They nonetheless hadn’t discovered what they had been in search of.
So a determined U2 made a drastic U-turn on the best way to creating their final traditional album, 2004’s “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” which dropped 20 years in the past on Nov. 22, 2004 (Nov. 23 within the US).
After months of engaged on the follow-up to 2000’s “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” — which had re-established the long-lasting Irish rockers as the largest band on this planet — the mission imploded once they determined to fireplace producer Chris Thomas.
“They were feeling bad about that, because they’re such great employers that they don’t like having to let someone go,” Steve Lillywhite — who stepped in to supply “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” — advised The Publish. “But they felt, for the benefit of the album, that they needed someone who could maybe bring a certain energy into the studio.”
And turning to Lillywhite on “Hot to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” would produce explosive outcomes for U2: On the power of hit singles corresponding to “Vertigo,” “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own” and “City of Blinding Lights,” the group’s eleventh studio LP would go multiplatinum and win them eight of their 22 Grammys — together with a second Album of the 12 months prize after 1987’s seminal “The Joshua Tree.”
Reinforcing their relevance as Bono’s boys gave manner from alt-rock to aughts rock, it turned center age into an “Atomic” age for U2.
Increase.
And who higher to assist U2 recapture their unforgettable fireplace than Lillywhite — who had produced the band’s first three albums: 1980’s “Boy,” 1981’s “October” and 1983’s “War.”
“They were feeling a bit depressed,” recalled Lillywhite, 69. “When they see me, they perk up because it reminds them of when they were young, I suppose.”
Certainly, the British producer — who has additionally labored with everybody from the Rolling Stones to Dave Matthews Band and The Killers — has recognized U2 since Day One.
“When I first worked with them, I was 24 and the eldest member of the band was 19,” he defined. “Bono was 19 and Larry [Mullen Jr., the drummer] was 17 when we recorded their first album. They were very young. So I’ve known them all their life, you know?”
So there was an innate belief in Lillywhite, who had additionally labored on “The Joshua Tree,” “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” and one other licensed traditional, 1991’s “Achtung Baby.”
“I was basically taking over an album that was halfway done,” he mentioned “Basically, they played me all the songs and said, ‘What do you think?’ And I said, ‘Well, you know, this one’s good; this one, we need to do this; this one, I like the song, but we need to re-record it.’ My thoughts were that it just lacked a little bit of energy.”
Such was the case with the hit first single “Vertigo,” which might go on to showcase the Edge in all of his guitar-riffing glory to Grammy-winning impact. However the track didn’t take off to that particular “place” when it was initially known as “Native Son.”
“I didn’t like how it was recorded,” mentioned Lillywhite. “So we recorded it again, and it sounded so good that Bono said he wanted to write a better song because of that. So that basically set him on to write ‘Vertigo.’ I mean, if ‘Native Son’ had been released, it wouldn’t have been as big a hit as ‘Vertigo,’ so it was absolutely the right thing to do to change that song around.”
Likewise, “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own” was taken to the subsequent degree with Lillywhite, who impressed Bono to seek out the falsetto coronary heart of the refrain.
Grammy in 2006 after his work on U2’s “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.” REUTERS
“Well, that song had been around for a few years, actually,” he defined. “And I bear in mind listening to it and pondering that it didn’t actually have a refrain. And simply once I mentioned that, Bono picked up the guitar and began singing, ‘And it’s you once I look within the mirror/And it’s you once I don’t choose up the telephone/Typically you may’t make it by yourself.’
“I think that’s the money part of the song, so I helped them unlock how great that song was as well.”
Certainly, with all these falsetto feels, “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own” — in regards to the relationship Bono had along with his father, Bob Hewson, who had handed away from most cancers in 2001 — would go on to win the Track of the 12 months Grammy in 2006, whereas “City of Blinding Lights” received for Greatest Rock Track.
In the meantime, Lillywhite would win the Producer of the 12 months gramophone in the identical 12 months for turning the album from a “Bomb” to a blockbuster.
“I just came in and did what I do,” he mentioned. “And, yeah, we were very lucky, and we managed to get the Grammys and everything.”
However “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” additionally scored an enormous promotional win when “Vertigo” was utilized in iPod commercials upon its launch. And there was even a U2 iPod with the identical black and purple colour scheme as “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.”
“That was one of the greatest business deals ever done,” mentioned Lillywhite. “I mean, Steve Jobs sold millions of iPods, and U2 sold millions of records.”
Grammy for “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” in 2006. REUTERS
And who can ever overlook U2 performing “All Because of You” on a flatbed truck by downtown Manhattan in promotion of the album — earlier than giving a “secret” live performance at Brooklyn Bridge Park?
Lillywhite would proceed to work with U2 on 2009’s “No Line on the Horizon,” 2014’s “Songs of Innocence” and 2017’s “Songs of Experience,” and he additionally produced the group’s newest single, 2023’s “Atomic City” whereas serving to them launch their groundbreaking Sphere residency in Las Vegas.
And whereas he’s semi-retired dwelling in Bali now, Lillywhite continues to be conserving tabs on U2, which hasn’t launched a brand new studio album in seven years.
“They’ve been in the studio, and apparently they’re all excited by how it’s going,” mentioned the five-time Grammy winner, who predicts a brand new album in 2025 with a tour to comply with in 2026.
However as “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” is being celebrated with “How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb” — a brand new reissue together with outtakes from these periods — Lillywhite is happy with what they made 20 years in the past.
“I’d say it’s in their Top 5 [albums],” he mentioned. ” ‘Joshua Tree,’ ‘Achtung Baby,’ ‘All That You Can’t Go away Behind’ after which, for me, I really like ‘War.’ After which this one. I’m simply proud that I obtained my title on an incredible report”
