U2 - Surrender

About "Surrender"

Songs of Surrender is an album of re-recorded songs by Irish rock band U2. Produced by guitarist the Edge, it was released on 17 March 2023 on Island Records and Interscope Records. Largely the effort of the Edge and lead vocalist Bono, the album comprises re-recorded and reinterpreted versions of 40 songs from the group's back catalogue, many in stripped-down and acoustic arrangements. The album is a companion to Bono's memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story (2022), which was structured into 40 chapters titled after U2 songs. Rearranged versions of the songs were first included in the audiobook edition of the memoir, and were performed by Bono during the book's promotional tour.

Recording on Songs of Surrender began in 2021 and spanned a two-year period during lockdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Edge and Bono worked on the album informally at the Edge's home and in France, as well as at recording studios in London and Los Angeles. During the sessions, the band members collaborated with numerous producers and musicians, including Bob Ezrin, Duncan Stewart, Declan Gaffney, and Stjepan Hauser.

Songs of Surrender was released on numerous formats in 16-track, 20-track, and 40-track editions, and a dozen coloured variants of the double-LP vinyl edition were produced. The album garnered mixed reception from critics. It debuted at number one on 11 charts in Europe, including in the United Kingdom for U2's 11th number one there and first since 2009. However, sales quickly tapered off; the album charted for only three weeks in the UK, and one week in the United States after debuting at number five. The album's release was accompanied by a television documentary film, Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, with Dave Letterman, which premiered on Disney+.