SOE 35 - it’s finally here, let the debate on how good/bad it is begin!

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What I love about this album is that it's dark, but its undeniably about joy and love. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but it feels more like a companion album to Achtung Baby than Songs of Innocence.
That feels like a bit of a stretch. Achtung Baby already has a companion album in Zooropa anyway.
 
Man listening to this album through good ear phones is eargasmic!!! So many layers!!
 
That can be changed. Have a pop at Landlady. Then I'll fight you.

I’m going to give some love here to The Best Thing and Get Out Of Your Own Way, because I think the community has been irrationally rough in them from the beginning.

First, unless my ears are deceiving, the mixes in the album version are slightly different than the “single” versions. The verse-to-chorus transitions in The Best Thing seem a little smoother. Get Out Of Your Own Way has a couple of extra sonic touches. Small improvements, sure, but it’s something.

Thematically, both songs fit it in very well. Get Out Of Your Own Way especially carries the concept of “Bono’s last/more important messages to his family members” forward as an important through-line in the album.

As for American Soul...well, you’ll need someone else to defend it. I don’t hate it, but it’s not my cup of tea. It’s a shame because I do like the riff right before the chorus, even though we’ve heard it before.
 
Re Headache's great review earlier... I'm gonna disagree on a point.
Little Things. Headache reads it as two narrators. First, young Bono talking to current Bono. Then it swaps.
I don't agree. It's current Bono looking at himself in the late 70s early 80s as he hits fame. He's narrating a little like A Christmas Carol - he's an old man watching his younger self with the benefit of hindsight.
He's identifying how bulletproof he thought he was. How he thought he could win over everyone he performed to through sheer strength of personality.
He's identifying he thought he was so wise when he was young. But he now knows he wasn't. He was a scared young man flailing and failing at the truly important stuff.
It wasn't easy to see. Most people fell for his bluster. But not everyone. Because little things would give him away.

The 'sometimes' section sees him stop looking back and instead look at the present. His existence. His reality. It's incredible and he can't believe he lives it. But the kicker, the irony, the massive gut puncher here is that now he's reached his ambitions all he sees on the other side is the hollowness of it. Fame, success, money, they don't mean shit when your ageing body wakes you at 4 in the morning and you realise you're not immortal. Not even close. And all you really crave is the real stuff. The people. Family and friends. The people you somewhat shafted when you were young and thought you were so clever.

It's a deathbed song. It's the finale of Les Miserables. It's a word being used a lot re this album - heavy.
 
I have a much different take on tracks 3 through 5 than most here… I think Best Thing and Get Out absolutely belong on this record, and fit and flow well. The two tracks that I think stick out, thematically, are an obvious and not so obvious choice – American Soul and Summer of Love. Now I don’t hate American Soul as much as others, and I think Summer of Love is a great tune – but they’re both clearly about current events, whereas the rest of the album is incredibly personal in nature.

The first two tracks floor me in every possible way. This is the strongest 1-2 punch from a U2 album since Achtung Baby. First with Love Is All We Have Left – an ethereal song about one’s own mortality. But Lights of Home (and btw I’ll differ again in that I MUCH prefer the album version to the strings version, which doesn’t work for me) is where it really kicks in, especially when you tie it back to Iris. This song could go so many different ways in interpretation (Bono’s best lyrics always do) – but I think this is Bono contemplating death, the afterlife, and if his mom will recognize him in heaven. He references the bike crash pretty directly here…
“shouldn’t be here ‘cause I should be dead”…
”thought my head was harder than ground”…
“hey, I’ve been waiting to get home a long time…”
“do you know my name? … in your eyes I see it, the lights of home”

Then with the callback to Iris… specifically a part that was written as if it was Bono’s mom talking to him “see yourself to be yourself”… almost as if his mom is calling down to him telling him he’s going to be okay.

And with this thought, Best Thing makes much more sense… especially the start… “when you look so good, the pain in your face doesn’t show”. Very tongue and cheek reference to his cracked face. This life altering event took place, and now he’s reflecting back.

Get Out has always been more personal in nature than political… and I’ve changed my mind about who the letter is written to. I don’t think it’s a letter to his daughters (nor did I ever think it was a silly letter to America). I think it’s a letter to himself. The Kendrick Lamar part actually makes significantly more sense when you look at the song this way.

American Soul is where it changes… but I guess when you consider Bono and how politically active he is it’s hard to think of him not dragging politics into it somehow. As I said earlier, I don’t hate American Soul as much as many… but if there’s a clunker, this is it. I’d have been happy if the political diversion was left at Summer of Love.

Summer of Love is a terrific tune – thematically it doesn’t fit the album, but it would have been a shame to have left it out. It also is one of those lyrics that people could see as a love song rather than a song about Aleppo, so it works better than American Soul in that vein.

Red Flag Day is a nice transition out of the political diversion – I can see it as a song about refugees fleeing Syria, but I can also see it as a song about Ali – with a little tie back to Every Breaking Wave “I’ll meet you where the waves are breaking”. Another one of Bono’s lyrics that can be read in different ways.

The Showman & The Little Things That Give You Away are partners. Showman is the upbeat, tongue and cheek critique of singers – a self-deprecating look at Bono’s struggles. I do wonder if Bono maybe struggled with depression – and that’s tied into this mysterious ailment that nobody seems to want to talk about. Showman talks about being up late at night, unable to sleep - which ties directly to Little Things, which is absolutely gorgeous and a stunner. I absolutely think this one is also autobiographical – with younger Bono talking to current self through the first half, and then the “sometimes…” part is the current Bono talking about his inner demons. The end… “the pane of glass shatters, and you’re the only thing that matters, but I can’t see you through the tears…” is now about Ali helping him get through these demons.

Which comes into Landlady… a beautiful take on coming to the realization that you’ve been taking your loved one for granted. I think it’s intentional that this is the start of “part 3” of the album and not merely a timing thing. This is now the letters to his loved ones part of the album.

I don’t see Blackout as political whatsoever. Sure, maybe he tweaked a lyric to make it have multiple meetings, but Blackout is Bono’s letter to the Adam, Larry and Edge – their struggle for late career relevance and the missteps (see Songs of Innocence & Apple), the uncertainty over Bono’s future (be it from the bike crash or whatever other incident may have occurred... when the lights go out could be taken literally about bono’s noggin or metaphorically about celebrity) … but don’t you ever doubt the light that we can really be.

Love Is Bigger is to his kids. This is the cliché’ song, but the music and message is beautiful and it works.

13 I think is current Bono writing a letter to himself – specifically his 13 year old self, the last year of his life before his mom died and his life turned upside down, and this whole crazy journey started.

This is a terrific album – musically and lyrically. It’s been a long time since they’ve put out something this cohesive from top to bottom. As good as Songs of Innocence was, it never had that “magic” that really good U2 albums have. It’s as if it was polished away in the studio. This also seems like one work, built from the group up with a mission and theme and that they stuck with it, as opposed to the disjointed nature of Innocence and No Line On The Horizon, where the split in producers, where they knew they were going to go in a different direction, is evident and brings down both works.

This is a deep and dark album, but not depressingly so, with touches of joy throughout. It reconnects with the ethereal/classic U2 sound without being derivative, remaining fresh and modern sounding. There are warts, but they’re fewer and further between than the past two works.

As for criticisms? Yea, American Soul sticks out as the clunker of the bunch, but it’s not as bad as a Boots or Stand Up Comedy. I also think that Bono’s voice sounds so good that they probably did a lot of studio magic on it, and I’m not sure how some of the songs will translate live (Love Is Bigger, for example). And the single choices aren’t reflective of the album at all (even though I think Best Things and Get Out work well on the album). If they needed an uptempo number for the first single, Lights of Home or Red Flag Day would have been my choices. Alas… I’m hoping they really explore some of the tracks beyond Best Thing and Get Out on these upcoming promo appearances (and please god that doesn’t mean American Soul). If it were up to me I’d have them play Little Things and Lights of Home for SNL, and then drop in Best Thing as the “third song during the closing credits” if they get it.

I think I’ve gone on long enough now :reject:

You've given me a lot to think about!
 
Its an epic, beautiful song. Perfectly executed imo.



The first line "the door is open to go through, if I could I would walk too, but the path is made by you" is absolutely beautiful. Bono telling his kids he's dying, he won't walk this path with them, it is there time now. Incredibly powerful.



Yes! This line is incredibly emotional for me. The thought of my daughters going out on their own someday already breaks my heart. And they’re still small children! Ha!
 
Well thought out and written. The only point of disagreement I have with your review is whether the album is "dark...with touches of joy." I find the album to be very joyful throughout the entire thing, both lyrically and musically.

I have a much different take on tracks 3 through 5 than most here… I think Best Thing and Get Out absolutely belong on this record, and fit and flow well. The two tracks that I think stick out, thematically, are an obvious and not so obvious choice – American Soul and Summer of Love. Now I don’t hate American Soul as much as others, and I think Summer of Love is a great tune – but they’re both clearly about current events, whereas the rest of the album is incredibly personal in nature.

The first two tracks floor me in every possible way. This is the strongest 1-2 punch from a U2 album since Achtung Baby. First with Love Is All We Have Left – an ethereal song about one’s own mortality. But Lights of Home (and btw I’ll differ again in that I MUCH prefer the album version to the strings version, which doesn’t work for me) is where it really kicks in, especially when you tie it back to Iris. This song could go so many different ways in interpretation (Bono’s best lyrics always do) – but I think this is Bono contemplating death, the afterlife, and if his mom will recognize him in heaven. He references the bike crash pretty directly here…
“shouldn’t be here ‘cause I should be dead”…
”thought my head was harder than ground”…
“hey, I’ve been waiting to get home a long time…”
“do you know my name? … in your eyes I see it, the lights of home”

Then with the callback to Iris… specifically a part that was written as if it was Bono’s mom talking to him “see yourself to be yourself”… almost as if his mom is calling down to him telling him he’s going to be okay.

And with this thought, Best Thing makes much more sense… especially the start… “when you look so good, the pain in your face doesn’t show”. Very tongue and cheek reference to his cracked face. This life altering event took place, and now he’s reflecting back.

Get Out has always been more personal in nature than political… and I’ve changed my mind about who the letter is written to. I don’t think it’s a letter to his daughters (nor did I ever think it was a silly letter to America). I think it’s a letter to himself. The Kendrick Lamar part actually makes significantly more sense when you look at the song this way.

American Soul is where it changes… but I guess when you consider Bono and how politically active he is it’s hard to think of him not dragging politics into it somehow. As I said earlier, I don’t hate American Soul as much as many… but if there’s a clunker, this is it. I’d have been happy if the political diversion was left at Summer of Love.

Summer of Love is a terrific tune – thematically it doesn’t fit the album, but it would have been a shame to have left it out. It also is one of those lyrics that people could see as a love song rather than a song about Aleppo, so it works better than American Soul in that vein.

Red Flag Day is a nice transition out of the political diversion – I can see it as a song about refugees fleeing Syria, but I can also see it as a song about Ali – with a little tie back to Every Breaking Wave “I’ll meet you where the waves are breaking”. Another one of Bono’s lyrics that can be read in different ways.

The Showman & The Little Things That Give You Away are partners. Showman is the upbeat, tongue and cheek critique of singers – a self-deprecating look at Bono’s struggles. I do wonder if Bono maybe struggled with depression – and that’s tied into this mysterious ailment that nobody seems to want to talk about. Showman talks about being up late at night, unable to sleep - which ties directly to Little Things, which is absolutely gorgeous and a stunner. I absolutely think this one is also autobiographical – with younger Bono talking to current self through the first half, and then the “sometimes…” part is the current Bono talking about his inner demons. The end… “the pane of glass shatters, and you’re the only thing that matters, but I can’t see you through the tears…” is now about Ali helping him get through these demons.

Which comes into Landlady… a beautiful take on coming to the realization that you’ve been taking your loved one for granted. I think it’s intentional that this is the start of “part 3” of the album and not merely a timing thing. This is now the letters to his loved ones part of the album.

I don’t see Blackout as political whatsoever. Sure, maybe he tweaked a lyric to make it have multiple meetings, but Blackout is Bono’s letter to the Adam, Larry and Edge – their struggle for late career relevance and the missteps (see Songs of Innocence & Apple), the uncertainty over Bono’s future (be it from the bike crash or whatever other incident may have occurred... when the lights go out could be taken literally about bono’s noggin or metaphorically about celebrity) … but don’t you ever doubt the light that we can really be.

Love Is Bigger is to his kids. This is the cliché’ song, but the music and message is beautiful and it works.

13 I think is current Bono writing a letter to himself – specifically his 13 year old self, the last year of his life before his mom died and his life turned upside down, and this whole crazy journey started.

This is a terrific album – musically and lyrically. It’s been a long time since they’ve put out something this cohesive from top to bottom. As good as Songs of Innocence was, it never had that “magic” that really good U2 albums have. It’s as if it was polished away in the studio. This also seems like one work, built from the group up with a mission and theme and that they stuck with it, as opposed to the disjointed nature of Innocence and No Line On The Horizon, where the split in producers, where they knew they were going to go in a different direction, is evident and brings down both works.

This is a deep and dark album, but not depressingly so, with touches of joy throughout. It reconnects with the ethereal/classic U2 sound without being derivative, remaining fresh and modern sounding. There are warts, but they’re fewer and further between than the past two works.

As for criticisms? Yea, American Soul sticks out as the clunker of the bunch, but it’s not as bad as a Boots or Stand Up Comedy. I also think that Bono’s voice sounds so good that they probably did a lot of studio magic on it, and I’m not sure how some of the songs will translate live (Love Is Bigger, for example). And the single choices aren’t reflective of the album at all (even though I think Best Things and Get Out work well on the album). If they needed an uptempo number for the first single, Lights of Home or Red Flag Day would have been my choices. Alas… I’m hoping they really explore some of the tracks beyond Best Thing and Get Out on these upcoming promo appearances (and please god that doesn’t mean American Soul). If it were up to me I’d have them play Little Things and Lights of Home for SNL, and then drop in Best Thing as the “third song during the closing credits” if they get it.

I think I’ve gone on long enough now :reject:
 
Eh, I dunno. I don't think anything can make EBW, The Troubles, Iris, SLABT, or RBW look foolish. It definitely doesn't have that "thing" that this album has. But i still think SOI stands in the top 6 or 7 albums of their career.

and I'm not going to feel foolish for liking it.
 
American Soul aside... this is a very smart record. Will probably dish out my thoughts a bit later, but there's a lot to unpack here. Totally wasn't expecting this kind of album (especially so after the release of the aforementioned AS, and GOOYOW--which I don't find bad by any means, but it's probably the most "redundant" tune on the record, i.e., sorta what you'd expect 21st century-era U2 "reaching for hits" to sound like, and gave me trepidation for what was to come). So yeah, maybe my expectations were just really low and thus impossible to disappoint (honestly, I was expecting Bottom 3 territory--yeah, i know #pessimisticperry)... but holy moly, this album is absolutely rich with heart and melody.
 
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That's awesome that you say that about Red Flag Day. I just posted this over on the RFD thread.

Just an incredible song. The first 10 seconds or so, I was like, uuuuuuhhhhh, is this the right song??? Then, ooooooohhhh, yeah, that's it. And from there it just keeps getting better and better. More vocal and instrument layers, culminating in the NO, NO, NOOOOOOOO part at 2:30 which... I'm gonna be honest, brought a little swelling of tear to my eye when i heard it the first time. Not because it is an emotional lyric,
but the song was so good, that part in particular hit me. Just appreciative of how good it was

We've been sitting and anticipating this album for so long. Not knowing if it was going to be good or bad or blah or great, or whatever.

And they give us THIS. One of my favorite albums of their career, with songs like this.


And yes, we Interferencers do deserve this album. :up::applaud:

I was trying to hear the comparison of this song to Sunday Bloody Sunday that early reviewers spoke of and I think it is mainly in the sound of The Edge's call back during the song...very similar processing on his vocals.
 
With regards to American Soul - I must've listened to the album over 15 times now and with each listen the song does sound increasingly better in the context of the album.

It's not a bad song, either on it's own and not in the context mentioned above, but I would agree that it is probably the weakest track on the record but that is only relatively speaking. It has two main problems for me: firstly the refrain 'Came here looking for American Soul' sounds unnatural and forced (I would've changed it to simply 'Came here lookin' the American Soul', but that would've introduced another Irishism a la 'happened a boy'...and many have a problem with that line it seems). Secondly, the fact that it was released a single which I find a little baffling. This meant that it has just taken time not to think of it individually.

Others have mentioned that The Best Thing sounds jarring after Lights of Home and I agree with this to a degree. For me however this only lasts until the drums kick in and after that I forget about it. My appreciation for tracks 3, 4 and 5 have increased a lot after repeated listens to the album.

Tried to substitute the acoustic Best Things in the tracklisting, but that doesn't quite work either. I like the song, but the clean and bright production makes it a tough fit. Has anyone found a better place for it in the tracklisting (and no, I don't want to hear "left off").
 
Yeah, I'm holding out like you Cosmo...I've got a big day planned for Friday...:D

However I did download the CD leak and listened to the first 30 seconds of each song...so I cheated slightly...but all the POSITIVE reactions on this forum made me overly curious...luckily I got a small fix and I'm back to waiting.

VERY EXCITED to put this on Friday...:hyper:

Not sure how you could play just 30 seconds of some of these songs. This would be like taking one small bite of the best chocolate cake you have ever tasted. I don't have that kind of willpower.
 
I can't control the impulse to talk about how actually good this album is.

"Landlady" outro is still my favorite part, followed closely by "Little Things" outro. Just a powerhouse couple of songs. I would seriously have to reach back at least as far as Kite->IALW, and possibly further, to find 2 songs back to back I like as much.

Just get out of your own way and shout it out.
 
Another well written review. Showman is definitely more Beatles than Beach Boys and so fun! I love the trio of Summer of Love through Showman...just wish they didn't breeze by so fast.

I owe this band an apology.

I was a naysayer. I'd heard the singles and, while I like Best Thing and GOOYOW and Blackout, I wasn't blown away. I figured that this album was going to be a safe pop record of uninspiring U2-by-numbers songs. I thought the gas was out of the tank.

I was so wrong.

They've finally done it. They've managed to meld that spiritual uplift and joy they've been producing with 90s-era experimentation and atmospherics. This album sounds *fresh*. It sounds *inspired*. It's emotional. It's incredible.

The funny thing is, even the songs I was lukewarm on sound better in the context of the album. The Best Thing, GOOYOW, and American Soul were a bit "light" for my tastes but they're so necessary in their spots because this album is heavy. It's sonically dense, but it's also emotionally weighty. This is an album from a man who's realized that he's in the 4th quarter of his life and he's taking stock. It sounds like dying - and I mean that in the best way possible. It's joyous, it's sad, it's so many things in between. An incredible album and, in my opinion, a late-period classic.

"Love Is All We Have Left" sets the tone perfectly. The string samples, the sped up vocal sample before the chorus, the vocal effects, it all sounds new. It's a quiet hymn, and Bono clearly singing to his younger self in the first half, and to his current self in the second verse. The vocal melody is haunting. Achtung Baby was dark because it mined themes of sex, love, and infidelity. This album, appropriately, is dark in a different way - mortality and time are the themes here and this song is the perfect introduction to that.

"Lights of Home" is actually one of my favorites. I was surprised that it got lukewarm reviews in the early listening session writeups. This one, again, is just a heavy tune. It almost sounds like something Noel Gallagher would write, but with that U2 otherness that makes it special. The chorus is gorgeous and bittersweet.

After that one-two punch, "YTBTAM", "GOOYOW", and American Soul are a welcome break. I'll also note that the mix on the album versions are slightly different and, in my opinion, better - the songs have more lift.

"Summer of Love" is a beautiful tune and the best thing about it is that I can see the song. I can see the dry, bombed out landscape and I can almost feel the heat and taste the dust when I hear it. The band really committed to the atmospherics for this album, and it's all the better for it. Edge does some beautiful work on this song - it's incredibly tasteful and, most importantly, doesn't overstay its welcome.

Speaking of not overstaying its welcome, I could listen to "Red Flag Day" for 8 hours straight. This song sounds simultaneously new and old. The song, again, sounds joyous but somehow sad at the same time. And goddamn, that chorus is incredible. The entire band brings it, Adam obviously being the star on this one. This chorus is the best on the album and, in my opinion, one of the best Bono's ever written. He sounds incredible on this entire album, but especially on this tune. The "no, no, no" section sounds like it came straight out of the 80s. And that is a great thing.

What else to say about The Showman? It's fun as shit and I love it. I could see The Killers taking on this one, and Bono delivers a superb vocal - "there's a level of shadow that you just can't fake" is delivered with so much playfulness and personality that it took me by surprise. I love this song. It drew Beach Boys comparisons, but for me that chorus is Beatles Twist and Shout-worthy. Also, "I lie for a living, I love to let on, but you make it true when you sing along" is a perfect example of a lyric that I cringed at when I read it on paper, but fits perfectly in the context of the song.

I listened to this album at 2:30 in the morning while driving through Baltimore. "The Little Things That Give You Away" came on and I experienced something that only a few U2 songs had done for me before: I actually teared up while listening to it. This new version, in my opinion, is the best version. It's incredible. The atmospherics, the steady build, everything is perfect for me.

I'm surprised to hear that Landlady got lukewarm early reviews as well. To me, it's one of the highlights of the album. It's also the first song I went back to listen to for a second time once the album was done. Maybe I'm a sap - some of the reviews found this song to be overly saccharine. Not to me - I think this is one of the most beautiful songs Bono's ever written and - again this word - the atmospherics are pitch perfect. This song hit me like a ton of bricks. Bono's falsetto leading into the epic ending is sublime.

I'm pleased to see that the callbacks to the SoI for the most part make sense. (I'm still not seeing the correlation between the Volcano lyric and American Soul, but whatever). Iris dealt with Bono's mother's death - and he resurrects her advice to "free yourself" in a song about dealing with his own mortality in Lights of Home. Similarly, Every Breaking Wave gets a few callbacks - one in Red Flag Day and another in Landlady - which seem to be songs about Ali. I know that this was billed as an album filled with letters to Bono's loved ones but really, to me, most of the album stands as a long love letter to Ali. And I think that's beautiful, because it ties the albums together for me as well.

3 years ago, I was in a relationship with someone I loved very much. Her name, coincidentally, was Ali. We broke up in September of 2014 and I was devastated. It was the hardest time of my life. We remained close through that autumn, but it was just too hard. Losing that relationship broke me - I haven't been the same since. Songs of Innocence was released the week after we broke up and songs like Every Breaking Wave and Song For Someone really helped me through that time. To this day, I love Song For Someone because it makes me think of (my) Ali and it takes me right back to that point in time. "If there is a light, don't let it go out" was like my motto to Ali - don't let this slip away.

That breakup sent me down a path of self examination and, for the first time, I've tried to deal with the clinical depression I've had for my entire life. To put it mildly, it's been a tough, *tough* 3 years. And it's been a tough 31 years. There have been times this week that I'd had a hard time getting out of bed. "Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way" sounds like getting up. It sounds silly, but hearing Bono sing "when you think you're done, you've just begun" is comforting to me. I know that's odd for an adult man to say, but it's true. It's the second time this album made me tear up. It's a "hold on" anthem that I needed.

Which of course leads me to "13 (There Is A Light)." "Song For Someone" started as my song for Ali. "13" bookends not only Songs of Innocence, but for me, it kind of caps off the last 3 years of my life. I guess in the last 3 years, I've just felt so sad and empty and alone and hopeless. And so to hear Bono sing "this is a song for someone...someone like me." I guess I'm someone like him too. When he asks a question "to the child in of you, before it leaves" I just broke down crying (that's a hat trick for this album). It's perfect. I don't mean to get to emotional on a fucking U2 message board, but this album brought it out in me.

Tl;dr: Beautiful album, boys. All I could have hoped for.
 
I thought O had read somewhere that the phrase “Love Is Bigger Than Anything In It’s Way” was one Bono had heard from his father. Could the song also be interpreted as Bono’s father speaking to him?

“As you're walking start singing and stop talking

So young to be the words of your own song
I know the rage in you is strong
Write a world where we can belong
To each other and sing it like no other”
 
Also wanted to post two things:

"Book Of Your Heart" is clearly a b-side, but goddamn it's an interesting one. It doesn't hold the same weight as the other songs, but I find it to be an intriguing listen. When Bono starts singing "the book" in his full throated belting voice near the end, it really takes off.

The Ordinary Love Extraordinary mix really is a huge improvement. It's like they've just made *everything* better. I hate to say this, but we always shit on these guys for overthinking these songs - this may be an example of how giving them a little more time can be beneficial to the songs.

I had hoped that Book of Your Heart would be a hidden gem like Chrystal Ballroom, but I guess all the gems were laid out right in front of us.... :)
 
Haven't kept up with the thread, was there a hq leak as well or are we still sitting on the original leak?
 
This album really is kind of depressing when you think about it.

Dealing with the idea of aging and mortality can be depressing or it can be uplifting. Accepting that we only have a limited time on this earth can lead to a kind of clarity that allows one to focus on all of the good things in one's life and let go of the little things. Having lost both parents in 2016, I have been thinking alot about mortality myself, but I've had an easier time letting bad things go and focusing on all the gifts we can enjoy in life.

U2's beautiful album is one of those gifts for me right now, and I don't find it depressing at all.
 
Dealing with the idea of aging and mortality can be depressing or it can be uplifting. Accepting that we only have a limited time on this earth can lead to a kind of clarity that allows one to focus on all of the good things in one's life and let go of the little things. Having lost both parents in 2016, I have been thinking alot about mortality myself, but I've had an easier time letting bad things go and focusing on all the gifts we can enjoy in life.

U2's beautiful album is one of those gifts for me right now, and I don't find it depressing at all.

Such a good perspective, one I have to make more of an effort to keep in mind.

And yes, this album and band are a gift. Such a jot we still get to do this.
 
So, I think my first criticism is that it’s too tight. It needs more air. The unarguable moments in U2’s catalogue — the opening of Streets, the 30-45 seconds after the big FADE AWAYs in Bad, the ending 45 seconds of One and WOWY — are all spacious moments where Bono isn’t singing much (I guess One is sort of an exception) and the music is given room to grow. I could use another 30-45 seconds at the end of Landlady and especially LIB. I could use more space in SOL. Only LT seems to have enough time to fully realize it’s promise.
 
I owe this band an apology.



I was a naysayer. I'd heard the singles and, while I like Best Thing and GOOYOW and Blackout, I wasn't blown away. I figured that this album was going to be a safe pop record of uninspiring U2-by-numbers songs. I thought the gas was out of the tank.



I was so wrong.



They've finally done it. They've managed to meld that spiritual uplift and joy they've been producing with 90s-era experimentation and atmospherics. This album sounds *fresh*. It sounds *inspired*. It's emotional. It's incredible.



The funny thing is, even the songs I was lukewarm on sound better in the context of the album. The Best Thing, GOOYOW, and American Soul were a bit "light" for my tastes but they're so necessary in their spots because this album is heavy. It's sonically dense, but it's also emotionally weighty. This is an album from a man who's realized that he's in the 4th quarter of his life and he's taking stock. It sounds like dying - and I mean that in the best way possible. It's joyous, it's sad, it's so many things in between. An incredible album and, in my opinion, a late-period classic.



"Love Is All We Have Left" sets the tone perfectly. The string samples, the sped up vocal sample before the chorus, the vocal effects, it all sounds new. It's a quiet hymn, and Bono clearly singing to his younger self in the first half, and to his current self in the second verse. The vocal melody is haunting. Achtung Baby was dark because it mined themes of sex, love, and infidelity. This album, appropriately, is dark in a different way - mortality and time are the themes here and this song is the perfect introduction to that.



"Lights of Home" is actually one of my favorites. I was surprised that it got lukewarm reviews in the early listening session writeups. This one, again, is just a heavy tune. It almost sounds like something Noel Gallagher would write, but with that U2 otherness that makes it special. The chorus is gorgeous and bittersweet.



After that one-two punch, "YTBTAM", "GOOYOW", and American Soul are a welcome break. I'll also note that the mix on the album versions are slightly different and, in my opinion, better - the songs have more lift.



"Summer of Love" is a beautiful tune and the best thing about it is that I can see the song. I can see the dry, bombed out landscape and I can almost feel the heat and taste the dust when I hear it. The band really committed to the atmospherics for this album, and it's all the better for it. Edge does some beautiful work on this song - it's incredibly tasteful and, most importantly, doesn't overstay its welcome.



Speaking of not overstaying its welcome, I could listen to "Red Flag Day" for 8 hours straight. This song sounds simultaneously new and old. The song, again, sounds joyous but somehow sad at the same time. And goddamn, that chorus is incredible. The entire band brings it, Adam obviously being the star on this one. This chorus is the best on the album and, in my opinion, one of the best Bono's ever written. He sounds incredible on this entire album, but especially on this tune. The "no, no, no" section sounds like it came straight out of the 80s. And that is a great thing.



What else to say about The Showman? It's fun as shit and I love it. I could see The Killers taking on this one, and Bono delivers a superb vocal - "there's a level of shadow that you just can't fake" is delivered with so much playfulness and personality that it took me by surprise. I love this song. It drew Beach Boys comparisons, but for me that chorus is Beatles Twist and Shout-worthy. Also, "I lie for a living, I love to let on, but you make it true when you sing along" is a perfect example of a lyric that I cringed at when I read it on paper, but fits perfectly in the context of the song.



I listened to this album at 2:30 in the morning while driving through Baltimore. "The Little Things That Give You Away" came on and I experienced something that only a few U2 songs had done for me before: I actually teared up while listening to it. This new version, in my opinion, is the best version. It's incredible. The atmospherics, the steady build, everything is perfect for me.



I'm surprised to hear that Landlady got lukewarm early reviews as well. To me, it's one of the highlights of the album. It's also the first song I went back to listen to for a second time once the album was done. Maybe I'm a sap - some of the reviews found this song to be overly saccharine. Not to me - I think this is one of the most beautiful songs Bono's ever written and - again this word - the atmospherics are pitch perfect. This song hit me like a ton of bricks. Bono's falsetto leading into the epic ending is sublime.



I'm pleased to see that the callbacks to the SoI for the most part make sense. (I'm still not seeing the correlation between the Volcano lyric and American Soul, but whatever). Iris dealt with Bono's mother's death - and he resurrects her advice to "free yourself" in a song about dealing with his own mortality in Lights of Home. Similarly, Every Breaking Wave gets a few callbacks - one in Red Flag Day and another in Landlady - which seem to be songs about Ali. I know that this was billed as an album filled with letters to Bono's loved ones but really, to me, most of the album stands as a long love letter to Ali. And I think that's beautiful, because it ties the albums together for me as well.



3 years ago, I was in a relationship with someone I loved very much. Her name, coincidentally, was Ali. We broke up in September of 2014 and I was devastated. It was the hardest time of my life. We remained close through that autumn, but it was just too hard. Losing that relationship broke me - I haven't been the same since. Songs of Innocence was released the week after we broke up and songs like Every Breaking Wave and Song For Someone really helped me through that time. To this day, I love Song For Someone because it makes me think of (my) Ali and it takes me right back to that point in time. "If there is a light, don't let it go out" was like my motto to Ali - don't let this slip away.



That breakup sent me down a path of self examination and, for the first time, I've tried to deal with the clinical depression I've had for my entire life. To put it mildly, it's been a tough, *tough* 3 years. And it's been a tough 31 years. There have been times this week that I'd had a hard time getting out of bed. "Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way" sounds like getting up. It sounds silly, but hearing Bono sing "when you think you're done, you've just begun" is comforting to me. I know that's odd for an adult man to say, but it's true. It's the second time this album made me tear up. It's a "hold on" anthem that I needed.



Which of course leads me to "13 (There Is A Light)." "Song For Someone" started as my song for Ali. "13" bookends not only Songs of Innocence, but for me, it kind of caps off the last 3 years of my life. I guess in the last 3 years, I've just felt so sad and empty and alone and hopeless. And so to hear Bono sing "this is a song for someone...someone like me." I guess I'm someone like him too. When he asks a question "to the child in of you, before it leaves" I just broke down crying (that's a hat trick for this album). It's perfect. I don't mean to get to emotional on a fucking U2 message board, but this album brought it out in me.



Tl;dr: Beautiful album, boys. All I could have hoped for.



Hi - John is it?

My name is Jack. I’m also 31. I loved your thoughts on the album.

I also suffer from clinical depression, diagnosed five years ago.

As a reverse of your experience of splitting from your Ali before SOI, I separated from my long time partner in April, not long before the release of SOE.

She was someone who helped me with my mental health whilst also struggling with her own. We couldn’t keep it together, even after I began my journey of trying to be a better man, and now that journey continues for me as an individual.

We are all the same, and we are all unique. You’ll be okay, even if this has been a tough three years. Just like I will be okay. The only way out of the dark forest at night is to go through it.

We might be strangers - and perhaps this is the beauty of art and U2’s work in particular - but you’re not alone in the world. I’m so glad you appreciate the new album. So do I! This seems to be a confounding effort from a band whose best days appeared to be long in the past. But by golly, they’ve created something genuinely worthwhile - and modern!

This is an exciting moment to be a U2 fan - as Bono says, this is no time not to be alive. Thank you for sharing your experience.
 
So, I think my first criticism is that it’s too tight. It needs more air. The unarguable moments in U2’s catalogue — the opening of Streets, the 30-45 seconds after the big FADE AWAYs in Bad, the ending 45 seconds of One and WOWY — are all spacious moments where Bono isn’t singing much (I guess One is sort of an exception) and the music is given room to grow. I could use another 30-45 seconds at the end of Landlady and especially LIB. I could use more space in SOL. Only LT seems to have enough time to fully realize it’s promise.

Yeah but they've already done it ad infinitum. Nice to see them changing it up. These songs leave you wanting more, which is rare. There's plenty of space and no need to really stretch it out
 
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