U2 have rarely been shy about plucking gems from their vault for reissues or reimagining existing material, and that trend will continue in November with the release of How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb, a companion album of sorts to their 2004 smash How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. Due Nov. 22 digitally and Nov. 29 in exclusive vinyl formats for Record Store Day, the project unearths 10 unreleased songs from the period.
The first two, “Country Mile” and “Picture of You (X + W),” are out now. The original Atomic Bomb has also been remastered for the first time in honor of its 20th birthday, and will be separately released on Nov. 22. That LP is one of U2’s most successful modern-day releases, having topped the charts in 34 countries and eventually winning the Grammy for Album of the Year. It is best known for songs such as “Vertigo,” “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own” and “City of Blinding Lights.”
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“The sessions for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb were such a creative period for the band,” U2 guitarist The Edge says. “We were exploring so many song ideas in the studio. We were inspired to revisit our early music influences, and it was a time of deep personal introspection for Bono, who was attempting to process — dismantle — the death of his father.
“For this anniversary edition, I went into my personal archive to see if there were any unreleased gems and I hit the jackpot,” he continues. “We chose 10 that really spoke to us. Although at the time we left these songs to one side, with the benefit of hindsight we recognize that our initial instincts about them being contenders for the album were right. We were onto something. What you’re getting on this shadow album is that raw energy of discovery, the visceral impact of the music, a sonic narrative, a moment in time, the exploration and interaction of four musicians playing together in a room. This is the pure U2 drop.”
Re-Assemble also includes “Luckiest Man in the World,” which was leaked two decades ago under the provisional title “Mercy,” plus never-before-heard tracks such as “Treason,” “Evidence of Life” and “Happiness.”
Here is the track list for How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb:
Picture of You (X+W)
Evidence of Life
Luckiest Man in the World
Treason
I Don’t Wanna See You Smile
Country Mile
Happiness
Are We Gonna Wait Forever?
Theme From The Batman
All Because of You 2
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