Rubin Tracks Scrapped From Next U2 Album

• 28th Nov 2008

He may have provided a golden touch to records by everyone from Johnny Cash to Jay-Z, but U2 have decided that the songs they recorded with Rick Rubin back in 2006 aren't good enough to appear on their new album.

The Edge revealed: “We actually laid all that stuff to one side. Really out of deference to Rick and that set of songs we just said, okay, that's that, and we drew a line. So none of the Rick material went into this project. Everything has been written subsequently. He gave us great advice as much as anything. His whole thing is, 'Don't go near the studio until you know exactly what you want to do', which, of course, is the opposite of how we usually work”.

All tracks on the album, due for release in February, have been recorded with the band's traditional studio pairing of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.