Reviewing From The Sky Down

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TheWanderer said:
My favorite part is when they listen back to a performance of The Fly.
Bono: "Was that actually played to people? People gathered together for the express purpose of music?"
Edge: "It's a special mix Dallas made that accentuates-"
Bono: "Oh, it's certainly special alright."
So funny.
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:D

I don't think Edge explicitly said Dallas though:D What do you feel sounded wrong with the mix, it just sounded muffled to me, like a bad playback :reject:

The way they gather in a 'prayer circle' almost in the front of the stage is what makes them U2 (the band that plays together and stays together!)
 
It was on BBC about a week ago, and is now likely online in various forms if you know where to look for those kind of shifty, shady downloads (this is a guess - I haven't gone searching for it)

Otherwise it will be on Showtime in the US starting October 29 and then included with some of the formats of the AB remaster box set coming out a few days after that.
 
hand0lotion said:
:D

I don't think Edge explicitly said Dallas though:D What do you feel sounded wrong with the mix, it just sounded muffled to me, like a bad playback :reject:

The way they gather in a 'prayer circle' almost in the front of the stage is what makes them U2 (the band that plays together and stays together!)
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I thought they had Joe O Herlihy to mix the rehearsals for Glastonbury...
 
U2girl said:
I thought they had Joe O Herlihy to mix the rehearsals for Glastonbury...
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I'm curious about that myself. Bono's guitar over the PA during The Fly is absolutely the highest in the mix of any version of that song. It felt almost as if it were someone else at the desk who wasn't aware that he is usually a little quieter over the PA. At any rate, I don't mind, this version has helped me with his parts on that song a HELL of a lot!! Not to mention it sounds fucking awesome! :rockon:
 
TheWanderer said:
My favorite part is when they listen back to a performance of The Fly.
Bono: "Was that actually played to people? People gathered together for the express purpose of music?"
Edge: "It's a special mix Dallas made that accentuates-"
Bono: "Oh, it's certainly special alright."
So funny.
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Bono actually said: "Was this actually played to human beings?" which makes it even more funny.

I must say, against my intentions :wink:, that I watched the first three parts late last night on You Tube, simply because I wasn't feeling well (a little overworked and stressed in in quite some back pain, that's why I couldn't sleep). I watched it on my laptop in bed and it helped. Such a great documentary with some really deep and intense sentiments. I loved the parts about the psychological aspects of "forming a band", I wish there would have been more of that because I'm really interested in this stuff.
 
I really enjoyed this even with the lack of Larry & yes most of us had seen most the old clip b4 but it was fun to see it all put together like that. I loved Edge doing the singing for a change & Bono was just funny, poor Adam at the end but cute how thay help each other :) I'm gonna watch again soon
 
Well I just watched this on Youtube. It's pretty good, but it probably does take too long to actually get to the Achtung Baby part. I think it's possible to express how burned-out and out of control they felt as the Joshua Tree turned into Rattle & Hum and Lovetown without going all the way back to their formation.
 
So, what was so great about Achtung Baby that needed this documentary?

Whilst it talks about how great 80's U2 was, that they were at a crossroads, and shows a heap of footage, it doesn't actually communicate the reason for making the documentary.

Where it failed for me was that it didn't emphasize the impact of Achtung Baby. It showed the change in look, the change it sound, but I don't believe it really explored the change in attitude of the band, nor did it summarise how important this attitude and change in sound were in influencing ZooTV, their future music and future live shows.

It didn't touch on the critical success of Achtung Baby, the amount of hits is spawned and the influence on the 90's and many other bands that it had. I kind of felt it focused on the bands creative crisis pre-Achtung Baby, but didn't explain why Achtung Baby was so important, aside from keeping the band from falling apart.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary, I can imagine non-fans just thinking so what, what was the big deal about this album?
 
Sken said:
So, what was so great about Achtung Baby that needed this documentary?

Whilst it talks about how great 80's U2 was, that they were at a crossroads, and shows a heap of footage, it doesn't actually communicate the reason for making the documentary.

Where it failed for me was that it didn't emphasize the impact of Achtung Baby. It showed the change in look, the change it sound, but I don't believe it really explored the change in attitude of the band, nor did it summarise how important this attitude and change in sound were in influencing ZooTV, their future music and future live shows.

It didn't touch on the critical success of Achtung Baby, the amount of hits is spawned and the influence on the 90's and many other bands that it had. I kind of felt it focused on the bands creative crisis pre-Achtung Baby, but didn't explain why Achtung Baby was so important, aside from keeping the band from falling apart.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary, I can imagine non-fans just thinking so what, what was the big deal about this album?
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This.

Basically after watching it, I hadn't learned anything new about U2, Achtung Baby or ZooTV, this alone is reason enough for me to consider it a crap documentary. Considering this is bundled up with the Super and Uber Deluxe Editions (or whatever the f*ck the kids are calling em these days), it feels like a rip off.
 
Sken said:
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary, I can imagine non-fans just thinking so what, what was the big deal about this album?
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I have to agree with you here. I am still a bit confused about what the purpose of the film was. If the purpose was to show how U2 dramatically overcame the odds, it didn't really work since they were the world's biggest group when they made Achtung Baby. The odds were entirely in their favor from the start. The piece of interest about it is that they changed their style (a bit) musically. But the film talked more about Bono's fashion change than the music.

U2 sort of failed to convince me that there was anything wrong with the 1987 -- 1989 era. Larry had that interesting comment about how "we just weren't good enough" or whatever, but... by whose standards? They were the most popular group in the world at the time. And if there was something dramatically wrong, what was it? Didn't say.

I think the film would be more of a keep if they'd just stuck to music, and not tried to add in all the tangential drama about "U2-overcomes-the-odds". It's a bit like trying to dramatize Superman trying to overcome the odds to beat up a bank robber.
 
coach said:
This.

Basically after watching it, I hadn't learned anything new about U2, Achtung Baby or ZooTV, this alone is reason enough for me to consider it a crap documentary. Considering this is bundled up with the Super and Uber Deluxe Editions (or whatever the f*ck the kids are calling em these days), it feels like a rip off.
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Fair enough, but I suppose not everyone who watches this documentary is exactly a die hard fan who knows everything about U2. Again, it's ridiculous to have high expectations here after following the band so closely for so many years. There's hardly anything new to learn, sad to say.

I, however, love the documentary and still found some pretty interesting stuff. I think casual fans who do not know U2 or their history 150% will still be fascinated by that documentary. I could personally name you many people who love U2's music and have been to concerts, have bought their albums and DVD's, but who don't know much about U2 going to Berlin or the whole recording process of Achtung Baby. I think the documentary will shed a more positive light on U2 as human beings.

I love it and I'm glad it's not a "making of" that album. It comes across as a very personal movie and it has some very special moments. Personally, I would have loved to have more insight into the dynamics of the band and the psychological aspects, but I'm actually glad they didn't give too much away about the mystery of the creative process.
 
last unicorn said:
Again, it's ridiculous to have high expectations here after following the band so closely for so many years. There's hardly anything new to learn, sad to say.
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Why is that? I think there's much more we don't know than many of us think or pretend....
 
This is some what like a "slice of life" or a "day in the life" type of documentary. The director did the same thing with "It might get loud" there is no huge dramatic ending and no agenda. He just shows his audience a short period of time and let's it be what it is. Even dramatic fiction can use the "slice of life" style. It is a little more meandering than other styles.

U2s story is so vast, there is no way to cover all of it in an hour and a half. I think they wanted to start off where R&H left off and show a more personal side of the band. It is not a makingd of film, it is a brotherhood film.
 
Vlaco said:
Why is that? I think there's much more we don't know than many of us think or pretend....
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I agree. How many of us had the chance to hear first hand the conception of "one" or "sick puppy" before seeing this doc? That right there is worth a viewing for me. And all of the wonderful art and graphics? You don't see that on a typical making of or concert video. This was as much a Davis Guggenheim film as it was a U2 film. We can't forget about the directors vision as well when we discuss this film.
 
dstalksalot said:
I agree. How many of us had the chance to hear first hand the conception of "one" or "sick puppy" before seeing this doc? That right there is worth a viewing for me. And all of the wonderful art and graphics? You don't see that on a typical making of or concert video. This was as much a Davis Guggenheim film as it was a U2 film. We can't forget about the directors vision as well when we discuss this film.
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I would rather have that complete session as an audio bonus, or actual raw footage from the sessions. As far as it being a Davis Guggenheim film, like commented before, it fails to hit a mark as trying to make a point.

I have to agree it's visually appealing, but c'mon people!!! We're talking Acthung Baby here. There's so much to explore in each song, let alone, the whole album. There's no mention of half of the songs.

And again, if this had just aired on BBC after Top Gear, I would be ok with it. But they're bundling it up with the Deluxe editions... who buys em?.... HARDCORE FANS!
 
I agree, seeing or hearing more raw footage would have been nice, the creation of some of the other songs, but I have the feeling that they did not HAVE the footage everyone is wanting to see. Those tapes that they had were rare, my thought is that those tapes were all they have.
 
corianderstem said:
Well, it was back on track before you brought it back up again, lady! ;)
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LOL - I thought I was on the last page when I posted that. And here I am bringing it up again.

In the meantime, check out my avatar. :D

This must be the original cartoon Bono spoke of... :up:

funny-picture-779230854.jpg
 
I wish they did something like the Classic Albums series on the Joshua Tree. For me, that would have been awesome to see/hear how Achtung Baby was put together.
 
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