Rating songs SOE - 2.5 months after release

[Iggy Fizz]

I like Get Out more than most on this forum, but that stretch certainly is the album's low point. It's a case of reaching for a "hit" at the expense of the album's concept (the whole "write as if you are dead" thing). I'm also not as big a fan of Summer of Love & Red Flag Day as many here, but I think everything from The Showman through 13 is pretty great. The opening duo is good as well, but I actually prefer the strings version of Light of Home. The album version is a little empty.

very much agreed on all points. Get Out is a bit of a guilty pleasure, much the same as Crazy Tonight. I feel like I have eaten a Big Mac whenever I hear it, and need to purge....

 

[An Cat Gav]

To be honest this album hasn’t aged as well as I was hoping it would. There are some very fine songs like red flag day and summer of love. And some very enjoyable songs like love is all we have left. Except for one song! Book of your heart continues to floor me!! I loved it instantly when I heard it and I love it even more now! This song for me is up there with some of the best u2 90’s (my favorite U2 era!!). I can safely say it is my favorite u2 2000’s era song and there are many great songs from this era. As for the album as a whole it’s OK, not terrible but not great. I enjoy it but I don’t see myself playing this album much 10 years down the road. I still play achtung baby once or twice a month and to this day I love that album as if it was brand new music! If I had to choose between SOI and SOE, ide probably choose SOI

I agree with all you've said here. Those four songs you've mentioned are up there with some of U2's finest efforts but I barely listen to SoE which is unusual for me as it's only been around a short amount of time.

The Best Thing isn't that bad but combined in a 3 with GOOYOW and the awful AS and it's very hard for the album to recover. Even Lights of Home and Love is Bigger, which I know are favourites here, do nothing for me. I don't hate them but I can't see myself listening to them much in the future. 13 is a nice ending song and Love Is All We Have Left is an inspired choice for opener but sadly most of the songs in between fall a little flat for me :-(

 

[rennowba]

I skip

Love is all we have left
American soul
Landlady
13

The rest I’m still liking

 

[CosmoKramer]

Top Notch U2:

Little Things
Blackout
Love is Bigger
Summer of Love

Solid songs but don’t search them out

Red Flag Day
GOOYOW
TBT

Average at best

American Soul
Lights of Home (album version)
Showman
Land Lady

Skip

Love is All We Have Left
13


For me the album starts very weak but ends very strong (save for 13).

I would dump both LIAWHL and 13 from the album to cut it to 11 songs. I would then lead the album off with the strings version of LOH.

I also think moving at least one of those “top notch” songs to the 2 spot would be great but just he removes of the 2 songs and addition of the strings LOH would make this a significantly better “full album” experience for me.

 

[Rachel D.]

GOOYOW and AS are so full of baggage that they’re exhausting. The “sermon” between them is nothing but a speed bump that should have been used in the live shows only, leaving the album for actual music. The rest of the album is still great.

 

[sgera]

I’m increasingly enjoying the album head to toe as it ages

 

[superchuk5]

GOOYOW and AS are so full of baggage that they’re exhausting. The “sermon” between them is nothing but a speed bump that should have been used in the live shows only, leaving the album for actual music. The rest of the album is still great.

I like the Kendrick verse, but being split between the two songs is still soooo infuriating.

 

[Catman]

I think Kendrick Lamar used U2 to greater effect than the band did with him. After hearing XXX, I was pretty excited to hear how U2 would incorporate Lamar into one of their songs. Ultimately, I'm still left wondering o_0

 

[Rachel D.]

Amazing:
Lights of Home
Landlady
Summer of Love
Little Things
Red Flag Day
The Blackout
Best Thing

Great:
Love Is All We Have Left
Love Is Bigger...

Good:
13
The Showman

Skip:
GOOYOW
American Soul

 

[kite987]

Great:

Summer of Love
Landlady

Very good:
Lights of Home
The Showman
GOOYOW
The Blackout
Love Is All We Have Left

Good:
13
Best Thing
Red Flag Day

bad:
Little things

awful :
Love Is Bigger...
American soul



I hope they will stop playing american soul and love is bigger in europe ... landlady and summer of love would perfecty fit thematicaly...

 

[rdy4thdl]

Listing Little Things in the bad category caught me off guard. That may be the first time I've seen anyone comment negatively on that tune. Interesting.

 

[CosmoKramer]

Listing Little Things in the bad category caught me off guard. That may be the first time I've seen anyone comment negatively on that tune. Interesting.

Perhaps they meant "Bad Ass"

 

[AtomicHorizon]

Great

Love is All We Have Left
Lights of Home
Red Flag Day
Little Things
The Showman
Landlady
The Blackout
Love is Bigger

Very Good
Best Thing
Get Out (Womankind Mix)
13
Book of Your Heart

Mediocre
Summer of Love (Great lyrics but music and its repetitive drone lets it down)

Skip
American Soul

 

[TheEdge25]

Wait, what's the Womankind mix of Get Out?

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

Landlady, Love Is All We Have Left, Red Flag Day and Book Of Your Heart.

Skip the rest.

 

[AtomicHorizon]

Wait, what's the Womankind mix of Get Out?

Only the best version of the song! Here is the link.

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

I was surprised how well Get Out Of Your Own Way actually worked live.