Next Album Rumours Thread IV - 2 Sing 2 Furious

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
MattD said:
I think 1-6 if you include In A Little While. The sentiments are sweet without being saccharine, one of the songs that makes the album so serene.

Wild Honey is a nice little tune too. Peace on Earth and Grace get a lot of hate but I've never thought ill of them, and they are two of the more meditative tunes which adds to the overwhelming sense of calm I get from the album. New York is also an interesting experimental piece.

There's not one tune on there I'd consider bad. From Atomic Bomb onwards, that's where the true stinkers are littered throughout every album since.
Click to expand...

Sorry. But really?

Beautiful day is a good song. It was a huge hit, good live. Ok. But is it really great? lyrically not so much. I think if it had come out now, the same people praising it, would be bashing it. Bedouin Fires? Tuna Fleets? China? It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away?! WTF is this?!?!?

Walk On is just about as paint by numbers U2 as you can get. And is farther up the cheese scale than most "inspirational" U2 songs.

Stuck? eh. I would much rather listen to Little Things for a song in that same vein.

Elevation - obviously not the greatest song ever written, but what the band has done with it live has it in a very special place in my heart.

Kite - One of the best songs they've ever done, I'll just leave it at that.

In a Little While is a cool little song. Nothing too much to complain about or rave about.

Wild Honey... Again.. eh. Just never really connected to or understood the purpose of this song. Musically it has some interest to it, but sort of bottom third of the songs on the album.

Peace On Earth - the worst of close to worst song they've ever had on an album

WILATW - Nice solid tune, better than most on the album

NY - Kind of a quandary, I like the more experimental nature of it, but some parts don't really work. Edge is great though.

Grace - So bad. difficult to listen to. Maybe my least fave U2 song.

Kite really is the only song I listen to off this album.
IMO, nearly all the songs on SOI are better than half the songs on here.
If you removed the worst three songs off of this album, SOE and No Line. No Line would take this album to the woodshed. SOE would be a bit closer, but would edge it out.
 
Last edited:
mikal said:
For being such a bad album, I wonder how it ever did so well.
Click to expand...

I don’t think it’s a “bad” album. I think it’s just kinda average for a U2 album. Has one incredible song on it, 4 or 5 good to really good songs, a few so so, and a couple really bad.

It was released at a time that was beneficial to it, it was marketed by the band as a “return to basics” which was a groan for a lot of big fans that loved the 90’s stuff, but great for a lot of fans that didn’t.
This was 2000. Rock was still a genre that was played on the radio and U2 was still the biggest rock band around. After it had been out a while, it resonated more with people after 9/11, and then the Superbowl performance, and the tour was great. They had it all goin on.
My point is that there are many weak songs on this album that get overlooked because of the overall feeling from other parts of the album. The really bad songs are tempered by the fact that they fit well with the rest of the album (unlike the 3 on No Line and a couple on SOE)

And good doesn’t equate to popular. Or i wouldn’t hear Olivia Rodrigo and Ed Sheeran 3 times an hour when i’m in the car with my daughter. And i’m guessing if we looked at the charts in 2000, 2001 the most popular stuff would be pretty damn bad.
 
ATYCLB was the first album that came out after I became a fan, so I have very fond memories of the lead up, the leaks, all that. I wish I was more fond of the music, but I basically never revisit it. Even the anniversary didn't compel me. It's an important album, nothing on it is close to bad... but I find it mostly uninteresting and same-y with the big inspirational hooks. Maybe that's why Wild Honey does it for me - it sticks out as a rough, fun moment on a mostly very un-fun record.
 
Beautiful Day is one of the best pop/rock songs of the century and the facsimiles of it that they've churned out since don't even come close. The hook of that song was an instant classic.

Stuck is a beautiful and heartfelt song with an awful, cheesy arrangement. Still better than most of SOE.

Elevation is awkward on the album but its live incarnation shows it's a fundamentally enjoyable song.

Walk On is, again, way ahead of the recent U2 curve because it communicates warmth and humanity so effectively. It's sweet and relatable. It doesn't sound like an attempt to do anything, it's just U2.

Kite and WILATW are both excellent deep cuts.

In a Little While is the kind of song U2 talks about when they go on about writing songs that work in any context. Very pleasant and likable.

Wild Honey is fun. Not amazing but not forced or embarrassing, just a goofy song that rings true despite their age and experience.

Peace on Earth and Grace are both weak but I wish Edge still played guitar with such a painterly approach.

New York is more experimental and atmospheric than anything from the past couple albums except maybe Sleep Like a Baby? It's not perfect but I appreciate the effort.

If U2 could put out another album as good as ATYCLB, I would be fine with that.
 
Last edited:
ok so i guess what i’m hearing is that i need to give All That another go. Sometimes i feel like i know the songs or album so well that i don’t go in with open ears and mind.
 
New York is absolutely my favorite from that record. The only songs I don’t care for at all are Grace and Peace On Earth. The rest goes from alright to excellent.
 
Wild Honey is the kind of loose goofy fun they could use a little more of. The Showman kinda has that vibe. Light and effortless, neither overthought or overcooked.
 
Grace is the nadir of that album for me. Peace On Earth isn't that great but I can at least listen to it. Wild Honey is light, but in a good way. Everything else ranges from damn good to excellent.

The remix of Elevation blows the album version out of the water.

The fan-made "hybrid" version of Walk On, which combines the single and album versions, is the best of both worlds there.

Beyond the actual songs, I think this is the album for most people (well, perhaps along with Bomb) where the sequencing really sucks, and perhaps that heightens the negativity with it. Walk On should follow Beautiful Day, and Elevation should open "Side Two", as examples.
 
I also think subbing Grace and Peace On Earth with The Ground Beneath Her Feet and Summer Rain would have done a lot. Add in subbing the Tomb Raider Elevation mix and suddenly it’s a much stronger record.
 
LemonMelon said:
Beautiful Day is one of the best pop/rock songs of the century and the facsimiles of it that they've churned out since don't even come close. The hook of that song was an instant classic.

Stuck is a beautiful and heartfelt song with an awful, cheesy arrangement. Still better than most of SOE.

Elevation is awkward on the album but its live incarnation shows it's a fundamentally enjoyable song.

Walk On is, again, way ahead of the recent U2 curve because it communicates warmth and humanity so effectively. It's sweet and relatable. It doesn't sound like an attempt to do anything, it's just U2.

Kite and WILATW are both excellent deep cuts.

In a Little While is the kind of song U2 talks about when they go on about writing songs that work in any context. Very pleasant and likable.

Wild Honey is fun. Not amazing but not forced or embarrassing, just a goofy song that rings true despite their age and experience.

Peace on Earth and Grace are both weak but I wish Edge still played guitar with such a painterly approach.

New York is more experimental and atmospheric than anything from the past couple albums except maybe Sleep Like a Baby? It's not perfect but I appreciate the effort.

If U2 could put out another album as good as ATYCLB, I would be fine with that.
Click to expand...

You always have good album song analysis. What’s your breakdown of SOI? I feel like there are some recent posters that have major dislike of it and wonder if they really have listened to it with an open mind. This isn’t aimed at you because i don’t know where you stand on it. But would be interesting to hear your thoughts. Even when i go back and listen to it skeptically, i come out loving it, sometimes more.
 
I am far from the most optimistic person in the world. Who the hell can be these days? LMAO! Whether it's my personal life or the state of the world- I find plenty to worry about. As for U2, I find more than enough to be critical of. I'm not one of those "everything they've done is gold" fan boys.

That being said, I have a really hard time reading so much of the ridiculous, predictable takes of anything U2 these days. Here and elsewhere. I remember saying to myself this time last week that I'd see a headline just like the "worst song of the year" bullshit that was written in Pitchfork. The predictability is what kills me! Not to mention, this idiot likely did not hear the song before writing that review. So much of it is motivated by personal animosity toward Bono, which I'll never understand. Do I shed any tears for him? Of course not, I think he's just fine in life. But I don't think there's a more misunderstood person the last 15 years than Bono. If this man just cared about his ego, he'd have some restaurants or a TV show or some other shit- he would not be doing all this political work (like or agree with it or not) on his own time and with his own money.

As for the song itself..... it's nothing great, but I wasn't expecting it to be. It's also nowhere near as bad as people are saying here or elsewhere! I actually think it's bordering on good. A few people have pointed out there's a little more space here than we've seen in a while- not so much jamming lyrics into every inch of the song. It also has a mature, reflective, lounge type vibe to it. Others here have also alluded to this and mentioned how easy it would've been to make a full play at the kid/pop sound. The first verse even reminds me of "Stay" or "Ground beneath..." even though the song is obviously nowhere near as good as either of those.

It is a FINE song for what it is. And to the Pitchfork asshole and anyone else saying this is somehow conceited or insincere or implying that U2 (Bono) has saved all these lives, I'd ask for a simple google search of what Bono has been up to since the pandemic. He's been writing all about songs FROM OTHER ARTISTS, NOT HIMSELF, that have " saved his life. " So to say that this isn't sincere or whatever is ridiculous and can be debunked by the most minimal research effort. It's absolutely inexcusable for a music writer at a publication with editors to be writing that utter bullshit unless the goal is just a personal hit piece for clicks. Let's see it for what it is......

And I've had enough of people saying that material they don't like means it's insincere or a cynical play for the charts in general. Yeah, like most people here, I have no idea what they ever saw in Get out of your own way. However, I realize that it fits with what Bono had been saying, thinking, etc in that time in his life. I'm still flabbergasted that the band who put out anything 1987-1993 couldn't find a better lyrical or musical way to express it, but I'd never say the thought behind it is insincere.

Do I have any idea why Boots or SUC ever saw the light of day, never mind an album? No. Would either wind up anywhere near TUF, War, Boy or even Pop? Of course not. Notice I didn't mention JT or AB because I'm not holding them to the standard of 2 of the best albums ever released by any musical act, period. Nor would I claim that post-2000 beats 1980-2000- because again, you're talking one of the best runs of any artists ever! But to claim that "everything since sucks and this is just the latest low point" flies in the face of any reasonable examination of the material.

To each their own, but I don't see how a U2 fan from the beginning could really think Invisible, Crystal Ballroom, Raised by wolves, Cedarwood rd, The Troubles, Little Things, Red Flag Day, etc are so out of whack quality wise that they can't hold a candle to what came before. I could do the same thing with ATYCLB, BOMB and NLOTH but you all get the idea.

For what it's worth, I actually liked "We are the people" a lot. On its face and for what it was. We just came out of the worst year plus of our collective lives!! What is wrong with a blatant attempt at joy and celebration?! The DJ collobaration?? They're going for the kidzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!????? Save it!! I often wonder what the reaction would've been if this place existed when they started working with Oakenfeld on the AB remixes!

Along those same lines, what is wrong with telling people that "saved" or seriously impacted our lives as much?! The idea behind that? It's insincere and "Hallmark?" Or is it maybe a 60 year old man with wisdom and life experience (including two recent brushes with death) is pleading with us to 1) slow down and recognize the people who keep you going and 2) maybe let them know because life is short?

Will I listen to it in 5 years? No. Listen to it on purpose again? Maybe 2 or 3 times. Hell, to me it isn't even "Love is bigger" level good and is nowhere near as good as "Ordinary Love" which I thought was an excellent one-off that showed signs of good things to come! I just wish the criticisms were fairer and better thought out.

Maybe I'm in a different place than most in my thinking, but I really do feel that if you've experienced difficulty in life- especially loss/grief and/or mental health issues, you get what the hell Bono has been saying since SOI (California, Little Things, Showman, Blackout, Love is bigger most especially). If you haven't, you're less likely to.

Hell, my Mom just lost her boss who was very close to her today. He saved her job and with it, our house and pretty much my life as I know it by going to bat for her in 2011. I was too wrapped up in my own issues to know it at the time, but today, when he's gone, is the first time I've truly reflected on and appreciated him.

Well, I can't write a song that winds up in a movie and gets slammed all over Pitchfork and elsewhere (maybe for good reason in some places, who the hell knows?) but maybe it would be nice if we could be aware of the fact that people "save" our lives in many ways throughout them and be lucky enough to be able to tell them as much in time!

I'm at the point where I'm viewing everything we get from U2 as a bonus. They don't need to prove shit to me or anyone else anymore. The live shows still blow away everyone I know that sees them for the first time. And they're U2's shows that they headline in the biggest venues in the world. I'd take that over being on a quadruple bill with 3 other washed up 80s acts at your half-full local ampitheatre.

They step in it more than they used to and more than the acts that just lean on the past, but I'll take the trade off any day to keep them around at this level.
 
Last edited:
LemonMelon said:
Beautiful Day is one of the best pop/rock songs of the century and the facsimiles of it that they've churned out since don't even come close. The hook of that song was an instant classic.

Stuck is a beautiful and heartfelt song with an awful, cheesy arrangement. Still better than most of SOE.

Elevation is awkward on the album but its live incarnation shows it's a fundamentally enjoyable song.

Walk On is, again, way ahead of the recent U2 curve because it communicates warmth and humanity so effectively. It's sweet and relatable. It doesn't sound like an attempt to do anything, it's just U2.

Kite and WILATW are both excellent deep cuts.

In a Little While is the kind of song U2 talks about when they go on about writing songs that work in any context. Very pleasant and likable.

Wild Honey is fun. Not amazing but not forced or embarrassing, just a goofy song that rings true despite their age and experience.

Peace on Earth and Grace are both weak but I wish Edge still played guitar with such a painterly approach.

New York is more experimental and atmospheric than anything from the past couple albums except maybe Sleep Like a Baby? It's not perfect but I appreciate the effort.

If U2 could put out another album as good as ATYCLB, I would be fine with that.
Click to expand...

Agreed 1,000%.

I also think this album has more going on sonically than people give it credit for. You can still see glimpses of U2’s 90’s work but it’s just not as dirty and grungy, but still there.
 
I’ll always have a ton of nostalgia for ATYCLB but even back then the flaws stopped me from embracing it as much as I wanted to (it’s poorly sequenced / front loaded and a couple of weaker tracks should have been rotated with superior b-sides). It paired well with R.E.M.‘a Reveal, one for the winter and one for the summer.

NLOTH would have made for a better follow up than Bomb, especially if they had committed to the original intent and really leaned into the ambience and atmosphere.

Bomb coming after that might have resulted in it being looser and less hung up on chasing the limelight again. What if, what if.

The ATYCLB and Bomb cycles were the last two good ones though. Single releases still mattered (or still did to me). A new video, b-sides, promotional appearances. The 2nd best of came out, and even if it had its own problems it was great to get new singles, remixes and hype. And then there were the tours and DVD releases. Good times and I’m glad I got to experience them in full.
 
Somewhat random tangent (I lump it in with the era I guess), but I revisited the William Orbit mix of Electrical Storm, the one that got all the radio play, and I was shocked by how well it's held up. Fuck, that's a good song. It's so plush and atmospheric, the melody is sturdy, the lyrics are relatable and Bono sounds excellent on it. I can't believe he has a studio vocal that strong after Million Dollar Hotel.

The original mix is badass but sounds relatively empty to me.
 
the tourist said:
I also think subbing Grace and Peace On Earth with The Ground Beneath Her Feet and Summer Rain would have done a lot. Add in subbing the Tomb Raider Elevation mix and suddenly it’s a much stronger record.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I like Summer Rain a lot too. Definitely include that one.

As for The Ground Beneath Her Feet, I realize it was a bonus track on several versions of the album, but to me it just doesn't fit with the other tracks. It's got a completely different vibe; so does Stateless. While I love both, I've never included them with ATYCLB.

I don't know, perhaps I should revisit.
 
I’ve seen talk of the stuff left off NLOTH, SOI/E and now ATYCLB, so have to add my 2 cents on on HTDAAB. Plenty of love around here for Fast Cars and obviously Mercy but…

Smile is fantastic and feels like a spiritual sequel to Kite - it’s the romantic relationship side of the coin opposite Kite’s rumination on parents & their children.
 
phanan said:
Yeah, I like Summer Rain a lot too. Definitely include that one.



As for The Ground Beneath Her Feet, I realize it was a bonus track on several versions of the album, but to me it just doesn't fit with the other tracks. It's got a completely different vibe; so does Stateless. While I love both, I've never included them with ATYCLB.



I don't know, perhaps I should revisit.
Click to expand...



I think The Ground Beneath Her Feet goes well near the end in between When I Look At The World and New York.
 
i'm 100% sure that this forum would love Grace if the band had made the song 15 years earlier and released it in the UF-JT-RH era instead.
 
DaveC said:
i'm 100% sure that this forum would love Grace if the band had made the song 15 years earlier and released it in the UF-JT-RH era instead.
Click to expand...

Haha not the worst point actually. I've never hated it (or Peace On Earth) like some do here.
 
DaveC said:
i'm 100% sure that this forum would love Grace if the band had made the song 15 years earlier and released it in the UF-JT-RH era instead.
Click to expand...

I think this could be said about a lot of songs from SOI and SOE. If Miracle or Cedarwood, or Volcano or Red Flag Day or Raised by Wolves was on Bomb.
if Love is All or 13 or Landlady or Little Things or Summer of Love was ATYCLB.
If Sleep Like a Baby was on Zooropa or POP
 
All the Experience You Can't Leave Behind

Beautiful Day
Summer of Love
Stuck In A...
Little Things
Walk On
Landlady
Kite
Love is All...
When I Look at The World
13
 
I've always liked Peace On Earth & Grace and think that Grace is one of their finest album closers. Musically it's a beautiful sci fi lullaby. The lyrics arent the best but the music more than compensates for them.
 
Hollow Island said:
I've always liked Peace On Earth & Grace and think that Grace is one of their finest album closers. Musically it's a beautiful sci fi lullaby. The lyrics arent the best but the music more than compensates for them.
Click to expand...

I fully agree. It's not perfect but the sentiments are felt for me as Bono lets the music breathe. The Edge's composition, helped by Eno & Lanois's production, is beautifully subtle and meticulously crafted in a way that The Edge has never been since. Its minimalistic style counterpoints the big early songs of the album perfectly and is an ideal closer.

Indeed, Peace On Earth, New York and Grace all work because of their minimalism, really driving the point home of this album being a thoughtful and sincere album.

The album gets ever more contemplative and quiet, which I love that about All That You Can't Leave Behind. It really feels like a complete album as a result and you can a satisfying calming 'vibe' from it.

Latter U2 would make an absolute mess of this, being all over the place with its vibe, and dumping minimalism in favour of ugly bombast.

The album beats every U2 mess that was released after to a pulp .
 
Last edited:
I really like ATYCLB but there was always a bit of me which was disappointed they'd seemingly given up with the experimentation of the previous phase. Given how they got burned with Pop, I guess that's not surprising, but for me, Achtung Baby, Zooropa, Passengers & Pop (with Zoo TV and PopMart) was by far the most exciting period of their music for me.

My biggest disappointment in post-Pop land is that from what we know, they appeared to have a crisis of confidence with the direction of NLOTH and it got watered down. The stories about the Fez sessions and what they were doing really got me excited, but the end result was a letdown. Maybe I'd built it up in to something it was never going to be.

For all their faults, I still think they're making much better original music than we have any real right to expect from a band who've been together for as long as they have.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Will Larry Return to U2?
2
Replies
50
Views
3K
Achtung Ya'll
A
dan_smee
New Album Discussion 1 - Songs of..... - Unreasonable guitar album
64 65 66
Replies
2K
Views
116K
monkeyskin
monkeyskin
Janet H
  • Sticky
Forum Update - We're back! Ask your questions here.
2
Replies
36
Views
4K
Popmartijn
Popmartijn
O
Better late than never “they” say…
Replies
1
Views
437
Headache in a Suitcase
Headache in a Suitcase
N
NBA 2023-24 Thread
19 20 21
Replies
605
Views
19K
Hewson
Hewson

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom