I am watching closely to see what U2 produces next. It’s my prediction that this will be their make or break album.
With this in mind I have been eagerly awaiting the song they have written for the forthcoming film based on the life of Nelson Mandela. It should be a precursor to the direction their next album is headed.

The good news is the film looks great. The bad news is, if this song is any indication, the band’s next album will sound like  a rehash of U2’s greatest hits.

Here is the start of the new U2 song, Ordinary Love

Listen to the intro of 2002’s Electrical Storm

Now, listen to the intro of Saints are Coming (recorded in 2006 with GreenDay)

For a band that has been around for decades and is well capable of reinvention,  the similarities are embarrassing.  As the song continues, it bounces along optimistically but never emerges from a samey traditional U2ishness, falling back on Edge’s guitars and Bono’s non sequiturs.

On a side note, U2’s track record for releasing quality songs that never appear on an album remains intact.

For example:

1. Lady With The Spinning Head (1992)
2. The Sweetest Thing (1987)
3. Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad (for Frank Sinatra – 1997)
4. North and South of The River (1997)
5. Electrical Storm (2002)
6. Window In The Skies (2006)

I guess I’ll just spend my years listening to the 90s version of U2. God knows there was a lot of good stuff.