Re-Ranking NLOTH

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1. Magnificent
(2. faster no Line 'remix')
2. Moment of Surrender
3. Fez-Being Born
4. Crazy Tonight
5. No Line on the Horizon
6. Unknown Caller
7. Get on Your Boots

--------

8. Cedars
9. Stand Up Comedy
10. Breathe
11. White as Snow

A really front-loaded album for me. The final 4 I really detest and I can't even listen to the whole album without skipping them. I really like the top7 though and I feel they are getting even better as time goes on.
 
01 Moment Of Surrender
02 No Line On The Horizon alternate
03 Unknown Caller
04 Get On Your Boots
05 Fez-Being Born
06 I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight tribal mix
07 Magnificent French disco version
08 Breathe
09 Stand Up Comedy
10 White As Snow
11 Cedars Of Lebanon
 
Neveer undestoo the hate towards Boots, it is a great song with courageous message, exciting music progressions, amazing video...
 
Musikwala said:
I'm a bit surprised that you like Crazy Tonight that much though. :wink:
Click to expand...

Eh, it's a generic song that doesn't offend me, and it has a few good passages. I do hate that bit early in the song where Bono randomly goes into falsetto to sing the title though.

thavidesco said:
Neveer undestoo the hate towards Boots, it is a great song with courageous message, exciting music progressions, amazing video...
Click to expand...

I can't say I ever thought of "get on your boots, yeah, sexy boots" as a courageous message.
 
The "let me in the sound" bullshit line combined with nonsense like "the future needs a big kiss" and "sexy boots/bossy boots" completely sinks the song for me. I also don't care for Bono's high-pitched whine during "you don't know.... you don't know how beautiful...". To make things worse "let me in the sound" rears its ugly head again in Fez and almost ruins that intro for me! :angry:
 
Musikwala said:
The "let me in the sound" bullshit line combined with nonsense like "the future needs a big kiss" and "sexy boots/bossy boots" completely sinks the song for me. I also don't care for Bono's high-pitched whine during "you don't know.... you don't know how beautiful...". To make things worse "let me in the sound" rears its ugly head again in Fez and almost ruins that intro for me! :angry:
Click to expand...


I don't mind the "let me in the sound" part but you hit on everything else.

I really had no clue what he was singing about and had to check forums to get a better understanding of the song. On a side note, it you need to check fan forums to get an understanding of what a song is about....it didn't connect with you.

Now that I know what it is about, it's still a bad song lyrically...maybe worse! The overall rhythm and sound of the song is pretty good though.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
I'm still in love with this album. I like it a lot more than Songs of Innocence.

1) Moment of Surrender
2) Magnificent
3) White as Snow
4) Breathe
5) Fez - Being Born
6) No Line on the Horizon
7) Unknown Caller
8) Get On Your Boots
9) Crazy Tonight (the live remix is better)
10) Stand Up Comedy
11) Cedars of Lebanon

But, really, I don't dislike any of these songs. 1-6 especially is one hell of a group of songs.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
Also, it disappoints me that White As Snow is generally ranked so low. I think that that song is one of U2's most gorgeous hidden gems.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
digitize said:
Also, it disappoints me that White As Snow is generally ranked so low. I think that that song is one of U2's most gorgeous hidden gems.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
Click to expand...

It's a shame the plans to play it on the first leg of 360 never came to fruition. I think it could work well in an acoustic set if that is indeed the direction U2 are heading on the next tour.

Though I did enjoy it more when I thought the lyric was "a land as white as snow" not "a lamb as white as snow".
 
Axver said:
It's a shame the plans to play it on the first leg of 360 never came to fruition. I think it could work well in an acoustic set if that is indeed the direction U2 are heading on the next tour.
Click to expand...


Wasn't Willie pushing for something like a set consisting of October, White As Snow, Drowning Man, and Bad? Those for songs together would be... incredible.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
1) No Line on the Horizon

2) Fez - Being Born

3) Magnificent

4) Moment of Surrender

5) Get On Your Boots

6) Crazy Tonight

7) White as Snow

8) Breathe

9) Unknown Caller

10) Stand Up Comedy

11) Cedars of Lebanon

I don't really think Boots and Crazy tonight are all that bad, actually. Boots is a good song to run to.
 
digitize said:
Wasn't Willie pushing for something like a set consisting of October, White As Snow, Drowning Man, and Bad? Those for songs together would be... incredible.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
Click to expand...

He pushed for an October/White As Snow/New Year's Day sequence during the Dublin shows. I'm not sure why you'd break up the October/NYD segue, but it still would've been amazing. And yeah he wanted Drowning Man too. At least we got Bad!
 
*****
1. Moment of Surrender


****
2. Magnificent
3. Breathe
4. Cedars of Lebanon
5. Get On Your Boots
6. No Line On The Horizon
7. Fez (Being Born)


***
8. Unknown Caller
9. White As Snow


**
10. Stand Up Comedy
11. Crazy Tonight

I'm actually a big fan of the Linear track listing, and would have much preferred Winter on the album instead of Crazy Tonight.

On Linear, even Stand Up Comedy seems to fit nicely.

But the final product just comes across as very awkward, especially given that jarring 5-7, which seems to throw the whole album completely out of whack.


Sent from a barge floating through the docks of Dublin
 
Moment Of Surrender
Magnificent
No Line On The Horizon
Get On Your Boots
I'll Go Crazy
Breathe
Fez
Cedars
Stand Up Comedy
Unknown Caller
White As Snow
 
1. Moment Of Surrender
2. No Line On The Horizon
3. Cedars Of Lebanon
(Winter - Linear version)
4. Magnificent
5. FEZ - Being Born
6. Breathe
7. White As Snow
8. Unknown Caller
9. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
10. Get On Your Boots
11. Stand Up Comedy
 
I know this has been discussed ad nauseum on fan boards, but that accursed middle three is probably the biggest fuck-up of U2's entire recording career. When the middle portion of the album is practically unlistenable, it kills the momentum and coherence with the force of an atomic bomb (on the subject of Bomb, at least that was simply a long, uninterrupted mediocre turdfest. It's hard for me to get worked up over something so dire from start to finish (much like SOI)... With NLOTH, they had a decent idea but simply lacked the cojones to see it through because what would U2 do without HITZ!!! That will always irk me).
 
1. Magnificent
2. Moment Of Surrender
3. No Line On The Horizon 2
4. Fez - Being Born
5. Breathe
6. Cedars Of Lebanon
7. Winter
8. White As Snow
9. Unknown Caller
10. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
11. Get On Your Boots
12. Stand Up Comedy

I made a playlist with 1-8, I really enjoy those tracks. 9-12 I don't really care if I ever hear again.
 
Moment of Surrender
Breathe
Magnificent
No line on the horizon 2
Fez- Being Born
Unknown Caller
Cedars of Lebanon
White As Snow
Get On Your Boots
Stand Up Comedy
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
 
I'd be interested to see how I ranked it back then. I still enjoy the hell out of this album, although I don't listen as often.

1. Magnificent
2. Breathe
3. White as Snow
4. No Line in the Horizon
5. Moment of Surrender
6. Fez BB
7. Cedars of Lebanon
8. Get On Your Boots
9. Crazy Tonight
10. Unknown Caller
11. Stand Up Comedy


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
My alternate NLOTH makes a pretty decent album:

1. No Line On The Horizon

2. Magnificent

3. Moment Of Surrender

4. Unknown Caller

5. Soon

6. Breathe

7. White As Snow

8. Winter (Linear)

9. Fez - Being Porn

10. Cedars Of Lebanon


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
Digitize's unpopular opinion du jour: Winter is mediocre and best left off NLOTH.

Every Breaking Wave, in a form closer to the 2010 live version than the 2014 studio version, is another matter entirely.


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Is that really unpopular? I thought "Winter" was a bit of a whipping boy around here, especially with moronic lyrics about butter on toast and putting bullets in guns to protect the ones.

My custom NLOTH is an EP:

1. Fez
2. Magnificent
3. NLOTH II
4. Crazy Tonight
5. White As Snow
6. Cedars Of Lebanon

It still doesn't excite me much.
 
Well of course it doesn't excite you. NLOTH 1, MOS and Breathe aren't on it and Crazy Tonight is. I would be disappointed too. :wink:

Winter is fucking awful. It's slow and boring with an awkward, stilted arrangement and terrible lyrics. Probably more album worthy than Stand Up Comedy, but that's not saying much.
 
Last edited:
LemonMelon said:
MOS and Breathe aren't on it
Click to expand...

That would make it more boring.

MOS is an average song only of note because of its length, and good god Breathe's verses are cringeworthy. Not as cringeworthy as Boots or Comedy, but still pretty bad. Shut up Bono. Stop trying to be clever.
 
1. Fez - Being Born
2. Moment of Surrender (these two are in my top 20 U2 songs)

3. Cedars of Lebanon
4. No Line on the Horizon

5. Breathe
6. Unknown Caller
7. White As Snow
8. Magnificent
9. Get On Your Boots

10. Crazy Tonight
11. SUC

Now that the dust has settled, I can safely say I like NLOTH more than SOI even though it has more obvious flaws. It simply has higher highs.
 
Ranking everything from the era:

Excellent:

1. Moment of Surrender (10/10)
2. Breathe (9/10)
3. Magnificent (8.5/10)
4. NLOTH 1 (8.5/10)
5. Cedars of Lebanon (8.5/10)

Very good/album worthy:

6. Fez-Being Born (8/10)
7. White as Snow (7.5/10)
8. Every Breaking Wave (7/10)
9. NLOTH 2 (7/10)

Needs work, but has potential:

9. Unknown Caller (6.5/10)
10. Soon (6/10)

Weak:

11. Crazy Tonight (5.5/10)
12. Get on Your Boots (5.5/10)
13. Mercy (5.5/10)
14. Glastonbury (5/10)

Really bad:

15. Winter (4.5/10)
16. Stand Up Comedy (4/10)

Hopeless garbage:

17. Return of the Stingray Guitar (3/10)

Candidate for worst U2 song ever:

18. North Star (2/10)

Axver said:
That would make it more boring.

MOS is an average song only of note because of its length, and good god Breathe's verses are cringeworthy. Not as cringeworthy as Boots or Comedy, but still pretty bad. Shut up Bono. Stop trying to be clever.
Click to expand...

That's, like, your opinion, man.

nielsgov said:
Now that the dust has settled, I can safely say I like NLOTH more than SOI even though it has more obvious flaws. It simply has higher highs.
Click to expand...

I don't think I'd give anything on SOI above an 8 or so. God definitely didn't walk into the room during those sessions.
 
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