An interesting point of comparison between these two albums....With UF they were all about the Eno ambience. They looked to him for expertise and guidance and didn't seem to go too much against his ideas, one example being EPAA. With NLOTH, U2 were looking for something a little more experimental & out there than the very straightforward ATYCLB & BOMB but seeked something more balanced and mainstream. The decision to drop "Winter" and put in "...Crazy Tonight" is analogous to if they had dropped EPAA and / or 4th of July on UF and put in The Three Sunrises and Love Comes Tumbling. I just think this is an interesting comparison & the difference makes sense. With UF, I don't think making a mainstream album was a huge concern. They really wanted to explore a new sound. With NLOTH, as with everything since POP, they were trying to make the perfect record. These 2 both have a lot of great things about them but because of songs like Pride, Bad, and Wire UF ranks 2 or 3rd for me with NLOTH coming in around 5th as far as album rankings.
NLOTH vs. UF
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mikal
Blue Crack Addict
i would rate them about equal. both are at the top of my album rankings.
roy
Refugee
UF has quite a cohesive sound to it but there are just too many poor songs on it to place it above NLOTH.
ozeeko
Refugee
UF is a masterpiece. It lives entirely within it's own sound-world. And flaws and all, it's a better record than NLOTH because it wasn't overworked, and its content to be exactly what it is. It's like one hazy dream. NLOTH is a dream that you keep waking up from due to all the disturbances (CT, SUC)
Aygo
Rock n' Roll Doggie
I prefer NLOTH by miles, since it's their best album since Zooropa, IMO.
I like UF as well, but it's an unbalanced album (much like ATYCLB), and it has "Elvis Presley And America" which is the U2 song I hate the most (it's no experimentalism for me: it's just a slow-down ASOH with non-sense Bonoglese).
I like UF as well, but it's an unbalanced album (much like ATYCLB), and it has "Elvis Presley And America" which is the U2 song I hate the most (it's no experimentalism for me: it's just a slow-down ASOH with non-sense Bonoglese).
Amiarockstar
The Fly
Irishteen
Blue Crack Addict
TUF is the best album ever released by anyone, NLOTH is nothing compared to it
AtomicBono
ONE love, blood, life
I prefer NLOTH. UF is more cohesive as roy said, but NLOTH has better songs overall. UF is pretty damn great though. the both deserve to be called classics.
Salome
you are what you is
No line is my favourite U2 album
Unforgettable Fire is my 2nd favourite U2 album
Unforgettable Fire is my 2nd favourite U2 album
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
UF would probably beat out NLOTH if Love Comes Tumbling had been inserted between Indian Summer Sky and Elvis Presley.
also, Bass Trap is a great album opener before A Sort Of Homecoming.
also, Bass Trap is a great album opener before A Sort Of Homecoming.
AtomicBono
ONE love, blood, life
i would still think NLOTH is better though. the first four songs are possibly U2's strongest start ever...well, okay, equal with JT. Cedars is probably my favourite closer besides LIB. The weakest track for me is SUC and I still enjoy that a lot for the awesome riff.
UF is great if you want to go into another world, but I rarely listen to 4th of July or MLK out of the context of the album, and Promenade and EPAA not as often either. I would listen to any song from NLOTH outside of the context of the album, AND I listen to the album straight through.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
i would still think NLOTH is better though. the first four songs are possibly U2's strongest start ever...well, okay, equal with JT. Cedars is probably my favourite closer besides LIB. The weakest track for me is SUC and I still enjoy that a lot for the awesome riff.
UF is great if you want to go into another world, but I rarely listen to 4th of July or MLK out of the context of the album, and Promenade and EPAA not as often either. I would listen to any song from NLOTH outside of the context of the album, AND I listen to the album straight through.
good points, though i highly recommend listening to Promenade on its own. it's actually become one of my favorite U2 songs.
Scorpionac
War Child
For me, it should either open with ASOH or it shouldn't open at all.
I think UF's best songs are better than No Line's, but it's worst songs are also lamer than No Line's worst.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
TUF's first half >>>>>>>>> NLOTH as a whole
TUF's second half <<<<<<<<< NLOTH as a whole
I tend to rank NLOTH above it, but TUF's peaks are a lot higher.
TUF's second half <<<<<<<<< NLOTH as a whole
I tend to rank NLOTH above it, but TUF's peaks are a lot higher.
TheBrazilianFly
Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
While NLOTH has many songs as strong as Like A Homecoming and TUF it has no songs as great as Pride and Bad. Overall NLOTH is the better album because as whole it is stronger and tighter. But still it has no classics as big and as powerful as Pride and Bad.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
but OMG!!11 NLOTH has bad lyrics!!!1111
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Compared to TUF, I think it pales. Compared to HTDAAB and most of ATYCLB, the lyrics read very well.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
it's funny though because if Bono were to write lines like "one man come in the name of love, one man come and go" or "sleep tonight, and may your dreams be realized" in 2009, everyone would jump all over him for it. it's the cool thing to hate Bono's lyrics now.
Salome
you are what you is
true that
popacrobat
Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
sad but true.
I want to run, I want to hide...yuck!!!!!!
"We're one, but we're not the same" yuck!!!
"Daddys gonna pay for your crashed car... how dumb does it get it!?!? 'get on your boots, now that's when they were cool and hip!!! what a rock song!"
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Possibly, but I feel that lyrics like the ones in Fez would come across as rather uninspired in the context of TUF, but are praised now because anything with strong, distinct imagery and subtlety is difficult to come by in '00s U2. They're fine in any context, but I can't put them above A Sort Of Homecoming or The Unforgettable Fire, two of U2's most evocative tracks.
bathiu
Refugee
NLOTH all the way!
UF, Wire, ISS and WAIA EP
the rest from UF era - I can live without 
UF, Wire, ISS and WAIA EP
the rest from UF era - I can live without Roland of Gilead
Gunslinger
These two albums are still duking it out for 3rd on my list. Only time will tell if No Line... has that air of immortality that the UF has. It'll need a couple of years and a tour to see.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
TUF is slightly more cohesive as an album, but has weaker weak points.
NLOTH is less cohesive but the weaker songs are still not as weak as TUF's weak moments.
TUF
Great songs: Pride, ASOH, Bad
Good songs: Wire, ISS, EPAA, TUF
Meh: 4th, MLK, Promenade
NLOTH
Great songs: NLOTH, MOS, Mag, UC
Good songs: Crazy, Cedars, WAS, Boots, Breathe, FEZ
Meh: SUC
NLOTH is less cohesive but the weaker songs are still not as weak as TUF's weak moments.
TUF
Great songs: Pride, ASOH, Bad
Good songs: Wire, ISS, EPAA, TUF
Meh: 4th, MLK, Promenade
NLOTH
Great songs: NLOTH, MOS, Mag, UC
Good songs: Crazy, Cedars, WAS, Boots, Breathe, FEZ
Meh: SUC
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
ozeeko
Refugee
Who cares about the lyrics in UF when the music is so trancey and beautiful? Honestly, at this stage in their career, lyrics really weren't Bono's strong suit. He had just started to come out of his shell and apply himself, and IMO it wasn't until the JT when he really found his voice with lyrics. Before that, i think the music was the main thing. Look at A Sort Of Homecoming, Wire, the title track...i don't have the slightest clue what those songs are about, i still don't, cept for Wire being vaguely about Heroin, but beyond that, Bono is just singing gibberish. The whole album's like an experiment. He didn't care about the lyrics so much, neither did anyone really. They said of Eno that he could care less about the lyrics, just as long as it sounded good.
Now...flash forward about 25 years, after Bono has already established himself as a brilliant lyricist (JT, RH, AB, Z, POP)...this is why people are hard on Bono as a lyricist, because he's already proven to be so good. Looking at BOY-UF, he's still learning! I give a learning curve to that Bono.
Now...flash forward about 25 years, after Bono has already established himself as a brilliant lyricist (JT, RH, AB, Z, POP)...this is why people are hard on Bono as a lyricist, because he's already proven to be so good. Looking at BOY-UF, he's still learning! I give a learning curve to that Bono.
GirlsAloudFan
Blue Crack Addict
TUF is to NLOTH as Citizen Kane is to Twilight
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