I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" originated from a demo variously titled "The Weather Girls" and "Under the Weather" that the band recorded during a jam session. Bassist Adam Clayton called the demo's melody "a bit of a one-note groove", while an unconvinced The Edge, the band's guitarist, compared it to "'Eye of the Tiger' played by a reggae band". However, the band liked the drum part played by drummer Larry Mullen Jr. Co-producer Daniel Lanois said, "It was a very original beat from Larry. We always look for those beats that would qualify as a signature for the song. And that certainly was one of those. It had this tom-tom thing that he does and nobody ever understands. And we just didn't want to let go of that beat, it was so unique." After the Edge wrote a chord sequence and played it on acoustic guitar "with a lot of power in the strumming", the group attempted to compose a suitable vocal melody, While the Edge was improvising guitar parts one day, Bono heard a "chrome bells" guitar hook that he liked. The song's writing was completed relatively early during the band's time at Danesmoate House. The mix took longer to complete, though, with most of the production team contributing. The final mix was completed by Lanois and the Edge in a home studio set up at Melbeach, a house purchased by the Edge. They mixed it on top of a previous Steve Lillywhite mix, which gave the song a phasing sound. Lanois says he is very attached to "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and has, on occasion, joined U2 on stage to perform it. The original "Weather Girls" demo, re-titled "Desert of Our Love", was included with the 2007 remastered version of The Joshua Tree on a bonus disc of outtakes and B-sides. ==Release==

Initially, "Red Hill Mining Town" was planned for release as the second single. However, Bono was unable to sing the song during pre-tour rehearsals and the band were reportedly unhappy with the video shot by Neil Jordan, so "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" became a late choice for the second single. The single was released in May 1987. On the US Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at number 51 on 13 June 1987. After nearly 2 months on the chart, the song reached number one on 8 August 1987, becoming the band's second consecutive number-one hit in the United States. The song spent two weeks in the top spot, and remained on the chart for 17 weeks. On other Billboard charts, the song peaked at number 16 on the Adult Contemporary chart, B-sides "Spanish Eyes" was created early during The Joshua Tree sessions. It began as a recording made in Adam Clayton's house of Clayton, the Edge, and Larry Mullen Jr. playing around with several different elements. ==Reception==

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" received widespread critical acclaim. Hot Press journalist Bill Graham described the song as on the one-hand as a "smart job of pop handwork, pretty standard American radio rock-ballad fare" but that "the band's rhythms are far more supple and cultivated than your average bouffant HM band of that period". The Sunday Independent suggested that the song was proof the band could be commercially accessible without resorting to rock clichés. NME remarked that the song showed that the band cared about something, which made them "special". The Rocket noted that Bono's lyrics about needing personal spirituality resulted in a "unique marriage of American gospel and Gaelic soul" and that the "human perspective he brings to this sentiment rings far truer than the rantings of, say, the born-again Bob Dylan". Cash Box said that "Typically drenched in Bono-esque pathos and Edge-guitar atmospherics, 'Still' has the power of spiritual conviction delivered from the perspective of the desert sojourn rather than the comfort of the Promised Land." Several publications, including The Bergen Record and The Boston Globe, called the track "hypnotic" and interpreted it as depicting the band on a spiritual quest. The song finished in 18th place on the "Best Singles" list from The Village Voices 1987 Pazz & Jop critics' poll. ==Live performances==

The song is U2's 9th most played live song, and has been played on every tour except for the eXPERIENCE+iNNOCENCE Tour in 2018. It was played at every date of The Joshua Tree and Lovetown Tours, typically early in the main set. It was played at most of the 1992 legs of the Zoo TV Tour, typically rounding out the main set or being played acoustically on the B-Stage mid set. For most of the 1993 Zooropa shows however, the song was dropped. It returned to be played at each of the PopMart Tour's 93 shows, usually being played midway through the set. On the Elevation Tour it initially was very rare, only appearing once over the first and second legs. However, it became a regular again on the 3rd leg, being played late in the main set replacing the song "Mysterious Ways", which was used in that spot on the previous two legs. It was played at the majority of both the Vertigo and U2 360° Tours, typically early-to-mid main set. It was used as the closing song at just under half of the shows on the Innocence + Experience Tour, rotating with "One" and "40". Island Records commissioned New York choir director, Dennis Bell, to record a gospel version of the song, and Island intended to release it after U2's single. However, Island boss Chris Blackwell vetoed the plan. Bell subsequently formed his own label. While in Glasgow in late July 1987 during the Joshua Tree Tour, Rob Partridge of Island Records played the demo that Bell and his choir, the New Voices of Freedom, had made. In late September, U2 rehearsed with Bell's choir in Greater Calvary Baptist Church in Harlem for a performance together in a few days at U2's Madison Square Garden concert. The Edge's guitar was the only instrument that U2 brought to the church although Mullen borrowed a conga drum. The rehearsal was done with the church's audio system and footage was used in the Rattle and Hum motion picture. Several performances were made with a piano player; however, the version used in the film includes only Bono, the Edge, Mullen, and the choir. Audio from the Madison Square Garden performance appears on the accompanying album. A live performance of the song appears in the concert films PopMart: Live from Mexico City, Vertigo 05: Live from Milan, Live from Paris and the most recent U2 360° at the Rose Bowl. The versions on the Mexico City and Milan concert films consist of just Bono's voice and the Edge's guitar until after the first chorus where the drum and bass parts kick in. Digital live versions were released through iTunes on the Love: Live from the Point Depot and U2.COMmunication albums. ==Legacy==

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" has been acclaimed by many critics and publications as one of the greatest songs of all time. In 2001, the song was ranked at number 120 on the RIAA's list of 365 "Songs of the Century"a project intended to "promote a better understanding of America's musical and cultural heritage"despite the group's Irish origins. In 2003, a special edition issue of Q, titled "1001 Best Songs Ever", placed "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" at number 148 on its list of the greatest songs. In 2005, Blender ranked the song at number 443 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born". In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song 93rd on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"; the song remained in that position on the magazine's 2010 version of the list, but was re-ranked to 321st on the 2021 version. In 2022, ''New York Magazine's'' Vulture.com ranked the song at number four in its list of all 234 U2 songs. Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn called it U2's "Let It Be", in reference to the Beatles song. The staff of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame selected "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" as one of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The song was covered by Scottish band the Chimes in 1990 and was featured on their self-titled debut album. The rendition peaked at number six in both the United Kingdom and New Zealand charts. It also peaked into number twelve in the Netherlands chart. ==Track listing==

U2 • Bono – lead vocals • The Edge – guitars, backing vocals • Adam Clayton – bass guitar • Larry Mullen Jr. – drums Additional personnel • Brian Eno – production, mixing, backing vocals • Daniel Lanois – production, mixing, backing vocals, additional guitar, tambourine • Flood – recording • Dave Meegan – additional engineering • Pat McCarthy – recording assistance ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==

Scottish band the Chimes released a cover version of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" in May 1990 by CBS Records. It was released as the third single from their only album, The Chimes (1990), and reached No. 2 in Norway and No. 6 in the United Kingdom, Bill Coleman from Billboard magazine named it the "perfect cover version", and a "tasteful, contemporary R&B treatment of a pop favorite [that] may be this U.K. threesome's key to a stateside breakthrough. Multiformat exposure is well-deserved." Dave Haynes from Calgary Herald complimented it as a "sultry reworking" and the "most interesting cut" of the album. Ernest Hardy from Cashbox viewed it as "a moving cover", that "should be their entry into the big time." Chris Roberts from Melody Maker wrote, "I still don't realise it's that horrible U2 song because I'm enjoying it immensely. Somehow the Chimes, gradually evolving into the most consistent of Brit soul bands, have transformed the sub-Dylan turkey into a smoochy summery thing that claws into your spinal cord and hangs there like a first kiss, purring." David Giles from Music Week stated, "This is a luxurious cover which wraps a huge voice in a Soul II Soul style backing to heart-stirring effect." Miranda Sawyer from Smash Hits noted Pauline Henry's "remarkable voice", describing the song as "classy" and "a lovely, lazy Soul II Soul-style groover." She added that it's "the sort of tune that makes you think of sappy summer things. Warm sea, sandy shores, coasting about on your bike down leafy lanes." Track listing Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Scarlett Johansson and Bono duet version==

}} In 2021, American actress Scarlett Johansson (under the role of Ash) and U2 frontman Bono (under the role of Clay Calloway) performed a duet of the song for the soundtrack of the American animated jukebox musical comedy film Sing 2. The film also features two other songs by U2, "Where the Streets Have No Name" (also from The Joshua Tree album) (performed by the cast, the same lineup also perform the Prince song "Let's Go Crazy" earlier in the film), "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" (performed by Johansson), and the original song "Your Song Saved My Life", which was released as the lead single from the soundtrack on 3 November 2021. The duet was released as the nineteenth and final track on the soundtrack album on 17 December 2021. Charts ==See also==