“If God Will Send His Angels” Now Remastered
Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2024-05-30)
The newest single released as part of the “To Love and Only Love“ collection of digital singles is “If God Will Send His Angels”. The single will be available on digital store fronts and streaming services on Friday, May 31.
IMAGE: If God Will Send His Angels Single (Remastered 2024)
The tracks included here are all taken from the commercial singles, released in 1997 on CD, cassette and vinyl. The “To Love and Only Love” collection is an effort by U2 to upgrade their offerings on streaming services. Many of these tracks have not been available in the past on these services. Twelve singles in total are being reissued in 2024. This is the fifth of those singles to be released, with a new release coming every two weeks.
The songs included on “If God Will Send His Angels” are as follows:
- “If God Will Send His Angels” (Single Version / Remastered 2024) – U2 (04:33)
- “Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad” (Studio Version / Remastered 2024) – U2 (04:13)
- “Slow Dancing” (Studio Version II / Remastered 2024) – U2 with Willie Nelson (04:02)
- “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (Live from Sarajevo, Sep. 23, 1997 / Remastered 2024) – U2 (03:51)
- “If God Will Send His Angels” (The Grand Jury Mix / Remastered 2024) – U2 (5:46)
With the Pop singles, U2 were unhappy with the studio versions found on the album, and in many cases went into the studio while on tour to re-record or make changes to the earlier versions. “If God Will Send His Angels” is one of the songs that was re-recorded for the single. This single version arranges the choruses in a different order and replaces the scat singing at the end of the original track with actual lyrics.
The single is filled out by two songs that U2 had written for other artists. The first is “Slow Dancing”, a song U2 wrote for Willie Nelson, but had recorded themselves for the “Stay (Faraway, So Close!)” single in 1993. This new version released in 1997 includes Willie Nelson on vocals, and Nelson’s long time collaborator, Mickey Raphael on harmonica. It is Brian Eno on the additional chorus vocals.
“Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad” was written by U2 for Frank Sinatra. This recording is U2 performing the song, and Sinatra himself never recorded a version of the song. His daughter Nancy however, did record the song, with Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen. It was featured on her 2004 album Nancy Sinatra.
The next track is a live version of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” taken from the U2 performance in Sarajevo on September 23, 1997. Although rehearsed by both Bono and The Edge for a tour debut at that show, The Edge is on lead vocals here, a nod to the karaoke songs that previously held that space. That particular show is seeing a bit of attention lately with the documentary Kiss the Future now showing on Paramount+ in the US and Canada. (An error in tagging says that Willie Nelson appears on this track as well, he does not.)
Finally a remix of “If God Will Send His Angels” called The Grand Jury Mix is included here. In 1997, the “If God Will Send His Angels” commercial single contained the Romin Remix of “Mofo” while this remix of the title track was included on the “Mofo” single. The Romin Remix of “Mofo” should appear on the next remastered single instead.
“If God Will Send His Angels” was released at the same time as “Mofo” in 1997 for most of the world, and the two singles featured similar artwork, taken from the PopMart visuals designed by Run Wrake. It is expected that “Mofo” will be released on June 14 as the next single in the “To Love and Only Love” series of remastered singles.
The song reached #12 in the UK, and #11 in the Irish charts. There have been a number of digital releases of the single over the years. The single was first released on iTunes in 2003 as one of the first U2 items on the service, in the US only. It was also available as part of The Complete U2 in 2004. Another reissue was done in 2005 to digital services. None of these were remastered versions of the single.
More information: “If God Will Send His Angels“ Discography Entry
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