U2 reimagine 40 of their songs for new companion album to Bono’s memoir

completemusicupdate.com:

U2 have announced that they are releasing a new album. News that will either fill you with joy or a sense of dread. Ditto the fact that it will have a tracklist of 40 songs.

But if you prefer their earlier work, you might be pleased to know that the album will consist of new versions of songs from the band’s back catalogue.

Equally, you may not.‘Songs Of Surrender’ is set to be a companion piece to Bono’s memoir ‘Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story’, which tells his life story with 40 of the band’s songs as a jumping off point.News of the album was shared by guitarist The Edge in a handwritten letter sent to 40 fans, many of whom promptly posted it online without even asking him first.“When a song becomes well known it’s always associated with a particular voice”, writes The Edge. “I can’t think of ‘Tangled Up In Blue’ without the reedy timbre of Bob Dylan or ‘All The Time In The World’ without the unique voice of Louis Armstrong.

So what happens when a voice develops and experience and maturity give it additional resonance?”“U2 have been around long enough to know what that is like”, he goes on. “It’s true for us all, but it’s particularly true for Bono.