Viva Eno! But has he saved the best for U2?

[dabiggestu2fan]

gar too much comparing between the two bands. Let it go people who gives a flying fuck. Just give me new U2 music!

 

[ozeeko]

I do not consider the adult contemporary riddled ATYCLB a "masterpiece". Give me HTDAAB, even with some of its egregious flaws, over ATYCLB any day. ATYCLB does have some great songs, but I feel about half the album was throwaway. I realize that most feel the same about HTDAAB, but the few gems HTDAAB has truly outshine everything on ATYCLB.
:

I don't know how u consider ATYCLB more adult contemporary than Bomb. Bomb's got tons more cheese in it. Miracle Drug and Yahweh sound like generic Christian rock, Sometimes could be a hit for Celine Dion, A Man And A Woman for Rod Stewart, One Step Closer is like a boring James Taylor song. I never understood this hype about Bomb being a "rock" album. Why? Cuz of its loud abrasive production and a mere 2 tracks which feature distorted guitars? Come on...In A Little While...hell, Wild Honey rocks harder than anything off Bomb.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

 

[purpleoscar]

This thread is hilarious!

There's an old saying: "There's no accounting for taste." We have a perfect example here.

 

[Niceman]

I don't know how u consider ATYCLB more adult contemporary than Bomb. Bomb's got tons more cheese in it. Miracle Drug and Yahweh sound like generic Christian rock, Sometimes could be a hit for Celine Dion, A Man And A Woman for Rod Stewart, One Step Closer is like a boring James Taylor song. I never understood this hype about Bomb being a "rock" album. Why? Cuz of its loud abrasive production and a mere 2 tracks which feature distorted guitars? Come on...In A Little While...hell, Wild Honey rocks harder than anything off Bomb.

Wow! How different different people hear things!

Cheese? How about the utterly impotent "New York?" How about the failure of "Grace?" How about the joke of "Walk On?" How about the crap version of "Elevation" on the album? (Although the song DID get a lot better live.) How about "Peace on Earth," which just might have upgraded itself to mediocre status if Bono had actually used some emotion when he sang it..... Or the boring "When I look at the world"....

How about the worst vocals in his career throughout???

I love some cheese, but they really pushed it on All That! LOL!

 

[Yahweh]

Eno should not have to save the best for U2, the only peoples responsibility to be at their best is U2 themselves so I hope they saved their best for this. If they did Coldplay and others will be looking miles ahead of them to catch up.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Wow! How different different people hear things!

Cheese? How about the utterly impotent "New York?" How about the failure of "Grace?" How about the joke of "Walk On?" How about the crap version of "Elevation" on the album? (Although the song DID get a lot better live.) How about "Peace on Earth," which just might have upgraded itself to mediocre status if Bono had actually used some emotion when he sang it..... Or the boring "When I look at the world"....

How about the worst vocals in his career throughout???

I love some cheese, but they really pushed it on All That! LOL!

ATYCLB is weak. Very weak. But it’s not as bad or cheesy as HTDAAB. I give ATYCLB more credit because the songwriting seems more loose and natural, and because the album does have a feel or soul to it. It’s just that the songwriting wasn’t particularly great. They just didn’t hit many of them very far.

Beautiful Day is as great a pop-rock single as has ever been created by anyone. In A Little While is an absolute gem of a song. Those two, along with Stateless and Ground Beneath Her Feet, are thus far the cream of their post-Pop output. Then… ATYCLB does get murky.

The songs you name, you’re right on with them, but they’re certainly not cheesy. You’re bang on with New York, calling it impotent. It’s barely a b-side. Grace/Peace on Earth – weak. When I Look at the World – yawn - is not as truly offensively bad and anywhere near the same cheese stench level as, say, Yahweh. Not even close. It’s just… totally forgettable. Even still, it has a natural feel to it, which certainly can not be said for a song like Original of the Species, which sounds like a lot of very hard work and very little if any natural inspiration. The amount of artificial sweetener and cliché needing to be glued together on that one, it must have taken a lot of sweat, that’s for sure. As I’ve said before, they should have sold it to Robbie Williams, sent it back to it’s natural environs.

Walk On? While it was the first clue that U2 were quite happy to take their anthemic 80s sound and attach it to a fairly by-numbers standard stadium anthem style that has been the hallmark of U2-mimics for 15 years previous, I think no other band could write that song. It’s quality writing. It steamrolls all over the X&Y-esque Miracle Drug with absolute ease. If Miracle Drug were a band, it wouldn’t be good enough to open for Walk On. Maybe good enough to open for the Walk On cover band at the pub down the road. Maybe. It is uninspired, forced, formulaic, generally just lazy songwriting. Walk On, while certainly not to my taste, is on a whole other planet in that regard.

Elevation? Again, I don’t rate it, but it has a natural, cool funk to it that was refreshing. I think perhaps with better (remotely decent would do) lyrics, it would come across a lot better. But then regardless, when the single was released as that God awful Tomb Raider mix, it gave us our first sign of what was about to spring from the depths of hell and try and pass itself off as U2 rock on the next album. Have I missed anything?

ATYCLB is a very weak album. It’s mostly completely forgettable. But it deserves none of the wrath that is fairly directed towards HTDAAB.

 

[ahittle]

Even if you like the Coldplay record (and I do - much better than their other efforts), why does Eno have to save his best for anything? The man has produced a stack of great, lasting albums.

The premise of the entire thread is just argument-fodder.

 

[quiv]

ATYCLB is weak. Very weak. But it’s not as bad or cheesy as HTDAAB. I give ATYCLB more credit because the songwriting seems more loose and natural, and because the album does have a feel or soul to it. It’s just that the songwriting wasn’t particularly great. They just didn’t hit many of them very far.

Beautiful Day is as great a pop-rock single as has ever been created by anyone. In A Little While is an absolute gem of a song. Those two, along with Stateless and Ground Beneath Her Feet, are thus far the cream of their post-Pop output. Then… ATYCLB does get murky.

The songs you name, you’re right on with them, but they’re certainly not cheesy. You’re bang on with New York, calling it impotent. It’s barely a b-side. Grace/Peace on Earth – weak. When I Look at the World – yawn - is not as truly offensively bad and anywhere near the same cheese stench level as, say, Yahweh. Not even close. It’s just… totally forgettable. Even still, it has a natural feel to it, which certainly can not be said for a song like Original of the Species, which sounds like a lot of very hard work and very little if any natural inspiration. The amount of artificial sweetener and cliché needing to be glued together on that one, it must have taken a lot of sweat, that’s for sure. As I’ve said before, they should have sold it to Robbie Williams, sent it back to it’s natural environs.

Walk On? While it was the first clue that U2 were quite happy to take their anthemic 80s sound and attach it to a fairly by-numbers standard stadium anthem style that has been the hallmark of U2-mimics for 15 years previous, I think no other band could write that song. It’s quality writing. It steamrolls all over the X&Y-esque Miracle Drug with absolute ease. If Miracle Drug were a band, it wouldn’t be good enough to open for Walk On. Maybe good enough to open for the Walk On cover band at the pub down the road. Maybe. It is uninspired, forced, formulaic, generally just lazy songwriting. Walk On, while certainly not to my taste, is on a whole other planet in that regard.

Elevation? Again, I don’t rate it, but it has a natural, cool funk to it that was refreshing. I think perhaps with better (remotely decent would do) lyrics, it would come across a lot better. But then regardless, when the single was released as that God awful Tomb Raider mix, it gave us our first sign of what was about to spring from the depths of hell and try and pass itself off as U2 rock on the next album. Have I missed anything?

ATYCLB is a very weak album. It’s mostly completely forgettable. But it deserves none of the wrath that is fairly directed towards HTDAAB.

I've prepared a statement:
Oh C'mon. You know you love it!

 

[LyricalDrug]

ATYCLB was called U2's "third masterpiece" by Rolling Stone, and HTDAAB won like a billion Grammys, no? I agree that the lyrics on HTDAAB are cheezy and they sound like Bono just e-mailed them in, but there are some pretty decent songs on it -- Vertigo and Sometimes are great.

No matter, though -- the new album is gonna blow both of them out of the water, and challenge JT and AB. Is it March 3 yet?

 

[Niceman]

ATYCLB is weak. Very weak. But it’s not as bad or cheesy as HTDAAB. I give ATYCLB more credit because the songwriting seems more loose and natural, and because the album does have a feel or soul to it. It’s just that the songwriting wasn’t particularly great. They just didn’t hit many of them very far.

Beautiful Day is as great a pop-rock single as has ever been created by anyone. In A Little While is an absolute gem of a song. Those two, along with Stateless and Ground Beneath Her Feet, are thus far the cream of their post-Pop output. Then… ATYCLB does get murky.

The songs you name, you’re right on with them, but they’re certainly not cheesy. You’re bang on with New York, calling it impotent. It’s barely a b-side. Grace/Peace on Earth – weak. When I Look at the World – yawn - is not as truly offensively bad and anywhere near the same cheese stench level as, say, Yahweh. Not even close. It’s just… totally forgettable. Even still, it has a natural feel to it, which certainly can not be said for a song like Original of the Species, which sounds like a lot of very hard work and very little if any natural inspiration. The amount of artificial sweetener and cliché needing to be glued together on that one, it must have taken a lot of sweat, that’s for sure. As I’ve said before, they should have sold it to Robbie Williams, sent it back to it’s natural environs.

Walk On? While it was the first clue that U2 were quite happy to take their anthemic 80s sound and attach it to a fairly by-numbers standard stadium anthem style that has been the hallmark of U2-mimics for 15 years previous, I think no other band could write that song. It’s quality writing. It steamrolls all over the X&Y-esque Miracle Drug with absolute ease. If Miracle Drug were a band, it wouldn’t be good enough to open for Walk On. Maybe good enough to open for the Walk On cover band at the pub down the road. Maybe. It is uninspired, forced, formulaic, generally just lazy songwriting. Walk On, while certainly not to my taste, is on a whole other planet in that regard.

Elevation? Again, I don’t rate it, but it has a natural, cool funk to it that was refreshing. I think perhaps with better (remotely decent would do) lyrics, it would come across a lot better. But then regardless, when the single was released as that God awful Tomb Raider mix, it gave us our first sign of what was about to spring from the depths of hell and try and pass itself off as U2 rock on the next album. Have I missed anything?

ATYCLB is a very weak album. It’s mostly completely forgettable. But it deserves none of the wrath that is fairly directed towards HTDAAB.

There are a few good songs on ATYCLB: Beautiful Day, Stuck, In a Little While, Wild Honey, and Kite. (Elevation only became good live.) But that's it! Yes, these are important songs.

BUT I actually, honestly, love every song on HTDAAB. Is the production crap? Of course! Are there a few unfortunate lyrics? Well, yeah, sadly, even in songs that I love... But I love Crumbs! Yahweh is magnificent! (Especially live, but that haunting version misses the great "This love is just a drop in the ocean!" part.) I can't begin to tell you how much I love the imperfect "Original of the Species!" Yes, imperfect, but maybe one of my favorite songs......

Where HTDAAB fails is #1 production, #2 They took 4 years to write it, which meant that it wasn't an album, but really a Best-of 2001-2004, and it sounds like it!

I'm sorry... I don't even think Coldplay is a GOOD band, let alone one that we should be comparing even crap U2 songs like Peace On Earth or New York to... For me, I'll take "Red Light" over "Speed of Sound" or anything that I've heard out of that band! (With the exception of the actual song AROBTTH.) The guy has a crap whiney voice!

If Miracle Drug were a band.... then I would love that band!!!!

"From the brightest star, comes the blackest hole!"

 

[ShipOfFools]

ATYCLB is weak. Very weak. But it’s not as bad or cheesy as HTDAAB. I give ATYCLB more credit because the songwriting seems more loose and natural, and because the album does have a feel or soul to it. It’s just that the songwriting wasn’t particularly great. They just didn’t hit many of them very far.

Beautiful Day is as great a pop-rock single as has ever been created by anyone. In A Little While is an absolute gem of a song. Those two, along with Stateless and Ground Beneath Her Feet, are thus far the cream of their post-Pop output. Then… ATYCLB does get murky.

The songs you name, you’re right on with them, but they’re certainly not cheesy. You’re bang on with New York, calling it impotent. It’s barely a b-side. Grace/Peace on Earth – weak. When I Look at the World – yawn - is not as truly offensively bad and anywhere near the same cheese stench level as, say, Yahweh. Not even close. It’s just… totally forgettable. Even still, it has a natural feel to it, which certainly can not be said for a song like Original of the Species, which sounds like a lot of very hard work and very little if any natural inspiration. The amount of artificial sweetener and cliché needing to be glued together on that one, it must have taken a lot of sweat, that’s for sure. As I’ve said before, they should have sold it to Robbie Williams, sent it back to it’s natural environs.

Walk On? While it was the first clue that U2 were quite happy to take their anthemic 80s sound and attach it to a fairly by-numbers standard stadium anthem style that has been the hallmark of U2-mimics for 15 years previous, I think no other band could write that song. It’s quality writing. It steamrolls all over the X&Y-esque Miracle Drug with absolute ease. If Miracle Drug were a band, it wouldn’t be good enough to open for Walk On. Maybe good enough to open for the Walk On cover band at the pub down the road. Maybe. It is uninspired, forced, formulaic, generally just lazy songwriting. Walk On, while certainly not to my taste, is on a whole other planet in that regard.

Elevation? Again, I don’t rate it, but it has a natural, cool funk to it that was refreshing. I think perhaps with better (remotely decent would do) lyrics, it would come across a lot better. But then regardless, when the single was released as that God awful Tomb Raider mix, it gave us our first sign of what was about to spring from the depths of hell and try and pass itself off as U2 rock on the next album. Have I missed anything?

ATYCLB is a very weak album. It’s mostly completely forgettable. But it deserves none of the wrath that is fairly directed towards HTDAAB.

I'm always surprised by the diversity of musical opinions. Yeah, the last two tracks on ATYCLB were kind of weak, but the rest of the album is some of the best songwriting that the band has ever done. And Peace On Earth, bad? That's my favorite song on the album. It's got a gorgeous melody, and reminds me of John Lennon and The Beatles. It's got a classic sound to it.

 

[Niceman]

If Miracle Drug were a band.... then I would love that band!!!!

"From the brightest star, comes the blackest hole!"

How embarrassing! I mention Miracle Drug and then quote Crumbs! LOL! I must be tired! Ha!

 

[Chill Mike D]

Peace on Earth is a really good song in every way except for the verse lyrics, which I almost can't stand to listen to. But all of the music and the chorus lyrics are great.

 

[Niceman]

I'm always surprised by the diversity of musical opinions. Yeah, the last two tracks on ATYCLB were kind of weak, but the rest of the album is some of the best songwriting that the band has ever done. And Peace On Earth, bad? That's my favorite song on the album. It's got a gorgeous melody, and reminds me of John Lennon and The Beatles. It's got a classic sound to it.

I think ATYCLB is a better album than Rattle and Hum, and that's saying something. Rattle and Hum was spotted with weak tracks, ATYCLB has two out of 12 tracks. That's pretty damn good.

Yeah, as you say, there is a great diversity of opinion! None of us would be here is we didn't love U2, but all the same, I don't agree with much of what you just said! We can all love the same thing, for different reasons....

 

[Rob33]

A friend took me to see Coldplay live in 2005/2006 or thereabouts. Even though I find Coldplay to generally be kinda boring I did have a good time. But it struck me that Chris's stage antics were nearly identical to the ones Bono used the last two tours. Even the concert T-shirts looked nearly identical. It was weird. I guess imitation is the kindest form of flattery, no?

it's almost like Chris Fuckin Martin masturbates to U2 concert videos, ya know? I mean, that's not too much of a stretch if you think about it.

 

[dan_smee]

HTDAAB is their best album, JT and AB suck, anyone who disagrees is a fucking lunatic who needs to be put down...










Seriously folks, each to their own

 

[corcovadosong]

i. love. new york.

I love that song so freaking much.

I'm not kidding, throw away the past two U2 albums. That song has a feel, a tension, and plaintiveness that the others just do not. The chorus is/was much bigger, rawer, and intense live, I will agree. But NY is probably the best thing off of the past two albums for me. I don't know why. It captures my imagination like few other songs. It's the one U2 song that transports me. NOT to NYC at all. But somewhere. This makes no sense. sorry. it's a great song.

 

[catlhere]

I really like U2's last two albums

 

[Gilead12]

Eno said NLOTH was "devastatingly brilliant."

Do you think Eno was ever devastated by anything Coldplay did? According to RS, he told them they were stale, built their soundscapes for them, and even penned one of the best lyrics on the album.

P.S. I'm a Coldplay fan. But the relationships between the two bands and Father Eno are incredibly different.

 

[LemonMelon]

Do you think Eno was ever devastated by anything Coldplay did? According to RS, he told them they were stale, built their soundscapes for them, and even penned one of the best lyrics on the album.

I'm sorry, but this made me laugh out loud. I never had the impression that Eno was a Coldplay fan by any means, but that's just hilarious if true.

 

[Gilead12]

it's almost like Chris Fuckin Martin masturbates to U2 concert videos, ya know? I mean, that's not too much of a stretch if you think about it.

That's a big if that I don't want to talk about.

 

[dan_smee]

That's a big if that I don't want to talk about.

a big if? how would you know gilead?

 

[Tacvbo]

Eno said NLOTH was "devastatingly brilliant."

Do you think Eno was ever devastated by anything Coldplay did? According to RS, he told them they were stale, built their soundscapes for them, and even penned one of the best lyrics on the album.

P.S. I'm a Coldplay fan. But Eno helps Coldplay but is devastated by U2.

Well, I'm sure Coldplay are still growing as songwriters and musicians, and it's only the first album with Eno. I hope the next one will be better.

What I think Coldplay lacks is a distinctive sound. But I think they're solid songwriters

 

[dan_smee]

^ they'll never find that sound by trying to create TUF 2

 

[Muldfeld]

Just listened to the latest Coldplay record which is an incredible piece of work that fills me up with hope that U2 used to give me. I am very curious if Eno has succeeded with U2 to create something like this. Whether you like coldplay or not and I lost them a bit on the incredibly whinny X&Y, this album KICKS ASS!!!!! I am curious if brain ENO has saved the best for U2 or he used it all up so to say on this record because his production of Viva la vida is absolutely brilliant

Read a comment recently about if U2 would produce utter BS it would still sound better than anything these guys or KOL for instance are capable of making. This pisses me off a bit and doesnt help in discussing the band we ALL love because it is complete crap

I am being honest to myself here but u2 have not produced a masterpiece for a long time and I want it desperately, I REALLY DO!

The next album had better be better than "Viva La Vida or Death...". I'm not too impressed by it; Chris Martin's voice and crappy lyrics make me a little sick, and I own the first 2 albums.

I'm confident U2's next album will be better, but the question is how much better...

 

[popacrobat]

Eno said NLOTH was "devastatingly brilliant."

Do you think Eno was ever devastated by anything Coldplay did? According to RS, he told them they were stale, built their soundscapes for them, and even penned one of the best lyrics on the album.

P.S. I'm a Coldplay fan. But the relationships between the two bands and Father Eno are incredibly different.

Which lyrics did he write?

 

[Tacvbo]

Which lyrics did he write?

mmm the last part of Death and all his friends

"I don't want a cycle of recycled revenge"

 

[Gilead12]

The phrase "I don't want to cycle and recycle revenge" from Death and All His Friends

I just remember that because the RS Interviewer said something like, "I really was struck by that phrase. Could you please tell me how you came up with that?"

And Martin replied, "Actually, that was Eno. I couldn't think of anything to go there."

I don't mind Martin so much, but that was funny.

 

[LemonMelon]

I consciously avoid comparing Coldplay and U2. I mean, by U2's fourth album, they were writing songs like Pride, Bad, and A Sort of Homecoming. Coldplay is getting sued by Joe Satriani.