Wow, lot's of hate for NLOTH...or at best "not a lot of love". I really, really like it, though, so as someone already said, it's a matter of opinion. It has been very well reviewed by Rolling Stone (5 out of 5) and USA Today (4 out of 4), and I happen to agree with those reviews.
Songs I love on this album include the title track, Magnificent, MOS, UC, SUC. Songs I like include Boots, Breathe, and WAS. Crazy doesn't bother me, I'm indifferent. Cedars of Lebanon is growing on me. I do wish Xanax and Wine could have been held back and replaced Crazy on this album. Replace any outside my top 5, or add it as a 12th song, and Mercy would have been the icing in the cake for me. Just MHO...and that's what's great about U2.
For a band that's closing out it's 5th decade together, having the #1 album in the WORLD for 2 weeks and counting is very impressive, regardless of the numbers. I do think Magnificent can be a worldwide hit. As for Boots, how can any song that gets to #24 in the WORLD be called a complete flop or disaster? It was not a smash hit, but a hit nonetheless.
I am really curious to see if U2 can sell out stadiums in the U.S. on their tour. I don't think any other bands or artist could do that in this country in 2009 given the depressed economy. How many bands could sell out stadiums in Europe right now, too? I don't know if the concerts already announced sold out in hours or days...but the last I checked, every annoucned show w/tickets available was sold out already, save perhaps an added show somewhere due to the 1st date being sold out so quickly.
This tour is going to last well into 2010, and don't forget about Grammy's, Christmas selling season, a possible sister-album, the possiblity of a single catching fire, etc. I'm just not ready to throw in the towel just yet on NLOTH, as it's my favorite album since AB. Even if I'm in the minority on that, I don't care. It's all I've been listening to since it came out, and the last time I remember doing that was AB, but I did not immediately love AB...in fact, it was only after seeing my first Zoo TV concert that I began to really like AB...finally falling in love with it perhaps about a year after it's release.