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About This Track
“Unknown Caller” is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the fourth track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. It was written from the perspective of a drug addict, who begins to receive bizarre text messages on his cellphone. The song was developed very early during the No Line on the Horizon sessions, and was recorded in a single take.
The No Line on the Horizon sessions began with two weeks of recording in Fez, Morocco. Recording took place in rented the courtyard of a hotel Riad, which the band turned into a makeshift recording studio. “Unknown Caller” was recorded in a single take in this time, along with the songs “No Line on the Horizon”, “Moment of Surrender”, and “White as Snow”. A few iterations of the track had previously been developed, but the “definitive version was only ever played once.” Guitarist The Edge noted that they “were songs that pretty much came together in the space of a couple of hours, and therefore probably were played in the final incarnation maybe once or twice.” Co-writer and producer Daniel Lanois noted that the song “pretty much had its personality intact from day one.” The open-air Riad allowed the band to hear the overhead birdsong during their sessions; this was taped and included in the introduction of the song.
In an interview with The Guardian, lead singer Bono stated that he became tired of writing in the first-person, noting that “I’d just worn myself out as a subject matter”; as a result he created several characters, including a traffic cop, a drug addict, and a soldier serving in Afghanistan.
The No Line on the Horizon sessions began with two weeks of recording in Fez, Morocco. Recording took place in rented the courtyard of a hotel Riad, which the band turned into a makeshift recording studio. “Unknown Caller” was recorded in a single take in this time, along with the songs “No Line on the Horizon”, “Moment of Surrender”, and “White as Snow”. A few iterations of the track had previously been developed, but the “definitive version was only ever played once.” Guitarist The Edge noted that they “were songs that pretty much came together in the space of a couple of hours, and therefore probably were played in the final incarnation maybe once or twice.” Co-writer and producer Daniel Lanois noted that the song “pretty much had its personality intact from day one.” The open-air Riad allowed the band to hear the overhead birdsong during their sessions; this was taped and included in the introduction of the song.
In an interview with The Guardian, lead singer Bono stated that he became tired of writing in the first-person, noting that “I’d just worn myself out as a subject matter”; as a result he created several characters, including a traffic cop, a drug addict, and a soldier serving in Afghanistan.
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Albums featuring this track
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No Line On The Horizon
U2
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Shouts
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nicki-77 wrote:
restart and re-boot urself ...brilliant.....the edge, man, the edge.[3]
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Septacle wrote:
answer silly bee
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Bralencar wrote:
wow
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Aero3k wrote:
The Edge did an incredible job in this song.
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hillers wrote:
I don't understand the point of the French horns in this.
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flashnukka wrote:
This is so classic U2, melodically at least.
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bistec54 wrote:
el recital en Marzo 2011 fue espectacular en Chile
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portishphonic wrote:
the edge, man, the edge.[2]
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RadioVoice wrote:
MITICI !!
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jammyofstafford wrote:
My favourite track off the album when they played this at The Wembley Stadium gig it blew me away i just adore Edge,s guitar solo on this
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bistec54 wrote:
Una canciòn perfecta, como todo lo que hace U2
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Tiago_Freitas wrote:
Oh oh oh oh oh oh! Oh oh oh oh oh oh!
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darth_pigeon wrote:
one of my favorite u2 songs...Who cares if the lyrics are a little silly? What a super melody!!!
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NavaF1 wrote:
This is awesome live!
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Celestial_Sky wrote:
Beau99 - completely agree with you. I kept skipping it on the CD. Heard it live and now it gets me choked up.
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Jen420 wrote:
♥
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dalmascan wrote:
it's amazing how the vocals and all the other instrumentals sound so heavy and dark, but once the chorus hits and those guitars come in, it's like light breaking the surface. the edge, man, the edge.
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Jane-Margaret wrote:
Love the birds sound at the beginning.....^^
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gsm007g wrote:
Saw them Unforgetable Fire Tour...NO Words...
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miamigirlie wrote:
... free to go ...... but I can't move -- helpppppppppppppp
Track Stats
539,663 Scrobbles
109,617 Listeners
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Recent Activity
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richy109, moarkthx and nietavidaboa loved U2 – Unknown Caller. Friday afternoon
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nietavidaboa added Unknown Caller to the playlist. Friday morning
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laguba09 added Unknown Caller to the playlist for A...(Part 2). last week
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infra_vermelho added Unknown Caller to infra_vermelho’s library. December 2011
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Curtis320 and Kuka_Vanechka loved U2 – Unknown Caller. December 2011
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edivansinop added Unknown Caller to the playlist. December 2011
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