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| Genre = Rock | Length = | Label = Island, Interscope | Producer = Danger Mouse, with additional production from Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney and Flood | Last album = ''No Line on the Horizon'' (2009) | This album = ''Songs of Innocence'' (2014) | Next album = | Misc = }} ''Songs of Innocence'' is the thirteenth studio album by Irish rock band U2. Released on 9 September 2014, it was produced by Danger Mouse, with additional production from Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney and Flood. The album was announced at an Apple Inc. product launch event and released the same day to all iTunes Store customers at no cost. It was exclusive to iTunes, iTunes Radio, and Beats Music until 13 October 2014, when it received a physical release on Island and Interscope Records.〔(U2: Songs Of Innocence – Album Review )〕〔 The digital release made the record available to over 500 million iTunes customers, for what Apple CEO Tim Cook marketed as "the largest album release of all time". ''Songs of Innocence'' was U2's first album since ''No Line on the Horizon'' (2009), marking the longest gap between studio albums of their career. After the latter's relatively lukewarm commercial performance, lead singer Bono expressed uncertainty over how the band could remain musically relevant. During the five-and-a-half-year gestation period for ''Songs of Innocence'', they reportedly worked on three separate projects with multiple producers, including an aborted companion to their previous record called ''Songs of Ascent''. However, they struggled to complete an album to their satisfaction and continually delayed a release. After working with Danger Mouse for two years, the group collaborated with Flood, Epworth, and Tedder to complete the record. Thematically, it revisits the group members' youth in Ireland in the 1970s, touching on childhood memories, loves and regrets, while paying tribute to musical inspirations Ramones and the Clash. Bono described it as "the most personal album we've written". The album's lead single, "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)", was featured in an Apple television commercial as part of a promotional campaign for the band on which the company reportedly spent $100 million. According to Apple, approximately 81 million iTunes users listened to the album in its first month of release, 26 million of whom downloaded the entire record. ''Songs of Innocence'' received mixed reviews, and some critics and consumers were critical of the digital release strategy; the album was automatically added to users' iTunes accounts without their consent, which for many, triggered an unprompted download to their devices. Upon its commercial release, when it became eligible for charting, ''Songs of Innocence'' sold just 101,000 copies in North America and charted for just six and eight weeks in the UK and US, respectively. The record received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Album. U2 are supporting the album with the Innocence + Experience Tour in 2015. ==Background== In February 2009, U2 released their 12th studio album, ''No Line on the Horizon''. The album received generally favourable reviews and debuted at number one in over 30 countries, but its sales of 5 million units were comparatively low by U2 standards and it did not contain a hit single. Having spent time in Fez, Morocco, recording and absorbing exotic musical influences, the group intended the record to be more experimental than their previous two. However, critics found it to be more conventional than expected. During the five-and-a-half year gestation period for ''Songs of Innocence'', lead singer Bono expressed uncertainty on several occasions over how U2 could remain relevant musically after the relatively lukewarm commercial performance of ''No Line on the Horizon''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Songs of Innocence (U2 album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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