The history of U2 v. Discography Thread: Songs of Innocence

[KevShmev]

Following their popularity resurgence following the success of All That You Can't Leave Behind and the Evelation tour, which was aided by "Walk On" being an iconic song following 9-11, as well them playing the halftime Super Bowl show in early 2002, U2 accepted a deal with Apple that put them in the homes of everyone who owned a television.  "Vertigo," the lead single and first track from their 11th studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, was played non-stop for months on an Apple commercial promoting their new iPod.  The single was impossible to avoid, and being that I was still "off" of U2 at the time, it sure didn't make me want to get back into them. It's not a bad song, but it's not particularly great either, although it was fun enough live when I saw them on the 360 tour.  But, to this day, I still think this song is the reason many younger people do not care for U2.  "Vertigo" was likely their intro to U2, and I am sure many thought, "This is the band that is supposed to be so great?"

However, this album as a whole is very enjoyable.  There really aren't any duds on here, although "One Step Closer" and "A Man and a Woman" are both just kinda there.  On the flip side, "City of Blinding Lights" is never not f'ing awesome; that is their modern day anthemic signature tune, and like some of their other classics, is always better live, mostly because Edge's lead slide guitar shines more live than it did in the studio.  "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" and "Crumbs from Your Table" are other favorites of mine.  "Miracle Drug," "Yahweh" and "Original of the Species" are all good, enjoyable tunes.  Overall, I can't say this is one of their best albums, but I like it more than its predecessor. It has a nice cohesive feel to it.

[King Postwhore]

I can't say enough about "City Of Blinding Lights".  "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" is pure emotion of Bono talking to his father as he was in his last days and you can hear it in the music and his voice.  Just astonishing.

[KevShmev]

Damn right.  I remember being shocked that it wasn't played on the 360 tour.  That song was way too awesome to be a one tour-and-done song.  Sure, it might come back on a later tour, maybe even this year's, but to be dropped so quickly, I was really surprised.

[King Postwhore]

Maybe too emotional to play for Bono like Rush With "Afterimage".

[erwinrafael]

City of Blinding Lights is too amazing for this album.

[Kotowboy]

I frickin LOVED "Vertigo" when it came out. 

I was actually a bit disappointed with this album. Especially since they claimed it was going to be a "rock" album.

It was quite downbeat for the most part. I wanted more songs as upbeat, riffy and rockin as Vertigo.

The version of " Sometimes You Can't Make it " from their HQ which is on one of the singles for the album - is absolutely

incredible. Go find it.

Other than that I thought Miracle Drug was just With Or Without You part 2 and there were too many downbeat songs.

One Step Closer especially. As I mentioned above - it's like Grace from the previous album and White As Snow from the following

album. Just really bland songs. IMO - Songs Of Innocence doesn't have one of these.

Mind you - this tour had a decent DVD. Not quite as good as the Boston one though.

Finally. This album came out at a really low point in my life so listening to it 11 years later still transports me back so

I have trouble listening to it...

[hefdaddy42]

We're now in the realm of U2 albums I never listened to.

I'll try to catch it this weekend.

[KevShmev]

Maybe too emotional to play for Bono like Rush With "Afterimage".

I've thought of that, but Bono strikes me as someone who would suck it up and let the emotions pout out of him when singing it live.  Hard to say.

City of Blinding Lights is too amazing for this album.

It really is an amazing tune. 

I frickin LOVED "Vertigo" when it came out. 

I was actually a bit disappointed with this album. Especially since they claimed it was going to be a "rock" album.

It was quite downbeat for the most part. I wanted more songs as upbeat, riffy and rockin as Vertigo.

The version of " Sometimes You Can't Make it " from their HQ which is on one of the singles for the album - is absolutely

incredible. Go find it.

Other than that I thought Miracle Drug was just With Or Without You part 2 and there were too many downbeat songs.

One Step Closer especially. As I mentioned above - it's like Grace from the previous album and White As Snow from the following

album. Just really bland songs. IMO - Songs Of Innocence doesn't have one of these.

Mind you - this tour had a decent DVD. Not quite as good as the Boston one though.

Finally. This album came out at a really low point in my life so listening to it 11 years later still transports me back so

I have trouble listening to it...

How is this not a rock record?  Your definition of a rock record must differ from mine.

Miracle Drug doesn't sound a thing like With or Without You, IMO.

But I can understand not wanting to revisit an album that reminds you of a bad time in your life.

We're now in the realm of U2 albums I never listened to.

I'll try to catch it this weekend.

Beware: the beginning of All Because of You has one of those annoying "here, let's start the song with two seconds of a piercing guitar sound just for shits and grins" intros. 

[Kotowboy]

I guess I wanted the album to be a bit more meaty in the guitar department. More like Vertigo.

With every album I hope that Mr The Edge will go "Feck it!" And lay down a blistering solo like Bullet The

Blue Sky live versions. But he never does.

I'd say HTDAAB is even more ballady than ATYCLB. The second half is just boring.

But NLOTH is even worse !

[Kotowboy]

Oh I forgot to mention ..

The bonus songs from both Leave Behind & Atomic Bomb are the best songs on their respective albums.

• The Ground Beneath Her Feet.

• Fast Cars.

[ReaperKK]

Just finished listening to Rattle & Hum earlier today and man o man there were some clunkers on there. I would be happy if I never here "Desire" and "Angel of Harlem". That said the highs on this album rank up with the best I've heard from U2.

[King Postwhore]

Oh I forgot to mention ..

The bonus songs from both Leave Behind & Atomic Bomb are the best songs on their respective albums.

• The Ground Beneath Her Feet.

• Fast Cars.

I love that song.

[KevShmev]

With every album I hope that Mr The Edge will go "Feck it!" And lay down a blistering solo like Bullet The

Blue Sky live versions. But he never does.

Not to jump too far ahead here, but they really should be kicked in the faces for the end of The Troubles from the new album.  The end sounds like Edge is going to bust into a killer solo, and then the song inexplicably just fades out.  Major WTF there.  I am not a hater of fadeouts like some are, and that is still a damn good song, but that was a really stupid decision.

Just finished listening to Rattle & Hum earlier today and man o man there were some clunkers on there. I would be happy if I never here "Desire" and "Angel of Harlem". That said the highs on this album rank up with the best I've heard from U2.

I still like those songs, because they were the new singles right after I got into the band big time in 1987/1988, but I can see why someone hearing them for the first time now would think they are afterthoughts. 

All I Want Is You and Hawkmoon 269 are both two of their best, though.

[ReaperKK]

I forgot to mention that Bullet The Blue Sky Live is godly.

[hefdaddy42]

Listened this morning.

Wow, this is really good.  It's a shame I've waited this long to listen!

[King Postwhore]

Listened this morning.

Wow, this is really good.  It's a shame I've waited this long to listen!

This is my favorite of the newer albums.

[Cyclopssss]

Bullet is fantastic on Rattle and Hum, but the version of Pride is the definitive one, in my opinion.

[Kotowboy]

I think Songs of Innocence is their best album of the 2000s.




It's easily their best album of the 2010s

[KevShmev]

Pride and Bullet are both totally awesome on R&H. 

I think How to Dismantle... is the best of the three albums from the 00s.  I might think the next one to be covered was better if it wasn't completely squashed and compressed to living hell.

[Kotowboy]

U2's 21st century albums for me :

1. Songs of innocence.
2. All That You Can't Leave Behind.
3. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.
4. No Line On The Horizon.

[KevShmev]

While I like all of the albums from this century, I think it's obvious that they try to write hits now, rather just writing and letting the chips fall where they may.  Vertigo, Get On Your Boots and The Miracle all sound like songs they intentionally wrote to be hits.  That is one thing that bugs me about them now; they put too much stock into having hits.  In the U2 by U2 book, Bono bemoans the fact that One never went to number 1, and I think it was him or Edge who talked about how All I Want Is You was a great song, but they never made it a great single.   Who gives a rat's ass?  They are undoubtedly one of the most popular rock bands ever, and they are still worried about the nonsense that is the pop charts?  It almost boggles the mind.  Especially since the industry is so different now.  Hell, had it been released in the late 80s, Magnificent would have been a monster hit, but in 2009, it totally flopped when released as a single.  And because of that, it was dropped at a lot of shows late on the 360 tour, when there is no way that would have happened had it been successful as a single. 

[Kotowboy]

Yes. Magnificent was easily the best song on the album too.

I don't care if they try to write hits. At least it means they're trying to write a good song.

If concentrating on writing good songs helps them stay relevant - then good for them.

Metallica have tried to stay relevant by doing everything BUT writing good music.

U2 take their time as well but there's usually one or two really great songs on each album.

And U2 are way better live !!

[ReaperKK]

Just got through Achtung Baby and what a snoozefest, it felt like a chore to listen and the only real highlight for me was "One" and "Acrobat"

[Cyclopssss]

Achtung's a grower, really. You should give it a chance.

[ReaperKK]

Maybe in the future but at the moment I have zero desire to listen to it.

[KevShmev]

We now come to 2009, when U2 was still a band I used to love, but didn't have a lot of interest in anymore.  I don't remember exactly when, but they did a week's worth of performances on the Letterman show, and even though I don't watch him anymore, I somehow found myself checking that out, and my interest in the band was suddenly there again.  It sure wasn't because of that atrocity known as "Get On Your Boots."  IIRC, I think hearing "Magnificent," which sounds like classic U2, was what made me pause and want to listen to them again.  Before I knew it, I was listening to their old stuff again and buying the new album, No Line on the Horizon.



I was pretty wild about this album at first, despite the fact that it is squashed to death.  It is unreal how badly compressed this record is.  The verses of "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" sound like the mastering is trying really hard to push down and compress the living shit out of it; it ruins the sound of most of the album.  But, at first, I liked it a lot.  I still love "Magnificent," and "Fez/Being Born" is one of the more underrated deep cuts.  Despite the rather silly lyrics, "Unknown Caller" is too much of a melodic pleasure to not enjoy the hell out of.  "Moment of Surrender" is really good, but I fear we will never get that one perfect version of it, mostly because the studio version suffers because of the sound, and Bono is too shout-y during the verses of the live versions.  A lot of U2 fans are very fond of "Breathe," but while I think it's pretty good, I never have the urge to listen to it.  The title track is a mess; there was a good song in there somewhere, but they never really found it.  "Cedars of Lebanon" actually isn't bad at all, but it gets lost at the end, especially since they have far better slower songs.  "White As Snow" is a snooze fest, and "Get On Your Boots" and "Stand Up Comedy" are both embarrassingly bad.  The live dance version they did of "...Crazy..." live is far better than the mess in the studio.

Overall, this is not a bad album, but it's not that great either.  The sound of it makes it hard to really judge, but there is some really good music on here.  And being that it did help get me back into the band, I will give it a slight nostalgic bump.

[King Postwhore]

I never like GOYB but I really loved this album for some reason.  I know it got bad press but I still play this album a lot.

[KevShmev]

I still think it's funny that for as much as U2 abandoned almost all of the material from this album over the course of the 360 tour, Get On Your Boots somehow survived all five legs.  It's like they were determined to make funs love it.  Sorry guys, it sucks no matter how many times you play it.

[Kotowboy]

Currently sitting on a coach travelling cross country so will do a proper write up when I have time.

Bullet points :

• too compressed as mentioned.
• too many cooks. Eno & Lanois effectively joined the band for this album.
• not enough great material.
• although magnificent is the best of very few good songs.
• I don't hate get on your boots but it's not a great lead single for sure.


I'm glad they took 5+ years to release the album after this.

[Kotowboy]

Ok i'm finally home and the internet works !

I can't really think of much else to say about this album that hasn't been covered above. I enjoyed it initially then I pretty soon got tired of it.

I couldn't see the fuss about "Breathe" which some people were calling one of their best songs ever. . .

To me the top 3 songs were No Line On The Horizon, Magnificent & Fez, Being Born.

Everything else just didn't have the tunes. It was like they did Pop again and released an album that wasn't finished.

White As Snow is *so* dull. I don't know how songs like that make it onto an album. Especially since the band notoriously hack away at songs forever.

The 360 tour was pretty damn cool though. Really surprised that with an under-performing album and the previous stadium tour underselling ( Popmart ) -

that they decided to give the massive scale stadium show another try . It went on to be the most successful tour ever ! Madness !

The 360 DVD was a slight letdown though - since they had that amazing stage show and most of the camera shots are close ups of the band.

Ultraviolet from that DVD though ! 

[KevShmev]

As much as I love the studio original, that 360 version of Ultraviolet is now my go-to version of that song.  That's live U2 for ya!

I do wish they had waited, though, until the end of the entire tour to release a live DVD, that way they could have released the Rose Bowl show and then added a bunch of extras, featuring songs that got played on later legs like Zooropa, Hold Me..., the reworked Even Better Than the Real Thing, etc.  Oh well, getting those live versions of Ultraviolet, The Unforgettable Fire, I'll Go Crazy... (the dance mix) and City of Blinding Lights make it well worth it.

[Kotowboy]

Elevation is still my favourite U2 DVD from this century.

[Cyclopssss]

I tried to love this album when it came out, I really did. But for a couple of great songs the impression that remains is...alas, no impression at all.

Jury's still out on  Songs of Innocence, though.

[Kotowboy]

  What's not to love about Songs Of Innocence ?

In my view it's easily the best of the last 4. It has great songs. they sound like a rock band again, it's not compressed to fuck, there's no "White as Snow"

or "One Step Closer" on it. I listened to it in full the other day on my walk and if anything I like it even MORE now.

We should maybe pick our favourite 3 songs from each of the 2000's albums to make one 12 track album.

i'll do mine later




Draft :

1. Beautiful Day
2. Walk On
3. New York
4. Vertigo
5. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
6. City Of Blinding Lights
7. No Line On The Horizon
8. Magnificent
9. Fez, Being Born.
10. The Miracle
11. Every Breaking Wave
12. A Song For Someone.

[King Postwhore]

Listening to "No Line" right now and again I really like this album.