HTDAAB doesn't have a weak track IMO

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Agree with the guy/gal above me - A Man And A Woman is NOT THAT BAD AT ALL!!! Lighten up, it just might be the unexpected gem from the album. If FM radio was like AM radio way back when then this song would be THE hit!!!
 
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namkcuR said:
Yahweh. If they had made it darker, less happy, and more acoustic, much like the live versions, it would have been better.
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I think the whole idea of Yahweh was to be more happy, less dark. Kind of like Beautiful Day. You've got these lines that would normally be quite miserable, but put them with the chorus, and suddenly everything's okay again.

That's the way I see it anyway.

(And for the record, I do like the Bomb.)
 
Wow! Finnaly a thread where I agree with the majority of the posts... HTDAAB is a very good album, and I can't think too in a weak song there... Each song has a function on the album, that's why the album is so cohesive and well-oriented.
About "A man and a woman" I don't think is experimental, but a good bluesy-rock-type song....
 
I think it really only suffers from some of the production and mixing...Edge's guitar in COBL and OOTS, etc.

Would love to see what Eno and Lanois could have done with it, not to bash Lillywhite.
 
RademR said:
I think it really only suffers from some of the production and mixing...Edge's guitar in COBL and OOTS, etc.

Would love to see what Eno and Lanois could have done with it, not to bash Lillywhite.
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I think the production and mixing are fine.

I guess it's down to taste but I love Lillywhite's use of guitars on Vertigo, Miracle Drug, All Because of You, Crumbs... and OOTS.

As for AMAAW - what is wrong with this song?

I adore it - I see it as one of U2's best love songs. Gorgeous melody.

Much better than it's predecessor (Wild Honey) anyway.

As for Eno/Lanois - be honest, they are two of my favourite producers but their production was good but not exactly the most inspiring on ATYCLB.

Just my 2 cents.
 
TheDaddy said:

As for AMAAW - what is wrong with this song?

I adore it - I see it as one of U2's best love songs. Gorgeous melody.

Much better than it's predecessor (Wild Honey) anyway.

As for Eno/Lanois - be honest, they are two of my favourite producers but their production was good but not exactly the most inspiring on ATYCLB.

Just my 2 cents.
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I absolutely agree with you on AMAAW! That's why I started a new thread about it.

But I disagree with you on ATYCLB's production. While the songs themselves and the album as a whole I consider inferior to HTDAAB, HTDAAB's production is far worse. ATYCLB had Stuck In A Moment which was butchered. HTDAAB has Vertigo, ABOY, Crumbs... all 3 are unnecessarily deafeningly loud. :rant:
 
TheDaddy said:


Yeah but I like loud. :D

It gives the songs more power.

But it's just down to opinion I guess.
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Well... I respect your preference but my 2 cents is this:

Loud does not equal :rockon:

I could turn up Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne and over-produce the shit out of them and they still won't 'rock'.
 
Zootlesque said:


Well... I respect your preference but my 2 cents is this:

Loud does not equal :rockon:

I could turn up Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne and over-produce the shit out of them and they still won't 'rock'.
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Exactly :wink:
 
HTDAAB is their worst next to October.

Vertigo - Great song. Love it. Attitude and not as pointless as All Because of You.

Miracle Drug - Good, but not that good either.

Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own - Nothing to write home about either.

Love And Peace Or Else - Worst U2 lyrics ever, officially. Come on. There is no point in this song.

City Of Blinding Lights - Instant classic this is. Overproduced but amazing and the live versions are a good testament to the greatness of it.

All Because of You - Pointless rocker. Not that bad, but nothing good about it.

A Man And A Woman - I really like this song. The themes of this song are the most interesting on the album. A very good song in my book.

Crumbs From Your Table - This is the best song on the album. The one reason that this is a respectable album also. It rocks.

One Step Closer - I like it. But no more than that.

Original Of The Species - Very overproduced. The strings sound horrible. But when it's played live it's very good, like most of the album, the song has its problems studio-wise, but as soon as it's done live you find out that they're actually great songs.

Yahweh - yawn.

All That You Can't Leave Behind is a much better album.
 
Love And Peace Or Else and A Man And A Woman are the only tracks here that I would write home about. And Fast Cars.
 
Flying FuManchu said:
I don't think HTDAAB has a weak track.
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I agree, except Yahweh is not that good to me, the chorus is a bit of a dud and it comes the closest to the "80s rehash" criticisms of any of the 2000-2005 tunes.


Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, LAPOE, Vertigo are all brilliant, worthy of the U2 name.
 
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People really need to hear the alt version of Yahweh or the acoustic live version....its brilliant:yes:
 
LJT said:
People really need to hear the alt version of Yahweh or the acoustic live version....its brilliant:yes:
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Agreed, the alternate version is incredible, and even the acoustic is better than the album version...I used to like the album version but now I can't stand it.

I stand by what I said, HTDAAB has no weak track. Some songs could have been better, but none of the songs are weak.
 
I like both accoustic and album version of Yahweh. The studio version of Yahweh isn't perfect and the "rehash" complaints have some merit but the synths and little octaves/ guitar bits that the Edge plays are great.

I don't care for a Man and Woman but IMO its not a weak track in the sense that musically its solid and interesting and the lyrics aren't bad. I just don't care for it as a U2 song (just my mindset at this point in my life/ don't empathize or sympathize, or even interested in the story the song might be trying to tell).
 
OK, song by song like others did:

Vertigo: decent opener, wasn't expecting to hear U2 busting out like that after hearing Electrical Storm

Miracle Drug: good/very good - I like the parent/child imagery that is appearing in the lyrics lately

Sometimes: classic, the more personal succesor of the universal One

Love and peace: good, possibly the best rocker on this album.

City of blinding lights: very good, UF-esque lyrics.

All because of you: another good song, U2 has nailed the rockers on this album. Like the chanelling of The Who.

A man and a woman: "ok" song, it sticks out too much by being so acoustic on a guitar album. That said, one of my favorite Bono vocals on the Bomb.

Crumbs: between "ok"/good. I dunno - stuck between Electrical Storm and Walk on sounds. Most likely a very good live song, though.

One step closer: very good. The other Bob Hewson ballad, it has great atmospheric.

Original: classic. Can you say "perfect pop song"?

Yahweh: good closer that nicely finishes the "journey from fear to faith".
 
Vertigo-waste of a great musical backing, good job Bono CATORCE! (7/10) Native Son is a 9.

Miracle Drug-perhaps the most promising and dissapointing at the same time. I heard the beach clip and thought this was going to be a timeless U2 classic. It's just not there. (6/10)

ABOY-besides the fact that it's a bit too tight and pretty, it's still a good rock tune. Bono drags this one down as well (8/10)
The alt version is a 9, better Bono!!!!!

AMAW-not my thing, works well for what it is (6/10)

Crumbs-hints of the U2 I fell in love with, still shoddy production, even Bono is pretty good on this one (8/10)

Sometimes-part beauty and part schlock. Hot and cold on this one. One minute I think it's good. the next minute I'd could stand to never hear it again. (7/10) I like the understated alternate version, but Bono is better on the album. Hot and cold.

Love and Peace-good sound, sort of lazy lyrics. Bono is the common thread so far. (7.5/10)

COBL-the song that should have been 'the song' on this album. Much better live, on the album it suffers. (7.5/10)

One Step Closer-almost insignifigant to me, but among the other tracks, I like the 'sound' of this song and LAPOE the best (6/10)

OOTS-I like the tune, don't like the sound. Too "big" for lack of a better term. I bet this was a brilliant song in 2000. (7/10)

Yahweh-hot and cold again like Sometimes. The chorus music does nothing for me and Bono drags this one down too (6.5/10)
The alt version is better by a lot.

Fast Cars-fuck this song. As far as I'm concerened it doesn't exist.
Xanax is my bonus track (9/10)
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overall it's Bono's worst album.
Edge is better than ATYCLB, but still too restricted.
Adam is good and Larry is just there, again.
I think I'd give it 3 1/2 stars. ATYCLB is a 3.

Native Son, Mercy, Smile and Xanax make this album much better for me. I wouldn't replace a single B-side or outtake on U2's other 10 albums for an album track, yet this one has 4!!! not to mention the alt takes. Wow, safe to say I am out of step with what U2 want to do.

To put that 3 1/2 star rating in perspective, I'd say a 3 star album to me, is good but not signifigant enough to go out of your way to listen to it a whole lot. 4 star album is good enough to listen to often.

I'd say I am in the middle of that, Hot and cold.
 
Vertigo: Edge and Adam are top notch; Bono's voice sails in spots paticularly the last minute or so. 9/10

MD: Alternates between beautiful and mundane. Maybe a tad slow also. 7/10

SYCMIOYO: Edge drives this song brilliantly. Adam really enhances the mood in the verses. Song flows nicely from section to section ('Listen to me know' section is particularly strong). The stuffy, domestic feel of the song takes getting used to. It's probably an approximation of old Bob's living room and it's accompaning environment. 9.5/10

LAPOE: Edge's greatest riff. I would've liked a little more Black Sabbath feel and a little less T-Rex feel built around that riff, though. Other guys are fine in their role. 8/10

COBL: Production gaffes aside, this is a great song. At first, I thought the intro was too idyllic, but now I get it. It's a beautiful passageway back in time to a more innocent and pure place. Edge's ascending guitar figure behind the 'woo hoo hoo's' makes for one of U2's greatest moments. Even though, I'll never understand why that guitar is so buried in the mix. 9.5/10

ABOY: Last half of this song is the best "rock" I've heard in years by anybody. I like Bono's various strangulations of the "All's". It's the opening 2 verses where the jury is still out for me on this song. They almost sound too disco-ey. I wish Larry could come up with something frantic for a song like this. 8.5/10

AMAAW: Nothing wrong here. Like it or not, they aced this song 9.5/10

CFYT: More production gaffes, but this is also a tremendous song. The best use of Edge's chiming guitar is on this song. It serves as a sun-drenched heavenly spotlight on those who are stingy, yet walk in the name of God. I also really like the AB domestic quarrel feel of this song. It gives the tune real muscle. 9.5/10

OSC: The strongest atmospheric number. Shows that U2 can do delicate along with their many other strengths. 8/10

OOTS: Hmmm, I'm afraid they got this one wrong in terms of it's arrangement. It has moments of beauty, but it just doesn't truly ascend for me. Maybe it's not supposed to, since it's so Beatlesque. Beatles songs are built so much around the melody. This reminds me of 'Stuck' in the sense that they're working with a brilliant melody, but don't seem to know what to do when arranging around these two songs. 7/10

Yahweh: This one harkens back to that old October spirit I liked so much. Very open-hearted and surrendering. There's a strong feeling of freedom in these kind of U2 songs. 9.5/10

Total rating 95/110 = 86%

Everything goes up half a point if I feel the same about these songs a year from now. Of course they could also go down---lol
 
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