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Review Summary: Flirting with former greatness Me and U2 go waaay back. If we're talking about music, U2 was my first big love. I stumbled over "The Joshua Tree" while browsing through my parents CDs, and immediately fell in love with it. My understanding of music was completely altered within a few months. No longer was I listening to the charts, instead I started actively searching for bands who made music this interesting and passionate. You could rightfully make the claim that U2 was my gateway drug into the marvelous realm of music. Before I discovered them, I don't recall ever seriously thinking about music or looking up particular artists. Today I'm basically a crazy person, with a 200 GB storage of increasingly obscure music. Everyone knows that music, even more so than other art, is a highly subjective, personal thing. If you insult my favorite movie or book, I will probably defend it, but I won't be bothered by it. But if someone talks trash about my favorite bands, I can instantly feel the rage bubbling up. Therefore it's no surprise that a band that had such huge impact on my taste in music and helped to develop my passion for music in general, stayed close to my heart for the longest time, even though their transgressions are numerous and obvious.
With that said, this was the first U2 album I came into completely prepared to despise it. It was not about the hate that especially Bono receives for being the most irritating, douchey caricature of a rockstar who became to big for his bridges. It was not about the brownie points I could receive on cool music sites by hating on some way past their prime rock fossils. No it was the fact that I realized that U2 had not released a song I really liked within the last 10 years (with "Beautiful Day" being the last). And now they dropped this album, totally out of the blue, while having released two god awful singles in the last 12 months, who both didn't make the cut. The whole thing seemed to be destined to fail. Then I actually listened to the album.
Is it the triumphant return to the throne? No. I think it's safe to say that U2 are past their prime, and even the band would probably agree to that. Bono's singing voice is becoming an increasing liability, especially the higher register is out of his comfort zone. The band has also reinvented themselves so often over the years, that everything they do at this point sounds (at least) remotely like something they already did before. There are also some cringe-worthy moments on this LP. The uptempo rock song "Volcano" starts out promising enough, with a rollicking baseline and a somewhat catchy riff by delay-pedal-mastermind Edge, but the song soon falls apart when Bono's high pitched voice pierces razorsharply through your eardrums. On "Iris" U2 commit the worst crime in music, and bore their listeners to tears with a directionless, ultimately pointless midtempo-song that sounds like it's been cobbled together from rejected U2 b-sides. "Sleep like a baby tonight" features a somewhat interesting electronic intro, but once again Bono ruins the song with a falsetto performance, that is frankly laughable.
Despite all that, this is arguably U2's best release since "Achtung Baby". The band easily balance's soft, poppy moments like the 80's callback "Every Breaking Wave" and the sugary sweet synth-anthem "California", with some harsher moments like "Raised by wolves". In comparison to previous albums, all those songs feel surprisingly natural and effortless. Where "No Line on the Horizon" drowned in dozens of ambitious, yet undeveloped ideas and "How to dismantle and Atomic Bomb" felt like a lazy rehash of better days, "Songs of Innocence" strikes a good balance between the two failed albums.
Part of the credit surely has to go to the omnipresent enigma that is Danger Mouse who was the leading producer on this album. His presence is noticeable on the whole LP, but in particular on the more adventurous (and overall stronger) second half. Especially on the enjoyably upbeat "This is where you can reach me know", where he manages to make U2 sound like "Portugal.The Man" and sound great at the same time. "Raised by Wolves" is another highlight and maybe the edgiest song U2 released in a while, the song succeeds with a spoonesque rhythm, which marks a refreshing contrast to the usually pretty layered and sometimes even clustered sound of the band. The album comes to a close with it's strongest song, the simple yet poignant "The Troubles". On which, Lykke Li of all people, easily steals the show with a great chorus. The carefully crafted ballad avoids all the pitfalls of a downtempo duet, never feels cheesy or emotionally manipulative and instead closes the curtain with a whole lot of class.
Overall "Songs of Innocence", despite it's glaring flaws, is a surprise success from a band that has nothing left to prove. Where will they go from here? Nobody, not even the members of the Band, can say that for certain. One thing is for sure, U2 will still be around for some time, with another album "Songs of Experience" already announced, they don't seem to be ready to stop anytime soon. If you asked me before the release of this album if that's a good thing, I would have answered with a definite no. I stand corrected.
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Album Rating: 3.5
Had to do a review for the new U2 since I have a long history with the band. As always, I apologize
for awkward sentences... second language and all that.
Feedback appreciated as usual.
Edit: or ghost neg... okay
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"You could rightfully make the claim that U2 was my gateway drug into the marvelous realm of music." = "Today I'm basically a crazy person, with a 200 GB storage of increasingly obscure music."
Makes sense to me... btw I didn't neg.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Nice review man, pos'd.
"this is arguably U2's best release since Achtung Baby"... and what about Pop?
Sometimes i think i am the only U2 fun that i place Pop right into top 3 U2 releases.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Didn't neg either, but this strongly needs a proof-read, which can always be done even if English is your second language.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Sometimes i think i am the only U2 fun that i place Pop right into top 3 U2 releases.
Pop is, for me, the third best U2 album after The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby.
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There's a few cases where a to needs an extra o and an a needs an n on the end. But aside from the grammar issues its generally a good read, Ed. I had a similar intro to music with you, not so much not interested but generally unaware that this wealth of music existed outside of chart singles. Although my intro band wasn't U2. Pos'd.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
@ Irving I would Pop is an okay album, but mostly a let down. I think it could have been great. Especially with the songs Gone, The Last Night, and Wake Up Dead Man. But from what I read is the record label and tour was coming up to soon to refine that album. And it suffers especially on songs like Staring at the Sun and Discotheque. I like the re-mixes done for the Best of CD! And shows what could have been.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
"Didn't neg either, but this strongly needs a proof-read, which can always be done even if English is
your second language."
Yeah I apologize. I have a hard time with spotting my own mistakes for some reason. Fixed a bunch of
them.
I thought Pop had a lot of interesting ideas, and was not bad per se, but most of the songs ultimately
fell flat.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
No worries man, just always be sure to keep working at it. Improvement will come, with time. I struggle with English too at times (I'm Malaysian), so I definitely know where you're coming from haha.
Pop has two real clangers - "The Playboy Mansion" and "Miami" (ugh). Everything else is quite good, really. I also find it to be an incredibly interesting snapshot of how much pressure the band were under at the time - Bono apparently recorded "Last Night on Earth" with the world's sore-est throat, and it shows. Song is still amazing, though - which is saying something.
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Despite all that, this is arguably U2's best release since "Achtung Baby"
neg
| | | Album Rating: 3.3
The problem with Pop is that most of it sounds like demos and unfinished tunes because most of it is
If they'd had time to complete it it really had potential but as it is nah not really
Also Discotheque and MOFO would be fucking awful either which way
there are definitely some great songs on there though
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
"Despite all that, this is arguably U2's best release since "Achtung Baby"
neg"
which album is better? "All that you can't leave behind?" To me that album has 3-4 very good songs and a whole bunch of completely forgettable songs.
"Pop" is an unfinished mess
"Zooropa" is basically a (good) b-sides compilation
| | | Album Rating: 3.3
Zooropa and No Line on the Horizon are great albums, imo of course
ATYCLB and HTDAAB are average
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Zooropa is very good agreed (also a 3.5), it's imo the second best since Achtung Baby, but it does not wow me and has a bunch of unfinished songs as well. ("The Wanderer", "Daddy's gonna pay")
No Line on the Horizon feels very forced and overly ambitious to me. I initially liked it for sounding fresh, but after a while I realized that i didn't really love any song on it.
| | | Album Rating: 3.3
Zooropa has Stay which is one of my favourite songs by them and in general I think it was a very successful experiment with some unique-sounding songs eg the title track
I really love Moment of Surrender too
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Stay is a great song yeah.
I hate Moment of Surrender though...
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
What do you mean when you use the term unfinished song Radical?
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ghost neg... Or did I? Nah I didn't, but what if I did? U2 blows, neg. nah, I didn't neg. but what if I did? neg.
| | | Album Rating: 3.3
lol...?
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Well... if the songs sounds like a collage of ideas that could be in a really good song, but the song somehow just doesn't feel refined. "Daddy's gonna pay" has a pretty good drum section, and then just kinda goes nowhere. "The Wanderer" want's to be U2's take on a Johnny Cash song. and they even got johnny cash to perform it, but it didn't feel fleshed out at all. The instrumentation is so bare boned.
If you ever seen "Dirty Day" live, you know that the song has immense potential, but on Zooropa it just kinda meanders on for a bit and then dies off...
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