Is this the worst U2 album ever ?

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I WANT a U2 album which will be hated by the people who hate POP.

I find it interesting that as I read peoples reactions, that it seems that people who like POP, also like this record, and vice versa.

I Love POP. And I'm loving this
 
I WANT a U2 album which will be hated by the people who hate POP.

Hmmm...interesting observation. I love "Pop" but then again I also love "October" too which some people hate.

Time will tell where this one ranks in the annals but interestingly when I listened to it for the first time with earbuds last night (4th or 5th listen overall) for some bizarre reason I was underwhelmed.

It sounds better coming from speakers, filling the room so to speak, than from earbuds unless I'm using crappy equipment which could always be the case.
 
Sorry guys but I'm glad I didn't pay for your new album. We waited 5 years for this ? I can't hear Edge's guitar at all in this and there are no hits. Too melow for me. I don't think it will grow on me either as I am sick of listening to it already. Every Breaking Wave is the only half decent song on the entire album but we've already heard that song played live (which sounded better live). Maybe you should have worked with Eno and Lanois. Been a fan since the beginning really disappointed..Where was Larry and Adam on this album ? I thought they were the ones who are supposed to save them from releasing a shite album ? When Bono said after three shite albums that's it for them did he mean 3 in a row or 3 in total ? This is definitely #2 after Pop. Bono needs to sing not speak. Maybe they should have called it "This Is An Album for Somebody".

I almost felt the same as you after the first listening, the song felt flat, no chours, no dynamic...

But then after the second listening I figure out that this is an album that should be learned to like. A U2 album should demand that.

One of their best album according to me is Zooropa, Zooropa demand alot to be appreciated, alot of listnings, it took time and it was worth it.
Just like Zooropa SOE dosnt have much of great chourses. T

The songs on Zooropa have some kind of empty sound... Sure the album got Stay(So Far Close) and SOE got EBW and SFS.

My thoughts have gone from upset and woundering to more positive now.

In years I have wanted a album more like Zooropa, a difficult listened album. Then yesterday I got it and got upset, now I just realise what it was that that made Zooropa so good. I just had forget...
 
I don't trust my judgement of this album yet and I don't trust anyone else's either.

It's an incredibly dense record. There's so much information to process. I don't know if it's the best or their worst album (Well, it would never be as bad as ATYCLB) or what. I know it's a massive departure into new territory, in a way they have not done since Achtung.
 
This album sounds like every other album U2 has released since the beginning of their musical career. And what's even worse: The band who recorded this album sounds exactly like U2. It's always these same four guys. Nothing new here, boring. :grumpy:

:lmao:

Niceman said:
I WANT a U2 album which will be hated by the people who hate POP.

pretty much this
 
The Pop comparisons are interesting - I had the same reaction...but not until the 3rd or 4th listen. It looks like the 90s U2 fans (I'm firmly in this camp) finally have something to be excited about again...and the 2000s fans don't know what to make of it. Having said that, I'm excited about the record, but I don't love it...yet. At this point, I'm just glad there's something (the guitars, the lyrics, etc.) to potentially get excited about.
 
The Pop comparisons are interesting - I had the same reaction...but not until the 3rd or 4th listen. It looks like the 90s U2 fans (I'm firmly in this camp) finally have something to be excited about again...and the 2000s fans don't know what to make of it. Having said that, I'm excited about the record, but I don't love it...yet. At this point, I'm just glad there's something (the guitars, the lyrics, etc.) to potentially get excited about.

I think you've got a good point.
 
The Pop comparisons are interesting - I had the same reaction...but not until the 3rd or 4th listen. It looks like the 90s U2 fans (I'm firmly in this camp) finally have something to be excited about again...and the 2000s fans don't know what to make of it. Having said that, I'm excited about the record, but I don't love it...yet. At this point, I'm just glad there's something (the guitars, the lyrics, etc.) to potentially get excited about.

No, not true...I MUCH prefer ATYCLB to Pop and I'm really loving this album. Pop was a good try, ATYCLB was men coming to terms with who they were.

This album seems like the culmination of a lot of hard work, and deep thought process. The songs are well thought out, well crafted and the production is modern and spot on for what I think the band is trying to achieve. Not sure where it sits in terms of 'all time best', but so far it's really, really good and I'm glad to let the song grow on me more and more.
 
I think a lot of it, honestly, comes down to age of the listener. I was 13 when Achtung Baby came out and it not only got me into U2, it got me into music as well.

I don't think anything can replicate hearing any album for the first time when you're that age. U2 could've released some sort of amazing Joshua Tree / Achtung Baby hybrid yesterday that made everything they've done before pale in comparison...but I still wouldn't have been as excited as when Zooropa came out simply because now I'm in my mid-thirties.
 
Two questions:

1. Did you hate AB at first because Edge dropped his classic tones?
2. You really find the last 3 albums to be better lyrically? I mean there are moments, but I'm shocked that a lyric person would find this banal over some of the Bomb and ATYCLB stuff... or SUC


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

1) No. I immediately loved it upon first listen, particularly cuts I was unfamiliar with beforehand like "Zoo Station" and "The Fly"...but that albums still had Edge attempting to create unique sounds. This new record doesn't really have any guitar tones that show off his strengths. I guess it satisfies those who wanted some rock riffs, but I think U2's most important element has been Edge's ability to create some amazing soundscapes while at the same time being rather restrained.

2) While I admire the introspection in some of these lyrics and how personal they are, a lot of it is really hard to decipher in terms of intent and doesn't seem to gel with the rest of the music. There's not as much cheese as recent albums, but there's also nothing I really connect with...
 
As i said in other posts. Problem is , many of us continue to expect another AB in every release. I loved the 360 tour because it reminded me a lot of zooTV times. But the band does not want to continue in that path, they don't want to become a Vegas stand out show playing the same AB songs forever. They are creative, they put their material according to the times they are living in. The fact that we expect to hear another AB could be irrelevant for Bono.
 
No, not true...I MUCH prefer ATYCLB to Pop and I'm really loving this album. Pop was a good try, ATYCLB was men coming to terms with who they were.

Totally agree about ATYCLB. I really enjoyed it when it came out. I was let down when HTDAAB 'felt' like the same album. "ATYCLB was men coming to terms with who they were" that sentence is key for me. I always appreciated the 'try' of Pop or Zooropa and even Unforgettable Fire more than the anything else.

I've been cautiously into the new album because it seems like a genuine 'try' for the band. That was my biggest complaint of NLOTH....it felt like an experiment they abandoned half way through.
 
Those who really love the band would appreciate the album, may or may not like its sounds. at least one or two tunes are remarkable in my opinion. This is the band, our band, the best band, we should be thankful, and I bet some of this songs sound great when they play them live when on tour by 2015 or so.
 
When The Edge gives us lots of chimney guitars, people complain.

When he doesn't, prior complain.

Moral of the story is that people like to complain. #hotMoralTake

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The moral of the story is that U2 is a huge band and they have so many fans that few of us agree about much! :wink:
 
Those who really love the band would appreciate the album, may or may not like its sounds. at least one or two tunes are remarkable in my opinion. This is the band, our band, the best band, we should be thankful, and I bet some of this songs sound great when they play them live when on tour by 2015 or so.

this !
 
I think a lot of it, honestly, comes down to age of the listener. I was 13 when Achtung Baby came out and it not only got me into U2, it got me into music as well.

I don't think anything can replicate hearing any album for the first time when you're that age. U2 could've released some sort of amazing Joshua Tree / Achtung Baby hybrid yesterday that made everything they've done before pale in comparison...but I still wouldn't have been as excited as when Zooropa came out simply because now I'm in my mid-thirties.

"When you stop seeing beauty, you start growing old. The line on your face are a map to your soul."

This release excited me more than Zooropa's did, and I'm 41 now.
 
i will say there is no chimey guitar. is that true?

and is like, "no, really guys, i can do better."

Different maybe, but better, no, Edge is always on his game, this is just a different Edge we're hearing. I like it...very unusual sounds from Mr. Edge's guitars this time around. Some of these new sounds will sound great live.

I don't know if it's the best or their worst album (Well, it would never be as bad as ATYCLB) or what.
Seriously??
scratchchin.gif
 
This release excited me more than Zooropa's did, and I'm 41 now.

Fair enough....and to be fair I was/am excited. I think the fact that I even posted about the album (and I rarely post) kinda proves it. I guess my point was, is it nearly impossible to replicate any 'first' in your life with the same degree of intensity. Achtung Baby had already been out a month or so before I really heard it and got into it. Zooropa was just the first new release that I anticipated.

People also remember their first kiss....but rarely the second.
 
I don't think this is U2's worst record ever, but I have no problem with people who do.

Look, U2 has 13 records and everyone has their favourite and least favourite. So maybe someone just doesn't like the sound of this record. Or they prefer U2 with Eno and Lanois. Or Lillywhite. Or a more traditional "U2" sound. Maybe they prefer big anthems. There are lots of legit reasons to not like this record, and I'm cool with that.

What I think is a little uncool is to come in here and say it over and over again right now. I've sort of deliberately refrained from saying anything negative about the record, or the Apple relationship. It's not that I don't have any criticism, I just think it's a time to celebrate as U2 fans and not rain on each other's parade. There will be plenty of time to talk about how much the record sucks in the future if that's your thing.

As an aside, I think it's perfectly possible to think this is U2's "worst" record and still like it. If you're going to rank a list of things you like, something is still always going to be worst. I thought Return of the Jedi was the "worst" of the original SW Trilogy, but I still liked it. Same with Return of the King and LOTR. I think every song on TUF, JT and AB is great, but if I had to rank all of them there would still be something that would have to be last.

This record must be doing something right, because for the first time in a long time I'm excited about U2.
 
1) No. I immediately loved it upon first listen, particularly cuts I was unfamiliar with beforehand like "Zoo Station" and "The Fly"...but that albums still had Edge attempting to create unique sounds. This new record doesn't really have any guitar tones that show off his strengths. I guess it satisfies those who wanted some rock riffs, but I think U2's most important element has been Edge's ability to create some amazing soundscapes while at the same time being rather restrained.

2) While I admire the introspection in some of these lyrics and how personal they are, a lot of it is really hard to decipher in terms of intent and doesn't seem to gel with the rest of the music. There's not as much cheese as recent albums, but there's also nothing I really connect with...


I suggest listening to it on headphones; everything you're looking for is in there.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
OP needs to make sure his headphones are plugged in all the way. Adam's bass is huge on Iris and Volcano.

This might be the worst reviewed U2 album yet, but it's probably not the worst. HTDAAB and October exist.
 
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