On paper this album of rerecordings seems like nothing but a cynical cash grab – something to release to fill a gap, bolster sales of Bono’s memoir and act as a nice lead-in for U2′s big-bucks Las Vegas residency this autumn. If the unasked-for arrival of Songs of Innocence on your iPhone made you blaze with the fury of a thousand suns, Songs of Surrender may not be for you. This album is best enjoyed when you put your preconceptions aside and simply enjoy its 40 songs, recorded between lockdowns, for what they are.
The new approach doesn’t work on every track. Some of these songs lack the vision and firepower of the originals. Pride (In the Name of Love) sounds exactly as you might expect an acoustic version to sound; the softened edges of Beautiful Day make it a pleasant if forgettable number; the spacey, slo-mo tilt of The Fly lacks oomph.
More often than not, however, these tracks will surprise you. Bono’s haggard rumble on the twangy strum of I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For suggests that Johnny Cash might have made a fair fist of the song; the magnificent new version of Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of is unquestionably better than the original, stripping the bells and whistles away to expose an aching vulnerability.
Stay is superb too, its piano and murmured vocals staying true to the spirit of the song without being precious about it.
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That’s when Songs of Surrender is at its best: acknowledging the songs that have made U2 the band that they are but not cowering in thrall to them.
Is it vital listening for anyone but diehard fans? Perhaps not, but this was never meant to be a concise affair pitched at topping the charts, even if it probably will. If nothing else, this album is a reminder that, whether you like them or not, U2 are a band with some exceptional songs in their back catalogue.
