U2 19: Songs Of Surrender

Following the usual noise about how their “next album was almost done,” U2 at least had the excuse of the COVID pandemic for why such a thing hadn’t materialized. Meanwhile, Bono took the time off to write a memoir, and The Edge busied himself with reconceptualizing various songs from the band’s catalog. Songs Of Surrender isn’t exactly U2 unplugged so much as reimagined, much like the so-called acoustic medley on the deluxe edition of Songs Of Innocence. Free from having to devise unique effects for everything, The Edge sought to find the melodic base of each, relying on keyboards, while Bono did the same by singing instead of shouting, and modifying lyrics here and there—you know, to reflect his maturity and how far he’d come from the boy who wrote the first drafts. Or something.

The simplicity concept didn’t extend to the finished product, as it was made available as a 16-track album, a “deluxe” version with four extra tracks, and a “super deluxe” set totaling 40 tracks, not quite matching the 40 chapters of Bono’s book, each of which was named after a different U2 song. Each set of ten songs was on its own disc, each of which was named for a different band member.

While the band’s anthems are known for their power and aggression, the idea of “quiet” U2 isn’t such a radical idea. But while “One” is easily stripped back, “Where The Streets Have No Name” needs to try a lot harder to make an impact when you’ve heard the standard version for 35 years. Edge sings “Stories For Boys”, so we’re told—his voice has always sounded like Bono’s at a certain register—and we do like the mild transformation of “11 O’Clock Tick Tock”, but “Bad”’s lyrics should have been left completely alone. “Walk On” was given the subtitle “Ukraine”, partially in solidarity with that nation, but also because the original inspiration for the song had fallen short of their hopes. (Bono also finally gets the timeline right for “Pride (In The Name Of Love)”.) “Dirty Day” is nearly transferred to a string quartet, but the canned horns on “Red Hill Mining Town” are wholly unnecessary. “The Fly” is transformed to funky acoustic, but a similar approach to “Desire” doesn’t work, despite Edge’s falsetto. (He also sings “Two Hearts Beat As One” and “Peace On Earth”.)

Larry is listed as drummer throughout, though we don’t seem to hear any drums on many of the tracks—except on the disc named for him—just as Adam is credited as the bass player, even when somebody else is noted as playing it. Yet a couple of dozen people are listed as playing some instrument and/or engineering; these guys can’t even make an unplugged album simply.

The most successful overhauls are arguably the songs from this century, as they haven’t been as drummed into our heads. “Ordinary Love” and “Invisible” benefit greatly from the stripped approach, and “Every Breaking Wave” will get more attention in this context, though we’d’ve preferred that “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” was just piano and vocal. For those of you keeping score, All That You Can’t Leave Behind and Songs Of Innocence get the most redos—the former possibly because it was recently reissued for its 20th anniversary, the latter likely because the backlash upon its release clouded the reaction to the actual music. October and No Line On The Horizon aren’t touched at all.

Some would say that “covering yourself” is a sign that a band has run out of ideas, and some would be right. Some also insist that U2 has to be big and overblown, and some would say that’s what’s caused them to fail in the past. But Songs Of Surrender does remind us what we always liked about U2, and it could be that a more subtle approach could suit them well if they ever get around to releasing another new album. Or maybe this could work as a finale for a career that doesn’t seem to have an ending.

That said, we do take exception to the cover art. Bono’s photo matches that of his book and comes from the time of The Unforgettable Fire, while the other band images are from the Pop era. Are they afraid we wouldn’t recognize them if current shots were used?

U2 Songs Of Surrender (2023)—3