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Joshua Tree Tour 2017
 Legs (3): Leg 1 - North America, Leg 2 - Europe, Leg 3 - The Americas
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  1. Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:[..]
    I don't know about that...it's an incredibly personal album, meaning that if you don't really know much about U2, it may not really resonate with you. Sure the songs are all accessible and listenable without knowing the "true stories" behind the writing, but not nearly as much as listening to many of their other albums.

    My main excitement from the album came from the notion that it was the album U2 had never made, an album that would speak to their fans more than anyone else. I saw the tracklisting while I was at work, before I could listen to any of the songs. Seeing titles like "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" and "Cedarwood Road", "Iris" - they immediately got me incredibly excited because it was like "holy shit, U2 finally made an incredibly open album".

    Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that this album could be the one that wins over a new fan, but saying it's one of U2's best albums to introduce people to the band might be a bit much (IMO). I'd always go with something like JT, AB, War, Boy, etc. before SoI. To me, SoI is like the album you get to AFTER becoming a massive U2 fan. You sort of have to earn your true understanding of it's importance in the U2 canon.
    very well said, absolutely agree
  2. Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:[..]
    I don't know about that...it's an incredibly personal album, meaning that if you don't really know much about U2, it may not really resonate with you. Sure the songs are all accessible and listenable without knowing the "true stories" behind the writing, but not nearly as much as listening to many of their other albums.

    My main excitement from the album came from the notion that it was the album U2 had never made, an album that would speak to their fans more than anyone else. I saw the tracklisting while I was at work, before I could listen to any of the songs. Seeing titles like "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" and "Cedarwood Road", "Iris" - they immediately got me incredibly excited because it was like "holy shit, U2 finally made an incredibly open album".

    Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that this album could be the one that wins over a new fan, but saying it's one of U2's best albums to introduce people to the band might be a bit much (IMO). I'd always go with something like JT, AB, War, Boy, etc. before SoI. To me, SoI is like the album you get to AFTER becoming a massive U2 fan. You sort of have to earn your true understanding of it's importance in the U2 canon.

    Wow, very well said!


  3. Shucks

    It's true though. I mean when I started crying when watching them perform Iris live, it wasn't JUST because of the song and the footage of his mom. It was knowing about I Will Follow, Tomorrow, Mofo, knowing that everytime Bono sings "you" it's not just about a female figure, it's about Ali, God, and his mother. It's knowing that his mother's death set him on a trajectory that after a long career of trying to "fill that God shaped hole", has culminated in the creation of that song.
  4. Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:[..]
    I don't know about that...it's an incredibly personal album, meaning that if you don't really know much about U2, it may not really resonate with you. Sure the songs are all accessible and listenable without knowing the "true stories" behind the writing, but not nearly as much as listening to many of their other albums.

    My main excitement from the album came from the notion that it was the album U2 had never made, an album that would speak to their fans more than anyone else. I saw the tracklisting while I was at work, before I could listen to any of the songs. Seeing titles like "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" and "Cedarwood Road", "Iris" - they immediately got me incredibly excited because it was like "holy shit, U2 finally made an incredibly open album".

    Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that this album could be the one that wins over a new fan, but saying it's one of U2's best albums to introduce people to the band might be a bit much (IMO). I'd always go with something like JT, AB, War, Boy, etc. before SoI. To me, SoI is like the album you get to AFTER becoming a massive U2 fan. You sort of have to earn your true understanding of it's importance in the U2 canon.


    It's an incredibly personal album, yes, but it's also one of their more emotionally driven albums. You don't necessarily have to understand U2's life story to understand the emotions being conveyed in the songs. This is why SOI is very accessible to people unfamiliar to U2. The other would probably be ATYCLB for the very same reasons. If I wanted to introduce somebody to U2 today, I wouldn't start with their older material. Yes, JT, AB, War, etc. are all powerful albums, but they do not have a lot of songs that hold up well in today's context (both culturally and musically). Live versions would be great, but the album versions definitely feel "aged". SOI is a great entry point today because it's U2 in a modern context and a modern sound. Plus, I still stand behind the statement that this album has a far greater emotional appeal than anything else they've released thus far.

    And if we look at the statistics, we don't see their other material skyrocket into the best seller's list until after SOI was released. The data paints an incredible narrative in which SOI is serving as the catalyst behind these sales.
  5. sometimes a bottom-up approach can work
  6. Originally posted by ahn1991:[..]


    It's an incredibly personal album, yes, but it's also one of their more emotionally driven albums. You don't necessarily have to understand U2's life story to understand the emotions being conveyed in the songs. This is why SOI is very accessible to people unfamiliar to U2. The other would probably be ATYCLB for the very same reasons. If I wanted to introduce somebody to U2 today, I wouldn't start with their older material. Yes, JT, AB, War, etc. are all powerful albums, but they do not have a lot of songs that hold up well in today's context (both culturally and musically). Live versions would be great, but the album versions definitely feel "aged". SOI is a great entry point today because it's U2 in a modern context and a modern sound. Plus, I still stand behind the statement that this album has a far greater emotional appeal than anything else they've released thus far.

    And if we look at the statistics, we don't see their other material skyrocket into the best seller's list until after SOI was released. The data paints an incredible narrative in which SOI is serving as the catalyst behind these sales.
    I won't go into why again, but I completely disagree. Despite their older albums having older production values, when has that ever stopped people from listening to older music? SoI might sound more modern, but it's also 4 old guys being modern, let's be honest. And as far as songs not holding up in "today's context", you're trying to tell me the songs on War don't hold up today? That "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", "With Or Without You", "One" aren't all incredibly timeless? Do teenagers suddenly know exactly what they're looking for? And you honestly believe that SoI has greater emotional appeal than anything U2 has released thus far? I can't help but feel like you're just so wrong...

    Also, the fact that the older albums went into the charts after SoI proves my point, not yours. If SoI was enough, then people would've just listened to that and wouldn't have gone back to search for the older stuff. The fact that new fans heard SoI and suddenly went back to buy the older albums just shows how relevant those older albums still are. Yeah it was the catalyst, but it still proves my point. I know plenty of people like to put SoI on a pedestal, but this U2 fan (and many others) don't have any problems with saying that their best work is behind them.
  7. We kind of missed the point of the topic?
  9. February? Hmmm if this is true...then we'll have an album relatively soon.
  10. I have a very strong feeling the album will be out by the end of the year, and after seeing that little Fender video with Edge I'm getting a little more hopeful (though not very hopeful, it's mainly fantasy) for a release sooner than October or November -- maybe late summer rather than autumn/winter. I know that's probably not gonna happen but I know they've mentioned a couple of times since NLOTH wanting to do a summer release....
  11. "On the second Monday in March, Bono and the band are back in the studio—if not quite in profit mode, then in a creative one, hopefully. They are working on some new material for when the I+E Tour picks up again later this year."

    http://fortune.com/bono-u2-one/
  12. NA in the autumn then? Perhaps Australia/NZ instead?
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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.