It was late 2014. U2 had just dropped Songs of Innocence directly into the pockets of half a billion people, and the world was... well, the world was annoyed. But inside the band’s bubble, the gears were already turning for the sequel. They had the title, borrowed from William Blake. They had the concept. Then, Bono flew over his handlebars in Central Park.
That bike crash smashed his arm and his face, but it also cracked open the creative process for the u2 songs of experience album. Suddenly, the "experience" part wasn't just a clever literary reference. It was literal.
Why the u2 songs of experience album took forever to arrive
Most people forget this record was supposed to come out much sooner. The band was actually working on it while touring the first half of the project. Producer Andy Barlow, known for his work with Lamb, spent two years chasing them through ten different countries. He’d set up recording gear in dressing rooms, hotel suites, and rented mansions. He once estimated that only 10% of his work actually happened in a real studio.
Then 2016 hit.
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The world shifted. Brexit happened in the UK, and the US election turned everything upside down. The band looked at their "finished" album and realized it felt like it belonged to a different era. They hit the brakes. Bono decided the lyrics needed more teeth—and more heart.
During this delay, Bono had what he calls a "brush with mortality." While he hasn't been overly specific about the medical details, it involved serious open-heart surgery in December 2016. Suddenly, the idea of "writing as if you're dead"—advice given to him by the Irish poet Brendan Kennelly—wasn't a metaphor anymore. He started writing the lyrics as a series of letters to his family, his friends, and his audience.
The sounds and the many, many producers
If you look at the liner notes, it’s a bit of a crowd. You’ve got Jacknife Lee and Ryan Tedder leading the charge, but then there's Steve Lillywhite, Paul Epworth, and Danger Mouse. It's a "too many cooks" situation that actually somehow worked, even if it made the album sound incredibly polished.
The track "Lights of Home" is a great example of the weird collaborations on this record. It uses a guitar riff borrowed from the band HAIM. Not just inspired by them—the Haim sisters are actually credited as co-writers.
- You’re the Best Thing About Me: The lead single that almost sounded like a Kygo track. In fact, Kygo did remix it before the album even launched.
- Get Out of Your Own Way: Features a spoken-word outro by Kendrick Lamar. He returns the favor after Bono appeared on his DAMN. album.
- American Soul: A heavy, distorted track that recycles the "You! Are! Rock and Roll!" riff from "Volcano" on the previous album.
What most people miss about the themes
The u2 songs of experience album is deeply obsessed with the Syrian refugee crisis, though you might miss it if you aren't listening closely. "Summer of Love" sounds like a breezy, West Coast pop song. It’s catchy. It’s got a great groove. But the lyrics are actually about the flowers growing in the rubble of Aleppo and the people crossing the Mediterranean in search of safety.
It’s that classic U2 trick: wrapping a heavy political pill in a very sugary musical coating.
Then there’s "The Little Things That Give You Away." If you ask die-hard fans, they’ll tell you this is the "real" U2 on the record. It’s a slow build, ending in a massive, sprawling outro where The Edge finally lets the delay-soaked guitar go wild. It’s the sound of a man waking up at 4:00 AM, gripped by anxiety, wondering if he’s ever been truly honest with himself.
The visual story on the cover
The cover photo, shot by longtime collaborator Anton Corbijn, isn't just two random kids. It’s Eli Hewson (Bono’s son) and Sian Evans (The Edge’s daughter). They’re holding hands, Eli wearing a helmet and Sian wearing a dress. It’s a direct callback to the Songs of Innocence cover, which featured Larry Mullen Jr. protecting his son. It reinforces the "family letter" vibe of the whole project.
Was it actually a success?
Critically, the album was a mixed bag. Some reviewers at The Guardian called it "insipid" and "try-hard," arguing that it lacked the raw power of William Blake's original poems. Others, like those at Amplify, thought it was their strongest work since 2000.
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Commercially? It did what U2 albums do. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. This made U2 the first group to have #1 albums in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. People still buy U2, even when the critics are busy sharpening their knives.
The tour that followed, the Experience + Innocence tour, was a technical marvel. They used a 96-foot-long double-sided LED screen that they could actually walk inside. They even brought back Bono’s "MacPhisto" character from the 90s using augmented reality filters on the big screen. It was a massive, expensive, soul-searching spectacle.
How to actually listen to this album today
If you want to get the most out of the u2 songs of experience album, don't just shuffle it on a random playlist. Listen to it as the second half of a 27-song journey.
- Start with Songs of Innocence: Understand the "origin story" and the youthful nostalgia.
- Move to Experience: Notice how the same themes—Bono’s mother, the streets of Dublin, the fear of the future—are handled by an older, "more experienced" version of the band.
- Check the Deluxe Tracks: "Book of Your Heart" is arguably better than half the songs on the main tracklist. It’s dark, moody, and synth-heavy.
- Watch the Live Performances: Tracks like "The Blackout" were meant to be played loud in an arena, not just through tiny earbuds.
The album isn't perfect. It's a bit overproduced in spots and definitely feels like a band trying very hard to stay relevant in a streaming world. But underneath the shiny pop production of Ryan Tedder, there's a very raw, very scared, and ultimately very hopeful collection of letters from a man who thought he was about to lose everything.
Next time you hear "Love is Bigger Than Anything in its Way," remember it wasn't written as a generic stadium anthem. It was a father talking to his children while the world felt like it was burning down. That's the real "experience" they were talking about.
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To dive deeper, you might want to compare the studio versions of these tracks to the Songs of Surrender acoustic reinterpretations released later, which stripped away the "try-hard" production to reveal the bare bones of the songwriting.