I think I finally "get" All That You Can't Leave Behind...

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Gotta admit, the album has been growing on me lately. I now get whhat people mean with that it's a healing album. If you've too much shit going on in your life, these are the songs you'll want to listen to. Especially Walk On, Peace on Earth and WILATW just got that bit more special to me. THough the latter already was.
 
ChargedVT said:
Someone made a comment earlier in this thread about Bomb having too much compression. As someone who wants to learn music production, what effect does this have on the sound, and what parts of the album are very noticably over compressed?

Oh and ATYCLB has always been a great record in my eyes and ears. Yeah they copped some shit over it (and still do) on these boards but whatever your misgivings about their safe route, the undeniable fact is there are some GREAT songs on this album and that's all I give a shit about. But I will agree the first half of the album easily tops the second.
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Too much upward compression leads to very little dynamics in the music: it increases the loudness of sounds below a threshold while leaving louder passages unchanged. It really is fatigating to listen to Bomb because it all sounds like a brick. There are no silence, no crescendo. No highs and no lows. Just a brick being throw at your ears.

Take Crumbs as a good example of compression. And parts of Miracle Drug. But the whole album is overcompressed.

I'm talking about the CD. Bomb on vinyl is a bit different, as LP mastering differs from CD mastering.
 
Van Cleef said:
I'm talking about the CD. Bomb on vinyl is a bit different, as LP mastering differs from CD mastering.
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Is it much of a difference? You seem to know what you're talking about - and if you're right, I may throw down the money. Of U2's last 3 albums, I think I like this one the best. But I agree - it's "like a brick" of sound.

Just curious - when you look at the the other songs like "Xanax and Wine" and "Native Son" - is the mix better, are they more "dynamic"? Because it sure sounds like it.
 
I was 23 when ATYCLB came out.. Now I am 36. What the hell. I remember the feeling as the 90s came to an end that change was coming and economic prosperity that came about during the late 90s was coming to an end as well. I joined interference in June of 2000 in hopes of finding out what U2 was up to...
 
AEON said:
Is it much of a difference? You seem to know what you're talking about - and if you're right, I may throw down the money. Of U2's last 3 albums, I think I like this one the best. But I agree - it's "like a brick" of sound.

Just curious - when you look at the the other songs like "Xanax and Wine" and "Native Son" - is the mix better, are they more "dynamic"? Because it sure sounds like it.
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Bomb on vinyl is a bit too much on the expensive side. Rarely you find it for less than 100 dollars. It's more a collector's item than anything.

There is a noticeable difference, yes, if you have an ear for detail. Not so much if you don't care much about the sound nuances. The sound of Bomb on vinyl is still compressed and brickwalled but much less than on CD.

Those tracks you mentioned are more dynamic. They don't suffer the overcompression that plagued Bomb.
 
Van Cleef said:
Those tracks you mentioned are more dynamic. They don't suffer the overcompression that plagued Bomb.
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I'm not surprised - which is why I asked. They sound clear and sharp. Sure, some of the transitions and lyrics could be smoothed out - but these versions of songs that ended up on the album simply sound better. I guess that is because of the dynamic and lack of over-compression....
 
david said:
I was 23 when ATYCLB came out.. Now I am 36. What the hell. I remember the feeling as the 90s came to an end that change was coming and economic prosperity that came about during the late 90s was coming to an end as well. I joined interference in June of 2000 in hopes of finding out what U2 was up to...
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:up:

I've got you beat by a few years (in age) - but this is cool to know! I like hearing about how/when people became fans. ATYCLB was almost perfect timing - it was the perfect album for healing after 9/11 and a global recession...it's cool this album reached you then.

For me, seeing the "Sunday Bloody Sunday" video on MTV was it. It could not get better than this. Then Achtung Baby hit when I was 21 - an album that seemed written directly to me by my older brothers...
 
you all guys misunderstood me, as i think that sales are not as important, ZOOROOPA is one of my favourites although it had not a classical hit

but on the other hand sales are an indicator for what people like or not

it is impressive that ATYCLB sold 4 million+ in the us
and there is an effect on me, asking myself what they find good about purchasing the cd

i have also to say that i was a teenager when that album came out, at school many pupils loved Beautiful day,

but the rest of the album consists of songs about midlife crisis, a band whose members turning 40 and stuff, which did not touch a teen like me
 
gvox said:
:hug:
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:) It's weird how life works.


mikal said:
WILATW is one of my favorite songs from the 2000's. That guitar solo. :drool:
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This. Yes. :drool:.

I've loved the song since the first listen, and love it more with each listen. Besides Electrical Storm, NLOTH2 and MOS(which also grew on me in a period where I had a lot going on), it is my favourite. I just can't pick between those four.
 
AEON said:
:up:

I've got you beat by a few years (in age) - but this is cool to know! I like hearing about how/when people became fans. ATYCLB was almost perfect timing - it was the perfect album for healing after 9/11 and a global recession...it's cool this album reached you then.

For me, seeing the "Sunday Bloody Sunday" video on MTV was it. It could not get better than this. Then Achtung Baby hit when I was 21 - an album that seemed written directly to me by my older brothers...
Click to expand...

Oh, well I became a U2 fan in 92. It was after POP came out that I kind of fell out of touch with U2 and when I joined interference in June 2000 it was me trying to find other fans and also find out what U2 were planning next.
 
OpenG180 said:
I'm far from being a big Radiohead fan, but Kid A is much much much better than ATYCLB.

How to Disappear Completely alone is much better than the whole ATYCLB album IMO.




Well, it is better than most Radiohead songs, but it is still not as good as ATYCLB... any track.
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Kid A is a masterfully conceived and cohesive record. ATYCLB has some good songs on it, but it doesn't really work that well as an album.
 
ATYCLB and Kid A cater to completely different moods altogether. It is very difficult to compare the two. Sometimes I'm totally in the mood for the electronic soundscapes that Kid A has to offer. And other times I'm in a more sentimental mood when I'd rather listen to Walk On or Stuck In A Moment than something like the cold and distant How To Disappear Completely. It all depends. And it is not even fair to compare the two. Kid A is Radiohead at their peak. Whereas ATYCLB is U2 past their peak. Arguably.
 
LemonMirrorSky said:
ATYCLB and Kid A cater to completely different moods altogether. It is very difficult to compare the two. Sometimes I'm totally in the mood for the electronic soundscapes that Kid A has to offer. And other times I'm in a more sentimental mood when I'd rather listen to Walk On or Stuck In A Moment than something like the cold and distant How To Disappear Completely. It all depends. And it is not even fair to compare the two. Kid A is Radiohead at their peak. Whereas ATYCLB is U2 past their peak. Arguably.
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HTDC cold and distant? Really?

Wow.
 
LemonMirrorSky said:
And it is not even fair to compare the two. Kid A is Radiohead at their peak. Whereas ATYCLB is U2 past their peak. Arguably.
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I think U2 still possessed a certain amount of lightning in a bottle during 1999/00. Stateless and TGBHF would've been the ideal sonic landscape from which to launch their tenth album. Unfortunately, they shot their last decent creative load on a pretty pedestrian album (by their standards). But I'd definitely say that Radiohead comprehensively kicked U2's ass throughout the aughts. It wasn't even a contest.
 
lemonfly said:
But I'd definitely say that Radiohead comprehensively kicked U2's ass throughout the aughts. It wasn't even a contest.
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That's true but it's not a fair comparison. Radiohead's peak is arguably 1995-2007 while U2's is 1984-1997.
 
Wait - Radiohead had a peak?

:wink:

Never been a huge fan of them, but I'm not sure how they belong in this thread.

As for the topic at hand, I often felt that if I could take the best of ATYCLB and HTDAAB and maybe some of the other material released at that time, we'd have the perfect album.
 
Kinda funny how I'm slowly starting to appreciate one of my most hated U2 songs.

Ah well, not expecting that to ever happen to Red Light or Babyface anyway. :wink: Those are still safely hitting rock bottom.
 
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