How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb 9 years on

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gareth brown

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I still think it's pretty terrible. I actually have some pretty happy memories of the time it came out, being at school, obsessed with girls and so on. first ever brand new U2 album for me since I became pretty obsessed with the band so that was a big thing for me and I was dead excited...and I still think Vertigo's really fucking great.

but listening to the album again, half the songs are really naff, Mercy should have been on there and it's generally just a bit.... bleurghh :huh: there. that's my thoughtful, considered analysis summed up in one word and face.

anyway, what do you guys think? give it a listen if you haven't for a while and post your thoughts on it?
 
Time is conspiring to dilute any love left for bomb. I loved it back in the day, and I am probably one of the biggest fans left. I think the highlights are special songs that could have been classics had they not been cheesed up lyrically, and produced to death. Cobl, miracle drug, one step closer and vertigo all belong in the U2 lexicon, and I hate to think what they could have been.
 
I gave it a spin recently (I always listen to all the records in the run-up to a new album, old tradition of mine). Needless to say at this point, Bomb has a plethora of problems that condemns it to the bottom quater of U2's illustrious catalog. Poor cohesion, terrible track order (MD second - wtf?), overly compressed sound, too many meh songs, and lyrical clunkers sullying the better ones. But perhaps the most damning thing of all - my dad loves it :wink:
 
COBL is one of my favorite U2 songs ever. It was really the song that made me a U2 fan.

Vertigo is okay.

I still love Original of the Species, no matter what anyone says.

A Man and a Woman is a hidden gem.

All Because of You is abysmal.

The rest is decent but not particularly memorable, in my opinion.
 
Also, the album's mastering job is godawful. The rip of the vinyl is so much better.
 
It's a GREAT collection of songs. Probably the only U2 album where I would grade not a single song as less than a 7/10. But poor cohesion hurts its ranking as an "album."
 
COBL is one of my favorite U2 songs ever. It was really the song that made me a U2 fan.

Vertigo is okay.

I still love Original of the Species, no matter what anyone says.

A Man and a Woman is a hidden gem.

All Because of You is abysmal.

The rest is decent but not particularly memorable, in my opinion.

Pretty much my thoughts as well. I do really love Miracle Drug too except for the "baby's head" lyric as well.

Agreed on the vinyl rip as well. I really wish they would have found room for Mercy on there as well, maybe in place of ABOY.
 
Many artists make albums that don't instantly appeal to the listener but rather are growers. The complete reverse happened with me and Atomic Bomb.

I absolutely loved it to bits on first listen. It was like I was hearing one great classic after another. Slowly but surely by about the middle of 2005 I grew to pretty much hate everything about the album - the terrible lyrics, the overly sentimental/dramatic vocal moments, the unimaginative album cover and liner notes, the awful production and unnecessarily loud bits like beginning of ABOY, a feeling of trying too hard to have a classic U2 hit... I could go on.

Here are some positives:

- Looking past its lyrical deficiencies, COBL is one of the best songs that came out of it.
- Crumbs is a really good song, one of the best here.
- A Man And A Woman, despite some banal lyrical content is really pleasant musically.
- Vertigo is good fun as long as all you're expecting is a rocking sing-along hit.

Overall, this album still remains as one of my least favourites by U2.
 
I haven't listened to the album in totality for about 8 years; nevertheless, I think it's a fine record.

As many have said, it's more a collection of great songs than it is a coherent album. But, y'know, sometimes I just wanna hear a collection of great songs.

None of its songs are stinkers, and only 'One Step Closer' I find a bit boring. There's quite a bit of interest in all the other tracks, for me. Oh, and I love 'All Because Of You' -- I think it's one of their better post-Zoo TV 'rockers'.

I have no problem with the album's lyrics, which I actually think are quite good (excepting the 'Unos, Dos... turn it up, ass-wipe' or whatever he says off the top, which is just embarrassing).

And yes, the compression is terrible and the production lacking in texture.

Overall, though, I was -- and remain -- amazed that a bunch of 'nothing-left-to-prove' guys hitting their mid-40s could produce such an inspired record, in addition to the usual top-notch songwriting and craftsmanship.
 
Many artists make albums that don't instantly appeal to the listener but rather are growers. The complete reverse happened with me and Atomic Bomb.

I absolutely loved it to bits on first listen. It was like I was hearing one great classic after another. Slowly but surely by about the middle of 2005 I grew to pretty much hate everything about the album - the terrible lyrics, the overly sentimental/dramatic vocal moments, the unimaginative album cover and liner notes, the awful production and unnecessarily loud bits like beginning of ABOY, a feeling of trying too hard to have a classic U2 hit... I could go on.

Overall, this album still remains as one of my least favourites by U2.
I felt/feel exactly the same way. The Vertigo show I attended was very good though. (NLOTH was a step forward except for the disastrous middle 3.)
 
Its funny - the time that album came out I was going through my divorce and to this day there are some songs I really cannot listen to.

Under different circumstances I would have liked it but, for me personally, its one of my least liked albums.
 
Wow... 9 years ago this evening, me and a few friends went to Walmart to buy the album at midnight. They were still in boxes in the back, but we had a friend working there who got into the cases and got us each a copy. I went home and listened to it all night. LOVED IT!

9 years later, the magic has worn off a bit. I still like it, but once I got Bono's "collection of song, rather than a cohesive album" quote stuck in my head, I can't unthink it! It's so true. Almost all the songs I feel rather "meh" about these days. But I will give it a listen tonight, in honor!
 
I still absolutely love COBL, Miracle Drug and Origin of the Species, other than that it's not special in any way. I hated Vertigo back then and I still do, so cheesy. The whole album is mixed terribly as well, my ears hurt!
 
I love this album. The only downsides for me are the screechy production and some cringeworthy lyrics like babys head and tortoise. OSC, I've only listened to a couple of times and is boring. Highlights for me are A Man and a Woman, Vertigo, Sometimes and Crumbs. The second half of Miracle Drug is also outstanding.
 
It's very incoherent and the sound quality is indeed quite bad, but there are still some moments on the album that I truly enjoy. Original of the Species is still one of my favorite U2 songs and I also love Miracle Drug. The album has some quite emotional moments, too, in regards to the passing of Bono's dad, I feel a connection to this theme. But songs like Vertigo and COBL pale in comparison to the live versions, I cannot listen to the album versions any more. And I have a copy without Fast Cars as bonus track which sucks because I used to love Fast Cars, it's a fun song with an original vibe and with some very good lyrics.
 
I love, love, LOVE Miracle Drug.

COBL, Vertigo, ABOY, LAPOE, AMAAW and Fast Cars are good songs.

The rest still can't really tickle my fancy.

Overall, not a horrible album, horrible production though. MD will always be special to me.
 
Getting the vinyl changed my views on this record. I could actually listen to it at volume.

Went from a 6/10 to a 7/10. May go higher over the years.
 
Getting the vinyl changed my views on this record. I could actually listen to it at volume.

Went from a 6/10 to a 7/10. May go higher over the years.

I always hear people saying Vinyl sounds better. Can you tell me some specifics to this album that are notably different in sound? Also, lets say someone records the vinyl to youtube in HD. Would you hear the difference, or is it something you need to hear direct from the player?
 
Loved it when it came out, still do now. I think overall my favourite song is miracle drug. Live though LAPOE was great, as was vertigo and COBL. That was my first real experience of a new U2 album coming out, good times. Cant believe it was all that time ago though.:huh:
 
I really love 6 album tracks: Miracle Drug, SYCMIOYO, Original of Species, COBL, LAPOE and Man & Woman. But the whole album lacks cohesion.

I prefer Native Son over Vertigo. The remix of Fast Cars is great. And I'm a huge fan of Mercy. Levitate is a great song but too different from the other stuff to fit the album.

Some decent material but it's all over the place.
 
City of Blinding Lights is classic 10/10 U2. My second favourite from this album is definitely One Step Closer. Gorgeous. Still like Miracle Drug, Sometimes. The U23D version of Yahweh was great.
 
I'll never understand why so many love Miracle Drug. It's just never done anything for me. It seems very generic U2 by numbers - not in a good way.

Also, I don't think the cohesiveness of the collection of songs as an album is that big a deal to make or break the album. Either the songs are good or they are not.

I do still enjoy Vertigo, SYCMIOYO, LAPOE, COBL, ABOY. Original of the Species is a bit clunky but has a great chorus. Crumbs is enjoyable, if not great.

When it came out I liked it more than ATYCLB, but now I'd say ATYCLB is a little better. It seems a little less forced.
 
They didn't know what they were doing when they recorded October.
They knew precisely what they were doing when they recorded this mess.
Because of this, relatively speaking, it's probably their worst album.

And it won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Says all that needs to be said about the Grammys.
 
The production wasn't thought out enough. I am not one who notices production most of time but on this one I did. I don't have as many issues with the songs as some on here but yea production lacked.
 
I'll never understand why so many love Miracle Drug. It's just never done anything for me. It seems very generic U2 by numbers - not in a good way.

.

That's what's called subjective taste. Just accept it. People like different things and it's good that way. I like most of Miracle Drug, I like the theme, I like Bono's vocals, I liked the live performance, at least partly, it's not the worst song on the album. Generic U2 doesn't have the negative connotation form me than it seems to have for many other fans. I'd rather have some generic U2 than them trying too hard to be something that they are not.
 
I also listened to it a few days ago, it wasn't as poor as I had remembered it, and a lot of songs are actually quite good - I didn't remember liking A Man and A Woman that much before. Original of the Species had the potential to be great but a couple of the lyrics and the production are painful. Vertigo, Yahweh and One Stop Closer have little positive effect on me. I still like Love and Peace a lot.

It's a 5/10 album for mine, mostly listenable but I don't come back to it very often at all.
 
I'll never understand why so many love Miracle Drug. It's just never done anything for me. It seems very generic U2 by numbers - not in a good way.

I just love the guitar parts, and Edge on vocals is pretty damn awesome too! :D



And of course all the bitchfighting after they played it live concerning ZOMG BANO LIPSYNCHS!!11!! :lol:
 
The album I never play.... together with ATYCLB.... however, I like almost all the songs on it..... weird. (Except ABOY, OSC and Crumbs....) The rest is very good classic U2 but of course not in the top 5-6 albums..... though I rank it higher than ATYCLB that I can't listen any more besides Kite and WILAAW :)
 
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