"VIRGINS REVIEW" thread!

[salim117]

Ok, after weeks of self-torture and constraint I got my Collector's edition and the regular version. Best Buy had them both on sale($35 total!).
I have heard the album 4 times so far and Its interersting how my opinion has changed after each listen.

1st listen: After having read all the reviews on this board and by the critics I was falling into a state of schitzophrenia! Lots of expectations combined with a sensce of dread, anxiety, and excitement. So I couldn't really apreaciate it. I was comparing notes on every song, expecting certain things. 6.5/10

2nd listen: I start "hearing" the songs better. All the little things start becoming more apearant. Still, cluttered by preconception, the album (apart from ABOY & CFYT) has not sunk in. 7/10

3rd listen: I'm home alone and crank up my sound system and "bang,boom,crash"!It hits me like a bolt of lightning! All my previous thoughts and opinions disappear! The album is awesome! MD finally makes sense after all the hype! LPOE is crazy, rocking and profound.Only a handful of bands can pull stuff like this off!. Then comes COBL & ABOY and I am just floored with amazement of how powerful this first half of the album is. Man and woman is a great track, still need to hear a few more times but will sure be a favorite. Crumbs is so far my favorite track on the album. Love edges guitar playing, then again That's redundant because pretty much every song review could be finished off by saying " love edges guitar play !". Then comes the end of the album. What can I say, I can't remember a U2 album that finishes off the strong! OOTS, Yahweh, OSC, and fast cars are all solid to great tracks! 8.5/10

4th listen: I'm hooked, the entire album is fantastic! every track is solid. No skipping around this album ! it's still too early to say whether it's up there with actung baby, but I want to keep hearing it over and over and over again ! 9/10

to be continued........

 

[jcool]

A MAn and a woman....when I heard it...i hated it,,,but now i love it.

 

[salim117]

A MAn and a woman....when I heard it...i hated it,,,but now i love it.

When I first heard it, I didn't hate it but wasn't really impressed. Thought it was the Wild Honey of the album but after a few more listening I think it's a much stronger song than WH. Adams bass play is great on this track! Its definitly a grower!

 

[Irvine511]

it's really really wonderful. i honestly couldn't have asked for more. and the songs get much better with each listen, and especially after you watch some of them done acousticly/live on the DVD. these are very, very durable songs that are going to last a while, while transforming live.

the best: COBL (holy orgasmic musical transcendence, batman), SYCMIOYO, OOTS
the next: MD, Vertigo, ABOY, CFYT, Yahweh
eh: AMAAW
"growers": L&POE, OSC

they'll never again alter the course of popular music, but no one, ever, has made an album this good in their 40s.

 

[salim117]

i

they'll never again alter the course of popular music, but no one, ever, has made an album this good in their 40s.

Absolutly. I wanted a U2 album and that's whast we got! I think all this talk about U2 playing it safe by sounding like U2 is ridiculous! They're doing what they do best and that's why we love'em. They excell at being continously unique within the same style. Picaso was a cubist and his best work is found inside this jounra. No one complains about him not trying to reinvent himself! I wanted something "rockier" but by no means am I dissapointed. This album/U2 still rocks hard!

 

[Macfistowannabe]

Album even better than anticipated. Waiting for it while others downloaded it certainly paid off. I just get something extra out of listening to the entire album for the first time right after I purchase it. It's like losing your virginity and not feeling guilty about it. And Best Buy's first day discount didn't hurt either. I got the special edition with the book for $25! Wow!

 

[Lancemc]

I have been walking around with a constant grin on my face since i heard this masterpiece for the first time last night.

 

[-macphisto-]

This is an Awesome album, every single track I love, I ve listened to the whole album already 20 times since I bought it Monday night. U2 is THE BEST- I GET THE CHILLS WHEN I LISTEN TO IT!

 

[Catman]

I've listened to this album for about 10+ times already....and I just got it yesterday (Wal-Mart @12:01...surprisingly, there were a few other schmoes hanging about waiting for the album to drop).

Anyway, my initial impression was that it was OKAY. I remember reading the impressions at u2achtung (I think that was the site. wherever the infamous 'Phaser' review was located) and could not BELIEVE they said that these songs lacked a noticeable chorus. It is, by far, the most accessible U2 album to date. SO, after I finished listening to the album for the first time, I rated it about the same level as Switchfoot's "The Beautiful Letdown" (7.5).

HOWEVER, after a few more listens, I realized that these songs are not simply accessible, but also an f'n great collection of material! Sure it may not be as cohesive as, say, "Achtung Baby," but in my humble opinion, it is U2's strongest group of songs since TJT


EDIT: My current rating - 9.5/10 With personal bias aside, this is the best album I've heard since the beginning of the millenium. Rock on, U2

 

[Zoocoustic]

I posted this yesterday after my first listen, but will do it again here as this seems to be more of an "official" virgin thread.

BTW, I should piont out my opinion of Miracle Drug has already changed quite a bit since this first review...I really love it now...

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Just got done listening to HTDAAB for the first time...listened at loud volume on the home stereo. My thoughts, after one listen, are below:

Vertigo - of course, I had heard this one quite a bit before - still think it is a GREAT song! How can you not sing along?!

Miracle Drug - well, it was only one listen, but I didn't really find this song very interesting...I was thinking to myself "what's all the hype?!"

SYCMIOYO - I confess, I had already heard this one on the SNL performance. Good song, but I was thinking that the SNL live performance was better. Not surprising for U2.

LAPOE - OK, I'm sorry, this one I did NOT like. Maybe I need more than one listen. It was just so-so. I was expecting another Vertigo from what I had been reading on these boards.

COBL - I was getting a bit worried after LAPOE, but this song calmed me down. I loved it. It has a very "Streets" feel to it. Great song and I'm sure it will be excellent live.

ABOY - Not bad! Catchy, and I can see why it will be the second single.

AMAAW - Now, I was actually expecting this one to be bad, based on the lukewarm reviews I read, but I really liked this song! I kept thinking of Staring At The Sun, and how this song could sound great live in an acoustic version with Edge singing some strong harmony.

CFYT - I really liked this song. Can't put my finger on it yet, but it was great.

OSC - Another strong song. Really enjoyed this one as well.

OOTS - This one was very catchy to me, and I really hope to hear it live. I was singing along with this one quite a bit.

Yahweh - Again, like AMAAW, I was expecting to NOT like this song. However, I LOVED IT! To me, this was a highlight of the album, and I kept thinking how good this could sound live. Also, I came to the realization during this song just what a strong guitarist Edge is, and how much he brings to the table.

Overall, it was a very good listen. I was surprised to find that I liked, overall, the second half of the album better than the first half! Maybe that will change with repeated listens, but who knows. Anyway, I'm off to start my second time through......

 

[edgeu22]

"Vertigo" and "City of Blinding Lights" were instant hits, followed closely by "Miracle Drug", "All Because of You" and "Sometimes.." but right now I'm loving "One Step Closer" and "Crumbs".

Still haven't gotten into "Love and Peace or Else" or "Original of the Species", although the latter is growing on me.