djerdap said:
I really can't believe that a few people are saying that HTDAAB songs sound like ATYCLB b-sides...
HTDAAB is everything ATYCLB should have been. Return to the classic U2 of the 80's. ATYCLB is probably, along with Rattle and Hum(what's with the unnecessary covers, non U2 songs and, for God's sakes, Love Rescue Me?), U2's worst album.
Now that U2 covered that ground for me(corrected the 2000 mistake with this amazing album) it's time for something new.
What's funny about this is that I love Rattle and Hum, it was my first U2 album and along with JT and AB, my favorite. I love U2 singing with a gospel choir, U2 doing ballads right with Hawkmoon and All I Want Is You, U2 with B.B. King! After those come War and ATYCLB.
Bomb is down with October and Pop. But still, I like them all. U2 is my favorite band. I will listen to this album 10x as much as any other one this year, probably.
But it doesn't feel like an album to me, more of a collection of songs. Say what you want about ATYCLB, but it felt very unified in theme and style. HTDAAB seems disjointed, and perhaps that is a side effect of overproduction. Vertigo, instead of representing the album, is an exception to most of the other material. It's interesting that Vertigo and ABOY were the first singles. Maybe these were the songs that the whole album was supposed to sound like. Who knows?
As for these new songs sounding like b-sides, I think they are, as a whole, simpler and more repetitive in melody and lyrics than ATYCLB. This is why I labeled them that way. I'm not sure if this is U2's nod to 'garage rock', which has been mentioned elsewhere, or an attempt to get back to their '80s' sound. I find though, that their actual '80s sound' is much richer and complex than their current offering.
Another side note: the cover and title of bomb also suggest an aggressive-sounding record, which doesn't mix well with the songs that are contained on it. (small quibble.)