Just
saw this blurb from Bono talking about U2’s upcoming album, which is now
delayed till early 2009:
“The last two records were very personal,
with a kind of three piece at their heart, the primary colours of rock - bass,
guitars and drum. But what we’re about now is of the same order as the
transition that took us from The Joshua Tree to Achtung Baby.”
As
a huge fan and advocate of U2 since I was one of only two kids in my high school
who’d even heard of them (this was back in 1983, circa War), this
is extremely good news. Because for me, 1991’s Achtung Baby and
1993’s Zooropa represented U2’s absolute creative zenith. Their
last couple of albums, since their big comeback in 2000 with All That You
Can’t Leave Behind, have left me feeling pretty flat – like they’d
decided to just put it on autopilot and coast for the rest of their careers on
that classic early U2 sound.
So
the thought of them actually getting adventurous and experimental and dangerous
with their music again, as in the Berlin sessions that led to Achtung Baby…
well, that just excites me to no end!