Achtung Baby/ Zooropa remaster/ reissue - Part IV/Four

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Status
Not open for further replies.
Bomb was a huge disappointment for me. It was really only the second time since I became a fan (War) that I seriously didn't like what they were doing.

I had it all planned...the album came out the same day as a trans-Pacific flight SF-Tokyo I was taking. I was spending 2 months travelling around Japan, Thailand (I was there when the Tsunami hit) and New Zealand. I literally bought the CD at the airport and the idea was that I'd have plenty of time to listen to & get to know it during the long flight. Which I did.

But after the already-famliar Vertigo, one song led into another, with all of them sounding remarkably similar and bland to me (with a couple exceptions), disappointment started to set in. All I could think to myself was that it sounded like boring background rock, something I thought I'd never hear from U2.

And it's not that I hate 00's U2. I loved ATYCLB and NLOTH (uneven as it is). I know people think of Bomb as a companion to ATYCLB, and I guess in a way it is, but to me it's more like a poor imitation of that record. There's some good stuff on there....Vertigo, while not my personal favourite, has a mean hook and was an important hit for them. Original of the Species has some interesting bits. COBL is a U2 classic and redeems the album somewhat to me. And I respect that the record brought in a LOT of young U2 fans, and that's great.

I know it sold a lot of copies and won a bunch of Grammy's (probably because it sold a lot of copies) but Bomb is firmly entrenched somewhere in the bottom three on my U2 album list, and the worst thing I can say about it is none of the songs are particularly bad but most of them are mediocre....like U2 really didn't even try. And I'd rather them take a chance and fail spectacularly than put out bland stuff like this. Most of it sounds like U2 by the numbers for me, like they were just on cruise control.

Bomb is not the sound of a band attempting something original or making a comeback or even trying to win the world...it sounds like a band holding on as tight as they can to the popularity, redemption and precious relevance they found with ATYCLB. Like a band who "learned their lesson" with Pop and wasn't about to lose what they've won back by taking another risk.
 
Nick66 said:
Bomb was a huge disappointment for me. It was really only the second time since I became a fan (War) that I seriously didn't like what they were doing.

I had it all planned...the album came out the same day as a trans-Pacific flight SF-Tokyo I was taking. I was spending 2 months travelling around Japan, Thailand (I was there when the Tsunami hit) and New Zealand. I literally bought the CD at the airport and the idea was that I'd have plenty of time to listen to & get to know it during the long flight. Which I did.

But after the already-famliar Vertigo, one song led into another, with all of them sounding remarkably similar and bland to me (with a couple exceptions), disappointment started to set in. All I could think to myself was that it sounded like boring background rock, something I thought I'd never hear from U2.

And it's not that I hate 00's U2. I loved ATYCLB and NLOTH (uneven as it is). I know people think of Bomb as a companion to ATYCLB, and I guess in a way it is, but to me it's more like a poor imitation of that record. There's some good stuff on there....Vertigo, while not my personal favourite, has a mean hook and was an important hit for them. Original of the Species has some interesting bits. COBL is a U2 classic and redeems the album somewhat to me. And I respect that the record brought in a LOT of young U2 fans, and that's great.

I know it sold a lot of copies and won a bunch of Grammy's (probably because it sold a lot of copies) but Bomb is firmly entrenched somewhere in the bottom three on my U2 album list, and the worst thing I can say about it is none of the songs are particularly bad but most of them are mediocre....like U2 really didn't even try. And I'd rather them take a chance and fail spectacularly than put out bland stuff like this. Most of it sounds like U2 by the numbers for me, like they were just on cruise control.

Bomb is not the sound of a band attempting something original or making a comeback or even trying to win the world...it sounds like a band holding on as tight as they can to the popularity, redemption and precious relevance they found with ATYCLB. Like a band who "learned their lesson" with Pop and wasn't about to lose what they've won back by taking another risk.
Click to expand...

Agreed 100%
 
Nick66 said:
Bomb was a huge disappointment for me. It was really only the second time since I became a fan (War) that I seriously didn't like what they were doing.

I had it all planned...the album came out the same day as a trans-Pacific flight SF-Tokyo I was taking. I was spending 2 months travelling around Japan, Thailand (I was there when the Tsunami hit) and New Zealand. I literally bought the CD at the airport and the idea was that I'd have plenty of time to listen to & get to know it during the long flight. Which I did.

But after the already-famliar Vertigo, one song led into another, with all of them sounding remarkably similar and bland to me (with a couple exceptions), disappointment started to set in. All I could think to myself was that it sounded like boring background rock, something I thought I'd never hear from U2.

And it's not that I hate 00's U2. I loved ATYCLB and NLOTH (uneven as it is). I know people think of Bomb as a companion to ATYCLB, and I guess in a way it is, but to me it's more like a poor imitation of that record. There's some good stuff on there....Vertigo, while not my personal favourite, has a mean hook and was an important hit for them. Original of the Species has some interesting bits. COBL is a U2 classic and redeems the album somewhat to me. And I respect that the record brought in a LOT of young U2 fans, and that's great.

I know it sold a lot of copies and won a bunch of Grammy's (probably because it sold a lot of copies) but Bomb is firmly entrenched somewhere in the bottom three on my U2 album list, and the worst thing I can say about it is none of the songs are particularly bad but most of them are mediocre....like U2 really didn't even try. And I'd rather them take a chance and fail spectacularly than put out bland stuff like this. Most of it sounds like U2 by the numbers for me, like they were just on cruise control.

Bomb is not the sound of a band attempting something original or making a comeback or even trying to win the world...it sounds like a band holding on as tight as they can to the popularity, redemption and precious relevance they found with ATYCLB. Like a band who "learned their lesson" with Pop and wasn't about to lose what they've won back by taking another risk.
Click to expand...

I agree too, except instead of saying "U2 didn't even try" with this album, I'd say they were trying too hard. There are SEVEN major producers employed on this record (Steve Lillywhite, Jacknife Lee, Chris Thomas, Flood, Nellee Hooper, and yes, Lanois and Eno). "Love and Peace or Else" alone includes production by Lanois, Eno, Chris Thomas, Jacknife Lee and Flood. That's five major producers on ONE SONG! We're talking Katy Perry and Britney Spears territory here.

All of the songs are refined and tweaked and overproduced within an inch of their life. Again, in small doses this is ok because every tune sounds like a radio hit. But listening to an entire album like this is a bit tedious, at least when it's a U2 album. Give me the experimentation and the "no hit singles" of NLOTH any day.
 
:sad: WHy is there talk of Bomb in the thread about Achtung Baby and Zooropa? There just isn't any saving to this thread, is there?
 
how soon until the bsides and 'baby' versions leak?

leak_detection.JPG
 
morgan1098 said:
I agree too, except instead of saying "U2 didn't even try" with this album, I'd say they were trying too hard. There are SEVEN major producers employed on this record (Steve Lillywhite, Jacknife Lee, Chris Thomas, Flood, Nellee Hooper, and yes, Lanois and Eno). "Love and Peace or Else" alone includes production by Lanois, Eno, Chris Thomas, Jacknife Lee and Flood. That's five major producers on ONE SONG! We're talking Katy Perry and Britney Spears territory here.

All of the songs are refined and tweaked and overproduced within an inch of their life. Again, in small doses this is ok because every tune sounds like a radio hit. But listening to an entire album like this is a bit tedious, at least when it's a U2 album. Give me the experimentation and the "no hit singles" of NLOTH any day.
Click to expand...

Yeah. There's a lot of fatigue listening to that album beginning to end, for the reasons you've mentioned and b/c it's so over compressed.
 
We'll be seeing each other as hermits when the No Line On The Horizon remastered version comes out in a few decades. :rolleyes:
 
Nick66 said:
Bomb was a huge disappointment for me. It was really only the second time since I became a fan (War) that I seriously didn't like what they were doing.

I had it all planned...the album came out the same day as a trans-Pacific flight SF-Tokyo I was taking. I was spending 2 months travelling around Japan, Thailand (I was there when the Tsunami hit) and New Zealand. I literally bought the CD at the airport and the idea was that I'd have plenty of time to listen to & get to know it during the long flight. Which I did.

But after the already-famliar Vertigo, one song led into another, with all of them sounding remarkably similar and bland to me (with a couple exceptions), disappointment started to set in. All I could think to myself was that it sounded like boring background rock, something I thought I'd never hear from U2.

And it's not that I hate 00's U2. I loved ATYCLB and NLOTH (uneven as it is). I know people think of Bomb as a companion to ATYCLB, and I guess in a way it is, but to me it's more like a poor imitation of that record. There's some good stuff on there....Vertigo, while not my personal favourite, has a mean hook and was an important hit for them. Original of the Species has some interesting bits. COBL is a U2 classic and redeems the album somewhat to me. And I respect that the record brought in a LOT of young U2 fans, and that's great.

I know it sold a lot of copies and won a bunch of Grammy's (probably because it sold a lot of copies) but Bomb is firmly entrenched somewhere in the bottom three on my U2 album list, and the worst thing I can say about it is none of the songs are particularly bad but most of them are mediocre....like U2 really didn't even try. And I'd rather them take a chance and fail spectacularly than put out bland stuff like this. Most of it sounds like U2 by the numbers for me, like they were just on cruise control.

Bomb is not the sound of a band attempting something original or making a comeback or even trying to win the world...it sounds like a band holding on as tight as they can to the popularity, redemption and precious relevance they found with ATYCLB. Like a band who "learned their lesson" with Pop and wasn't about to lose what they've won back by taking another risk.
Click to expand...

That opinion is beyond the pail! :p :reject: :lol:

:wink:
 
Nick66 said:
Bomb was a huge disappointment for me. It was really only the second time since I became a fan (War) that I seriously didn't like what they were doing.

I had it all planned...the album came out the same day as a trans-Pacific flight SF-Tokyo I was taking. I was spending 2 months travelling around Japan, Thailand (I was there when the Tsunami hit) and New Zealand. I literally bought the CD at the airport and the idea was that I'd have plenty of time to listen to & get to know it during the long flight. Which I did.

But after the already-famliar Vertigo, one song led into another, with all of them sounding remarkably similar and bland to me (with a couple exceptions), disappointment started to set in. All I could think to myself was that it sounded like boring background rock, something I thought I'd never hear from U2.

And it's not that I hate 00's U2. I loved ATYCLB and NLOTH (uneven as it is). I know people think of Bomb as a companion to ATYCLB, and I guess in a way it is, but to me it's more like a poor imitation of that record. There's some good stuff on there....Vertigo, while not my personal favourite, has a mean hook and was an important hit for them. Original of the Species has some interesting bits. COBL is a U2 classic and redeems the album somewhat to me. And I respect that the record brought in a LOT of young U2 fans, and that's great.

I know it sold a lot of copies and won a bunch of Grammy's (probably because it sold a lot of copies) but Bomb is firmly entrenched somewhere in the bottom three on my U2 album list, and the worst thing I can say about it is none of the songs are particularly bad but most of them are mediocre....like U2 really didn't even try. And I'd rather them take a chance and fail spectacularly than put out bland stuff like this. Most of it sounds like U2 by the numbers for me, like they were just on cruise control.

Bomb is not the sound of a band attempting something original or making a comeback or even trying to win the world...it sounds like a band holding on as tight as they can to the popularity, redemption and precious relevance they found with ATYCLB. Like a band who "learned their lesson" with Pop and wasn't about to lose what they've won back by taking another risk.
Click to expand...

:up:
 
I know this thread is about AB and not about Bomb, but I really hate to see all this negativity against that album - AGAIN. I really thought we're beyond the endless Bomb dissing. I like the album, love parts of it, it's not U2's greatest and has weaknesses, but I strongly disagree with the statements about Bomb being "bland", uninspired or boring. OOTS and Miracle Drug are among my favourite U2 songs, Vertigo and COBL are among their best live songs, though the album versions aren't that great. Sometimes has been one of the songs that I hold close to my heart and I wish they'd play it again. It's one of the most personal songs Bono has ever done and I love it. If there is so much heavy Bomb-bashing in this thread, I guess we need some Bomb loving again as well.

Oops, there goes my unpopular opinion again. I love Bomb and I don't think Acrobat is the second coming. I guess you can't go any lower than that on this forum :wink:
 
So, did anyone know that Achtung baby is being re-released?

Apparently there will be heaps of extras! I hope there are some Salome style outtakes on the bonus disc!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Z
Looking for 'Kindergarten Achtung Baby' CD
Replies
0
Views
367
zoutv
Z
prbiker15
Sphere Show #1 Setlist Party
14 15 16
Replies
451
Views
20K
dan_smee
dan_smee
prbiker15
U2:UV Boxscore Discussion
Replies
20
Views
1K
DeVaul
DeVaul
TheWanderer
2022 subscriber gift: Achtung Baby 30 Live
3 4 5
Replies
148
Views
16K
MrsSpringsteen
MrsSpringsteen
ascender_RS
Achtung Baby 30th Anniversary Releases & Promo
3 4 5
Replies
144
Views
11K
ferball415
F

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom