Nick66
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
To me, TUF is the music equivalent of a Surrealist painting. Consequently, I don't think it's useful to look at the lyrics too closely, in terms of literal meaning. Rather, I think it's value is more in the overall impression the music leaves you with. It's also a record meant to be listened to as a record, and not a collection of individual songs. Yes, there are a few relative "stand alone" tracks on there, but mostly it's designed for one song to flow into another. Unique among U2 albums, if I'm listening to TUF I'm listening to the whole record. And it's really the only studio record of U2's that I listen to beginning to end anymore...otherwise, I much prefer listening to their lives stuff from the DVD rips and concert boots. But TUF is different. As a result, IMO there's no "good half" or "bad half"...it's meant to be taken as whole, and on that level it succeeds brilliantly.
I think all the songs on there are brilliant and beautiful, especially the never or seldom played live gems...stuff live Elvis and America and Indian Summer Sky I adore. And even the instrumentals are perfectly placed and set tone when listening to the album as a whole. There's just not a single bad note of music on that record. Other U2 albums are better lyrically perhaps, and more accomplished musically, and have more songs suitable as singles. I guess speaking objectively TUF is not their "best" album, musically or lyrically, but it's nonetheless my personal favourite.
Perhaps I just love U2 more when Eno and Lanois are involved, because when I look at my least favourite U2 records...Pop, Zooropa, Bomb, those two are largely absent, and U2 is a different (and lesser, IMO) band without them.
I think all the songs on there are brilliant and beautiful, especially the never or seldom played live gems...stuff live Elvis and America and Indian Summer Sky I adore. And even the instrumentals are perfectly placed and set tone when listening to the album as a whole. There's just not a single bad note of music on that record. Other U2 albums are better lyrically perhaps, and more accomplished musically, and have more songs suitable as singles. I guess speaking objectively TUF is not their "best" album, musically or lyrically, but it's nonetheless my personal favourite.
Perhaps I just love U2 more when Eno and Lanois are involved, because when I look at my least favourite U2 records...Pop, Zooropa, Bomb, those two are largely absent, and U2 is a different (and lesser, IMO) band without them.