Zoots
Blue Crack Supplier
Just thought I'd throw my Amazon.com review on here. Feel free to verbally thrash me if you like.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 STARS OUT OF 5
At the outset I'd like to say that I'm not going to make comparisons to any one period in the band's history. I've been a fan since Achtung Baby but really enjoy their 80s work as much as the 90s material. The first time I heard the new CD, I have to say that I absolutely loved it. Most of the songs here are either catchy as hell or instantly recognizable and nostalgic. In my opinion, it's definitely an improvement over the last album which was a mixed bag. There are no atrocities here like Stuck in a Moment, In a Little While, Wild Honey or Grace. And the production here is excellent, very well done. Even Bono's voice sounds somewhat better overall than the last offering. That pretty much sums up all the positives. Now...when it comes to the lyrics, it's a whole different story.
Consider these lines...
In the locust wind comes a rattle and hum
Jacob wrestled the angel and the angel was overcome
Plant a demon seed, you raise a flower of fire
See them burning crosses, see the flames, higher and higher
...compared to `I miss you when you're not around', `oh, you look so beautiful tonight', `all because of you, I am', `I can feel your love teaching me how to kneel'??? What the hell is going on here?
How about these...
And in our world a heart of darkness, a fire zone where poets speak their hearts, then bleed for it
Jara sang his song a weapon, in the hands of love; you know his blood still cries from the ground
(or)
He put his hands in the pocket, his finger on the steel; the pistol weighed heavy
His heart he could feel was beating, beating, beating, beating oh my love.
As opposed to `you're the reason why the opera is in me', `you can make me perfect again', `how can I hurt when I'm holding you', `take this mouth, give it a kiss'?
These days all they're singing about is love. That unforgettable fire has been extinguished by a soft breeze. Honestly, even the argument that the 90s material was edgier than the 80s is not entirely true. There is so much going on in Bullet The Blue Sky and it rocks so hard... maybe even harder than some of the 90s stuff.
Does anything on the new album compare to the sheer beauty of these lines...
She runs through the streets with her eyes painted red under a black belly of cloud in the rain
In through a doorway she brings me white gold and pearls stolen from the sea
You may think that I'm just a big fan of The Joshua Tree. No, actually my favorite U2 album is Achtung Baby. I grew up with AB, Zooropa and Pop...
Don't believe what you hear, don't believe what you see
If you just close your eyes you can feel the enemy
And you can dream, so dream out loud and don't let the [...] grind you down
September, streets capsizing, spilling over, down the drain
Shards of glass, splinters like rain; but you could only feel your own pain
My point is that I always saw in U2 not only a fiery passion, also a subtle beauty. Lately, Bono seems to have developed a more slowed down (slow down my beating heart? can you hear the drummer slowing?), submissive (your love is teaching me how to kneel), casual attitude which I'm sorry to say, comes off as boring and trite. And this has I guess started showing in the songwriting too! They seem to be trying hard though to get back to that 80s sound, the same look and feel. Even the back cover of the new CD looks a bit like pictures from The Joshua Tree. But I don't see it in the lyrics. This album is not bad; the songs do stick in your head. Just don't expect your thoughts to be provoked.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 STARS OUT OF 5
At the outset I'd like to say that I'm not going to make comparisons to any one period in the band's history. I've been a fan since Achtung Baby but really enjoy their 80s work as much as the 90s material. The first time I heard the new CD, I have to say that I absolutely loved it. Most of the songs here are either catchy as hell or instantly recognizable and nostalgic. In my opinion, it's definitely an improvement over the last album which was a mixed bag. There are no atrocities here like Stuck in a Moment, In a Little While, Wild Honey or Grace. And the production here is excellent, very well done. Even Bono's voice sounds somewhat better overall than the last offering. That pretty much sums up all the positives. Now...when it comes to the lyrics, it's a whole different story.
Consider these lines...
In the locust wind comes a rattle and hum
Jacob wrestled the angel and the angel was overcome
Plant a demon seed, you raise a flower of fire
See them burning crosses, see the flames, higher and higher
...compared to `I miss you when you're not around', `oh, you look so beautiful tonight', `all because of you, I am', `I can feel your love teaching me how to kneel'??? What the hell is going on here?
How about these...
And in our world a heart of darkness, a fire zone where poets speak their hearts, then bleed for it
Jara sang his song a weapon, in the hands of love; you know his blood still cries from the ground
(or)
He put his hands in the pocket, his finger on the steel; the pistol weighed heavy
His heart he could feel was beating, beating, beating, beating oh my love.
As opposed to `you're the reason why the opera is in me', `you can make me perfect again', `how can I hurt when I'm holding you', `take this mouth, give it a kiss'?
These days all they're singing about is love. That unforgettable fire has been extinguished by a soft breeze. Honestly, even the argument that the 90s material was edgier than the 80s is not entirely true. There is so much going on in Bullet The Blue Sky and it rocks so hard... maybe even harder than some of the 90s stuff.
Does anything on the new album compare to the sheer beauty of these lines...
She runs through the streets with her eyes painted red under a black belly of cloud in the rain
In through a doorway she brings me white gold and pearls stolen from the sea
You may think that I'm just a big fan of The Joshua Tree. No, actually my favorite U2 album is Achtung Baby. I grew up with AB, Zooropa and Pop...
Don't believe what you hear, don't believe what you see
If you just close your eyes you can feel the enemy
And you can dream, so dream out loud and don't let the [...] grind you down
September, streets capsizing, spilling over, down the drain
Shards of glass, splinters like rain; but you could only feel your own pain
My point is that I always saw in U2 not only a fiery passion, also a subtle beauty. Lately, Bono seems to have developed a more slowed down (slow down my beating heart? can you hear the drummer slowing?), submissive (your love is teaching me how to kneel), casual attitude which I'm sorry to say, comes off as boring and trite. And this has I guess started showing in the songwriting too! They seem to be trying hard though to get back to that 80s sound, the same look and feel. Even the back cover of the new CD looks a bit like pictures from The Joshua Tree. But I don't see it in the lyrics. This album is not bad; the songs do stick in your head. Just don't expect your thoughts to be provoked.