bonosleftone
Refugee
It's hard to base it off of mp3s but I'm going to try.
I think it's pretty much universal that U2's two "masterworks" are JT and AB, even if it isnt your opinion I think its safe to assume that its most. However, I do not think that HTDAAB falls into that pantheon.
Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the album. I seriously believe it is the best album in about 5 years. I don't believe though that 10 years from now it will be regarded as a landmark or masterwork as the aforementioned are.
If you look at TJT that album came out at a time when popular music for the most part was stagnant. All the innovation and creative work was coming out of the "indie" scene at the time. The Smiths were about done, R.E.M was still on I.R.S (or just about to leave) and the charts were filled with Debbie Gibson, Poison and other throwaway crap that we remember with laughter. The Joshua Tree was so huge that even I (as a 9 year old) knew how big it was. It is the album that took U2 to the stratosphere and the music was so different than everything else out there then.
The same argument (albeit a bit lesser of an impact) could be made for AB. It came out pre-Nirvana and it was such an impressive work that it was hard not to notice. Not to mention the tour that came along with it.
Fast forward to now, U2 are getting older but by no means is the music suffering. This album is getting awesome reviews left and right but I don't think when the day is over that it will be considered a masterpiece. Is it flawed? Not to my ears but I do not think this album will have the impact as JT and AB did during their respective times of release. It will sell like gangbusters, the tour will be sold out everywhere but really other than a few minor blips on the radar when hasnt a U2 record done that?
That said, I got a really big contact high for the first few days of listens and now that the music and lyrics are becoming sewn into my cerebral cortex (and will not stop for at least a year) I'm beginning to wind down a bit. I just don't feel at the end of the day that this album will be as far reaching and beloved as the other 2 among casual U2 listeners or even critics. It reminds of ATYCLB in this aspect, fantastic record but really nothing that's going to stand the test of time and will not be a requirement on most music fans shelves. Sure, there will be new U2 fans that are born on this record and you'll have your completists but it wont be universal like JT or AB are.
Sorry to make it sound negative, I love the album, I really do (I rank it 3rd in U2's all time catalog followed 4th by Pop) but it's not going to be a landmark and its not a masterpiece IMO.
I think it's pretty much universal that U2's two "masterworks" are JT and AB, even if it isnt your opinion I think its safe to assume that its most. However, I do not think that HTDAAB falls into that pantheon.
Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the album. I seriously believe it is the best album in about 5 years. I don't believe though that 10 years from now it will be regarded as a landmark or masterwork as the aforementioned are.
If you look at TJT that album came out at a time when popular music for the most part was stagnant. All the innovation and creative work was coming out of the "indie" scene at the time. The Smiths were about done, R.E.M was still on I.R.S (or just about to leave) and the charts were filled with Debbie Gibson, Poison and other throwaway crap that we remember with laughter. The Joshua Tree was so huge that even I (as a 9 year old) knew how big it was. It is the album that took U2 to the stratosphere and the music was so different than everything else out there then.
The same argument (albeit a bit lesser of an impact) could be made for AB. It came out pre-Nirvana and it was such an impressive work that it was hard not to notice. Not to mention the tour that came along with it.
Fast forward to now, U2 are getting older but by no means is the music suffering. This album is getting awesome reviews left and right but I don't think when the day is over that it will be considered a masterpiece. Is it flawed? Not to my ears but I do not think this album will have the impact as JT and AB did during their respective times of release. It will sell like gangbusters, the tour will be sold out everywhere but really other than a few minor blips on the radar when hasnt a U2 record done that?
That said, I got a really big contact high for the first few days of listens and now that the music and lyrics are becoming sewn into my cerebral cortex (and will not stop for at least a year) I'm beginning to wind down a bit. I just don't feel at the end of the day that this album will be as far reaching and beloved as the other 2 among casual U2 listeners or even critics. It reminds of ATYCLB in this aspect, fantastic record but really nothing that's going to stand the test of time and will not be a requirement on most music fans shelves. Sure, there will be new U2 fans that are born on this record and you'll have your completists but it wont be universal like JT or AB are.
Sorry to make it sound negative, I love the album, I really do (I rank it 3rd in U2's all time catalog followed 4th by Pop) but it's not going to be a landmark and its not a masterpiece IMO.