Editing How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (section)

===Sessions with Thomas===
Rather than repeat themselves after their previous record, ''[[All That You Can't Leave Behind]]'' (2000), U2 were seeking a harder-hitting, more guitar-driven rock sound in response to the success of the album's single "[[Beautiful Day]]".<ref name="rs-20th-ann"/> As a result, they hired producer [[Chris Thomas (record producer)|Chris Thomas]], who had worked on some of their favourite records, including ''[[Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols]]'' by the [[Sex Pistols]] and early works by [[Roxy Music]]. The Edge said that he wanted Thomas to put the same stamp on U2's record that he had done on ''Never Mind the Bollocks'', "[[The Beatles (album)|The White Album]]" by [[the Beatles]], and ''[[The Dark Side of the Moon]]'' by [[Pink Floyd]].<ref name="irish-times-20th-ann">{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2024/11/23/the-album-that-nearly-finished-u2-the-story-of-how-to-dismantle-an-atomic-bomb-and-its-new-shadow-lp/|title=The album that nearly finished U2: The story of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and its new 'shadow' LP|website=[[The Irish Times]]|first=Ed|last=Power|date=23 November 2024|access-date=27 November 2024}}</ref><ref name="record-collect-20th-ann">{{cite magazine|title=Reconstruction Time Again|magazine=[[Record Collector]]|first=Rob|last=Fitzpatrick|date=December 2024|issue=564|pages=78–85}}</ref> U2 began recording with Thomas in February 2003;<ref name="dropsbomb">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/u2-drops-bomb-20041230|title=U2 Drops Bomb|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|first=David|last=Fricke|date=30 December 2004|access-date=20 December 2016}}</ref> the Edge said the sessions were intended to have a "visceral band sound", and that he wanted a guitar tone like [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]]'s on ''Never Mind the Bollocks''.<ref name="record-collect-20th-ann"/> To get into the desired creative mindset, the group continued their "power hour" tradition that began years prior with their long-time producer [[Daniel Lanois]]; several times a week, regardless of what they were working on, the band set aside time to improvise new material together, often producing two or three new song ideas. The Edge said this generated intrigue around the new pieces of music and used "the right kind of chaos where a radical element will be the thing that we'll all jump on to work with, whatever it might be".<ref name="rs-20th-ann"/>

The Edge said that in retrospect, the group struggled with Thomas at the production helm. They had begun with a lot of basic song ideas that were "out of focus", which they sensed Thomas was not accustomed to. The Edge said when it came to realising their "visceral band in the room" approach, U2 "over-emphasised [their] songwriterly methodology and didn't trust enough the raw energy of what a band can do".<ref name="record-collect-20th-ann"/> He thought they had made progress with Thomas, but upon listening to rough mixes of their material, they realised that their desire to musically "push the chaos further" was being tempered by Thomas's instinct to rein them in, and that the songs sounded "too polite".<ref name="rs-20th-ann"/> Late in 2003,<ref name="irish-times-20th-ann"/> the band visited [[Associated Independent Recording|AIR Studios]] in London to record [[overdub]]s with a 20-person string section "to give a few songs some lift". Bassist [[Adam Clayton]] called the session the moment "the wheels came off"; he sensed the musicians' lack of enthusiasm for the band's music, saying: "We could read the room. And they were not going, 'Wow, guys, this is really happening!'"<ref name="dropsbomb"/><ref name="sodajerker">{{cite podcast|url=https://www.sodajerker.com/episode-279-the-edge/|title=Episode 279 – The Edge|work=Sodajerker|first1=Simon|last1=Barber|first2=Brian|last2=O'Connor|date=1 January 2025|access-date=12 January 2025}}</ref>

After nine months of work, the band had completed an album's worth of songs. In October 2003, they met in Dublin to review their work. Bono and the Edge believed it was good enough to release; Bono said, "All we needed was the assent of the [[politburo]] and the record would have been out for Christmas." Clayton and drummer [[Larry Mullen Jr.]], however, disagreed with their bandmates and voted against releasing the record.<ref name="mystways-time">{{cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,782116-1,00.html|title=Mysterious Ways|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|first=Josh|last=Tyrangiel|date=22 November 2004|volume=164|issue=21|pages=80–83|access-date=9 October 2020}}</ref> Mullen said that the songs "had no magic",<ref name="mccorm317">McCormick (2006), pp. 317–321</ref> while Clayton said, "When it comes to signing off on a project, you ask questions like, 'Have we got a first single to open the campaign?' Frankly, we were missing more than just a first single."<ref name="mystways-time"/> Clayton and Mullen also felt that ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'' had been overpraised, and they considered "Beautiful Day" to be the only hit single that the album generated. Clayton thought that if U2's goal was to continue to be the world's biggest band, they needed three or four hits from their album that could attract new fans.<ref name="mystways-time"/>

[[File:Steve Lillywhite during interview.jpg|thumb|[[Steve Lillywhite]] ''(pictured)'' took over as producer of the album after U2's dissatisfaction with their work with [[Chris Thomas (record producer)|Chris Thomas]].]]
The group brought in their long-time producer [[Steve Lillywhite]] to mediate the disagreement. After they played him the album, Lillywhite assessed that it felt like "it had the weight of the world on its shoulders. It certainly wasn't any fun." After lengthy discussions, Bono and the Edge were convinced that the album needed more work. Bono thought their songs were good but admitted "good won't bring you to tears or make you want to leave your house and tour for a year".<ref name="mystways-time"/> Without making any firm decision on the album's producer, the group decided to undertake recording sessions with Lillywhite and see where it led them.<ref name="rs-20th-ann"/>