 18 months, Sean O'Hagan followed them

Sean O'Hagan, The Observer

It is the middle of January this year and Bono is at home in Killiney, County Dublin, with an hour to spare before he heads into town for an afternoon of meetings. "Things are looking good," he says. "It's a beautiful, sunny, winter's day and Edna O'Brien has just been sent me her book on Lord Byron."

He has been up "from the early hours", his working day now devoted to juggling the demands of family, rock stardom and the ongoing campaign for African aid and debt relief. U2's long-awaited new album, No Line on the Horizon, is finally finished. "It began and ended in a flash," he says. "The last 24 hours were just extraordinary. It was like Chinese calligraphy, where the monks take ages to mix the ink and then - bam! - it all happens in seconds."

By John Meagher, Irish Independent

They took their time, didn't they? It's been four years and three months since the last U2 studio album -- the longest gap in the band's history. At times, this -- their 12th -- could have been called No Finish on the Horizon, such were the apparent difficulties and insecurities they faced when making it.

Initially, Rick Rubin, the American producer who helped rejuvenate the careers of Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond, was seen as the one that could move the band into exciting new areas. But those sessions, from July 2006, didn't work out and they turned once more to trusted old friends, Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Steve Lillywhite. The latter has worked on and off with the band since their debut album, Boy, the former pair from 1984's The Unforgettable Fire.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Irish supergroup U2 have found what they are looking for to promote their new album in the United States -- a five-night gig on the "Late Show with David Letterman."

For the first week of March, U2 will perform every night on the late night chat show, CBS said on Thursday. It's the first time a musical act has been booked for an entire week on the show.

U2 starts the weeklong gig Monday, March 2, and ends it the following Friday. During the week -- on March 3 -- the band and its label, Interscope Records, will release the album "No Line on the Horizon."

Watch the new video from Myspace.com. This time the video is here to stay.

Get On Your Boots

Band rock GAA ground in biggest world tour

By Paul Martin, The Mirror

The secret is out! Today we reveal the inside details of U2's biggest ever world tour.

The rockers are set to return with a bang by with a European stadium tour this summer.

And they will enjoy a huge homecoming celebration with three nights at Croke Park.

We have learned the band has provisionally booked the GAA ground for July 24, 25 and 26.

All tickets are expected to sell out in record time when details are announced next month.

Still At The Top: The Edge, Adam, Bono And Larry

Billy Sloan, Sunday Mail

U2 finally unveiled their new album No Line On The Horizon behind closed doors and under the strictest security.

But first again with the big music exclusives... Email were there to hear it.

We were invited by Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr to get a sneak preview of their eagerly awaited 12th studio album - not released until March 2.

And it's a cracker, up there with U2 classics such as Achtung Baby, The Joshua Tree and All That You Can't Leave Behind.