Fans who shelled out big cash for the just-issued mega-deluxe edition of U2’s new “U2 360° at the Rose Bowl” concert DVD received a nice bonus: a red-vinyl 7-inch single featuring the previously unreleased song “Soon,” a 2-minute track left over from the No Line on the Horizon sessions (hear it below).
Anyone who caught one of the 360° Tour shows last year might remember the tune as the band’s intro music; it was called “Kingdom of Your Love” at the time. The song — which U2.com also is streaming for paying members for the next two days — was recorded in 2008, and the music and lyrics are credited to U2, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.
You can hear the song — which is the same vein as the more experimental stuff on the album, like “FEZ-Being Born” or “Cedars of Lebanon” — via the embedded clip below.
Hear U2’s “Soon” after the jump…
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
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- U2 ‘Artificial Horizon’ fan club CD features 13 remixes by likes of Trent Reznor
U2 has produced an incredible piece of work. I was shocked (in the best possible way!) when I heard this album! It’s sonically interesting, and definitely new ground for U2. For that reason, it may take some getting used to by old and new fans alike.
The album starts out with new sounds (at least for U2) and interesting themes and characters in the first four songs. Of those, “Magnificent” and “Moment of Surrender” are instant standouts. But, with each new listen, new songs surprise me. In this case, “Unknown Caller” has proven to be a song that with a few listens begins to amaze. The middle of the album is probably more familiar territory sonically. “Crazy Tonight”, “Boots”, and “Stand Up Comedy” feel like the U2 of this decade and stand somewhat apart from the rest of the songs on this album. “Crazy Tonight” was probably my original favorite. “Boots” has taken some criticism, but it’s a great song and I really don’t see what the fuss is about (especially for those that liked “Vertigo”, as “Boots” has a very similar feel to it). “Stand Up Comedy” breaks down into a groove that is very “Beatlesque”–quality! But the more I listened to the album, the more I realized that for me, the real stars are the final four tracks. The four together have a perfect flow, and harken back sonically to the first four songs on the album (and lyrically to the middle three). “White as Snow” and “Cedars” are hauntingly beautiful and “Cedars” provides a brilliant finish to the album. “Fez” is another song that I almost overlooked the first couple of listens. Then suddenly I realized how brilliant it is. It’s the song I want to drive home to in the evening after a long day at work. Indeed, it’s a travel song, so very fitting. And “Breathe” is a song that I can’t get enough of. It’s soulful and bluesy. And it has that same uplifiting and insprirational spirit that U2 has become known for. But, it’s not indulgent.
The box set is beautifully done–even the box itself is impressive. The book is very well put together. The interview spans around 8 pages, with the remainder of the content being very artistic photography of the band, studio sessions, etc. “Linear” is interesting and will take watching again to form a full opinion. It’s a “moving pictures’ film (no dialogue, but a movie set to the music of the album). An extremely interesting concept for the album that perhaps falls short of it’s full potential. But, I love this idea. The digipack version of the album included in the box set is fantastic! Overall, I have to say that this has been put together extremely well. I have a few issues (typos in the lyrics, for example), but given the immense quality of the album, along with a well put together art box, I can’t give this anything but the highest rating.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’m still debating from an objective point of view if the box set is worth $65. I don’t know. I do know that I’m happier for having it on my shelf and am therefore glad to have spent the money. If you have the money, definitely consider buying this set, as it’s a fine addition to your music collection.