The gist I caught from Bono's statement was that it was 2 crap albums in a row, and they're outta here. I'm not sure if he was referencing Pop, or Passengers, but the idea is that they already had one strike against them, but managed to recover with ATYCLB and subsequently HTDAAB.
It's not about releasing classics, but about releasing excellent, finished work that will be adopted by their fans. The 'masterpiece' criteria usually only comes a while after an album's release, when we've had time to digest an album, consider it's lasting power, and some form of consensus forms.
RollingStone introduced ATYCLB to the world with a review stating, "... and their third Masterpiece", which may have been a touch preemptive. It's a great album, but I'm not sure whether a consensus has formed saying it belongs with Achtung and Joshua Tree.
Even Achtung too a while for a lot of people to digest, with ONE not being the instant classic many people now assume it should have been. That song did well, but never really peaked upon release the way it's now been adopted into the pantheon of 'greatest songs ever'.
So with this next album, we'll see.
If it's in the same vein of quality as All That and Bomb, it could just end up being another solid offering, like many other U2 albums I love.
It might also be the culmination of everything ATYCLB and Bomb promised to be, in the same way that Joshua was a roll-up of everything that came before it. We'll have another instant classic on our hands if that's the case.
Or, it might be so innovative that we're back in Achtung territory, where we won't quite know what a gem it is until we have enough time to properly absorb what they've done.
Now, what they can't risk is an album so out-there that we have a Passengers on our hands.
That was the last album that was a full-on collaboration with Eno, and it was such a departure that it necessitated a new band name.
Eno and Lanois are getting writing credits for this album, so who knows.. it might be a true experimental piece, and that could be a strike against the band when put of against all the solid, mainstream efforts out now from the 'heirs of U2' - The Killers, Coldplay, etc.
But whether it's a new first strike, the second strike, or neither of the above remains to be seen.
So in short, I can't really answer that poll.
It's not about releasing classics, but about releasing excellent, finished work that will be adopted by their fans. The 'masterpiece' criteria usually only comes a while after an album's release, when we've had time to digest an album, consider it's lasting power, and some form of consensus forms.
RollingStone introduced ATYCLB to the world with a review stating, "... and their third Masterpiece", which may have been a touch preemptive. It's a great album, but I'm not sure whether a consensus has formed saying it belongs with Achtung and Joshua Tree.
Even Achtung too a while for a lot of people to digest, with ONE not being the instant classic many people now assume it should have been. That song did well, but never really peaked upon release the way it's now been adopted into the pantheon of 'greatest songs ever'.
So with this next album, we'll see.
If it's in the same vein of quality as All That and Bomb, it could just end up being another solid offering, like many other U2 albums I love.
It might also be the culmination of everything ATYCLB and Bomb promised to be, in the same way that Joshua was a roll-up of everything that came before it. We'll have another instant classic on our hands if that's the case.
Or, it might be so innovative that we're back in Achtung territory, where we won't quite know what a gem it is until we have enough time to properly absorb what they've done.
Now, what they can't risk is an album so out-there that we have a Passengers on our hands.
That was the last album that was a full-on collaboration with Eno, and it was such a departure that it necessitated a new band name.
Eno and Lanois are getting writing credits for this album, so who knows.. it might be a true experimental piece, and that could be a strike against the band when put of against all the solid, mainstream efforts out now from the 'heirs of U2' - The Killers, Coldplay, etc.
But whether it's a new first strike, the second strike, or neither of the above remains to be seen.
So in short, I can't really answer that poll.
