HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
By Marloes van de Laarschot
2004.11
As I’m writing this everybody has had the chance to hear “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.” The album has leaked onto the internet and fans all over the world are stuck in their houses at the moment listening to the 11th U2 album over and over again.
I was one of the lucky few to already have heard the album before it leaked. I work at a Dutch music magazine and got an invitation to hear the album at a listening session. On November 1 I went over to the Wisseloord studios in Hilversum (in the Netherlands, about 20 miles from Amsterdam, famous for the fact that Def Leppard recorded albums there in the ‘80s and visits from artists like AC/DC, 50 Cent and just about every famous Dutch band) to hear “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.” I’ve been a U2 fan ever since my father couldn’t stop playing “Under a Blood Red Sky” when I was about six or seven years old, so I was a little nervous about what the new album would bring us.
My fellow journalists and I were brought into a big studio filled with couches, candles and comfortable chairs, after we handed in our bags, phones and coats. The Universal spokesman told us that we’d see the DVD that would be included with the special editions first. The DVD lasted for about 20 minutes and was amazing, including some very funny quotes from Larry Mullen Jr. about “Crumbs From Your Table,” a short funny piece with The Edge and Bono playing “Vertigo” on just a banjo, and a lot of studio footage.
It was very cool to see the DVD but finally the big moment was there—I was going to hear the new album for the first time! It’s very surreal to sit in a room with about 40 strangers to hear an album that you’ve been waiting so long for. If I had been at home, I probably would’ve gotten a nice glass of wine, closed the curtains, lit some candles and just make it really special.
We were handed out the lyrics before the CD started so everybody could read along and take notes. Some people were just listening with their eyes closed, some were frantically reading the lyrics and others were staring into space while being overwhelmed by the "Bomb" because that was the case—people were overwhelmed! The guitars were big, the sound huge and the vocals amazing!
It’s very hard to judge an album after just one listen and I think the journalists who were there will have a hard time writing a review. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” is definitely an album that grows and grows and grows, but I did feel it was special hearing it for the first time in that room full of strangers.
2004.11
As I’m writing this everybody has had the chance to hear “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.” The album has leaked onto the internet and fans all over the world are stuck in their houses at the moment listening to the 11th U2 album over and over again.
I was one of the lucky few to already have heard the album before it leaked. I work at a Dutch music magazine and got an invitation to hear the album at a listening session. On November 1 I went over to the Wisseloord studios in Hilversum (in the Netherlands, about 20 miles from Amsterdam, famous for the fact that Def Leppard recorded albums there in the ‘80s and visits from artists like AC/DC, 50 Cent and just about every famous Dutch band) to hear “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.” I’ve been a U2 fan ever since my father couldn’t stop playing “Under a Blood Red Sky” when I was about six or seven years old, so I was a little nervous about what the new album would bring us.
My fellow journalists and I were brought into a big studio filled with couches, candles and comfortable chairs, after we handed in our bags, phones and coats. The Universal spokesman told us that we’d see the DVD that would be included with the special editions first. The DVD lasted for about 20 minutes and was amazing, including some very funny quotes from Larry Mullen Jr. about “Crumbs From Your Table,” a short funny piece with The Edge and Bono playing “Vertigo” on just a banjo, and a lot of studio footage.
It was very cool to see the DVD but finally the big moment was there—I was going to hear the new album for the first time! It’s very surreal to sit in a room with about 40 strangers to hear an album that you’ve been waiting so long for. If I had been at home, I probably would’ve gotten a nice glass of wine, closed the curtains, lit some candles and just make it really special.
We were handed out the lyrics before the CD started so everybody could read along and take notes. Some people were just listening with their eyes closed, some were frantically reading the lyrics and others were staring into space while being overwhelmed by the "Bomb" because that was the case—people were overwhelmed! The guitars were big, the sound huge and the vocals amazing!
It’s very hard to judge an album after just one listen and I think the journalists who were there will have a hard time writing a review. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” is definitely an album that grows and grows and grows, but I did feel it was special hearing it for the first time in that room full of strangers.
