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One of my favourite records of the moment is the new single from
U2 (released 8 November).
Entitled
'Vertigo', it's a rockin', infectious slab of power pop that rams
home just how good these hombres still are.
Produced
by Steve Lillywhite - who of course produced their early albums
Boy and War and has worked with them on and off over
their long career - it possesses all the energy and the trademark
guitar sound that first brought them to our attention.
I simply love it! And it's a good indication of what we can expect
from the forthcoming album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb,
which is unleashed on 22 November.
back-to-basics
One
of the perks of what I do is the occasional invitation to a playback.
Which is why I went, earlier this week, to a plush top floor of
Centre Point overlooking a bright, magical-looking London.
The
new U2 album on first hearing sounded very impressive. A real back-to-basics
approach, which is what they do best.
In
fact overall it's very reminscent of their early output. Probably
because of that Lillywhite production and contributions from Flood,
Nelle Hooper and Chris Thomas.
intuition
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Typically
enthralling...U2 playing live in front of a packed crowd
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It's
been a bit of a U2 time for me because a couple of Fridays ago,
I got to hotfoot it down to BBC TV Centre in White City where the
band were performing al fresco in front of the building.
The sense of anticipation from the packed crowd was contagious and
the band's performance was typically enthralling.
The reason I guess we're still interested in them after all this
time is because they've constantly evolved and reinvented themselves.
Just like all the best groups.
I've
got a funny feeling, call it intuition if you like, but something
tells me the new album could do quite well!
useful
links
u2: official site
(The
BBC cannot be held responsible for the content of external websites)
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