SONGS OF SURRENDER - A Review
U2’s experimental heydey has been long buried in the past. They’ve dabbled with more modern production aesthetics in their recent albums, but there haven’t been many left turns in the past decade. Could this new mammoth release be a new groundbreaking direction for the Irish 4-piece? Spoiler alert: No, but it’s still definitely worth checking out, if only for the curiosity factor.
For anyone expecting Songs of Surrender to be exclusively a greatest hits montage, there are going to be some surprises in the tracklist - quite a few of the songs are from the band’s two most recent albums, the infamous Songs of Innocence and its sequel Songs of Experience. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though, as some of these newer tracks are given an acoustic treatment that elevates them beyond their original, somewhat polarising, form. Every Breaking Wave is easily the best example, pulled back into a purely piano & vocal ballad, and it delivers in spades. Another highlight, this time from further back, is Pride, which benefits from a new, matured sensibility. The Edge, pulling double duty as the band’s guitarist and the album’s producer, has made some production choices that work super well in ensuring Pride and many of the other tracks still carry the vitality that they did in their original form.
Some of the recompositions work beautifully while others tend to feel listless. 2 particular songs can be used as comparative case studies. Where The Streets Have No Name, already quite an emotive number, is turned into a gorgeous ambient work that suits the new intimate, stripped-back tone. The lyrical rewrites here add a splash of mature reflection. Desire, on the other hand, is turned from a barnstorming flash of American-infused lightning into an awkward, mildly baffling arrangement. What could have been a chance to explore a more subtle side to a relatively white-knuckle track has instead resulted in a song that’s had any sense of personality sandblasted off. It also doesn’t quite fit with the tone of most of its other tracks, rather bizarrely. Vertigo, possibly the band’s hardest rock track in their catalogue, largely survived its rewrite without totally losing its soul, but it illustrates an inconsistency that seems to have been ignored.
All that being said, the stripped-back nature of this album makes it ideal for long car/train/plane trips, staring out of a rainy window, and being gradually lulled by Bono’s vocals. He’s got a few new strings to his bow, with a darker, raspier, more raw vocal timbre that feels strikingly vulnerable, even by his usual standards. While the half-spoken vocals occasionally sound a bit lazy, for the most part, it makes it feel as though you’re a fly on the wall of an acoustic writing session, scribblings of re-written lyrics strewn over the floor. It’s not too often you get to hear classic rock hits recontextualised wholesale like this, which makes it all the more interesting.
What is admirable (and this will sound controversial) is that the band doesn’t appear to care. U2 are exploring their expansive, undulating discography and revisiting their music in whatever way they see fit, trying new things with old songs. It doesn’t always work, and their loyal older fanbase may struggle with having their favourite songs airbrushed and rebooted, but no law states that an artist can’t do what they want with their material. Plus, it’s not like the original versions are going anywhere - they’re still available through literally every distribution service.
On a personal note, I applaud the artistic motive behind such a revision. While my critical perspective on the album is a mixed one, the decision to recompose and re-record old classics and filter them through a new lens is a brilliant one. The band could’ve simply released a remastered greatest hits album and thrown in a bonus track or two, but instead, they chose to try something a bit bolder, expectations be damned. As a confessed fan of U2, it certainly snared my attention more than if it was just a grab bag of remasters. I hope that other major artists follow suit in future because it can be fun to hear alternative versions of what could have been.
While it may not be perfect, Songs of Surrender as a standalone release is a fascinating experiment from an otherwise safe, mainstream band and it’s worth listening to, even just to see what it’s all about.
Ultimately, if you like the album but 40 songs scare you as a concept, you can easily do what I’ve done and create the playlist of your favourites from the album (mine clocks in at around 18 tracks). Given the monstrously huge track list, I’ve provided a sample platter below for your best look at what’s on offer.
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
Every Breaking Wave
Pride
Who’s Going To Ride Your Wild Horses
Ordinary Love
Vertigo
With or Without You