Shuttlecock!

[martha]

I'd put NLOTH above it right now. My abhorrence of nostalgia is hard to overcome, and from what I've discerned of the lyrics, there's nostalgia everywhere on this record. Perhaps I'm too much of a hard-ass. It wouldn't be the first time.

 

[the tourist]

It's 6th for me simply because there are no songs I dislike, actively or indifferently.

 

[LemonMelon]

Probably 9th or 10th for me. ATYCLB, HTDAAB and October are below it, although I'm re-thinking my ranking of October these days.

 

[martha]

October is great.

 

[the tourist]

October is solidly in the middle for me.

 

[iron yuppie]

I really have no idea how to rank this album right now, or most of U2's discography, for that matter. SoI is definitely resonating with me emotionally for reasons I don't fully understand. I'm sorry to keep going on about The Troubles, but it's looking like one of those songs that hits me so hard I can barely listen to it. I'm finding it incredibly powerful.

 

[iron yuppie]

This is the best I can do.

A-range albums:

Achtung Baby
Joshua Tree
Pop
Unforgettable Fire
War

B-range albums:

Boy
October
Original Soundtracks
Songs of Innocence
Zooropa

C-range albums:

ATYCLB
Bomb
No Line
Rattle & Hum

 

[intedomine]

Still feels far too early to rank it at this stage. I'd say it will slot in comfortably higher than Rattle and Hum, Atomic Bomb and ATYCLB, and comfortably lower than Achtung Baby, Joshua Tree, Unfortgettable Fire and Pop - it'll take it's place in that ever-interchangeable middle bunch, which for me never seems settled. A worthy addition to their stellar back catalogue and this late into their career, that's all I really ask for.

Gosh, there is a lot of vitriol directed at U2 (not Apple) for the distribution method for this album. While I don't necessarily agree with it myself, it all seems well over the top and actually quite nasty!


Sent from a barge floating through the docks of Dublin

 

[purpleoscar]

This is the best I can do.

A-range albums:

Achtung Baby
Joshua Tree
Pop
Unforgettable Fire
War

B-range albums:

Boy
October
Original Soundtracks
Songs of Innocence
Zooropa

C-range albums:

ATYCLB
Bomb
No Line
Rattle & Hum

I just saw this. Can I add you to the ranking list?

 

[iron yuppie]

Yeah sure. Within those ranges I don't have a particular ranking, though.

 

[purpleoscar]

Yeah sure. Within those ranges I don't have a particular ranking, though.

I'll just use the order as it is since it's what you thought of first to type in. Like reading an inkblot.

 

[corianderstem]

I have a hard time ranking the albums in general.

Like, I can easily rank my top three or so, but everything else (even the bottom ones) is tough.

 

[purpleoscar]

I have a hard time ranking the albums in general.

Like, I can easily rank my top three or so, but everything else (even the bottom ones) is tough.

I just rate the songs out of 10 and average it and see where it goes. Another way that could be good is to count the number of absolute perfect songs (in your opinion) on each album and try and rate it based on that. If there are ties then go with your sentimental value of the album.

 

[birdman]

Does not compute. Please explain.

IMO (which isn't worth anything ), it sounds like a discarded James Bond theme song.

 

[phanan]

I may have missed it, in the flow of conversation, but Phanan, have you bothered to give California another shot? It seems to be the one song people are most coming around to with repeated listens and it seemed like you may have deleted it a little hastily.

I have, and while I don't hate it as much as before, it's still my least favorite on the album. The intro is laughable, and Bono's vocal delivery throughout is weak, but I do find the music to be ok.

I also think having three pop style songs in a row is a bit overkill for them. The first half of the album works much better with EBW going straight into Song For Someone. And the two songs pair up well. So with Invisible included, you go with this:

The Miracle
Invisible
Every Breaking Wave
Song For Someone
Iris

California would have been fine as a deluxe bonus track.

 

[u2popmofo]

I like EBW 10x more than I probably should.

Me too, it's definitely one of my favs from this album.

 

[birdman]

Just saw Chris Martin's Fight Club-esque cameo in White House Down, not sure what to make of that.

 

[gvox]

I think Volcano is clearly going to be one of the live staples on the tour.

We can all imagine Bono doing his lunging/screaming/punching bit during the "YOU! ARE! ROCK AND ROLL!" part.

For the love of Pete no


Sent from my ass crack

 

[mikal]

I got really wasted tonight and blasted the new album. It was a great experience.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[namkcuR]

Bono's vocal delivery throughout is weak, but I do find the music to be ok.

See, that doesn't compute with me. The "stolen days you don't give back" line at the end is one of my favorite vocal deliveries on the album, it gets me every time. I can feel Bono putting everything into it there.

Different strokes I guess.

 

[birdman]

See, that doesn't compute with me. The "stolen days you don't give back" line at the end is one of my favorite vocal deliveries on the album, it gets me every time. I can feel Bono putting everything into it there.



Different strokes I guess.

Although I love California, I do get the impression that it's most suited for a soundtrack to an early 2000s rom com film, starring Hugh Grant.

Songs for Richard Curtis, more like.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[lazarus]

But where No Line still feels desperate and schizophrenic, Songs of Innocence has remarkable cohesion.

I think the reason for this is the sequencing: the more slickly-produced tracks being clustered at the front of the album conveys the theme of wide-eyed forays into the world

Great write-up, overall. But I think what you wrote above is why ultimately the album is going to "work" better than No Line in the long run. An album that keeps getting better as it goes along is going to be preferable to one with a giant poop-filled hole in the middle, even if it has great bookends.

I don't think I'd call No Line "desperate", though. They were coming off another successful tour, a decent-selling album, and a Grammy for Album Of The Year. I think they were exploring on No Line, and only got cold feet near the end when they tried to add those big hits. But that album should have been their freebie (much like Zooropa), and they didn't have the conviction to take it all the way.

 

[lazarus]

See, that doesn't compute with me. The "stolen days you don't give back" line at the end is one of my favorite vocal deliveries on the album, it gets me every time. I can feel Bono putting everything into it there.

Yeah, that's a really great moment.

The song is deceptively fun but actually resonates deeper the more I listen to it.

 

[powerhour24]

As ridiculous as it is, the intro is actually my favorite thing about that song.

 

[powerhour24]

I have a hard time ranking the albums in general.

Like, I can easily rank my top three or so, but everything else (even the bottom ones) is tough.

This.

 

[namkcuR]

I just posted this over in the rankings thread. Time can change things, but I think this is where I'm at right now.

1. Achtung Baby
2. The Joshua Tree
3. Zooropa
4. TIE: UF/Pop
6. Boy
7. Rattle And Hum
8. SOI
9. War
10. October
11. ATYCLB
12. NLOTH
13. HTDAAB

Probably the most controversial things would be putting SOI above War and putting Boy that high.

War has some unassailable classics on it, and to be sure, I'd take New Year's Day or Sunday Bloody Sunday, maybe even Drowning Man, over anything on SOI, but I feel that SOI is a little more consistent front-to-back.

I just think Boy is one of the most cohesive, energetic, and exciting records in their catalog. They were so young and free of the weight of fame and legacy and record label expectations and being "U2" and all of that. They would never again sound that uninhibited.

Also, I feel like a lot of people are giving R&H the shaft. Of the nine studio tracks, they're mostly damn good, imo.

The top 5 haven't changed in a long time, and I'm not sure they will.

I feel like #8 is a fair balance between being enthusiastic about a new record while not disrespecting the classics that came before by displacing them for a record that isn't yet a week old.

 

[powerhour24]

I'm with you there on Boy, and it seems a lot of the board is actually, it was ranking around there with a lot of people.

Rattle and Hum gets slighted probably for taking the same track as The Joshua Tree but with much of the subtlety and originality traded in for masquerading and posturing. There are some amazing tracks on it though: Heartland, All I Want is You, Hawkmoon 269. I also unabashedly love Angel of Harlem, it's a song that can almost always improve my mood.

 

[martha]

I think they were exploring on No Line, and only got cold feet near the end when they tried to add those big hits. But that album should have been their freebie (much like Zooropa), and they didn't have the conviction to take it all the way.

I agree. And it makes me sad to think of what No Line could have been.

 

[powerhour24]

I agree. And it makes me sad to think of what No Line could have been.

This. Between what we got, and what we heard behind the scenes, I think the material for it to have been their 3rd masterwork behind AB and JT is in their vaults.

 

[lazarus]

I just posted this over in the rankings thread. Time can change things, but I think this is where I'm at right now.

1. Achtung Baby
2. The Joshua Tree
3. Zooropa
4. TIE: UF/Pop
6. Boy
7. Rattle And Hum
8. SOI
9. War
10. October
11. ATYCLB
12. NLOTH
13. HTDAAB

Probably the most controversial things would be putting SOI above War and putting Boy that high.

War has some unassailable classics on it, and to be sure, I'd take New Year's Day or Sunday Bloody Sunday, maybe even Drowning Man, over anything on SOI, but I feel that SOI is a little more consistent front-to-back.

I just think Boy is one of the most cohesive, energetic, and exciting records in their catalog. They were so young and free of the weight of fame and legacy and record label expectations and being "U2" and all of that. They would never again sound that uninhibited.

Also, I feel like a lot of people are giving R&H the shaft. Of the nine studio tracks, they're mostly damn good, imo.

The top 5 haven't changed in a long time, and I'm not sure they will.

I feel like #8 is a fair balance between being enthusiastic about a new record while not disrespecting the classics that came before by displacing them for a record that isn't yet a week old.

I'm with you there on Boy, and it seems a lot of the board is actually, it was ranking around there with a lot of people.

Rattle and Hum gets slighted probably for taking the same track as The Joshua Tree but with much of the subtlety and originality traded in for masquerading and posturing. There are some amazing tracks on it though: Heartland, All I Want is You, Hawkmoon 269. I also unabashedly love Angel of Harlem, it's a song that can almost always improve my mood.

Rattle & Hum, with the live stuff/covers removed and the outtakes added, would be a formidable album. But overall I do a lot of skipping.

Boy is impressive, but doesn't finish that strong to me. And it's very homogenous, which is a big negative for me. War may have The Refugee and Red Light but it has 4 stone-cold classics and more variety.