The U2 interwebs have been buzzing for the past 24 hours about this song-length clip that a fan named Chad S. uploaded yesterday to YouTube. Have a listen, and then we’ll talk afterward (i.e., below the video):
In the video, Chad says he found it on a Japanese fan site and labels it a “mysterious demo from U2′s album recording sessions.”
But in our forum, “Sam” says it’s actually a jam from a somewhat well-known soundcheck that U2 did before its U2 360 Anaheim show in 2011:
“…this particular track is just from the edges earpiece and is merely a sound check of the instruments as bono is just playing main chords of the jam and edge is fiddling his way through it with his signature sound as a test for Willie Williams.”
In the middle of the clip, you can hear Bono saying something that sounds like “Happy birthday, Flory.” As our friend Beth pointed out on Twitter today, Flory Turner was part of the 360 touring crew … which adds credence to this being a soundcheck jam and not necessarily anything related to U2′s next album.
Postscript: Sam (from the forum) has uploaded the full 9+-minute-long jam session from Anaheim, which includes the shorter clip above and continues by becoming “Magnificent.” Here’s the full audio:
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I have heard this before as an old soundcheck jam. It doesn’t mean it won’t reappear, but I would not classify this as “new” material.