“A stunning showcase of milestone moments and more.” CLASH
“More than just an acoustic greatest hits, the band’s latest [album] is uniquely revealing and emotionally resonant.” ROLLING STONE
“What is left when you strip everything away? A voice raised in hope, togetherness, a song. Perfect!” IRISH EXAMINER
“A reminder that …U2 have exceptional songs in their back catalogue” IRISH TIMES
“U2 reworks past in thrilling ‘Songs of Surrender’” ASSOCIATED PRESS
“Four decades on, U2 is still redefining the parameters of their music.” ULTIMATE CLASSIC ROCK
March 17, 2023 – To mark the release of Songs Of Surrender, Island Records and Interscope today share details of U2SOS40, a unique collaborative project which has seen 40 artists and creators from around the world invited to create a 60 second piece of content, each soundtracked by re-recorded U2 song.
The result is 40 new visual interpretations of U2’s music – 40 stories by 40 creatives – to mark the release of Songs Of Surrender, a collection of 40 seminal U2 songs from across the band’s catalogue, re-recorded and re-imagined for 2023.
Artists include Indian-born Tanima Mehrotra who documented her local skate crew in Mexico City who “embody the kind of freedom that comes with youthful curiosity”;Ben Elias, a director and cinematographer from New Zealand whose film is “a walking tour of Aotearoa starring my grandparents”; Alana O’Herlihy, a multidisciplinary photographer, director and mixed media artist who “…decided to take the very serious subject matter that Sunday Bloody Sunday is about, and juxtapose it with those coming of age moments for women, and that loss of innocence.”; and Yanya Yatsuk, a U.S.-based Ukrainian-born photographer who wanted to “make something that told a story about love.”
Each piece will be shared by the respective creator on their social media channels over the coming weeks, linked by the hashtag #U2SOS40.
Also released today in conjunction with Songs Of Surrender, a one-hour Zane Lowe interview special on Apple Music along with a first-ever NPR Tiny Desk appearance by Bono and The Edge. The pair also visited the BBC’s legendary Maida Vale studios last month to perform three tracks for Radio 2’s Piano Room accompanied by members of the BBC Concert Orchestra: ‘Vertigo’, ‘One’ plus a cover of ABBA’s ‘SOS’. Listen here.
‘Bono & The Edge: A Sort Of Homecoming, with Dave Letterman’ will premiere on Disney+. Directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville, the film captures Dave Letterman on his first visit to Dublin to hang out with Bono and The Edge in their hometown, experience Dublin, and join the two U2 musicians for a concert performance unlike any they’ve done before. Watch trailer here.
About Songs Of Surrender: Songs Of Surrender – a collection of 40 seminal U2 songs from across the band’s catalogue, re-recorded and re-imagined for 2023 in sessions spanning the last two years, will be released in full on Friday 17th March. The first track to be made available from this brand new set of recordings is the anthemic ‘Pride (In The Name Of Love)’, listen here.
Songs Of Surrender is curated and produced by The Edge and sees the band revisit some of the most celebrated songs of their 40+ year career, including ‘With Or Without You’, ‘One’, ‘Beautiful Day’, ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ and ‘Invisible’, for a musical reimagining resulting in a completely new recording of each track, to include the arrangements and, in some cases, new lyrics.
The complete Songs Of Surrender track listing is:
Side 1 – The Edge 1. One 2. Where The Streets Have No Name 3. Stories For Boys 4.11 O’Clock Tick Tock 5. Out Of Control 6. Beautiful Day 7. Bad 8. Every Breaking Wave 9. Walk On (Ukraine) 10. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Side 2 – Larry 1. Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses 2. Get Out Of Your Own Way 3. Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of 4. Red Hill Mining Town 5. Ordinary Love 6. Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own 7. Invisible 8. Dirty Day 9. The Miracle Of Joey Ramone 10. City Of Blinding Lights
Side 3 – Adam 1. Vertigo 2. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For 3. Electrical Storm 4. The Fly 5. If God Will Send His Angels 6. Desire 7. Until The End Of The World 8. Song For Someone 9. All I Want Is You 10. Peace On Earth
Side 4 – Bono 1. With Or Without You 2. Stay 3. Sunday Bloody Sunday 4. Lights Of Home 5. Cedarwood Road 6. I Will Follow 7. Two Hearts Beat As One 8. Miracle Drug 9. The Little Things That Give You Away 10. 40
Songs Of Surrender is available in the following formats: Full 40 track Digital; Limited Edition 40 track 2 x CD Hardback Deluxe; and Limited Edition 40 track 4 x Vinyl. Pre order now.
‘Bono & The Edge: A Sort Of Homecoming, with Dave Letterman’ – press release, trailer links and stills here.
