U2 will release an album of re-imagined and re-recorded songs in March.
The 40-song collection, titled ‘Songs of Surrender’, follows frontman Bono’s memoir ‘Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story’, which was released in November.
Announcing the project, they penned: “Songs Of Surrender. 40 Songs. Reimagined and rerecorded. March 17, 2023. #U2SOS40”
The Edge says of the project: “Music allows you to time travel, and we became curious to find out what it would be like to bring our early songs back with us to the present day and give them the benefit, or otherwise, of a 21st century reimagining.
“What started out as an experiment quickly developed into a personal obsession as so many of our songs yielded to a new interpretation. Intimacy replaced post punk urgency. New tempos, new keys, and in some cases new chords and new lyrics arrived. A great song, it turns out is kind of indestructible.
“The process of selecting which songs to revisit started with a series of demos. I looked at how a song would hang together if all but the bare essential elements were taken away. The other main aim was to find ways to bring intimacy into the songs, as most of them were originally written with live concert performance in mind.
“Reviewing these sketch recordings with producer Bob Ezrin, it was very easy to see the ones that worked straight off the bat and those that needed more work. We all got into the sensibility of less is more.”
The new version of their 1984 hit single Pride (In the Name of Love) is out now.
‘Songs of Surrender’ is out March 17.
It comes after guitarist The Edge recently teased a new project in letters to fans, admitting the band is heading in a “new direction”.
He wrote: “When a song becomes well known, it’s always associated with a particular voice. I can’t imagine ‘Tangled Up In Blue’ without the reedy timbre of Bob Dylan or ‘All The Time In The World’ without the unique voice of Louis Armstrong.
“So what happens when a voice develops and experience and maturity give it additional resonance?”
