dsmith2904
ONE love, blood, life
An Instant Classic
Ed. Note: The following review originally appeared in the Dec. 28, 2004 edition of the Wall Street Journal.
By JIM FUSILLI
It took 11 months and three weeks, but 2004 finally produced a great rock album: "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" (Interscope) by U2. With respect to the likes of the Von Bondies, Green Day, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse and other terrific bands whose '04 releases might be compared to U2's, "Atomic Bomb" brims with so much poise and invention that it seems to belong to a more accomplished musical scene.
They've been together for 28 years, yet the members of U2 still produce great music. 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb' should be placed among the band's best albums.
Now in its 28th year, U2 has been together since the members of the Von Bondies and the others were playing with Fisher-Price xylophones, but age alone doesn't make a fine wine. On "Atomic Bomb," the Irish quartet displays an energy and enthusiasm that belies its veteran status and reinforces its reputation as one of the world's great groups. U2 attains its excellence here not by toying with its successful formula, but by ratcheting up the energy and intensity. The Edge's guitars squeal, squeak and scratch while Mullen adds texture with tasty, instinctive percussion. And to create an eerie, layered effect, on several tracks Bono sings two lines an octave apart, and yet he remains as expressive and charismatic as ever. Clayton on bass is a revelation; of course, no rock instrumental trio can thrive without a great bassist, but Clayton is so forceful, so melodic yet so in lock-step with Mullen and the Edge that his performance demands reconsideration of his body of work. That is, has he always been this good? The group's confidence and cohesiveness heightens the quality of the songs, elevating "Atomic Bomb" to among U2's best works.
If "Atomic Bomb" echoes another U2 recording, it's the group's 1991 release "Achtung Baby" (Island), which found the band exploring an edgier, experimental sound and yet was home to the ballads "Love Is Blindness" and the remarkable "One." Though experimentation is at a minimum here, "Atomic Bomb" has several lovely down-tempo numbers, including "One Step Closer" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," Bono's touching tributes to his late father. And big themes abound as the lyrics ponder death, God, beauty, politics and war. But the rush of energy in the rocking numbers like "Vertigo" -- the soundtrack to the ubiquitous iPod TV commercial -- and the Edge's showcase "City of Blinding Lights" give "Atomic Bomb" its sense of triumph that makes it an instant classic.
--Wall Street Journal
Thanks Mark!
Ed. Note: The following review originally appeared in the Dec. 28, 2004 edition of the Wall Street Journal.
By JIM FUSILLI
It took 11 months and three weeks, but 2004 finally produced a great rock album: "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" (Interscope) by U2. With respect to the likes of the Von Bondies, Green Day, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse and other terrific bands whose '04 releases might be compared to U2's, "Atomic Bomb" brims with so much poise and invention that it seems to belong to a more accomplished musical scene.
They've been together for 28 years, yet the members of U2 still produce great music. 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb' should be placed among the band's best albums.
Now in its 28th year, U2 has been together since the members of the Von Bondies and the others were playing with Fisher-Price xylophones, but age alone doesn't make a fine wine. On "Atomic Bomb," the Irish quartet displays an energy and enthusiasm that belies its veteran status and reinforces its reputation as one of the world's great groups. U2 attains its excellence here not by toying with its successful formula, but by ratcheting up the energy and intensity. The Edge's guitars squeal, squeak and scratch while Mullen adds texture with tasty, instinctive percussion. And to create an eerie, layered effect, on several tracks Bono sings two lines an octave apart, and yet he remains as expressive and charismatic as ever. Clayton on bass is a revelation; of course, no rock instrumental trio can thrive without a great bassist, but Clayton is so forceful, so melodic yet so in lock-step with Mullen and the Edge that his performance demands reconsideration of his body of work. That is, has he always been this good? The group's confidence and cohesiveness heightens the quality of the songs, elevating "Atomic Bomb" to among U2's best works.
If "Atomic Bomb" echoes another U2 recording, it's the group's 1991 release "Achtung Baby" (Island), which found the band exploring an edgier, experimental sound and yet was home to the ballads "Love Is Blindness" and the remarkable "One." Though experimentation is at a minimum here, "Atomic Bomb" has several lovely down-tempo numbers, including "One Step Closer" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," Bono's touching tributes to his late father. And big themes abound as the lyrics ponder death, God, beauty, politics and war. But the rush of energy in the rocking numbers like "Vertigo" -- the soundtrack to the ubiquitous iPod TV commercial -- and the Edge's showcase "City of Blinding Lights" give "Atomic Bomb" its sense of triumph that makes it an instant classic.
--Wall Street Journal
Thanks Mark!
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