I actually hate the live version of LAPOE mostly because I hated the whole political section during the Vertigo Tour.
The segue between SBS-Bullet was sick. But the actual songs....Bullet was the weakest it's ever been on that tour and the solo was cringeworthy. SBS was just annoying and I personally don't like it when powerful songs lose their meanings. Adaptive meanings to current events is fine, but it was way over the top with that whole coexist crap which is the same reason I didn't like LAPOE. I know that opinion will offend some people, but I don't really care. I really hate coexist and having to see that crap at a U2 concert, c'mon. People want to see some angry political songs with intensity. Not some little crap about world peace. It took a massive sh*t all over their political sets in previous tours.
However, I loved that they played Running To Stand Still, which is possibly their best song ever. But then they dropped it for that never ending snore fest of Miss Sarajevo. Ugh. It's good for like 20 seconds and Bono gets to show off his voice. That's it. The album version is so much better and it's not even close (except for Bono's Pavarotti note). The original lyrics were also way better and it needed more orchestra live.
Then Pride (nothing special), a super weak version of Streets, Bono speech/rambling and then One (for the 10 billionth time).
The rest of the show besides that stretch were phenomenal on the tour, though. Loved the playlist diversity, especially.
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I'm guessing my opinions on this era aren't very popular around here; and not just my views on live material, but also studio material.
I think Original of The Species and Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own are among their best of the last 15 years. I love Vertigo, Mercy, One Step Closer and Windows In The Skies, and I really like All Because Of You and Yahweh.
Meanwhile, I think Electrical Storm is great until that God awful duck quacking sound. Seriously, wtf were they on to make them think that actually made the song better? COBL is a very good song, but I think it doesn't fully capture its potential and never really takes off live.
There are some other good songs from this era as well. A Man and A Woman, Fast Cars (Jack Knife Mix), and Smile are among many solid contributions to U2's catalogue.
However, this era isn't very experimental and lacked the magic of the Elevation era, so it's really hard to judge this period of their career.
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I agree with almost all of this!
Your opinions on this era may be a bit unpopular on this board, but I don't think it's to the level some claim. I know one thing for sure, among the U2 fanbase as a whole and among the general public, it's certainly not an unpopular or uncommon take.
HTDAAB is a much, much better album than it gets credit for here. You're quite right, it wasn't very experimental and it seemed to kind of rest on the laurels of the Elevation era without creating any additional magic. However, songs like Vertigo, City, Sometimes, Original, etc speak for themselves.
As for the tour, I couldn't agree more. The political set saw the worst performances of Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet, Streets and One ever done by the band and the videos and talks by Bono got old. I did think that LAPOE was spectacular on the album and was pretty good live, but suffered, as you said, from the way it was presented in the set. The rest of the set was excellent- all of the tunes from Boy, Running To Standstill, the Zoo TV encore, full electric Wild Horses in Boston on Leg 1, the list goes on.
Also, great call on Window In The Skies.
Looking back, that song is better than so much of NLOTH.
I always liked U2, as my Mom and Aunt were Boston diehards from way back in 1980 (that famous Paradise show).
I had a heightened awareness with ATYCLB and even more so with the 2002 Super Bowl halftime performance. However, it wasn't until the release of HTDAAB that I truly became a diehard.
It was just so different from anything on the radio at the time. So vital. It gets all the shit it gets here- but my mind was blown hearing the album... the soaring, passionate vocals of Sometimes, the riffs of Vertigo, ABOY and LAPOE and the soul of AMAAW. The uplifting magic of COBL, the prayer of Yahweh, the innocence of Original... could go on.
Of course, I still have the same feelings for it, but they're tempered by the fact that I have discovered the back catalog since and with that, all of the songs that do what this album does only better. (11 O' Clock Tick Tock is a better rocker, ASOH and In God's Country better anthems, 40 a better contemplative piece, etc). Still, that is NO KNOCK OR ANYTHING AGAINST HTDAAB. Like all U2 albums, it is it's own thing entirely and has some unique, incomparable flashes of brilliance. Sometimes and COBL (studio) can stand up with the best of U2 songs and make their case.
I dug the album then and I still dig it. City and Crumbs are my favorites. Saw them twice on the Vertigo tour. Then wrapped it all up with U23D.
