U2's New Song "Street of Dreams" Revives the Band's Lead-Single Tradition
U2 has released "Street of Dreams," the lead single from their new studio album due later this year, nine years after their last release. Rolling Stone marked the occasion by ranking every lead single the band has ever released.
On Tuesday afternoon, U2 released "Street of Dreams," the lead single from their new studio album expected later this year. Fans had been waiting a long time for this moment: the band's last album, Songs of Experience, came out exactly nine years ago — the longest gap between studio albums in U2's history.
While it's still early to fully assess "Street of Dreams," Rolling Stone published a fresh ranking of every lead single the band has ever released. The ranking weighed two criteria: the quality of the song on its own, and how effectively it set the stage for the album it introduced.
As expected, career classics like "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "One" landed near the top, while more contested picks like "Get On Your Boots" (2009) and "Fire" (1981) sparked debate. "Fire," released as the herald for the band's second album, October, became U2's first single to crack the UK Top 40, yet is considered one of the most forgotten releases in their catalog today.
As speculation swirls around the sound of the new album from Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr., "Street of Dreams" is said to lean closer to the melodic rock vein the band explored in the mid-2000s.