| "Magnificent" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byU2 | ||||
| from the albumNo Line on the Horizon | ||||
| Released | ||||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | ||||
| Composers | ||||
| Lyricists | ||||
| Producers |
| |||
| U2 singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Magnificent" onYouTube | ||||
"Magnificent" is a song byU2. It is the second track on the band's 2009 albumNo Line on the Horizon and was released as the album's second single.[1] The song was originally titled "French Disco", but was renamed later in the recording sessions.[3] It is played before the start of everyNew York Rangers home game atMadison Square Garden.
The single was released on 4 May 2009 and reached number 42 on theUK Singles Chart. While well received by critics, it was the first domestically-released U2 single not to make the UK Top 40 since "A Celebration" in 1982. It did, however, reach number one on theScottish Singles Chart, their second single fromNo Line on the Horizon to do so.
"Magnificent" originated from the band's improvised recording sessions withBrian Eno andDaniel Lanois inFez, Morocco in June 2007.[4] The track was created out of a series of chord changes in the midst of a jam. The Edge noted that "The basic chord progression had a power that got everyone inspired. I think we all knew that it was inherently joyful, which is rare."[5] A group of Moroccan percussionists played along with the band, and the result quickly became a band favourite during the sessions.[5]
Bono noted that the lyrics were influenced by bothCole Porter andBach, as well as the 'Magnificat', a passage from the Gospel of Luke that was previously set to music by Bach.[6] Lanois described the song's origins: "We wanted to have something euphoric and Bono came up with that little melody. And he loved that melody, and stuck with it. Almost like a fanfare. And then I was involved in the lyrical process on that, because we wanted to talk about sacrifice that one makes for one's medium or one's art. I thought it had for a setting New York in the 1950s; looking out a small bedroom window. Maybe aCharlie Parker kind of figure."[4]
The song has been remixed numerous times, including versions byDave Audé,Pete Tong, Redanka,Fred Falke, andAdam K & Soha. The remixes were made available simultaneously with the single release for the song. In the UK the Magnificent Remixes were the highest climber in the Upfront Club Chart at No. 3, and are at No. 4 in the Cool Cuts Chart.[7]will.i.am participated in the creation of an as-yet unreleased remix.[8]
The synthesized baseline of Redanka's 180 Version Remix is similar toDonna Summer's 1977hit song "I Feel Love".
Theradio edit and UK edit are slightly different versions of the song, with the most prominent difference being an alteration in the first lyric.[9]
The music video was filmed inFez,Morocco.[10] It was directed byAlex Courtes, who previously worked with the band on the video for "Get On Your Boots". The video premiered online viaYahoo! Music[11] on May 6, 2009.[12]
Upon the release ofNo Line on the Horizon, many critics called "Magnificent" one of the album's highlights.Q wrote that it "echoesThe Unforgettable Fire's opening track "A Sort of Homecoming" in its atmospheric sweep", also labelling it as a "slow-building anthem with the ambience of "The Unforgettable Fire' and a re-boot of 'Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses.'"[1][13][14] InAllmusic's review of the album, Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that on "Magnificent", U2 "strike that unmistakable blend of soaring, widescreen sonics and unflinching openhearted emotion that's been their trademark, turning the intimate into something hauntingly universal".[15]Mojo praised the song, noting the song's "martialsnare drums ratchetthe Edge's vertiginous delayed guitar figures across a rock landscape that this band realised to near perfection c.The Unforgettable Fire and which they've now updated with no loss of awe".[16]Blender called the song a "rocker" and "yet another hymn to the powers of love" in which the band "achieve liftoff".[17]NME was critical of the song, calling it "astonishingly uninteresting", adding that it "sounds like [it was] reconstituted from the ...Atomic Bomb sessions".[18]
"Magnificent" debuted at number 42 on theUK Singles Chart, becoming U2's first domestically-released single to completely miss the UK Top 40 since 1982's "A Celebration" peaked at number 47 (The import-only "In God's Country" charted in 1988, but missed the top 40). In Scotland, the song debuted at number oneScottish Singles Chart, becoming the second single fromNo Line on the Horizon to top that chart, after "Get On Your Boots",[19] as well as becoming the band's eight number one overall. It was added to A-Lists ofBBC Radio 1 andBBC Radio 2, along with being added toXFM's playlist and the B-List ofBBC 6 Music.
The song also made a one-week appearance on theBillboard Hot 100 uponNo Line on the Horizon's release, peaking at number 79. Coincidentally, the same week sawRick Ross chart with a song called "Magnificent". These are the only two songs by this name to ever chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in its history.
"Magnificent" did much better in continental Europe, entering the Top 20 in several countries: number six in the Netherlands, number 11 in Italy, number 15 in France, number 16 in Sweden. The song also reached the Top 5 in Ireland.
Coldplay have regularly played the song prior to the band taking the stage at their concerts on theViva la Vida Tour.[1]
"Magnificent" was debuted on the promotional tour forNo Line on the Horizon, being played on theBBC Rooftop, on theLate Show with David Letterman, and at a mini-concert atFordham University taped forGood Morning America.[20] The song then became a regular on theU2 360° Tour, played within a block of new songs to start the shows. The song was included played at all shows in 2009 and 2010, but was left out of some shows in 2011.[21] The song made itsInnocence + Experience Tour debut on the tour's second leg during the last of four shows in Amsterdam.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Magnificent" (UK edit) | 4:22 |
| 2. | "Breathe" (Live at theSomerville Theatre,Boston, Massachusetts, March 2009) | 4:45 |
| Total length: | 9:17 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Magnificent" (UK edit) | 4:21 |
| 2. | "Breathe" (Live at the Somerville Theatre, Boston,Massachusetts, March 2009) | 4:45 |
| Total length: | 9:16 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Magnificent" (UK edit) | 4:21 |
| 2. | "Vertigo" (Live at the Somerville Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts, March 2009) | 3:48 |
| 3. | "Get On Your Boots" (Justiceremix) | 3:26 |
| 4. | "Magnificent" (Video with Weblink) | 4:34 |
| Total length: | 11:35 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Magnificent" (UK edit) | 4:21 |
| 2. | "Magnificent" (Dave Audé Club remix) | 7:34 |
| 3. | "Magnificent" (Dave Audé Club Dub remix) | 7:47 |
| 4. | "Magnificent" (Fred Falke full club mix) | 7:20 |
| 5. | "Magnificent" (Adam K and Soha club mix) | 6:15 |
| 6. | "Magnificent" (Adam K and Soha dub mix) | 6:15 |
| 7. | "Magnificent" (Wonderland remix) | 9:55 |
| 8. | "Magnificent" (Wonderland dub remix) | 6:52 |
| 9. | "Magnificent" (Redanka's 360 version) | 7:23 |
| 10. | "Magnificent" (Redanka's 180 version) | 8:19 |
| Total length: | 72:01 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Magnificent" (UK edit) | 4:21 |
| Total length: | 4:21 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Magnificent" (UK edit) | 4:22 |
| 2. | "Magnificent" (Fred Falke full club mix) | 7:20 |
| 3. | "Get On Your Boots" (Justice remix) | 3:26 |
| Total length: | 9:17 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Magnificent" (UK edit) | 4:22 |
| 2. | "Magnificent" (Wonderland remix) | 9:54 |
| 3. | "Magnificent" (Redanka's 360 version) | 7:23 |
| 4. | "Magnificent" (Adam K and Soha mix) | 6:14 |
| Total length: | 27:53 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Magnificent" (Dave Audé club remix) | 7:33 |
| 2. | "Magnificent" (Fred Falke full club mix) | 7:20 |
| 3. | "Magnificent" (Adam K and Soha mix) | 6:14 |
| 4. | "Magnificent" (Wonderland remix) | 9:54 |
| 5. | "Magnificent" (Redanka's 360 version) | 7:23 |
| Total length: | 38:24 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Magnificent" (Dave Audé club remix) | 7:33 |
| 2. | "Magnificent" (Dave Audé club dub remix) | 7:46 |
| 3. | "Magnificent" (Dave Audé instrumental) | 7:29 |
| 4. | "Magnificent" (Fred Falke full club mix) | 7:19 |
| 5. | "Magnificent" (Fred Falke instrumental) | 7:19 |
| 6. | "Magnificent" (Fred Falke radio mix) | 3:58 |
| 7. | "Magnificent" (Adam K and Soha club mix) | 6:14 |
| 8. | "Magnificent" (Adam K and Soha dub mix) | 6:14 |
| 9. | "Magnificent" (Adam K and Soha radio mix) | 4:11 |
| 10. | "Magnificent" (Wonderland remix) | 9:54 |
| 11. | "Magnificent" (Wonderland dub) | 6:51 |
| 12. | "Magnificent" (Redanka's 360 version) | 7:23 |
| 13. | "Magnificent" (Redanka's 180 version) | 8:18 |
| 14. | "Magnificent" (Video download) | 4:34 |
| Total length: | 95:30 | |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[51] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
