HTDAAB Review

[Zoots]

Just thought I'd throw my Amazon.com review on here. Feel free to verbally thrash me if you like.
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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.

 

[bono_man2002]

 

[Zoomerang96]

very good review.

expect people to write you off because you're not obsessed with giving u2 nothing but top marks.

bono's lyrics are indeed lame these days.

 

[MrBrau1]

Why'd you give it 3/5 stars? Everything you said was negative.

 

[Zoots]

Why'd you give it 3/5 stars? Everything you said was negative.

I explained at the beginning. Except for the lyrics, I liked pretty much everything about this album.

 

[MrBrau1]

I explained at the beginning. Except for the lyrics, I liked pretty much everything about this album.

But 95% of your review focused on what you didn't like, how can a 3/5 star review be 95% negative?

 

[Hoodlem]

I will say it again...

I love the new album but Bono is definately the weakest link on this one.

In my mind it is a definate improvement from the last one. ATYCLB had so-so lyrics as well as bland music. This one has a much stronger performance from the Edge which saves this album from mediocrity and makes it good.

 

[Zoots]

But 95% of your review focused on what you didn't like, how can a 3/5 star review be 95% negative?

It's because I don't like to have extreme points of view if I can help it, like all those reviewers on Amazon who either give 5 stars or 1 star ratings.

 

[Catman]

To be honest, I actually agree with your review for the most part...but I think you're severely underestimating the positive aspects of HTDAAB. I'd give it a 4 or 4.5 outta 5. Great record

 

[rjhbonovox]

Just thought I'd throw my Amazon.com review on here. Feel free to verbally thrash me if you like.
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3 STARS OUT OF 5

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.

The review is pretty good and the album is probably a 3/5. WHat you say about the lyrics is really good point when you list them like that. I just get the feeling that with the whole album its a band that have said everything before and are kinda running out of ideas. Bono's lyrics maybe reflect that he isn't as passionate about the music anymore and that he is now spending too much time shaking politicians hands which means he hasn't got time for the music anymore.

 

[Dima]

well you're entitled to say tha lyrics are weaker than in in previous efforts but the way you explain your theory in your review is a bit unfair...you took big excerpts of lyrics from previous album while you just took a single line (or less) from HTDAAB: too easy...Yaweh for example is a beatiful prayer with passionate lyrics and you just took "take this mouth and give it a kiss" without putting it into its context where it makes sense...well completely unfair.

 

[U2girl]

How about lyrics to Zoo station, Some days are better than others, Daddy's gonna pay..., Miami, Playboy mansion? Or copied commercial slogans in half of Zooropa?

Those are no gems and it's wrong to think Bono has had no ups and downs lyrically until ATYCLB/HTDAAB. His voice is far better than ATYCLB and POP. Funny you should mention production, as several people complained about it. (if Adam was undermixed on ATYCLB, this time it's Larry)

 

[Dima]

How about lyrics to Zoo station, Some days are better than others, Daddy's gonna pay..., Miami, Playboy mansion? Or copied commercial slogans in half of Zooropa?

hmm..to me those are songs with good or brilliant lyrics indeed (at least Playboy Mansion, Daddy, and Zooropa).

The point is different: you can't take a single line from a song and compare it with an entire sentence of another song...that's unfair and if we took a single line off any song it would probably sound weak whatever song we choose

 

[Lil'Bono]

Ack, leave bono alone, he has more important things to do these days than write decent lyrics!!
Right now he's probably off saving sum tree or a whale!!!

 

[bsp77]

well you're entitled to say tha lyrics are weaker than in in previous efforts but the way you explain your theory in your review is a bit unfair...you took big excerpts of lyrics from previous album while you just took a single line (or less) from HTDAAB: too easy...Yaweh for example is a beatiful prayer with passionate lyrics and you just took "take this mouth and give it a kiss" without putting it into its context where it makes sense...well completely unfair.

Exactly, I was about to say that.

 

[ZeroDude]

The only problem for me is " Top of a new born baby's head" love the delivery though or " An intellectual Tortoise" yea how about this for a comparision

You say love is a temple
love the higher law
you asked me to enter
but then you made me crawl and I can't
be holding on
to what youve got
when all youve got is hurt

I mean Bono should take his time he was one of the greatist lyricist ever not right now though

 

[mickey]

After a fashion, I'd whole-heart'dly agree that the lyrics on the last two albums (How To dismantle An Atomic Bomb & All That You can't Leave Behind (by the how, will people tone down with the damnable "SYCMINYO" type references? (there are about 200 U2 songs that I'm familiar with!! (just a vent while I'm at this) so I'm liable to have a spot of trouble recalling which particular song is being referred to) - where was I before I opened up those brackets....?

Oh yeah, while the lyrics on "ALYCLB" & "HTDAAB" aren't nearly as thought provoking or frankly poetic as their work pre "Pop", I would definitely reckon their chosen themes have considerable, if not more, merit then their early years.

Yes, indeed, t'is true, "You hurt yourself, you hurt your lover..and then you discover, what you thought was freedom, was just greed" ("Gone" from Pop) is a grand perspective into, at least, my own actions in the past, but, it's not quite as provoking (to me) as the meaning embedded within the whole of "Walk On".

To move forward, one does have to leave a whole lot of things behind - surely, that's a very insightful oxymoron U2 chose to dwell upon? Everything you hold dear, the sum of your experiences and where you got them from, don't really mean much if they are just jaundiced filters and biases that might prevent you from moving along.

And in the new album, the way I see it, they - U2 - are offering us the solutions, nay, the inspiration for how they've been able to move along. (That you may agree or not with their solutions/inspiration would be another thread altogether)

When I look at the concert footage from the last album, I notice a number of things.

1.
The Band is just as captivating as in their earlier years, though not in a rebellious manner, but rather more like a people who've found their answers (or perhaps their right questions?)

2.
While the sheer poetry and outstanding one liners, or one paragraph'ers (if you will), make far fewer appearances than in their previous footage, the sheer weight of their theme is something I definitely feel. The last song "Walk On" in the Elevation DVD consistently has me astounded at how well it's put together as an idea.

3.
It seems to me that War thru Pop years, U2 were exploring problems & conflicts within topics such as Religion, Love and Society - yes, the questions made one think. ALTCLB and HTDAAB are more about answers. There's a swagger to this new album that says to me, they're at peace.

And why not? Are Bono & Co to be locked until perdition belting out the peaks & troughs of life around us? I relate to their music of their earlier years as much as I relate to them today.

That last sentence, phrased as it is, sums it up perfectly.

I'm in my late 20's. Earlier, I would concentrate upon individual highs and lows (it was only natural to spend three weeks with a broken heart when Veronica from Math class turned down my offer of cleaning her house on Sunday). Today, now that I've grown up (some would say), I'm not as liable to get caught up in the 'little things' of this life.

So, in retrospect:

Please don't use terms like WGRYWH, spare a little pity for poor folk like me.

U2 rocks, and you should trust them. That they are passionate, simply means they're genuine - which ALWAYS means there's a lot of content in their work.

Yes, I tend to use a lot of brackets, no need point it out.

 

[mcranston]

I do agree for the most part. Although I personally think you were too nice about the lyrics, I truthfully think HTDAAB is one of the worst albums lyrically I have ever heard in my life. Feel free to disagree, but I feel many of the lyrics are completely nonsensical, and the rhyming schemes could not be more cliche (rhyming place/face/grace, etc.)

 

[TwoAmericas]

It's an uplifting album, just like ATYCLB. One Step Closer, Miracle Drug, CoBL, Yahweh are really uplifting, no matter what the lyrics. U2 songs aren't about making sense. They are about emotions. The evoke emotions based on the groove and the melody, whether it's upbeat or slow. There isn't one U2 song that makes sense to me lyrically. My God, even Elvis Presley and America still drives me nuts with the lyrics, but the melody of the song is really deep and emotional.

Are there any U2 songs that make sense lyrically? Seriously.

 

[Zoots]

The point is different: you can't take a single line from a song and compare it with an entire sentence of another song...that's unfair and if we took a single line off any song it would probably sound weak whatever song we choose

Okay... I'll compare whole paragraphs then:

And I miss you when you're not around
I'm ready to leave the ground
Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

Vs.

You're honey child to a swarm of bees
Gonna blow right through you like a breeze
Give me one last dance
We'll slide down the surface of things
You're the real thing
Even better than the real thing

There... I chose 2 songs, both upbeat, sound very similar. I don't know about you but I prefer the latter musically and lyrically!

Oh...and you say quoting a line from Yahweh was unfair? Check this out:

Take these hands
Teach them what to carry
Take these hands
Don't make a fist, no

Vs.

Take these hands they're good for nothing
You know these hands never worked a day
(from DO YOU FEEL LOVED)

Bono's ripping himself off! How about...

The more you know, the less you feel
Some pray for, others steal

Vs.

The more you take the less you feel
The less you know the more you believe
(from LAST NIGHT ON EARTH)

I rest my case.

 

[apvincent]

matured like a fine wine...i think there's something to be said for honesty and simplicity in the lyrics. i think the simplicity and honesty in the lyric are refreshing and very insightful. we know bono can be a poet, an actor, a politician, etc...although the lyrics on this album may not leave us scratching our heads or going, "wow, that is deep". maybe after so many albums, so many tours, so many meetings with George and Tony, so much suffering in the world, a few more lines on the face and a little more forehead...honesty and simplicity are the most cherished virtues. the music soars and the lyric reminds us that at the end of the day we've got to two feet on the ground. perfect for the time we're living in right now.

 

[Dima]

again you chose the chorus of a song vs. the verse of another...what if we compare the chorus of let's say "with or without you" (very clever indeed ) with a verse from Crumbs?

I could agree that probably lyrics in this album aren't Bono's at its best but the way you try to demonstrate your point of view is unfair and you could have done a better comparison...and actually you've already published your review on Amazon.

Someone who reads your review on amazon could think that even a BS album has better lyrics than HTDAAB: you've just expressed an opinion i could agree with in an unfair way...i know that you've listened countless times to HTDAAB cause i've read your posts here but if i hadn't read from you here after reading your review i'd think that you haven't listened to HTDAAB more than once.

i'm not intersted in "verbally thashing" you but if you posted this i think you wanted to know what we thoought of your review...well i've seen much better ones expressing a similar point of view...i'd define your review an "unnecessary roughness"

 

[mikal]

any weakness in bono's lyrics was made up for in edge's guitar playing.

 

[Zoomerang96]

hmm..to me those are songs with good or brilliant lyrics indeed (at least Playboy Mansion, Daddy, and Zooropa).

The point is different: you can't take a single line from a song and compare it with an entire sentence of another song...that's unfair and if we took a single line off any song it would probably sound weak whatever song we choose

you have a hard time understanding basic themes, don't you?

i mean, these are just flat out obvious and you still don't get it. it's not rocket science. it's not even "hidden".

 

[Zoots]

you have a hard time understanding basic themes, don't you?

i mean, these are just flat out obvious and you still don't get it. it's not rocket science. it's not even "hidden".

Okay, Zoomerang... I'm guessing your favorite albums are Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop. THE HOLY TRINITY

As for Dima... okay, I'm willing to take the criticism about my review writing but I stand by my opinion that pre-ATYCLB lyrics were more complex and not trite rhyming schemes like voice-choice-tortoise, tracks-backs-cracks, walk-chalk-talk (Grace), hips-lips-skips-fingertips... holy maco!

 

[Dima]

you have a hard time understanding basic themes, don't you?

i mean, these are just flat out obvious and you still don't get it. it's not rocket science. it's not even "hidden".

sorry i don't get the sense of your post: are you referring to the first part of my post (playboy mansion, zooropa etc.) or to the second one (the defense of HTDAAB)?

 

[Zoots]

sorry i don't get the sense of your post: are you referring to the first part of my post (playboy mansion, zooropa etc.) or to the second one (the defense of HTDAAB)?

the defense of How To Dismantle A Fanbase of course.

 

[Zoomerang96]

sorry i don't get the sense of your post: are you referring to the first part of my post (playboy mansion, zooropa etc.) or to the second one (the defense of HTDAAB)?

i'm sorry i was terse with you earlier. i'm sure you're far more brilliant than my earlier comments painted you...

i was complaining about your comments about p.m., zooropa, and zoo station.

 

[Zoots]

Oops............. replied out of turn

 

[Yahweh]

Pop in my mind was great musically but suffered in the lyrical department much more then the current release. Just my opinion though....POP is about equal to ATYCLB and Bomb is better.

Zooropa had some definate throw away lyrics on it for sure....Achtung Baby is the only U2 album in my mind where they hit the music and the lyrics perfectly on every track while Joshua Tree had a few misses musically but brilliant lyrics.