Ahead of U2's Las Vegas residency at the Sphere (properly known as “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere), there was one big question mark. That was “So Cruel,” the sixth track on Achtung Baby.
You see, the band hadn't played “So Cruel” much prior to the Sphere shows. On U2's “ZooTV” tour, the original support tour for Achtung Baby, it was played three times. But all of these performances were either shortened and/or performed solely by Bono.
Now, over 30 years later, U2 is playing a full band arrangement during their shows at the Sphere. After all, the residency promised to hear all of Achtung Baby live. Like the song or not, “So Cruel” is a part of the album.
It must have been slightly daunting, playing a song that's hardly been touched since its original creation. Speaking to ClutchPoints about his new Peter & The Wolf animated short (full interview out next week), a project he collaborated with Bono on, Gavin Friday spoke about “So Cruel.” He believes the band was nervous about playing the song, but they originally were going to play a different version of it.
Putting the [Achtung] Baby down for a nap
After a brief break from the “baby,” that being what U2 considers “Side One” of Achtung Baby, they wake it up by playing “So Cruel.” The song is played close to its album arrangement, with The Edge playing the piano riff before looping it so he can play the guitar.
According to Friday, who dubbed himself the “midwife” of U2 during our chat, U2 nearly played a “different interpretation” of “So Cruel.” In fact, the band rehearsed it in this arrangement and it wasn't until the last rehearsals that they opted to go with a more authentic arrangement.
“They were going to do a different interpretation and then they went back during the last rehearsals [during] the last couple of weeks to the authentic version with piano,” Friday said, adding, “they weren't going to do a guitar one. So I think they were nervous.”
He continued, “And then they just went, ‘You know what? The truth doesn't lie. Let's just do it as it was.'”
A full band arrangement
For those wondering, the guitar-driven “So Cruel” rendition was still full band. I thought Gavin Friday was suggesting an arrangement similar to Bono's solo performance during the U2 documentary, From the Sky Down.
“No, it was a full band [arrangement] with no piano,” Friday clarified. “That's what they were thinking, but not what they did. They did the original.”
It worked out for the best for U2. While their Sphere shows have heavy-hitters such as “Until the End of the World” and “The Fly” in their setlists, “So Cruel” is one of the standout performances. Prior to the shows, Friday called “So Cruel” a “show-stopper.”
He did not lie.
“U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere” will continue through December 16.
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