Songs of Experience 36 - Now with 20% fewer acronyms

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Maybe it's being delivered on horse back or summat :) 6-10 days :) 6-10 working days aswell. I just sold something on eBay and posted it next day 1st class delivery, it's not that hard really is it
I ordered my auld man a Les Paul guitar, worked out cheaper to buy it from Germany. And it took 3 days to arrive and the postage was free. Yet if I stayed in the north of Scotland,they would bung an extra tenner for delivery!
 
So...I've had time to digest the album a little bit (much more of that to do). I definitely enjoy it. It's not 80's or 90's U2, BUT, it's not really 2000's U2 either...it sounds like something new. I'm not sure if I'm quite at the gushy reactions that some of you are having, but I think it's a strong album overall. Faves are Red Flag Day, Summer of Love, and Landlady. The string version of Lights of Home is amazing...how bout a dramatic actual video (like old music videos with a story), where Bono is wandering around and sees the lights of home in the distance or something? I see it!
 
Nobody in this thread has much mentioned critical response...

Basically overall the professional critics are crapping on this release. :/

Songs of Experience currently has a 63 average on Metacritic, based on 24 critics. This is not good. Most so-so albums that come out are around 70 at least. Anything dipping in the 60's or lower is generally getting panned. This is even a touch lower than Songs of Innocence (64), which got slammed. "Highlights" include Pitchfork (5.3/10), NME (4/10), and The AV Club (33/100). I did laugh at the AV Club's review headline: "U2 gives too many fucks on the insufferable Songs of Experience". :ohmy:

For further comparison, the Metascores of the 2000's albums are: ATYCLB (79), Bomb (79), No Line (72), SOI (64), SOE (63).

Are we surprised/disappointed/ambivalent about this response? It has to sting a little for the band I would assume. As mentioned in my above post, I think it's a solid album, as good as we can expect at this point, with some new wrinkles.
 
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Nobody in this thread has much mentioned critical response...

Basically overall the professional critics are crapping on this release. :/

Songs of Experience currently has a 63 average on Metacritic, based on 24 critics. This is not good. Most so-so albums that come out are around 70 at least. Anything dipping in the 60's or lower is generally getting panned. This is even a touch lower than Songs of Innocence (64), which got slammed. "Highlights" include Pitchfork (5.3/10), NME (4/10), and The AV Club (33/100). I did laugh at the AV Club's review headline: "U2 gives too many fucks on the insufferable Songs of Experience". :ohmy:

Are we surprised/disappointed/ambivalent about this response? It has to sting a little for the band I would assume. As mentioned in my above post, I think it's a solid album, as good as we can expect at this point, with some new wrinkles.



That's not strictly true is it? There have been a lot of very positive reviews that metacritic hadn't used, you cannon base a release on 24 reviews? Surely?

Oh and most of the ones you mention have a severe dislike for the band, so hardly a fair review
 
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That's not strictly true is it? There have been a lot of very positive reviews that metacritic hadn't used, you cannon base a release on 24 reviews? Surely?

Oh and most of the ones you mention have a severe dislike for the band, so hardly a fair review

I'm just pointing out what is out there right now. Metacritic is widely used as an aggregate to compare general critical reception. I was pointing out the more negative reviews to "highlight" some of the bad reviews, yes. Most of the reviews are more middling, in the 60/100 range. I kind of thought this album would be getting a better critical response so far, but U2 have fallen far from the critical darling days they enjoyed I guess.
 
I just do not care if the reviewers give it a 0/100 or 10/10 or whatever.

I won’t know for sure what I think of this album for probably a year or so. Do I come back to it? Does it sound great in concert?

Right now I think it’s a solid album - honestly, probably close to as good as any other album I’ve heard this year. SOE has a few songs that right now I think are really bad (AS, YTBT) but has more that I think might really hold up in the U2 catalog (RF, LTTGYA, LOH).

Time will tell. Reviewers have crapped all over every other U2 album as well at the time they were released.

And I will also say - no offense to any young, single people - but I really do think this album has an extra layer that maybe only old fart parents will get hit with in the same way that I think the band was intending. If I didn't have kids, my impressions of some of these songs would be different right off the bat. This is not a rebel record, this is a parental record.
 
I would say that the soi reviews were a lot closer to 50/50 then soe. I'd say soe's reviews have been 70/30 good to bad. There's been a lot more good to very good reviews then bad ones. There haven't been many bad ones, quite a few average ones but only a handfull of bad ones
 
Some of the reviews are laughable, like one saying Adam is on autopilot the whole album. I love the album,and that's all that matters to me.
 
they should probably give American soul and GOOYOW a break. I think that its going to be played a lot similar to Elevation/Vertigo during the tour. I am seriously dying to hear the other songs played live, especially Red Flag Day.
 
they should probably give American soul and GOOYOW a break. I think that its going to be played a lot similar to Elevation/Vertigo during the tour. I am seriously dying to hear the other songs played live, especially Red Flag Day.
American Soul and Get Out wish they were Elevation or Vertigo. ;)
 
I ordered my auld man a Les Paul guitar, worked out cheaper to buy it from Germany. And it took 3 days to arrive and the postage was free. Yet if I stayed in the north of Scotland,they would bung an extra tenner for delivery!



My boxset has just been delivered to work :)
 
Say goodbye to uk number 1, be lucky to get top 5 :-(

Wednesday Update

Albums

1 Sam Smith - The Thrill Of It All [39.6k]
2 Ed Sheeran - ÷ [37.1k]
3 U2 - Songs Of Experience [34.4k] *
4 Michael Ball & Alfie Boe - Together Again [29.4k]
5 P!nk - Beautiful Trauma [27.9k]

Demand in the uk is at and all time low
 
Say goodbye to uk number 1, be lucky to get top 5 :-(

Wednesday Update

Albums

1 Sam Smith - The Thrill Of It All [39.6k]
2 Ed Sheeran - ÷ [37.1k]
3 U2 - Songs Of Experience [34.4k] *
4 Michael Ball & Alfie Boe - Together Again [29.4k]
5 P!nk - Beautiful Trauma [27.9k]

Demand in the uk is at and all time low
Holy fuck,that's bad.
 
Why does the UK hate U2?



Mixture of things i imagine, ignored by the band quite a lot (unless you are from London) they hardly do any promotional stuff over here, Bono and his taxes etc

Can be pretty horrible being a u2 fan here sometimes and not good to see it looks like they are missing out on a number one
 
Why does the UK hate U2?



I wouldn't say it necessarily hates them here there just isn't a demand for new u2 music here anymore. People just aren't interested. U2 have hit that phase of being an old act. Definitely in the uk anyway.Live shows always do well but u2 haven't had a hit here in years, there proper big last hit was vertigo, that still gets played now. There seen as an old time act now. The new stuff just isn't relevant.

There is a lot of bad feeling towards Bono which definitely doesn't help.

They have had an unbelievable run, from 83/war to probably get on your boots being released there was a huge demand for new u2 music. Top of the singles charts, relevant and massive act.
 
Should have aired the BBC show this week,might have helped.



Even a dedicated show to u2 gives people the option to just not watch it, I honestly think they should have done something different over here this time round but they just don't seem to bothered about the uk as such, all seemed geared to getting the number one in the US
 
Should have aired the BBC show this week,might have helped.



I thought that, seems strange to air it on the 19th. Maybe they thought number one was a given and that if they aired it on the 19th it would boost xmas sales. Does seem strange
 
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