And we continue our march up the U2 ladder.
#154 – “Love Comes Tumbling”
A B-side off of The
Unforgettable Fire, this track features some nice bass work from Adam, in
the form of some unusually-for-him prominent almost bass-slaps. And the opening
riff has an agreeably moody quality to it. But Bono’s sort-of mumbled lyrics
never really go anywhere, and the track itself just kind of meanders aimlessly
before sputtering to a close. This, like many U2 B-sides, sounds like something
played with in the studio but never really developed into a “song,” per se.”U2’s relationship to traditional song-craft and songwriting is something I expect to explore a lot here over the course of this project, so for now let me just note that U2’s music doesn’t hold up to the kind of translation a really well-crafted piece of songwriting can and usually does. This is why great U2 covers are few and far between. U2’s music, when written down as sheet music, is simple and almost sketchy. It’s only in the unique chemistry they bring to a song, as well as the unique way the Edge’s guitar approach expands what are simple soundscapes from a chord progression standpoint, that even many of their great songs come to life. More on that as we go.
#152 – “Your Blue Room” – Original Soundtracks
So we come to our first Passengers
track. At this point, I need to pause for a moment and talk about how I
decided to treat the Passengers stuff. Passengers is a “band” that is really
just U2 with longtime producer Brian Eno playing as a full team member, not
just a producer. Their sole album was released after Pop, during U2’s most experimental phase, and many of the songs are
very Eno-influenced soundscapes. I did not include those in this list of U2
songs. A few – this being one – are more traditional songs, and one – the grandly
beautiful “Miss Sarajevo” even became a live staple and classic U2 tune.
So – “Your Blue Room.” With Bono really speaking more than speaking
the verses, and singing the chorus in his “fat lady” falsetto, this is still an
odd duck as a song. The background synths are fun, and the track has a nice
ambling beat, but it’s too mellow by half, and the vaguely churchy organ never
really coalesces into anything heartfelt. Some nice pieces here that don’t
really gel.
#151 – “The Ocean” – Boy
Remember what I said when discussing “4th of July”
about U2’s lack of facility with instrumentals? While “The Ocean” is not an
instrumental, it’s pretty close, with a very mellow, very slow and moody guitar
figure and drum beat interrupted by a very brief lyric whisper-sung by Bono.
When I first got into Boy as a youth
I loved this track, but now I find its oh-so-mellow attitude almost
off-putting, and its brevity evidence, not of a smart decision to be brief, but
as evidence of an idea that went nowhere.
#150 – “Numb” – Zooropa
Every once and a while, the Edge gets to take center stage.
He’s sung lead on a few songs over the years, with this Zooropa track the most recent example. However, unlike those
earlier attempts (on “Seconds” he sounds a lot like Bono), here there’s no
mistaking whose at the mic. The experimental song, which is grounded by a
sliding up-sliding down distorted guitar line, is a mumbled/rapped litany of
exhortations (“Don't grab/Don't clutch/Don't hope for too much/Don't breathe/Don't
achieve). Over this, yes, numbing refrain Bono lets loose some more “fat lady”
falsetto, while a drum machine keeps the beat. It’s an interesting experiment
to be fair, but one of those “interesting” experiments that you listen to a few
times and then never really want to revisit.
Until Whenever
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