“It Could Be About God…”
U2 provide an exclusive rundown of their magnificent new album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
1 “Vertigo”
First single, bursting with energy
The Edge: “Rock & roll has to have that feeling of urgency and I think this has it.”
Adam Clayton: “To me it sounds like it could have been done in 1980 and yet it has that contemporary feel as well.”
2 “Crumbs From Your Table”
A drunk classic!
The Edge: “It’s actually the only song we’ve ever successfully worked on when we were completely pissed. Totally drunk. Around the kitchen table with acoustic guitars, slurring away.”
3 “Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own”
Bono’s heart-wrenching love letter to his dad
Clayton: “Bono’s grieving for his father. It’s such a personal song.”
The Edge: “We actually sang it at his dad’s funeral.”
4 “City of Blinding Lights”
Vintage U2: rich imagery, driving guitars
Clayton: “This began as an outtake from Pop. To us, it was an homage to Scott Walker. The working title was ‘Scott Walker’.”
5 “All Because of You”
The Edge re-finds the Riff
Clayton: “It could be about God, it could be about your father or your friends. Or the audience.”
The Edge: “Life would be so much simpler if you didn’t know what you knew. I think it’s about that, in a way.”
6 “Love and Peace”
Like Led Zeppelin playing rockabilly — in a dumpster
Clayton: “The scary bass sound you hear on that isn’t actually me. It’s name is Brian.”
The Edge: “The solo comes from a very deep and dark place. You wouldn’t want to go there.”
7 “Man and a Woman”
U2 go motown, in a smoochy kinda way
Bono: “I always thought if we could get this one right, it would make you feel like you were in New York City sitting on the stoop, hearing it coming out of taxi cabs on a hot summer evening.”
Clayton: “The ladies will love it.”
8 “Miracle Drug”
Wondrous swooping tune, great story
Bono: “We all went to the same school and just as we were leaving, a fellow called Christopher Nolan arrived. He had been deprived of oxygen for two hours when he was born, so he was paraplegic. But his mother believed he could understand what was going on and used to teach him at home. Eventually, they discovered a drug that allowed him to move one muscle in his neck. So they attached this unicorn device to his forehead and he learned to type. And out of him came all these poems that he’d been storing up in his head. Then he put out a collection called Dam-Burst of Dreams, which won a load of awards and he went off to university and became a genius. All because of a mother’s love and a medical breakthrough.”
9 “One Step Closer to Knowing”
Sparse splinters of sound and a lonesome search for faith
Bono: “I was talking to Noel Gallagher [from Oasis] about my dad, who lost his faith toward the end of his life. And Noel asked, ‘Does he believe in God?’ And I said, ‘I don’t think he knows.’ So Noel went, ‘Well, he’s one step closer to knowing now.’ And I thought, ‘I’m going to write that song…’ ”
10 “Original of the Species”
Air-punching chant-along
The Edge: “I had to rewrite the chords for the verse and it was like killing your children because I loved those chords.”
11 “Yaweh”
Modern hymn with a broadband connection to God
Bono: “This is an usual one. Daniel Lanois played the mandolin on that song and it just touches it.”
The Edge: “The real key was the bass part because it underpins the whole song. It’s magnificent.”
Clayton: “Really, it was nothing.”
