*** Welcome to piglix ***

Mysterious Ways (song)

"Mysterious Ways"
U2 Mysterious Ways.jpg
Single by U2
from the album Achtung Baby
Released 25 November 1991
Format CD, cassette, 7", 12"
Recorded 1990–1991
Studio STS in Dublin, Hansa Ton Studios in Berlin, Elsinore in Dublin, and Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin
Genre Alternative rock, funk rock, alternative dance
Length 4:04 (album version)
4:08 (Best Of version)
Label Island
Writer(s) U2 (music), Bono (lyrics)
Producer(s) Daniel Lanois with Brian Eno
U2 singles chronology
"The Fly"
(1991)
"Mysterious Ways"
(1991)
"One"
(1992)
Achtung Baby track listing
"The Fly"
(7)
"Mysterious Ways"
(8)
"Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World"
(9)
Music video
"Mysterious Ways" on YouTube
Music sample

"Mysterious Ways" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the eighth track from their 1991 album Achtung Baby and was released as the album's second single on 25 November 1991. The song reached the top ten of the singles charts in several countries, including the band's native Ireland, where it went to number one. In the United States, the song topped the Modern Rock Tracks and Album Rock Tracks charts and peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song began as an improvisation called "Sick Puppy," with the band only liking the bass part that bassist Adam Clayton composed. The band struggled to build a song from it, with vocalist Bono and producer Daniel Lanois arguing intensely during one songwriting session. The song's breakthrough came after guitarist the Edge began experimenting with the Korg A3 effects unit. "Mysterious Ways" features a danceable beat, funky guitar hook, and conga-laden percussion, as well as mystical lyrics by Bono about romance and women.

The song received praise from critics after the release of Achtung Baby, many of whom called it one of the album's standout tracks and one that best illustrated the band's musical evolution on the album. A music video for the song was filmed in Morocco and incorporated distorted images of Bono and a belly dancer. "Mysterious Ways" made its live debut on the Zoo TV Tour in 1992, when performances were accompanied by an on-stage belly dancer. The group has continued to perform the song on subsequent tours.

"Mysterious Ways" began as an improvised demo called "Sick Puppy" that the group recorded at STS Studios in Dublin, as vocalist Bono, guitarist the Edge, and bassist Adam Clayton jammed over a drum machine. The band liked Clayton's bassline, which originated during their recording of a cover version of "Night and Day" and for a while, consisted of little more than a "one-note groove." However, the band had difficulties completing the remainder of the song melodically. Bono said that it was "a bass line in search of a song," while the Edge stated that "the key to the song was finding ways to mess around with chords on top without having to change the bass."


...
Wikipedia

...