NLOTH Album Reviews Pt 3

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last unicorn said:
Really, there are mostly positive reviews over at "our" Amazon (one was written by me :D). Some were slightly confused by the album, others were simply being stupid without having even heard the album, but there are mostly 5 star reviews!



Sadly, that's true.
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People at amazon.com absolutely HATE U2 as I found out the hard way. Don't even pay attention to that site.
 
mikal said:
Atease suprised me the most. while there are the occasional few who say they hate it just because some people think it's "cool" to hate U2, there are a lot of respected members over there who are admitting that this is a great album.
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Is it possible because the album takes a lot of cues from the AB-to-Pop period? :wink:
 
lazarus said:
Very good criticism here about SUC. I don't dislike it, but it's about as overworked as a song like this can be. I'm surprised people are disliking Boots more, because that's a loose, inventive track that actually accomplishes what it sets out to do better, in my opinion.

While CT isn't as simple and disposable as Wild Honey, I do think the placement has a lot to do with why it doesn't seem to work for many people. Unfortunately, I don't know where you DO put it. The only thing I can come up with is sticking it after SUC, but then GOYB becomes track 5, and that really doesn't work--this is usually the "meat" of a U2 album, not usually a disposable song (even Wild Horses is at least sonically dense).

I would say bring Breathe up to track 5, but then another problem, where's your big penultimate track? Perhaps one of the lopped-off songs really would work, but those are rumored to be more downbeat.

I'm at a loss.
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Good points. However, it's possible none of us have come up with a superior
track order because U2 picked the best one.
I have issues with the middle section as well but all my attempts to make a superior track listing ruined the album.
 
Friday, Feb 20, 2009
HitFix

REVIEW: U2's 'No Line on the Horizon'
Posted by Melinda Newman

It must be hard to be U2: with each new album, they're wrestling with their own mythology, which grows ever bigger as time passes.
On "No Line on the Horizon," out March 3, that weight seemed to loom large: the Irish quartet's 12th studio album was originally slated to come out before the end of last year, but the band pulled it back to mold and twist it some more.

The result is 11 songs that thematically seem to have no link (although being lost surfaces quite a few times), but sonically unite the many sides of U2-the edgy atmospheric creators, the pop crafters, the electronica dilettantes, the anthem makers. Regardless of which prism the music is filtered through, U2 always sounds like themselves: at some point, no matter how dissonant or otherworldy the music, the Edge's razor-sharp guitar pierces through, Bono's ragged vocals shatter the silence. The arrival of such moments feels like the combined comfort and excitement of seeing an old friend.

Given the band's propensity for large statements, it's sometimes hard for U2 to make a small sound. Even the two words, "Rise up," on "Unknown Caller" resonate as a call to action, no matter the context. But the album's emotional center, the 7-minute "Moment of Surrender" is one of its simpler, quieter tunes that seeps into your pores. The deceptively languid song opens with an organ and a gentle, yet insistent beat. It's a meditation of sorts about life and losing oneself (perhaps into addiction?) with some clever religious imagery that has become U2's trademark: "I was speeding through the subway, stopping at the stations of the cross," sings Bono. It's a beauty and the most memorable song on "No Line."

Given how he's sounded on some recent live appearances, such as the "We Are One" Inaugural concert, there's been concern about Bono's voice. Throughout the album, it wavers and switches from moments of strength to world-weariness. If it's lost any of its potency, his voice has gained subtle nuances that come with age and experience and serve him very well here.

In addition to "Moment," among the other top cuts are "Magnificent," a driving, mid-tempo rocker that recalls early U2 (Think something from "War" or "Boy," but not as classic as anything from "The Joshua Tree"). When Bono says "I was born to sing for you," it's possible to believe he's talking to all of us who have been on this journey for 30 years.

Speaking of the past, the intro of "Unknown Caller," plainly and beautifully echoes "Bad," before the song evolves into its own creation. Similarly, "I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight," starts as a standard U2 mid-tempo twister then turns into a Beatlesque ode before it switches back again. Often things on "No Line" are not what they originally seem.

Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois produced the bulk of the material and are to thank for the atmospheric touches. Steve Lillywhite, who is credited with "additional production" tends to bring out the band's fuller sound.

First single, "Get on Your Boots," is one of the weakest songs on the album and doesn't seem to fit. But in some ways, upon listening to the full CD, it's understandable why Interscope picked it as the opening salvo: it is the most in-your-face, accessible track. However, it has none of the depth or resonance of many of the other tracks and seems to have already worn out its welcome at radio. Its "Let me in the sound" refrain resurfaces a few songs later on "FEZ-Being Born," which opens with a collection of seemingly disparate sounds before yielding to the most interesting and adventurous song on the album.

Bono the storyteller takes over on "White As Snow," a loping, primarily acoustic tale (complete with horns) cinematic imagery. He continues the narrative on "Cedars of Lebanon," a haunting ode written from the perspective of a war correspondent.

A feeling of uncertainly and restlessness runs through the album. Doubts and desires go unquenched. It's not an album that's meant to soothe us in these troubled times. Bono's clearly just as wrecked as the rest of us when he sings in the heavy "Breathe," "I'm running down the road like loose electricity while the band in my head plays a strip tease." But maybe it's enough to know that at least we're not alone.
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REVIEW: U2's 'No Line on the Horizon' on Hitfix
 
Nice, but really "diplomatic" review. She doesn't take sides neither tells if she liked it or not. I mean, she seems to like it. But she didn't leave it clear neither gives it a rate.
 
The best reviews are the ones that just describe their reaction, and leave the rating to the reader. There's no need to quantify it with a numerical value.

Clearly, she liked it a lot.
 
This album is definitely growing on me, that's for sure; to improve it, however, I'd remove Stand Up Comedy, add Mercy somewhere and replace NLOTH with NLOTH 2 - voila, almost perfect! :drool:
 
been listening to this album for about 5 hours now...all i can say is WOW. i am blown away...it's only going to get better with each listen.

U2 is in a class of their own.
 
No matter how good or varied a record U2 is going to make, reviewers and people in general are going to moan and complain and find fault somewhere. Not something to worry about because that is just the natural order of things. You can't blame a dog for barking because that is just what it does. The way it is, was and always will be. The cross they have to carry.
 
The actual IGN review:

They gave it a 7/10 and had some interesting yet cursory things to say about the album by breaking it down song by song.

You can find it at ign.com under "music", then "reviews"... or read it below:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"U2 - No Line On The Horizon
Dublin rockers drop their Bomb follow-up.
by Brian Linder

February 20, 2009 - No Line on the Horizon, the twelfth studio album from Irish rockers U2, doesn't officially drop until the first week of March, but it's been leaked online early courtesy of the band's MySpace page. We've taken a thorough listen and submit these impressions of the latest effort by the boys from Dublin.

Bono (vocals and guitar), The Edge (guitar, keyboards, and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion), collaborated on the album with longtime producer pals Brian Eno and Danny Lanois, with additional production by Steve Lillywhite. Expectations have been running high, as we tend to think of this musical team as a practically unstoppable force of excellence, but the album's debut single "Get on Your Boots" tempered things a bit -- it had to grow on us. Would the rest of the album leave us feeling as tentative?

U2 has said that their follow-up to 2004's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is a similarly rock-oriented joint. They aren't exactly fibbing, but there's nothing quite as blazing as HTDAAB's "Vertigo." In reality, the album's sound is a mishmash of styles that U2 has mastered over the years, while occasionally flirting with musical territory heretofore uncharted by the band.

The title track kicks the album off to a strong start. Choice riffs courtesy of the Edge are laid down with Bono crooning hoarse vocals about girls, the universe, and infinity ("I know a girl with a hole in her heart / She said infinity is a great place to start"), which we're sure has some deeper meaning that we just haven't unlocked yet. Oddly, though the track is at it's most captivating between verses when Bono belts out his trademark "oooooohs."

"Magnificent" continues down the same lyrical path with musings on the nature of existence, love, God, and the unity of humankind, all of which make up the album's conceptual core and to which Bono is no stranger. Musically, this is stock U2. There are no complaints, but also nothing that's going to blow your mind.

Three tracks in, "Moment of Surrender" is a tune that wouldn't have felt entirely out of place on 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind -- that's a good thing. Here is where Bono begins to really pull the listener in lyrically. He's at his best when his earnestness is dirtied up a bit, and that's the case here ("I tied myself to the wire / to let the horses run free / Playing with fire / Until the fire played with me").

Arena rock ballads are what U2 do best, and we can already hear the crowd singing along with "Unknown Caller," a song that uses technological vignettes as metaphors for spiritual awakening -- or at least that's our best guess.

It's clear by this point that Bono and Co. have a lot to say. That's not a bad thing, but on "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy" they're simply trying to say too much. The song collapses a bit under the weight of its message. It sounds perfectly palatable, but is at it's most interesting when Bono and Edge are belting out the chorus and bridge -- where the listener has a little breathing room. The track is also (arguably) marred by a production choice that is evident on the much of the album. While we're pleased to be able to understand every lyric that is uttered, it might have been nice to let the vocals occasionally take a backseat in the mix. They are way out front in most places. Sometimes it works, and other times it feels like too much.

"Get on Your Boots," which you've likely already heard unless you've been hiding from all forms of media, is very much a musical sequel to "Vertigo." It took a while to grow on us, but in the context of the album it's strong. The bridge ("Let me in the sound / Let me in the sound / Let me in the sound") is actually one of our favorite moments on the album, and the band makes good use of it again later (read on that below).

"Stand Up Comedy" initially flirts with the same fate as "Crazy," but the riffs and hooks are strong and keep the track decidedly afloat, and it winds up pretty hot. This is what Bob Dylan would sound like if he were an stadium-touring Irish rock star.

The opening ambient sounds of "FEZ - Being Born" create an aural space where the listener is drawn in -- here is where the "let me in the sound" lyric is recycled. And when the song begins in earnest it proves a solid, musically adventurous prelude to the album's final act.

"White as Snow" is a quiet, soul-searching number -- one of the most intimate songs in U2's entire catalogue. And if you're thinking it sounds a little bit like something you've heard before at Christmastime, the song's musical structure is clearly inspired by the hymn "Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel."

Larry Mullen and The Edge get their time in the spotlight on "Breathe," with its drumtastic intro and crunchy guitar goodness. That's not to say that Bono is a slouch. We read where producer Brian Eno called this the "most U2" of any song the band has recorded, and we can see why.

Rather than send the album out with a soaring closing number, U2 mellows out with "Cedars of Lebanon." Bono does his best Lou Reed, speaking verses over a chill bassline. It's broken up by a haunting falsetto refrain ("Return... the call... to home") that practically evokes Sufjan Stevens. There's this bit of lyrical wisdom: "Choose your enemies carefully 'cos they will define you / Make them interesting 'cos in some ways they will mind you / They're not there in the beginning but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends." And with that the album ends.

No Line on the Horizon is entirely pleasing, but rarely is it utterly thrilling. And given the standard set by the band and the clout of their production partners, we expected more. Ultimately, NLOTH is a solid upper-mid tier entry in U2's discography with three or four tracks that are truly great, and a couple that may floor you.

Download Worthy:
1. "Unknown Caller"
2. "FEZ - Being Born"
3. "White as Snow"
4. "Breathe"

OVERALL SCORE: 7/10
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its when people write a review like this, for some reason it just gets to me:

I have heard the entire CD several times and it's the worst U2 release they have ever made. I was surprised how many bad fan reviews there were for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, I can't imagine how much worse this will be? Actually I liked most of Bomb except for the last few songs which were a letdown. Now they sound like they are really struggling to come up with interesting songs. Recycling their old sound in many cases trying to sound like Elevation or Vertigo but end up as tired old dull sounding new songs that just aren't catchy. I only like a couple songs, Magnificent while sounds like a familiar U2 song, at least it's a very GOOD song. And White As Snow which is a really good ballad. Some of the songs are just dreadful like Get On Your Boots, Fez-Being Born, Breathe, and Cedars Of Lebanon (which is just Bono talking, boring!). No Line On The Horizon he's talking and singing in a different tone, than woah woah woahhhh. Give me a break! Than Moment Of Surrender, he's talking through the song for seven minutes without a change (like a loop). SNORE! Than Unknown Caller a very familiar sounding U2 song (like old songs) but the entire band annoyingly singing ohhhhhh ohhhhhh over and over, than talking lyrics (horrible) before Bono starts talking and singing again. I Know I'll Go Crazy sounds like more recycled music from U2's past with BAD lyrics. The song may not be terrible but it has absolutely nothing new to say or offer fans that they haven't heard BETTER before in a different song. I don't know what the purpose of Eno was because he didn't bring anything inventive like he did with Coldplay's last CD (and even some of that wasn't good). But at least some GREAT songs came out of the experiment including song of the year Viva La Vida. I know U2 is a hot band, can make almost automatic multi platinum releases. But in the last year or so when multi platinum albums have been hard to come by (with Lil Wayne and Coldplay) scoring the best selling CD's of the year with just over 2 million in each case. This CD may not make double platinum at all and me a case exactly like Mariah Carey's terrible followup to Mimi, E=MC2 which sold 500,000 in it's first week, than fizzled at 1.2 million (same as her Charmbracelet which was considered a flop). Watch U2 sell big in the first week, than suffer the same fate. This album stinks. And before you say Get On Your Boots is a catchy single, look at the charts. It's NOT even in the top 50! Anyway this was not a good for U2 to experiment (like the 90's). This could very well be the beginning of the commercial downfall of this group. Sadly, I know it happens to every supergroup eventually that keeps putting out new music!! Eventually they just dry up creatively and have nothing new to sing and play.
 
Please don't bring those crappy reviews over here. There are actually fans (like me) who avoid these comments and try to stay positive. This was obviously written by a U2 hater. I had some fights today in one of our national newspapers forums. People were saying things about U2 that I don't even want to repeat, it made me sick in my stomach. I think some random hater's review shouldn't be here, no one is interested in that crap.
 
last unicorn said:
Please don't bring those crappy reviews over here. There are actually fans (like me) who avoid these comments and try to stay positive. This was obviously written by a U2 hater. I had some fights today in one of our national newspapers forums. People were saying things about U2 that I don't even want to repeat, it made me sick in my stomach. I think some random hater's review shouldn't be here, no one is interested in that crap.
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I'm very happy some people hate U2 because otherwise it would be impossible to get tickets to the live shows :D
 
esperago said:
The actual IGN review:


No Line on the Horizon is entirely pleasing, but rarely is it utterly thrilling. And given the standard set by the band and the clout of their production partners, we expected more. Ultimately, NLOTH is a solid upper-mid tier entry in U2's discography with three or four tracks that are truly great, and a couple that may floor you.

OVERALL SCORE: 7/10
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I agree with almost the entire review except this part. Song for song they pretty much hit it dead on (except Unknown Caller, I hope that isn't done live, and if it is, I think it'll be a beer run song).

But then they sum up their review with the above paragraph and lose me. If there's 6 tracks that are truly great to flooring, that's a better than 7/10 album.

They're dead on about the vocal mix too. It's starting to bug me a bit on songs like Crazy. This isn't a Sting disk, it's U2 which is made up of four primary members. None of them should be relegated to the background.
 
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