I'll repost my review with some minor changes I've made after a week of listens:
Three Lines on the Horizon
Back in 1987, U2 released their first truly masterpiece with
The Joshua Tree. They were the biggest band in the world and all that shit. We know that. I wasn't there. I wasn't even born. But how many people, after R&H (a truly great album to me, but as you know, not loved to death by most of the U2 fanbase and general public), started to think: "Hey, could they come up with something at the same level as Joshua ever again?"
Now there was something to always compare to other albums. A milestone. Could that be U2's peak? And a little later, on a now famous new year's eve, could that be U2's end?
But then comes 1991 bringing
Achtung Baby. What the hell? What is this? "The Fly"? ZooTV? A surprise, a very big surprise. But, a very big and GOOD surprise. Oh yes. Critical and general public praise was once again turned to those four irish blokes. That on a world where music was split in two between Kurt Cobain's irony and bleakness and U.K.'s revival of the good ol' days with the birth of britpop.
Is it better than
Joshua? That's not up to me, that's up to you, but it IS on the same standards whether you like the music or not. Anyway, you don't need me to tell you U2's biography. So let me get to the point: with
Baby and
Joshua we have a standard. That's U2 at its best for the public and the critics, and when a new album comes it WILL be compared to those by the public and media. Hell, even when 2004's
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb came out
Bono said it was his favorite
after Achtung Baby.
Critics around the globe praise these as this band magnum-opus. And when a band is doing an album,
themselves will be comparing their new work with those two. Be sure of that.
(And say what you want, but most fans do that too with these two albums.)
Well, it's been 17 years since
Achtung Baby was released, five albums since then and now, after 4 years and after three/four months since the last one we got
No Line on the Horizon:
I get the headphones:
And it starts, and it starts really well. I must say that from the first minute is clear the Eno/Lanois production team influence. But what the hell: this is
"No Line on the Horizon", a song with cinematic lyrics that only Bono could write, like
"I know a girl / With a hole in her heart / She said 'infinity is a great place to start'
/ 'Time is not linear' / Then she put her tongue in my ear." All this backed by a melody that makes you think that the band, with Edge's help, downloaded those outtakes from the AB era and realized their greatness. The most
Achtung song that was not released in 1991 or 1992. A gift for fans I would say. And with shouts of
"No! No line!" - where Bono's leaves clear the idea behind this project - U2's best opener since "Zooropa" leaves us to U2's best intro for a song since... oh well, you know. L. Mullen Jr. shows his skills to back up Bono's voice in
"Magnificent", where he tells on a epic chorus what
"only love" can do. Sounds like an instant classic. Between
The Unforgettable Fire on LSD and
Zooropa without the darkness we have song that is U2 from almost all times in one. And damn, it still sounds fresh. Again, Bono's vocals stick in your mind at the end. Somewhere in this he sings
"I was born to sing for you." Call that arrogance, but I don't think he was lying.
Suddenly it's all quiet. It's about to begin the longest U2 track put on record and famously hyped as the "one take" song. Actually, it is the most damn hyped song from this record. And before you can think another thing, it starts. The fire plays with the character in this song but this song plays with us with its melody that seems to not change at first, but builds up discretely in the background until we're gifted with U2's weirdest and most emotional chorus in ages. That's "Moment of Surrender", which uses again as a powerful emotional tool Bono's strong lyrics. Here he sings once again in the third person, bringing us the stroy of a junkie and his eventual epiphany transporting us to what could be a film from the 70's. Almost gospel, a song that has over 7 minutes and that when it ends, leaves you wanting even more. Bono's "ohhoohohohohoh"s at the end finish what can be U2's best ballad since... ok, I think I've the right to use the word "ever" here.
"Unknown Caller" starts with a "Bad" guitar, some birds (!) and a creepy (in a good way) Edge falsetto. You start to think where this could be heading: Some acoustic track? That's until the transition between the quiet intro and the song itself: a powerful high-tech rocker extravaganza about a suicidal man and his eventual redemption (maybe his "moment of surrender" wasn't enough) when he tries to help himself calling for help, but ends up having his phone talking to him in what could be a conversation with God himself. (!#2) Yes, it doesn't look good here, but wait 'til you hear it. Very, very well crafted lyrics (and one of his best ever), vocals alternating between a Bono-led choir and his normal ones, and an beautiful ending. With that we got the best song on this album where, by the way, we are gifted with a Edge's solo. (!#3)
"She's a rainbow and she loves the peaceful life" is how "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" vocals start and they set the mood for the most uplifting track on the album. Does that makes it a good one? Depends. At first listen, you ears might be hurt by Bono's creepy (this time, not in a very good way) falsetto or you might be pissed by the way the chorus never quite explodes in the celebration of joy it promises. While Bono's falsettos always sound bad who said the chorus needs to do that? And here's shown one of the strongest points of this album: the songs doesn't try to please your ear. They don't try. They just ARE. Anyway, you'll also find out that at second listen, there's something different. And at third, it's guaranteed you'll will have a forth cause this song is one thing for sure: catchy as hell! If you never end up liking this, turn off the the radio in the months to come I would say.
Silence again, but soon your speakers blow with the sound of Larry's drums bringing down the house on the track that proves the 20 year olds still can't rock as the (almost) 50's. U2's best rocker since "Elevation", "Get on Your Boots" is the band at the 150 bpm speed presenting their best lead single. (Yes, it is a period) With its crazy lyrics, the coolest use of the word "sexy", semi-rap vocals, a middle-eastern chorus,the msot thrilling bridge ever and whatever else they put in there we have a track that pleads you to turn the volume up as much as possible and just dance. Mission acomplished. But now it's not the time for breathe, cause another rocker is on the verge. The Bono-promised "punk rock from venus" arrives 4 years late, but it is well worth the wait. "Stand Up Comedy" is a U2 meets Led Zep meets Red Hot Chili Peppers. Again and amazingly, that ends up sounding freakin' awesome. U2's most ironic lyrics of this decade ("Stand up for rock stars / Napoleon is in high heels / Josephine, be careful of small men with big ideas") are sung in a semi-talked alternating with Edge's funky guitar while you can hear "love, love, love" shouts that will be repeated through stadiums around the globe. The song ends the way it started, but not before some siren-guitar sound makes it even better. And once again, another strong point of this album is clear. As the songs progresses and unfold to us, they seem to get better. What starts as a simple, maybe even boring song, turns out to be a powerful rocker or an stadium anthem. Congrats to mr. Eno and mr. Lanois, once again proving that they know how to bring the best out of those four men and this time, even getting songwrting credits in seven out of eleven songs.
Our movie-album now has its "high scene": Between familiar "Let me in the sound"s and weird keyboards is "Fez", the intro to the OS1 and Zooropa child "Being Born". Two songs in one. Descriptive lyrics (that actually seem to show the birth of this album), Bono's wails, Eno's keyboards, another great drum work and a choir in a U2 meets Pink Floyd moment. One of the strongets tracks on the album that could work very well as the opener too. In contrast to all that goes on this, is "White as Snow", an anti-climatic, dark ballad that tells the story of a dying soldier in Afghanistan remebering the good ol' times. Simple but powerful. The kind of song that can, and should, leaves tears in the eyes. No clear chorus and the songs ends with no fanfare. As the soldier's life fades away the song goes too. As most of this album, very cinematic.
The atmospheric rocker "Breathe" takes you away from that moment to put you in the middle of fast delivered lines and uplifiting choruses. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that well and it just gets lost in its supposed greatness. A song that has eveything to became another hymn at first. But something is missing here. Between clever ("The roar that lies on the other side of silence") and empty lyrics ("Doc says you're fine, or dying") is not a bad song, falling short to get where it wants. Anyway, it couldn't be better that the song that is not on the same standars as the rest of the album is the one where I have the biggest chances of being wrong.
But it's not over yet:
The album says its final goodbye with Bono's last "performance" as the war correspondent who should "Return the call home." in "Cedars of Lebanon".A Bono owned song that ends before you can realize it did and that does the job as closer - U2 learned the lesson after "Yahweh". And in the quietest, slowest and most anti-climatic Sopranos way the album rolls its final credits: "Choose your enemies carefully cause they will define you / Make them interesting cause in some ways they will mind you / They're not there in the beginning but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends."
An album, that at first may seem like an Bono-Eno owned project shows its layers and brings a band at the verge of their 50's and with no sing of being on the common place on music for that age: running out of ideas.
"Ahn... ok, man... But what was all that Achtung/Joshua Tree story about?"
Well, here it goes.
It's 2009, and U2 has done it again. You personal favorite may be Pop, Zooropa, Boy or whatever... but no albums recieved unanimous praise the way Achtung Baby and The Joshua Tree recieve, no albums were set as standars for the band as Achtung Baby and The Joshua Tree are.
Except for THIS.
This is finally what they were looking for. Bono says that there is "no line on the horizon" with shouts on the title track. And there isn't. Infinity is a great place to start in life indeed. But that's not how U2's musical horizon work: there are two lines on their horizon that they try to cross/reach with every new album. And next time it will be even harder, because with No Line on the Horizon they finally did it.
This is the third line.
There is three lines on the horizon.
*****
Viniícius Zovico Chavarria
"MrMacPhisto"
Fantastic album
) The only thing I would change is the overall rating for myself. I think the highs far outweigh the few lows on the album. Also, in time, after the tour and what not, i think people tend to forget about the lesser songs on the album and remember the really good ones. Achtung Baby is the metre stick from which i measure all other records and even it has a couple less than stellar tracks (TTTYAATW for instance). I think at this point I'd give NLOTH a 4/5, but its definitely leaning into 4.5 territory
