My personal album summary

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I think the reason I gave R&H an "excellent" is because to me it sounds like there's so much emotion in that album, as well as the fact that the band is experimenting with Americana and blues, and stuff like that. Just resonates with me a lot.

And as far as GOYB, at least it has that awesome drum jam where Bono starts chanting "Let me in the sound." :D
 
digitize said:
That thought isn't fully coherent, I guess. I live in the South(ern United States), which means that it's hotter than hell in the summers. Furthermore, I live in a place in the South that's in the middle of a prolonged drought. The heat and the drought reinforce each other, so we get things like the summer of 2011 where temperatures reach 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44.4 degrees Celsius) and there isn't a single drop of rain for four months straight. In other words, I live in a place that feels dangerously like a desert, at least in the summer (it's cold and rainy right now, at least). And in the summer, I am constantly nauseous, I don't go outside for more than five minutes at a time, and I get scared that our water supply will cease to exist. I think my hatred of deserts stems from that.
Click to expand...


At least we have nice 'Summer Nights' :)

Live 1 hr south, SA
 
CarpathiaMan said:
I think the reason I gave R&H an "excellent" is because to me it sounds like there's so much emotion in that album, as well as the fact that the band is experimenting with Americana and blues, and stuff like that. Just resonates with me a lot.
Click to expand...

No need to explain, R&H is an excellent album, including the live tracks. The problem isn't the track themselves, it's the way the album is put together. Had they separated the studio and live stuff, I believe the record would be much more highly regarded today than it is, and certainly more effective. I really hope they take that route with any remaster.

In any event, I believe, just taking into account the studio tracks, it's easily in the Top 5 or 6 U2 releases, I love it.
 
Nick's comments above ring true, but I personally don't think much of the live tracks on the album, in any context. They are certainly curious choices with all the great performances available from the '87 tour -- not to mention several great performances in the R&H film, which for some reason didn't make the album.

I do love the "Helter Skelter" intro, because it's a good performance (vocally, anyway), and it's so random and weird -- it just sets the tone for a wacky, 'anything-goes' kind of album that plays like a bootleg.

But after that...? "All Along the Watchtower" is poor -- it's not a great performance by any standards, but it's rubbish compared to the 1989 shows. I like the black-gospel idea of the "Still Haven't Found" collaboration, but it's a one-off kind of idea ("you had to be there"), with really showy vocals by the gospel leads, and a very poor vocal by Bono. "Silver and Gold" is sold enough musically (nothing great, yet solid), but Bono's grand-standing speech is just cringe-inducing and sinks the whole thing. "Pride" is just bad, bad, bad -- terrible guitar tone, weak vocals, slow tempo. And "Bullet the Blue Sky" I find really pointless in that it basically mimics the album track, but with another grandstanding speech.

In addition, all the live tracks have rather poor production, I think. They sound very thin and with not enough reverb or bottom-end, or something.

Well, that's my take on it.
 
The Panther said:
Nick's comments above ring true, but I personally don't think much of the live tracks on the album, in any context. They are certainly curious choices with all the great performances available from the '87 tour -- not to mention several great performances in the R&H film, which for some reason didn't make the album.

I do love the "Helter Skelter" intro, because it's a good performance (vocally, anyway), and it's so random and weird -- it just sets the tone for a wacky, 'anything-goes' kind of album that plays like a bootleg.

But after that...? "All Along the Watchtower" is poor -- it's not a great performance by any standards, but it's rubbish compared to the 1989 shows. I like the black-gospel idea of the "Still Haven't Found" collaboration, but it's a one-off kind of idea ("you had to be there"), with really showy vocals by the gospel leads, and a very poor vocal by Bono. "Silver and Gold" is sold enough musically (nothing great, yet solid), but Bono's grand-standing speech is just cringe-inducing and sinks the whole thing. "Pride" is just bad, bad, bad -- terrible guitar tone, weak vocals, slow tempo. And "Bullet the Blue Sky" I find really pointless in that it basically mimics the album track, but with another grandstanding speech.

In addition, all the live tracks have rather poor production, I think. They sound very thin and with not enough reverb or bottom-end, or something.

Well, that's my take on it.
Click to expand...

It's hard to argue with any of that...especially the "thin" sound to those recordings. I think my affection for the R&H live tracks is probably more sentimental than anything. When that record came out, there just wasn't a lot of live U2 commercially available...UABRS and Bad from WAIA, that's about it. And since the R&H live cuts were so dynamic, full of energy and "different" from studio songs I'd played to death, I grew to love them. Later this included the live songs from the R&H movie, like SBS, that aren't on the record. And since it's only the audio rip from the DVD that I listen to those songs anymore, I think sometimes I forget that the record is missing a lot of that, which probably skews my appreciation for it. They definitely chose the wrong songs to include.

Of course, with the huge variety of live stuff available now, both officially released and HQ bootlegs, the R&H tracks aren't as vital as they once were, and are more of historical interest than anything.

I do hope they are remastered, expanded on (at a minimum, to include the live tracks from the film on the record), and separated from the studio tracks in any future R&H reissue.
 
Boy - Essential. The Bomb made me go back in time and love this album more than I probably should.
October - Has its moments. A great ep at best.
War - Teenage me loves it, today's me is guilty for thinking its not aging well.
The Unforgettable Fire - Essential/masterpiece. My youth is tied up to this album. An "ear"-opening moment where falling in love with music began for me.
The Joshua Tree - Immortality achieved so young. U2's Beatles-like magic moment.
Rattle and Hum - Hollywood. Has its moments, but I can never listen to from start to finish ever again.
Achtung Baby! - Reinvention. Immortality? Who cares. We have The Fly, Mirrorball Man, and MacPhisto. Rock and roll with no rules. The way it should be.
Zooropa - Part 2. The little brother that is just as good. The definitive underrated U2 album.
Pop - The fun lover you can forgive, if needed, and go back to with no questions asked.
All That...- Classic Coke (riffs). Back to basics without shame. Again, an essential.
The Bomb - Not quite October all over again, but clearly the one wine in U2's cellar that is not aging well.
No Line...- The gun with the wrong bullets (singles). But maybe this is a blessing. I still find it innovative, inventive, and intimate. The best aging U2 album of the past decade. Essential to me, but not for everybody.
 
Boy- great
October -average ( bar gloria)
War- great
Unforgetable fire - great
Joshua tree - greatness
Rattle and hum - good
Acthung baby - the best
Zoopora- good
Pop - great
Atyclb- great
Htdaab - great
Nloth - great
 
I suppose feelings for Rattle and Hum are mixed, and I'm fine with that. I think I can even see where some of you are coming from. At the very least, maybe we can say that most U2 fans agree it's an album you need to have in your collection, as long as you are willing to put up with its weak spots.

But at any rate, anybody here remember when they first watched the film? I saw it in the theater for the first time, with my sister if I recall correctly.

At one point, somebody shouted out, "This sucks." You could cut the tension in the room with a knife for a moment.

I agree, some of the live performances in the movie are even better than some of the tracks they chose for the album. I even like the cut performance of "One Tree Hill" that's included on the best of '80s video collection VHS tape. That was a nice unexpected treat to watch.
 
Boy - 9
October - 7.5
War - 8.5
TUF - 8
Joshua Tree - 10
R&H - 8
Achtung Baby - 9
Zooropa - 10
Pop - 9.5
ATYCLB - 6
HTDAAB - 6.5
NLOTH - 8

I like U2.
 
Ah what the hell, why not throw in a few ratings:

Boy - 7
October - 5
War - 7
TUF - 8.5
Joshua Tree - 10
R&H - 5.5
Achtung Baby - 10
Zooropa - 8
Pop - 8
ATYCLB - 6
HTDAAB - 5
NLOTH - 7.5

Believe it or not, I do kinda like this band.
 
Boy: Good. Very energetic, and the slower-paced songs fit in surprisingly well too. It sounds nothing like what I think of as U2. 7/10
October: Underrated. Good. Certain songs on it are beautiful, but some of them are uninteresting. I like it anyway though. 6.5/10
War: Okay. Some forgettable songs. First half is a thousand times better than the second half. My least favorite U2 album half the time. 6/10
The Unforgettable Fire: Wonderful. So many beautiful songs. Strongly cohesive. 8/10
The Joshua Tree: Very great. I don't listen to this as much as I used to and always forget how much I like it... 8.5/10
Rattle and Hum: Good, not bad but not really great. I hardly ever feel the need to listen to the whole album. Studio songs are good for the most part. 6.5/10
Achtung Baby: Perfect! 10/10
Zooropa: Great. Perfect follow-up to AB. 9/10
Pop: Very great. 9/10
ATYCLB: Okay. My least favorite U2 album the other half of the time. Some good songs, some okay songs. 6.5/10
HTDAAB: Better than ATYCLB. Underrated. Good album. 7/10
NLOTH: Pretty good. I'm more interested in the album than the individual songs, so as a whole I like it well enough. Possibly the best 00's album (although HTDAAB has better songs). 7/10

Or something like that, for me.
 
Globo14 said:
Boy: Fantastic debut, but all the songs are improved live, like someone else said
October: Passable, at best
War: Very good, but I only mainly listen to New Year's Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday
Unforgettable Fire: Great
The Joshua Tree: Super great
Rattle and Hum: Good, but had a lot more potential
Achtung Baby: Best album I've ever heard
Zooropa: Good follow up to Achtung, and definitely has some great tracks
Passengers: Alright, I guess
Pop: Quite good again, with some strange sounds
ATYCLB: Quite great, and underrated in my opinion
The Bomb: Very good, but the production drags it down for me on quite a few songs
No Line: Great record, and I would be happy if the next album was like it
Click to expand...

Exactly my assessment. :up:
 
Ratings are always fun. It's been a long time since I've done this.
Boy - 8
October - 6.5
War - 5
TUF - 10
Joshua Tree - 9.5
R&H - 6
Achtung Baby - 10
Zooropa - 9
Pop - 9.5
ATYCLB - 7.5
HTDAAB - 6
NLOTH - 8
 
I have difficulty rating each of these records individually, but I can more or less rank them:

1) TUF
2) TJT
3) AB

4) NLOTH
5) R&H
6) ATYCLB

These three are interchangeable based on my mood:

7) Boy
8) War
9) October

10) HTDAAB (what a massive disappointment this record was)
11) Zooropa


Non-U2 records:
1) Passengers
2) Pop
 
Nick66 said:
I have difficulty rating each of these records individually, but I can more or less rank them:

1) TUF
2) TJT
3) AB

4) NLOTH
5) R&H
6) ATYCLB

These three are interchangeable based on my mood:

7) Boy
8) War
9) October

10) HTDAAB (what a massive disappointment this record was)
11) Zooropa


Non-U2 records:
1) Passengers
2) Pop
Click to expand...

I'm confused. How is Pop a non-U2 record?
 
Well, if you forgot it, it's forgettable.

If you remembered it, it's memorable.

If you neither remembered it nor forgot it, you didn't experience it.

If you aren't experienced, James Hendrix is now really disappointed.
 
Boy: I
October: can't
War: believe
UF: that
JT: Nick66
Rah: thinks
AB: he
Zooropa: can
Passengers: get
Pop: away
ATYCLB: with
HTDAAB: a
NLOTH: Shakespeare
10 blithering attempts at relevance: avatar
 
Boy: 10
October:8
War: 8.5
The Unforgettable Fire: 10
The Joshua Tree: 10
Rattle & Hum: 7.5 (studio only portion gets a 9)
Achtung Baby: 8
Zooropa: 8
Passengers: 7
Pop: 8
All That You Can't Leave Behind: 3
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb: 4
No Line On The Horizon: 7
 
Boy - 7
October - 7
War - 7
The Unforgettable Fire - 9
The Joshua Tree - 9
Rattle & Hum - 7
Achtung Baby - 10
Zooropa - 9
Original Soundtracks 1 (Passengers) - 6
Pop - 8
All That You Can't Leave Behind - 8
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - 7
No Line On The Horizon - 8

:drool: I love U2 from 1984-1993, then 1996-2001 and then 2009. :wink:
 
Boy - 8
October - 7
War - 6
The Unforgettable Fire - 7
The Joshua Tree - 9
Rattle & Hum - 7
Achtung Baby - 10
Zooropa - 9
Original Soundtracks 1 (Passengers) - 7
Pop - 9
All That You Can't Leave Behind - 7
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - 7
No Line On The Horizon - 7
 
Who are y'all to decide that Original Soundquacks Vol. 13 or whatever it's called, is a "U2" album, when the band themselves decided it wasn't?

They may have disowned Pop, but at least they admit it was by them.
 
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