The Edge has never been one to try and fit in with the crowd.

Rather, over the course of multiple U2 albums, The Edge has carved out his own stylistic path – one that has always sought to differentiate itself from the delay-doting guitar hero’s contemporaries.

That much has always been clear in The Edge’s music, and way back in 1996, during an interview with Guitar World a year before the release of U2’s most experimental album to date, Pop, the Irish guitar hero looked back on what shaped him as a guitar player.

“When I was growing up, I wanted to be Rory Gallagher, because he was the guitar player in Ireland,” The Edge remembered. “When I got to 16 or 17 it was Tom Verlaine and Television, and I loved what was going on in Patti Smith's Horses – that really opened things up for me.

“John McGeogh from [the early-’80s post-punk band] Magazine was doing some very interesting things. Stuart Adamson, too; the first Skids album had some really new sounds on it.”

There was a common theme linking The Edge’s inspirations. They weren’t strictly by the book. Loose, jagged, gritty, with a distinct (ahem) edge that prioritized personality and the song over anything too glossy.

The Edge’s personal tastes came from his own desire to be a song-first kind of player, one that wasn’t afraid to take risks and make mistakes. It all had to serve the wider picture – and that meant The Edge simply had no time for the over-indulgence of traditional guitar-led music.

“I guess I was just sick of the white blues rock thing; it was just anathema,” he continued of his tastes. “To me, it was just a pub rock thing, and the whole mentality seemed just stupid… in a bad way. Rock and roll should be a bit stupid but that was just... I dunno. Be stupid but don't be dumb? That's it!

“I always thought the whole 15-minute guitar solo thing was such a load of wank. I was attracted to people who really played the songs. But it's the hardest thing – to have a really good song with interesting and unique guitar playing. Maybe one day, I'll do it.”

The Edge’s disillusionment with the guitar scene was clear back in 1996. Traditional guitar and echoes of the ‘shred guitar hero’ scene from the previous decade weren’t moving him. He felt more at home listening to guitar players who weren’t behaving like regular guitar players.

“There hasn't been a new guitar player for a long time that I've really gotten into,” The Edge admitted. “It's a shame because for a while I was feeling really bad about being a guitar player. That's with the exception of Neil Young, who is still incredible.

“To me it's interesting that he's essentially a songwriter and a singer who's obviously using guitar in a different way from a lot of "straight" guitar players. I enjoy some of the young English players, as well.

“I like what Noel Gallagher of Oasis does – it's all attitude, he's not afraid to play some lead licks that border on tacky. But they're not. And they're not, because he's got that spirit. A lot of guitar players have everything except it!”

With such an outlook on the guitar scene, it's no wonder that The Edge managed to carve out a style that helped him become a different kind of guitar hero.

That ethos was particularly apparent back in '96/'97. Pop showed The Edge at his most experimental, foregoing regular fretboard theatrics and incorporating elements of alt-rock, techno, and dance.

It was yet more evidence that The Edge was cut from a different cloth – and always destined to be a different kind of guitar hero.

The Edge’s unique mirror-tiled Gibson Les Paul has re-emerged at auction, 27 years after it was last sold.

The reflective Gibson featured in the music video for 1997 U2’s track, Discothèque, lifted from their Platinum-rated album, Pop, which marked an experimental stylistic departure from their earlier work.

All four members had signed the back of the guitar before it was auctioned off for charity in 1999. While the figure it went for nearly three decades ago hasn’t been publicized, the guitar’s second time under the hammer could see it sell for as much as $150,000.

A close look at the guitar shows that the individual tiles look pretty thick, meaning the guitar likely weighs a considerable amount – it’s more of a wall piece (or playable disco ball) than it is a workhorse in waiting.

Gotta Have Rock and Roll is handling the auction, with the bidding sitting at $80,000 at the time of writing.

The band’s Pop album, the auction house states, “marked a significant phase in the band’s evolution, incorporating dance and electronic elements into their music.”

It’s not the only one of the Edge’s Les Pauls to have been auctioned off. His ‘75 Alpine White model sold for $228,000 in the early 2000s. Soon after, Gibson surprised him with a virtually identical replica. The replica would go on to feature on No Line on the Horizon.

Oddball guitars have been the Edge’s bread and butter throughout his career, with an ultra-rare modded Fender the secret weapon behind some of the band’s biggest hits.

The guitar’s auction runs until Friday, July 17.

See Gotta Have Rock and Roll for more.

One of the standout tracks from my new album, B.B. King: Blues Summit 100, is a cover of the iconic tune When Love Comes to Town, which is a song King had recorded with U2 in 1988, an unlikely pairing that worked out phenomenally well and became very popular when it was released the following year.

Bono had written the song specifically with B.B. in mind, and they recorded it together at Sun Studios in Memphis. B.B. would subsequently perform the song live with U2 nearly 50 times.

There are many really cool guitar parts in this song, not only from B.B. but also from the Edge, who played a solo, which was delightfully surprising, as it is very unusual to hear him play in this type of blues context.

The Edge’s solo has his signature ethereal sound, so in approximating it, we plugged in a TC Electronic 2290, an AMS reverb – using anything we could find from that era at Sunset Sound in L.A. – and the results are sonically appropriate.

Using that sound, I played a solo in his style, along the lines of Figure 1. The solo is based on simple combinations of quarter and eighth notes, incorporating the open low and high E strings and the open B string, as well as a strummed E5 chord, with all notes allowed to ring into each other.

When it’s B.B.’s turn to solo, he gets right to classic B.B.-style phrasing, like Figure 2. Played in the “B.B. box,” the fret-hand is rooted in 5th position, starting with a big vibrato on an E root note and followed by succinct phrases that draw notes from both E major pentatonic (E, F#, G#, B, C#) and E minor pentatonic (E, G, A, B, D).

Figures 3 and 4 are based on the same approach, this time moving from the tonic chord, E, to the IV (four) chord, A, without changing positions. All of these improvised melodies are played in the same 5th-position box.

The original track offers a great lesson in the power of simplicity in the parts of both guitarists. The Edge played in his style and B.B. played in his, and the two work so well together.

When we set about to record our version of the song, we invited Slash, Miles Kennedy and Shemekia Copeland to contribute their talents, and they all did a fantastic job, putting their own stamp on this classic song.

There are many approaches Slash could have taken for his solo, and I thought it was cool that he did his own thing, utilizing his signature “rock” approach along the lines of Figure 5.

In this example, the first three bars are based on E minor pentatonic in 12th position, shifting in bar 4 up to 15th position then back to 12th position heading into bar 5. Moving into bar 6, the lines shift up to 17th position then back down to 5th position at the end of the bar.

The beauty of soloing over this song’s progression is you can stick with E-scale riffs the entire time, moving simply between the I and IV chords, as the tune never goes to the V (five) chord, B. I encourage you to make it your own, which is the approach Slash took quite effectively here.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

A score of instruments from U2 bassist Adam Clayton’s personal collection is set to be auctioned off next month, after a three-week exhibition in Ireland.

The 18-strong collection, housed at The Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, Ireland, opened last week and will run until November 9th. Following the exhibition, they’ll be shipped to Nashville to feature as part of Julien’s Auctions’ latest Played, Worn and Torn collection of music memorabilia. The two-day auction takes place at the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum’s Municipal Auditorium, November 20-21.

All guitars come from Clayton’s personal collection, marking the first time his bass guitars of choice have been part of such a public showcase.

“I’m fortunate enough to have owned many wonderful instruments in my life, and I have amassed a very personal collection of basses over the last 40 years,” Clayton explains. “They have all become favourites for one reason or another, a reminder of a particular tour or recording session.

“My only regret is that I don’t get to play them all as often as I would like. A musical instrument needs time and attention. I’ll be sad to see these basses go, but this is an opportunity to give each and every one of them a new home in the care of a new owner. And maybe they can become someone else's favourite.”

Among those up for grabs is Clayton’s Sherwood Green Fender Jazz signature guitar, which was used for U2's performance of Invisible on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon on February 17th, 2014.

A year later, it played a starring role on the Innocence + Experience tour in 2015 across Europe, the US, and Canada.

His 200 Lakland Joe Osborn J sunburst bass, played during the U2’s Vertigo tour a decade earlier, as well as on their classic hit One, sits alongside a score of 1960s and '70s Fender basses. Those include a 1964 Jazz in Olympic White, a 1964 Precision Bass in Lake Placid Blue, and a 1978 Sunburst Jazz.

Elsewhere, there’s a 2010 Gold Sparkle Fender Adam Clayton Precision Bass deemed a “mistake” by his guitar technician due to the Jazz Bass-decaled headstock, which could sell for $60,000.

Other brands get a look in, too. There’s a pair of Warwick Gold Reversos played on U2’s 360 world tour in 2010, and a 2010 Sadowsky Will Lee J Style bass in Green Sparkle.

See Julien’s Auction for more.

Speaking to Bass Player, Clayton once revealed how Bono had pushed for him to use a guitar pick in the band, but believes “there's nothing quite like that contact of pulling the wires”, as he detailed the crux of U2's Grammy-grabbing sound.

Mike Peters, frontman of the Welsh band The Alarm, has passed away at the age of 66 due to blood cancer.

The guitarist and lead singer was forced to cancel a U.S. tour last year following a fast-growing lymphoma diagnosis and had since been undergoing treatment at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester. His death was announced by a spokesperson for Love Hope Strength, the cancer charity he co-founded with his wife.

Peters was born in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, Wales, and started his musical career with Hairy Hippie, a band he formed with his schoolmates to perform at his sister's 21st birthday party.

Following his initial brush with band life, he formed the Toilets after seeing the Sex Pistols play in Chester, England. Various lineup changes and a rebrand (plus the addition of guitarist Dave Sharp) later, the new-and-improved band – The Alarm – played their first gig in Prestatyn in 1981.

They would go on to open for U2 and Bob Dylan, tally up an estimated 5 million sales worldwide, and become stalwarts of Welsh rock, cracking America along the way.

While the band broke up after Peters left the group on stage at London's Brixton Academy in 1991, the vocalist/guitarist powered on with his first solo venture, Breathe, in 1994. Just a year later, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and in 2005, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which returned in 2015 before he went into remission.

Despite his health struggles, Peters continued to record new material, tour his music across Europe and the U.S., and raise awareness about cancer – releasing the inspiring documentary Man in the Camo Jacket in 2017 and receiving an MBE in 2019 for his services to cancer awareness.

“The simple message is to stay alive and appreciate every second you’ve got,” he told Guitar World in a 2017 interview. “Live right up to the last breath and stay positive about the world, your family, and the environment you live in.

“When we first came to America, I was in my early twenties. I’m 58 now and am still the same punk rocker in my head. I want to give the feeling out to live life to the fullest.”

Do They Know It’s Christmas? is one of the most iconic charity singles of all time, featuring an all-star cast of musical heroes including Sting, Bono, Phil Collins and countless others. Since its release in 1984, it has raised almost $180 million for famine relief and development in Ethiopia and Africa.

Although the song was written by Midge Ure and Bob Geldof using acoustic guitars, the final track didn’t end up featuring much in the way of six-strings, despite a plethora of players in the studio – and, as it turns out, there’s a good reason for that.

A new BBC documentary, The Making of Do They Know It's Christmas?, pulls together archive footage from the creation of the track, and includes an interview with Geldof prior to the star-studded session, where he reveals one big guitar name that couldn’t make it to the studio.

Asked by a reporter who was arriving, Geldof says, “Bono’s just come in. He rang me last night and said [U2 guitarist] the Edge had got a kidney infection, and so he’s in hospital. So send him my love, and I hope he gets better.

“That’s a bit of a drag, because he was going to be the lead guitarist… but there’s about a million guitar players coming down.”

Geldof wasn’t kidding. The likes of Paul Weller, Status Quo’s Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi, Sting, and Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp were among the guitarists who did turn up – but none of them made it onto the actual recording.

The day before the vocal recordings took place, Midge Ure attempted to track some jangly chords on electric guitar, while Geldof and Weller watched. But nothing could cut through the thick layer of synths.

“We’ve got so many fucking keyboards,” Geldof says. “It’s just the sound of guitar that I think it misses.”

Unfortunately, the sound of the electric guitar would never grace the track, although Weller and Kemp did contribute some background acoustic parts – and the Jam leader even attempted some electric lines.

“There was nothing wrong with his guitar parts, nothing wrong with his playing at all. It just didn't fit in this electronic-based track,” Ure told Guitar Player of Weller’s electric contributions earlier this year.

“He did a kind of picking thing with a clean sound. It was kind of jangly, probably using one of my guitars, quite – dare I say – Smiths-like… It was all very good. I think even he saw it didn’t fit. He felt it didn’t sound right within that track.”

All of which means it’s a real shame that the Edge was struck down with illness just days prior to the recording of Do They Know It’s Christmas?

It’s not hard to hear how his sparse single-note lines, sprinkled with a touch of his signature delay, could have floated atop the layers of keyboards, adding a sense of spaciousness and fragility to the recording, and ticking off the guitar timbres Geldof sought.

Guitars were a bigger feature in Band Aid 20’s 2004 recording of the track, with Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, Busted’s Charlie Simpson, and The Darkness guitarists Dan and Justin Hawkins all tracking parts, while Paul McCartney contributed bass.

The newly released 2024 Ultimate Mix finally brings guitars to the fore, reviving lost contributions from Weller, Ure, Greenwood and Kemp, and highlighting Justin Hawkins’ harmony guitar solo – although we’ll always wonder what the Edge would have brought to the track.

The sound of early U2 is one of the most instantly recognisable of the past 40 years in music. It was the delay pedal of guitarist The Edge in particular, along with his clever approach to composing guitar parts, that launched the band’s career and a million copycats over the decades.

The band formed in 1976 when drummer Larry Mullen Jr posted an advert on the notice board at Temple Mount Comprehensive School in Dublin, and was subsequently joined by bass player Adam Clayton, guitarist David Evans (aka The Edge) and vocalist Paul Hewson, who is obviously known by the singular title Bono.

The band could barely play their instruments at the time, but the creative energy of being released to make music and learn their craft saw them go from total musical novices to signing a record deal with Island Records, and releasing their debut album four years later in 1980.

The Edge’s guitar tone of the early years was simple, and born out of necessity. With limited technical ability and only three band members playing physical instruments, The Edge bought a delay pedal to fill the sound out around the drums and bass of Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton.

Often employing open strings and natural harmonics to maximise the ambience of the notes, he managed to instantly create a sound that had previously not been heard. While he may not be spoken of in the hallowed tones of Hendrix and Van Halen, his innovation and creativity, while less overtly technical than some others, is no less important.

Influenced by ’70s new wave and punk bands like The Velvet Underground and Sex Pistols, they were the antithesis of most rock bands of the era, not being influenced by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Hendrix or Deep Purple.

It was only later in their career that The Edge began to draw on more blues-based influences, and the Rattle & Hum album and film in the late 1980s saw them explore American music and work alongside legends such as B.B. King and Bob Dylan.

A true innovator, The Edge continues to push the envelope of sounds and guitar parts, and it’s always the song that drives his playing and composition forwards. From the first rehearsal in school to the most recent venture playing 40 nights at The Sphere in Las Vegas, in what is truly one of the most innovative gig experiences ever attempted, U2 have worked tirelessly to produce music that has been built on creative and artistic integrity throughout their career.

Our track here is classic early U2, built around a simple rock-based progression in E minor (E-F#-G-A-B-C-D). There are no blues scale notes, no string bends, and little vibrato.

It’s all built around simple two-note doublestops, open strings and natural harmonics that follow the chordal harmony. And of course, that dotted 8th delay effect – for this track try a 200ms delay with a couple of repeats and a mix ratio around 70 per cent.

Get the tone

Amp Settings: Gain 6, Bass 6, Middle 7, Treble 7, Reverb 7

Using a delay pedal or plugin is crucial. Set it to a dotted 8th note and use the delay as a part of your performance, more as an instrument than merely an effect. In the early days The Edge used a Gibson Explorer, and then a Fender Stratocaster or Tele. It’s a full sound but given added brightness by the chime of his Vox AC30, so use that style of Vox amp tone if possible.

Example

The chords in the opening eight bars feature string damping and a pronounced eighth-note dotted delay. There are no guitar overdubs so it’s one part and the delay tones to focus on. It’s all built around eighth notes, but certain moments have a pronounced emphasis thanks to the delay effect.

While The Edge rarely plays what we’d usually describe as solos, he does embellish his parts with catchy melodic movement. You’ll see on the video that all the notes I played on the recording are downstrokes with the pick, with the exception of the highest natural harmonic on the second string in bars 17-24.

Time and time again, hindsight proves to be a funny old thing. Today, U2's With or Without You and Where the Streets Have No Name are two of the biggest rock songs in the world – the former’s one billion Spotify streams will attest to that – but both songs were due to be left on the cutting room floor, if it weren’t for The Edge’s electric guitar parts.

The revelation has come from a recent interview with author and U2 superfan Aaron J. Sams, who has penned the book U2: Song by Song, detailing the backstories of the band’s discography.

Speaking to Booked On Rock, Sams explained how With or Without You was saved, in part, by an extremely rare Fender.

“At one point, they talked about walking away from that song,” he says (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). “The breakthrough came when the Edge was given a prototype [Fender] Infinite Guitar.

“When the band was ready to abandon the song, [Irish songwriter] Gavin Friday convinced Bono to take it away and work on it a little bit further, but in the meantime, Edge was noodling around with this Infinite Guitar.

“There were only two or three of those guitars created. A Canadian [Michael Brook] came up with that invention. And somewhere along the way, Bono brought back what he had been working on, Edge brought back what he had been working on, and they smushed it all together and out came With or Without You. I don't think you could go anywhere in 1987 and not hear that song on the radio.”

The Infinite Guitar was condemned to a less-than-infinite fate, but its role in shaping the song represents its biggest contribution to the music world. The Edge’s shimmering leads helped the song ascend to new heights, saving it from the band’s graveyard of failed songs.

Similarly, Where the Streets Have No Name – another U2 classic – may not have enjoyed the success it has had if producer Brian Eno, who had little faith in the track, had gotten his way. Instead, engineer Pat McCarthy was the song’s savior.

“Brian Eno was getting ready to throw that one into the garbage, and one of the engineers rescued it that day and said, 'No, no. We're going to pull that aside,'” Sams details.

He adds that the band “thought they had something special there, but they couldn't get to the finish line”, and so, buoyed by McCarthy’s passion, they took it back to the drawing board.

“I'm so glad they did because if there's a moment in their live show that I never want to do without,” Sams smiles. “It is being able to turn around when the lights come up during Where the Streets Have No Name and looking at the faces behind you. It's pure joy in the audience when that song is being performed.”

Once more, the Irish guitarist, who has become one of the most high-profile converts to digital amps in recent years, and his crafty employment of the delay effect revitalized the track.

It’s hard to imagine what the band’s seismic 1987 LP, The Joshua Tree, would have been like without the two songs. Fate, though, so often intervenes and, like it was for U2, turns those fleeting ideas into chart-destroying mega jams.

The Edge recently put one of his signature Stratocasters up for auction, raising an estimated $75,000 for Venice Family Clinic's mission to fund critical healthcare services in LA.

Speaking to Guitar World in 2016 about the creation of the signature guitar, he said: “I wasn't slavishly trying to recreate a ’70s instrument. I just knew the aspects that I loved and wanted to preserve, and then I wanted to see if I could improve them. I was really delving into the nuance of why a guitar sounds the way it does.”

The Edge's signature Stratocaster – inspired by his all-time favorite guitar, his 1973 black Strat – was released in 2016 and promised to capture his signature tone. Now discontinued, one of the U2 guitarist's personal signature Strats has been donated to a charity auction.

The guitar has been played by The Edge at home and in his demo studio. It comes with the original Fender The Edge case, and will also be signed by The Edge.

In addition to the guitar, Universal Audio has contributed three UAFX Amp Emulation pedals that The Edge relies on for his signature sound to the auction, namely, the Dream '65 Reverb Amplifier, Ruby '63 Top Boost Amplifier, and the Woodrow '55 Instrument Amplifier, collectively valued at $1,200. 

In a 2006 interview with Guitar World, The Edge talked about the work that went into creating his signature guitar: “I wasn't slavishly trying to recreate a '70s instrument. I just knew the aspects that I loved and wanted to preserve, and then I wanted to see if I could improve them. I experimented a lot.

“I was really kind of delving into the nuance of why a guitar sounds the way it does. I tried a couple of them on the road, thinking that the ash body and rosewood neck might deliver more of a classic Strat sound, but I reverted back to the heavy alder body and the maple neck. That’s what works for me as a songsmith.”

This Edge signature Strat is currently valued at $75,000, with the opening bid set at $30,000. The winning bid will support Venice Family Clinic and fund critical healthcare services for people in need in Los Angeles. For more information about the auction, visit the Venice Family Clinic auction page.

With an engaging frontman, one of the world's most innovative guitarists, and a solid drummer, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out how to play bass guitar in U2: play eighth-notes and hold on for the ride. But there is a deeper story behind the exacting precision in Adam Clayton's style.

When Edge departs mid-song to explore new ethereal melodic worlds, it's Clayton who takes the helm and steers the songs through their changes. And when there's space to fill between Bono's lilting lyrical phrases, Clayton's clever countermelodies answer the call. Whatever the tune, Clayton is there with the perfect bassline and the perfect tone.

A kid from Dublin, Ireland who grew up listening to the Beatles, Clayton is now more than 40 years into his career playing in one of the biggest bands ever, a group of childhood pals who combined forces to rule the music world. 

U2 recently brought its tireless exploration of new terrain-styles to the Sphere in Las Vegas. Each night, proving that the chemistry between them is still organic, even after so many years of playing together. 

This interview from the Bass Player archives took place in January 2006, following the release of the album, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.

What's the key to putting together a great show?

“We're generally looking for fast songs. Midtempo is hell – you can't have a log-jam of those songs. We'll start with faster tempos and then go into something that's slow, rather than midtempo. That's difficult, because fast songs are much harder to write. We try to set a contour – we build the pace, then bring people back down, then power into the encore. By that time, we have a bit of license to play acoustic songs.”

Do you get into a zone before taking the stage?

“If I am preoccupied with other stuff before I go on, it's not a good thing. Your emotional state before you go onstage can determine the show's outcome, and it's crucial to go on in the right state of mind to project confidence. I wish I could be more specific, but I just clear my head and focus.”

When you're playing, do you think about the notes, or do you rely on muscle memory?

“I think it's a mixture of both. I can rely on muscle memory, but if I don't make myself think about the notes, my mind wanders, and that's not what I want in the middle of a gig.”

Do you try to match the emotional vibe of each song?

“Definitely. There's an element of theatre in what we do; getting into character for each song. Call it the Lee Strasberg school of musical performance. It's knowing how to stand, how to hold the bass, and where to be on the stage. 

“If I'm not in that character, then I'm not connecting. Maybe that's the big difference when bands play their own songs as opposed to covers. When they're your own songs, you have a deeper relationship with them.”

Edge uses a lot of effects. How does that influence your sound?

“We used to have a rule – it's probably a good one – that only one instrument could have an effect on it at any time. It's usually Edge. In the early days I'd goof around with chorusing, phasing, and flanging, which I'd sometimes use as a seasoning with distortion.”

Do you and Edge still tune down for some songs?

“Yeah, that's an old hangover from the way we used to do things. We would always tune down a half-step to give Bono a bit more headroom.”

Do you also tune down so you can use more open strings?

“Exactly. That's why there are so many instrument changes during the show. I wish I could just put one bass on and play it the whole way through.”

When you're writing basslines, do you start with an idea, or do you experiment until you find something you like?

“I always have a starting point in my head. A lot of times it's how I hear the drums. When I hear a drum part, I react instinctively: either to push against it, to go under it, or to go around it. Bass and drums need to have chemistry – to talk to each other.”

What's the hard part of your job?

“I don't have the kind of technique that allows me to get through ideas quickly and easily. I'm instinctive when it comes to looking for a different sound. I start with the opposite of what I feel has been done before, and often that's something I don't find easy to play.

“From that extreme position, I bring it back to the centre and gradually refine it until it's more conventional. If you start in the obvious place, it's hard to get into new territory.”

Do you ever try to pull yourself back from playing too much?

“No. Sometimes I get a little frustrated by always playing eighth-notes. But at the end of the day, we perform songs live, and that's what works. Eighth-notes drive the band, they're propulsive, and they form a foundation for what Edge and Bono are doing. There are only so many different ways of doing it.”

It seems like you do find different ways to play eighth-notes, for example, by using either your fingers or a pick. On Beautiful Day, which has a driving eighth-note line, you play with your fingers. Why?

“You know, Bono always wanted me to play that part with a pick, because he saw it as a more driving, percussive line. But I found it very hard to play that particular riff with a pick. I could hear it and play it with my fingers, but every time I tried it with a pick, I’d fumble. I don’t know why. 

“Now I think that if I used a pick, it would be a little mundane, because you'd have the bass and guitar just driving the same riff, and it wouldn’t be as sexy as going under the guitar part with my fingers.

“I get a different physical reaction from playing with my fingers. There's nothing quite like that contact of pulling the wires.”

On slower songs like Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own, you're holding long notes. When you don't have the driving rhythm, how do you feel the groove?

“That song was very problematic, because it was a midtempo tune with a descending chord sequence. I find those to be like black holes; you have to go with them! When we were working on that in the studio, Edge was changing some of the root chords to try to break it up, but it was still a descending sequence. It was frustrating, because I couldn't get a bass part to work over it. 

“We wanted to give it a twist, to go against the predictability and inevitability of ending up down on that F#. The end result is a hybrid. I followed the roots, and then during the playback, I noodled with a figure up around the 12th fret that could run through the whole tune. We tried using just that figure, but then we were missing the chord changes. In the end we put the two parts together. 

“There's no real way of playing that live, so we've got a sequencer that covers the roots while I play the higher melodic part. It's a beautiful little countermelody. That's as much a part of what I do as the eighth-notes – I've always had a desire to pull some melody out, to give some counterpoint to what's going on.”

What other bass players do you feel are really good at that?

“I've always been hugely respectful of Peter Hook. He's always managed to weave a melancholic, melodic thread through Joy Division and New Order. The problem is that sometimes the root isn't there, and that's not U2 – we need the root for what we do.”

On Boy, you played open-string drones like Peter Hook on Out of Control and The Electric Co.

“Early on, we didn't have very good equipment, and the bass was rarely in the PA. So I always figured if two strings were going instead of one, you get a bit more volume. Also, at the time Edge was playing very minimal guitar melodies, and this was a way of getting more power into those songs. That was great for what we were, which was essentially a three-piece band.”

How did that affect your own playing?

“I'm so grateful we never had a keyboard player until much later, because keyboards just cover everything up. With just Edge and Larry, if there was real estate that wasn't being exploited, it was very obvious. It produced an economy in my early playing, but it also produced an atmosphere of risk – to try and get something else happening in that space.

“But part of the U2 sound is that openness. Sometimes it's a big decision to say, 'You know what, I am just going to do boom-boom here, and nothing else.’ I'm much more comfortable doing that now than I was back then, where everything had to count. Like Vertigo, which is just a riff with nothing else going on: it's a pure situation; it's perfect.”

Yet you have your own way of phrasing that line. 

“Those are the things that as a bass player, when you come upon something like that riff, you go, ‘Oh – I can make this a bass part rather than a guitar part.’ And I think they make a difference. It gives it a bit more dimension."

Do you get emotionally attached to the instruments you play?

“Not really. I have a '73 Precision Bass that I've used since day one. I used to think, ‘This is the old workhorse – old faithful.’ I loved it. I still love it, and I play it all the time, but I'm not so attached to any of the others. I'll play them for a bit and then move on.

“There's an amazing difference with vintage basses compared to regular stock instruments. I love finding instruments that have had a life before you got them. They bring something to you.”

What do you look for in basses?

“I love bottom-end – I'm a low-end junkie. But for these kinds of shows, and for being in a rock band, I need a bit of swagger – the sound Entwistle and J.J. Burnel used to get, where the bass is strong on the upper mids, warm and throaty. I don't like too much high-end – high-end hurts me. Especially back when we were experimenting with the dance club sound, I was looking for a big bottom-end. I wanted to really get underneath everything.”

Is the band conscious of having "a sound"?

“Yeah, I think we are, but not because we want to remain true to that – we want to know how far from it we can go. We really push ideas to their extreme to find different sounds. Then, once we're aware of the different possibilities, we ask what represents us and where we are coming from.”

Are you guys usually on the same page when it comes to that? 

“Usually. Sometimes there's a bit of a struggle for everyone to agree, but generally, if one person doesn't agree, they then defer to the other three. It's quite a good process of protecting the band's ability to make decisions.”

How have you progressed as a musician and bass player over the years?

“Sometimes I don't feel like I've progressed very much. But I do feel that there's a precision that's come into my playing that wasn't there before. 

“I'm not sure if that economy is growth or atrophy. But Edge always says that notes sound different when I play them. I guess that’s it – without thinking, I just know which notes to play, how hard to hit them, and how long to hold them. Now I just make better decisions more quickly. 

“What I do is probably not that extraordinary – l'm sure somebody else could do it. But they would make different choices. In the end, it's just personality.”

John Mayer quoted the Grateful Dead’s track Throwing Stones as he announced that Dead & Company will return to the stage for a six-week residency at the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas. 

A total of 18 shows between May 16 and June 22 will see John Mayer and former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart return to the stage. The news, which will be a delightful shock to many, comes despite the band having previously stated that 2023's extensive run of dates would be their last.

“Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free. Dizzy with eternity,” Mayer's post begins, announcing the residency at the ultra-futuristic, 18,600-capacity arena. The band follows in the steps of U2, who called the venue home for a 40-show residency celebrating Achtung Baby last year.

Reacting to the post, once commenter claimed: “This is the Super Bowl of trips for the lifelong Dead Heads.” 

The Grateful Dead offshoot had made its 'final' show a major spectacle last year, with a 22-song set including classics Truckin' and Brokedown Palace, as well as a passionate performance of Buddy Holly's Not Fade Away. Under the immersive 360-degree experience of the MSG Sphere, which is the largest spherical structure on the planet, the band will surely leave that extravaganza paling in comparison.

John Mayer formed Dead & Company back in 2015, with the band’s touring line-up completed by Oteil Burbridge, Jay Lane, and Jeff Chimenti. Mayer had become obsessed with the Grateful Dead back in 2011 after discovering the song Althea on Pandora. His 2012 album, Born and Raised carried that obsession, with a "subtle but abundant" array of 'Dead influences.

After just shy of a decade of success, the band had supposedly played its swan song at that San Francisco date last summer, which capped off a tour that entertained 840,000 Grateful Dead and Mayer fans.

As such, it's shaping up to be another busy year for Mayer, who had an especially action-packed 2023. Last year saw the guitarist embark on an acoustic tour, which saw him test-drive new material, and reprise his blues power trio for the first time in six years. 

The MSG Sphere, meanwhile, is doing its best to become the eighth wonder of the modern world. Officially opened in September 2023 after a four-year construction, beneath its dome fans are treated to an immersive 16k experience delivered by its wraparound LED screens, space-age audio tech and 4D physical effects.

Screenings of Director Darren Aronofsky's docu-film, Postcard from Earth, followed U2's grand opening residency, for which the Edge revealed he'd ditched tube amps. Instead, he opted for Universal Audio amp emulator pedals, with the chosen trio replicating the characteristics of a ‘55 Fender 5E3 Deluxe Tweed, Vox AC30 and AC30 Top Boost, and ‘65 Fender Deluxe Reverb.

Advance presale registration for the Dead & Company residency is now available. Tickets go on general sale February 9 at 10am PT.  

For more information, head to DeadandCompany.com.

After speculation recently surfaced on the internet, The Edge has now officially confirmed he’s ditched his suite of tube amps in favor of digital amp emulators for U2’s ongoing string of Las Vegas Sphere shows.

Rumors of the U2 guitarist’s significant rig shakeup began circulating earlier this week, with Ultimate Guitar sharing snaps of what looked to be a new-look version of The Edge’s pedalboard that housed the Universal UAFX Audio Ruby, Woodrow and Dream pedals.

For those unfamiliar with the UAFX range, these three units are all pedal amps based on British, American and Tweed amps, all of which offer onboard speaker cab options.

It was a curious picture indeed, with many suggesting that the Edge – a long-term loyalist of the tube amp contingent and champion of a Vox AC30, Fender Deluxe and Fender Harvard setup – had defected to the ranks of digital amp emulators.

Well, The Edge has indeed made the swap, with the guitar legend now revealing he will be opting for three aforementioned amp pedals for U2’s run of shows at Las Vegas’s Sphere venue.

In a statement issued to MusicRadar, The Edge confirmed, “For various reasons at the Sphere I decided to switch from amplifiers to digital amp emulators. I'm using UA Ruby, Dream and Woodrow amp pedals with some Fractal Axe-Fx units handling additional amp emulation and FX. 

“When you introduce radio leads and all the electronics involved it's never the same as a simple guitar into amp tone, so it's a case of high-level complexity to make it sound simple.”

Not only is this a huge endorsement for Universal Audio – who, remember, only started making hardware pedals in 2021 – it’s also a major coup for the digital amp camp and a ringing seal of approval for modern amp technology, which will now be represented on stage at the most expensive, state-of-the-art multimedia music venue in history.

The Edge’s selection makes sense, too: the three amp pedals he’s running are sonically similar to his previous amp setup, and are based on a ‘55 Fender 5E3 Deluxe Tweed, Vox AC30 and AC30 Top Boost, and ‘65 Fender Deluxe Reverb.

It turns out the Ruby, Woodrow and Dream aren’t the only UA pedals to take The Edge’s fancy, either. As confirmed by the brand itself, he’s bought the entire range: “Edge has bought most/all of our pedals,” UA posted on its website. “He's also shared his feelings with us directly, but we are not using it to promote specifically, out of respect for him.”

Whether the Edge will stick to his new Universal Audio setup in the future remains to be seen, but if they sound up to scratch at the Sphere, we see no reason why he won’t stick with his new pedalboard. It will certainly make transporting his mammoth guitar rig easier, too… well, slightly easier.

Guitar World has reached out to the Edge’s guitar tech, Dallas Schoo, for further comment.

Hello, and welcome to Essential Guitar Tracks. As you may well know, every seven days (or thereabouts), we endeavor to bring you a selection of songs from across the guitar universe, all with one thing in common: our favorite instrument plays a starring role.

Our goal is to give you an overview of the biggest tracks, our editor’s picks and anything you may have missed. We’re pushing horizons and taking you out of your comfort zone – because, as guitarists, that’s something we should all be striving for in our playing. 

So, here are our highlights from the past seven days – now with a Spotify playlist…

Bernie Marsden – Being Famous

Being Famous is the charmingly autobiographical lead single from Working Man, the forthcoming posthumous album from blues-rock guitarist and Whitesnake alum Bernie Marsden.

What the tune lacks in bells and whistles it more than makes up for in in-your-face riffs, a good-time solo with larger-than-life phrasing, and notes-from-the-road lyrics – it perfectly captures the late guitarist's charisma and musical strengths. (JM)

Juho Ranta-Maunus – The Drift

At just 14 years old, Finnish prodigy Juho Ranta-Maunus won Guitar World’s Young Guitarist of the Year competition. Now 17, it’s clear he’s been putting in some serious practice since he was crowned champion in 2020; he already had a touch and vibrato far beyond his years, but his game has very much leveled up for The Drift.

A newly minted Ibanez endorsee, the young virtuoso’s playing combines an ear for Satriani-esque melodies and solos that are blues one second, metal the next, all with a sense of flair that nods to today’s social media shred heroes. Ranta-Maunus is the real deal, and his star is only set to rise. (MAB)

Goodnight, Texas (feat. Kirk Hammett) – Runaways

For their new single, Goodnight, Texas decided to drop their banjos and mandolins, pick up a pair of electric guitars, and trade folk balladry for hard rock riffage, with Runaways ushering in an entirely new sonic direction for the band.

For this sonic transition, they were aided by none other than Kirk Hammett, who helped smooth over any potential wrinkles Goodnight, Texas may have stumbled across during their journey by delivering “an absolute vintage wah solo” via the fretboard of Greeny.

You know the drill: plenty of wah, lashings of pentatonic turnarounds and finale full of fiery bends. Those riffs are pretty tasty, too. (MO)

John Matos feat. Eddie Hermida, and Mike Caputo – Africa

Countless artists have tried their hand at putting a new spin on Toto’s eternally meme-worthy hit Africa, but none have been as head-spinningly violent as this. Viral social media metal shredder John Matos “had the dream of making an extreme metal version of Africa for a long time” – and we’re here to inform you that it now exists, and it’s expertly realized.

Matos’ arrangement is on-point, with those iconic intro chords present and correct, and the chiming synth lead converted into a high-gain diminished finger-twister. The rest of the track goes on its own gut-punchingly heavy path, but its guitar solo is more Steve Lukather than you might expect, with the perfect combination of melody, technique and tone. Just, ya know, a bit more extreme metal. (MAB)

U2 – Atomic City 

U2 have now officially entered the Las Vegas residency stage of their career, but – lest they be accused of resting on their laurels for following the Elvis and Sinatra path – they still have some surprisingly spry new material up their sleeves.

There’s a youthful spirit to their new single, Atomic City, with The Edge dipping into the punk sounds of his youth (those clipped, Joe Strummer-style rhythm strokes in the verses) and having some of the guitar hero fun he’s more than earned (the Hendrix-ian, wah-colored solo). (JM) 

Europe – Hold Your Head Up

It won’t come as a surprise to hear that the new single from Swedish hard rock veterans Europe – a band who began operating in the early ‘80s – sounds as if it is in fact a long-lost cut lifted straight from that decade. It is a time capsule track of the highest order, reportedly written with the aim of paying homage to “elements of early Europe”.

Well, if that’s the brief, the band have absolutely nailed it: buckle up and let those swashbuckling riffs, wailing solos and synth pads transport you to way back when. (MO)

Marnie Stern – Believing is Seeing

Marnie Stern’s stint with the 8G Band on The Late Show with Seth Meyers has done nothing to dampen her adventurous six-string spirit. Ahead of her first album in 10 years, The Comeback Kid, she’s dropped its second single, an intoxicating melange of intricately woven tremolo-picking, scything arpeggios and punk powerchords. Even after a decade away, no-one sounds quite like Stern. (MAB)

The Mountain Goats – Murder at the 18th Street Garage

The Mountain Goats’ forthcoming album, Jenny from Thebes, is a sequel to their much-loved 2002 breakthrough, All Hail West Texas. Beyond its eternal anthems, the latter album is famous for its fidelity – or lack thereof, recorded as it was by Goats frontman and songwriter John Darnielle on a boombox.

Jenny from Thebes may have similar subject matter to its thematic predecessor, but boy has the Mountain Goats’ sound evolved in the two decades since West Texas. With shady characters committing dastardly deeds, and an anthemic twin-lead guitar hook that powers the chorus, new single Murder at the 18th Street Garage is more Thin Lizzy than lo-fi – not that we’re complaining. (JM)

Neck Deep – It Won't Be Like This Forever 

Since forming back in 2012, Neck Deep have gone on to become one of Britain’s finest pop-punk exports in recent years. Through four highly popular albums over six years, what was once a promising band has turned into an institution of the genre, and it looks as though Neck Deep are still on an upward trajectory, as they gear up to release their fourth studio album next year.

With guitars in hand, the group is an absolute hook machine, and the infectious It Won’t Be Like This Forever is no exception – come for those delightfully balanced guitar layers (peep the baritone in the mix), stay for those bruising progressions. (MO)

Also on this week's playlist...

• The Rolling Stones – Sweet Sounds of Heaven
• Within Temptation – Ritual
• Victor Wooten and The Wooten Brothers – SWEAT
• KK's Priest – Hymn 66
• G.U.S.H. – Down The Drain
• Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – Man of the Hour
• Nervosa – Elements of Sin
• Sum 41 – Landmines
• Lynch Mob – Caught Up
• The Menzingers – Come on Heartache
• The Joy Formidable – Share My Heat
• Maya Delilah – Necklace

Earlier this year, Fender launched its Adam Clayton signature bass amp, marking nine years since the company first got involved with U2’s stadium-rocking bassist with the Adam Clayton Jazz Bass.

The ACB 50 is the first all-tube bass combo amp Fender has produced in over four decades. “I know the fashion nowadays is to move away from valve amps, but I’ve always liked them,” said Clayton. “So I went to the team at Fender and asked if we could approach things a little differently.”

We love all sorts of amps here at Bass Player, but there’s something about a cranked-up tube combo that really tugs at our heart strings. As its name suggests, the ACB 50 is rated at 50 watts. As such, it should be well-equipped to handle rehearsal duties, smaller gigs and recording sessions. It’s styled on a tried-and-tested Fender recipe – an aged silver sparkle grille cloth, chickened knobs, and black textured vinyl, but does it have the tone to match its good looks? 

Features

The Fender ACB 50 is a dual-channel tube combo. The preamp section is driven by a 12AT7 tube and a trio of 12AX7 tubes – easily the most popular preamp tube for guitar amplification. Moving onto the power section, the amp’s signature tone is derived from two 6L6 tubes. The semi-open-backed cabinet has a steel grille to protect the vulnerable tubes from external objects (not to mention protecting sensitive fingers from hot glass).

Looking at the top-mounted chrome control panel, channel one has a volume control, and a conventional bass, middle and treble EQ section. Where things get a little interesting is with the mid-frequency rotary switch, which boosts three midrange frequency settings via the middle control.

The second channel has an identical setup, but with a bass and treble EQ section only. Both channels offer dual inputs, with the second input designed to offer less sensitivity (-10db) to compensate for active instruments. 

In general, the build quality and finishing are up to the usual standard you’d expect from Fender. The cabinet feels solidly built, with the hard-wearing textured covering and a chunky leather handle adding to its road-worthy appeal.

The internal speaker is a 15-inch Eminence Neo speaker. This should be more than adequate for most applications, but there’s also scope to attach an external speaker cab too. Round the back of the amp there’s a single speaker-out jack, a balanced XLR out with a ground lift switch, a quarter-inch line out for recording and PA connection options.

Sounds

We tested the ACB 50 using a range of bass guitars, including a Fender Precision, a Dingwall NG3, a Gretsch Electromatic Jr, and many more besides. Many more than usual, in fact – though we’re always thorough when reviewing gear, this amp sounded so good that we felt compelled to plug in and play every bass that we could lay our hands on!

With some bass amps, you’ll find that the amount of perceived break-up increases as you turn up the volume, and you only hit that full sweet spot once the walls are shaking and the amp’s really cooking. Not here, though – the ACB 50 slips smoothly into increasing levels of saturation – there’s loads of the stuff. Even with the volume kept back you can tell it’s just longing to break up. If you’re a fan of the rougher-edged tones of Adam Clayton, then you’re in for a treat here. Even in the cleaner range of the volume controls, there’s a wonderful sense of sustain and fatness.

According to Fender, Channel 1 has been voiced as a vintage Fender ‘black panel’ preamp tonality – in other words, it’s designed to offer a more vintage tone in keeping with Fender amps of the ‘60s. You can shape the airy mid frequencies via the mid-frequency control, adding more aggression to the upper midrange, though things can get a little edgy if you push it too far.

Channel two bypasses the mid boost and lets you enjoy the natural sound of the amp. It’s not quite as ‘hi-fi’ as some modern bass amps, instead sounding rather grittier, but for a flatter EQ tone you might prefer to stay here. Unfortunately, this channel’s ‘less is more’ approach doesn’t extend to background noise, though this is of course not noticeable until you stop playing.

We say this genuinely and without hyperbole, but on the first two gigs that we used this amp, seconds after plugging in, we were getting comments from other band members about how great it sounded, and if that doesn’t put a big smile on your face, then you should probably just pack it in and take up knitting.

Verdict

The fact that we’ve been so busy talking about the sound of the ACB 50 that we’ve mentioned only in passing how very cool it looks tells its own story. It might not be hugely powerful or particularly versatile in the accepted sense of tone-shaping niceties, but viewed purely as a low volume amp for low-key gigs and recordings, it will comfortably cut through, so long as you don’t overestimate its ability to cope cleanly with larger stages or louder bands. You could always mic it up if you’re not quite reaching the back of the room.

What about the price? $2,199 is a lot of money however you look at it, and a lot to pay for an amp that’s something of a specialist tool. The ACB 50 essentially does one thing very, very well, but if the sound of a vintage-style, all-tube circuit cranked up loud is the sound you want, this could be the amp for you.

Specs

• PRICE: $2,199
• MADE IN: Mexico
• TYPE: All-valve combo
• OUTPUT: 50 watts into 8 ohms
• VALVES: 2x 6L6 power tubes, 3x 12AX7 & 1x 12AT7 preamp tubes
• CHANNELS: Two, classic Fender sound & flatter frequency sound, each with high & low inputs.
• FEATURES: Channel one with volume, treble, bass, middle & mid frequency controls, channel two with volume, treble & bass controls. Balanced direct out, ground lift switch, balanced line out & external speaker out.
• SPEAKER: 1x 15-inch Eminence Special Design
• WEIGHT: 25 kg (55lbs)
• DIMENSIONS: 61.5 (w) x 58.4 (h) x 35.6 (d) cm
• CONTACT: Fender 

As one of the most well-used and well-known chord shapes of them all, the humble power chord has fans from all walks of life – from pro players who use them to beef up riffs all the way to amateurs first familiarizing their fingers with the fretboard. 

Despite this popularity, one individual who isn’t convinced by the pull of the power chord is legendary producer Steve Lillywhite, who has come out in an interview with Produce Like a Pro and labeled the two-note shape as lazy.

Lillywhite’s words are worth hearing out – after all, he’s worked with some of the biggest guitar bands in music history, boasting a resume that includes studio stints with the likes of Rolling Stones, U2, Simple Minds, Killers, Peter Gabriel and many others.

Given his glittering credits list, it’s fair to say Lillywhite knows a thing or two about guitar music and electric guitars in general, and while his opinion will no doubt come across as controversial, there’s some understandable logic behind his point.

For Lillywhite, the chord shape – which is composed from the root and 5th – is “laziness”, and has been overused in popular music.

While speaking to Warren Huart of Produce Like a Pro [first spotted by MusicRadar], Lillywhite reflected on the two albums he made with XTC – Drums and Wires (1979) and Black Sea (1980) – and specifically discussed the guitar parts utilized.

“There was never a moment when the two guitarists played the same thing,” he said. “Very important – there was barely a power chord in sight. It was lean. 

“Because for me a power chord is laziness,” Lillywhite went on. “Now that's sort of controversial in itself, but square power chords on every bar in the chorus, for me is not art. You can get that power from something else.”

Lillywhite also takes issue with the practice of doubling up identical power chord passages with two guitarists, and while he concedes there are “many successful bands who do that”, it’s not a common occurrence in his own discography.

As an example of one of those outliers that uses the chord shape, Lillywhite cites U2’s Vertigo – a track lifted from the band’s 2004 record How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, which marks the one song The Edge has “ever written” with power chords.

The producer explains, “The Edge has only ever written one song with power chords because he thinks there's probably only one song left to be written with power chords and that was Vertigo. That's the only song he's ever written with power chords.”

As mentioned above, Lillywhite is something of an authority when it comes to recording and arranging guitars, so his comments on power chords shouldn’t be dismissed outright. 

Yes, power chords form the foundation of certain styles of guitar playing, and are the beating heart of some of music’s most influential tracks and riffs – think Eric Clapton's Cocaine, White Stripes' Seven Nation Army and Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit – but there’s a lot of logic to what Lillywhite says.

After all, doubled-up, identical power chord exchanges that have been recycled from older tracks might not make for the most inspiring compositions these days. Guitar music can't live without power chords, granted, but perhaps the takeaway here is being mindful of how we as players decide to use them and incorporate them into our own repertoires. 

If you’re stuck in a power chord rut, here are 5 smart alternatives you can try – and why not beef up your power chords with some massive-sounding open shapes?

U2 are arguably the biggest band in the world and have been for a very long time. That also makes them among the most influential too, having inspired all kinds of musicians across the various movements within punk and mainstream pop.

It really doesn’t matter what kind of music you’re into – everyone knows who U2 are and will be aware of at least a handful of their biggest singles, from early fan-favorites like Gloria and Sunday Bloody Sunday to enduring anthems like With Or Without You and I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For right through to contemporary hits Beautiful Day and Vertigo.

This year will be a busy one for the Irish rock institution with the release of Songs of Surrender – a four-part album consisting of 40 re-recorded tracks from across their career, each reinterpreted in a new way to cast their creativity in a different light. It will be supported by a new show titled U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at the Sphere, which will see the group undertaking a residency at the 17,500 capacity MSG Sphere in Las Vegas.

Another historically significant development comes in the form of bassist Adam Clayton’s new Fender combo – the brand’s first-ever signature bass amp. The ACB 50 boasts two distinctly different channels – a classic Fender sound and a more modern hi-fi, flat EQ tone to cover just about “all the sounds you need in any musical situation” whether you’re in the studio, performing in clubs or lucky enough to be playing arenas.

Designed in collaboration with Clayton, the 50-watt amp features three 12AX7 and one 12AT7 preamp tubes, two 6L6s in the output, a 15” Eminence neodymium speaker and a transformer-coupled XLR out with ground lift.

As it turns out, it was the pandemic lockdown that gave the U2 founding bassist time to assess his live needs and make his new rig vision a reality.

“I guess it all fell into that period where there wasn’t a lot going on because of lockdown and ended up being a real dream come true,” he explains, calling from what he calls a funny old day in England, thanks to the grey and miserable late winter weather.

“I’d been talking to Justin [Norvell, Executive Vice President of Fender Products] and Stan [Cotey, Vice President of Product Innovation] for a while about producing a combo that had a different kind of sound to what their amps usually have, which is usually scooped mids with the bottom and top emphasized, though I’ve always loved their iconic designs... 

“One of the things I started doing live is putting together a lot of different combos under the stage to give me a different combination of sounds, especially when using effects and mic placement. So I went to Fender and said, ‘Let’s work on an amp together that will really suit my live situation.’

“It had to be easily transportable – even I can lift this amp and carry it up a flight of stairs if I have to. I wanted this amp to be practical because when I started out it was all about big 100-watt heads and massive speaker cabinets… you just don’t need that anymore! It’s not how you get a great sound.”

You’ve used Aguilar, Ashdown and Ampeg in the past. What’s this new amp like in comparison?

“Yeah, I have used what I call The Three A’s before, which is Ampeg, Aguilar and Ashdown, but I’d already done a couple of custom basses with Fender and we have a great relationship. They are leaders when it comes to product development. [U2 guitarist] the Edge put out his signature Fender amp not too long ago, so it just felt like now was the right time to do it. I’m really pleased with the result. I’m just getting ready for rehearsals with the band for these Las Vegas shows and am excited about seeing how this amplifier performs then.”

As you say, you’ve had your own signature Jazz and P-Bass models, so clearly you’re a Fender man through and through. In the promotional video for the new amp, you talk about midrange being a bass player’s secret weapon and how, at least in the world of punk rock, the bass could often be the star of the band...

“What was really great when I came along as a bass player was that people were looking for a new sound. Everybody was a little brain-dead from blues guitar playing, which is what predated 1976. Well, there were a couple of other movements, but primarily it was the sound of blues that dominated.

“Then along came two or three bass players who took the sound and look of the instrument so much further. I think of Peter Hook, Jean-Jacques Burnel and Paul Simonon. These were all people who said bass is an attitude. It has its own sound and look which can be right up front. It can be the star of the show – it’s not all about guitar players with B.B. King licks in their back pocket!”

Talk us through your current rig – we’d love to know what basses and pedals you’ll be using with the ACB 50…

“You’ve already gotten very technical on my ass there! I tend to play any of the Fenders that I have. I’ve collected a lot of vintage Fenders over the years, both Jazz models and P-basses. I’ll play any particular one when we’re recording – I’ll just grab whatever I think will work well on whatever track it is.

“When we play live, I will usually go out with the latest gear I can find, though it’s my tech who goes out and hunts different things down and brings them in. He actually does all the changes for me live, so there’s a whole other thing going on in between me and the monitor guy. I tend to let them get on with it because I find it’s too much of a distraction if I get stuck in the effects world. I end up thinking a bit like the Edge (laughs)!” 

Speaking of instrument collections, it was really nice to see you feature in Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass, partly because people might not have connected you to a progressive rock musician like that…

“I would have to say I’m not a prog rock person. There isn’t a prog rock bone in my body! But I have observed and watched Geddy and Rush over the years. Of course, it’s undeniable how much talent and natural ability he has

“Although it might not be something that interests me musically, I can still admire it. Once you get into all those different time signatures and playing a selection of bass pedals along with a double-neck and whatever else is going on, it’s pretty impressive stuff!

“He’s also a really, really lovely man. From that book, you can tell he’s a complete bass nut and fanatic, because he has one in every color. And it’s not just one in every color, it’s the best one in every color!”

It’s a far cry from prog rock, but Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me ended up sounding more like Guns N’ Roses play than your typical U2 song. How did that come about?

“That was coming from that whole ’70s rock world. I was always a big fan of that kind of rock music back in the day. I loved a lot of glam, bands like Sweet and Slade. Bowie, obviously, was the absolute emperor of glam back then. Even Elton John, who is still going out and doing shows at this stage, had a great run during that period. So that’s where the whole ’70s influence on that track comes from, with that swinging 6/8 time.

“Edge would come up with things like that. The riff is very economic – it’s a classic Edge riff in that sense, there’s no fat on it. The chord sequence has a few quirky little changes in there to wrong-foot everyone! I thought it was a great tune for Batman Forever – I felt like it had a great gothic sense to it. And it’s great that we’re still playing it many years on!”

Vertigo is another heavy one – and you played it on the promotional video for the new amp…

“I did! It’s another one of those Edge songs where it’s a deceptively simple riff. He more or less created the whole song in real time. There’s quite a few changes in there that I would say are Who-type changes. When he breaks from the riff, the power chords are very prevalent and then he comes back again.

“It’s one of those tunes where he played it to me and I thought, ‘You’ve just nailed that guitar riff and pushed it home!’ Larry and myself went into the studio and knew it had to be hard. We were taking no prisoners. It always goes off live and that’s why it’s one of the songs we always love playing.”

While we’re on the subject of The Who, you’ve spoken a lot about your admiration for John Entwistle over the years…

“He was one of those people who you really have to study and almost go to bass university to really know what he was doing, because there was so much feel and balls as its own sonic department.

“It’s interesting when you listen to those Who records, you realize that the bass is taking up most of the space and Pete Townshend’s guitar is really just decorating the bass parts. He was a phenomenal player and I did have the pleasure of meeting him a few times. He’s sorely missed! There are way too many bass players who aren’t with us anymore, but I don’t think anyone comes close to him in terms of being a straight rock player with beautiful feel.”

Who else has influenced you over the years? Naturally, you’ve mentioned James Jamerson in the past – because what bass player doesn’t owe him and Carol Kaye an enormous sense of debt?

“As you say, James cast such a big shadow over everyone. He was a phenomenal musician. Obviously he came from more of a jazz background, but it was his phrasing that gets me every time. Whenever I hear an isolated bass track – and it’s great you can hear these things nowadays – and you notice how he was playing around the beat and the melody, it’s a masterclass in how to play the bass. These parts weren’t worked on a lot – it was usually three or four takes and it was done, so much respect to him in that regard.

“I was always keen on Jean-Jacques’ bass playing, just because of the raw aggressiveness of it. I suppose I come from a fairly simplistic view that if you can’t really hear the bass, if you don’t have an impression of what the bass is doing, then there’s something going wrong. The bass has to either be sexy or aggressive, or it shouldn’t be there as far as I’m concerned. He was certainly the aggression…”

And how much of that did you take into U2?

“Well, he had that outrageous sound, partly because the bass was so loud on those early Stranglers albums. I guess that’s what showed me the P-Bass was the right one for me and a good tool to expand on that midrange. It suited the fact that U2 was a musical three-piece, with the Edge playing very light arpeggio chords – which was similar to what Hugh [Cornwell] was doing in the early days of The Stranglers with those Telecaster riffs. It left a lot of room for the bass. 

“That’s when the midrange and distortion began to fill out the sound of the band. I’ve always been a fan of that. I always start with that sound by playing with a plectrum, and if I adapt to fingerstyle that sound will change but I can always come back to the pick.”

You're afforded more space than most bass players – with the Edge playing up high and usually no keyboards or rhythm guitars to contend with…

“There can be a lot of space to fill. I don’t necessarily go down that rabbit hole all the time, because when we’re working on a track, we never really know how it’s going to end up or what overdubs Edge might end up doing – which he might hold on to or let go. We have been adding keyboards over the years, too, so it has changed a lot of the classic bass parts and sounds we’ve had over the years.

“The last two records, Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, were rightly back to more rootsy sonics. But again, the album had a huge range of different sonics, from things that were more sparse to heavily overdubbed. I just get on with the job at this point. It’s whatever the song needs and I try not to think about it too much. Around the first five albums, every track had to count in a different way and that was the focus of my attention. Now it’s much more about the songs and body of work in total.”

Bullet the Blue Sky is another great example of how one hypnotic bassline can make for truly powerful music. It’s a very experimental track, in that sense…

“That’s a really interesting song because it’s almost a one-note groove that goes on for six to eight minutes without changing. For some reason, whatever it is about where the beat lands and how it falls or tumbles over itself, it just never wears itself out. Again, it’s one of those things where you can’t really analyze why it works, it just does.

“The idea came from Larry [Mullen Jr.] playing a particular drum part and I will tend to pick a rhythm out of the beat for me to push. I like anything that is eternal, things you can keep listening to in a hypnotic way. A lot of dance music has it, too. And Bullet the Blue Sky has that: you can get into this mantra without getting caught up in too many musical or chordal changes to break that spell. It leaves you in this constant trance.

“Also, because of where the bass is sitting sonically – it’s very much to the front – my bass sound on that track is one of my favorites out of all our records. It’s the kind of sound I like to soundcheck with because I always know where I am with it. Whenever I hear that bass sound in a room, I can tell what the acoustics of that room are.”

Many would say With or Without You is one of the greatest songs ever written. What do you remember about that one coming together?

“We had this vision that we wanted to do something that was so different to what was being played on American radio at that time. In the mid-’80s, it was very much Middle American guitar rock and we were so far from that. The new sounds people had been playing around with were with the bass up front, and Edge found this infinite guitar tone – which had very little chordal information in it. His parts were all atmospherics and sustain. So it was down to the bass to knock out those four chords and all about the sonics of what we had with us.

“I had this little Ibanez bass that we’d been given years ago by Ibanez [most likely a MC888 'Bean' model – Ed]… I’d never played it on anything because it had so much low-end and no mids, which meant it didn’t cut at all. But for that track, we wanted this dull down-in-your-boots kind of bass sound and I ended up using the Ibanez. I’ve been really fond of hearing that track ever since because I can hear that bass.

“It’s the only track I’ve recorded with it, though Edge might have used it on 40 when he played the bass on that. It’s got a real personality to it. People always ask me, ‘How did you get that sound?’ thinking it was off a Fender, but actually it was this weird little Ibanez!”

New Year’s Day is another live favorite that seems to appeal to everyone and speak on an incredibly universal, human level…

“Yeah, and it’s another one where the drums were a big inspiration. Larry started off doing the beat with those double kick drum hits. At the time, I was listening to a lot of pop music. There was a group called Visage who had this Fade to Grey number that I heard on the radio a lot. It was an interesting four-to-the-floor kind of bass part. I always liked the simplicity of those ideas because ultimately I’m a minimalist. I’d always wanted to play something like that.

“Somehow in between Larry’s beat and me wanting to play something that almost felt more like disco, this rhythm emerged and became the basic root of the song. I just moved it around a bit. I think at the time it was an A to a C and then an E [later recorded half a step down]. Those changes just sounded fresh at the time.

“It’s funny, chord sequences come in and out of being used. It had this energy because of Larry’s kick drums, and then Edge put on this great crystalline piano part. That’s how New Year’s Day was born. It’s a track that existed up north in the snow, up in the mountains… it had to be New Year’s Day!”

What exercises and warm-ups would you say have helped build your technique? For example, songs like Where the Streets Have No Name require a fair amount of stamina…

“I think it’s rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! I find that if I’m into a tour, after the first month, everything is happening as it should be and I don’t really have to think about it. Even if we’ve done four or six weeks rehearsal, it still takes time to settle in on the road.

“These days, I’m more interested in moving into that double-time eighths or 16ths kind of feel as the tour goes on. It makes things more interesting for me. That’s just something I’ve noticed from the experience of doing it and doing it. I don’t get up to that speed immediately after a break. It’s not something I find easy after playing along to a drum machine. I like to hear the band and the actual kit. You find those little pockets and sit in them.”

Is there anything technique-wise or stylistically you haven’t explored yet as a bass player – are there any mountains left to climb, so to speak?

“It’s a funny thing. For years and year, I kind of spurned the five-string bass and thought, ‘If you can’t do it on four, then it can’t be done!’ But I’m now at a point where I really enjoy the low-end you can get out of them.

“Of course, they’re still beasts that need to be controlled. It’s definitely an area that’s starting to look more interesting to me, trying to get that bottom B moving and added into the music!”

• For more information on the Adam Clayton ACB 50 bass combo, head to Fender.com.

Fender has joined forces with Adam Clayton, bass guitar player for stadium-rockers U2, to create a new signature bass amp, the ACB 50.

The firm's first-ever signature bass amp, the ACB 50 boasts – as you might have guessed from the name – 50 watts of power, and is also the first all-tube bass combo amp Fender has produced in over four decades. 

You can watch Clayton showcase its tonal capabilities below. 

For starters, the amp is outfitted with four preamp tubes – three 12AX7s and a 12AT7 – and a pair of 6L6 output tubes. It boasts two channels – one for classic Fender low-end tones, and another sporting a "more modern hi-fi, flat EQ tone."

Sounds are served by a specially-designed Eminence 15" Neodymium speaker, and are adjustable via volume, treble and bass knobs for each channel, with a middle knob, and three-way Mid Frequency adjuster also available for the first channel.

Looks-wise, the ACB 50 keeps things fairly classic, with black textured vinyl covering, a molded plastic strap with nickel-plated caps, an aged silver grille cloth, and a chrome panel.

Out back, meanwhile, there's a 1/4" output, a transformer-coupled XLR output with ground lift, and an extension speaker jack for plugging in additional guitar cabinets.

“I’ve worked very hard with Fender on the Adam Clayton ACB 50 bass amp and I’m immensely proud of our creation,” Clayton said in a press release. 

“I always found when I was starting out that it was very hard to find an amp that offered the mid-range distorted sound that I liked. This amp offers it in spades. It’s also very versatile, and if you’re moving around a lot or if you don’t have much space where you practice, then this is the amp for you.”

The Fender Adam Clayton signature ACB 50 Bass amp weighs in at 55 pounds, and is available now for $2,199.

For more info on the amp, visit Fender.

Last September, it was reported by multiple sources that U2 had signed up for a Las Vegas residency at the MSG Sphere – a $1.8 billion arena that has been described as “the world’s most state-of-the-art venue”.

Now, thanks to a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl over the weekend, the Irish rock band’s residency at the super-arena has been confirmed.

As part of the announcement, it was also confirmed that U2 would be taking the opportunity to celebrate their seminal record Achtung Baby during the event, which will be officially titled U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at The Sphere.

As many hypothesized when news first leaked of U2’s involvement at The Sphere, the prospect of hearing the band’s expansive sound at what is dubbed “a multi-sensory experience of sounds and light” is certainly a mouth-watering one.

Some of The Sphere’s highlights include “the first 16K screen that wraps up, around, and behind the audience”, as well as a Sphere Immersive Sound technology that promises to deliver “pitch perfect” audio to every seat in the house.

Beyond audio and visuals, The Sphere’s immersive 4D technology will “let the audience feel the wind on their face, the heat on their skin and the rumble of thunder”. All of this will be utilized by U2, apparently, with attendees set to experience “something completely new”.

In a statement, the band echoed the futuristic nature of the state-of-the-art venue, saying, “The Sphere is more than just a venue, it’s a gallery and U2’s music is going to be all over the walls.”

“The Sphere show has been in the works for a long time,” they continued. “We don’t want to let people down, least of all our audience… the truth is we miss them as much as they appear to miss us… our audience was always the fifth member of the band. 

“Bottom line, U2 hasn’t played live since December 2019 and we need to get back on stage and see the faces of our fans again. And what a unique stage they’re building for us out there in the desert.”

The Edge added, “The beauty of the Sphere is not only the ground-breaking technology that will make it so unique, with the world’s most advanced audio system, integrated into a structure which is designed with sound quality as a priority; it’s also the possibilities around immersive experience in real and imaginary landscapes. 

“In short, it’s a canvas of an unparalleled scale and image resolution and a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We all thought about it and decided we’d be mad not to accept the invitation.”

In the same statement, it was confirmed that U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. will not be a part of the residency as he is set to undergo and recuperate from surgery this year. In his place, Bram van den Berg will take to the drum stool.

No official dates for the band’s residency have been confirmed yet, though those interested in attending can register their interest in finding out further details when they arrive in the near future.

As many noted last September, the fact MSG Entertainment has selected one of the world’s biggest and most expansive guitar bands to christen The Sphere – as opposed to more mainstream, chart-friendly modern artists – sets an interesting precedent, and begs the question as to which other guitar bands could grace the stage in the future.

For more information, head over to MSG Entertainment or the dedicate U2xThe Sphere website.

He’s the Glasgow guitar maverick who broke into the 80s stadium league with Simple Minds. Now, as the band return with 18th album, Direction Of The Heart, Charlie Burchill tells us about pushing the envelope, falling for the White Falcon, commandeering the Edge’s rig, and why you won’t catch him playing powerchords…

Sparking up 

“My very first guitar, my mother got me when I was maybe nine. It’s a true story – she bought me this guitar with coupons from Embassy cigarette packets! I started playing when I was about 12. I had two older brothers: one of them, he fancied playing guitar and bought a semi-decent one that I eventually nicked off him. He gave up and I carried on.”

Local heroes

“Jim [Kerr] and I, we joined Johnny and the Self Abusers in 1977. The punk scene was flourishing in Glasgow and it created so many opportunities for everybody. We didn’t really come from a punk background – Jim and I were much more into The Doors, Velvet Underground and Roxy Music – but it was our doorway in. 

“Sadly, it killed off a lot of older artists, but punk gave people the chance. Even if you weren’t proficient, you could believe that you could actually play in a band. At the end of Johnny and the Self Abusers, Jim and I went on to start a new band, and that was Simple Minds.”

Simple pleasures

“My early Simple Minds rig was really simple. I was using a transistor Carlsbro – there wasn’t a great deal of stuff going on. But I always had the delay – that was really important. We hooked up with a guy who worked with us for years, and he was a technical wizard who used to put together pedalboards for me with all sorts of different variations. We would just experiment. It was all a bit makeshift, but it got us to where we wanted to be.”

High flyer

“I never knew much about Gretsch, but in the early ’80s, we started playing America and I came across the White Falcon. It’s such a beautiful guitar, that was the original attraction. The White Falcon is not the easiest to play, but I realised that Gretsch is something that suited me because it speaks really well, no matter how distorted it is. 

“With the older ones, you can hear how good they sound without even plugging in, and if it’s good from the source then it’s going to be good when it’s amplified. Now I collect Gretsches and I’ve got a couple I still use today. But it’s crazy to think that in 1982, White Falcons were $600…”

Sound & vision

“I hated the straightforward guitar stuff. I never liked the idea of powerchords and just giving the song a bit of body. I was never a big fan of AOR American rock stuff. I was coming from a slightly more psychedelic background. 

“Somebody like Robby Krieger in The Doors, he can play blues and he’s playing what you could say is ‘conventional’ guitar, but when you go a bit deeper, you realise it’s quite out-there, actually, and probably coming more from a slightly jazz background. 

“Technology changed the game massively for guitar players. Suddenly, from being a guitar and an amp, three chords and the truth, you could go into a different realm completely. And as soon as I found effects, that’s where I was going.”

Coming up

“Being on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1979 was pretty daunting because it was a serious music programme, but it felt like we had arrived somewhere, finally. Looking back, we were dreadful, but there you go, that’s just [how it is] at that age. It was very gradual, our success. 

“We did have moments when it jumped a few levels, but by and large, it was always a work in progress. We were great mates and for the first part of the ’80s we were really enjoying the travelling and being out of Glasgow. We had a great manager at the time, Bruce Findlay, who was like this father figure, making sure you kept your feet on the ground and didn’t get [egotistical].”

Double or quits

“In the early ’80s, Arista [Records] were gonna drop us and we thought, ‘Okay, this is where it gets really tough.’ But we had a friend at Virgin who was pushing to get Branson to sign us. Eventually, they came up to Glasgow and signed us that afternoon.

“The first thing we gave them was Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call [1981], which was a double album – which was at that time anathema to everybody. Not only that, it was quite abstract. They suggested we work with Steve Hillage, which was really out of the box because Steve was the prog guy from Gong and his own records. 

“So we were thinking, ‘How is that going to work?’ But it was brilliant, actually, and it allowed us so much freedom. We had 18-minute songs that we edited down to three-and-a-half. It was quite a mad period. We never, ever stuck to the formula. And you could do that in those days. You couldn’t do it now.”

’Paul bearer

“The first band I ever saw play live was Led Zeppelin, so I had to get a Les Paul. Couldn’t afford it, tried to make one – then I bought a copy. But the thing was, I didn’t really know much about Les Pauls, in terms of the different years and what makes them good or bad. And it’s very subjective because, actually, I quite like a lot of the heavier Les Pauls from the early ’70s, which a lot of people don’t like. 

“But I play one live, which is an early ’70s and I love it. Just a brilliant sound. A friend of mine bought a ’59 in mint condition. The closest I’ve got to that was two of those Gibson ’59 True Historic reissues. They’re really great – I can only imagine what a real ’59 is like.”

Good vintage

“I’ve got a lot of old Fenders, and the difference between a ’50s Telecaster and something from the ’70s is astronomical. Years ago, I brought a ’55 Gretsch Duo Jet and when you pick it up, it’s really light; it feels like something not that substantial, but it’s just incredible. 

“For me, I don’t understand why people would buy new guitars when they could pick up a ’60s Gretsch for the same money. It’s mad. Personally, I would just go for a 60-something model and try to get something that isn’t going to cost you the earth. Recently, like everything else, guitars have just got ridiculous, the vintage thing has got ridiculous. 

“They’ve gone up at least 30 per cent for no reason. But y’know, I bought a ’65 Country Gent for 1,500 quid and it’s a fantastic guitar. And recently, I got a ’62 Jaguar; it was refinished and, of course, that means the value’s not there, but it’s an amazing guitar.”

Breakfast of champions

“We didn’t write Don’t You (Forget About Me). The thing was, the record company had been on our back for a long time to do this song. It wasn’t that we didn’t like it. It was just that, at the time, we’d just written an album [1985’s Once Upon A Time], we were going to work with Jimmy Iovine and we felt that we had real songs there – y’know, we had three Top 5 hits in the States from that album. 

“So our nose was a bit out of joint that they were after this particular track that we didn’t write. It was going to be in The Breakfast Club – a movie about American high school kids and detention, which we couldn’t relate to. So we had a bit of an attitude about it. But then we met the guy who wrote it, Keith Forsey, and absolutely loved him. We just went with it, rattled the song out in an afternoon – and there you go, Murphy’s law.”

Close to the Edge

“When you look back, the ’80s were so diverse. There was a period when we were always being lumped into a box with U2, even though we don’t sound anything like each other. 

“We first met those guys in the ’70s and we became great friends immediately. I remember, in the mid-’80s, I was in the studio in Ireland with U2, and Edge had his Vox AC30, his delays and his black Strat in there. 

“I said to him, ‘Give us a shot!’ I picked up his Strat – and I sounded like Edge! By the way, it was the best fucking guitar sound I’ve ever heard. It just sounded unbelievable. I remember thinking, ‘Jesus, it’s in the gear as well…’”

Street fighting men

“Street Fighting Years [1989] was an interesting album. We loved the records that Trevor Horn and Stephen Lipson were making, and they wanted to work with a bona fide band. Trevor’s quite adventurous, so we set up a studio in a house in the Scottish Highlands and things would just happen. 

“For example, with the track This Is Your Land, Jim said, ‘Wouldn’t it sound great if Lou Reed sang on that?’ And Trevor and Steve would say, ‘Well, let’s see if he’s up for it!’ And he did it. Then Trevor said, ‘You should do an old traditional Celtic song.’ We were thinking, ‘Really? That’s too obvious,’ but as it turns out, that’s how Belfast Child came out. We had toured with Peter Gabriel so we did his song Biko. 

“We were working with different musicians like Stewart Copeland and Manu Katché. Before we knew it, we had this album that had great big moments… and then there’s other parts where we just felt like we had missed, we never quite got it. But we’re not the judge of that. For a lot of people, Street Fighting Years is their favourite album.”

The devil you know

“There were a few guitar players I love that play SGs, but I never got on well with them myself. I always found the balance too weird. But I started hearing this thing on records that I recognised as an SG sound and I realised there were a few things we were doing where that’s the guitar I should have been using. 

“Like Alice Cooper’s early bands, or Zal Cleminson from The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, even Sister Rosetta Tharpe – you listen to her clipped playing and you think, ‘That’s an SG.’ 

“So about four years ago, I bought a 1962 white SG with the three pickups and the standard Vibrola, not the sideways one. And the sound of that guitar is just completely different – it’s got a bite to it that you don’t get with a Les Paul. It’s got an attack. And there’s something about the three-pickup [format]. 

“It’s quite weird when you’re playing it – because you’ve not got that space for your right hand because the pickups are there, so you play differently. Funnily enough, I just decided last week that I was going to use the SG a lot more in our live set.”

From the heart

“With the new Simple Minds album, Direction of the Heart, we worked on about 25 songs and didn’t really know what kind of record we were making. It was more about making sure the tracks cover all the things we find important, like energy, melodies and that it’s going to work live. 

“There are a few things that are slightly different territory for us and a bit more playful. We just said, ‘Well, this feels good, and we’ll learn about it as we go on.’ You make a record and then you find out what you’ve made a year or two later. 

“It sounds trite, but there’s a point where it doesn’t belong to you any more. When it’s gone out and people have listened to it, then it’s their record – it’s kind of got nothing to do with us any more.”  

• Direction of the Heart is out now on BMG.
  

U2’s last record, 2017’s Songs of Experience, boasted the band’s familiarly accessible rock-lite sound, but frontman Bono says he wants their next outing to be a “noisy, uncompromising, unreasonable guitar album”.

In a new interview with The New York Times, the singer says he’s looking to experiment with a different creative approach following Songs of Experience and its predecessor, 2014’s Songs of Innocence.

“Right now I want to write the most unforgiving, obnoxious, defiant, fuck-off-to-the-pop-charts rock ‘n’ roll song that we’ve ever made,” he says. “I spoke to [guitarist] Edge about it this week. He’s going, ‘Is it that call again?’ ‘What call?’ ‘The one about we’re going to write the big fuck-off rock song?’ And I say, ‘Yeah, it’s our job!’ We can make songs famous now, but I don’t think U2 can make them hits.”

If such an album were to happen, it’s likely to be classic rock-inspired in sound. He continues: “I don’t know who is going to make our fuck-off rock ‘n’ roll album. You almost want an AC/DC, you want Mutt Lange. The approach. The discipline. The songwriting discipline. That’s what we want.”

It’s unclear at this stage if a “fuck-off rock ‘n’ roll” U2 album will actually happen, but Bono expresses that he’d like to release one before Songs of Ascent, an album that was originally slated as a followup to Songs of Experience but subsequently shelved.

But Songs of Ascent’s shelving was not for a lack of confidence in its material; Bono explains that he and The Edge’s songwriting is “at a very high level”, and that the band “felt that the material was so strong that it deserved time to make sure people heard about them as well as heard them”.

Of the proposed “unreasonable guitar album”, Bono adds: “In among that unreasonableness, it is likely that I will put the part of me, the anger that hasn’t been managed, to good use.”

In an extract from his upcoming memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono, published by The Guardian, Bono reflects upon the decision to add Songs of Innocence to the accounts of more than 500 million iTunes users upon its release.

“On September 9, 2014, we didn’t just put our bottle of milk at the door but in every fridge in every house in town,” says a regretful Bono. “In some cases we poured it on to the good people’s cornflakes. And some people like to pour their own milk. And others are lactose intolerant.”

U2 have reportedly been recruited to stage a Les Vegas residency next year at the all-new MSG Sphere – an upcoming state-of-the-art venue that cost $1.8 billion.

According to Billboard – which cited “multiple sources” – the Irish rock icons will serve as the newly constructed arena’s debut act when it opens its doors to the public for the first time next year.

Dubbed the “next generation of live entertainment”, the MSG Sphere is being built by Madison Square Garden Entertainment, and will supposedly offer attendees “a multi-sensory experience of sound and light inside the largest spherical structure ever created”.

U2 will reportedly take part in a non-consecutive multi-show residency at the arena, with dates spread across the course of 2023.

As for the venue itself, the MSG Sphere at The Venetian – which was originally scheduled for a 2021 opening date before a Covid delay – will supposedly have the capacity for 20,000 standing spectators or 17,500 seated spectators, and will offer 23 VIP suites.

During performances, it will make use of 160,000 square-feet of video viewing space, described by Sphere officials as “interior immersive display”, as well as state-of-the-art spatial audio. It also has an exterior exosphere that alters the sphere’s appearance with LED technology.

The prospect of seeing The Edge and his U2 bandmates christen the MSG Sphere is certainly a tantalizing one – after all, who wouldn’t want to experience The Edge’s trademark dotted eighth delay sounds in what could quite possibly be the highest-quality live set up of all time?

Plus, it leaves the door open for some speculation as to who else could grace the MSG Sphere stage. It speaks volumes that, if reports are true, MSG Entertainment has elected one of the most popular guitar bands in modern times to lead the charge, and it shows that similar acts will most definitely follow suit in the future.

As for the upcoming U2 show, though, they will be the band’s first performances in the US in five years, after they wrapped up their Experience + Innocence tour of North America in July 2018. It will also be the first live appearance for U2 in four years, following a show in Mumbai, India, in 2019 to cap off the Joshua Tree anniversary tour.

As per Billboard, MSG Entertainment declined to comment on the story. Likewise, U2's management did not respond to its requests for comment.

To find out more about the forthcoming venue, head over to the MSG Sphere’s website.

U2 frontman Bono and guitarist the Edge put on a 40-minute performance at a subway station in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv last night (May 8), praising the country for its fight against the ongoing Russian invasion.

The band, according to their Twitter page, were invited to perform by Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky himself, to show “solidarity with the Ukrainian people”.

“Your president leads the world in the cause of freedom right now,” Bono told the 100-strong crowd at the Khreshchatyk subway station, which has doubled as a bomb shelter during the invasion. 

“The people of Ukraine are not just fighting for your own freedom, you’re fighting for all of us who love freedom. We pray that you will enjoy some of that peace soon.”

The duo played Ben E. King’s Stand By Me, as well as classic U2 tracks With or Without You, Desire, Vertigo and Angel of Harlem. Occasional contributions were made by Ukrainian soldiers and musicians, including Tomos Topelia of Antytila, the band who recently joined forces with Ed Sheeran to remake his 2021 track, 2step.

Between songs, Bono offered words of encouragement to the people of Ukraine. Referencing the band’s track Pride (In the Name of Love), the singer said: “This evening, May 8, shots will ring out in the Ukraine sky, but you’ll be free at last. They can take your lives, but they can never take your pride.”

During their visit to Kyiv, Bono and The Edge also visited the neighboring towns of Irpin and Bucha, the sites of alleged war crimes by the Russian army.

Zelensky took a moment in his nightly video address to the nation yesterday to thank the pair for visiting Kyiv. “I am grateful to [U2] for supporting our people and drawing even more attention to the need to help our people,” he said.

Life has begun to return to some semblance of normality in Kyiv, after the Russian army withdrew from the area in early April, consolidating in the Donbas region in Ukraine’s east. However strikes continue across the country, and air raid sirens frequently ring out in the capital.

Over the past four decades, the Edge has influenced generations of music lovers to go that extra step and pick up a guitar. For many of those music lovers, October and Achtung Baby played important roles in their introduction to U2. 

To accompany our exclusive interview with the man himself discussing those very albums, a host of guitar greats discuss the influence of the Edge, through an October and Achtung Baby lens.

Tom Morello

“The Edge has challenged conceptions of what an electric guitar should sound like – and constantly pushed the boundaries of what an electric guitar can sound like. One of my favorite Edge moments is on Love Is Blindness on Achtung Baby. 

“Apparently recorded in the midst of a rending divorce, Edge’s playing is deeply emotional and sonically confrontational. The song has two very different solo sections.

“When I first heard it, I was blown away by the second solo, a passionate machine-gun flamenco assault. The first solo, on the other hand, sounded like someone had made a horrible mistake and left the tape running while Edge absentmindedly played a few disjointed notes (maybe left-handed?) and then kinda stopped and dribbled another couple notes awkwardly across the remaining bars. I later realized this was the genius solo on the track, capturing the artist’s broken emotional state in a way no traditional solo could.”

Joe Bonamassa

“There are few guitarists who can identify themselves with chords alone. The Edge can – with a single strum and inflection. Following in the footsteps of Link Wray and Pete Townshend, the Edge and U2 created classic song after classic song based on original, forward-thinking and simple concepts that were based on the classics. He’s an innovator and a humble man.” 

Joey Santiago (Pixies)

“He’s influenced me to try to be different. I didn’t necessarily try to copy his style, but I appreciate the way he stood out. On Even Better Than the Real Thing I liked that octave thing he used. But he was probably using the [DigiTech] Whammy pedal – and I like that effect. Gloria showcases the way he uses his delays. He was really one of the first ones to play with a delay pedal, where he’d use the effect as an instrument.”

Alex Stiff (The Record Company)

“I always look to U2 in my own writing process, in terms of how to turn the basic building blocks of ‘chords and riffs’ into something more interesting. U2 has always made a sound that suggests that they reject anything conventional. 

“The Edge has so much to do with that musical ground that is both avant-garde and rock n roll and is as memorable as the lyrics. They go hand in hand. Bono sings, the Edge answers.

“An example would be Even Better Than the Real Thing. That chorus guitar – ‘dee da da dee da da dee, dah dah dah dah’ – is as vital to the song as the lyric, each answering the other. Anytime I’m working out a new song, I’ll ask myself, 'How do I "Edge" this?'”

Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge, Slash)

“Achtung Baby was a reinvention of sorts. For the most part, musically speaking, the record was a rejection of the identity established during their incredibly successful run in the 1980s. You can hear their evolution on tracks like Mysterious Ways and The Fly, which manifest a hybrid of rock ‘n’ roll with the Euro dance music happening at the time. 

“For me, there was another dynamic that was even more compelling. One, Acrobat and Love Is Blindness showcased a darker side of the band that allowed the Edge to incorporate a melodically haunting and sparse approach. The end result were guitar parts that brought the perfect amount of drama without screaming, ‘Look at my fancy fretwork!’”

Chris Arndt (Jocelyn & Chris)

“I’ve always admired the storytelling approach the Edge brings to his guitar playing. He’s an amazing technical player, but he rarely plays parts that completely show off  his speed or skill; you can tell his primary focus is adding to the music. That’s the approach I try to bring to my own style. 

“I’m a firm believer that the best guitar part isn’t necessarily the fastest or the coolest – it’s the one people remember. Of course, it also helps that he’s a creative genius with effects. It’s kind of impossible to talk about the Edge without mentioning effects.

“He really pioneered new ways of thinking about guitar parts, using effects to turn a simple line into a rich, layered texture. I’m partial to the guitar solo from The Fly on Achtung Baby. 

“It starts out sounding like a pretty standard – but awesome – guitar solo, but the effects sneak up on you. Before you know it, you’re surrounded by a cosmos of guitar sound, with runs and licks overlapping and melodies popping out here and there.”

Clint Lowery (Sevendust)

“The main thing I’ve always been fascinated with – in terms of the Edge’s evolution as a writer/player – is the way he’s incorporated his influences into U2 songs. On Mysterious Ways, it’s the perfect blend of funk and Motown drenched with effects that modernized the sound and made an old blues riff seem futuristic and current. The intro for One has the authentic feel of a Hendrix riff. 

“It has a hook within itself but sets the stage for an amazing vocal performance from Bono. It’s a complex riff, yet it doesn’t distract the listener from the vocal. The Edge is a master at that.”

Zach Blair (Rise Against)

“I had never really heard anybody use pedals, specifically delay, the way the Edge had. I didn’t know what it was when I was a kid – I thought it was just the way he was playing guitar, so it didn’t make sense. I had no idea what was going on, and it blew my mind. 

“Then, to hear where the Edge progressed, and took those initial ideas he was doing, with just simple pedals that everyone else had – and then they became the biggest band in the world.

“Then, on later records, like Achtung Baby – hearing where that went with modern technology, but with the same concepts and genre-pushing ideas, that was equally as mind blowing. 

“I love that he never did what everyone else did. He never was going to go for the patented rockstar thing and do a guitar solo here or whatever. He was going to make what he was doing really interesting and genre-pushing – and he was going to challenge you.”

John Petrucci (Dream Theater)

“I remember hearing Sunday Bloody Sunday on the radio for the first time. I’d never heard a guitar player orchestrate before – and it was so cool. He has such a big, unique and unmistakably identifiable voice on the guitar. 

“It’s the way he orchestrated his guitar parts; it wasn’t the typical way a guitar player would play in rock. Sometimes he’d play power chords and stuff like that, but he’d also do more rhythmic things, using harmonics and muted notes for rhythms. 

“The way the guitar was used on One was so unique; the progression and the lyrics were the focus, with the guitar part just sustaining the high notes – and then the way the delay came in later in the song to build it up was incredible. It’s one of the most incredibly built songs, kind of like a Bolero type of thing. By the end of the song, it’s so huge, but it’s so repetitive in a really hypnotic way. 

“And Love Is Blindness is another great one for sure!” 

Dave Keuning (The Killers)

“Achtung Baby is probably my favorite, and I used to play along to every single song on the record. It’s got delay and these great chord voicings – and it’s a whole different thing. It kind of opened my eyes to a different way of thinking and made delay pedals such a cool thing to have on your pedalboard.

“Ultraviolet (Light My Way) influenced my playing the most. Funnily enough, I think that’s the one the Killers coincidentally covered for a CD where every band does a song of theirs. 

“One kind of influenced some of the way I did things, too. The kind of changing the voicing of the chord as you go – like, he’s playing off the third and the second. That’s something I took with me, for sure.”

Satchel (Steel Panther)

“At a time when guitar acrobatics were the norm, when Eddie and Yngwie and Vai and countless guitar gods where playing as many notes as the human ear could register in a solo, there was the Edge. Fewer notes, more space. Awesome notes. Amazing tones. Vibes. 

“I don’t think there was any guitar player who heard the Edge back then who didn’t get inspired. Who didn’t want to play ‘less’ after hearing him? He came up with two- or three-note riffs that were the sound of U2 – one of the defining sounds of the '80s and '90s as well. 

“October is full of classic Edge riffs and sounds. Gloria is one of the most memorable guitar riffs of the era, but every song is a masterclass on the use of space. Listen to the huge tones on I Threw a Brick Through a Window and how he lays out in the verses in all the perfect spots. 

“Scarlet gives a taste of where he’s going with his genius use of delay. He’s one of the few guitar players in the history of rock that has defined his sound so clearly. He’s the guy who makes you realize it’s not your fingers holding you back – it’s your mind.”

Timothy Showalter (Strand of Oaks)

“There’s an emotional factor to everything U2 does; it just plays into everything I love. I’m not a shredder, and it’s never been my goal to be an acrobat on the guitar. I want to convey emotion – and that’s what the Edge does. 

“He gave a lot of inspiration to guitarists who may never be the premier shredders of the world – but [they’re] guitarists that know how to play and want so desperately to take the emotions in their heart and move them to their fingers and out of the amp and to people’s ears.”

Josh Kennedy (The Black Moods)

“It’s hard to be a guitar player and not have at least a little inspiration from the Edge, even if it’s subconscious. He’s not up there being flashy and playing a million notes. His ‘flash’ is in the melody and beautiful notes he chooses. His use of his delays and his self-control are unparalleled. 

“Hearing his style progress from October to Achtung Baby – it’s amazing. It’s akin to watching a childhood actor grow up in film or TV in front of your eyes then go on to become this amazing artist and win an Oscar.”

Scott Holiday (Rival Sons)

“Diving deep into the Edge’s sonic environment and his interesting percussive approach was something to behold – and to really relish in all its ‘freshness’. This was at the height of hair metal and big, decadent power-rock ballads. What the Edge was doing couldn’t have had less to do with all of that. And that idea, the idea of going right when everyone else was going left – it stuck with me. It really got in my heart. 

“Achtung Baby is just a monster album – a beautiful monster at that. From the first seconds into Zoo Station, the giant aggressive guitar off  the top, we can hear that something different is about to happen. Even before the album is 30 seconds deep, I’m thinking, 'Would we have a Radiohead without this album? Not likely.’ 

“Then again on Even Better Than the Real Thing, right outta the gate, there’s that huge Whammy riff, something very new and progressive at this point in the game. There’s so many interesting, radical, forward-thinking tones and riffs on just the first two songs alone!

“I’ve always been partial to Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World too. A tonal callback to a classic Edge tone – that classic bouncing clean delay sound. His sonic palette grew so exponentially. To accomplish that expanse of tones, the Edge seemed to employ just about every new gadget and toy available, while simultaneously incorporating all the good ol’ stuff  too. 

“Technical stuff aside, I’ve always considered the Edge a ‘painter of sound’ – a description I’ve shamelessly pointed to in my own work. I say ‘painter of sound’ as he’s not so much a ‘technical virtuoso’ in the way that we don’t listen for tricky scales or runs, modes or arpeggios. Yet he’s using sound like color. It’s this sonic atmosphere we’re swimming in when we listen to U2.”

Zac Barnett (American Authors)

“There’s no denying that the Edge is one of the greatest guitar players of all time. And when you listen to his playing on Achtung Baby, one could argue it’s his best. Not only does the Edge bring his classic signature U2 sound we all love from The Joshua Tree, but the way he experiments with melodies, effects and an overall darker tone elevates his playing to a new level. 

“From the counterpoint melodies on One to the overly unique tone you find opening Mysterious Ways, the Edge pushes guitar playing and riff writing to an epic new level. American Authors have always idolized his iconic sounds, but most importantly, his parts act as another vocal melody, proving that every element of a song is equally important.”

Sammy Boller

“The Edge has one of the rarest hallmarks in music: no matter how many times you’ve heard his playing on records, you can always pick up something new. There is so much depth and nuance in everything he plays, it’s just endless. I fell in love with U2 when I started playing in a band and writing music for the first time. 

“The way the Edge composes and orchestrates guitar parts is something I admire and look up to. October is my favorite U2 album, and the main riff of Rejoice is one of my favorite recorded guitar tones of all time. Achtung Baby is another favorite; his playing and composition shine throughout. One is one of the first songs I ever learned on guitar.”

Jon Foreman (Switchfoot)

“I remember sitting in the back of our parents’ car as my dad drove through the suburbs north of Boston. The radio was playing, and I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For came on. My dad pulled the car over, looked back at my brother and me, and said, ‘This is what real music is.’ It must’ve made an impact because years later I convinced the other guys in our Led Zeppelin cover band to step outside of the Zep catalog to play Sunday Bloody Sunday. 

“Fast forward a few years to when Achtung Baby came out. I was a young kid who was supposedly getting ready for my heat in a local surf contest. But instead of suiting up, I was transfixed by what I was hearing. Dumbstruck. Standing there in the cold, letting the music wash over me. 

“I had never heard guitar tones like that. So intentionally irresponsible, so perfectly irreverent. There was distortion and consonance, chaos and beauty. That opening riff! What a feeling! I could close my eyes and imagine a piano falling down a distorted stairway. Zoo Station, Until the End of the World and The Fly were songs that felt like a beautiful collision.”

• The Edge: “Digital delay was a way for me to add coloration, dimension, additional rhythm and a certain machine-age quality”

Van Eaton Galleries’ huge Guitar Icons charity auction came to a close over the weekend, raising over $2 million in total for the Music Rising charity thanks to some record-smashing sales.

Highlights from the event, which was organized by U2’s the Edge and producer Bob Ezrin, include Paul McCartney’s tour- and studio-played Yamaha BB-1200 “Wings” bass guitar, which raked in $496,100.

It was the first record-breaking bid of the night, and overtook Bill Wyman’s 1969 Fender Mustang bass – which sold in 2020 for $384,000 – as the most expensive bass ever to be sold at auction.

McCartney’s bass was joined in the record book by Eddie Vedder’s concert-smashed Lake Placid Blue Fender Telecaster, which sold for $266,200 – a figure that broke the record for the most expensive smashed six-string.

A fair share of the Edge’s own instruments featured on Van Eaton Galleries’ bill, with his I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For Custom Strat selling for $496,100 and his Music Rising ONE guitar fetching $184,525.

The Edge’s U2 bandmates Bono and Adam Clayton had also donated guitars to the cause – a tour-played Gibson ES-175 and Fender Precision Bass – which sold for $266,200 and $78,650, respectively.

Other non-U2-related highlights include Coldplay’s Chris Martin’s tour-played custom-painted Fender Telecaster Deluxe, which went for $81,070, and Noel Gallagher’s $51,425-priced Nash Telemaster.

Lou Reed’s “Goldie” Danny Gatton Fender Telecaster and Lenny Kravitz’s Gibson Custom Shop Flying V each added a cool $72,600 and $42,350 to the tally, respectively, while one bidder scooped up a Bruce Springsteen-signed ‘50s Fender Telecaster for $72,600.

Of the event, the Edge commented, “We want to thank everyone involved in this amazing auction including the artists who generously gave their personal instruments and the bidders from around the globe who helped us break world records. 

“The proceeds Music Rising earned will help bring live music back to life in a part of the country whose musical culture has been hugely influential in the world,” he continued. “We are indebted to all of the supporters of Music Rising who have given us a great opportunity to return to our roots and help those musicians in need.”

Ezrin added, “We are so thankful to all of the artists, supporters and bidders who helped make Guitar Icons an auction for the history books. New Orleans musicians are the custodians of a unique music heritage, passing it down through the generations and influencing so many genres of music we enjoy. 

“The proceeds from this auction will help musicians from the region who suffered financially through this pandemic.”

To find out more, head over to the Guitar Icons page on Van Eaton Galleries.

Ever since joined the band that would become U2 – right around 45 years ago – guitarist the Edge has sought to be economical in his compositional choices. Every note he plays has a purpose and is dictated by whatever the song calls for. 

“I like musical themes that create the biggest impact with the least effort, whether it’s [English composer Edward] Elgar or the Velvet Underground,” he says. “To my ears, economy is elegant.”

The Edge has used his unexpected, pandemic-influenced time off the road to reaffirm that belief and keep his skills sharp. He’s worked on new music and continues to work on his composing skills. 

He utilizes guitar as well as keyboards and piano in an effort to “brush up on my understanding and ability to use some of these digital recording systems. These days, your laptop becomes a recording studio, so it’s been very liberating, in a way, to be able to develop music on my computer at home,” he says. “It’s been fun to really get into that.”

And then there’s his recent fascination with digital delay. “Digital delay for me was a way to add coloration, dimension, additional rhythm and a certain machine-age quality,” he says. “I know more about the mathematics these days, but it’s always about the part and the treatment evolving in tandem. It’s an instinctive and playful process. I never ‘use’ effects.”

No matter how elaborate his guitars and gear have gotten over the years, let alone the level of stardom the band has reached, the Edge hasn’t forgotten the blood, sweat and tears the band has shed over the decades – and the unbridled joy of creating music. 

With the band’s 1981 album, October, turning 40 and their 1991 album, Achtung Baby, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2021, it’s something that’s been on his mind of late. He hasn’t forgotten the lessons he learned making those albums – and the band members’ journeys discovering and refining what U2 is. While a lot has changed since those albums were released, much of what was learned on those albums still shows up in the band’s music.

“We are continuing our exploration of melodic essence,” he says. “It’s where all other aesthetic considerations fall away, and you can get to something truly timeless.”

In this exclusive interview, the Edge reflects on creating October and Achtung Baby – and how those transitional albums helped U2 find and refine their identity.

The creation of October was a real test for the band – and for you personally. What was that search for direction like, and how did you and the band channel that into the music?

“We were coming off an extremely busy period and ran slap bang into the cliché of all clichés when it comes to new songs: you have six years to write your first album – and then six weeks to write your second album. We came off the road and knew we wanted to follow up the Boy album as quickly as possible, but we really hadn’t managed to write much on the road. 

“Bono had got some early lyric ideas on the go, and then he lost his briefcase – or his briefcase was stolen from the dressing room. We never figured out where or how he lost it, but he lost it. So we ended up back in Dublin, kind of exhausted, spent and knowing there was a huge herculean effort required to come up with songs for this follow-up record.

“Luckily enough, we persuaded Steve Lillywhite to produce. And I think, really, he saved our asses in some ways, because Steve is so practical and so positive. We kind of fessed up and said, ‘Steve, look, we’ve got a few sketches, but that’s kind of it. A few guitar riffs, basically. A few ideas for songs rather than even the beginnings of songs.’ So we went into the studio with Steve, and he said, ‘Come on, let’s just start with what you have.’

“We would literally go in, and I would work with Larry [Mullen Jr., U2 drummer] sometimes, or sometimes Adam [Clayton, U2 bassist] and Larry. We just laid down a bunch of these early drafts of compositions and slowly started to try and weld them together into cohesive tracks.

“And Bono really came into his own, I think, improvising on the microphone on that session. Thankfully we had a song called Gloria, which we were pretty happy about, and that turned out to be the sort of lead track. But a lot of that record is really written in the studio in a very experimental state of mind. And it was our first entry into what became a kind of important creative strategy for us over the years, which is turning the recording studio into a songwriting tool.”

How did you meet the challenge of working with such rough ideas?

“I think it would be fair to say all we had at the start were some guitar riffs. I Threw a Brick Through a Window, Gloria... I’m trying to think of the other ones. I Fall Down was probably written on piano, because at that point we had an electric piano that I used to use live. So, really, it was about composing music that felt like it could support a song, which I know is a strange thing, but having just come off the road, our instincts were fairly well honed for what was potent music.

“And then it sort of put Bono in the hot seat. He’s like, “Okay, we’ve got this track now – what are you going to do on it? What are you going to sing on it?” Which is really not the way songs are written. I mean, the best way to write a song is, you start with the chords and melody, and you build the arrangement. We were doing the exact opposite. 

“We were building an arrangement that didn’t have a song and relying on our singer’s great melodic instincts to find a way into it vocally. From a guitar-sound point of view, back in those days, almost to the point where it was a freedom, we had limited amounts of guitars and equipment.” 

“We really did specialize. I spent a lot of time homing in the guitar sounds, getting the treatments on the guitar as I wanted them. And all the effects, all the echoes, everything was put through the amplifier. There was no outboard; well, there’s very little outboard treatment of the guitar sound. So it was all mono reverbs, mono echoes and distortions through the amp. 

“And in some ways the beauty of that, of course, is that you’re making your decision right there, and then at the beginning of the process, and you kind of get inspired by the sounds you’re creating. I certainly, as a guitar player, always play 100 percent better if I have a sound I’m excited by and that I find unusual and novel, and a kind of an entry into some other opportunity with a guitar.

“So, for instance, the guitar parts in Gloria, those ideas are born from the sound I created with that echo, that slapback echo. One of the bands I definitely was influenced by for that song was a band called the Associates. I loved what they were doing with their arrangements. But it was pretty simple stuff.”

What guitars did you use on the album? How did they impact the songs?

“My first professional standard guitar as a member of U2 was a Gibson Explorer, which I bought when I was 17. And that was my guitar. And I remember while making Boy, the first album, Steve Lillywhite said, ‘Have you got another guitar [so] we could try some sort of overdubs with a different tone?’ And I went, ‘Sorry, can’t help you. We don’t have another guitar.’ 

“We had one electric guitar in the band, one electric bass and one drum kit. That’s how stripped back it was. By the time we made our second record, I had bought a Fender Strat, but I wasn’t so happy with the sound of the bridge pickup. I ended up swapping out that pickup for a more full-sounding pickup. 

“I actually went into a store in New York and said, ‘Look, I want it to sound more full; it’s too bright, it’s too shrill through my amplifier – and I’m not changing my amp. This is an amp I’m really wedded to. What can you suggest?’ It was a [DiMarzio] FS-1, I think, that they put in the Strat. And it made a big difference. That was the formula for so many years going forward. I ended up buying a second black Strat as a spare and made the same adjustment.

“So those are the main instruments – that and the [Yamaha] CP-70, and I think at that point I had just bought a lap steel. I was just so intrigued. I was in Gruhn Guitars [in Nashville], I think, and came upon this Art Deco lap steel, probably from the '30s or '20s. I’d never seen anything like it. It didn’t have pedals, obviously, but the whole technique was all about slide. 

“And it really taught me. That was the first time I really got excited about slide guitar. That’s featured on a couple of tracks on October. Other than that, [there’s] acoustic guitar, probably; I think we had one between us. We really were a pretty lean outfit in those days.”

What surprised you most during the recording process?

“Steve’s a great producer to experiment with sound, but within – obviously – the constraints of the band’s sound. We had a lot of fun with sort of Irish influences because we were going around Europe, and we had a very tight set from the Boy album. So it was a very European year we had spent prior to coming back. 

“I think something about coming back to Ireland at the end of it, we felt that we saw Ireland in a new light, almost. It gave us this perspective. And we were like, wow, there’s a uniqueness here. Something you really don’t find anywhere else in terms of sort of traditional Irish music vernacular. On the October album we started experimenting with Uilleann pipes. 

“We brought in an Uilleann pipe player – that’s the Irish version of bagpipes, but you don’t actually blow into the bag, you use your elbow. And so, Tomorrow was our first real attempt to reference our Irish tradition of music. That was a real thrill. And then October, the piano track, that was the first time we’d really done something that was more orchestral and less out of the garage band/punk-rock, post-punk rock idiom. 

“We were playing around with the difference, sort of composing ideas, and I wrote that on piano at home. And then again, it was fun with Steve to find ways to layer the sound and give it other dimensions. Gloria and October are the ones we probably played live more than anything else from this record. They’re the ones that have stood the test of time.”

Do you think playing piano – and dabbling in other instruments – makes you a better guitar player?

“Not really a better guitar player, but I think it all goes toward making me a better composer and songwriter.”

October often gets overlooked in the scope of the band’s catalog. How do you feel about it gaining some appreciation over the years, especially from guitarists?

“I think October is a great testimony to the value of touring. We are so much more tight as a band having toured much of the previous year compared to the previous album. It’s a remarkably coherent album. We had a very limited palette, so we had to be inventive. 

“Gloria is such a weird and beautiful song. It has some of the most unique guitar playing on a U2 record. We borrowed a Fender 12-string for the solos on I Fall Down and Tomorrow. Dueling solos with Irish uilleann ‘elbow’ pipes was a real musical experience. Vinnie Kilduff [who played the Uilleann pipes on the album] was amazing.”

Achtung Baby was also a transitional album, but in a different way. The band sought to incorporate more influences and sounds. Why was it important to mix things up, and how did you tackle that challenge?

“I think our main creative axiom early on was to innovate, and to not sound like other acts, although we inevitably were part of a movement of bands that were thinking in those ways. So there was some borrowing of thoughts. But the need to be different and do our own thing serves us very well. 

“I think we all felt by the end of The Joshua Tree [1987] and Rattle and Hum [1988] that there was a sort of weight of expectation amongst U2 fans, and maybe within ourselves, that kind of sense that we had established a sound, a thing, and it started to feel restrictive. It started to feel like we were being forced to repeat ourselves, or at least that seemed like the logical thing for us to do.

“So we did the opposite. We doubled down, and really rolled the dice again on innovation and doing something very different and outside of our comfort zone. Assuming that, as we had done with October, when you really do put yourself in that sort of position where you don’t know what you’re up to, where you really have to use imagination and resourcefulness as your main kind of get-out-of-jail cards, that it will bring out of you unexpected things and bring you to unexpected places. That was the sort of spirit in which we went into the writing of that record.”

What were some of your biggest inspirations for the album?

“I was very inspired by the sonics that were going on in other more sort of subculture music forms. The industrial music scene was sort of really exciting at that time, and bands like KMFDM and the Young Gods were doing quite extreme-sounding recordings. I liked that as a jumping-off point. 

“And then the other thing that was happening was this technological breakthrough that came through sampling, and first through hip-hop, and then through the back door and through the club scene of Manchester, into more guitar-based music, which was this advent of the use of drum loops and samples to inject a kind of more rhythmic quality to the work. So as we went into the songwriting, I felt this was definitely an area we could move into as a band and develop.”

How did you put those sounds into action?

“Put very simply, I just felt like U2 had the potential to swing in a way we hadn’t up to that point. And so, I think that was the first time I actually had my own recording studio. The first and only time, since I don’t these days, but that was a great freedom for me as well. I was able to use the studio again on my own as a rising tool, and using drum machines, mostly. 

“I didn’t tend to sample myself because in the end I knew Larry would be playing the drums, so it was more a songwriting and a production tool. But from a guitar point of view, again, it was like I was on the hunt for sounds I’d never heard, that we’re going to be startling to the other members of the band, and our audience, because that, I found over the years, was always the inspiration that got people excited and got people focused.”

What were some examples of that?

“I had an array of different effects units we brought first to Berlin and then back to Dublin after the first sessions. The album was originally started in demo form in Dublin, in a little studio we always used around that time called STS. 

“It was a wonderful, tiny little space in central Dublin. And the kind of ergonomics of it meant we were on top of each other the whole time. Ideas always seemed to come easily to us there. Surprisingly, we always came out of that little studio with the beginnings of something we knew we could build on.

“We did our week or two-week session in STS, and out of it came a bunch of very basic ideas, but nothing finished. And then I did a little more work at home, and then we went to Berlin. In Berlin we kind of would try out this combination of the ideas we’d worked up together at STS, plus some of the stuff I’d worked up at home. 

“We had a little bit of a wobble in Berlin at first. We were there with just Danny Lanois. I think ‘Flood’ [Mark ‘Flood’ Ellis, engineer] would have been there, too. But our songs weren’t really taking flight in the way we had hoped they would. The room was huge at Hansa Studios in Berlin. It wasn’t an intimate space, so we didn’t have the benefit of that close proximity that we had in Dublin. We floundered for a while.”

How’d you overcome that challenge?

“I remember there was a clear division – Bono and Edge were pushing forward with these new thoughts and ideas, musically. Adam and Larry were, I guess, early on open, and then as things didn’t start to fall into place, started to get very skeptical. So it was this kind of sense of, ‘Have we bitten off more than we can chew as a band? Are we trying to kind of make up a huge adjustment in a very short space of time, maybe beyond our capability to really reinvent ourselves and make such a hard turn where we are actually in danger of coming off on the bend?’”

“We persevered through difficult few weeks, and the breakthrough track, which sort of got us back on track was actually Mysterious Ways. I’d come up with this amazing guitar sound, which I laid on top of a very rhythmic track we’d worked up. I think it was, at that point, called Sick Puppy because it was such a rhythm thing. It initially was a drum machine, a bass and then this crazy guitar sound, but it wasn’t really a song. 

“To be fair to Adam and Larry, it was kind of an idea for a song. So I was fighting very hard for it to make the record. They were looking at me like, what is this? It’s just a very funky verse, but that’s all it is. And so, I’m trying to come up with parts we could add to that verse to turn it into a full-fledged song.”

“There’s a couple of ideas that were tried [but] really didn’t work. And then I go off to another room and I work up a few different options, come back in the room, and I’m like, ‘Okay, here’s option A.’ And I play, I think, it was A minor, D, F, G, which is slightly strange sequence, but everyone, “Oh, that’s interesting.’ And then I said, ‘Option B is C, A minor, F, C. That’s my second.’ And Danny just went, ‘Hey, play those one after the other. Forget the other song, just play those two chord progressions.’ 

“So, I played one into the next. And he had heard something, and he was totally on it, which is why it’s very important to work with great producers. And everyone just went, ‘Yeah, that’s interesting.’ So, I think I just took the acoustic guitar in the room, and we started playing around with these two chord sequences, and everyone just went, 'Whoa, this is really, this has got gravitas. This has got – whatever it is we’re looking for – this has got that quality.'

“We played for about 10 or 15 minutes, and Bono started singing in the room with us, and effectively, almost in real time, the song One came together, compositionally. Lyrically it took a little while, but pretty quickly the idea of One emerged. It seemed almost like that song was written on a universal basis but was almost our own story. It was the song we needed as a band to keep us sort of together and on track and unified. It was a little autobiographical as much as it was an attempt to tap into some sort of universal truth.”

How did One develop into its final version?

“That song was acoustic guitar for a very long time because that was the sort of jumping-off point. But when Brian [Eno] came along a few weeks later to Berlin, he loved it. He loved so much of what we were doing, loved all the experimental rhythmic stuff, and thought we were really onto something fresh.

“But in true Brian [form], it’s ‘contrarian honest.’ He was like, ‘Well, the only song I really hate is One.’ And he said, “It’s not the song, but I think it’s just the wrong arrangement. It’s just, there’s no duality. It’s got this... It sounds exactly as you’d imagine a song like that would sound, should sound.’ 

“And to be fair, I mean, John Lennon was a little bit of an inspiration for the way I was hearing it. And you know, some of his classics are that simple. So it was back in Dublin, later, I had another chance to get into my studio and was able to put together the compositional idea for Until the End of the World, which was another important cornerstone. 

“And so, we got back. All of us came back then after the break to work together in this little house called 'Dog Town' – that’s what we christened it. We occupied all the different rooms of the house in the basement and first floor. We made them into the control room, and other spaces became guitar booths, vocal booths and drum rooms.

“We set about really trying to define the sonic personality of these songs, some of which had a strong personality, like Mysterious Ways. But some really didn’t. So there’s a lot of experimenting and a lot of guitar sound creation. And if you put up those multi-tracks, there’s what made the final mix, but there are so many other things that didn’t make the cut. A lot of really extraordinary sounds, because that was certainly my thing at the time – to try and find completely different tones.

“There were a lot more sophisticated guitar effects available for the first time. I really found that appealing to just see what each one of these effects units could do. Again, everything through the amp, with a few more guitars onboard. I had a [Rickenbacker] 12-string. That’s what I used for Mysterious Ways, which I hope, maybe I didn’t say, but that was what that song Sick Puppy originally was. It became Mysterious Ways, but that was this funky sound.”

What were a few of your favorite experiences using those more sophisticated guitar effects that were available to you? 

“It’s always about finding a sound that’s obviously inspiring – and quickly, so overly complicated units can sap inspiration. I did a bit of experimentation with harmonizers around that time, but nothing really went anywhere. I guess the sound I got for Mysterious Ways was a memorable discovery. 

“We brought a prototype backing track to Berlin from a recording made in Dublin using drum machines. It was a very plain rhythmic foundation that we hoped to build up in layers, eventually to add real drums. That guitar sound and part from the Berlin sessions was the trigger for a lot of what transpired later on the track. By the time Larry played on it back in Dog Town, it was a very funky number.” 

Did the Rickenbacker 12-string impact songs in new and interesting ways? Was it your main guitar?

“The Rickenbacker 12-string really came into its own while we were in Berlin, but I used other instruments quite a bit. There was a Les Paul Custom, which I donated to the first Music Rising charity auction. There was a beautiful Gretsch Country Club and my 1974 Strat. I think the Rick was useful in preventing me from going to any obvious places for guitar parts and sounds. It was instantly fresh and unusual, which helped me when I turned off the echo.” 

• Achtung Baby (30th Anniversary Edition) and October (Remastered) are out now via Island Records.

Late blues guitar icon Rory Gallagher has been awarded the mantle as Ireland’s Greatest Music Artist following a vote hosted by Dublin-based radio station Newstalk.

Gallagher, widely considered to be one of the finest and most influential blues rock electric guitar icons, beat a slew of the country’s musical heavyweights to win the posthumous award, including Thin Lizzy and U2, who occupied second and third spots respectively.

Guest host Tom Dunne announced the award, describing Gallagher as “the most loved, the most gentle, the most unaffected and the most down to earth man” and “one of the greatest guitar players of all time, without question."

He continued, “I’m delighted to see Rory [win]. I think his gigs in the ‘70s will literally never be forgotten. He has a place in the heart of Irish music fans.” An apt observation, given he had a 30 percent voting cushion ahead of second place.

The bestowing of the award coincides with the 50th anniversary of Gallagher’s seminal self-titled debut, which was released in 1971 – an occasion that is set to be celebrated with an array of honorary releases.

Among the celebratory offerings is a five-disc, Abbey Road-mastered Rory Gallagher 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set, suited to boot with fresh mixes of the original album, a six-song BBC Radio John Peel Sunday Concert, 30 as-yet-unheard alternate cuts and mixes, a 50-minute DVD of Gallagher’s first-ever solo concert and much more.

Also joining the party is a special commemorative installation at the Museum of Reading – an exhibition that pays tribute to both the first-ever Reading Festival and Gallagher’s celebrated appearance.

Titled The 1971 Reading Festival: For the first time, the event will put on display – quite literally for the first time in a public museum – Gallagher’s collection of guitar gear and musical equipment.

Head over to the official Rory Gallagher website to preorder the 50th Anniversary remaster – which is due September 3 – or visit Museum of Reading to find out more about the upcoming installation.

U2 guitarist the Edge has launched a signature guitar strap, whose proceeds will go towards employment and support for refugee women.

Produced in conjunction with charity Love Welcomes, the Edge’s strap includes an orange strip of upcycled life vest worn by refugees during their journey across the Mediterranean sea, and is hand-sewn by refugee women supported by the charity.

Each individually numbered strap is unique and includes the message ‘Love Welcomes’, as well as ‘the Edge’ written in morse code. You may have already spotted it in the video for Bono, the Edge and Martin Garrix’s Euro 2020 anthem, We Are the People.

“What might seem like a simple thing, the purchase of a guitar strap or any of the beautiful, handmade products available through this initiative, is much more than that,” says the Edge.

“It is an investment in the future. The future of independent, confident, skilled women who are rebuilding their lives and the lives of their families. With this guitar strap I hope to help Love Welcomes create employment for refugees but also I want to give musicians a chance to show solidarity with the victims of forced migration.”

The Edge x Love Welcomes straps are available to preorder now for £75 (approx $105) from Love Welcomes. The first 500 straps sold include a personally signed postcard from the Edge.

Ahead of this year’s Euro 2020 football competition, which was pushed back 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bono and The Edge have teamed up with DJ Martin Garrix to unveil the event’s official song, We Are The People.

The song, which will be performed at the Euro’s opening ceremony on June 11, sees the U2 pair partner their trademark dotted-eighth delays and oversized vocal hooks with the Dutch deck whiz’s arena-filling drum drops and wall-shaking chordal sweeps.

In what would initially pass as a classic U2 number, The Edge locks into a pristine digital delay pedal to offer up a trademark lead lick during the opening exchanges, working his way up and down scale shapes while Bono brings his commanding vocals to the table.

The track then takes a relatively tame EDM-infused turn, with Garrix offering up a wall of synth pads and electronic chords, both of which set the track on its way towards its not-too-over-the-top drop.

Without the aid of the remaining U2 members – bass guitar wizard Adam Clayton and rhythm king Larry Mullen Jr. – Garrix layers on the momentum-building clap samples and punchy four-to-the-floor drum stabs, with The Edge underpinning the entire track with his ever-present guitar line.

Said Garrix in a Tweet, “Can’t believe to finally share this song with you guys.. Working with Bono & The Edge from U2 on the official song for Euro 2020 has been the craziest experience and I’m so proud of it. Hope you all enjoy it and enjoy the tournament!”

We Are The People is available to stream and download on all platforms now.

Here's our first interview with U2's The Edge, from the July 1987 issue of Guitar World. The original story by Joe Bosso ran with the headline, “The Leading Edge: U2's Minimal Guitarist Makes It Seem So Easy, But That's Only Because Maximal Thought Went Into It”.

Illusionism is an art form most often associated with the visual.

But if artists like Magritte, Houdini and Spielberg are the grand masters of optical trickery, then in the world of popular music, U2's The Edge must surely reign in the court of audio sleight-of-hand. Simply put, it takes a creative mind to play the guitar in a new way; but a wizard to fake out the instrument itself.

The accomplishments of U2 and The Edge during the past seven years could be the basis for a success scenario that any band of young hopefuls could follow. Yet they are not content to simply issue Top Ten records every other year and fill concert arenas. That's too easy a goal for a group of musicians that has challenged every cliche in the rock 'n' roll book and managed to take with them a still-growing retinue of followers.

It's harder than it looks, but The Edge's less-is-more approach to the guitar and the band's hungry scope have paid off. In sheer numbers (fans and hero worship) Springsteen is now the only comparison applicable, albeit an unfair one.

Both U2 and Springsteen would argue that comparison is not the nature of their work; this is true, but try to think of other artists who can draw on their influences – increasingly more American, in both cases – distill them and successfully make them coalesce into something more necessary, ethereal and majestic.

A fair amount of determination and blind faith is required to paint a canvas so broad and to reject the rock 'n' roll machine simultaneously. With the recent release of the Daniel Lanois / Brian Eno-produced The Joshua Tree, U2 once again throw caution to the winds and let the pieces fall where they will.

U2's songs, lately lamenting drug addiction in America, isolation, the desert and just about every nuance of the human condition debunk the immature illusion of what rock songs are supposed to concern. The notion that bands must still pen odes to hot babes is one that the Irish quartet negated from the beginning. 

The Edge's role in this passion play is as cataclysmic as Bono's lyrics in that, while coaxing never-before-heard-of guitar sounds from his Vox amp, he does far more for the good of the instrument-and music in general-and makes it appear so simple. Almost like magic.

Born David Evans to Welsh parents (his father, Garvin, moved the family to Ireland), Edge took up the guitar as a teenager. Reports regarding his nickname vary: his demeanor, possibly – some claim it's the shape of his head – but it's one he sticks by (unlike Bono, who has quietly stopped listing his surname as “Vox”). 

Attempts at formal practice proved limiting, and so, fueled by the music of Television and the Patti Smith Group, The Edge forged ahead with his then-naïve approach to the guitar.

By the time the young Evans found himself in the same rehearsal room with Bono (also somewhat of a guitarist), Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, his signature sound on the six strings was starting to jell.

“I suppose at that time I knew some things,” Edge begins. “But I wasn't too keen on it. I guess I was pretty fast when I started, but before long I started messing about and trying to see what I could come up with.”

Because of the young band's inexperience (only Clayton had played bass previously in a group context), cover tunes proved to be a problem they were forced to confront by writing their own material The Edge used this period in time to hone and perfect-what the world would soon hear.

“From the beginning, I was faced with decisions on how I should apply myself to the guitar. Certain aspects of the instrument were boringly technical, and I guess you could say that I wasn't particularly interested in practicing. 

“You can do the same things over and over every day and eventually you're sounding like everybody else. What I try to do – sometimes with great success, sometimes not – is to challenge myself by creating a new set of tools to work with. Effects played a major part of it.”

Around the time U2 hit the American shores with I Will Follow in 1980, guitarists like Andy Summers and Robert Fripp were changing people's attitudes about effects pedals, making them a necessary color on a musician's palette. 

U2's debut Island album, Boy, bathed in an echoey, chorused shimmer, was a perfect marriage between producer Steve Lillywhite and the young band; the sound was galvanizing, rousing and a catharsis for Edge and players everywhere perplexed by the importance placed on fretboard gymnastics.

“My whole thing with effects is to get what I can out of them but be simple. I will never play without them because they're too much a part of what I do as a player. I rely on being creative with sound. 

“But I think simplicity, rather than the multitude of possibilities which is certainly at my disposal through various processors, is where it's at. I think you can get so bogged down that by the end of the day you've wasted all your time.”

Through a succession of Lillywhite helmed outings, The Edge continued to carve a niche for himself in the annals of guitardom, though increasingly he turned to keyboards for new and greater stimuli, the treatments of which can best be heard on the 1983 hit, New Year's Day.

That cut, and others from the same fabric, spun themselves into War, which was about as angry and bold a statement that anybody could ever hope to make. Finding them-selves suddenly thrust into headlining status stateside, U2 went after their new audience like tigers unleashed; The Edge, in particular, sliced his way through the new numbers, and on older material like The Electric Company and Out Of Control, he sharpened his razor-like attack to a zenith point this side of dangerous.

However, by the next year, when U2 convened in both Dublin's Windmill Lane Studios and Slane Castle for the Unforgettable Fire sessions, Edge surmised that a change in sonic landscapes was in order.

“Yeah, I did alter with things a bit,” he allows. “We all felt it was time for a bit of mischievous reappraisal of what our sound had become. The sound we already had was established, and it was something that we could easily fall back on, I suppose. We were aware that tampering with it was tantamount to sacrilege to some devotees of the band, but we were unashamed of our experimentations. It was time to move on.”

Moving on meant a greater emphasis on keyboard textures, while Edge and Brian Eno pulled out all the stops guitar-wise. On songs like Wire, a frenetic heart-attack-inducing rampage, Edge applied felt tape to the bridge of his guitar, then massively delayed the signal. 

In general, though, the emphasis of the Unforgettable Fire was on moody surrealism, lows without the highs. For a band principally known for its anthems, it was a gamble; the pay-off was a songwriting confidence that carried through to The Joshua Tree.

“In between the two albums,” The Edge explains, “I grew tired of options. I was doing strange things on Unforgettable Fire that I needn't repeat musically. Things go in cycles. I was fascinated with keyboards, the DX7, treatments, and it led to a new avenue for us. 

“But now I'm kind of tired of options, and I kind of embrace limitations now. On this new record, I think we've taken the idea of limitations and used them as a new form of inspiration.”

For The Edge, inspiration comes in myriad manners. But whether they be cosmic or electronic, all appear to be openly entertained and attempted in his quest for quality songmanship.

"What a song is is a subjective thing. There's no one real definition for it. Some of our best songs were written on a one string guitar. I think the surface impression of the new album could throw people a bit. 

“A lot of the lyrics are undersides to things, and they're harsh – we're exploring some very dark things. My worry is that it all might be too dark for some people. But I've distanced myself from it all, and I think we put the important ingredients of hope in each song.

“Take Bullet The Blue Sky, for example, which is rooted in America, musically and lyrically We were aiming for some of our feelings of the States, many of which are diametrically opposite. 

“That song was inspired by a trip Bono had made to EI Salvador and Nicaragua, but carried over to America as an apocalyptic look at things, the urban side to much of New York City From a guitar point of view, the sort of references I was drawing on were Hendrix and the blues, my listening to Willie Dixon and some old country and blues people like Archie Edwards. It was a watershed, so to speak.”

Blues in a U2 song? The Joshua Tree finds Bono and The Edge indulging their recent American roots leanings in some startling applications. While he is quick to stress that the band won't forsake their commitment to hard-driving rock 'n' roll, Edge does point out that he is on the lookout for different forms of musical expression, the spaces that separate them becoming smaller all the time.

“It's not like I've become a blues fanatic overnight,” he laughs. “It's not that I know much about it at all, really, I'm still delving. But I see music really carrying over. Blues and folk. There's a huge similarity to Irish folk music and American styles. It's what you do in that context, and as a guitarist, that's what I'm searching for.

“Like using slide, for example. I've done it before, but never like this. Bullet was that kind of song. The set of images and emotions that it is, well, it's not exactly 'tra la la champagne for two on Park Avenue'. So I tried to use the guitar as a form of exorcism, almost, an explosive array of colors to illustrate some kind of strange painting.”

A sampling of cuts on The Joshua Tree highlights a band approaching a songwriting stratosphere that knows no peak. To complement such material, Edge found that, despite his desire to keep things simple, there still was a need for some new guitar tools.

“I try to remain pretty conservative, in a sense. I mistrust new devices unless they're pretty impressive. On With Or Without You, though, I'm playing a Fender Stratocaster which I've modified to be used for a new device called the Infinite Guitar. It's not really produced, as such, it's an invention of a friend of mine named Michael Brooks, who I collaborated with on the Captive soundtrack.

"It does something similar to what an EBow does but with a great deal more subtlety, and generally it's more useful than an EBow, which is either on or off – usually a wild sustain and then nothing, you know? With the Infinite, it's all different.

"The Infinite gives you great control, so you get all the highs, lows and midpoints. The EBow, of course, would tie up your right hand, so unless you're an Indian rubber man there's only so much you can do. 

“The Infinite is all electric, so it actually leaves your right hand free and you can choose to either pluck the strings where you want, or you can just fret the string. There is a bit of technique involved, though, because it'll go from nothing into sustain if you don't dampen certain strings down. 

“I'd like to take it on tour with me, but I haven't finalized anything yet. If I can make it roadworthy I will, if not, then I'll try to adapt the EBow to give me the proper effect.”

From his earliest days, which saw him slinging Gibson Explorers, to his current Strat leanings, The Edge has always viewed the guitar in an unorthodox manner. Be it the way he holds his pick (upside down) to his attack, it's all part of a blissfully blind process by which the guitarist summons the unknown. New equipment fits into the picture, but only if The Edge can find something to do with it that hasn't been done before.

“I'm interested in abusing technology,” he chuckles. “There's a revolutionary new guitar called a Bond Electric Light, which is a very finely crafted guitar without proper frets. Instead it has little serrations. 

“I tried to incorporate it into my playing armory and I found that it wasn't working, until I discovered the things you can do if you really sort of abused it! I got fantastic results. Like the sort of heavy fuzz guitar at the end of One Tree Hill, and the last three tracks on the middle of side two – that sound is from the Bond.

“It's an English guitar. I don't know if they're still made [Editor's Note: They're not], but I got it three or four years ago. Naturally, with us, we try to approach anything without preconceptions, we just control the room without the windows. Now, this Bond guitar, it wasn't meant to do what I do to it. Its neck is some kind of plastic, so it's more flexible than most wooden necks.

"I discovered that I could bend the neck so that the strings started to vibrate on the fretboard as I played, and-the guitar having no frets – it created a different kind of effect. It was an attempt to sound obnoxious. 

“You know, you can wind up a Marshall, and it starts to sound better the higher you go. Well, this was a transistor amp and the sound was compressed to the hilt. I had it very loud and it just kind of had that edge of a sound that you don't normally get. People complained bitterly about it.”

Coaxing pained squalls from the speakers does play a large part of Edge's sound these days, but on the other end of the aural spectrum he does, and always has, held the function of electrified acoustics in the highest regard. In much the same way that the Beatles relied on acoustics during their Rubber Soul and Revolver period, Edge has literally saturated The Joshua Tree with the lush, warm tones of the hollow-body.

“We've always used acoustics. The Washburn acoustic I have is one of my favorite guitars – live, I use it a lot. You know, you always get these run-off instruments. I don't know if the other versions of this guitar are particularly great, but this one is the only one I've come across, it's so musical. 

“That's how I really judge the quality of an instrument, it's how I find myself playing on it, whether I'm inspired by it, if I can just pick it up and produce music. The Washburn is one of those guitars that the minute I pick it up it's a natural thing.

“I also use a new Yamaha guitar that I've recently been given called an AE2000, which is a big, almost-jazz guitar in style, the big cello wide-body, single-cutaway and F-holes. It uses really tough, big gauge flatwound strings and it sounds sort of classical. I fell in love with it.”

Though The Edge's work as a rhythm guitarist stands as some of the finest recorded (evidenced in the stunning Pride (In The Name Of Love) and Two Hearts Beat As One), the realm of the solo is one that he does hold some reticence about. 

When he does unleash obvious solo passages, they're firecrackers like New Year's Day or Gloria, characterized by quarter-note delay and a preponderance of snarling bass notes.

Lately, Edge has been readdressing the need for the solo spotlight, The Joshua Tree containing fewer lead guitar breaks than ever (a notable exception being the jarring, Sergio Leone excursion that graces In God's Country). As far as solos are concerned, it's an area in which The Edge remains happily egoless.

“The solo for In God's Country is a pretty tricky one to talk about. The Sergio Leone reference is a fascinating one because I'm a fan. The end of the song has a new kind of rhythm solo guitar thing mixed in with a new technique I'm working on. So maybe the solo comes through because it's so Duane Eddy-ized. 

“Again, it's the AE2000 sound, sort of country, early rock 'n' roll. The idea that this song would have a broad unashamed overdub inclusion rather than it being part of the original take, as a sort of splash of primary color. “It goes in with serving the songs on this record in a way that, in the past, we felt no such obligation.

“I don't think we intended to create an album of 45s, but each song was complete and didn't need that much. Now, on a song like New Year's Day, it was perfectly right to put a solo in because it fit in with the concept of War. 

“On this record, I think solos would only have been permitted had they worked within the context of the song itself; there are some, but I've been moving against solos because I didn't feel the need to play any.”

Coinciding with Edge's team-player instincts is his insistence that, although he is generally regarded as the principal guitarist in U2, he champions the contributions that Bono provides on his occasional forays with the six strings.

“I never set out to be the only guitar player. When we started, Bono played quite a bit. His playing is... well, I don't know. See, our styles are so different, there's never a conflict. Bono's a field player, nothing really amazing – I'm nothing amazing, either. 

“The whole point is that, whatever you're going to do, do it with flair. Bono is very much like Neil Young in that he turns in some incredible guitar things. Danny [Lanois] really loves his playing. We all really like it. 

“There was some important stuff that he did on Exit and Mothers Of The Disappeared. Some of the things he did on the end of With Or Without You we didn't put in the mix because the arrangement was shorter on the final tracks, but it was great stuff.”

The influence that The Edge has had on young players worldwide could probably account for the great number of delay units sold during the past five years. Aware of the effect his playing has had on aspiring guitarists, The Edge is equally watchful to guitar scenes he might not necessarily be a part of, like heavy metal.

"It's a difficult world and I wouldn't presume to condemn or sort of say that it's not valid. It's just something I'm not interested in. I mean, someone has to be the fastest. Fair enough. Music to me is a whole creative world of possibilities. 

“Pure dexterity or technique is such a myopic view of what music is all about – just too rigid. Technique, to me, is knowing enough and being able to do enough to play what you want. I think all my favorite musicians are probably similar to me in that way.

“I'm not a fan of the million-miles-an-hour players. I'm more into Keith Richards or Jeff Beck. See, music is such a great communicator. It breaks down linguistic barriers, cultural barriers, it basically reaches out. That's when rock 'n' roll succeeds, and that's what virtuosity is all about. If you are great and amazingly talented, it's something else.

“I'm not saying it wouldn't be great to be a really fast player, sometimes that kind of riff can be really great, but it can be a cul-de-sac, very limiting. It's not such a high priority.”

One immediate priority is the current world tour, which will see U2 playing to perhaps one of the largest collective audiences that a rock band has ever entertained.

The Edge's choice of guitars is certainly not among the most elaborate ever assembled – he doesn't view himself as much of a collector – but it might be the most essential. You won't find any custom-made jobs contoured in girlie shapes, nor do The Edge's axes light up in the dark. Reliability and sound quality are Edge's prime concerns.

“In the beginning I was interested in Gibsons because I used a lot of high treble chords – they had a fatter treble sound. Fenders I always thought were a bit thin when concentrating on those highs. Recently that's changed because I've been getting into some other things. I've been getting into Stratocasters a lot.

“Again, I try to keep things simple. Guitars haven't been improving. Quite the opposite, they've been losing character and getting more homogenized in sound and feel. So generally I steer towards older designs and styles.

“I use Superwound strings on all my guitars. I think standardization is very important in that department – to know where you stand. I vary the gauges from guitar to guitar, usually light to medium. I have an arrangement with Superwound that allows me to buy the strings at a good price.”

Unlike most successful bands, the U2 stage set has always been the embodiment of minimalism, and this year should remain no different. Edge feels that the equipment set-up should complement the visual presentation of the band.

“I've never been tempted towards stacks of Marshalls. What I have is my vintage Vox AC30, which is my favorite amp. I'm terrified to bring it on the road this time. I've used it pretty exclusively for what, four major world tours. I'm going to have to give it up eventually, but for now, it's still going strong. 

“So I'll bring that, probably, and a Boogie as a back-up. I've been getting into transistor amps, as well, like the Roland JC-120, which is a great amplifier. And I've also acquired an old Fender Pro Reverb combo. It's real delicate. 

“What I've been finding is that the old Fenders have this beautifully mellow distortion to them, the tubes have been worked just so, they're nice and clear.

“For a while I was toying with stereo amplifiers onstage, but that became too much of a headache. I know a lot of players have a dry amp and then have the effects-out from another amplifier. Somehow I've always subscribed to the idea of a mono amp, no matter if I'm playing Wembley Stadium or wherever.

“Keyboards too, which I try to keep spare on. I'll probably have a piano, a Yamaha, the new MIDI one, and, of course, the DX7. I've been messing with the idea of sampling keyboards, but I have no real illusions about them.”

Touring as heavily as U2 does keeps the band away from their homes much of the time. All four members continue to live in Ireland and show no signs of relocating. 

When not on the road, The Edge leads a quiet home life with his wife, Aislinn, and their two daughters, Hollie, two; and Arrin, one. But when the road beckons The Edge remains excited about the prospect of America.

“It's such a great place. You have such diversity, such contrast. Politically you have things from the CIA to George Jackson, Black Panthers to Marxists. Musically you have from the weirdest kind of New York nightlife band all the way to 39 Special – I mean, 38 Special!

“When we were an opening band, the J. Geils Band was a good choice for us. We wanted to see how we'd do in arenas, so we were on for 11 shows with them or so. At like the first show in Phoenix, the promoter came to the dressing room and said, 'Look guys, Phoenix doesn't have a reputation for accepting opening bands, so if you get bottled, well...' So we just went out there.

“I remember the J. Geils Band had a banner that they'd raise before the show, it was like this big fist, so they'd raise it and the crowd would go crazy, but the thing is that we went on as they were doing it and I think at first the crowd thought we were the J. Geils Band! 

“We started playing without letting them realize their mistake and wouldn't let them off the hook for the duration of our set. So we ended up going down pretty well. Lots of other bands would probably throw us off the tour, but they were great to us.

“The thing about touring, and about being in U2, is that it's a hell of a lot of hard work. I mean, it's a fair amount of luck involved in making it, as we did, but it's work all the time, year round. This band is special, and it's been a real privilege to be in it.”

Christmas is upon us, and it seems everyone is getting into the spirit of giving – even U2's the Edge. The guitarist recently appear on Irish TV network RTÉ’s The Late Late Toy Show, in which he gifted 10-year-old fan Noah Rafferty a signed guitar.

The music-mad superfan was given a chance to appear on the show for a cover of Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight and a performance of his own song, Rock Is The Best Medicine.

And if appearing on the show didn't already make his Christmas, Rafferty was later treated to a video message from The Edge, who told him he'd be receiving a signed Les Paul. As you'd expect, he struggled to contain his excitement.

Music Rising – the charity for which The Edge designed the guitar – aims to provide musical instruments in the wake of disasters. It was initially started after the devastating effects of 2005's Hurricane Katrina on the music community in the Gulf South region of the US.

The Late Late Toy Show is an annual special edition of Irish late-night chat show The Late Late Show, and aims to fulfill the dreams of children. It has raised over €5 million for children and families in need so far.

Stairway to Heaven never seems to be too far from guitar players' minds (there is a reason we have the No Stairway rule, after all). 

But even so, the Led Zeppelin classic seems to be having a moment as of late. From St. Vincent to Misha Mansoor to Adam Sandler, the classic-rock staple has once again become a go-to song for players of all stripes to tackle.

And now here comes U2 to lay their own twist on the tune.

In a new social media posting, Bono and the Edge honored their long time road crew with a truncated acoustic version of the song.

“Irish road crew, the best in the world,” Bono begins.

But, he continues, “There is one annoying aspect of an Irish crew that has to be said. Wherever you go in the world, whatever venue you’re playing - whether it’s the Olympia or 3 Arena or Madison Square Garden - you walk into the venue and it’s a big moment, and you’ll hear a song that we said, ‘We’ll never ever play this.’ And that’s right, Stairway to Heaven.

“These professionals believe they play this better than the band. And you know, it might be true.”

You can judge Bono and the Edge’s performance for yourselves above.

Considering that U2 guitarist the Edge has been a bona fide tone geek for decades, it’s surprising that he didn’t discover the tweed Fender Deluxe amp until rather late in his career — 2004, to be exact; after his guitar tech Dallas Schoo bought him a 1957 Deluxe with the 5E3 circuit — when the Edge asked for a small amp that he could play at home and use to record demos. However, when the Edge acquired his first tweed Deluxe, he immediately put it to very good use — the amp inspired him to write the main riff for the song “Vertigo,” only 20 minutes after he first plugged into it.

According to Schoo, the Edge used only four pieces of gear in the studio when recording “Vertigo”: “a Line 6 DM4 stompbox, a vintage echo unit, a vintage Sixties Telecaster and a vintage Fender amplifier.” During a Guitar World interview he conducted in 2005, during U2’s “Vertigo” tour, the Edge revealed that the guitar in question was a 1966 Telecaster with a Lake Placid Blue finish, maple neck and Bigsby vibrato tailpiece. The “vintage echo” in question is undoubtedly the Korg SDD-3000 digital delay that has remained an essential element of the Edge’s signature clean tones since the mid Eighties.

The studio recording of “Vertigo” features two distinct guitar tones: raw, raunchy distortion for the main power-chord riff and a clean tone with long, ambient delays for accents and a mid-song instrumental break. The distortion’s delicious grind comes courtesy of the overdriven Deluxe, pushed even harder by the Line 6 DM4 Distortion Modeler in the pedal’s Tube Drive setting, which models a Chandler Tube Driver. The clean sound is classic Edge, with the Deluxe turned down just to the brink of overdrive and modulated delay providing depth and ambience. Even though the Edge tours with a massive rig that resembles NASA Mission Control, on this song — and as he’s often done throughout his career — he proves that less is truly more.

GET THE SOUND, CHEAP!

• Fender Player Telecaster
• Fender Blues Junior IV 1x12 combo
• TC Electronic Tube Pilot overdrive
• Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy analog delay

TONE TIP: Stacking overdrive tones from the amp itself and the pedal provides the ideal amount of grind, but be careful not to overdo either to retain definition and brightness. The Memory Boy may be analog (not digital), but its warmth and triangle wave modulation nail the vibe of classic Edge tone.

ORIGINAL GEAR

GUITAR: 1966 Fender Telecaster with stock single-coil pickups (bridge); volume: 10, tone: 10

AMP: 1957 tweed Fender Deluxe 5E3 with one 12-inch Jensen alnico “blue cap” speaker (distortion tone – instrument input 1, instrument volume 10, tone 12; clean tone – instrument input 1, instrument volume 4.5, tone 12; Note: Controls on a tweed Fender Deluxe go from 1-12, so we’ve made an exception here to our usual 1-10 designations)

EFFECTS: Line 6 DM4 Distortion Modeler (Tube Drive setting, Drive: 8, Bass: 4, Mid: 7, Treble: 5, Volume: 7.5); Korg SDD-3000 (Delay Time: 440ms, Feedback: 3, Filter Low: 250Hz, Filter High: 4kHz, Modulation Waveform: Triangle, Intensity: 1.5, Frequency: 6, Level Balance: 5)

STRINGS/TUNING: D’Addario EXL110 Nickel Wound Regular Light .010- .046/Standard

PICK: Herdim Medium nylon

In 2009, Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White teamed up for It Might Get Loud, a fascinating documentary that explores the musical roots and playing styles of all three guitarists.

The film also features a remarkable meeting the three guitarists dubbed "The Summit," in which they discuss their respective styles, and take a turn jamming on each other's songs.

In this amazing clip, Page, The Edge and White jam on the blues classic—immortalized by Led Zepplein—"In My Time of Dying." Each armed with their own slides, the three have a remarkable amount of chemistry.

You can revisit our exclusive interview with the three guitarists here, and watch the video below.

This spring, Rocktopia—a musical that fuses classic rock with classical music—will be coming to New York's Broadway Theatre from March 20-April 29, 2018.

Created by vocalist Rob Evan and Randall Craig Fleischer—a pioneer in the fusion of symphonic rock and world music—Rocktopia features a 5-piece rock band, a choir of 40 and a 20-piece orchestra.

Developed over the past eight years, Rocktopia is inspired by the idea that if Beethoven or Mozart were alive today, they would be modern-day rock stars. With extensive knowledge of both genres, Evan and Fleisher looked for common themes, potency, and emotional resonance in the songs before fusing them together to create explosive and moving new musical arrangements.

“We love both classical music and classic rock. There are so many parallels between the genres and the 'rock stars' who composed and performed them,” Evan said. “With Rocktopia, we want to break down barriers and any preconceived notion of what either genre is about, and electrify and inspire lovers of either musical styles with these completely original new pieces.”

The show will feature music by Mozart, Journey, Handel, U2, Tchaikovsky, Heart, Beethoven, Journey, Foreigner, Rachmaninoff, Queen, Copland, The Who and more.

For tickets, and more info, stop by rocktopia.com.

U2 have unveiled "You're the Best Thing About Me," the charged lead single from the band's upcoming album, Songs of Experience.

"You're the Best Thing About Me" follows "The Blackout," the live music video for which the band premiered on their Facebook page last week. You can check it out below.

Songs of Experience follows 2014's Songs of Innocence, which dealt extensively with the band's youth and formative musical experiences. "I thought it was done last year," Bono recently toldRolling Stone in reference to the album. "The problem is we have 15 songs and [have] to get them down to 12. We don't like long players. The actual track listing is not set yet, but we have some proper, proper fuck-off songs."

For more on U2, you can stop by their website.

Back in 2005, Guitar World asked the Edge why he never endorsed a guitar.

“I’d really, really have to believe in the thing,” he said thoughtfully, then added, “I don’t want to be that guy on the posters: ‘Buy this guitar’ and all that crap. I’ve talked to a few companies over the years. Plus, I’ve had a lot of people do custom stuff for me—that’s different. Again, I don’t want to be a poster guy in music shops.”

This year, however, the U2 guitarist changed his tune, and he makes no apologies for saying, ‘Buy this guitar’—or amp, for that matter. “I’m so proud of these two pieces,” he says of his recently unveiled Fender Edge Strat and its companion piece, the Edge Deluxe guitar amp. “Each design presents something very unique and updates the original item in some cool ways. Let’s put it this way: I know I’ll be using them quite a bit.”

Along with Bono, the Edge joined Fender’s board of directors in 2014, but he stresses that the idea of rolling out signature products essentially grew out of personal necessity. Some of his Seventies-era Stratocasters, which he relies on for live performances of songs such as “New Year's Day,” “Pride,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “Where the Streets Have No Name” and “Bullet the Blue Sky,” were failing from the wear and tear of year-long stretches on the road.

“[Longtime guitar tech] Dallas [Schoo] started to look for replacements, and things kind of grew from there,” Edge says. “Fender remade some pieces that were totally amazing. Having tried the guitar, I just realized this is a great instrument and I'd be very proud to put my name to it. When something is so good, you just have to share it.”

Below, we present a portion of our interview with the Edge. For the entire feature and more, be sure to check out the October 2016 issue of Guitar World.

You first started using a Strat when you were a teenager, but your interest in the guitar stemmed more from Rory Gallagher than, say, somebody like Jimi Hendrix.

Yeah, I knew of Hendrix, and I loved his work, but Rory was the local hero, so it was a different kind of experience. When I was in my teens, I got to see him play, and there were some of his records around, so I kind of cut my teeth learning to play guitar by learning some of his licks and songs. He was really part of a power trio originally, and I think he inspired me to look at the guitar as something that could supply quite a lot in terms of dynamics and textures. There seemed to be so much sound that could come from a guitar, a Strat. That really impressed me.

Tell me about your first Strat. It was a sunburst model, right?

That’s right. That was the first guitar I owned that you could say was kind of a professional-grade instrument. Actually, in those days I only owned 50 percent of it. My brother, Richard, and I used to pool our meager resources to acquire equipment. We had that Strat and we also invested in an amp and a couple of pedals, and that took care of us for a couple of years. Then I think we might have kept a pretty rough, beat-up traditional guitar that we used if we happened to be playing at the same time. That’s how things went for a while. After a while, it felt like we really had to invest in two complete sets of equipment, so we split things up. I took the amp and he took the Strat. He still has it, actually.

The black ’73 Strat you bought in ’81, what was it that impressed you about it?

It's funny, sometimes it’s very hard to define quality when you pick up an instrument. I just call it “musicality,” where you pick it up and you're immediately inspired by what you’re playing. I always talk about finding the songs in the guitar, the riffs and parts. So for that Strat, I just remember that it was the one. I was in New York at one of those stores on 48th Street. I tried a couple guitars—they were all used; they were in the second-hand part of the store—and this one just had it. It was an inspiring instrument and it sounded musically good, and suddenly I was playing parts and ideas. I knew this was the guitar for me.

The Explorer you used on the first album started to make way for the Strat.

Yeah, around that time. Like it is with most musicians, you get a new guitar and you want to really use it. So on the second album, I got the Strat and started to use it fairly heavily, particularly on something like “Gloria.” Then on subsequent records it became an important go-to guitar for me.

When did you decide to put DiMarzio pickups in it?

I kept it stock for a few weeks, but I kept noticing that every time I went to the bridge pickup, it sounded too biting, too…piercing. So I went back to the same shop and told them about it, and they said, “Oh, there’s a guy next door who works on guitars.” I talked to him and he recommended changing the pickup. I think he might have modified the pickup slightly; I don't think it was straight stock DiMarzio. Later on, we looked to see how it was modified, but we couldn’t figure it out, so it could have been a bit of a sales pitch. Whatever it was, it fit my needs perfectly.

What did you get out of that Strat that you weren't getting from the Explorer?

The Explorer was great in so many ways, but there are just certain things the Strat can do that the Explorer can’t just by virtue of the whammy bar. Beyond that, there’s a sound difference that’s different musically. It has something to do with the single-coil pickups. When I would use the out-of-phase position between the bridge and second pickup, there was a sustain in the tone, a feeling in the attack—the transience. It just had this really great quality, and then when you add distortion and overdrive, you can really bring it out.

On some of the songs you’ve played a Strat on, would you sometimes try a different guitar first?

That would happen, but 80 to 90 percent of the time the guitar I’m playing in real time with a particular sound would inspire parts and ideas. It's very much a creative process that starts with the sound and the instrument, and the parts come from that rather than choosing to see if some other guitar suits it best. It's rare that I would go for another guitar, unless there’s some real sonic deficiency of some kind. Occasionally you might go for something else from a production standpoint—you want to bolster the sound. But it pretty much starts with the sound and the part.

Your signature Strat is a Frankenstein based on few of the models. What were your main considerations when coming up with this design?

I'd say 90 percent sound. I wasn't slavishly trying to recreate a Seventies instrument. I just knew the aspects that I loved and wanted to preserve, and then I wanted to see if I could improve them. I experimented a lot. We had nine or 10 prototype instruments made, because I really wanted them to hear the impact the different body weights would have on them.

I tried to make one with an alder body with a rosewood neck, but we ended up with the maple neck on the alder body. Fender also made some ash bodies, trying out both rosewood and maple necks. I was really kind of delving into the nuance of why a guitar sounds the way it does. I tried a couple of them on the road, thinking that the ash body and rosewood neck might deliver more of a classic Strat sound, but I reverted back to the heavy alder body and the maple neck. That’s what works for me as a songsmith.

To put it simply, the maple neck is brighter, and the alder body is deeper and has more sustain. They kind of balance each other out. The guitar has more top end but more weight to it. Compared to the ash body and the rosewood neck, which is a little softer and not as wide in terms of frequency response.

For the rest of this interview, check out the October 2016 issue of Guitar World.

"Don't call it a comeback / I've been here for years."

So said LL Cool J in the title track from 1990's Mama Said Knock You Out, which came out when many fans and critics thought his career was just barely limping along. The album turned out to be a massive critical and commercial success.

So, with our apologies to Mr. Cool J, we are calling it comeback. Because a comeback—as defined here at Guitar World—is any critically and/or commercially successful or significant album that follows a career-altering absence (breakup, retirement) or low point (death of band members, "dead" careers, being dropped by your label, critical uber-flops, telling a London audience that you're ashamed that George W. Bush is from Texas ...).

So, with that in mind, here's our list of the 10 best (and worst) comeback albums of all time.

10. U2 — All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000)

The Set-Up: Sitting-on-top-of-the-world stadium rockers U2 took some chances in the Nineties, releasing three adventurous, occasionally bizarre albums. The last of the bunch, 1997's Pop, the techno-, dance- and electronica-influenced culmination of their self-inflicted reinvention, was harshly panned and widely misunderstood. It was as if fans and critics collectively said, "Enough already, guys."

The Comeback:All That You Can't Leave Behind was, in every respect, a homecoming. With producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno back at the helm, the band returned to its classic sound (although brilliantly updated) with an emphasis on grand melodies and a renewed reliance on guitar, bass and drums. Rolling Stone called it U2's third masterpiece, next to The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby.

09. Allman Brothers Band — Brothers and Sisters (1973)

The Set-Up: Allman Brothers Band co-founder and slide guitar master Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident in late 1971 while the band was recording Eat a Peach. As if that wasn't terrible enough, bassist Berry Oakley was killed the same way—in the same Georgia town—one year later. Although the band—fortified by talented replacements—forged ahead, it was as if a dark cloud had found them and decided to stick around for a spell.

The Comeback: The album that would follow the band's tragedies, Brothers And Sisters, was, by far, their greatest success, settling in for five longs weeks at Number 1 on the U.S. albums chart. It also was a high point for guitarist Dickey Betts, whose composition, "Ramblin' Man," would become the band's only hit single, reaching Number 2 on the charts. The album featured two more eternal FM radio staples, "Southbound" and "Jessica," both written by Betts. Simply put, it was the band's—and Betts'—commercial high point.

08. Foo Fighters — Foo Fighters (1995)

The Set-Up: There's no doubt that Nirvana changed everything, and that by 1994 they were one of, if not the biggest band in the world. For a few years, all of the United States felt like Seattle, and the sale of thrift-store sweaters was at an all-time high. That is, until the suicide of lead singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain in April of that year.

The Comeback: It would take one hell of an effort for anything Dave Grohl released from that point on to not be considered a mere footnote in the history of Nirvana. The fact that we now know Grohl as one of the biggest personalities in rock—who also has shared the stage with the likes of Jimmy Page and plays in a band with John Paul Jones—is a testament to his tenacity and talent for crafting memorable hooks. It could be argued that the second Foo Fighters album (and their first as a real band), The Colour and the Shape, is better suited for this position because it spawned the first mega-hits for the band, but the first Foos album was Dave Grohl playing everything himself, a lone man trying to forge ahead and create something meaningful after the demise of the biggest band on the planet. If that's not the meaning of a comeback, we don't know what is.

07. Metallica — Death Magnetic (2008)

The Set-Up: Napster, Tom Cruise film soundtracks, St. Anger. Let's face it, the turn of this century was not kind to Metallica when it came to public opinion. Their latest, guitar-solo-free album had left fans more confused than betrayed, and the follow-up film, Some Kind of Monster, showed the band in a new, vulnerable light that left fans of Ride the Lightning scratching their heads. It would take one hell of an album to get the image of the band in group therapy talking about feelings out of the heads of fans.

The Comeback: Enter Death Magnetic. While the album itself was met with some criticism—mainly for its over-compressed sound—there's no doubt that it re-ignited interest in the band's thrashier roots and made people forget about "I Disappear," perhaps for good. One might even venture to say that, had the band made another St. Anger or Load, the Big Four shows might not have ever happened. Can anyone imagine Kerry King, Dave Mustaine, Charlie Benante and others joining James and crew onstage for a rendition of "Tuesday's Gone"? Didn't think so.

06. Johnny Cash — American Recordings (1994)

The Set-Up: Although Johnny Cash never really went away (much like LL Cool J), during the 1980s, record sales and support from his longtime label, Columbia, were at all-time lows. After putting out a string of fine yet occasionally overproduced albums (Check out his cheesy cover of CCR's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" from 1985's Rainbow album), Cash found himself without a label in the early '90s.

The Comeback: Enter Rick Rubin. The producer, known for his work with A-list hip-hop artists and heavy metal bands, offered Cash a contract with his label, American Recordings, and got right to work, stripping the Man in Black's sound down to the basics: voice and acoustic guitar. The album, considered his finest release since the late '60s, transformed Cash from museum piece to the ultimate in cool.

05. Aerosmith — Pump (1989)

The Set-Up: The early Eighties were not kind to Aerosmith. The had band lost both their guitarists by the time of the recording of Rock in a Hard Place (you know, the album with Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay) and were in serious danger of being a footnote of Seventies American rock. Aerosmith in the mid-'Eighties can be summed up as this: When the movie This Is Spinal Tap came out, Steven Tyler actually thought the movie was about Aerosmith. In a 1997 interview, Brad Whitford was quoted as saying, "The first time Steven saw it, he didn't see any humor in it."

The Comeback: Sure, Run DMC gave them another taste of the spotlight, and Permanent Vacation gave us "Dude Looks Like a Lady" and "Rag Doll," but if anything is going to be called a comeback album for Aerosmith, it would have to be 1989's Pump. Commercially, Pump does have a slight edge over Permanent Vacation, with the latter going a measely five-times platinum as opposed to Pump's seven-times, good enough to make it the second-best-selling Aerosmith album of all time behind Toys in the Attic. But beyond numbers, Pump just felt like an Aerosmith album (yes, even the horn section). That's not to knock the strong numbers on Permanent Vacation, but Steven Tyler singing about needing to get away to St. Tropez when the whole world was still wondering "Where were you?" may have been a bit premature.

04. John Lennon and Yoko Ono — Double Fantasy (1980)

The Set-Up: The mid-Seventies weren't the best of times for John Lennon. He had endured a separation from Yoko Ono and a complicated lawsuit filed by Morris Levy (regarding breach of contract and the messy Roots / Rock 'n' Roll scandal), not to mention the disappointing—by former-Beatle standards—sales of his 1975 greatest-hits album, Shaved Fish. So, after taking part in a recording session for Ringo Starr's 1976 Ringo's Rotogravure album, Lennon made the shift from rock star to house husband, living a private, tame existence at the Dakota in New York City with Ono and their 1-year-old son, Sean.

The Comeback: In 1980, after taking several years off, Lennon felt it was time to get back to work. Inspired and/or awakened by new music by Madness, The Pretenders and the B-52s, he decided it was "time to get out the old axe and wake the wife up," as he told Rolling Stone. The album he and Ono made, Double Fantasy, was the perfect comeback, representing a fresh start for a well-rested couple who were ready to greet the world again. The irony is that when Lennon was killed on December 8, 1980, Double Fantasy went from comeback to sad farewell.

03. Deep Purple — Perfect Strangers (1984)

The Set-Up: After releasing a string of heavy, successful albums between 1969 and 1973, including Deep Purple In Rock, Made In Japan and Machine Head, the classic "Mk II" lineup of Deep Purple—Ian Gillan (vocals), Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Roger Glover (bass), Jon Lord (keyboards) and Ian Paice (drums)—basically just fizzled out. By the mid-Seventies, when only Lord and Paice remained (David Coverdale, Tommy Bolin and Glenn Hughes had come onboard), the band was just a shell of its former self. Their lackluster late-1975 album, Come Taste the Band, was sonic proof of that. Deep Purple disbanded in 1976.

The Comeback: In 1984, Deep Purple regrouped—with the Mk II lineup, thankfully—and released Perfect Strangers, a major worldwide hit that went platinum in the U.S. The band reached back and dusted off its classic sound, spotlighting Gillan's ageless vocals and Blackmore's lightning-fast snake-charmer scales. The album spawned several radio hits and a tour that just kept on going—because people just couldn't taste enough of the band.

02. Ozzy Osbourne — Blizzard of Ozz (1980)

The Set-Up: After two less-than-stellar releases from Black Sabbath—1975's Technical Ecstasy and 1976's Sabotage—Ozzy Osbourne took a brief break from the band to work on a project he called "Blizzard of Ozz." At the request of the band, Ozzy dropped the project to return to the band for the recording of 1978's Never Say Die!, which brought tensions in the band to a new high. A myriad of drug problems and mounting tensions between Osbourne and Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi led to the group unanimously deciding to fire Ozzy. Within two years, the band had recorded Heaven and Hell with new vocalist Ronnie James Dio, which proved that the band could remain relevant without Osbourne. The question then became, could Ozzy pull himself out of the gutter and remain relevant as well?

The Comeback: It turns out all Ozzy needed was new management. Of course, not just any manager would do. It took then-girlfriend Sharon Arden (daughter of Sabbath manager Don Arden) to pull Ozzy out of his haze and set him to work on his "Blizzard of Ozz" project. With the help of bassist/lyricist Bos Daisley and a young guitar prodigy named Randy Rhoads, Ozzy finally finished the album, Blizzard of Ozz, which would re-ignite his career and eventually lead to his being one of the biggest personalities in rock and metal.

01. AC/DC — Back in Black (1980)

The Set-Up: In late 1979, AC/DC unleashed Highway to Hell on the world. While not a departure in sound from their previous albums, the production efforts and arrangement contributions of producer Mutt Lange, alongside the wry lyricism of lead singer Bon Scott and always-fiery guitar efforts of Angus Young, made Highway to Hell the band's most commercial success to date. Less than six months later, Scott was found dead in the back of a car, having choked to death on his own vomit.

The Comeback: Whether or not to continue the band without their charismatic frontman wasn't an easy choice for the remaining members of AC/DC, but after much soul-searching, the band recruited former Geordie singer Brian Johnson to try and fill the void left by Scott's death. Johnson had his own troubles after joining the band, struggling to pen lyrics he felt were up to the lofty standards set by his predecessor. As fate would have it, a storm rolling in one night over the Bahamas, where the band had retreated to in order to write, inspired the opening lyrics to "Hells Bells," the opening track from the ultimate comeback album—not to mention the second-highest-selling album of all time—Back In Black.

Honorable Mentions:

Iron Maiden – Brave New World
Eric Clapton – 461 Ocean Boulevard
Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare
Alice in Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue
Van Halen – 5150
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication
Celtic Frost - Monotheist
Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know
Judas Priest - Painkiller

10 Not-So-Great Comeback Albums:

01. Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy
02. Iron Maiden - The X Factor
03. Kiss - Psycho Circus
04. Queen + Paul Rodgers - The Cosmos Rocks
05. Aerosmith - Done With Mirrors
06. Tony Iommi - Seventh Star
07. Motley Crue - Motley Crue
08. Poison - Hollyweird
09. Ozzy Osbourne - Down to Earth
10. Judas Priest - Angel of Retribution

Right off the bat, this one is not new. In fact, it's from 2013. Still, we like it—and you might too. It's a fan-shot clip of Chris Cornell performing "One."

Songs titled "One" were huge for U2 and Metallica, even though the bands' respective "One" compositions have very little to do with each other. However, that didn't stop Cornell from blending both songs into "One" song.

As Cornell reveals in clip below, he went online to get the lyrics to U2's “One” because he didn’t quite know it by heart, but he entered “One lyrics” for his search and saw that Metallica's lyrics to “One” came up first. That gave him the idea to blend the songs.

Ergo, check out out Cornell's version of "One" below. It features U2's music and Metallica's lyrics. Enjoy!

PLATINUM AWARD

When U2 guitarist The Edge joined FMIC’s board of directors in May of 2014, industry observers speculated that his new relationship with Fender would lead to a signature model guitar even though The Edge’s role with the company was more ambitious and involved than the typical artist endorsement.

It turns out that the observers were only half right—the relationship actually led to this year’s announcement of the Fender The Edge Strat guitar and the Fender The Edge Deluxe guitar amp.

In both instances, these products are not reissues of The Edge’s personal vintage Fender guitars and amps but rather newly developed models that borrow heavily from the past while also including several upgrades to provide performance that’s up to speed with today’s studios and arena stages.

FEATURES

The Fender The Edge Strat is based on the bevy of black Seventies Strats that The Edge has taken out on tour with U2 for decades (a ’73 model being his favorite). The Edge Strat’s basic foundation is similar to a Seventies-era Strat, featuring an alder body and a one-piece quartersawn maple neck with the distinctive “oversized” CBS-era headstock, a 9 1/2-inch radius, and 21 medium jumbo frets.

However, numerous refinements upgrade the guitar to modern player preferences, including a rounded neck heel with asymmetrical four-bolt neck plate that provides more comfortable access to the uppermost frets, a modern C-shaped neck profile, “all short-post” locking tuners, polished stainless steel block saddles, and a modern two-point synchronized tremolo with pop-in arm. Like the Strats in The Edge’s stage arsenal, this model is available in any color you like as long as it’s black.

Perhaps the most significant feature of The Edge Strat is its pickups. The neck and middle pickups are Fender Custom Shop Fat ’50s single-coils, while the bridge pickup is a DiMarzio FS-1. Unlike the standard versions of both models, which have staggered polepieces, the pickups made for The Edge Strat have flat polepieces.

The Edge Deluxe is based on The Edge’s favorite 1957 Deluxe (with the 5E3 circuit), which is one of several late-Fifties tweed Deluxes that he owns. The Edge admits that he discovered the allure of the tweed Fender Deluxe rather late, specifically in 2003, but he immediately put it to good use to record what is arguably U2’s greatest single of the last 12 years, “Vertigo.”

The Edge Deluxe offers many features found on the original late-Fifties 5E3 tweed Deluxe, including a 12-watt hand-wired circuit powered by two 6V6s, two 12AX7s, and a 5Y3 rectifier, four inputs, single tone control, individual Mic and Instrument volume controls, finger-jointed solid-pine cabinet, and lacquered tweed covering. However, it also features several modifications and refinements, including a standby switch, a 12-inch 15-watt Celestion Blue speaker (instead of the original’s blue cap Jensen), an updated tone stack with tighter bass response, custom-tapered volume control, protective rubber switch covers that keep out dust, and The Edge’s hand-designed grille logo badge.

PERFORMANCE

The Edge Strat absolutely nails The Edge’s tones on U2 songs like “Bad,” “Pride,” “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” and “Where the Streets Have No Name,” but more importantly it provides the best Strat tone, particularly for rock, that I’ve heard from a new Fender guitar in years. The pickups produce a beefy, fat midrange and treble that sparkles without being thin or shrill, and when played through an overdriven amp the tone is ample and voluptuous—like Marilyn Monroe compared to the stick-thin super model tone of many modern Strats.

The Edge Deluxe is by far the best tweed-style amp to come off the Fender workbench in the last 10 to 15 years. I own an original 1957 tweed Deluxe, and while Fender’s recent versions have come close they lacked a certain magic of the original. The Edge Deluxe has that elusive magic—namely the lush, harmonically rich distortion—while also offering what many would consider sonic enhancements. The tighter low-end response prevents the speaker from “farting out” when the low E string is popped too forcefully as well as the rectifier sag that can make power chords sound flabby. Like a good Deluxe, it starts to distort at “3,” but this version is also considerably louder than vintage examples, which is great for guitarists who want to gig with a Deluxe.

STREET PRICES $1,799.99 (The Edge Strat); $2,399.99 (The Edge Deluxe)
MANUFACTURER Fender, fender.com

• Pickups on The Edge Strat consist of Fender Custom Shop Fat ’50s (neck and middle) and a DiMarzio FS-1 (bridge), all with flat, unstaggered polepieces.

• The Edge Strat is based on a Seventies Stratocaster but offers several upgrades, including a contoured neck heel, short-post locking tuners, and modern two-point synchronized tremolo.

• The Edge Deluxe is faithful to the beloved late-Fifties 5E3 tweed Deluxe, featuring a 12-watt circuit driven by 6V6, 12AX7, and 5Y3 tubes.

• A Celestion Blue 12-inch speaker provides enhanced tonal range and sweeter midrange response than the Jensen blue cap speaker in the original Fifties model.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Regardless of whether you’re a fan of The Edge or not, if you love the timeless tone of a great Stratocaster and a tweed Deluxe (one of the greatest recording amps of all-time) deliver exactly what you’ve been looking for.

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) is proud to introduce The Edge Signature Stratocaster and The Edge Deluxe amplifier to its signature series collection.

U2 guitarist and sound icon The Edge collaborated closely with the Fender team to design and produce the U.S. made guitar and amplifier.

The Fender Signature Series is geared toward product progression and storytelling, creating instruments designed to the unique specifications of the world’s most iconic artists.

“The Stratocaster is one of those instruments I have always had a strong connection with. To me it has a raw tonal personality that inspires innovation and discovery. As a creative tool it continues to drive my writing and guitar playing,” said The Edge. “Working with Fender and their Custom Shop over the last two years, we have been able to refine the design of my signature guitar and amplifier to a place that matches as close to humanly possible the sound I hear in my head.”

These two products, each marked with a logo badge hand-designed by Edge himself, are sure to deliver creative inspiration to players of all levels, deriving from the sounds created by the sonic icon himself. The Edge Stratocaster and The Deluxe Amplifier are both available for consumer purchase now. Also available is a 2.5” leather strap personally designed by The Edge, and constructed from two layers of soft garment leather.

THE EDGE STRATOCASTER

The Edge Strat is engineered for top-notch performance with versatile tone and effortless playing. Unique features include a pair of special Custom Shop Fat 50s single-coil pickups with flat pole pieces, a DiMarzio FS-1 bridge pickup, upgraded quartersawn maple neck with “C”-shaped profile and 9.5” maple fingerboard, modern two-point synchronized tremolo bridge with pop-in arm and fully adjustable saddles. The Edge’s signature is also included on the front of the large Seventies-style headstock.

The elegant guitar combines the classic curves, appointments and effortless playability of the Stratocaster with modern enhancements and materials to create a dream instrument for players and U2 fans alike.

THE EDGE DELUXE

The Edge Deluxe signature model is an updated take on the classic ’57 tweed Deluxe used to craft the Edge’s sonic identity. This amp also produces the tone and articulation of the vintage Fender Deluxe amps that are an important part of the artist’s complex multi-amp effects setup.

This 12-watt hand-wired amp features modified circuitry for tighter low-end response and high-impact tone, a 12” Celestion Blue speaker, custom-tapered volume control and altered component values that tighten up low-end frequency response. The Edge himself also hand-designed the special grille logo badge, which distinguishes the traditional tweed amp as a distinctive tool for guitarists everywhere.

For more information, visit fender.com.

U2 have released an eight-minute-long short film called "Song for Someone."

The film, which can be considered the music video for the song, the third single from their newest album, Songs of Innocence, stars Woody Harrelson as a man getting released from a prison.

Bono wrote it about his wife, Ali.

"My ideas about love are probably very unromantic," Bono told Rolling Stone. "I see love as a decision not made in the heat of the moment. I see it as an enduring thing that doesn’t depend on feelings to verify it, though it’s great when they do.

"And in the end, love is often DNA tricking you into making a much bigger commitment. It’s what happened to me, before I even knew what commitment was. I ended up as a young man in the arms of this young woman, in a world somewhat hostile to the concept of the childhood sweetheart and a first love."

Fender has introduced its Adam Clayton Jazz Bass guitar.

From the company:

Throughout the entire phenomenal history of the band, the music of U2 has been underpinned by the gracefully muscular bass work of Adam Clayton. His impeccable groove and expansive tone form the sonic foundation of one of the biggest bands in the history of rock music, never more powerfully than today.

Fender’s Adam Clayton Jazz Bass guitar puts his rock solid sound and style in bassists’ hands, with elegant appointments and elemental tone, including two potent Fender Custom Shop pickups and a beautiful Sherwood Green Metallic gloss finish with matching headstock.

Other premium features include a maple neck with a custom “C”-shaped profile and vintage style heel truss-rod adjustment, 9.5”-radius rosewood fingerboard with 20 medium jumbo frets and white pearloid block inlays, four-ply white pearloid pickguard, vintage-style black plastic Jazz Bass control knobs, vintage-style high-mass bridge (combination string-through-body/top-load), vintage Style “lollipop” tuners and a deluxe black hard-shell case with orange interior.

“I played (my Sherwood Green 1965 Jazz Bass) a lot on the ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’ tour and I really love it,” said Clayton. “It had a great sound and the pickups were really, really punchy. I got Fender to clone the bass I had, but rather than make it an exact replica of my beat-up Sherwood Green bass, I said, ‘Let’s make it pretty; let’s make it as beautiful as we can and make it all new.’ So, they put this together for me. … This is a great bass. I’ve been using it on the new album and I’m going to be playing it live.”

For more information regarding the bass, visit fender.com.

The Edge and Bono have joined Fender Musical Instruments Corporation’s board of directors.

The duo, best known as the guitarist and lead singer for U2, bring a unique blend of experience in music, entertainment, business and advocacy to the 68-year-old company.

As members of the board, they will carry on the tradition of Fender as a creator of iconic musical instruments and will guide the company as it pursues new strategies to grow through increased engagement with fans.

“By adding the Edge and Bono to the board of Fender, we are taking an important step toward building a company that is able to meet its potential as a business and a brand,” said Bill McGlashan, Fender co-chairman. “The music world is changing, and Fender is undergoing a transformation into a better music company.”

“While the company’s strength is rooted in its history as a maker of authentic, iconic musical instruments, Fender is also a music company. The Edge’s track record as a guitarist and an innovator of unique sounds through his use of technology makes him an ideal partner to grow Fender’s brand,” said Mark Fukunaga, Fender co-chairman. “Bono is a visionary in the music world who also has business acumen and creativity that will help Fender thrive.”

“This is something of a kid in a candy store situation for me. I've been a fan of Fender guitars from the beginning, playing them on all the most important U2 tours and albums. But I'm most interested in working with the Fender design team on some new ideas,” the Edge said.

Bono added, “Wherever you go in the world Fender is a standard bearer, not just for excellence in technology and craft, but for the influence of American culture. This made-in-USA company has at its heart innovation…the iconoclasm of Jimi Hendrix, the subtle sweet murmurings of Bill Frisell, as well as the most roadworthy loudspeaker on earth. When a festivalgoer wears a Fender T-shirt, they are saying a lot about themselves.

They love music; they're independent-spirited, they're proud of this truly American company, a nexus of technology and culture which, in the end, can't be copied no matter how hard the giants try. I'm excited to be part of developing newer technologies with Fender, as well as helping protect the jobs and commitment to excellence of their age-old craft.”

In April, Fender announced Bob Roback as president and named him to the board of directors. Roback was most recently the chief executive officer of Dashbox and is overseeing the development of Fender’s digital strategy to engage directly with musicians and music fans.

U2 are releasing a new double-disc live album, U22, which was recorded during their U2360° tour.

The catch? It's a fan-club-exclusive release, and you have to be a member of U2.com to get it.

As soon as they sign up, U2 Fan Club subscribers will get instant access to 11 downloads (from the 22 tracks on the discs), plus a bonus download of "Unknown Caller."

Besides a slew of hits, the album includes a few offbeat choices, including "Bad," "Ultra Violet," "Moment of Surrender" and "Zooropa." The set includes an LP-sized book of photos from the tour. The book also features liner notes by U2 bassist Adam Clayton.

For more information on the album and the fan club, check out U2.com.

Here are 15 genius contemporary cross-genre covers, from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Avril Lavigne to Sonic Youth and Johnny Cash.

Pop=======>Heavy Metal

“Iron Man" by Black Sabbath, covered by the Cardigans

You’ve got to have a brass pair bigger than life itself to dare cover Black Sabbath. In the case of Swedish pop-rockers, the Cardigans, you’re probably just too quirky to know better.

“Iron Man” is a classic that still rocks harder than 90 percent of the songs being released today. To her credit, lead singer Nina Persson doesn’t try to compete with Ozzy’s vocals; instead, she and her band give the track a trip-hop workover that is sensual, jazzy and let’s face it, pretty damn fun to listen to.

Rock =======>Electronica

“Harvest Moon” by Neil Young, covered by Poolside

When Neil Young released Harvest Moon in 1992, the disc became an instant classic. Critics marveled at the subtle elegance with which Young told stories of masculinity, falling in love and being out on the open road.

Years later, electro-pop outfit Poolside offers up their version of the title track with an amazing amount of success. The cover is as breezy and refreshing as a glass of lemonade, but still honors the original’s emotion and heart.

Indie Rock=======>Latin

Ringside (comprised of singer/songwriter/producer Scott Thomas and actor/beatmaster Balthazar Getty) is about as L.A. as you can get. When the duo released its pensive mid-tempo ballad “Tired of Being Sorry” in 2004, fans flocked to the tale of regret and love lost on the streets of L.A.

Three years later, Latin pop sensation Enrique Iglesias famously covered the tune and was even lucky enough to get Thomas to produce the track for his album, Insomniac.

Alternative =======>R&B

“One” by U2, covered by Mary J. Blige

The 1990s saw the amazing rise of the Irish rock band, U2. So influential and inspirational was the group’s music that in 2005 the unimaginable happened: R&B discovered it. Grammy Award-winning recording artist Mary J. Blige took to the stage with U2 at a concert in New York and belted out the ballad, “One."

The collaboration garnered a standing ovation and led to several subsequent performances of the cover, including the 2006 Grammy Awards. Blige’s soulful vocals and strength lent a profound depth to an original that seemed impossible to top.

Alternative=======>Rap

“Don’t Wanna Be a Player No More” by Big Pun, covered by Incubus

Incubus is known for their skillful fusion of pulse-pounding drums and absolutely masterful guitar technique. However, they showed a sense of humor and a respect for the hip-hop community when they covered late rapper Big Pun’s mid-'‘90s ode to gettin’ busy ... portly style.

Front man Brandon Boyd’s silky vocals added a unique layer to the hit and introduced the group to a new fan base.

“99 Problems” by Jay-Z, covered by Hugo

Fans of the 2011 film No Strings Attached (starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman) got a real treat when English singer Hugo belted out a bluesy, guitar-laden version of Jay-Z’s classic jam about looking on the bright side of things.

Hugo’s interpretation of the song gets to the heart of the original’s core sentiment by tapping into its sultry rebellion.

Indie Rock =======>Hard Rock

“Anything, Anything” by Dramarama, covered by Buck Cherry

Occasionally, a cover comes along that isn’t a huge deviation from its predecessor.

In the case of Buck Cherry’s take on Dramarama’s popular glimpse into relationship woes, it isn’t about change; it’s simply about tone. Buck Cherry infuses “Anything, Anything” with hard-driving power chords and fires up its well-known melody with a bit more aggression.

Indie Rock=======>Brit Pop

“Head On” by the Jesus and Mary Chain, covered by the Pixies

During the indie-rock-laden 1990s, the Pixies reigned supreme. The group covered the Jesus and Mary Chain’s hit, “Head On” for the album Trompe Le Monde.

Members of the band noted that they’d always loved the song and thought it warranted a cover. Good thing, too; the Pixies turned the aloof pop song into a powerful and noisy declaration of angst and exuberence.

Indie Rock=======>Pop/R&B

“I Would Die 4 U” by Prince, covered by Luna Is Honey

Los Angeles art-rockers Luna Is Honey pooled their collective love of 1980s R&B and poured it into a romantic and charming cover of Prince’s 1984 hit, “I Would Die 4 U.”

The LIH version is a youthful update, placing the critically lauded band in the same league as fellow Los Angeles darlings, Best Coast.

Alternative=======>Soul

“Higher Ground” by Stevie Wonder, covered by Red Hot Chili Peppers

The mark of a good cover song is whether or not it elevates the original, while paying homage to it. RHCP did this back in 1989 with their cover of Stevie Wonder’s funky humanitarian theme song, “Higher Ground.”

However, true to form, Anthony Kiedis and company injected their version with sex, fun and serious some amps.

Pop=======>Metal

“Fuel” by Metallica, covered by Avril Lavigne

This world is filled with a lot unexplained phenomena. Still, there ain’t nothing crazier than when pop princess Avril Lavigne stood before the masters, Metallica, and covered their song “Fuel” while they were being honored on MTV’s series, Icon. Lavigne belted out the tune with bravado and fire.

By the time she was finished, the crowd had erupted in applause and “mall punks" everywhere were vindicated. More importantly, the Canadian singer showed that she can truly piss with the big boys.

Punk======>Classic Rock/Pop

“Boys of Summer” by Don Henley, covered by the Ataris

Don Henley rose to fame as a founding member of the Eagles. Years later, he launched a successful solo career that spanned the 1980s and ‘90s.

One by-product of his efforts is the song “Boys of Summer.” The reflective tune has been immortalized in literature by British author Emma Forrest in her book, Namedropper. It later got its cover moment when the Ataris remade it and wound up with a bona fide radio hit.

You’ll know the remake with its audacious reworking of the lyrics: “Out on the road today, I saw a BLACK FLAG sticker on a Cadillac.”

Covering a song but making it your own? Priceless.

Lo-Fi=======>Indie Rock

“The Search for Cherry Red" by Jonathan Fire*Eater, covered by the Kills

There’s nothing like the validation one gets from influential friends.

Music legend-in-the-making, Stewart Lupton (of the defunct mod-rock band Jonathan Fire*Eater) has seen a resurgence of interest in his brilliant songwriting skills after buddies Jamie Hince and Allison Mosshart (of the Kills) covered “The Search for Cherry Red.”

The tune is creepy and mysterious -- think of it as the musical equivalent of a Bret Easton Ellis novel. While other members of Jonathan Fire*Eater have gone on to success with the Walkmen, it is Lupton who is still influencing acts such as Interpol, Cat Power and the aforementioned British duo.

Post-Punk/NoWave=======>Pop

“Superstar” by the Carpenters, covered by Sonic Youth

Veteran rockers Sonic Youth are known for taking music and turning it on its ear. Their rebellious songs like “Cool Thing” and “Bull in the Heather” have scored them legions of fans over the years.

But it was their dreamy and ethereal interpretation of 1970s pop duo the Carpenters’ chart-topper that showed naysayers there was some real heart behind all the indie cool.

Country=======>Alternative

“Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails, covered by Johnny Cash

One of the most beautiful compliments I’ve ever heard one artist pay to another came from Trent Reznor when he spoke of the late Johnny Cash.

After initially expressing some trepidation about the country crooner covering his deeply personal track, “Hurt," Reznor later recanted, saying, “It was a song that sounds like one he would have written in the ‘60s and that's wonderful." You don’t get any better than that.

Guitar World will be starting a series of epic newsstand specials that will focus on the greatest rock bands and artists.

We need your help determining which newsstand special will be first.

So, which of the bands/artists in the poll below would you most like to see as the topic of our first special issue? Note that we'll be asking you about other artists in the near future.

Thanks for your input!

At a press conference for the band's upcoming documentary From the Sky Down, U2 frontman Bono revealed that Q magazine has commissioned a special tribute album for U2's classic 1991 LP, Achtung Baby, which turns 20 this year.

Slated to appear, among others, are Damian Rice, Jack White, Depeche Mode and Patti Smith.

Bono comments: "Jack White does ‘Love Is Blindness,' Depeche Mode do ‘So Cruel,' Patti Smith did ‘Until the End of the World,' Damien Rice does ‘One.’ It just goes on. And it’s strange, because when I hear the album, when U2 do it, all I hear is what’s wrong with it. But when I heard all these artists doing it, I thought, ‘It’s really good.'"

You can read more here.

As one of the many classic albums celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, U2's Achtung Baby is the next in line to get the deluxe reissue treatment.

The Achtung Baby anniversary edition, which is set to hit shelves on October 31 via Universal, will be available in five different packages, which range from a reissue of the original album itself without bonus material to the "Uber Deluxe Edition," which features an unprecedented amount of bonus material surrounding the album

The "Uber Deluxe Edition" includes six CDs, including the original album, the 1993 follow-up Zooropa, previously unreleased recordings from the Achtung sessions, B-sides, remixes, demos, and early versions of the tracks.

The set also includes four DVDs, including Zoo TV: Live From Sydney, every music video from the album, bonus material, and the brand new documentary film From the Sky Down.

Think that's not enough? In the words of the late Billy Mays, "but wait, there's more!" The "Uber Deluxe Edition" also includes five clear-vinyl 7" singles, 16 art prints, an 84-page hardback book, a magazine, four badges, a sticker sheet, and a pair of those rad "Fly" sunglasses that Bono use to wear all the time.

For 49 other great albums celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2011, check out our gallery of 50 now-classic albums celebrating their 20th anniversary this year.

U2 will be marking the 20th anniversary of Achtung Baby with a deluxe reissue package.

As reported by Rolling Stone, the reissue will feature unseen footage of the band and rare versions of some of their most famous hits.

"There's some very interesting alternative versions that we discovered of songs that wouldn't have seen the light of day," said U2 guitarist the Edge. He also described the songs as sounding "like Achtung Baby out of focus."

U2 manager Paul McGuinness added: "If you pile a lot of extra material and packaging and design work into a super-duper box set, there are people who will pay quite a lot for it, so you can budget it at a very high level and pump up the value."

As previously reported, the band were ranked No. 1 on Forbes' recent list of the highest-paid musicians in the world.

Forbes.com recently published their list of the world's highest-paid musicians. Taking the top slot was U2, with an yearly earning of around $195 million.

Their entry on the list reads: "The ageless rockers are wrapping up the most lucrative tour in the history of music: By the time U2's two-year trek ends this summer, the band will have sold $700 million worth of tickets over two years and played to more than 7 million people."

Other entries on the list include:

• 2. Bon Jovi
• 6. Paul McCartney
• 8. The Eagles
• 10. Dave Matthews Band
• 16. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
• 18. AC/DC (tie)
• 18. Muse (tie)

You can view the full list here.