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  2. I got into U2 in 1987, when they released The Joshua Tree. Back then, my musical taste was much more limited--I was into party rock and top 40 pop--so it took years for me to get into it. Eventually, I became a true fan of classic rock, alternative rock, and folk music, I became a Beatlemaniac, and I embraced Pink Floyd. As I grew musically, my apperciation for U2 grew alongside it, and The Joshua Tree finally made its way to my top 10 list of favorite albums.

    I don't think it took me as long to embrace Acthung Baby. Still, there were songs on that album which didn't strike a chord with me. Now I see it as one of the greatest albums ever released.

    In October 2000, I went gaga, absolutely crazy for ATYCLB. As a songwriter/musician, it really hit home with me. Most fo the songs resonated in my psyche in such a powerful way; I almost can't even describe it. I remember listening to it while walking the streets of New York in December 2001. I made it all the way to Ground Zero, and I can stll recall how the album became a comforting suite for my emotions in the aftermath of 9/11. Later, on that same trip, two of my brothers and I took a bus to Union City, NJ, to visit our childhood home. When we got to our old neighborhood, all the buildings seemed intact, except for one, and the entire block loooked like a set of teeth with a bizarre gap in the middle. That gap was the building we had lived in as kids; there was debris in its place which made it evident to us that it had recently been demolished. Again, ATYCLB was hounding me through all of that. I also recall hanging out with family and friends, and listening to it while driving through the Florida Keys in 2001. I was mesmerized by it, and I doubt any album will ever affect me like that one, because of all that was taking place in my life.

    And now we come to NLOTH. The more I listen to it, the more I realize how much it will mean to me. I know it will become one of my all-time favorite albums. I do have a hard time, however, with songs that do not feature a memorable chorus, which is why I don't like "Fez" and "Cedars of Lebanon" as much as the rest of the songs on the album. Overall, though, I am very impressed by it.

    David
  3. it's good, perhaps better than HTDAAB, but it hasn't got shit on Achtung Baby or ATYCLB.

    so no, for me.
  4. I recently posted a song-by-song review of the new album on another message board. Here's what I wrote. Keep in mind that I posted this three days after having purchased the CD. Already, I can see how the songs are impacting me in unexpected ways.


    1. No Line on the Horizon - This mid-tempo rock song is an excellent choice for album opener. It feels like modern rock, but it lingers in my mind like a pop song, which is good. In other words, it has good crossover potential, and it is likely to please the rocker types as well as the middle-of-the-road folks. The singer begins by referencing a romantic love. The lyrics describe a girl in his life whose perspective changes from time to time as she offers up insights about life. Then she suddenly puts her tongue in his ear! Her thoughts affect his thoughts, of course, all of which is subsequently connected to something unknown, that place where the horizon allows to sky and sea to blend in uncertainty. Most of the dramatic elements are in the verses. The chorus, on the other hand, is laid back but memorable. The more I listen to it, the more I like it.

    2. Magnificent - Easily one of the musical and lyrical highlights of the album, this song is a majestic anthem, a bold declaration of a magnificent, unearthly love in the singer's life. Leave it to Bono to write a straight-ahead worship song for those who understand his spiritually sensitive yearnings and those who do not. If you are a fan of anthemic, arena-friendly powerhouse songs like "Pride (In the Name of Love)," you will definitely enjoy this song which features U2 in vintage form. This is the one that'll get the faithful on their feet, arms in the air, singing at the top of their lungs.

    3. Moment of Surrender - We downshift a bit now with this moody, introspective ballad about a man whose visibility gradually gives way to vision, as he encounters moments which cause him to fall to his knees and surrender. What he surrenders to is left open to interpretation, but we do know that things are happening in his life which sometimes leave him oblivious to what is taking place around him: "I did not notice the passersby and they did not notice me." Eventually, something happens which thoroughly overhwhelms him as he makes his way "through the stations of the cross"--a profound spiritual experience, perhaps? The transformation in the man's life is one which causes him to rejoice--hence the beautiful wailing by Bono as the song comes to an end. This song is a risky move because it is over seven minutes long. Somehow, though, it works, and it leads us easily to the next song...

    4. Unknown Caller - This one almost feels like a ballad, a continuation of the previous song, but it builds a bit more, and leads the listener to a place of musical familiarity: sonically it is very reminiscent of several midtempo songs from the masterful All That You Can't Leave Behind (think of songs like "Walk On" and "Kite"). It features a breezy guitar-driven motif which draws you in right from the start, along with the singer's catchy, albeit repetitive, "oh oh oh oh" exclamations. In essence, this is a song about a man whose reliance on technological gadgetry is suddenly interrupted: it seems his phone is communicating a mysterious message from beyond, something the man needs to heed: "Hear me, cease to speak that I may speak." Who can it be now?

    5. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Crazy Tonight - Alright, now we pick up the pace again--but not too abruptly. Once again, the singer references a woman he loves, someone who enjoys the peaceful life. He understands and he relates to her, but he needs to escape today, take a break from the ever-pressing important stuff, so he reassures her: "It's not a hill, it's a mountain / As we start out the climb / Do you believe me, or are you doubting? / Oh, we're gonna make it all the way to the light / But I know I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight." The chorus is infectious, a treat for those who like to sing along. This one will probably become a concert favorite.

    6. Get on Your Boots - This is the first single, and even though it's a wild and trippy technoride, a very danceable rocker, it is actually a thematic departure from the rest of the album, and its position right at the center of the album is appropriate because it feels like the album's mountaintop party, after which the sweet descent into the valley will gradually take place. If this one doesn't make you get up and dance or, at the very least, tap your feet or sway a bit, maybe U2 at their pop-rock danciest is not your cup of tea. Don't underestimate the musical integrity here: The bass in this song is an intricate pulsating invitation, and the vocal harmonies on the chorus are a magnificent side dish for a very lovely, lilting melody. Party on!

    7. Stand Up Comedy - We're still rocking in the album's upbeat mid-section, and this song is a perfect match for the previous song (excellent sequencing!). While "Boots" makes you wanna groove a bit, this one makes you want to get all excited about life, jump up and down and shout for a while. It's definitely one of the catchiest songs on the album, perhaps an excellent choice for an upcoming single. Musically, it is high gear; lyrically, it's an encouraging admonition about standing up for the greatest cause of all: love!

    8. Fez - Being Born - There is a definite mood shift here, and it is made apparent by the musical interlude which starts this one off before the song really begins. If I had to remove one song from the album, I'd go with this one. Musically, it's enjoyable enough, but it feels more like a jam on its way to becoming a full-fledged song than an actual linear tune made up of verses and chorus. It definitely feels like it needs a chorus. Fortunately, Bono's wailing almost feels like a chorus on its own on this one.

    9. White As Snow - This subtle, spiritually insightful ballad features a melody which sounds a lot like "O Come O Come Emmanuel" and a slightly Appalachian hymn vibe. Introspective and full of nostalgia and yearning, it lingers in my mind like the scent of honeysuckle in a quiet meadow. The harmony between Bono and the Edge lends the song a sweet, airy gospel feel.

    10. Breathe - We're picking it up just a bit here with this bluesy, mid-tempo pop-rocker whose catchy, ecstatic chorus is immediately memorable. This one will probably please U2 fans and music critics alike; it is a key song in understanding where U2 are headed by way of this blurred-horizon notion. The verses describe various chaotic world situations and the fast-paced electrically charged aspects of life; the chorus brings it all home: "Walk out into the street / Sing your heart out / The people we meet/ Will not be drowned out...Breathe now...I found grace, it's all that I found / I can breathe now / Breathe now." In other words, there is hope and purpose in the midst of all the madness.

    11. Cedars of Lebanon - The mellow, mystical closer...This one is hard to describe. I haven't quite fully embraced it so far, but it's a good choice for wrapping it all up. It appears to be the story of a reporter who has witnessed something tragic or, at the very least, disturbing and sobering: "Child drinking dirty water from the river bank / Soldier brings oranges he got out from a tank...Watching the sun go down on Lebanon." Even though it lacks a definite chorus, this hushed elegiac song is poetic, almost Dylanesque, actually. The reporter considers the disturbing elements of the human condition, longs for somone who waits back home, and looks within, as well, trying to make sense of his own life against the backdrop of "unholy clouds reflecting in a minorette," against the sturdy stillness of the cedars of Lebanon and all that they represent.


    In summary, I can see this album easily becoming a favorite. While I'm not quite sure whether its merits approach the grandeur of U2's finest productions, The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, and All That You Can't Leave Behind, it definitely showcases U2 doing what they do best: crafting ethereal guitar-driven melodies and lyrics which plead with us to take a break from the mundane and the temporal for just a while, climb to a higher place, breathe in the fresh air, and consider the big picture, the deeper meaning of life, that which we often overlook as we hurry and fret. To put it bluntly, U2 sums it up quite well on this album: "This shitty world sometimes produces a rose."

    David
  5. wow magnifier , what a review
  6. 1. Joshua Tree
    2. Achtung Baby
    3. No Line On The Horizon
    4. All That You Can't Leave Behind
    5. War
    6. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
    7. Boy
    8. The Unforgettable Fire
    9. Pop
    10. Zooropa
    11. Rattle and Hum
    12. October
    13. Original Soundtracks

  7. I should add that I think 1-10 are classic rock 'n' roll albums. UF, Pop, and Zooropa are great, great albums. I even like RH and Octoer quite a bit.

    It's hard to rank U2 albums, they are all so good. It's like ranking The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, the White Stripes. or Dylan's albums from the '60s.
  8. 4th masterpiece in my opinion..

    The Joshua Tree - 1st masterpiece (no explanation)
    Achtung Baby - 2nd masterpiece
    All That You Can't Leave Behind (important because it marked the return of U2, and has those first 6 songs that are perfect imo.)
    No Line on the Horizon - a mix of HTDAAB Zooropa The Unforgettable Fire, and Pop so thats why i think its above those. It takes the best of those and creates something new and exciting and modern.
  9. Speaking of which:

    1. Sgt. Pepper's
    2. Revolver
    3. Rubber Soul
    4. Abbey Road
    5. Let It Be
    6. Magical Mystery Tour
    7. White album
    8. Help!
    9. A Hard Day's Night
    10. With The Beatles


  10. Agree with Genaro, but would also add War to the list of masterpieces. I would put those 5 on any list of the top 100 rock ablums of all time. The album with Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Year's Day, and 40 deserves more respect from U2 fans. There's an energy and political urgency that they haven't reproduced on any other album. I think "Seconds," "Drowning Man" and "Surrender" are totally underrated songs. I hope they perform "Surrender" on the new tour.
  11. Originally posted by BonoIsTheMessiah:Agree with Genaro, but would also add War to the list of masterpieces. I would put those 5 on any list of the top 100 rock ablums of all time. The album with Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Year's Day, and 40 deserves more respect from U2 fans. There's an energy and political urgency that they haven't reproduced on any other album. I think "Seconds," "Drowning Man" and "Surrender" are totally underrated songs. I hope they perform "Surrender" on the new tour.


    WAR boasts a consistency in quality, as well as consistency thematically and musically which makes it their first near-perfect album in my opinion - the culmination of everything that was great about early U2: the shouting anthems, the emotion, but packaged together more tightly and cohesively than on it's two predecessors, plus with definite progression made musically on tracks like New Year's Day, Drowning Man, Seconds, Surrender and 40. BOY (while mostly great) had a few too many overly-naive lyrical moments, while OCTOBER had some fine moments but doesn't hang together thematically as a whole the way WAR does. WAR is a really focused, solid and relevant album for U2 and I too think it deserves a lot more respect than it gets here. In fact, I'd always thought of it as being regarded as one of their masterpieces until I registered here to discover the truth to be somewhat different.

  12. 1. Achtung Baby
    2. Pop
    3. No Line On The Horizon
    4. Joshua Tree
    5. Rattle and Hum
    6. Zooropa
    7. All That You Can't Leave Behind
    8. War
    9. Boy
    10. The Unforgettable Fire
    11. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
    12. October

    that's it
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