SOE
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U2 - Songs Of Experience (2017)
 Tracks: 14
  1. Originally posted by germcevoy:I’m down to three standout songs already. From thirteen. I’ll not be doing another complete run though for a while so that I can still approach it with some sense of newness.


    Is this a positive thing?
  2. I feel like I saw someone say that this is like ATYCLB + Achtung...I feel like it's more ATYCLB + Zooropa? Maybe? Like a 70/30 mix?
  4. I don’t think so. I’d be happier if I got to the end of the album and immediately hit replay. Instead I’m doing Opener, Summer of Love, Landlady. Then repeat.

    I’ll get another run through at the weekend.
  5. Originally posted by arjavrawal:[..]
    Agreed -- 13 should've been a hidden track at the end. LIAWHL should've been an interlude before The Blackout, in the sense that you're trying to hold on to the only thing you have, then The Blackout hits and the lights go out -- and then finally you get it back, because Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way.
    Well, not the end of the world, but I despise HIDDEN tracks. It was a fun great silly idea when The Fixx did it first, and Nirvana right after, if my bad memory is correct, but by the time Prince got around to doing it in 1998, it was a lame overdone waste, and made it difficult to ripping the audio and making my own mix of albums. It shows a lack of creativity and just becomes a pain in the throat for the consumer. And albums with tiny print or funny writing or bleeding colors? Hate that too. Just tell us what the album is, who the artist is, and clearly put the songs on it. Some artists make it difficult to even know who the artist is...yeah, I sound like Grumpy Old Guy, but SOE so far, seems ok to me as is. Of course, I will end up liking the deluxe tracks when I hear them.

    SOI, as much as it is my least favorite U2 album, is marred by the acoustic songs being one track, and Invisible being, well Invisible with this lame lack of creativity approach. All cds should be 70-79.5 minutes, fill them up, cd sales are always dropping, give fans their money's worth, avoiding the tricks and gimmicks that don't make the album better. If the album is 45 minutes, draw a line and call the rest "bonus" tracks. That way, the few people like us on this site that actually car, will know where the real album ends, and the songs begin. SOI would have been much, much better with Crystal Ballroom, Lucifer's Knees, Invisible, and EBW(acoustic) as real album tracks, and some other tracks below the aforementioned line (IE, The Troubles)... And if you have enough room to make it a two cd set, just make it two discs of at least 70 minutes, even if demos and sketches are on there. U2, of course, will argue that sketches from recording sessions are going to be used on a future albums, as the endless supply of reworked songs from the 2000's continue to emerge. Perhaps they will rework Pete The Chop for SOA, lol. Pete The Pork Chop, anyone?
  6. I remember we had a discussion about progressive rock last week or so and that great Bono interview from during the Vertigo era. What's interesting from an interview with the band on U2 talking U2 to me is that Bono actually confirms this stand and says that its easy for them to work with Eno and Lanois and create big soundscapes but that its much harder to make short, snappy songs (in contrast to progressive rock - which he calls the enemy) like they used to do when they started. And that that was their aim with SOI and SOE. When looking at that perspective, that's really what they've done. Short and tight.
  7. Originally posted by dieder:I remember we had a discussion about progressive rock last week or so and that great Bono interview from during the Vertigo era. What's interesting from an interview with the band on U2 talking U2 to me is that Bono actually confirms this stand and says that its easy for them to work with Eno and Lanois and create big soundscapes but that its much harder to make short, snappy songs (in contrast to progressive rock - which he calls the enemy) like they used to do when they started. And that that was their aim with SOI and SOE. When looking at that perspective, that's really what they've done. Short and tight.
    Yeah, I have a feeling some songs could have been longer... Btw. Bad, Mercy and Little Things definitely have some progressive structure... I would love more songs like that...
  9. Originally posted by Alvin:[..]
    Yeah, I have a feeling some songs could have been longer... Btw. Bad, Mercy and Little Things definitely have some progressive structure... I would love more songs like that...
    I think we all know Mercy was a wasted opportunity. They should be ashamed of themselves for not releasing the leak in perfect quality as is. The same band that is not ashamed to release the "Shush Now" silly vocal on Unknown Caller, too scared to release the original "Mercy?" It easily could have fit on the cd single with the 15 Fish Stinking Up The Water mixes of I'll Go Crazy, etc.

    My opinion is they are not doing the long song thing anymore. "The Blackout" sounds like they were forcing it to be longer with mixed results. I kinda get sick of it after a few listens. But despite my negativity about SOI, I think I will get SOE a bit more, and like others, think it will be a grower when I finally here the few songs I have not heard at all, and the deluxe tracks. Just happy this day is here...
  10. Originally posted by Alvin:[..]
    Yeah, I have a feeling some songs could have been longer... Btw. Bad, Mercy and Little Things definitely have some progressive structure... I would love more songs like that...
    yeah but we should forget about that as they won't or not anytime soon I guess. Bono does not like progressive rock.
  11. Originally posted by dieder:I remember we had a discussion about progressive rock last week or so and that great Bono interview from during the Vertigo era. What's interesting from an interview with the band on U2 talking U2 to me is that Bono actually confirms this stand and says that its easy for them to work with Eno and Lanois and create big soundscapes but that its much harder to make short, snappy songs (in contrast to progressive rock - which he calls the enemy) like they used to do when they started. And that that was their aim with SOI and SOE. When looking at that perspective, that's really what they've done. Short and tight.
    That interview fits perfectly with Neil's closing comment of his review:
    A little battered by time and bloodied by events, U2 remain defiantly unbowed, as determined as ever to make mass market music that really matters.

    That's U2 in a nutshell and their eternal and usually misunderstood quest for relevancy
  12. That's an advice for those who haven't listened to the album (or watched the show).
    The rest is allowed to hype it freely.
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Contribute to the U2 community with uploading photos or by telling us which shows you have visited.
Contribute to the U2 community with uploading photos or by telling us which shows you have visited.