Album Rating: 3.5

ive heard a lot about how bad the version of get out of your own way is on here and for good reason christ almighty is it awful lmao



i think i do actually dig this version of red hill mining town more than the original tho very cool since ive always kinda struggled with that song

Album Rating: 2.9

oh yeah I always thought the original kinda sucked tbh but it's a solid highlight on here. wish they would've cut this down and added some more deep cuts, One Tree Hill would've been lit

Album Rating: 3.5

yeah 40 songs is just fuckin excessive especially when some of this is as bad as it is (what the FUCK was that desire version lmao honestly one of the most unpleasant things my ears have experienced in recent memory) but ill just sculpt my own version the way ive been doing with their discography since ive been like 12 years old lmao. one tree hill would have been really cool. one of their best ever



i am honestly pretty impressed w the way theyve taken a few songs ive never really cared for and weaved much stronger versions out of them. i wasnt super excited to hit invisible bc the original version of that song is so bland but it was lovely here. the edge fronted peace on earth is also way better than the original imo the og is a total slog on boring ass atyclb. im also glad dirty day was done justice that is one ive always dug a lot and i somehow think i prefer the one here too

Album Rating: 3.5

think ill be charitable and drop a light 3.5 on this. theres a few really really bad versions of here but i liked a lot more of this than i was expecting and a decent chunk of this is surprisingly better than the originals. i also think this bodes pretty well for new material

These versions of Red Hill Mining Town, Ordinary Love, Sometimes You Can’t Make it, 11 O’clock, and Every Breaking Wave are good. Any others I should hear?

Album Rating: 3.5

off the top of my head id check out the versions of stories for boys, bad, invisible, dirty day, peace on earth, lights of home, miracle drug and the little things that give you away

From what I’ve read, this whole thing was something Bono roped the Edge into as part of his Surrender autobiography (which to be fair was a pretty decent read). Adam and Larry couldn’t be bothered to give half a shit about Bono’s vanity project, and that’s basically straight from Bono and the Edge’s mouth in an interview I read a few weeks ago when this was releasing.

At this point U2 has nothing to prove, and I think if Bono wasn’t so insecure the rest of the quartet would have been content to have moved on and just let their body of work speak for itself, rather than constantly try gimmicky shit to get back in people’s faces (I swear for the past 20 years Larry has basically acted like he’s embarrassed to be in the band).

They’ve got massive triumphs, deep cuts that blow away the best work of other well respected bands, swings and misses (some of which I still love dearly, like POP), and even most of their post-2000 work has had some small redeeming qualities or spots where whatever spirit that inhabited them in the 80s/90s shone through once more. I’ll die on the hill that Songs of Innocence was their best work in the last 20 years and if they’d have just not been boneheaded and stuck it in everyone’s pocket that it’d be regarded as such, instead of a footnote to one of the all time colossal rock blunders. But because Bono is Bono, we get this project which no one asked for and no one but the 0.0001% of their fan base will even give the time of day. If they’d have just been content to ride out the stretch like The Rolling Stones, going out on tour every four years or so, no one would begrudge them (most likely everyone would just be happy to have them back for a bit). But because they can’t leave well enough alone and age gracefully, they continue to soil their legacy with wet farts like this. Guys, you’ve got nothing else to prove. In the words of St. Paul, “Let it Be”.

Album Rating: 3.5

trimmed this down to:



1. red hill mining town

2. dirty day

3. stories for boys

4. lights of home

5. 11 o'clock tick tock

6. invisible

7. sunday bloody sunday

8. the little things that give you away

9. peace on earth

10. bad



woulda been like a 4 for me if they released it that way

Album Rating: 2.9

I'd probably throw in Stay and Two Hearts to the mix but those are most of the best for sure



also this version of Sunday really annoys me but only because they've done an infinitely better stripped down version of it already they easily coulda recorded for this



https://open.spotify.com/track/7BzO1KooroeLeikDtxf8Ti

Album Rating: 3.5

conversely the version of two hearts annoys me lol edge sounds fantastic but i cant get behind the mega clunky piano part that serves as the backbone of that version. not in love w all of bonos vocal choices on the new stay but its still a better one here



that version of sunday is really great tho yeah beautiful stuff. i still dig the new one tho i like the lil vocal acrobat-y falsetto thing they throw in a lot but i could see how that might be grating lol

Album Rating: 2.9

this version of Bad is actually so good damn

Album Rating: 3.5

absolutely. i think its the best thing here

Album Rating: 2.9

probably is lol but i really love the invisible/dirty day combo too

Album Rating: 3.5

both of those are fantastic yea, esp dirty day. always been a big fav of mine but that version tops it pretty easily imo



for a project this inconsistent and one that also hosts some of the worst material ive ever heard this band record lmao, i am shocked how much of this ended up being better than the originals. would never have expected them to turn my perspective around on so many songs i didnt even like the originals of

Album Rating: 2.9

yeah this kinda exceeded my expectations lmao. if Edge produced their next album like this I'd actually be super excited. god knows by the time that rolls around in 5 years they'll have burned through another 10 producers tho



scorching hot take but God Will Send his Angels is one of the best 90s U2 tunes and it's just as good on here

Album Rating: 3.5

im with you rowbro if god will send his angels is one of my favorites off pop and the 90s as a whole i love that song. version of it here is great too



im pretty curious about where they go next. both bono (who i dont particularly trust lmao) and edge (who i do) have come out and said they are done trying to write hits now and thats the mentality i have been dying for them to finally reach. we'll see if that actually translates in what comes next lol but yea if edge is producer i will be stoked. he did a great job here and it was super refreshing since innocence/experience had way too many hands on them and both felt so sterile

How do you guys feel about ""If You Wear That Velvet Dress"

i love if you wear that velvet dress
but if there's a version of that song on here i do not remember it and probably do not wish to (re)visit it

I don't think I ever told this story, but this album literally broke my ass. When it dropped in 2008 I went on a hike at night to jam it, and I wound up listening to it 3 times in a row in a secluded park while swinging on a swingset. It was a fantastic time. I wake up the next day and my ass cheeks are just destroyed. Pulled pork. Couldn't move for like 2 days.



Good times

Album Rating: 3.5

nah there isnt a version of velvet dress on here. song is great tho. i dig pretty much all of pop except playboy and mofo