MusicU2’s only truly rock ‘n’ roll song, according to The EdgeComposition came from a studio session that was almost entirely discarded, but completed easily, although not common by the band’s standardstoday at 08:00

There are those who do not consider the U2 an appropriate example of a rock band. Interestingly, this does not seem to go against the views of the musicians themselves.

The Irish group is known for its introspective lyrics and sound and almost inexhaustible capacity for reinvention. No heavy riffs or strong drum lines, elements closely associated with the musical genre.

The Edge goes further. The guitarist believes that the U2 He has only created one truly rock and roll song to date: “All Because of You”.

The song came about during composition sessions the band held in Monaco for the album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004). At the time, most of the ideas were rejected for the final work.

About the track, the musician said (via Songfacts):

The riff of ‘All Because of You’ came from the now legendary Monaco sessions. We just wanted to make it a great, sassy piece of 21st century rock and roll. It’s probably the only really rock and roll song we’ve ever written.”

In a 2004 interview with Q Magazine, Adam Clayton highlighted that the idea for “All Because of You” came about in an unusual way for the band’s standards. The artist also mentioned that Irish people usually have difficulties with heavier songs.

A lot of times, when we have something that’s straight-up rock, the song never goes anywhere – we just keep messing around. But we did this one in one or two takes.”

U2 and “All Because of You”

Constant presence in tour repertoires “Vertigo”, “All Because of You” was introduced by the vocalist Bono as a “declaration of love to the The Who”, due to the obvious influence of the English in this composition. It was also rescued for the tour “Experience + Innocence Tour”in 2018.

The single even got a music video, where the quartet plays the song while driving around New York in a truck. The surprise caused many people to go out of the windows of the buildings and follow the vehicle on the route between Manhattan and Brooklyn, where they performed a small free show.

Inspiration for reinvention

As mentioned, the U2 He is well remembered for his capacity for reinvention and the different approaches to his albums. As reported by Bono in biography U2 by U2from Neil McCormickthe letter of “All Because of You” deals directly with the idea of ​​starting over under a new artistic identity. The vocalist explained:

One of the things that underpins our work is the idea that you can start again and that you can reinvent yourself, but also that you can go back to the beginning, that you can be free from the mistakes you made. So in ‘All Because of You’ there is an excerpt: ‘I’m alive, I’m being born, I’ve just arrived, I’m at the door of the place I started out from and I want back inside’ (‘I’m alive, I’m being born , I just arrived, I’m at the door of the place where I started and I want to go back inside’).”

“All Because of You” was the fourth single from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004) overall and the album’s second in the United States, succeeding “Vertigo”. In addition to good results on the European charts, it reached first place in Canada (Rock Top 30) and the United States (on the alternative and Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles charts).

Collaborated: André Luiz Fernandes.