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allcub said:
My tuppenceworth...

U2 are the damned - Damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Bono is cliched or trite or a parody of himself whether he sings about love or loss or lightness or darkness or politics or the world in crisis or anything at all. Whether they return to their old form or whether they break new ground most reviewers just want them to crash and burn already.

U2 are also perhaps one of the biggest troll magnets on the planet and many of these reviewers are just glorified trolls. By all means give a negative review if you can back it up with some strong arguments and a critical insight; but very few of the reviewers seem to offer any basis for their critique beyond blatant prejudice. Hence there is no consensus amongst the naysayers and one reviewers standout track is contradicted as another one’s low point. And it really proves that these beautifully crafted songs are just being spat out without being tasted or savored at all, for the simple reason that most of these people have either had a bellyful of U2 and they can’t stomach any more or they just can’t even allow themselves to be seen to favor the band in any way at all, and that really is a shame. It’s like the opposite to the emperors new clothes. They’re saying the emperor is naked when clearly he is dressed in the finest of handcrafted embellished gowns. The world of the biased and prejudiced music “critic” simply doesn’t want to listen to an extremely wealthy motormouthed Bono singing of his fears for his family and the world at large from the idyllic surroundings of his Ivory tower on Vico Road and hence they refuse to acknowledge what U2 have accomplished here.

In the end it won’t really matter because these songs really do speak for themselves and they will do even moreso in time. What the band have accomplished here and delivered for their fans is nothing short of astounding. The last time I immersed myself and enjoyed an album to this extent was Achtung Baby. The songs are so rich and layered and most of the songs although they feel familiar, just sound like nothing else out there.

Just to give a little insight on how this album affects me; I took a road trip last night just as the sun was setting and it was a clear frosty winter sky and a relatively empty motorway ahead of me and when I pressed play on Love is All We Have Left...the landscape suddenly took on an eerie quality. Like that scene from Watership Down where the rabbit sees the blood bleeding from the horizon into the landscape. I love that. U2’s ability to emote and create atmosphere to that extent satisfies me no end (coupled with my imagination).

From that achingly sublime first track right through to the last track, there’s just song (Lights of Home) after song (Summer of Love) after song (Red Flag Day) after song (The Little Things) after song (Landlady) after song (Love is Bigger Than...) that simply blow me away. It really is no time not to be alive and a great time just to be a U2 fan.
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Great commentary. I have decided to settle myself to the fact that I love crappy music and leave it at that. :wink:
 
Headache in a Suitcase said:
Hey kids

Remember when you all made fun of the Rolling Stones when they released Voodoo Lounge and Bridges To Babylon?

Yea. Now you know how it feels.

Relax, have a glass of wine that these young whipper snappers can't even afford, and don't give a turkey about what some douche who dictates to you what the "exciting music" is says.

But remember, you were once that douche.
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I think voodoo lounge is a great record!
 
Another review from a Belgian newspaper (De Standaard),

Platgepolijste kwetsbaarheid - De Standaard

3/5 stars.

They find it a record that has good ideas, but find it a bit overproduced. The title of the review is "Overpolished Vulnerability". It's a review that does not intentionally bash the band at all, says the lyrics are good but that the sound is sometimes too bombastic in comparison to the message the songs want to convey.

I do not get this criticism at all. Does anyone agree with this? Curious to get some opinions.
 
Jmoro said:
Another review from a Belgian newspaper (De Standaard),

Platgepolijste kwetsbaarheid - De Standaard

3/5 stars.

They find it a record that has good ideas, but find it a bit overproduced. The title of the review is "Overpolished Vulnerability". It's a review that does not intentionally bash the band at all, says the lyrics are good but that the sound is sometimes too bombastic in comparison to the message the songs want to convey.

I do not get this criticism at all. Does anyone agree with this? Curious to get some opinions.
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The level of polish is interesting...I think some songs sound over-polished, while others sound very simple. If anyone is going to take U2 to task for being too bombastic.....well they haven't really been paying attention to the last 40 years. :lol:
 
ajax said:
the guardian: 4 stars out of 5.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2...w-emotional-uplift?CMP=twt_a-music_b-gdnmusic
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Great to see. The Guardian is a big one. They gave 3 stars to SOI.

Several big reviews are still to come, including Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.

It’s important to note that the two most-read reviews in America will be Rolling Stone and the AP review, which will appear in papers/websites across the country — and both of those reviews are very positive.
 
That's a good review from the Guardian and as expected from Alexis Petridis its well written and a decent length too.
 
Petridis is always good. Not to be elitist, but print publications generally employ better critics than websites.
 
https://oor.nl/albums/u2-songs-of-experience/

a dutch leading music magazine.
Its hard to tell if its positive or not...
It starts out with all the clichés and saying that its u2 by numbers but ends with him saying something like that its majestic
Hmm.. better review than for SOI
Because that was burned to the ground
 
jakehu said:
Hi Renno, fellow baggie if I remember !. Yes, the stokes situation is odd. The back up bowlers are not up to it. Can't say I am a pardew fan but anything is better than pulis.
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Sorry to all fellow u2 fans if this is totally off subject :)

Mate pulis was the worse thing to ever happen to the club in my eyes. I've been going up since 93. There's never been a manager that's made me feel so disinterested and fed up as he did. I lost my love and passion for the club. He sucked the life out of it for me.

People say " o well he keeps you up" which my reply would be what's the point I've lost interest if I don't care anymore what is the point. He can stick his 10th-16th place finshes up his backside. If I've lost interest and all I do is check the score at 5pm on a Saturday it doesn't really matter what's happening

All I want is to look forward to the games, to enjoy them, to know the teams gonna go out for a win from the get go. Regardless of the division. That doesn't concern me, that's all I ask for ,enjoyment. I'll go what ever league were in. From my point of view its 1 million times worse watching pulis football then actually going down. I was so pleased ( can you tell )

I go as much as I can now, Used to be away and home but I have a young family now so I go as much as I can. That middle 3rd last season I thought we were superb, pulis was winning me round then from the end of February we collapsed and that's what's cost him the job, we've never recovered

I went Tuesday night. Really looked forward to the game. The atmosphere amongst people in the pubs before the game was electric. You could just tell everyone was happy. It's a shame we let the 2 goal lead slip but there was so many positives to take, we played football and I enjoyed it and walked out like I'd had a good nights entertainment and the urge to go again Saturday.that's what it's all about for me. It's a form of entertainment and pulis was anti entertainment!

Pardew I'd take any day over pulis, I'd take Mickey Mouse over pulis. Has a record of turning clubs round, playing good football and having cup runs. Sounds great to me. After 18 months he will probably collapse but we will cross that bridge when we come to it :)

I'd could go on all day :)

Boing boing
 
I find it kind of funny that since some negative reviews have come in from critics, that I've seen people here start to soften their love for the album. That's pretty sad. Love it or don't, but don't let some random bitter critic or a entire publication with a giant grudge determine what you think about it.

I actually was kinda bummed after reading some reviews, so I didn't listen at all last night, got in the car this morning and told myself to listen to it with fresh, more critical ears. try and see the negative.
And hell if i didn't like it more. LOL.
I just really like the large majority of the songs here, and i like them a lot.
I don't think the Showman will ever be a song i like, even though lots of the critics pick that one out as one they like. American Soul, is what it is. I think as U2 fans, we are tired of that sort of song from the band, and even a song like Get Out, cause we've heard it before, we are too familiar with that type of sound from the band. But it seems to go over better with the non-big fans.

Anyway - turn off the noise. Turn up the music. Enjoy.
 
https://www.hotpress.com/news/U2s-iSongs-of-Experiencei-Track-By-Track/21432002.html

Music/News: 30 Nov 2017, 11:33
Olaf Tyaransen

U2's Songs of Experience: Track By Track
U2’S fourteenth studio album Songs of Experience – a companion piece to 2013’s Songs of Innocence – is set for release tomorrow, December 1. Olaf Tyaransen takes quick scoot through the album track by track, offering a tantalising taste of what to expect…

‘LOVE IS ALL WE HAVE LEFT’

“Nothing to stop this being the best day ever/ Nothing to keep us from where we should be/ I wanted the world but you knew better/ and that all we have is immortality.”

An eerie opener that sees Bono singing to his younger self, made all the more strange and poignant by the digital distortion of his vocals at midpoint. It is an intriguing way to open the album.

‘LIGHTS OF HOME’

“I shouldn’t be here cause I should be dead/ I can see the lights in front of me/ I believe my best days are ahead/ I can see the lights in front of me.”

The opening lines of ‘Lights of Home' reference the singer’s brush with his own mortality last year. L.A. rockers Haim assist on the chorus. Fascinatingly, the song’s main riff is lifted from their 2014 single ‘My Song 5’. A classic piece of U2 re-positioning, then...

‘YOU’RE THE BEST THING ABOUT ME’

“When you look so good/ the pain in your face doesn’t show/ When you look so good/ and baby you don’t even know.” This is the first of two songs that are written with impressive directness about Bono’s wife, Ali Hewson. The first single from the album was apparently inspired by a disparaging comment onetime U2 biographer Eamon Dunphy made about the band’s lead singer: “The best thing about Bono is Ali.”

‘GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY’

“Love hurts/ Now you’re the girl who’s left with no words/ Your heart’s a balloon but then it bursts/ It doesn’t take a cannon just a pin/ Your skin’s no covering.” Imagined as an open letter to Bono’s daughters, the latest single ends with a brilliant Kendrick Lamar “cracked preacher” rant segueing into the next track. The fact that the band have formed a mutual appreciation society with one of the most crucial figures in hip hop gives an effective two fingers to the naysayers.

‘AMERICAN SOUL’

“It’s not a place/ This country is to me/ a sound of drum and bass.” This is not, needless to say, the first time U2 have written a song about America (nor is it the first time we've heard these particular lines - they featured in Kendrick Lamar's 'XXX.' track earlier this year). But, in a world distorted by Trump’s low rent presidency, its rousing chorus of “You are rock ‘n’ roll” ensures that this one is going to be a live favourite during next year’s Experience + Innocence Tour.

‘SUMMER OF LOVE’

“I’ve been thinking ‘bout the west coast/ Not the one that everyone knows/ In the rubble of Aleppo/ blooming in the shadows/ for a summer of love.” This is a perfect way to follow a song about America. Hauntingly melodic and impassioned, ‘Summer of Love’ is the first of two tracks addressing the Syrian refugee crisis.

‘RED FLAG DAY’

“I am made of all that I’m afraid of/ Most afraid of losing you/ Hell’s the season/ You’re the reason/ That I even dreamt of getting through.” This is an old school-sounding rocker that flashes back to U2’s mid-‘80s period – and will appeal to long-standing fans of the band in particular.

‘THE SHOWMAN (LITTLE MORE BETTER)’

“Baby’s crying cause it’s born to sing/ Singers cry about everything/ Still in the playground falling off a swing/ But you know that I know.” Anyone who thinks that U2 take themselves too seriously hasn’t got a clue. This is a hugely self-deprecating snapshot of a rock ‘n’ roll star. Wonder who it could be…

‘THE LITTLE THINGS THAT GIVE YOU AWAY

“The night gave you a song/ A light had been turned on/ You walked out in the world/ like you belonged there.” This haunting ballad is a serious grower. It was the only track from Songs of Experience that U2 played on The Joshua Tree Tour and I gave them stick for the fact that they closed their Dublin show with it But here you can tell that it is one aster

‘LANDLADY’

“And I’ll never know/ never know what starving poets meant/ Cause when I was broke/ It was you that always paid the rent.” Another impassioned love letter to Ali. It may be a long time since Bono was broke, but the truth is that – like most young rock ’n’ roll bands – U2 had to battle through a stage when very few people turned up for gigs and earning money was next-to-impossible. Could Bono have carried it off without Ali, who was earning a wage at the time? Either way this is his ‘thank you’ note.

‘THE BLACKOUT’

“Dinosaur wonders why it still walks the Earth/ Yeah, a meteor, promises it’s not gonna hurt, yeah.”

Some people might see this as the album’s ‘Bullet The Blue Sky’. One of the heavier-sounding songs on Songs of Experience, ‘The Blackout’ sees Bono addressing the political turmoil in the world: “Statues fall/ democracy is flat on its back, Jack.” Time to hit the road?

‘LOVE IS BIGGER THAN ANYTHING IN ITS WAY’

“If the moonlight caught you crying on Killiney Bay?/ Oh sing your song/ Let your song be sung/ If you listen you can hear the silence say/ When you think you’re done/ You’ve just begun.”

There is an element of introspection here. The sentiment is an optimistic one, despite an undercurrent of sadness. That said, the lyrics are harder to decipher than is most often true of U2. Clearly, Bono had some kind of late night epiphany on the beach in front of his house.

’13 (THERE IS A LIGHT)’

“I’ve got a question for the child in you before it leaves/ Are you tough enough to be kind?/ Do you know that your heart has its own mind?”

This is another classic U2 strategy, ending the album on a kind of hymnal note. Addressed to Bono’s sons, this beautiful album closer nods back to Songs of Innocence track ‘Song For Someone’. It is one that you can hear being sung by huge, stadium-sized crowds.
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I find it kind of funny that since some negative reviews have come in from critics, that I've seen people here start to soften their love for the album. That's pretty sad. Love it or don't, but don't let some random bitter critic or a entire publication with a giant grudge determine what you think about it. <br />
<br />
I actually was kinda bummed after reading some reviews, so I didn't listen at all last night, got in the car this morning and told myself to listen to it with fresh, more critical ears. try and see the negative. <br />
And hell if i didn't like it more. LOL. <br />
I just really like the large majority of the songs here, and i like them a lot. <br />
I don't think the Showman will ever be a song i like, even though lots of the critics pick that one out as one they like. American Soul, is what it is. I think as U2 fans, we are tired of that sort of song from the band, and even a song like Get Out, cause we've heard it before, we are too familiar with that type of sound from the band. But it seems to go over better with the non-big fans. <br />
<br />
Anyway - turn off the noise. Turn up the music. Enjoy.

I completely agree..
I dont take reviews by the nme and other obvious haters that serious anyway.
 
I wonder how U2 will take what appears to be a lukewarm reception to the album? They are very sensitive to how they are perceived, especially in regards to their music.

I think if they went in a total zooropa route they still get shit on by most, and the criticism would have been “Old rockers U2 trying to be hip and cool, stick to what you know!!”

I hope that they do go on a more atmospheric path for their next album. It wasn’t realistic for them at this stage of their career to have a massive hit, so adding another 3-6 years for another album and no way.

So make the music you really want U2
 
U2’s reaction to lukewarm reception - the next album will feature duets with Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars and covers of Maroon 5 tunes.

They won’t go the atmospheric path. That ship has sailed. The Edge is the one in charge of steering the sonic direction and he won’t even do a solo anymore.

Anyway, SOE gets better and better with each listen. I fear it might be the last greatness before chart success neurosis paralyzes them.
 
purpleblackeye said:
U2’s reaction to lukewarm reception - the next album will feature duets with Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars and covers of Maroon 5 tunes.

They won’t go the atmospheric path. That ship has sailed. The Edge is the one in charge of steering the sonic direction and he won’t even do a solo anymore.

Anyway, SOE gets better and better with each listen. I fear it might be the last greatness before chart success neurosis paralyzes them.
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Nah.

It will, as it'll be the last one and they won't give a turkey.
 
cseggleton said:
Not to be a stalker but you take a look at the backgrounds of some of these writers and it is hilarious they are allowed to write...I know everyone has an opinion but it just shows how lazy these news outlets are. For example Terence Crawley of the GlobeI
LinkedIn profile:
I am seeking a career that will allow me to have a positive impact on the world, whether that be by working to improve the health and well-being of the global population through the biological sciences, by informing and educating through my journalistic writing, or through some combination of the two. I am passionate about contributing to society through both my scholarly endeavors and my active community service.
and
I assist in the day-to-day operations of the Living and Arts sections of The Boston Globe by managing social media accounts and researching/writing various recurring features, among other responsibilities. I also pitch and write original stories for these sections.
and
Worked in Northeastern University Professor Phyllis Strauss' laboratory to learn skills necessary to work in biochemistry lab (keeping lab journal, writing lab reports, operating lab equipment, etc.). Received course credit for completion of the directed study program.
and
I wrote a lazy hatchet job of a review on a U2 album once!! oh well bed time!
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It's time for you to step away from the computer.
 
BEAL said:
I wonder how U2 will take what appears to be a lukewarm reception to the album? They are very sensitive to how they are perceived, especially in regards to their music.

I think if they went in a total zooropa route they still get shit on by most, and the criticism would have been “Old rockers U2 trying to be hip and cool, stick to what you know!!”

I hope that they do go on a more atmospheric path for their next album. It wasn’t realistic for them at this stage of their career to have a massive hit, so adding another 3-6 years for another album and no way.

So make the music you really want U2
Click to expand...



Can we really call it a lukewarm reaction? Considering there are just as many positive reviews?
 
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