Is This The Best U2 Album Ever?!

[adypole]

joshua
achtung
no line
boy
pop

 

[jecofficial]

this thread is cringeworthy taboot

 

[mgokelly]

It's way too early to be rating it in U2's best albums, come back in a few months time with a bit of perspective, it definetely has the potential to go top 3. I liked Bomb when I heard it first, now it's very near the bottom of the heap

 

[Acrobat08]

Achtung is the best and will always be the best

 

[oceane]

Yeah seriously, everyone needs to calm down with calls of best album and ranking

I remember vividly that many people on Interference were calling HTDAAB the 3rd Masterpiece a mere 5 hours after it was out, so we all need a bit of perspective here.

I'm not even sure if there is such a thing as the greatest U2 album. I still can't really choose between JT and AB, they are so different and unbelievable in their own way.

 

[coach]

the same goes for atyclb. Even RS called it the third masterpiece.

I will say this. This album has balls,the last two didn't.

It could be the fourth best. Time will tell.

 

[Chief43]

I'll get back to you in March. I loved HTDAAB when it first came out as well - although for the fact it was a great collection of pop tunes. With NLOTH I'm getting the feel that I'm appreciating for its atmosphere and fluency - which gives it so much promise.

 

[rjhbonovox]

Ok if your under the age of 16 your probably a bit excited by a new u2 album but to declare it their best ever album after a few hours of listening is a bit over the top. I think u have to live with an album for at least a year to know where it rates compared to the others. Wasn't people also saying this ridiculous statement after the last 2 albums?

 

[2861U2]

After one listen, I'd say it's better then Joshua Tree. I can't say yet if it's better then Achtung.

 

[dmahoney10]

I'm comfortable placing it in the "good but not best" category.

 

[jonnytakeawalk]

It beats the shit out of Bomb and ATYCLB. That's all I'm game to say for the moment

 

[stealthboy]

It beats the shit out of Bomb and ATYCLB. That's all I'm game to say for the moment

I would agree with that.

 

[Yahweh]

Definatly ranks up with the best albums ever not only for U2 but ever

 

[U2opra]

- Is This The Best U2 Album Ever?!

No it isn't but it's certainly up there.

 

[bram]

This is a great album. I feel much more at peace about it, as opposed to the feeling when I first listened through HTDAAB a few times which was suspiciously excessive.

I think this one could stand the test of time--I still notice a 3-part feel to the whole thing, which I really like (songs 1-4, 5-7, 8-11). I think some of the segues are very good--listening without looking at the song progress made me a little unsure of where Being Born ended and WAS began.

Also--great, great finish. Put this thing on repeat and let the end of Cedars go straight into NLOTH. Works great as a cyclical listening experience.

 

[eas]

After one listen, I'd say it's better then Joshua Tree. I can't say yet if it's better then Achtung.

My thought exactly.

 

[U2opra]

Better than the Joshua Tree? WHAT?! Ok you are entitled to your opinion..

 

[BigMacPhisto]

There isn't a single track on this album that gives me shivers. The last album at least had Vertigo, Miracle Drug, Sometimes, City & All Because Of You which could haunt me 90-100% of the time. I don't think it's their worst album, it's certainly more cohesive than a few, and aside from Stand Up Comedy, consistently good from start to finish. I'll at least have more fun listening to it all the way through than Passengers, Rattle & Hum or Pop. I give it a 7.

 

[U2opra]

I am getting the same feeling. It just doesn't grab me. For some songs Bono's singing and lyricis are brilliant but is let down by the sounds of the song and/or the sounds are brilliant but Bono's singing/lyrics let down the song. This is just my opinion ofcourse.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

this album is full of singles-*anthems believe me!

Well, it's full of as many singles as the band chooses to release. But "Get On Your Boots" really is the closest thing to a hit and we all know how that turned out. I can't see any of the other songs having a remote chance at becoming radio staples here in the United States....this album will be their toughest sell since they became a world renowned arena rock act. It's going to need to rely on a lot of goodwill built up towards the band along with word of mouth because there just isn't anything here as instant as "City" or "Beautiful Day" or "Discotheque" or "Walk On", etc.

 

[david]

It's not their best, but waaaay better than Bomb.

 

[mrex]

Speaking from personal history, UF (the album) didn't "grab" me. But it went on to become may favorite of all time.

NLOTH is dense. It's going to take some time to work it all out.

 

[as you wish16]

When I first heard Achtung Baby I only liked half the album. Now it is by far my favorite album of all time in all genres. This thread is INCREDIBLY premature.

 

[elevashn_hj]

I have listened only one time so far, but dear god am I blown away. The only way that it could have been better is to make it a 10 song album and get rid of Boots. I still cannot stand that song. But then again I hated BTBS until I saw it live, I hated Mofo until I saw it live, I hated New York until I saw it live, um.......that should be enough. I just dont know if I will ever like boots. Go ahead and flame away now. But even with me hating boots, I think this is an absofuckinglutely brilliant album. Lots of classic U2 hints in it. The Eno/Lanois impact is shown throughout the entire thing. Ok now I am done here and going to listen again. I cant wait for the release so I can see Linear.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

When I first heard Achtung Baby I only liked half the album. Now it is by far my favorite album of all time in all genres. This thread is INCREDIBLY premature.

It depends on how much music you listen to. I listen to over 150 albums a year and can pretty much know on one listen whether or not something deserves to stay in my collection. I can see myself liking some of these songs more and more, especially after they're played live. But a shitty song like "Stand Up Comedy" will never do anything for me and that won't change.

I do think this is their least immediate album ever though. It's absolutely dense and will take us all ages to figure out what's going on. It's possibly the most layered album I've heard this year.

Weirdly enough though, Zooropa was the most immediate release ever for me. One listen and I had ate up absolutely everything. Weird.

 

[Yahweh]

Best maybe up for interpretation but I think when time looks back at this record it will be widely considered the 3rd classic.

 

[cpaxlvacy]

I like the album, i'm getting used to it, but i like Atomic Bomb, All that you can't leave behind more...The first time i heard Atomic Bomb i was amazed, with this one, it's kinda different

 

[Y2K]

Definitely not. I think a lot of people are still a bit too excited and close to this album to accurately rate it. Remember how people loved HTDABB at first and then the consensus seemed to swing the other way?

 

[adh1542]

Ok, lets not go that far just yet. Let's listen to it and let it grow for a good month at the very least!!!

 

[zwervers2]

Also--great, great finish. Put this thing on repeat and let the end of Cedars go straight into NLOTH. Works great as a cyclical listening experience.

Wait just a minute. Wasnt that other band completely slated for doing that?

U2 will have an extremely difficult time promoting this record by the way because there are no instant classics on it. Even Magnificent which is a great track isn't really a hit because of the lack of a radiofriendly chorus. it will also be very difficult to get this accros in a stadium because of the way the songs are structured and also layered

I for one am happy that they left the radiofriendly sound a bit by the way.