Songs of Innocence (album)

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This article is about the U2 album. For the Jasper Steverlinck album, see Songs of Innocence (Jasper Steverlinck album). For other topics, see Songs of Innocence (disambiguation).
Songs of Innocence
Studio album by U2
Released 9 September 2014 (2014-09-09)
Recorded
  • Electric Lady Studios, Pull Studios (New York, NY)
  • The Church Studios, Assault and Battery (London)
  • Shangri-La, The Woodshed (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Strathmore House (Dublin)
Genre Rock
Length 48:11
Label Island[1]
Producer Danger Mouse, with additional production from Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney and Flood
U2 chronology
No Line on the Horizon
(2009)		 Songs of Innocence
(2014)
iTunes Store issue
Singles from Songs of Innocence
  1. "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)"
    Released: 15 September 2014

Songs of Innocence is the thirteenth studio album by Irish rock band U2. Released on 9 September 2014, it was produced by Danger Mouse, with additional production from Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney and Flood. The album was announced at an Apple Inc. product launch event and released the same day to all iTunes Store customers at no cost. It was exclusive to iTunes, iTunes Radio, and Beats Music until 13 October 2014, when it received a physical release by Island Records.[2] The digital release made the record available to over 500 million iTunes customers, for what Apple CEO Tim Cook marketed as "the largest album release of all time".

Songs of Innocence was U2's first album since No Line on the Horizon (2009), marking the longest gap between studio albums of their career. After the latter's relatively lukewarm commercial performance, lead singer Bono expressed uncertainty over how the band could remain musically relevant. During the album's five-and-a-half-year gestation period, they reportedly worked on three separate projects with multiple producers, including an aborted companion to their previous record called Songs of Ascent. However, they struggled to complete an album to their satisfaction and continually delayed a release. After working with Danger Mouse for two years, the group collaborated with Flood, Epworth, and Tedder to complete the record. Thematically, it revisits the group members' youth in Ireland, paying tribute to musical inspirations Ramones and the Clash, while touching on childhood experiences, loves and regrets. Bono described it as "the most personal album we've written".

The album's lead single, "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)", is featured in an Apple television commercial as part of a promotional campaign for the band on which the company is reportedly spending $100 million. According to Apple, approximately 81 million users listened to the album in its first month of release, 26 million of whom downloaded the entire record. Songs of Innocence received mixed reviews, although some critics and consumers were critical of the digital release strategy, which involved automatically adding the album to users' iTunes accounts without their consent.

Background[edit]

In February 2009, U2 released their 12th studio album, No Line on the Horizon. The album received generally favourable reviews and debuted at number one in over 30 countries,[3] but its sales of 5 million units were comparatively low by U2 standards and it did not contain a hit single.[4] Having spent time in Fez, Morocco, recording and absorbing exotic musical influences, the group intended the record to be a more experimental than their previous two.[5] However, critics found it to be more conventional than expected. During the five-and-a-half year gestation period for Songs of Innocence, lead singer Bono expressed uncertainty on several occasions over how U2 could remain relevant musically after the relatively lukewarm commercial performance of No Line on the Horizon.[6]

Writing and recording[edit]

Around the release date of No Line on the Horizon, Bono mentioned tentative plans for the group to release a follow-up record entitled Songs of Ascent comprising songs from the album's recording sessions.[7][8] Planned as a sister release to No Line on the Horizon (similar to Zooropa '​s relationship to Achtung Baby), the project was described by Bono as "a meditative, reflective piece of work" with the theme of pilgrimage.[7][8] The band said that the first single was intended to be "Every Breaking Wave".[7][9] However, the project was continually delayed, as U2 struggled to complete an album to their satisfaction and were limited by other commitments; these included the group's U2 360° Tour from 2009–2011, as well Bono's and guitarist The Edge's commitment to writing the music and lyrics to the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which itself experienced numerous delays and creative changes before its debut in June 2011.

In June 2009, Bono said that although nine tracks had been completed for Songs of Ascent, the album would only be released if its quality surpassed that of No Line on the Horizon.[10] A December 2009 report indicated that U2 had been working in the studio with the goal of a mid-2010 release,[11] but by April 2010, U2's manager Paul McGuinness confirmed the group would not be finished by June, saying that a release "before the end of [2010 was] increasingly likely."[12] In May, Bono was forced to undergo emergency back surgery after suffering a compressed sciatic nerve. The group had to reschedule their North American tour dates and an appearance at Glastonbury Festival 2010, but were able to spend their downtime writing and recording new songs.[13]

In August 2010, reports indicated that U2 were working on three separate album projects:[14] these were purported to be a traditional rock album produced by Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton;[15] a dance-centric album produced by David Guetta, RedOne, and will.i.am;[15] and the meditative material comprising Songs of Ascent.[16][17] When the U2 360° Tour resumed that month, an instrumental piece titled "Return of the Stingray Guitar" debuted live and was the opening number for all 32 shows in 2010, as well as an additional show the following year;[18][19] the piece later evolved into the backing track for "Lucifer's Hands", released on deluxe editions of the album.[20] Additionally, "Every Breaking Wave" debuted live that month and was performed by Bono and The Edge at three shows on tour.[21][22]

In October, Bono said that U2's new album would be produced by Burton, and that 12 songs had been completed,[23] while McGuinness said it was slated for an early 2011 release.[24][25] The band continued to make "great progress" on the record in January 2011 working with Burton in New York.[15] The following month, McGuinness said that the album was almost complete and had a tentative release date of May 2011, although he noted that Songs of Ascent was no longer the likely title.[26] The Songs of Ascent project ultimately did not come to fruition and has not been released; its evolution and apparent abandonment are examined in the book The Greatest Albums You'll Never Hear.[27] Bassist Adam Clayton said, "We thought there was more material left over from No Line... we now feel a long way from that material."[28] The dance-centric album was ultimately aborted as well; Clayton said, "The work we did with RedOne was very, very exciting. But again, I'm not sure it was the essence of what U2 is good at... we have to do what we do best and we have to focus on that, and the work we did with Danger Mouse came closest to that."[16] Guetta clarified that he was not involved in the dance project and had only discussed a possible collaboration with Bono.[29]

U2 spent three months in the studio in late 2011, taking a break only for Bono to recuperate from the flu.[30] In June 2012, Bono appeared on The Late Late Show and said that the group had just concluded its "best three weeks in the studio since 1979".[31] In January 2013, the band members said their new album would be released by September and that its working title was 10 Reasons to Exist.[16] In May, U2 spent time at Electric Lady Studios in New York with Burton, who was completing his mixing duties for the record. After working with the band for two years,[32] Burton was forced to leave to attend to other projects.[33] The group subsequently hired long-time collaborator Flood, along with Ryan Tedder and Paul Epworth, to produce the album.[32]

As U2 wrote and recorded during mid-2013 with a target release of December, they were asked by Harvey Weinstein to contribute a song to the film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.[34][35] The band suspended work on their album to write the track "Ordinary Love" in honor of Nelson Mandela;[34] it won the 2014 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song,[34][36] and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Progress on their album was further limited by a period of mourning after Mandela's death, the group's promotional commitments for the film, and the awards ceremonies.[34] In February 2014, another new U2 song, the single "Invisible", was unveiled in a Super Bowl XLVIII commercial and made available for free in the iTunes Store to launch a partnership with Product Red and Bank of America to fight AIDS.[37][38]

Swedish singer Lykke Li provided additional vocals for the album's closing song, "The Troubles". At Burton's invitation, Li travelled to Los Angeles a year-and-a-half prior to the album's release to record her contribution without U2 present. After the group decided to change the key of the song in mid-2014, Li had to re-record her part and met up with the band in London to do so. After trying a few different approaches to her vocals, Li said, "We turned off all the music and sang only to the drums, so it was really getting to what the core of the song meant."[39]

U2 finished the album on 2 September 2014, one week prior to its release.[33] The Edge said, "the bulk of it was done pretty quickly at the end. So much was achieved in the last couple of weeks."[33] He described the last four days in particular as "full-on".[33] Speaking about the album's long gestation period, Bono said, "Rumour has it we haven't made a U2 album in the last five years. We have. We've made several. We just didn't release them because we were waiting for something that would be as good as the best we've ever done."[33]

Composition[edit]

Thematically, Songs of Innocence revisits the group members' youth in Ireland, paying tribute to musical inspirations, while touching on childhood experiences, loves, and regrets. Bono described it as "the most personal album we've written".[40] In an interview with Gus Wenner of Rolling Stone, he said, "We wanted to make a very personal album... Let's try to figure out why we wanted to be in a band, the relationships around the band, our friendships, our lovers, our family. The whole album is first journeys—first journeys geographically, spiritually, sexually. And that's hard. But we went there."[41] He said that he felt challenged to write about more personal themes and why he wanted to be in a rock band after producer Jimmy Iovine told him, "The person you need to be to make the album that you wanna make is a long way from where you live."[33] Rolling Stone deemed it as having the feeling of a concept album, a notion that Bono rejected, although he did say, "It has a lyrical cohesion that I think is unique amongst U2 albums".[41]

"The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" pays tribute to Joey Ramone, the lead singer of punk rock band Ramones and a strong influence on Bono.[42] During their teenage years, U2 snuck into a Ramones concert,[43] and it was the experience of watching Joey perform that made Bono feel less self-conscious about his singing.[41] "California (There Is No End to Love)" recalls the group's first visit to Los Angeles and how the city contrasted with their native Dublin.[42] "Song for Someone" is a love song written for Bono's wife Ali Hewson. "Iris (Hold Me Close)" is written about Bono's mother, Iris, who died when he was 14 years old after suffering a cerebral aneurysm at her father's funeral. The lyrics liken her and her influence over Bono to a star that died long ago but whose light is still reaching earth.[44] "Raised by Wolves" is about the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974, which killed 33 people but were narrowly avoided by Bono that day. The song is written from the perspective of Andy Rowen (brother of Bono's friend Guggi), who witnessed the bombings and would later fall into heroin addiction; Rowen is also the subject of U2's 1984 song "Bad".[44] "Cedarwood Road" reminisces about the street in Dublin that Bono lived on during his youth.[42] "Sleep Like a Baby Tonight", written about a pedophile priest,[45] was described by Q '​s Tom Doyle as featuring "deceptively lullaby-like... synth pulses" reminiscent of Kraftwerk,[44] an electronic music group influential to Bono.[46] Their album The Man-Machine was gifted by Bono to Ali when they were dating as teenagers and is name-checked in "Iris (Hold Me Close)" in the line, "But it was you who made me your man/Machine".[47] "This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now" takes musical cues from one of the group's childhood inspirations, the Clash;[41] according to the liner notes, the song is dedicated to the Clash's guitarist/vocalist, Joe Strummer.[48]

Release[edit]

U2 performing at the Apple Inc. product launch during which the album was announced

In the days leading up to an Apple Inc. product launch event on 9 September 2014 in Cupertino, California, rumours began to circulate that U2 were involved.[49] A spokesperson for the band denied reports that they would perform at the event or that a new album would come preloaded on the anticipated new iPhone 6 smartphone.[50][51] During the event, after the unveiling of the new iPhone and Apple Watch,[52] U2 appeared on-stage to perform a new song entitled "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)".[53] Afterwards, they and Apple CEO Tim Cook made a surprise announcement that the band had completed their 13th studio album, Songs of Innocence, and that it would be released digitally the same day to all iTunes Store customers at no cost.[51] The record, which was added automatically to users' iTunes music libraries,[53] was exclusive to iTunes and the streaming services iTunes Radio and Beats Music until 13 October 2014, when it received a physical release.[54] Bono called the album "a gift [from Apple]... to all their music customers",[54] and said that the group wanted "get [the album] to as many people as possible, because that's what our band is all about".[41] Songs of Innocence was made available to over 500 million iTunes customers, for what Cook marketed as "the largest album release of all time".[53] According to Apple, 33 million people accessed the album in its first week of release, either through iTunes downloads or streaming.[55] Within its first month of release, 81 million users listened to it and 26 million downloaded the entire record, according to Apple executive Eddy Cue.[56]

Apple reportedly paid a lump sum to U2 and Universal Music Group for a five-week exclusivity window in which to distribute the album.[57] In addition, the company agreed to a marketing campaign for the album reportedly worth around $100 million, which kicked off with a television advertisement featuring "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)".[53] Apple's partnership with U2 dates back to 2004; in promotion of the band's album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, its first single, "Vertigo", was featured in an internationally aired iPod television advertisement, while a U2 iPod and an iTunes-exclusive U2 box set were also released.[58] The band's release of Songs of Innocence drew comparisons to that of two 2013 records: Jay-Z's Magna Carta... Holy Grail, which was sponsored by Samsung;[52][59] and Beyoncé's self-titled album, which also was released without any prior promotion or notice.[52][60]

To placate retailers affected by the digital exclusivity period, Universal offered them a deluxe version of Songs of Innocence that contains four additional songs, along with several acoustic versions of the record's songs.[61] The bonus tracks will be exclusive to brick-and-mortar stores and music streaming services for five weeks before becoming available to iTunes.[61] Retailers will also receive catalog deals that will discount U2's albums in stores by US$3 for a period of time.[61] A Grammy Awards spokesperson initially said the album would not be eligible for consideration at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards because it would not be available for purchase prior to the 30 September eligibility deadline; however, this ruling was reversed after Universal released a limited-edition vinyl pressing of the album to retailers on the cutoff date.[32]

The same day as Songs of Innocence '​s digital release, Irish public service broadcaster RTÉ played the record in its entirety on RTÉ 2fm; following a long-standing tradition, U2 gave the station's DJ Dave Fanning the exclusive to play their new album before any other broadcaster.[62]

Reaction[edit]

U2's decision to allow free downloads of Songs of Innocence was questioned by musicians, including Iggy Pop and Patrick Carney.[63][64] Buckcherry guitarist Keith Nelson believed it devalued music, saying U2 had "sent a message to everyone that music is free, and that's disturbing. It's easy to do that when you're a multi-millionaire-billionaire and money isn't really something that you worry about, but when you're a working rock 'n' roll band and you count on every dollar, it's disappointing to see someone do that."[65] The Entertainment Retailers Association reported that UK sales of the band's back catalogue were minimal in the week following the album's release; the organisation's chairman Paul Quirk said: "This vindicates our view that giving away hundreds of millions of albums simply devalues music and runs the risk of alienating the 60% of the population who are not customers of iTunes ... Giving away music like this is as damaging to the value of music as piracy."[66]

Many iTunes customers were unhappy that the album was added to their music libraries without their consent;[67][68][69] for users with automatic music downloads enabled in iTunes, Songs of Innocence downloaded automatically.[70][71] Chris Richards of The Washington Post called the release "rock-and-roll as dystopian junk mail".[72] Slate said that it was "extremely unsettling" that "consent and interest are no longer a requisite for owning an album, only corporate prerogative".[73] Vijith Assar of Wired said: "The delivery mechanism amounts to nothing more than spam with forced downloads."[74] In response to the criticism, Apple established a dedicated website to allow users to delete the album from their iTunes accounts.[75] In a Facebook Q&A session, Bono said: "I'm sorry about that. I had this beautiful idea and we got carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that kind of thing: [a] drop of megalomania, touch of generosity, dash of self-promotion and deep fear that these songs that we poured our life into over the last few years mightn't be heard. There's a lot of noise out there. I guess we got a little noisy ourselves to get through it."[76]

Future projects[edit]

In a note on the group's website announcing Songs of Innocence, Bono hinted at a forthcoming follow-up album, Songs of Experience, that "should be ready soon enough".[77] U2's manager Guy Oseary also indicated that the group had future collaborations with Apple planned dealing with "how music is heard and innovation". He said the band wants to support the album as an "art form of artwork and lyrics and video content" that will engage listeners more so than digital audio.[78] In a 29 September 2014 cover story for Time, U2 revealed they are working with Apple to develop a new digital music format they hope will sway consumers' interest in purchasing music again.[79] Bono said it would be "an audiovisual interactive format for music that can't be pirated and will bring back album artwork in the most powerful way, where you can play with the lyrics and get behind the songs". According to him, the format is 18 months from completion, and the group hopes it will financially benefit lesser-known music artists.[80]

Packaging and title[edit]

The album art for iTunes copies of the album was created by MAD Agency London to resemble white label packaging commonly used for promotional LP record pressings. The artwork, an "anti-cover design", is a homage to the vinyl promo release format that was popular during the late 1970s and early 1980s, a period that U2 referenced in the album.[81]

Physical copies of the album feature different packaging with a cover image of drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. protectively embracing his 18-year-old son while both are shirtless. The image was taken by photographer Glen Luchford initially as an experiment,[82][83] but the group thought it worked as a visual metaphor for the album and its theme of "how holding on to your own innocence is a lot harder than holding on to someone else's."[82] Bono said, "With this record we were looking for the raw, naked and personal, to strip everything back." The cover parallels those of the band's earlier albums Boy (1980) and War (1983), which featured the face of a young boy, Peter Rowen, the younger brother of Bono's childhood friend Guggi.[84]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 65/100[85]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3/5 stars[86]
Chicago Tribune 2/4 stars[87]
The Daily Telegraph 4/5 stars[88]
The Guardian 3/5 stars[89]
Mojo 4.5/5 stars[44]
NME 4/10[90]
Pitchfork 4.6/10[91]
Rolling Stone 5/5 stars[47]
Slant Magazine 3/5 stars[92]
Spin 7/10[93]

Songs of Innocence received mixed reviews from critics.[94] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 65 out of 100, based on 30 reviews, 13 of which were positive.[85] Rob Mitchum of Pitchfork Media criticised Songs of Innocence for "aim[ing] for a one-size-fits-all, vaguely inspirational tone, with a lean approach to details despite the press kit assertion that it's all 'very, very personal'".[91] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune said U2 "sounded as impersonal as ever" and that the album was "flat and strangely complacent". Kot was one of several critics to find the album derivative of artists previously derivative of U2.[87] In a review for The Guardian, Caspar Llewellyn Smith wrote that U2 was "treading old ground without much of a sense of how to move forward."[89] Ben Patashnik of NME criticised the release strategy, writing that "the fact it's free makes it seem cheap."[90] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine deemed the album a thematic success but argued the unconventional release should have been the "case for a bolder, more experimental album, one that would better reflect its ballsy, innovative rollout."[92]

In a positive review, Neil McCormick of The Telegraph called the album "fresh and cohesive... an album of big, colourful, attacking rock with fluid melodies, bright anthemic choruses and bold lyrical ideas."[88] David Fricke called the record a "triumph of dynamic, focused renaissance" in his five-star review for Rolling Stone. Fricke said the record was "the first time U2 have told their own tales so directly, with the strengths and expression they have accumulated as songwriters and record-makers."[47] Carl Wilson of Spin said the album's songs were "more compact and direct, and eschew the global-overmind scale" of U2's previous material "for intimate and personal perspectives." Wilson praised U2 for hiring contemporary producers to help them "join rather than beat the 2014 mainstream".[93] Tom Doyle of Mojo called Songs of Innocence "the most startlingly fresh, energetic and cohesive U2 album in years," praising the personal themes. He found that the album "reconnects U2 with the strident, searching, wide awake band of their nascency, reminding not only us, but themselves, of their against-the-odds beginnings".[44]

Commercial performance[edit]

The album's no-cost availability on iTunes delayed its eligibility for placement on music charts until its commercial release, which was widely expected to reduce its sales. Songs of Innocence debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart,[95] its lowest debut in the country in 30 years. In the US, the album debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200, selling 28,000 copies in its first week.[96] In Canada, the album debuted at number five on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 4,600 copies.[97]

Track listing[edit]

All lyrics written by Bono and The Edge, all music composed by U2.

No. Title Producer(s) Length
1. "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)"   Danger Mouse, Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder 4:16
2. "Every Breaking Wave"   Danger Mouse, Tedder, Declan Gaffney[a] 4:13
3. "California (There Is No End to Love)"   Gaffney, Epworth, Danger Mouse 4:00
4. "Song for Someone"   Tedder, Flood 3:47
5. "Iris (Hold Me Close)"   Epworth, Tedder, Danger Mouse[a] 5:20
6. "Volcano"   Gaffney, Epworth[a] 3:15
7. "Raised by Wolves"   Gaffney, Danger Mouse 4:06
8. "Cedarwood Road"   Danger Mouse, Epworth 4:26
9. "Sleep Like a Baby Tonight"   Danger Mouse 5:02
10. "This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now"   Danger Mouse 5:06
11. "The Troubles"   Danger Mouse, Gaffney[a] 4:46
Total length:
 48:11
Notes
  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer

Personnel[edit]

U2
Additional musicians
  • Brian Burton – keyboards (tracks 1–2, 7–11), programming (track 7), additional percussion (track 10), choral arrangement (track 6)
  • Ryan Tedder – keyboards (tracks 1–2, 4–5), programming (track 1), acoustic guitar (track 1)
  • Paul Epworth – keyboards (tracks 1, 3, 8), programming (track 1), additional percussion (track 1), claps (track 6), slide guitar (track 8)
  • Flood – keyboards (track 4)
  • Declan Gaffney – acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 6), keyboards (tracks 2–8, 10–11), programming (tracks 3, 7, 9), backing vocals (tracks 3, 10), claps (track 6), additional percussion (track 7), vocal effects (track 7)
  • Lykke Li – vocals (track 11)
  • "Classy" Joe Visciano – claps (track 6), backing vocals (track 10)
  • Leo Pearson – keyboards (track 9)
  • Caroline Dale – cello (track 11), string arrangement (track 11)
  • Natalia Bonner – violin (track 11)
  • Greg Clark – choir (tracks 1, 6)
  • Carlos Ricketts – choir (tracks 1, 6)
  • Tabitha Fair – choir (tracks 1, 6)
  • Kim Hill – choir (tracks 1, 6)
  • Quiona McCollum – choir (tracks 1, 6)
  • Nicki Richards – choir (tracks 1, 6)
  • Everett Bradley – choir (tracks 1, 6)
  • Bobby Harden – choir (tracks 1, 6)
  • Ada Dyer – choir (tracks 1, 6)
Technical personnel
  • Danger Mouse – production (tracks 1–3, 7–11), additional production (track 5)
  • Paul Epworth – production (tracks 1, 3, 5, 8), additional production (track 6)
  • Flood – production (track 4)
  • Declan Gaffney – production (tracks 3, 6–7), additional production (tracks 2, 11)
  • Ryan Tedder – production (tracks 1–2, 4–5)

Charts and certifications[edit]

Peak positions[edit]

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[101] 7
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[102] 5
Croatian Foreign Albums (IFPI)[103] 1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[104] 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[105] 10
French Albums (SNEP)[106] 1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[107] 13
Irish Albums (IRMA)[108] 2
Italian Albums (FIMI)[109] 1
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[110] 6
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[111] 6
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[113] 1
Scottish Albums (OCC)[114] 4
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[115] 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[116] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[117] 6
US Billboard 200[118] 9
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[119] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[120] 2
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[121] 1

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Italy (FIMI)[122] Gold 25,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[123] Gold 20,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References[edit]

Footnotes
  1. ^ "Songs of Innocence by U2". iTunes. Retrieved 9 September 2014. 
  2. ^ http://www.thesoundbot.com/u2-songs-innocence-album-review/
  3. ^ "New U2 album is No. 1 in 30 countries". Reuters. 11 March 2009. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2009. 
  4. ^ Michaels, Sean (26 October 2009). "U2's Bono disappointed with latest album sales". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on 29 April 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2009. 
  5. ^ Hiatt, Brian (5 April 2009). "Taking care of business". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2009. 
  6. ^ "U2's Bono: 'We have to make hits if we are to survive'". NME. Time Inc. UK. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2014. 
  7. ^ a b c Hiatt, Brian (4 March 2009). "U2 Talk "Horizon" Follow Up, Spider-Man Musical in Rolling Stone Cover Story". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2009. 
  8. ^ a b O'Hagan, Sean (15 February 2009). "The Wanderers". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2009. 
  9. ^ Hiatt, Brian (1 October 2009). "U2 Beyond the "Horizon": Plans for Next Album Take Shape". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2009. 
  10. ^ O'Conner, Brendan (21 June 2009). "U2: Access all areas". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 29 October 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009. 
  11. ^ Horan, Niamh (27 December 2009). "U2 make fans' Christmas as they reveal plans for their next album". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 29 April 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2009. 
  12. ^ "On the Record". U2.com. Live Nation. 15 April 2010. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010. 
  13. ^ "U2 Announce Return to the Stage in Homemade Video". Rolling Stone. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2014. 
  14. ^ Michaels, Sean (23 August 2010). "U2 have a trio of unreleased albums, reveals Bono". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 11 September 2014. 
  15. ^ a b c Michaels, Sean (13 June 2011). "New U2 album delayed until 2012". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 11 September 2014. 
  16. ^ a b c Hogan, Marc; McGovern, Kyle (17 January 2013). "U2 Eyeing Multiple New Music Releases Starting in September". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved 11 September 2014. 
  17. ^ Kreps, Daniel (23 August 2010). "U2 Debut Another New Song on European Tour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 September 2014. 
  18. ^ "'Torino, Torino...'". U2.com. Live Nation. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2014. 
  19. ^ "Return of the Stingray Guitar". U2gigs.com. Retrieved 20 October 2014. 
  20. ^ Sams, Aaron J. (12 October 2014). "Column: off the record ..., vol. 14-640". @U2. Retrieved 20 October 2014. 
  21. ^ "Every Breaking Wave In Helsinki". U2.com. Live Nation. 21 August 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2014. 
  22. ^ "Every Breaking Wave". U2gigs.com. Retrieved 20 October 2014. 
  23. ^ "'I was in grave danger': Bono". The Age. 21 October 2010. Archived from the original on 22 October 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010. 
  24. ^ McGreevy, Ronan (18 October 2010). "U2 to release new album in 'early 2011' (subscribers only)". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 October 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010. 
  25. ^ Conlon, James (8 December 2010). "Black Eyed Peas Will.i.am Confirmed To Produce U2's New Album". Stereoboard.com. Retrieved 10 December 2010. 
  26. ^ "Neues U2-Album in der Pipeline" (in German). Mediabiz.de. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011. 
  27. ^ MacDonald (2014), pp. 232–235
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Bibliography
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