U2 thread

[King Postwhore]

Though Horizon isn't as good as the last two I still liked it more than Zooropa.  I still love that U2 still are willing to experiment and not worry about acceptance.

[Kotowboy]

I'm kinda surprised they did the massive stage show again after Popmart failed.

Especially to promote such an experimental album.

It#s kinda bizarre how that tour managed to make as much money as it did. ( biggest tour ever I believe ? 750m )

[KevShmev]

My worry about U2's next album is that Bono expressed in an interview a while back that strong singles are what they need to keep them relevant, and I was like .  Get On Your Boots was a clear attempt at trying to have a Vertigo-like single, but it flopped as a single (because it sucks), and that probably contributed to No Line on the Horizon not being as popular and well-liked as the two previous albums (although it was probably as good as either).  I just wish they would write songs, and if strong singles come out it, great, but if not, they are still U2; they will be fine.  I doubt they had singles in mind when they were writing all kinds of different stuff for Achtung Baby.  Consciously trying to write singles is the worst thing this band could do at this stage, and I hope they don't fall into that trap.

As for U2360 vs. PopMart, the 360 stage simply looked awesome, while PopMart I think turned people off because it look too excessive; Pop being a disappointment after the disappointment that was Zooropa (to many, in both cases) didn't help either. 

[Kotowboy]

I think that " Magnificent " should have been the lead single from No Line. It's classic U2 but has a modern twist to it.

[King Postwhore]

No Line is mostly a very good album.  I don't have the complaints like most.  The one thing I love about a hew U2 album is I never know what to expect. To me, that's a good thing.

[KevShmev]

I think that " Magnificent " should have been the lead single from No Line. It's classic U2 but has a modern twist to it.

Definitely.  I still can't believe it wasn't the first single.  Even worse, when it was released as a single, and had a video for it as well, it was edited down.  Because 5 minutes and 24 seconds is so damn long.

[Pelata]

"Magnificent" may have been a better lead-off singe, but "Get On Your Boots" is a great tune and sounds nothing like "Vertigo"...

[KevShmev]

"Get On Your Boots" is a great tune and sounds nothing like "Vertigo"...

I think it was a clear attempt to write another hit single (which Vertigo was). 

As for it being a great tune, we'll have to agree to disagree on that one, because, aside from the "Let me in the sound!" part (which I can get in the intro of Fez/Being Born), I think the song totally sucks. 

[Pelata]

"Get On Your Boots" is a great tune and sounds nothing like "Vertigo"...

I think it was a clear attempt to write another hit single (which Vertigo was). 

As for it being a great tune, we'll have to agree to disagree on that one, because, aside from the "Let me in the sound!" part (which I can get in the intro of Fez/Being Born), I think the song totally sucks.

All good. To me, "Vertigo" was U2 writing a guitar-rock tune, which they had not done in a long time. It's very different from "Beautiful Day" (ATYCLB lead single), and very different from "Discotheque" (lead single from Pop). The vibe present on "GOYB" is, to me, unlike their previous 3 lead singles.

If you look at the lead singles from everything since The Joshua Tree (Get On Your Boots, Vertigo, Beautiful Day, Discotheque, Lemon, The Fly, Desire, With Or Without You), they never really released the same song twice in terms of sound, IMO.

"The Fly" pretty much bombed, and they quickly followed it with "Mysterious Ways" which went Top 10. "GOYB" bombed, and I'm surprised "Magnificent" didn't quickly follow it.

[Pelata]

Actually, checking into it, "Magnificent" bombed worse than "GOYB"...it only went to #79 while "GOYB" went Top 40.

[KevShmev]

I think Numb, not Lemon, was the lead single from Zooropa, and I hear what you are saying, but while the vibe on Get On Your Boots might be different for them, it still screamed of "This is us trying to write a hit single after the huge success we had with Vertigo."  I don't even think Vertigo it that good of a song, but I get why it was popular, and it was good fun when I saw it played live last year.  Get On Your Boots was a dud live, though.  They tried like hell to get audiences to like it, playing it at practically every show on the 360 tour, but I think a small number of U2 diehards are the only ones who probably hope it gets played again on future tours.
 
Also, I don't put too much stock into how high their singles charted.  Look at Rattle & Hum: Desire and Angel of Harlem both got into the top 20 here in America, while All I Want Is You never came close to reaching the top 40.

[Pelata]

Also, I don't put too much stock into how high their singles charted.  Look at Rattle & Hum: Desire and Angel of Harlem both got into the top 20 here in America, while All I Want Is You never came close to reaching the top 40.

I don't really either...I was just drawing a failed comparison to how the single from Achtung Baby was handled...flop followed by a huge hit. Had "Mysterious Ways" suffered the same fate as "The Fly", musical history would be very different for U2 these days, I think.

[ytserush]

War is easily my favorite U2 album of all time.

This.

War is really good, but can't touch either Achtung Baby or The Joshua Tree, IMO.  Red Light is one of those "what were they thinking?" songs.

Um...no. It's never gotten better than War.

And Red Light is awesome!  It's the perfect transition beween Two Hearts and Surrender.  I think the Who/Townshend influence is cool and so are those sax solos.  Sure there's a drop off in urgency, but I love the contrast.

What bothers you about it?

Okay, I just listened to Red Light again, to make sure I wasn't imagining things, and while it didn't sound as awful as I remember it, there was nothing particularly memorable about it.   And I found the sax bits annoying as hell.  With a strong chorus, maybe the song would have been better, but as is, it is pretty forgettable, IMO.

I like it a lot. It may not be the best song on the album, but I think the strength lies where it is placed. To each his own.

[KevShmev]

Looks like a new album is coming pretty soon:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/4746374/u2-album-name-10-reasons-to-exist.html

Please, please, please don't compress the shit out of it like you did No Line on the Horizon.

[Nel]

Finally. Wasn't this supposed to come out 3 years ago and called Culture of Ascent? 

EDIT: Songs of Ascent, I meant. For some reason, I'm thinking of a Glass Hammer album. Derp.

[KevShmev]

I have no idea if any of the songs they supposedly had in mind for that album have been saved for this forthcoming album. 

[Kotowboy]

Looks like a new album is coming pretty soon:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/4746374/u2-album-name-10-reasons-to-exist.html

Please, please, please don't compress the shit out of it like you did No Line on the Horizon.

That's what you get when Brian and Danny are producing.

[Kotowboy]

Perhaps that was one of the ten reasons? That and Guinness.

Fancy that ! A tabloid "newspaper" saying booze is a reason to exist !

[sylvinception]

I want Bono to stop thinking that he is the master of the world.

Is it really possible ??

[KevShmev]

It's probably not, but interesting bump nonetheless.

[Kotowboy]

An update on the next album would be good. It's supposed to be out this year.

[KevShmev]

I am more interested to see what they do on their next tour.  I doubt they will want a big extravaganza like 360 again - I think they have even all but said that already - so I think they'll scale it down this time around. 

[Kotowboy]

I'm surprised they even did it for the last tour seeing as how PopMart was a failure and the Vertigo and Elevation tours were so lucrative and simple.

I'm expecting something along the lines of Elevation for the next tour if they do one.

[KevShmev]

There are a variety of factors as to why PopMart wasn't as successful as it could have been, but I think Pop having a lead single that flopped so badly sure didn't help.  Following the disappointing (to many people) Zooropa, to have such a lame lead single as Discothèque from Pop was a disaster.

[Kotowboy]

Not sure what the lead single from Pop should have been. It wasn't a very good album all round.

[KevShmev]

I like it for what it is now, but I was pretty iffy on it when it first came out.  The problem was they booked the tour when still working on the album, so they had to rush finishing the album to have time to get ready for the tour.  And you can tell, as some of the songs had major potential and could have been a lot better with some more work. 

[Kotowboy]

Yeah the versions on the Best Of that they re-worked were better than the originals.



Back when Oasis were still together - Noel said Andy Bell suggested putting out a stripped down version of Be Here Now.

I wish they'd have done that. There are some good songs on Be Here Now buried under 50 rhythm guitar tracks.

[Vivace]

I must be one of the few who actually liked what was happening on Pop. Sure I think they nailed it out of the ballpark with All That You Leave Behind but I liked the elements of Pop and how they came together on a lot of the songs. The first half of Pop is definitely better than the last half. I really never got into No Line on the Horizon probably because I listened to it once and nothing grabbed me and I haven't played it since. Looking forward to their new album.

[King Postwhore]

I agree about the first half of Pop.  I think they just misfired on that album.  I do like that fact that U2 is willing to take so many chances album to album.

[KevShmev]

No Line... is similar to every U2 album since Achtung Baby: some great songs, a bunch of good songs and a few I can do without.  I'd love for them to do one more album that is great from start to finish, but I am not expecting it.  I just hope we get the usual 3-4 great songs and it sounds a lot better than No Line on the Horizon sonically.

And since Pop has been the focus lately here, here is my breakdown of that album:

The great songs: Staring at the Sun, Gone and Mofo (although I prefer both the live version from the Mexico DVD and the Phunk Phorce remix)
The bunch of good songs: Do You Feel Loved (this was a small tweak or two away from being great), Please, Last Night on Earth, Wake Up Dead Man and Miami
The few I can do without: Discothèque, If God Will Send His Angels, The Playboy Mansion and If You Wear That Velvet Dress

[sylvinception]

As an "hommage" to U2 (and Oasis too by the way!! ), here's my top 8 of the most OVERRATED rock bands of all time!!

 - 1) Nirvana
 - 2) U2 (here they are!! )
 - 3) Oasis (here they are, too!! )
 - 4) Muse
 - 5) Pink Floyd
 - 6) Radiohead
 - 7) REM
 - 8) The Rolling Stones

I admit it takes some balls to write this, but it feels soooooooo good...

[Kotowboy]

I agree with most of those but not REM.
They were one of my faves.





* * * * * According to Rolling Stone Magazine * * * * *

The band are in New York mixing their new album.

Finally some news !!

[sylvinception]

OMG, how could I forget the REAL NUMBER 1:

GUNS'N' f*cking ROSES ah ah ah!!

Axl Rose, the most awful voice in rock history, but hey, after all it worked very well!!

[KevShmev]

* * * * * According to Rolling Stone Magazine * * * * *

The band are in New York mixing their new album.

Finally some news !!

Great to hear! Hopefully, the mixing and sound of this one is better than the last, although I am not optimistic.

[Kotowboy]

Well they haven't worked with Danny & Brian this time so we'll see.

But whoever produces it - Edge's guitar will sound like it's coming thru a 10 watt combo amp panned hard left for the entire album  and the drums will sound like a casio keyboard as ever.


I wish for once they'd put the guitar way up front, double track it and make a rock album.