U2 albums have long involved drawn-out sessions and an excess of material – a lot of it hears the light of day but enough from 2004's How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb's sessions to birth a whole 10-track record; How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb.
How To Dismantle… was very much a continuation of U2 leaning into the calling cards they'd rediscovered on 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind – especially what Edge called his 'Coca-Cola' guitar sound. You know, chiming delay propelling big anthems.
While that may have elicited sighs from fans of Pop and Zooropa's more experimental spirit, U2 do anthemic well, sometimes very well, and How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb's double A-side taster affirms that.
Country Mile is a solid one, but not quite at the level of a City Of Blinding Lights. Picture Of You (X+W) initially feels like a rawer take on the Dublin band's dynamic with the Edge's garage riff, but it takes off into a more majestic space. It also references the How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb lyric that inspired the album's title, suggesting it must have been close to making the cut.
“The sessions for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb were such a creative period for the band, we were exploring so many song ideas in the studio," says the Edge. "We were inspired to revisit our early music influences, and it was a time of deep personal introspection for Bono who was attempting to process - dismantle - the death of his father.
"For this anniversary edition I went into my personal archive to see if there were any unreleased gems and I hit the jackpot," the guitarist adds. "We chose ten that really spoke to us. Although at the time we left these songs to one side, with the benefit of hindsight we recognize that our initial instincts about them being contenders for the album were right, we were onto something."
How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb will be released on 29 November exclusively for Record Store Day Black Friday alongside a digital release. A week before the How To Dismantle… record itself will be released as a remastered 20th anniversary edition.
"What you’re getting on this shadow album is that raw energy of discovery," says the Edge. "The visceral impact of the music, a sonic narrative, a moment in time, the exploration and interaction of four musicians playing together in a room… this is the pure U2 drop.”
Tracklisting for How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb:
1. Picture Of You (X+W)
2. Evidence Of Life
3. Luckiest Man In The World
4. Treason
5. I Don't Wanna See You Smile
6. Country Mile
7. Happiness
8. Are We Gonna Wait Forever?
9. Theme From The Batman
10. All Because Of You
While Treason, Evidence Of Life, Country Mile and Happiness have never been heard before outside the band's inner circle; Luckiest Man In The World leaked online almost 20 years ago under its working title Mercy. - familiar to fans under its working title ‘Mercy’, an early demo of which was leaked online almost 20 years ago. The other five are newly remastered songs – Picture Of You (X+W), I Don't Wanna See You Smile, Are We Gonna Wait Forever?, Theme From The Batman and All Because Of You 2 – are 'all collected together for the first time to mark the 20th anniversary of How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.
Fans will notice that All Because of You is a song on the final album, so this could be a different take on it.
The remastered How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (20th Anniversary Edition) will be released on Vinyl 8LP Super Deluxe Collectors Boxset (Limited Edition); Vinyl 2LP; Exclusive D2C 2LP Black & Red Ink Spot Vinyl (Limited Edition); 5CD Super Deluxe Collectors Boxset (Limited Edition); CD; and Exclusive Red & Black Cassette (Limited Edition).
The digital releases include HTDAAB remastered (12 tracks); and HTDAAB & HTRAAB (22 tracks). How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (Re-Assemble Edition) – featuring both How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb + How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb - will be available as a dual digital release on 22 November.
