Sanchez
War Child
So this is just a limited time thing? Makes sense to have something like this ongoing.
SOE 35 - it’s finally here, let the debate on how good/bad it is begin!
- Thread starter dabiggestu2fan
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So this is just a limited time thing? Makes sense to have something like this ongoing.
The Disciple
New Yorker
You're right about the tweaks. The one that bothers me is how Edge's vocal in his part towards the end (which he NAILS - and makes the song truly take off) is lowered on the album version.
Catman
Rock n' Roll Doggie
The only piece that comes to mind is Landlady--the coda at the end really hits me, and I think a fadeout would've better suited the song, especially as it transitions into Blackout, which is quite a sonic shift. But that's about it.
American Soul, however, has too much breathing room, and I'd prefer it had the band cut its oxygen supply off much sooner [emoji14]
david
ONE love, blood, life
Summer of Love, based off the sample I heard, has a cool Time of The Season by The Zombies vibe (as the U Talking U2 to Me? Guys tried to point out).
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gvox
Ghost of Love
You’ll note my posts have been crafted very carefully of late.
Guess my #1 status is secure
Eh hem... #1 is taken.You’ll note my posts have been crafted very carefully of late.
Guess my #1 status is secure
gvox
Ghost of Love
womanfish
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
I'm loving this album. I liked it from the start and it is constantly growing with each listen. It's a very well crafted piece, full of beautiful rhythms, harmonies and incredible melodies, and strong lyrics overall. I have been listening to the previously released songs (The Little Things, The Blackout, Best Thing, GOOYOW, and American Soul) quite a lot (maybe too much?), which took away some of the surprise and novelty of the album for me, but I still like these songs and do not feel the need to skip them (except "American Soul").
Upon first contact, I was surprised and very curious with "Love is all we have left". Sounded pretty, but somewhat odd; I could not "grasp" it fully, and suddenly it was over. After further listening, I find this song amazing. Smooth, ethereal and with an otherworldly vibe built around strings, an eerie organ(?)/synthesizer and the occasional vocoder. The lyrics are simply beautiful, and the interplay between human-Bono and vocoder-Bono(s) is quite magical, very mooving. Pure poetry.
"Lights of Home" comes with the Haim riff from "Song nº5" in a gritty steel acoustic guitar - which sounds great - and a whole lot more. It's a beautiful, uplifting rock song, mixing U2ness with some "Beatles spice", but sounding very modern. I thoroughly enjoy the outro(?) harkening back to "Iris" (my favorite song from SOI, tied with Cedarwood Road - Raised by Wolves and The Troubles are close seconds). The touch of female voices in the outro is sweet. This song made me tear-up several times, mostly at the end.
"The best thing" is a cool track, propelled by simple and catchy guitar and bass riff s. This song sounds "simple" and unpretentious overall, but ends up sticking to your brain. The outro with Edge singing is the highlight of the song. The song fits well within the album.
GOOYOW is another gorgeous song. Very well put together and uplifting. I love the lyrics and the flow in this. The song does have a certain "Beautiful Day feel" to it, which is ok. I actually prefer this to Beautiful Day (actually, I was never a big fan of Beautiful Day and thought ATYCLB had much more better songs, though it is undeniably a good song).
"American Soul" is the song I like the least on SOE. I do try to enjoy it , the beginning and verses are cool and groovy, but the chorus is overly repetitive (especially at the end) and it gets annoying. I don't think my distaste is due to the re-using of Volcano/Glastonburry parts per se, but more about the excessive repetitiveness of it. The song would improve quite a bit by removing the last repetition of the chorus after the breakdown and just ending there.
"Summer of Love" is gorgeously smooth and groovy. Every musician is interplaying beautifully, percussion, bass and guitar tones are spot on, as is Bono's vocal, and the result is infectious. The sonics and lyrics contrast beautifully, blooming with a sexy, luscious feel, while discussing consequences of war and lessons nature teaches in that context. The bridge is awesome, but I wish the female backing vocal (Lady Gaga?) was louder in the mix. Should be a single.
Red Flag Day! Awesome tune. Sounds like U2 went back to circa 1983 with some extra groove and experience, and made a rocking "surf song" about war refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean sea. Again, contrasting with the dark lyrical theme, the sonics are vibrant and groovy, with super U2ness in vocal melodies AND backing vocals. Again, the interplay between the four musicians is mesmerizing. Single material.
I did not care much about "The Showman" at first. I still don't, but it is slowly growing on me. It is a nice song and it does remind me a lot of early Beatles. It sounds a bit "corny" and not very original, but it is catchy, and it is ear-candy. I don't understand a lot of the lyrics yet, so this will likely influence my opinion of the song.
"The Little Things" is astonishing. It is so beautiful and atmospheric. It builds up slowly, with the masterful instrumentation unraveling gradually, until it becomes a huge wave of sound. Edge's work is nothing short of amazing. The lyrics are deep, emotional and resonate. I loved this song in its live renditions, and I love it even more now.
"Landlady"... What a beauty. Another subtle song that develops gradually, but with a much lighter vibe, relieving the tension in "The Little Things". The ending reminds me of "North and South of the River", which is a good thing.
"The Blackout" comes to stir things up again. This is a great song. Heavy and funky. Adam and Larry are monsters here, and Edge's work is subtle but amazing as usual. I agree with other Interferences that think Edge should be louder in the mix, especially in the verses. But I still love this song. At first it felt a bit strange to have "The Blackout" located where it is , but with more listens I think it makes sense. It's a realization of the darkness in the world, and that we can be the light shining through. It brings tension back, before the final resolution.
"Love is bigger than anything in its way" follow suit, and like a marvel. This song also made me tear-up several times. It is almost cheesy, but it is not. It is beautifully emotional and heartfelt. It's also a grower. Bono really delivers here. The outro is heavenly, wrapping up the song .
"13" somehow makes a pair with the first song. This song surprised me and made me cry. Such a deep, meaningful song of experience. It employs "Song for Someone" motifs in a different, soberer context, and it works like magic. I love this song (and I never cared much for "Song for Someone"). I wonder if that distorted sound during the choruses is Edge's guitar or something else - reminds me of Scotish pipes. This song closes the album beautifully.
ps.: "Book of your heart" is amazing. After one listen I did not get it. Then, upon further listening, it sounds like 21th century Unforgettable Fire. The "vibe" of this song swept me off my feet. Edge does an incredible job, alternating between his trademark chime and sultry slide guitar, accompanied by great bass and synthesizers. At the end Bono kind of incorporates a Spaniard bard or something like thatIt should be in the album proper, no doubt whatsoever. I would gladly swap it with "American Soul".
Overall this is a great album. It flows really well and the majority of songs are strong, emotional, and have connection and staying power. It is a luscious album, but has a lot of subtlety. I understand and appreciate the use of SOI motifs here, as it has mostly worked really well. I also think it makes a statement about the quality of SOI and the overall SOI-SOE duo, considering SOI was unfairly judged based on the release method, and not the songs. I think U2 will get a lot of people off-guard with this album, by gathering strength from adversity and experience, and transforming it into a high quality musical opus, once again.
Very, very close to my assessment. Although i LOVE, Love is All..., its just a really amazing tune. Feel the same as you do about American Soul and The Showman, sadly.
Glad you love it!
hasin73
Refugee
What ?!?! Cold-coffee's horrible last album is nominated in the rock category !! Are you sure ? Or is this a joke ?
Catman
Rock n' Roll Doggie
I don't really have an issue with GOOYOW's place on the record, but mainly with the music itself... Strictly my opinion, but of all the songs on the album, it's the tune that sounds most "redundant," for lack of a better term, to what one might expect a 21st century U2 pop song to sound like. Again, i don't find the song to be some aural catastrophe, but rather just simply unremarkable.
What, I start the list a year in advance to be #2? Fuck outta here
gvox
Ghost of Love
Shhhh I was talking about our ultra secret list
The one we don’t tweet about
There was one song from that EP of theirs that was actually really good - Aliens. Sadly it was a left over from their last good album Viva La Vida when Brian Eno was at the helm. That was a superb record in my opinion. But you're right - their A Head Full Of Dreams thing was just utter tripe. Embarrassing, infantile, dishonestly 'happy' pile of vomit. The sounds and lyrics of a man in Chris Martin who is having a mid life crisis and quite simply not acting his age.
If it's any comfort to you, the Grammy's didn't nominate Ed Sheeran for a single award. So they've made a small crumb of effort to make themselves look vaguely serious about music.
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Current check in location is section 403, row a, seat 12.
where do i find it?
It's less that Coldplay's album was nominated for an album of the year award, and more that, ya know, it wasn't a full album.
trevgreg
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Would be some interesting song titles there...
A Head Full of Mid-Life Crisis
Exotic Car for the Weekend
Hypertension of a Lifetime
Hairline of One
TinKnight
Refugee
I feel like no one is discussing the crossover appeal of Landlady. It really captures the feelings and emotions of Bono's love for his wife AND probably also people in love with their landladies.
scrumpyjsk
The Fly
The official verdict is in.
I just did a forensic analysis of each U2 album, based on my ratings of each song and my overall rating for album 'feel'.
Songs of Experience just clocked in behind The Joshua Tree & Achtung Baby (in that order). It bumped Pop by four-hundreths of a point to get there.
If these songs hold up to my initial reaction, this is (for me their third-best album). It is not in masterpiece territory, but a very good best-of-the-rest, which I find remarkable & unexpected.
This is U2's best album since Achtung Baby.
As an aside, I have SOI in 10th place.
I just did a forensic analysis of each U2 album, based on my ratings of each song and my overall rating for album 'feel'.
Songs of Experience just clocked in behind The Joshua Tree & Achtung Baby (in that order). It bumped Pop by four-hundreths of a point to get there.
If these songs hold up to my initial reaction, this is (for me their third-best album). It is not in masterpiece territory, but a very good best-of-the-rest, which I find remarkable & unexpected.
This is U2's best album since Achtung Baby.
As an aside, I have SOI in 10th place.
Where did you get this? Can you give me the link please? c.wolbers@live.nl Thanks !I download the 320 kbps deluxe edition. Larry's drum sound awesome
Hollow Island
New Yorker
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2011
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strings version of Lights of Home gets better and better!
U2freakboy
War Child
- Joined
- May 6, 2005
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- 703
Unfortunately, he actually did. He received two nominations for Pop Solo Performance and Pop Vocal Album. But overall, he was snubbed — as he should have been.
I’m wondering if someone has U2 fever with this release... I just walked into my client company’s cafeteria to buy a cup of tea, and they were playing the UABRS version of Gloria when they usually play pretty generic pop hits. Not normal corporate cafeteria music.
womanfish
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Just gotta talk about - atmosphere...
Im' so loving the soft, cushiony atmosphere of songs like -
Love is All We Have...
Landlady
Little Things
Love is Bigger
13
and in a lesser extent Red Flag Day and Get Out...
There's a softness and fullness and also some just plain cool beds that give these songs more "body" and emotion.
It reminds me of another great album by Rilo Kiley - Under The Blacklight. It just has such an amazing atmosphere that runs through the whole album, it really makes it special.
SOE doesn't have it on all songs, but many. And I notice that it is much more absent on SOI, The production there is much more bright, and crispy. Bonos vocals especially seemed very sharp on SOI, where this album it seems more comforting and full.
Maybe purposeful, but probably not.
Im' so loving the soft, cushiony atmosphere of songs like -
Love is All We Have...
Landlady
Little Things
Love is Bigger
13
and in a lesser extent Red Flag Day and Get Out...
There's a softness and fullness and also some just plain cool beds that give these songs more "body" and emotion.
It reminds me of another great album by Rilo Kiley - Under The Blacklight. It just has such an amazing atmosphere that runs through the whole album, it really makes it special.
SOE doesn't have it on all songs, but many. And I notice that it is much more absent on SOI, The production there is much more bright, and crispy. Bonos vocals especially seemed very sharp on SOI, where this album it seems more comforting and full.
Maybe purposeful, but probably not.
U2freakboy
War Child
- Joined
- May 6, 2005
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- 703
The guys on U Talkin U2 to Me called Love is Bigger the album’s penultimate song. While there are many close rivals, I can’t say I disagree.
trevgreg
Rock n' Roll Doggie
"Penultimate"? Well, yeah, since its the second-to-last track. Unless I'm missing something?
U2freakboy
War Child
- Joined
- May 6, 2005
- Messages
- 703
Ha! Many people also use the word to describe something as the very best — which may not be the correct definition of the word, but I believe that’s how they were using it.
Oh! Well I suppose the glorified busker lives to fight another day. I'm sure he'll get another opportunity to deploy his 'guy next door, sensitive soul, getting over one of his exes' schtick that he has done for the last few years.
What are the chances that his next album will include a lyric like 'Girl you didn't know what you had but now you see me rocking with Taylor Swift while you're working your McDonald's night shift' or something close to that shitty, school boy rap shit that he's become renowned for?
30 years ago it was The Joshua Tree that was getting all the nods. How far mainstream music has fallen.
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trevgreg
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Huh... never heard it used in that context myself. But if that is another meaning for it and the guys used it in that particular way, then it's new to me! And good news for the song, of course.
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