Rumour: U2 to Release ATYCLB Box This Fall

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2020-09-01)

Update 2020-09-01:

Anton Corbijn has discussed the upcoming box set in a recent interview with the Gagosian Quarterly. He is asked about Bono, “You have a long-standing working relationship with U2 as well; what’s going on now, and what’s your favorite thing about Bono?” Corbijn replies, “He is a very positive person. He is also far more creative than people realize. I just did a little photo book that will accompany the rerelease of U2’s [2000] album All That You Can’t Leave Behind later this year.” Thanks Joe for the heads up on the interview and quote from Corbijn. We are expecting the box to be announced soon.

The box will be similar to the 2017 box set and reissues of The Joshua Tree and will be an audio only release, including the All That You Can’t Leave Behind album, a live show from the Elevation tour, as well as demos and rarities. Expect a similar amount of discs to what we got in the 2017 sets. Corbijn’s book is expected to be similar to the book of photographs by The Edge included in the 30th anniversary edition of The Joshua Tree.

We have heard from multiple sources besides the quote from Corbijn above that this project is coming this year.

Original Story: 2020-07-30:

We are happy to share that we have been told that All That You Can’t Leave Behind is getting a special reissue, likely this October. The release will be a box set including rare tracks, live material, and the album. As this has not yet been announced by U2 or their label, it should be considered a rumour at this time until it is officially announced, but this has reached us via previously reliable sources.

It has been 20 years since U2 reapplied for the job of being, in Bono’s words, the “best band in the world”. Twenty years since we first heard “Beautiful Day” chime over the airwaves. Twenty years since All That You Can’t Leave Behind was released on October 30, 2000, hitting #1 in 32 different countries around the world, and winning the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album.

We are told that the band is returning to the All That You Can’t Leave Behind album this fall for a special box set collection. Our sources say that the project is being put together by the same team who worked on the 30th anniversary edition of The Joshua Tree, which was put together under Executive Producer Gavin Friday. We are told that this new box will be similar in size and scope to that 2017 project.

Initial plans suggest a vinyl box, a CD box, as well as a smaller multi-disc CD set, and individual releases of the album on deluxe CD and vinyl are being planned. The audio will likely be from the remaster of the album done by The Edge in 2017, which has been used for both an iTunes release and for a vinyl pressing of the album. The 2018 release on black vinyl did use this new master. (For those who are wondering, that release also dropped the dedication to Aung San Suu Kyi which had been present in earlier editions.) Also expected to be included in the box set will be a show from the 2001 Elevation tour, and several discs of rarities and demos from this era, some which haven’t been released before. The 2017 release of The Joshua Tree included the album, a previously unreleased Joshua Tree tour concert, and B-Sides, outtakes and remixes.

Although we don’t know the tracks that will be included on this new box set, we can look back at what was released in support of the original album in 2000 – 2001. A number of studio B-Sides were used to fill out singles when the original album was produced, and more songs from this era appeared in 2004 with the release of The Complete U2 and the earlier release of The Million Dollar Hotel Soundtrack, these include:

“Always”
“Summer Rain”
“Big Girls Are Best”
“Don’t Take Your Guns to Town”
“Levitate”
“Love You Like Mad”
“Flower Child”
“The Ground Beneath Her Feet”
“Stateless”

During the production of the album, Eno kept a production notebook that listed many other song titles which have never appeared, so there may be a wealth of demo material to work with for additional content in the box set. One song, “Novelty Act” was even announced as a B-side for a single in this era, before being replaced by “Big Girls Are Best.” Other titles mentioned in the production notes include “Higher than Love,” “Big Jesus About Town,” “Last Week of My Life,” and “Frontier of the Skin.” Hopefully we get a look into some of those previously unheard tracks with this release. A look at all of the demo titles we know of can be found here.

During the promotion of the album, a number of remixes and alternate edits appeared on singles as well:

“Beautiful Day” (Quincey and Sonance Remix)
“Beautiful Day” (The Perfecto Remix)
“Beautiful Day” (David Holmes Remix)
“Elevation” (Tomb Raider Mix)
“Elevation” (Escalation Mix)
“Elevation” (Influx Mix)
“Elevation” (Quincey and Sonance Mix)
“Elevation” (The Vandit Club Mix) (as well as other mixes by Paul van Dyk)
“Elevation” (The Biffco Mix)
“In A Little While” (N.O.W. Remix)
“Stuck in a Moment” (Acoustic Version)
“Stuck in a Moment” (Radio Edit)
“Walk On” (Edit)
“Walk On” (Hallelujah Mix)
“Walk On” (Video Version)
“Walk On” (Single Version)

It is unknown which of these tracks above may be included in this box set, if any. But these are some of the options they could pick from. There’s a wealth of other previous unreleased material they could choose from as well.

If the 2017 release of The Joshua Tree is any indication, there may also be some new remixes included. That release in 2017 saw many of U2’s producers from throughout the years creating new remixes of songs, including Steve Lillywhite, Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno and Jacknife Lee. That release of The Joshua Tree was supported by a new single version of “Red Hill Mining Town,” remixed by Steve Lillywhite, released for Record Store Day and on streaming services ahead of the box set.

There were also a number of live tracks released as singles and stand alone tracks during the album promotion cycle, including three tracks recorded in Dublin on the “International Radio Sessions” promo, songs taken from the Elevation concerts in Boston, Toronto and at Slane Castle, songs taken from promotional shows at Irving Plaza in New York, the Manray Club in Paris, and from the Farmclub.Com appearance. Songs were also released from the PopMart Mexico show as part of the singles for All That You Can’t Leave Behind. And a live version of “Walk On” with “Peace on Earth” was also released for the America: A Tribute to Heroes album and video.

The box set and other formats of this release should be announced in late August / early September. We are told the expected release date for these releases is October 30, 2020, which is the 20th anniversary of the release of the original album. As this release has not yet been announced by Universal, changes to the date and content mentioned above may occur, and should be taken as rumour for now. Once confirmed, we will bring you additional information on this release.

For more news about this release and other upcoming U2 releases, including the Joshua Tree Tour 2017 film, and the expected new album, please see our Upcoming U2 Releases page.

< Next News Entry | Previous News Entry >

u2songs.com was formerly known as u2wanderer.org. Follow us on Twitter | Facebook