Nearly 20 songs have been recorded so far
Bono has revealed that U2 has recorded about 20 songs for its long-awaited Songs of Ascent album, but is shelving it for now. The rocker tells The New York Times that the band has decided to return the studio in favor of a rock album.
“We have almost finished this album called Songs of Ascent, which we’re not putting out. We’re going to put out a rock ’n’ roll album. So we’re not putting this out, but I’m telling you it’s awesome,” Bono says before playing the interviewer clips of “The Bard’s Last Breath” and “Smile” — the latter which has a “very cool, Beatle-y thing” to it — from the project on his phone.
Bono says Songs of Ascent isn’t scrapped, it’s just behind “held” for a more “noisy” guitar-based project.
“A noisy, uncompromising, unreasonable guitar album,” he explains. “In among that unreasonableness, it is likely that I will put the part of me, the anger that hasn’t been managed, to good use.”
Bono explains that he and The Edge’s songwriting is “at a very high level.” and that the group was “tempted” to release Songs of Ascent “out of competition.” Instead, the rocker shares the band “felt that the material was so strong that it deserved time to make sure people heard about them as well as heard them.”
It’s unclear when the new rock record or Songs of Ascent will drop.
Bono’s prepping the release of his memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, for November 1st. The subtitle, 40 Songs, One Story, refers to the book’s 40 chapters, each named after a U2 song. The book tells the story of the remarkable life Bono’s lived, the challenges he’s faced, and the friends and family who have shaped and sustained him.
The band is expected to release Songs of Surrender this fall that features 40 older U2 songs recreated during the lockdown. The fan site U2 Songs states some of the tracks will be previewed on November 1st with the companion audio book of Bono’s memoir. “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “One,” “With Or Without You,” “Beautiful Day” and more are set to be released as a four disc set sometime following the book’s release with November 18th mentioned specifically, but not confirmed.
Bono will embark on a 14 city book tour across North America and Europe on November 2nd. The rocker will bring the stories of his life to life — live and in person — to New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Dublin and others through November 28th.
Earlier this summer, it was rumored that U2 would be launching a Las Vegas residency in 2023 at the new MSG Sphere. Multiple sources tell Billboard the iconic group will open the high-tech arena with a series of non consecutive dates over several months, although a timeline has not been shared. A major tour is also being rumored to hit stadiums worldwide sometime in 2023.
