Songs of Innocence (2014)
Despite being named the number one album of 2014 by Rolling Stone Magazine, it became famous (or infamous) for magically appearing in our iTunes account for free. I have written about the stunt before and you can check it out here.
“(The Miracle of ) Joey Ramone"
The well chosen opening song of the current tour because the "group chant nature" of the opening lyric instantly brings the stadium together into a church choir. Bono and the boys were young impressionable youth once and wanted nothing else than to be a punk band. They have become much more…but not a punk band.
“Every Breaking Wave”
A beautiful and basic U2 ballad. It’s nice to hear another song with a strong baseline. It reminds me of a song that might have been on All That You Can’t Leave Behind
“Iris”
Bono’s mother (Iris) passed away when he was 14 and it had an obvious impact on the rest of his life. Days before the release, Bono tried to have it taken off the album because he thought it was too personal, but that’s when Bono’s song writing soars. I don’t love the recorded track, but I have seen some live versions and it transforms into different song.