All That You Cant Leave Behind Era Question

[Salome]

basically I see it as this
when we like something we claim the rest doesn't get it
and when we don't like something we claim there's nothing to get

all in all U2's fans have changed far more than the band itself
people whose musical frame used to be U2 + MTV now are able through the internet to compare U2 with so much more than the top 40 singles and albums charts

anyways, ATYCLB is in my top 3 favourite U2 albums
it's a heartwarming record

 

[Rachel D.]

Iam new to this forum, but not U2,infact i would have to be classfied as a diehard U2 fan. On this forum there seems to be alot of negativity towards ATYCLB and I dont get it. I feel in love with U2 on the Elevation tour and went to alot of shows too. And i dont remember anybody talking bad about the album, infact everyone i met during that time loved and it also made alot of new fans too. i consider it one of thier by far. So is the negativity on here for this album just a vocal minority? there also seems to be a ground swell of hate towards the new album which I also dont understand.

ATYCLB is my favorite U2 album, and I also fell in love with U2 during the Elevation era. People just like to whine. And I've noticed that a lot of people here don't like slower songs. I chalk that up to shallowness and/or a short attention span, but that's just a theory.

 

[Screwtape2]

I think ATYCLB is disliked by a vocal minority (though I wouldn't call it a small minority) because of a couple of factors outside of the album not being very good in their minds:

1. I think while many people dislike Pop, I think they saw the potential of it. For instance a lot of the songs came alive on Popmart or were improved in some people's minds with the Best of new mixes. Pop may have been a disappointment for some and in sales terms for the band but I think most fans enjoyed the 90's sound. So when ATYCLB was so radically different and a step back, I think a lot of fans instantly or have come to dislike the album even more.

2. I think the mindset that the band took may factor in to the dislike of ATYCLB. The focus on singles and commerical turn being the most cringe-worthy for some.

3. A lot of the album wasn't great live for various reasons. I think that also adds in to the dislike. U2 albums tend to get a second wind on tour. ATYCLB really didn't.

 

[Scorpionac]

We talking the era here? Very good era. Great songwriting going on. Summer Rain, Levitate, Walk On, Beautiful Day, Stateless, The Ground Beneath Her Feet...

The album? Eh, not so much.

 

[believer75]

ATYCLB is an album that makes all the other U2 songs in the universe relevant and more powerful...in other words, I think the songs on ATYCLB need to exist for some people to "get" U2. When it came out, having been a fan since Achtung Baby, I loved it, and felt it was sincere and straightforward. I liked the raw honesty on the record. It was gutsy. The songs invaded my soul. Still do. In fact, they did today.
I actually had not read this thread until tonight when I got home from work. This morning on my IPOD, I hit a mix of the songs from this record. It was a perfect start to a long, tough day. I remembered how I felt when I heard Walk On, Kite, WILATW and others for the first time. It's a classic.

 

[juanacate]

Iam new to this forum, but not U2,infact i would have to be classfied as a diehard U2 fan. On this forum there seems to be alot of negativity towards ATYCLB and I dont get it. I feel in love with U2 on the Elevation tour and went to alot of shows too. And i dont remember anybody talking bad about the album, infact everyone i met during that time loved and it also made alot of new fans too. i consider it one of thier by far. So is the negativity on here for this album just a vocal minority? there also seems to be a ground swell of hate towards the new album which I also dont understand.

I love ATYCLB!

This album got me into U2 as well. I can honestly say it's special for me

 

[allbecauseofu2]

I never directed a personal insult toward anyone. What am i saying about "playing it safe" ,is that the idea of that does not apply to u2. Because i believe all of thier music is safe. Safe to compared to some radiohead, underground thrash metal, hardcore punk,underground electronic music, most of david bowies 70's music, etc. . Non commercial music. AB was a attempt to do a different kind of "safe". I have seen little sarcastic remarks about ATYCLB, So i decided to be not so sarcastic in my responses and more direct. sorry.

 

[65980]

The U2 Nation are a weird lot in that they want Bono and the boys to be the "biggest band in the world" while also maintaining some type of personal "my band" feel. It's an impossible goal, one that put ATYCLB in the cross hairs. An unabashed pop album shooting for the mainstream, ATYCLB was a huge ideological departure for the band after a decade of experimentation. And for what it's worth, the album couldn't have served it purpose better in that it re-established the group as the most commercially viable on the planet. It was a huge help that the songs were there, and the 9/11 aspect took it to another place (always an overlooked subplot to the band's success in the 00s and a post for another time).

I think ATYCLB's prosperity ultimately disenchanted the POP-obsessed members of this forum (and there are many) because it made the band huge again. U2 fandom had splintered off into something of a huge cult following by the late-90s, but the 2000 release ended all of that.

I have a theory that the relative under-performance of NLOTH will ultimately make this a more popular album around these parts than the previous two, for the sole reason that, like POP, it may ultimately be viewed as a U2 album for U2 fans. It all may seem kind of silly, but I understand it ... I fell in love with the group in the mid-90s, and before ATYCLB caught on, I felt like being a U2 fan was like being an exclusive member of some fucking awesome club. Ultimately, this may be a ridiculous notion, but it was my ridiculous notion and I don't think I was alone.

Lastly, any album that has BD, Stuck, Walk On, Kite and IALW on it, can't be considered poor in my eyes. In fact, in light of the understanding the band had been around for 20 years already, it was pretty remarkable. So there's that.

Very rare to read intelligent posts on this forum, so thank you for this one!

It's pretty evident that the Internet-era U2 fans (such as the 20 to 30-year olds on this site) became fans in the Pop era, and thus saw ATYCLB as an overtly commericial bid which ruined U2 by making them a commercial-juggernaut consumed by middle-class housewives. For slightly older fans, or those who got into them when we were still kids, like me, and who remember the late 80s, the situation is perhaps perceived differently in that we remember when U2 were really big (like, twice a big as they were in the wake of 'Beautiful Day') and thus the commercial impact of ATYCLB is sort of a non-factor -- it's just U2 being U2. Thus, I personally don't carry the baggage of ATYCLB around; I just hear it once in a while and enjoy the music.

It is a slick album and a clear attempt at commercial success. But, so what? It's in U2's DNA to be big. They know no other way. Certainly, "Beautiful Day", "Stuck in a Moment", "In A Little While", "When I Look at the World", and "Grace" (and "Ground Beneath" if you have it) are great songs.

My only complaint about it is that the vocals dominate too much.

 

[believer75]

Lastly, any album that has BD, Stuck, Walk On, Kite and IALW on it, can't be considered poor in my eyes. In fact, in light of the understanding the band had been around for 20 years already, it was pretty remarkable. So there's that.

I agree with this. This U2 album contains 5-6 songs the band has ever written. And they translated very well live. And the songs will probably get some life on every tour they do until they retire. People were eating this album up when it came out. Again, it is a classic.

 

[65980]

Oh, I just wanted to add one thing -- there seems to be a misconception by some (younger fans who weren't there at the time?) on this site that "One" was a huge song, which had the commerical impact and influence on its album's success as "Beautiful Day". This is completely false.

On the pop charts, the song reached #10 in the US and #7 in the UK (lower than a number of other songs, including "Desire" in both those countries and "The Unforgettable Fire", "The Fly", and "Discotheque" in the UK), but more pertinently, the song was the third single from Achtung, Baby. By the time "One" was first released to radio and MTV (March 1992), the album had already long-since peaked at #1 (the previous November). By comparison, "Beautiful Day" was the pre-album single that kind of re-announced the band to people who had more-or-less given up on them, and set up the album for big sales.

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

Kite is great, Beautiful day is a very strong single and Elevation was well-advertised, but besides that, the album contains 2 or 3 of U2 worst songs (Wild Honey, Peace on Earth and Grace), not mentioning Stuck in a moment, which irritates me greatly.

I quite liked the Elevation Tour however. Versions of The Fly and Bullets are close to perfection.

 

[Reptile347]

I actually became a full fan with ATYCLB.

I had previously like WOWY and ISHFWILF when I heard them random times, I must admit untill I became a fan I didn't even know who did those 2 songs.

I think it has something to do with people's own taste. Because for me I love ATYCLB and also HTDAAB but I dislike a lot of their older stuff. I hardly listen to Boy,War,October or Rattle and Hum, I only like a few songs off of each of those albums. The rest of the albums like Zooropa,POP,AB I do like a bit more but my top Albums would be 1- Joshua Tree, 2- ATYCLB, 3- HTDAAB, and 4-NLOTH.

It just seems these 4 albums have a big epic sound to them which is why I enjoy them.

I think it pretty much has to do with peoples personal taste so some people will like something and there will always be people who do not like that same thing.

 

[believer75]

I actually became a full fan with ATYCLB.

I had previously like WOWY and ISHFWILF when I heard them random times, I must admit untill I became a fan I didn't even know who did those 2 songs.

I think it has something to do with people's own taste. Because for me I love ATYCLB and also HTDAAB but I dislike a lot of their older stuff. I hardly listen to Boy,War,October or Rattle and Hum, I only like a few songs off of each of those albums. The rest of the albums like Zooropa,POP,AB I do like a bit more but my top Albums would be 1- Joshua Tree, 2- ATYCLB, 3- HTDAAB, and 4-NLOTH.

It just seems these 4 albums have a big epic sound to them which is why I enjoy them.

I think it pretty much has to do with peoples personal taste so some people will like something and there will always be people who do not like that same thing.

I am glad you posted this and that makes perfect sense.....the last three albums have spoken to people about things other bands have been afraid to say or do and that makes these efforts "brave" in my opinion.

 

[gareth brown]

All That You Can't Leave Behind is a great U2 album and one of their best in my opinion. The album that followed was pisspoor once the thrill of a new U2 album wore off and THAT is U2 trying to sound like U2, not ATYCLB.

I don't get why it's regarded as mainstream crap when it's actually got some of the finest songs they've ever written. I'm not saying it's "their best album since..." as that would imply that the albums in between [for example Joshua Tree] are bad when in fact Zooropa is my favourite U2 album, Passengers is fantastic and so is Pop!

ATYCLB proves to people wanting U2 to drastially re-invent themselves each album that you can easily re-invent your music and go in a different direction and not have to go COMPLETELY TO THE LEFT and use synths and electronic beats the whole time! Songs like In A Little While don't come along often, especially with U2 who have a very different style, even when reimagining themselves. You can't beat that guitar riff. Beautiful Day [couldn't NOT mention this] is just fantastic. "Anthemic" without being pompous, great playing [although the guitar parts in that verse should have recorded (or mixed) how they are live, a lot further at the front] and such an uplifting song. Wild Honey is a lovely little track which I wish they'd record more songs like. Love the melody. Also, When I Look At The World is an underrated gem. Wish there was SOME way they could have figured that out live!

Anyway, I think it was AFTER this album that they became U2 playing at being U2 for one album before shaking things up a bit with NLOTH. And even then they pissed on that by letting Get On Your Boots see the light of day. It single-handedly threatens their artistic credibility IN MY OPINION and if I were a typical non-U2-fan who thought Bono an annoying prick with a nails-on-chalkboard voice, I wouldn't even CONTEMPLATE listening to that album, no matter WHO tells me "Oh but it's U2 RE-INVENTING THEMSELVES...AGAIN!" that single's a stinker, it sounds like The Ting Tings and it sounds like U2 trying to rock the house but falling flat and I imagine getting their kids beaten up at school.

so to wrap up this post I've made FAR TOO LONG (apologies) I'll say that I really don't understand the idea that ATYCLB is U2 copying themselves. To me half of it is just as inventive and inspiring as the better 50% of NLOTH