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CRITIC REVIEWS
80
If their creative missteps in the past two decades have generally been caused by their twin determinations to keep up with modern pop and relentlessly pursue music that works in stadia, then here they’ve cut themselves free from all of that. Ultimately, it may be a watershed moment. By stripping it all back down, in some ways, they’re bigger.
1mo
80
These ‘reinterpreted’ tracks are a reminder that, whether you like them or not, U2 have exceptional songs in their back catalogue.
80
More than just an acoustic greatest hits, the band's latest is uniquely revealing and emotionally resonant.
80
‘Songs Of Surrender’ is so much more than just an unplugged ‘greatest hits’ quadruple album. This is a stunning showcase of milestone moments and more from the Irish quartet. It’s a touching journey reflecting on how the four boys changed into men and changed the world through the power of music at the same time.
80
Done so thoughtfully, such surrender to the imperatives of age might better be considered an act of grace.
80
The highlights are splendid: a brass-embellished "Red Hill Mining Town", a languid piano-led "Beautiful Day", a near-calypso "Miracle of Joey Ramone".
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1mo
60
There is disappointment that a number of U2’s big-hitters don’t translate well on ‘Stories For Surrender’, but this revision hasn’t been a totally fruitless endeavour: you just have to dig a little bit deeper to find the reimagined material that’s truly worth savouring.
60
None of these will supplant the originals, but the precision of The Edge’s rearrangements and enduring quality of Bono’s unvarnished voice, in particular, make for a satisfying, understated journey of rediscovery.
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5d
60
Pros that they are, U2 deliver smooth, polished performances that are handsome and, yes, intimate but not especially compelling. It's stylish background music that sounds a bit like it was designed to be heard in chain coffeehouses during the late 2000s.
60
When it all connects, there's a new understanding of the song or the author.
60
In a typically grand gesture, 40 songs are picked by the band for muted acoustic treatments, with varying degrees of success.
57
Spearheaded by the Edge, this collection of stripped-down, re-imagined U2 songs is a frustrating missed opportunity.
50
The biggest issue with Songs of Surrender is that U2 often fail to be malleable enough to truly stretch their wings and radically reshape these tracks. They too often, to their detriment, play it safe.
50
U2’s sense of surprise was exchanged for maddeningly consistent predictability in their later career, and ‘Songs of Surrender’ sounds how you think it would.
40
Most of these lo-fi reimaginings only make you miss the original more.
35
Songs of Surrender is tailor-made to be forgotten, to flow in one ear and out the other before passing into nothingness as you scroll through Spotify for the real, better versions of these songs.
20
It’s singing as pro wrestling.
WARNING: brief notes mostly directed to people that are not here just for the pure fun of trashing everything (which is always easier by the way).
Let’s be clear, there was no need to make this album, it is definitely too long and too many songs hit exactly the same key and played the same tricks too many times, and for that reason every piece of disappointment it is clearly justify, but let’s try to move on and see if there is something here to love (at least a tiny bit). Besides ... read more
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Track List
Disc 1
| 1 | One 3:36 | 55 |
| 2 | Where The Streets Have No Name 4:17 | 49 |
| 3 | Stories For Boys 2:51 | 74 |
| 4 | 11 O'Clock Tick Tock 3:58 | 65 |
| 5 | Out Of Control 4:09 | 58 |
| 6 | Beautiful Day 3:53 | 64 |
| 7 | Bad 5:31 | 60 |
| 8 | Every Breaking Wave 5:11 | 54 |
| 9 | Walk On (Ukraine) 4:07 | 58 |
| 10 | Pride (In The Name Of Love) 3:57 | 49 |
Disc 2
| 1 | Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses 5:17 | 60 |
| 2 | Get Out Of Your Own Way 3:27 | 67 |
| 3 | Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of 4:34 | 55 |
| 4 | Red Hill Mining Town 5:02 | 49 |
| 5 | Ordinary Love 3:13 | 70 |
| 6 | Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own 5:00 | 58 |
| 7 | Invisible 4:23 | 67 |
| 8 | Dirty Day 3:57 | 68 |
| 9 | The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone) 3:29 | 44 |
| 10 | City Of Blinding Lights 4:55 | 52 |
Disc 3
| 1 | Vertigo 3:29 | 45 |
| 2 | I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For 4:15 | 56 |
| 3 | Electrical Storm 4:13 | 65 |
| 4 | The Fly 4:02 | 58 |
| 5 | If God Will Send His Angels 5:14 | 49 |
| 6 | Desire 2:56 | 40 |
| 7 | Until The End Of The World 4:44 | 48 |
| 8 | Song For Someone 3:48 | 49 |
| 9 | All I Want Is You 4:28 | 54 |
| 10 | Peace On Earth 4:22 | 40 |
Disc 4
| 1 | With Or Without You 3:14 | 44 |
| 2 | Stay (Faraway, So Close!) 5:03 | 58 |
| 3 | Sunday Bloody Sunday 4:13 | 39 |
| 4 | Lights Of Home 4:20 | 54 |
| 5 | Cedarwood Road 3:24 | 36 |
| 6 | I Will Follow 3:40 | 31 |
| 7 | Two Hearts Beat As One 4:08 | 55 |
| 8 | Miracle Drug 3:35 | 47 |
| 9 | The Little Things That Give You Away 4:52 | 51 |
| 10 | "40" 3:03 | 42 |
Total Length: 2 hours, 46 minutes
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2d
I would consider listening to this but I'm not fucking listening to 3 hours of this lmao
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Added on: January 10, 2023