MERGED-->All Discussion of NME Track by Track Review of HTDAAB

[AtomicLemon]

I say, shut up and listen to the album first.

Amen!

 

[phommel]

Re: NME track by track

song with tribal drums and a massive guitar-led chorus. Could be a single.

WOOOOW !!!!

Bono sings "You don't have to put up a fight/You don't always have to be
right....let me take some of the punches for you tonight". The feel is a lot
like REM's 'Everybody Hurts'.

GREAT !!!!

A thumping bassline makes it all
sound a bit like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

AWESOME!!!

The second Big Stadium moment. Pretty piano opens the song, which sounds like
an updated 'With or Without You', Bono's in reflective mood, singing, "The
more you see, the less you know".

SUPER!!!! This quote (The more you see...) sounds like Achtung Baby lyrics...

'Achtung Baby'-era guitars back one of Bono's most confessional songs ever.

AMAZING

An ambient-sounding track their old producer Brian Eno would have been proud
of

AMAI AMAI AMAI

an epic
ballad which is classic U2.

GRREEAAAAAT!!!! FANTASTIC

'Fast Cars' (bonus track)
it's also where the line 'How to Dismantle an Atomic
Bomb' comes from. NME says: put this track on the UK album!

And the Dutch album!!!



ORGASM!

This all sounds really great. But I hope this recension is objective....

 

[shart1780]

What I'm wondering is why the album version of Vertigo is shorter than the radio version. Also, where's the instrumental? Maybe they just decided to leave it out on that summary?

I really want Fast Cars on the album!!

 

[david]

What I'm wondering is why the album version of Vertigo is shorter than the radio version. Also, where's the instrumental? Maybe they just decided to leave it out on that summary?

I really want Fast Cars on the album!!

They said it was an "unmastered" copy.

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

'Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own':
"The feel is a lot like REM's 'Everybody Hurts'."



Oh please no.

If its half the song Everybody Hurts is, it'll be worth the wait

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

4 years to make 48 minutes of music. Jeez.

You can fit 78 minutes of music on a compact disc. 48 mintues plus Fast Cars is probably like 52 mintues.

4 years and less than an hour of music. Forgive me if that chaps my ass a little bit. They could throw a few more tracks on the album, unfortunately some moron convinced them that they can't have more than 11 tracks on an album.

Other than that, it sounds cool. The music on there is gonna be great, it's just gonna be quick and leaving everybody asking "where is more?". 4 years is a long time for less than an hour of music.

Thats awful...some of the best albums ever are only about 30 minutes long; who cares how long it is if its a great piece of work!??

 

[Roland of Gilead]

How ANYONE can make any ULTIMATE conclusion about the album after ready just one review is mind boggling.

Is that a superpower or something?

 

[mikal]

i can only laugh at the bitching.

i'm going to enjoy enjoying the new album.

 

[rjhbonovox]

I think thats a pile of bollox if the hidden tracks not on the UK version. Whats going on, if its a track as good as they say then it should be on the UK version.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

I think thats a pile of bollox if the hidden tracks not on the UK version. Whats going on, if its a track as good as they say then it should be on the UK version.

Read carefully.

They heard and reviewed an UNMASTERED copy. This even makes the song lengths unofficial at this point! I have no superpowers here folks!

 

[Catman]

Amigos, I hate to say this, but I told you so

I knew this album will be just another ATYCLB, just 11 songs with an stupid extra track just for Japan...the same shit happened with ATYCLB, remember "The Ground Beneath Her Feet"

Come on The Edge, try to see our way, just for one time think in fans from Africa, Asia, South America, etc

Another short album... a shame, after 4 years waiting, we´ll just have less than 50 minutes album... where is U2´s fresh music, ideas, concepts, messages, etc ?. I mean, don´t fool me pleaseeeeee, I´m not going to spend money for such CD. I really want to have 60 minutes of music, with linked songs by music, lyrics, etc, no 11 separate songs putting togheter making just 48 minutes. I can´t stand that, because I really love U2, but a record like that, after 25 years career, is something that shows lack of commitment, indifference, apathy and just a wish of making easy money with the smallest possible effort, simply I can´t stand that my friends .

Now, for the music, just another stuff with "rock", "Ballads", etc... nothing interesting, nothing to comunicate

I was afraid this new album will be exactly was it will be, but now waiting is over...

DREAM IS OVER
( John Lennon, 1970 )

HUZZAH?! Come on now, ponkine...what could POSSIBLY drive you to make such accusations?? NME gave a generous overview of HTDAAB, and you're bitching about it?! Even if "Vertigo" didn't satisfy your musical needs, I don't see how you can be disappointed without having even heard the album. And the length of the record? Okay, to be honest, I would have liked HTDAAB to be a little longer than 48 minutes, but good music is good music, my friend, and there are no set guidelines for how long an album and its songs should be.

 

[Layton]

Remember, Neil McCormack said that the album is tied together better than ATYCLB because of a more cohesive guitar sound. This makes me hold out hope that the album will be more than just a collection of songs like ATYCLB.

 

[Murray]

Question about NME review

Did anyone else notice that the length of Vertigo according to the review (3:07) is shorter than the single version (3:13)?

 

[Lancemc]

yeah, it's a bit wierd that the album version is shorter then the radio version, but that does at least imply that the album version IS diffeent from the radio one...so maybe that groovy "power outage" thing IS in it after all

 

[bsp77]

They had an unfinished copy.

 

[Murray]

Oh-oh-oooooooh

 

[bsp77]

My guess is that the beginning noises before the Spanish count were added last minute. Though it could probably be countless other things, my knowledge of producing/mixing/engineering is nil.

 

[david]

It is an unmastered copy according to the first few sentences of the review.

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

This whole the "album is to short" argument is so inane. I mean if the album was 20 minutes or so I might wonder what the hell is going on, but come on we all know that U2 goes for quality and quantity.

If you are expecting U2 to drop a 60+ minute album, you might want to consider finding a new favorite band, because U2 will not compromise their music just to appease a few fans who "want this, and want that". I wanted an all up-tempo, balls out rocker, with one ballad. Am I disappointed because the review I've READ is not consistent with my wishes? No, and I won't be disappointed with this album until I hear it and decide its not for me.

Chances of that happening.....nil. I don't mind posters who don't like this song or that song, or this or that album, but don't judge it by 1) Someone else's review 2) Total album time and 3) Your desire for what you want, and what you haven't even heard.

Wait until the album comes out and then you can voice your opinion on how good it is.

 

[Inner El Guapo]

Upon further review...

I listened to ATYCLB this afternoon and it clocks in at 49 minutes (American version) and I'd say it's probably about right. It just hit me as being short when I saw it was 48 minutes.

I guess if a song was good enough it would make the cut. There aren't many B-sides that are good enough to make their respected albums. I can't think of a single ATYCLB B-side that should be on that album. Including, Always, which is just Beautiful Day done slightly differently.

I wasn't bitching about it, just saying that it seemed short. Probably about ideal. It's the quality of the tracks anyways.

 

[RademR]

I loved the ABOY leak, I thought it was great and serious potential. And then I read it has some of his most confessional lyrics to date, dammm....cant wait.

Also, the Chilli Peppers are one of my favorite bands and my one beef with them is that they always put 16-17 tracks on an album and guess what, only about 10-11 are worth the cut. Dont get me wrong, those 11 are amazing, but the rest are album fillers. As long as the quality is there, who cares?? Led Zeppelin IV had like 8 tracks on it, I think its safe to say thats a classic?

 

[Inner El Guapo]

Yes, although I think RHCP's By The Way is one of the best albums I've heard in the last 5 or 6 years, there are a handful of tracks that could be "trimmed".

Just saying, in theory, I'd like to have 14 tracks, an hour of music. But I guess it runs the possibilty of dilluting the integrity of the album itself. Not that I am even griping, just making an opinion, or a comment.

I like the fact that NME, notoriously snobbish to anything remotely mainstream, wrote a pretty good review of it. I am not sure they gave ATYCLB that high of a mark. I can dig that up on metacritic, possibly.

Miracle Drug, City of Blinding Lights, All Because of You and OOTSpecies=dying to hear these based on the descriptions.

Methinks, and this is surely a guess that ABOY ends up rocking harder than Vertigo.

 

[RademR]

from the leak, ABOY sounds rather WHO-ish to me. Thats the kind of rock I want! Agree that "By the Way" is one of their top albums. Maybe not B.S.S. Magik, but I think as they get older, their music is getting better as a whole.

 

[AussieU2fanman]

Rock album of the Year - U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Album of the Year - U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

 

[chocky]

I'm MUCH prefer to have an album of 11 great tracks and then 6 good b-sides (like JT) rather than have all 17 tracks on the album and no b-sides.

1. I enjoy the anticipation of getting new songs every 3 months for a year
2. I can always make my own compilation of the 17 tracks at the end
3. Fans who are less die-hard than me can get a great (classic) 11 track album and won't consider it to have filler. and it will probably sell more because of better reviews.

 

[brownda7]

So do you reckon they still have a physical copy of the CD in their offices or would it be returned to universal?

If they do a leak is bound to happen

 

[AussieU2fanman]

We will not see a leak until at most 2 weeks before the album is due. There are 2 copies in the country. Security is very high around the copies because a leak will cost millions!

 

[U2girl]

The first full review!

All songs sound exciting.

 

[Teta040]

Interesting that it ends "those looking for the classic U2 sound". What else could we be looking for?

U2 have always sought to tap into the first swirling undercurrents of whatever is bubbling up out there. And for the first time, I can say that in America at least, nothing exciting has been happening musically. There aren't any great new sounds out there, there's no "movement." At the time when AB came out grunge was all the rage (punk finally hitting America 20 yrs late) but it was the newly commerical hip-hop that the band tapped into. Of course by the time the album hit hip-hop had begun to cross over, but for the guitar-oriented bands of the time this was big news.

So now who do we have today? Just a bunch of bands White Stripes etc rehashing old blues, with a bit of hip-hoppy stuff thrown in. The most "revlutionary" thing out there right now is probably Modest Mouse, and AB went where they're going 12 yrs ago. What is there currently left to tap into? Em is no longer even new. MAybe the only thing left is for the band to "show" all these current acts how it's REALLY done.

This is why I really hope Edge answers my question!!! It had to do with why the band chose this "raw" kind of sound for this album. Was it a timing thing etc.

EDGE, DON'T CHICKEN OUT!! Answer my question prettyPLEASE!? (with ice cream and Dime Bar chucks on the top!)

 

[grbounds]

Interesting that it ends "those looking for the classic U2 sound". What else could we be looking for?

U2 have always sought to tap into the first swirling undercurrents of whatever is bubbling up out there. And for the first time, I can say that in America at least, nothing exciting has been happening musically. There aren't any great new sounds out there, there's no "movement." At the time when AB came out grunge was all the rage (punk finally hitting America 20 yrs late) but it was the newly commerical hip-hop that the band tapped into. Of course by the time the album hit hip-hop had begun to cross over, but for the guitar-oriented bands of the time this was big news.

So now who do we have today? Just a bunch of bands White Stripes etc rehashing old blues, with a bit of hip-hoppy stuff thrown in. The most "revlutionary" thing out there right now is probably Modest Mouse, and AB went where they're going 12 yrs ago. What is there currently left to tap into? Em is no longer even new. MAybe the only thing left is for the band to "show" all these current acts how it's REALLY done.

This is why I really hope Edge answers my question!!! It had to do with why the band chose this "raw" kind of sound for this album. Was it a timing thing etc.

EDGE, DON'T CHICKEN OUT!! Answer my question prettyPLEASE!? (with ice cream and Dime Bar chucks on the top!)

Modest Mouse = The Cure, for the most part....
i dont really think there's anything revolutionary going on in the music industry today....