The 1998 song that The Edge was always jealous of: “Great spirit, great energy”
No artist stops becoming a music fan when they reach the top of the world. Once that first success starts rolling in, it’s practically every artist’s duty to keep that creative fire burning in whatever way they can, either through different musical avenues or toying around with styles that wouldn’t normally fit into their signature sound.
Even with years removed from his salad days, though, The Edge found a song he wished he could have written.
That kind of admiration is telling, especially from someone who helped redefine the sonic possibilities of rock guitar. For The Edge, inspiration didn’t stop once U2 reached global dominance. If anything, success only sharpened his ear, making him more attuned to songs that captured a feeling or energy he recognised but hadn’t personally tapped into.
For years, U2 had been known as one of the few shining lights in rock music. Although most of their punk rock heroes had long since moved on when cutting their first few records like Boy and War, they still had the freedom of rock and roll instilled in them, as Bono wrote glorious hymns about wanting to escape the dead-end streets that he saw around his native Dublin
Once they finally found their way to the top of the world on 1987’s The Joshua Tree, it was time to strip things down. Across their next album, Achtung Baby, The Edge embraced certain electronic textures into his sound, playing up the semi-ironic nature of Bono’s strange new turn as the rockstar persona ‘The Fly’.
After reshaping their sound already, the next album, Zooropa, saw them taking even more chances, working some of their songs into the dance-rock scene while also getting a cosign from Johnny Cash on the final song, ‘The Wanderer’. As the band focused on releasing their poppy counterpart, Pop, The Edge was knocked back by one of the newest acts on the radio.
It’s a reminder of how quickly the musical landscape can shift. Even for a band as established as U2, new voices could emerge seemingly out of nowhere and deliver something fresh enough to cut through the noise, forcing even seasoned artists to stop and take notice of what was happening around them.
In the background of the alternative movement, an up-and-coming songwriter named Gregg Alexander had recently started the group The New Radicals, reaching the top of the charts for the first time with the song ‘You Get What You Give’. While the tune has become a fixture of playing over the credits of feel-good family movies these days, The Edge loved it to the point of jealousy.
When talking to Time magazine about the music that had shaped him, The Edge talked about being resentful that he didn’t write something so poignant, saying, “There’s quite a few songs I’ve been jealous of. Oh. Easy. The New Radicals’ ‘You Get What You Give’. That’s a great tune. I really would love to have written that. Great spirit, great energy”.
Looking at the lyrics, The New Radicals’ smash has many hallmarks that come with a U2-esque song. Compared to the cynical sounds of its era, Alexander doesn’t have a jaded bone in his body, talking about doing everything in style despite being flat broke and warning everyone listening never to give up on themselves.
The tune’s construction is also immaculate, reminiscent of the sounds of glorified AOR rock that sound amazing coming out of the radio, like Electric Light Orchestra. Despite their one iconic track, New Radicals didn’t have much time to enjoy their big hit, with Alexander ending the project after becoming desensitised to fame. Still, they will always have their one perfect song, and the lip service of one of the greatest guitarists of the modern age certainly doesn’t hurt.
