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Personnel: The Edge (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Bono (vocals); Adam Clayton (bass guitar); Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums, percussion).
Audio Mixers: Matty Green; Tom Elmhirst; Miles Walker; Jolyon Thomas; Will Kennedy ; Kelana Halim; Andy Barlow; Steve Lillywhite; Bryan Cook.
Recording information: Electric Lady Studios; Hanover Quay; Neptune Valley; Rick Rubin for Shangri-La and Great Ears; Strathmore House; The Church Studios; The Garage at Topanga; The Woodshed; Uno Mas Studio; Waterloo Studio; Windmill Lane Studios.
Photographer: Anton Corbijn.
"I shouldn't be here because I should be dead" sings Bono on "Lights of Home," the second track on Songs of Experience, the long-delayed sequel to 2014's Songs of Innocence. It's not merely a turn of phrase. Two months after U2 unleashed Songs of Innocence on the world, Bono injured himself in a bicycle accident so severe he suspected he may never play guitar again. He recovered, but his misfortune derailed plans for the band to wrap up Songs of Experience swiftly, so U2 decided to take their time. A version of the record neared completion in 2016, but that year's twin elections of Brexit and Trump spurred U2 to revise the album, as they decided they couldn't release a record that didn't address such cataclysmic political events. Retro-conning the existing Songs of Experience material to suit the political climate wasn't the easiest task and the album often shows its seams, particularly when Bono decides to tackle the crisis head-on: the line "Democracy is flat on its back, Jack" arrives with a thud on "The Blackout," but it's nothing compared to "American Soul," an ode to real America where the singer and the band engage in a battle of hams. "American Soul" also features a line -- and no more -- by Kendrick Lamar, the rapper who is on the vanguard of popular music in 2017 (no less of an authority than David Bowie cited Lamar as an influence on his final album, Blackstar). Typical to many modern records, Songs of Experience is the result of many cooks: Jacknife Lee and Ryan Tedder claim the main production credits, with Andy Barlow, Jolyon Thomas, and old friend Steve Lillywhite responsible for additional production, whatever that may be. With all these hands, it's not much of a surprise that Songs of Experience feels diverse, its modernist moments -- like Bono embracing pitch-shifted vocals -- counterbalancing feints toward U2's arena rock past. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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