Is this the worst U2 album ever ?

[birdman]

I would say its the other way around, it has the ambition of AB, but not the same level of fluidity. But anyway, which album has?

This is what I'll be looking for in further listenings, with AB the set-list of the Zoo shows exactly followed the track ordering of the album. And I can continue to research the origins of SOI, and see what interesting things were at play. This is the type of thing I enjoy

 

[Axver]

with AB the set-list of the Zoo shows exactly followed the track ordering of the album.

I'd love to find this edition of Achtung you have where The Fly is the second track.

If anything, the order of the ZooTV setlist was better than the somewhat clunky flow of the album.

 

[birdman]

You know I meant virtually, Mr Fussy Britches.

 

[owl]

 

[birdman]

More like, Feet in Loafers. Am i right?
I am so correct.

 

[U2Girl1978]

This is by far in my top five favorite albums of theirs. I would listen to it over and over. I can't say the same for HTDAAB.

 

[lemonfly]

I listened to SOI like 10 times now, I find it great, really.... then I wanted to go back in time and "compare" it with AB, POP and ATYCLB for a start. Well, I know it's difficult to compare albums, different age, different mood, different sound and themes, but all I can surely say is that both AB and POP are better than SOI by miles!
ATYCLB has never been a top ranked album for me. It has fabulous hit singles like BD, Elevation and Stuck (which I don't like), it has 1 great song -> Kite, but it also has shitty stuff in the second half of the album (WH, POE, Grace). Thus, to me SOI > ATYCLB.
For the final ranking, I will need to wait some more, it's impossible right now.

Here are the spots that won't be moved for sure:

1. AB
2. JT
3. Boy
4. Pop

The rest I don't know....

I dunno about SOI being better than ATYCLB "by miles". BD is still the defining song of 21st century U2 imo. I'm not sure U2 would even still be in existence right now without it. Imagine if The Miracle of Joey Ramone had been their first single of the 00's...they would be ancient history by now. Kite is epic, nothing on SOI touches it. And then there's WILATW, which was never fully realized, but there's enough magic bubbling under to make you imagine what a would-be classic they had on their hands. Others like Stuck, Walk On and Elevation were never my cup of tea, but have been popular as fuck. Can't see any SOI songs being that popular. SOI doesn't have a Wild Honey or POE or Grace, but when you're talking about U2 songs that will endure, I think AttyClub will leave it in the dust.

 

[Numb1075]

it's so interesting, the people who are not in love with this album are really pissing the people who love this album off.

everyone can have an opinion

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

I dunno about SOI being better than ATYCLB "by miles". BD is still the defining song of 21st century U2 imo. I'm not sure U2 would even still be in existence right now without it. Imagine if The Miracle of Joey Ramone had been their first single of the 00's...they would be ancient history by now. Kite is epic, nothing on SOI touches it. And then there's WILATW, which was never fully realized, but there's enough magic bubbling under to make you imagine what a would-be classic they had on their hands. Others like Stuck, Walk On and Elevation were never my cup of tea, but have been popular as fuck. Can't see any SOI songs being that popular. SOI doesn't have a Wild Honey or POE or Grace, but when you're talking about U2 songs that will endure, I think AttyClub will leave it in the dust.

It's just my taste, I don t care about the charts.
POP didn t do so well with the charts, however to my taste it s 10 times better than ATYCLB. I am talking about an album, not about 1 song in particular.

 

[topplehatU2]

I'm having a really hard time "ranking" or evaluating this album. It's hard to separate the hype and excitement of "new U2" versus the reality of what the songs sound like.

I can say that I like it though, this album is definitely more cohesive than HTDAAB or NLOTH (which felt more like collections of songs, disjointed).

 

[womanfish]

So far, after about 15 listens, I put it above the last 3 albums, but below AB, JT, POP. I would put it on par with Zooropa. I love about 8 out of the 11 songs and I don't hate any of them. That's right on par with Zooropa.

Its much harder to put it into the entire scope of all their albums, but I think SOI will sit around number 5 for me out of 13. Not too shabby.

 

[BVS]

So far, after about 15 listens, I put it above the last 3 albums, but below AB, JT, POP. I would put it on par with Zooropa. I love about 8 out of the 11 songs and I don't hate any of them. That's right on par with Zooropa.



Its much harder to put it into the entire scope of all their albums, but I think SOI will sit around number 5 for me out of 13. Not too shabby.

I'm almost exactly in the same spot. The only exception is I think Pop has a few tracks that I have a love/hate relationship so sometimes that album fluctuates as to where it stands.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[Hollow Island]

It's really early, but ...

Zooropa
Achtung
Joshua Tree
The Unforgettable Fire
Pop
War
Boy
Passengers
Songs of Innocence
Rattle and Hum
ATYCLB
October
NLOTH
HTAAB

I could see it moving up, but right now it's a solid second tier U2 album and one of the best of the year.

 

[Acrobat_Al]

It's certainly not their worst, nor their best effort.

In my opinion upon 2 listens, it's "U2 by Numbers", this is sort of what i expected.

They are all good songs but pretty safe.

It reminds me of ATYCLB with a little bit of Pop thrown in there.

Nothing on this album blows me away and yet there are no clunkers/fillers.

Overall, for taking this long to come up with a new album, i think it could have been better.

It sounds like i'm being negative here, but that is not my intention. I like the album and it's better than anything on the radio in 2014. In the U2 catalogue, this one is middle of the pack at best.

It sounds like the album that The Killers want to make.

And Coldplay, and Muse, and everybody else, but U2's standards are really high, so they should be up to it...

I have listened to it like 5 times, and DEFINITELY is a grower

 

[rjhbonovox]

I'm errring on the side of "what the frigg took them so long to make this rubbish"

 

[Acrobat_Al]

I almost felt the same as you after the first listening, the song felt flat, no chours, no dynamic...

But then after the second listening I figure out that this is an album that should be learned to like. A U2 album should demand that.

One of their best album according to me is Zooropa, Zooropa demand alot to be appreciated, alot of listnings, it took time and it was worth it.
Just like Zooropa SOE dosnt have much of great chourses. T

The songs on Zooropa have some kind of empty sound... Sure the album got Stay(So Far Close) and SOE got EBW and SFS.

My thoughts have gone from upset and woundering to more positive now.

In years I have wanted a album more like Zooropa, a difficult listened album. Then yesterday I got it and got upset, now I just realise what it was that that made Zooropa so good. I just had forget...

OMG!! Are you comparing Stay with Every Breaking Wave?? Really??????

 

[Acrobat_Al]

I used to think that way as well... but then they made NLOTH, and that record fell off for me with their involvement. I can see why they chose to work with some other talent.

Totally agree, NLOTH is their worst album ever

 

[dfwmofo]

What the???



Miracle

Volcano

Raised By Wolves

Cedarwood

And even Iris somewhat are all really guitar heavy.



I seriously don't know how a U2 fan could not be pleased with this album. Especially if you made it through Bomb and No Line...

I went in to this album expecting a plodding mess like NLOTH. I was very pleasantly surprised. Loving it so far, no filler at all. Love the mixing.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[doctorwho]

OMG!! Are you comparing Stay with Every Breaking Wave?? Really??????

While your comment wasn't directed at me, I actually feel this is a good comparison.

And for the record, I never thought "Stay" was this masterpiece - just a solid slow "love" song.

 

[Acrobat_Al]

While your comment wasn't directed at me, I actually feel this is a good comparison.

And for the record, I never thought "Stay" was this masterpiece - just a solid slow "love" song.

Maybe you can compare them in terms of being singles released from an album (EBW should be a single), but that's like comparing me with Usain Bolt in terms of both of us having two legs!!

But I have to say that Stay made me a U2 fan, so it's a uneven comparison (and Stay IS a masterpiece!! )

 

[Numb1075]

Every Breaking Wave is much better than Stay.

 

[Hollow Island]

They're both great songs, but they're so different. Stay is a psychedelic ballad, Every Breaking Wave is an anthem.

 

[Peterrrrr]

OMG!! Are you comparing Stay with Every Breaking Wave?? Really??????

Yes, but not in the way you thought. Stay and EBW are song that got more tradional chours.

 

[Beautifulday93]

The problem with U2 is that they are such a huge mega band that anything short of a mega , pioneering, massive hit is going to piss of people. I myself was expecting a beautiful day, with or without you, vertigo type big hitter but they only come along once every decades.

 

[CarpathiaMan]

Eww, eww, eww! Get it off my iDevice, I didn't ask for this free stuff!!!

But seriously, I just recently got a new Mac mini, so I fired up iTunes and downloaded the new album. Listened to it once so far from front to back. Throughout, I kept thinking, "Wow, that's a neat melody," or "Love that chorus" or "That sounds fresh." I thought it was promising, and I'm hopeful that it will grow on me. But too soon to tell for me ... will require more listens, as is typical with most of the stuff I listen to.

To be honest it reminded me of Boy ... should it? But then, it sounded like they were blending familiar territory with new sounds as well. A puzzling new release.

 

[DeVaul]

I'm errring on the side of "what the frigg took them so long to make this rubbish"

Amen.

 

[boystupidboy]

It's certainly not their worst, nor their best effort.

In my opinion upon 2 listens, it's "U2 by Numbers", this is sort of what i expected.

They are all good songs but pretty safe.

It reminds me of ATYCLB with a little bit of Pop thrown in there.

Nothing on this album blows me away and yet there are no clunkers/fillers.

Overall, for taking this long to come up with a new album, i think it could have been better.

It sounds like i'm being negative here, but that is not my intention. I like the album and it's better than anything on the radio in 2014. In the U2 catalogue, this one is middle of the pack at best.

It sounds like the album that The Killers want to make.

Exactly my thoughts on the album early days....time will tell i suppose.....no crap but no classics either

 

[boystupidboy]

I think a lot of it, honestly, comes down to age of the listener. I was 13 when Achtung Baby came out and it not only got me into U2, it got me into music as well.

I don't think anything can replicate hearing any album for the first time when you're that age. U2 could've released some sort of amazing Joshua Tree / Achtung Baby hybrid yesterday that made everything they've done before pale in comparison...but I still wouldn't have been as excited as when Zooropa came out simply because now I'm in my mid-thirties.

Great post
I'm older so therefore the extreme excitement of a new album isn't there for me anymore unlike when i was 15....shame really.

 

[allbecauseofu2]

Im with the its still growing on me phrase. Def clear of thinking its bad or anything. But it wasn't worth the 5 years unless part 2 of whatever is coming next year. When I saw the album had 11 tracks I was like, , their better be a hell of a lot more then this.

 

[Nick66]

I used to think that way as well... but then they made NLOTH, and that record fell off for me with their involvement. I can see why they chose to work with some other talent.

C'mon man. U2 is just as responsible for that record as Brian and Danny are, actually more. And you gave U2 another chance.

I mean, I could say the same for Brian and Danny...they really liked U2, but then the band went and screwed up NLOTH and they choose to work with other talent. I don't really blame those two for the things that went wrong with that record. The songs you can really hear their influence on are great. Didn't someone come in and get U2 second guessing the whole thing at one point...i.e. pushing them to make it more radio friendly? And didn't Eno want MOS to be the first single?

And I agree with those who say U2 is taken to a whole other level when Brian and Danny are involved. Don't get me wrong, I'm really digging this record, a lot. And I agree that it was time for U2 to work with another producer. Or two. Or three. But the truth is they'll never make music again that hit the highs that those two brought out in them.

And what's with the NLOTH hate around here lately anyway? Damn, the comments I've been reading the past couple days, you'd think all of U2 fandom hated it. I still think, despite some serious misfires and unevenness, some of those songs are fucking brilliant and it's a pretty good record. I remember hearing it the first time and LOVING it (though I never liked Crazy Tonight).

I wasn't around here in 2009...was there this much hate for the record when it came out?