NEWRELEASES
U2
SONGS OF SURRENDER
ISLAND
★★★
FOR ONCE, U2 ARE AS SELF-INDULGENT AND POMPOUS AS THEIR DETRACTORS BELIEVE, ON A QUADRUPLE ALBUM THAT IS SORELY LACKING IN A PROMISED RADICAL SPIRIT
Just when Bono’s excellent autobiography, Surrender, had started to turn neutrals’ affections back towards U2, his band offer up a baffling example of overindulgence which their critics have long accused them of.
Calling Songs Of Surrender “a reimagining” hints that something radical is happening on these 40 new versions. Instead, with very few exceptions, it’s essentially 40 instant B-sides, the kind of “(Acoustic Version)” filler that littered CD2 singles in the late 90s.