How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb - a year on.

[gareth brown]

released a year ago today. [in aussie time]

i think it's done fairly well. I'm not tired of it, but it's definitely not a favourite. I won't be surprised when half the forum do a U-turn on it as soon as the next album comes out though, and view 'The Bomb' as another 'All That You Can't Leave Behind'.

anyone grown to like it/hate it more? any yanks angry we got one of the better songs as a humble bonus? any tracks you wouldn't have put on? [please keep the Mercy gushing to a minimum]

discuss.

 

[djerdap]

Love the album. Along with Pop, proudly on the third place on my "favorite U2 albums" list.
Opinions on songs have changed, though.
My favorites now are different than a year ago.

 

[blueyedpoet]

I think songs 1-5 are fantastic...right up there with the classics. Songs ABOY and AMAAW are good; Crumbs is nearly great (edge is great); OSC is a treat; OTS's production just doesn't do it for me, though the melody is delicious; and, yahweh is really good - live it is great.
Overall, let's see....
1. AB
2. Pop
3. Joshua Tree
4. UF/Bomb
5. Boy
oh god, i dunno...but as you can see it's well liked by me...just not as much as AB, pop, or jt

 

[tommycharles]

I still really like it... in fact a lot of the songs (Miracle Drug/Sometimes especially) have grown on me since I got it.

Would have scrapped One Step Closer though....cool lyrics but...just...didn't quite get there for me.

 

[U2phan]

i thought Bomb was an excellent album at release, and still one of the better albums released by U2. But it is a bit too pop, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I was looking for more "rock".

Weren't we all deceived when we heard Vertigo and thought U2 went back to its root? I was. Only LAPOE and ABOY was "rock". And they were excellent live as well. Except ABOY. More songs like "Vertigo", "Elevation", "I Will Follow", those were excellent pieces of rock and roll, though the lyrics are a bit shallow. UnOs dOS TreS CatORce will always be my favorite U2 chant of all time though lol.

The softer songs caught me by surprise though. Miracle Drug, Sometimes, Original are all top-notch and some of Bono's best lyrics. In concert these songs explode with emotion, and though maybe they won't be well-known as One and WOWY, they rock. Like so many of U2's songs.

BUT no album is perfect, and the weakest songs for me clearly stood out. One Step Closer is absolutely not cool. Too weak, not enough emotion to make it memorable. Like Peace on Earth from ATYCLB, it has good lyrics but is too bland to make it appealing. Yaweh and AMAAW weren't as good to me. Just too bland, didn't stand out for me. Sounds like a mediocre attempt at One Tree Hill, or Wild Honey.

Well for me on a scale of 1-10, it ranks an 8. Among U2 records, it's right below the tier of ATYCLB, AB, and JT, which are U2's greatest and most popular records. Of course if you ask me this in a year, my opinion of this album will change, only the good music have longevity. It definitely is one U2's best releases, they seemed very concentrated and focused with finding that right sound, revising the entire album and all. They did an excellent job, so CONGRATULATIONS my Irish lads, thanks for the great music.

And as a last note, I felt ABOY was a weak choice for the second single. COBL, Sometimes, or even LAPOE would have had a much better effect on American radio if released after Vertigo. More airplay means more hype, and the Bomb might have done a lot better in the States. But it's okay, the singles did great overseas, especially England. The USA has bad taste anyways, we like 50 Cent and whatnot I'd like to say you Brits have better taste, but then again...Crazy Frog over Coldplay???

 

[GibsonGirl]

I like it. Not as much as I liked it when it was first released, but it's still fairly high in my U2 album rankings. My favourite songs haven't changed all that much...my tops are still Love And Peace Or Else and City Of Blinding Lights. Certain songs like Original Of The Species and One Step Closer have grown on me for various reasons. Others have grown worse over time, though - namely A Man And A Woman, All Because Of You and Yahweh.

So yes, strong album. 7/10 for me. However, I definitely feel it's time for a change.

Crazy Frog over Coldplay???

Hey, I'd personally take Celine Dion gargling mouthwash over Coldplay.

 

[yimou]

Hey, I'd personally take Celine Dion gargling mouthwash over Coldplay.

http://s38.you sendit.com/d.aspx?id=3MII2YPR3IJVB1GW7GCTX6KF9E

 

[Hoodlem]

I still enjoy it very much. Overall it is not a classic, but it has classic moments throughout that I feel were a lot less prevelant on ATYCLB. I also enjoy listenning to it all the way through, something I can not do with ATYCLB. It leaves me with with a powerful emotional feelling as the last notes of Yahweh fade away.

So overall, am I happy with it? Yes. Do I believe they can do a lot better? Absolutely.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

One year on is one year closer to something new. That's about it.

 

[clifedge]

Yeah definitely one of my favorites. I think in terms of strength it's right up there with War.

 

[the tourist]

A year in. And now here's the ranking of my favourite to least favourite U2 albums:

The Unforgettable Fire
The Joshua Tree
Achtung Baby
Pop
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
War
Rattle & Hum
Zooropa
Boy
October
Passengers
All That You Can't Leave Behind

 

[gherman]

3rd place for me in terms of their albums. I still constantly listen to it. For me it is a classic.

 

[Liesje]

After the initial thrill wore off, I didn't listen to it much except for LPOE and Yahweh. Having been to 7 Vertigo concerts and hearing all but One Step Closer and AMAAW live, the album as a whole has grown on me. I didn't really care for Sometimes at first. I understand the whole emotional aspect attached to it, but I can't really relate to that at all, since my dad is alive and there hasn't been hostility between us. Now I like Sometimes as a really great song. I also love the single version of ABOY. Yahweh has always been a favorite and probably always will be.

 

[tommycharles]

I think in terms of strength it's right up there with War.

Hmm, I just can't make myself use "up there" and "War" in the same sentence... the Bomb blows War to pieces.

 

[U2girl]

A year on, I still think it's one of their best, most consistent albums - in my top 3.

 

[boystupidboy]

Yeah definitely one of my favorites. I think in terms of strength it's right up there with War.

As i've said before,War sounds pretty woeful now...very dated

 

[boystupidboy]

An excellent album although i do find it a bit weak in the middle,i.e LAP,crumbs and AMAAW...i usually skip these.

 

[jacobus]

ranking of my favourite to least favourite U2 albums:

01 Achtung Baby
02 The Unforgettable Fire
03 The Joshua Tree
04 Zooropa + Pop
05 Rattle & Hum + Passengers
06 War
07 Boy
08 October
09 All That You Can't Leave Behind
10 How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

you see The BOMB still is in my top ten.... not too bad

 

[BizzaD]

wont quit with me, i still listen and find new things i like. An underrated album (compared to the rest of their catalogue). I can't understand why everyone thinks it is such a 'safe' album, its not like u2's previous albums were frank zappa or john and yoko's two virgins!

 

[Aardvark747]

As i've said before,War sounds pretty woeful now...very dated

Minus 3....actually probably just 2 tracks, ur spot on

 

[Aardvark747]

I rarely put the album on to listen to in full. If I pick just certain tracks to whack on, they are normally AMAAW, LAPOE, Crumbs, OOTS and Yahweh.

 

[roy]

Still my 3rd favourite U2 album.

Vertigo,
Sometimes,
LAPOE,
COBL,
AMAAW,
Crumbs,
Original,
OSC,
Yahweh (live)

...all great songs IMO.

 

[kosull]

A year on, it's really a mixed bag of an album. What was it Bono said - it's a good collection of songs but as an album doesn't quite work 'and that really fucking annoys me'. I think he's actually right for once!

Vertigo I'd have on my best of U2 album

Miracle Drug's a great track, particularly Edge's solo at the end

Sometimes is, well, a bit boring

Love and Peace is good, but not great as it is live

City of Blinding Lights I thought was the best track when I heard the album first but I find it a bit boring now as well. It just doesn't seem to go anywhere really

All Because of You is solid (take or leave that as you will)

A Man and a Woman just never grew on me and they missed a great opportunity when they made a mess of the acoustic mix

Crumbs is still in my eyes a brilliant track. It has a bit of an roughness to it that stands out

One Step Closer I just don't get either. Someone above compared it to Peace On Earth which is a good call as that too was another track that didn't really do anything at all

Original Of the Species I still think is a very good track, albeit one held back a bit by trying too hard

Yahweh I still think, in spite of what other people say, is a very good tune. Though it floats along like 'U2 on autopilot' it still has enough twists to make it a good album closer

Fast Cars is good but they should have kept the riff from Xanax and Wine and used it instead. Great indicator for the future though that they're playing it live and that it was thrown out in one day.

Now if we could have more of that kind of attitude I think things would be better. Four years (minus the time for the tour and the best of) to make Atomic Bomb versus the amount of time it took to make the classic that is Acthung Baby? Though they probably have passed their creative peaks I think that adopting a less 'let's make everything perfect, and go back and do it again and again and again' approach might just throw out a better album. (Then again, if they hadn't gone back we'd have been stuck with Native Son.... I'll say no more!)

 

[Nube Gris]

one of their best, if not THE best U2 record
an amazing effort, and incredible piece of art, i call it already a masterpiece, full of brilliant tunes
and a great idea also, very relevant and sometimes overlooked, the concept of going on to 'the place you started out of', with ideas of U2's Boy.....and by doing it succesfully i really calle it a great reinvention, once again
And once again U2 reinvented themselves
ATYCLB was a great reinvention, going on from the experimental trance-dance from Pop, to a pop-rock masterpiece

 

[The_acrobat]

Vertigo- Due to the fact that this song was released 2 months before the album, I kind of got sick of it before the album came out. Great, rockin tune, I love it. But I usually skip it cause I've heard it so many times.

Miracle Drug- I always found this song a bit cheesy in the lyrical department, but musically it has definitely grown on me. That guitar solo... my GOD!

Sometimes- I fell in love with this song when i first heard it, watching them on Saturday Night Live. I prefer some of the live versions over the album version.

Love and Peace- This song really kicked my ass when I first heard it. But now I kind of find it boring.

City of blinding lights- When the album first came out, I didn't really know what to make of this song. It kind of sounded like a big mess. But a year on, it's my 2nd favorite track on this album.

All because of you- This is a song I was always kind of "eh" about. I don't really skip it, but it is definitely not a highlight for me.

A man and a woman- I have really grown fond of this song. Very unique, and it has a mystery to it. Maybe because I have no visualization in my head of U2 playing it, b/c they've never done it live. I can just listen to it without comparing it to the live version.

Crumbs from your table- I really like it, but when I saw this performed live from the nosebleeds of the Detroit Palace, the crowd was dead during this song. It kind of ruined it for me, cause i was trying to get into it, and I couldn't. Great lyrics.

One step closer- Another song that I don't visualize with anything accept what I want to, due to the lack of live performance. I love it's subtle beauty.

Original of the species- Absolute classic. I love this song to no end. The new version is even better. I hope it's a successful single cause it deserves to be.

Yahweh- I really like this song, but now I can't listen to the album version because the acoustic live version is so much better. Great song though.

Fast Cars- Fun song, fun lyrics. Hopefully it will become the Party Girl of the 21st century.

So all in all, still love the album. I appreciate it's uniqueness, as none of the songs really have the same feel. But as Bono said, it's probably the best collection of songs they have, but the album as a whole is not as great as the sum of it's parts. Some songs I like more now than I did a year ago, some songs I like less than I did a year ago. But one thing is for sure. Hearing and seeing these songs live really changes my opinions on some of them.