Moment of Surrender

Heads Up - If you haven't seen the post below this yet - check it out!

While a review of the entire album is clearly needed, sharing a U2 experience, ultimately, is far more important. And while describing music with words may be just plainly stupid, press on we must!

Brian Eno, a long time U2 producer and collaborator, tells the story in a U2.com video, but I hadn't heard it yet when I first heard Moment of Surrender. It was my very first time through the new songs. It is the 3rd song on the collection.

The very first time you hear 11 new songs, it is unusual to really get stuck on one tune. But from the outset, I found myself needing to play this again and search on the lyrics. So melancholy; so U2, but so new and different.

Then I saw the Brian Eno video; he called it "the most magical experience I've ever had in a studio." He was laying down a new loop for the band to play with. It wasn't quite right and as he was still trying to "fix it" ... Larry walked in to the studio, sat down at the drum kit and started playing along. Shortly thereafter, Adam then Edge and Bono showed up. They immediately picked up on the funky loop and Larry's drums.

9 minutes later they had Moment of Surrender.

There were others in the room. Engineers. Other support staff. A couple visitors were present. As the band finished the first, and what would be the last take, Eno describes the moment, as nothing but silence. Everyone in the room new something amazing had just taken place, that they had just witnessed what was surely going to be a new U2 tune.

Finally Bono broke the silence with (paraphrasing) ... "we come here to find the music ... I think that time it found us." ...

At seven minutes and twenty four seconds it is the longest song on the album. I'm confident it will never make radio. They may never even do it live. I fell in love with "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" on Pop and I don't think they ever played it. So I certainly don't wanna get my hopes up ... but this is my new "Streets" for sure ... the next "One" ... this lame description can't come close, nor can a reprint of the lyrics possibly convey the emotion and force of the song itself, and yet ...

I was punching in the numbers at the ATM machine
I could see in the reflection
A face staring back at me
At the moment of surrender
Of vision over visibility
I did not notice the passers-by
And they did not notice me

I was speeding on the subway
Through the stations of the cross
Every eye looking every other way
Counting down ’til the pain would stop

At the moment of surrender
Of vision of over visibility
I did not notice the passers-by
And they did not notice me

Of course they'll open with "Boots." But my ultimate fantasy would be to have them end the night with this. The new 40: Moment of Surrender.