Songs of Innocence (U2 album)

Songs of Innocence
Songs of Innocence
	Artwork for standard and deluxe editions of the commercial release
Studio album by U2
Released	9 September 2014
Recorded	2009–2014
Studio	Electric Lady (New York City); Pull (New York City); The Church (London); Assault & Battery (London); Shangri-La (Malibu); The Woodshed (Los Angeles); Strathmore House (Killiney);
Genre	Rock
Length	48:11
Label	Island, Interscope
Producer	Danger Mouse; Paul Epworth (add.); Ryan Tedder (add.); Declan Gaffney (add.); Flood (add.);
U2 chronology
Alternate cover
	Original iTunes Store release
Singles from Songs of Innocence
	"The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)"; Released: 15 September 2014; "Every Breaking Wave"; Released: 9 December 2014; "Song for Someone"; Released: 11 May 2015;

Songs of Innocence is the thirteenth studio album by the Irish rock band U2, released on 9 September 2014. It was produced by Danger Mouse, with additional production from Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney, and Flood. It was announced at an Apple Inc. product launch event and digitally released the same day to all iTunes Store customers at no cost. It was exclusive to iTunes, iTunes Radio, and Beats Music until 13 October 2014, when it was released by Island and Interscope Records.^[2] The digital release made the record available to more than 500 million iTunes customers, for what Apple's CEO Tim Cook called "the largest album release of all time".

After the relatively low sales of U2's previous record, No Line on the Horizon (2009), lead vocalist Bono expressed uncertainty about their relevance. Over five and a half years—the longest gap between U2 albums at that point—the group worked on projects with multiple producers, including Songs of Ascent, an aborted companion to their previous record. However, they struggled to complete an album to their satisfaction and continually delayed a release. After working with Danger Mouse for two years, they collaborated with Flood, Epworth, and Tedder to complete Songs of Innocence. The album revisits the group members' youth in Ireland in the 1970s, touching on childhood memories, loves, and losses, and it pays tribute to musical inspirations of theirs such as the Ramones and the Clash. Bono described it as U2's most personal album.

The lead single, "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)", was featured in an Apple television advertisement as part of a promotional campaign, on which Apple reportedly spent US$100 million. Approximately 81 million iTunes users listened to Songs of Innocence in its first month, 26 million of whom downloaded the entire record. Songs of Innocence received generally mixed reviews and drew criticism for its digital release; it was automatically added to users' iTunes accounts, triggering unprompted downloads to Apple devices for many users.

Upon its retail release, Songs of Innocence sold just 101,000 copies in North America and charted for eight weeks in the US and nine weeks in the UK. The record received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Album. U2's press tour was interrupted after Bono was seriously injured in a bicycle accident. Following his recuperation, U2 supported the album with the successful Innocence + Experience Tour in 2015, and released a companion record, Songs of Experience, in 2017.

^ "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations". All Access. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015.
^ Cite error: The named reference U2.com release was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations". All Access. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015.

[U2.com_release-2] Cite error: The named reference U2.com release was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1]

[2]