redhill
Refugee
Favorite track off Bomb:
Atomic Bomb Appreciation
- Thread starter Gonna Run 2 U
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
NintendoFan204
The Fly
That's not even that long of a title. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own is much longer!
NintendoFan204
The Fly
Love And Peace Or Else is one of my favorites on HTDAAB. And New York is one of my favorites on ATYCLB! ?
I've been listening a bit more to Bomb over the last few days.
Have to say, even though it may not be the most adventurous U2 album, it probably has more memorable songs than any album since. - Vertigo, City of Blinding Lights, SYCMIOYO, Miracle Drug, Original of the Species etc.
I've also watched some interviews from back in 2004 and they seemed more confident, particularly Bono. It was probably because it was off the back of a hugely popular album ATYCLB.
Have to say, even though it may not be the most adventurous U2 album, it probably has more memorable songs than any album since. - Vertigo, City of Blinding Lights, SYCMIOYO, Miracle Drug, Original of the Species etc.
I've also watched some interviews from back in 2004 and they seemed more confident, particularly Bono. It was probably because it was off the back of a hugely popular album ATYCLB.
I think I have a love/hate relationship with this album. I became a fan through ATYCLB and HTDAAB was released when I was in high school, so there's some nostalgia there.
As many have said, it's not the most musically adventurous album, but there are some pretty good songs on it. The ballads are solid. What's interesting with this album and maybe this band, is how polarizing certain eras/albums/songs are. For every Miracle Drug hater, there's a One Step Closer lover. I find that kind of fascinating.
Anyway, I never cared much for Yahweh. A Man and a Woman is bonafide Sting. If anything Clayton's bass shines on it, in fact I think he said it was one of his favorite U2 songs to play, if my memory from the U Talkin' U2 to Me podcast serves well. All Because of You is blah, I like the earlier version more. I like Vertigo well enough, though prefer Native Son. I actually think Love and Peace is pretty decent, it has some edge to it, a bit more aggressive, most especially live.
I actually quite enjoy the b-sides Fast Cars and Are You Gonna Wait Forever? Their cover of Kraftwerk's Neon Lights was pretty cool too.
COBL is pretty good, despite the WTSHNN comparisons, I think it's got its own thing going. The chorus is pretty epic. I didn't see them on the Vertigo Tour, but the live performances were pretty memorable. I remember watching the 2004 SNL episode with Luke Wilson hosting and they played the surprise third song with I Will Follow, that was pretty cool. Seeing Amy Poehler cry in Bono's arms, yeah....good stuff. This was them at their peak popularity following their rebirth with ATYCLB.
But damn, this album could use a remaster, the loudness war is all over this thing. Oh and worst album artwork ever (well definitely in U2's catalog). Though I liked the black/red color scheme of the album and tour, felt a bit White Stripes to me, which I think this album was sort of harkening to with the garage rock revival scene in the early 2000s.
As many have said, it's not the most musically adventurous album, but there are some pretty good songs on it. The ballads are solid. What's interesting with this album and maybe this band, is how polarizing certain eras/albums/songs are. For every Miracle Drug hater, there's a One Step Closer lover. I find that kind of fascinating.
Anyway, I never cared much for Yahweh. A Man and a Woman is bonafide Sting. If anything Clayton's bass shines on it, in fact I think he said it was one of his favorite U2 songs to play, if my memory from the U Talkin' U2 to Me podcast serves well. All Because of You is blah, I like the earlier version more. I like Vertigo well enough, though prefer Native Son. I actually think Love and Peace is pretty decent, it has some edge to it, a bit more aggressive, most especially live.
I actually quite enjoy the b-sides Fast Cars and Are You Gonna Wait Forever? Their cover of Kraftwerk's Neon Lights was pretty cool too.
COBL is pretty good, despite the WTSHNN comparisons, I think it's got its own thing going. The chorus is pretty epic. I didn't see them on the Vertigo Tour, but the live performances were pretty memorable. I remember watching the 2004 SNL episode with Luke Wilson hosting and they played the surprise third song with I Will Follow, that was pretty cool. Seeing Amy Poehler cry in Bono's arms, yeah....good stuff. This was them at their peak popularity following their rebirth with ATYCLB.
But damn, this album could use a remaster, the loudness war is all over this thing. Oh and worst album artwork ever (well definitely in U2's catalog). Though I liked the black/red color scheme of the album and tour, felt a bit White Stripes to me, which I think this album was sort of harkening to with the garage rock revival scene in the early 2000s.
Stereotype
Babyface
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2008
- Messages
- 14
I loved this album when it came out but I dont really listen to it anymore. For me it's pretty much associated with a specific couple of years where it really hit the spot including the Vertigo tour which was awesome in my opinion. I would rank it in the bottom half of their discography as it has proven to have less longevity than most of the other albums for me and it has a couple of clunkers toward the end of the album. My favorite songs are Miracle Drug, SYCMIOYO and Crumbs From Your Table. The worst are ABOY and the last two songs.
PennyLanePHINS
Refugee
Does anyone have the Vinyl re-release?
tommycharles
War Child
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2005
- Messages
- 778
Not a bad track, although the furore around having the "you speak" as part of the live backing track (the same way the "woo"s are in Elevation) was hilarious at the time. For about 3 days all of Interference wrote off U2 as cousins to Milli Vanilli.
Mack_Again
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
i thought you guys were appreciating the atrocity that destroyed 2 cities of my country
LemonMirrorSky
War Child
lol!!
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
gweeps
War Child
Will someone refresh my mind on how Mercy was leaked? It came out shortly after the album released if I recall correctly. Shame it was put out in such inferior quality.
Oh, and you Canadian iTunes folks can buy Fast Cars now.
Oh, and you Canadian iTunes folks can buy Fast Cars now.
david
ONE love, blood, life
Some girl had a cd-r copy of the song.
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
I wonder how amused/confused the band members would be if they knew how much discussion and controversy that one song has led to around these parts.
It still bugs me that no one who has met any of them has bothered to bring it up.
And obviously it sucks that it might not properly see the light of day until after the band breaks up on some Beatles Anthology-type compilation.
It still bugs me that no one who has met any of them has bothered to bring it up.
And obviously it sucks that it might not properly see the light of day until after the band breaks up on some Beatles Anthology-type compilation.
mofo82
Refugee
Back in 2009 I actually got to ask Edge about Mercy. During the No Line promo tour I won a Chicago radio contest which allowed me & a girl I was dating at the time to go see U2 do a live radio interview at The Metro. Shirley Manson of Garbage was the host. At the end the band minus Larry stayed on stage and was signing autographs so I went up to the stage and met Edge. While he was autographing a ticket of mine and I said to him how much I liked Mercy & how it’s one of their best songs in a long while, and that No Line the album reminded me partly of Zooropa & Unforgettable Fire. He looked up at me immediately when I said Mercy and with a small smile he said ‘How have you heard of Mercy?’ and I answered it’s the band’s worst kept secret since it was leaked. I followed up with are you guys going to ever release it officially and Edge replied that they really like the song but there aren’t sure what to do with it. That’s all the time I had, they all moved quickly from person to person. I was proud in that moment that I didn’t get too star struck & forget my question. I figured it would be the one time I’d ever get this close to ask a question so I tried to make it complementary & about a rarity.
Last edited:
gweeps
War Child
Thanks for doing that. Shame they neutered the song for the live version.
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
You're doing the lord's work, friend.
We could use more fans like you.
Hopefully it wasn't that conversation which led them to butcher the song for the live version on that tour.
cobl04
45:33
That's pretty awesome dude, and I'm so happy to hear Edge was pleased about it, not a dick.
Thesearethedays
The Fly
- Joined
- May 14, 2017
- Messages
- 44
A pretty good album. I was a little disappointed at the time, to be honest, but it's aged alright. I have it ahead of no line and innocence. SoE is a welcome strong one, strongest since at least Bomb.
A few really strong tunes.. City, species, sometimes you can't,
A good live rocker in vertigo
Some filler, but at least it's U2 filler.
A few really strong tunes.. City, species, sometimes you can't,
A good live rocker in vertigo
Some filler, but at least it's U2 filler.
I knew this album was one of U2's best after the 2nd listening in 2004. It is their best album I think only edged out by Achtung Baby and Joshua Tree. So 3rd best album. Felt that way during the first year of release and still feel that way today.
Miracle Drug and Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own are both in my top 10 U2 songs of all time!
A huge Grammy winner as well. In fact, it has the record for the most Grammy awards ever won for an album at 9! Over 10 million copies sold worldwide despite the fact that album sales in general were already starting to decline at that point. U2's biggest sales week ever in the United States with 839,000 sold in the first week.
I like the production and the loud sound. I always love playing songs from it when I'm at a bar with friends.
So I wonder what the bands plans for Mercy are as of 2018, if any.
Sr. Poop
Acrobat
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2013
- Messages
- 427
Good album with some strong hits... hasn't aged well at all for me though.
SpaceBoy
War Child
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2004
- Messages
- 648
I look back at this album and era very fondly. Not one of their best, but could've been a contender had they chosen a little differently from the material they generated making it. The general opinion seems to have fluctuated a lot, and it's probably been knocked a bit too harshly. Lyrics are pretty spotty, but I think the music, for the period, is top notch. The tour was great; a nice evolution of the Elevation concept with more adventurous setlists. Saw them more times on it than any other. It was a fun time.
Mrs. Garrison
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Wow, I think you hit the nail on the head here.
I listened to BOMB last weekend actually, after not listening to it in quite a while. If felt almost like a new u2 album for me and a good one at that.
Thesearethedays
The Fly
- Joined
- May 14, 2017
- Messages
- 44
Good point regarding the edges play... He really kills it on bomb. Maybe HIS best album?
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
I'm a pretty big fan of Bomb, and haven't soured on it like some others. I don't think there's an awful track on there, which is more than I can say for the last few album.
But Edge's best? No fucking way. It's easily his least adventurous.
But Edge's best? No fucking way. It's easily his least adventurous.
Thesearethedays
The Fly
- Joined
- May 14, 2017
- Messages
- 44
Very guitar driven album. His sound is massive.. Vertigo, city, sometimes... thinking about it a bit, all their albums are edge driven though. I think he just found some extra tone on tap for bomb though.. As a guitarist, it's my personal opinion. Don't get me wrong, the edge is consistently the biggest contributor to the band's signature sound, moreso than bono imo. Then again, there's me, the biased guitar player 
Last edited:
Aygo
Rock n' Roll Doggie
HTDAAB is not my favourite album. In fact it's in the bottom half of my ranking.
But it's the album I most relate to. And in that ranking, HTDAAB would be #1.
The album came out in the hardest period of my life and there were songs that I could relate so much, meaning that this is one of the records I've cried the most while listening to it.
Despite thinking today that SYCMIOYO is over produced and that a middle ground between the final version and the alternate version (which has lots of elements I find very moving) could've been found, I can't deny this track as one of the most personal.
I know many people hate "Yahweh", reinforced by the fact that it's the album closer. Plus, I'm a convict atheist and really don't like any sort of relationship with religions. But this is probably the song that made me cry more times, specially by the times I felt I had no ground. I still think that there's something in the melody of the song, in Edge's guitar treatment and playing, in the arrangement, in some particular lines that Bono sings, that moves me. It still does.
I could also say something special about "One Step Closer", "Original Of The Species" and "Miracle Drug", the mean a lot to me too.
But as an overall, I still don't like "A Man And A Woman" or "Crumbs" and I wish that "Fast Cars" (in which is a shame that has the "save me, save me from myself..." was chopped) and "Mercy" had been included yet instead of being dropped.
"Vertigo" works very well when played live, for sure. But there's a rawness in the "Native Son" arrangement that I feel it's a pity that got lost instead of the final version's overproduction. And there's a vagueness in the lyrics that bugs me a little. And still don't think it was the best choice as the opener - LAPOE would've beeb the best choice in my opinion (followed by "Vertigo").
But I forgive and forget all those "faults" with the relationship I have with this album.
But it's the album I most relate to. And in that ranking, HTDAAB would be #1.
The album came out in the hardest period of my life and there were songs that I could relate so much, meaning that this is one of the records I've cried the most while listening to it.
Despite thinking today that SYCMIOYO is over produced and that a middle ground between the final version and the alternate version (which has lots of elements I find very moving) could've been found, I can't deny this track as one of the most personal.
I know many people hate "Yahweh", reinforced by the fact that it's the album closer. Plus, I'm a convict atheist and really don't like any sort of relationship with religions. But this is probably the song that made me cry more times, specially by the times I felt I had no ground. I still think that there's something in the melody of the song, in Edge's guitar treatment and playing, in the arrangement, in some particular lines that Bono sings, that moves me. It still does.
I could also say something special about "One Step Closer", "Original Of The Species" and "Miracle Drug", the mean a lot to me too.
But as an overall, I still don't like "A Man And A Woman" or "Crumbs" and I wish that "Fast Cars" (in which is a shame that has the "save me, save me from myself..." was chopped) and "Mercy" had been included yet instead of being dropped.
"Vertigo" works very well when played live, for sure. But there's a rawness in the "Native Son" arrangement that I feel it's a pity that got lost instead of the final version's overproduction. And there's a vagueness in the lyrics that bugs me a little. And still don't think it was the best choice as the opener - LAPOE would've beeb the best choice in my opinion (followed by "Vertigo").
But I forgive and forget all those "faults" with the relationship I have with this album.
Similar threads
