Is this the worst U2 album ever ?

[birdman]

10/10:

1. Joshua Tree
2. All That You Can't Leave Behind
3. Achtung Baby
4. Unforgettable Fire
5. Zooropa
6. War

9/10:

7. October

8/10:

8. Boy
9. No Line On The Horizon
10. Original Soundtracks I

7/10:

11. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

6/10:

12. Pop
13. Rattle & Hum
14. Songs Of Innocence

U wot m8? Fink ur tuff, do ya?

 

[dan_smee]

It's very early, but I enjoy it more than NLOTH, HTDAAB, ATYCLB, October, and R&H so far. That puts it right in the middle. With time it may dip below R&H and October, but in the same breath it may rise over War, Boy, Pop and Zooropa. Which would put it at highest 4th, lowest 10th

 

[birdman]

Forver better than NLOTH, in my book.

 

[Tyagu_Anaykus]

10/10:

1. Joshua Tree
2. All That You Can't Leave Behind
3. Achtung Baby
4. Unforgettable Fire
5. Zooropa
6. War

9/10:

7. October

8/10:

8. Boy
9. No Line On The Horizon
10. Original Soundtracks I

7/10:

11. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

6/10:

12. Pop
13. Rattle & Hum
14. Songs Of Innocence

Really a 6? I'm surprised I though you would give a 3 or 4 like... Pitchfork

 

[Tyagu_Anaykus]

By the way... Shouldn't be a thread to rank the albums?

 

[Kieran McConville]

What the fuck are 'chimney guitars'?

 

[Tyagu_Anaykus]

Since there's no thread for ranking the albums:

10/10:
1.Zooropa
2.Achtung Baby

9/10
3. Joshua Tree
4. War

8/10
5.Boy

7/10
6.Pop
7.Rattle & Hum
8.Songs of Innocence

6/10
9.No Line On The Horizon
10.Unforgettable Fire
11.October
12.How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb


2/10
13.All That You Can't Leave Behind


All in all, pretty consistent and cohesive work. There is happy U2, darker U2, softer U2, harder u2 and still everything flows tightly, culminating in their best song since 1997 (The Toubles). U2 always had fantastic closers (apart from grace and yahweh)

A word of applause to Adam, I'm really enjoying the bass.

 

[birdman]

So you gave Atyclb, the album that has 'Kite', a 2? I don't follow your logic.

 

[Tyagu_Anaykus]

I tried, birdman. I really tried. But I can't stand the album. Not even, as you say, Kite.

 

[birdman]

I tried, birdman. I really tried. But I can't stand the album. Not even, as you say, Kite.

This is more than a 2.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpGnsOMNeMo

 

[hasin73]

These are the particular fans I want disappointed. This is a good sign for the album. Everybody who listened to it more than once changed their opinions and will continue to do so after many listens and getting into the themes of the songs. Good albums have to sink in.

It also helps to listen more because the album is full of guitars. Every Breaking Wave is more mellow but you choose that as the best song of this "too mellow" album.

If you think this is too mellow then I can guess what you must think of Zooropa and Passengers.

 

[dan_smee]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXps0nV1Ypk

Wanted to throw my video of Kite in, just cos I wanted to

 

[birdman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXps0nV1Ypk

Wanted to throw my video of Kite in, just cos I wanted to

Capital!

 

[birdman]

To be fair, I'm would be way too much of a pussy to rate each album individually.

 

[Tyagu_Anaykus]

sure, but we're talking about album as a whole.
I don't understand the love for beautiful day (sorry ).
Can't stand Stuck in a Moment, In a Little While, Wild Honey, Peace of Earth and while Elevation can be fun live, it doesn't save the album.
New York has a nice guitar riff, but thats it.

Walk on its ok I guess.

And yes I was pretty harsh while given the 2, but I was trying to use the difference between a 6 and a 2 to show how I really feel about the album.

 

[birdman]

sure, but we're talking about album as a whole.
I don't understand the love for beautiful day (sorry ).
Can't stand Stuck in a Moment, In a Little While, Wild Honey, Peace of Earth and while Elevation can be fun live, it doesn't save the album.
New York has a nice guitar riff, but thats it.

Walk on its ok I guess.

And yes I was pretty harsh while given the 2, but I was trying to use the difference between a 6 and a 2 to show how I really feel about the album.

Haha, I know mate. I didn't want to show you up, just wanted to plug some of my favourite live performances

For example, by my evidently concrete logic;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WySxQqE9RwY

The Unforgettable Fire is my favorite album!

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

I listened to SOI like 10 times now, I find it great, really.... then I wanted to go back in time and "compare" it with AB, POP and ATYCLB for a start. Well, I know it's difficult to compare albums, different age, different mood, different sound and themes, but all I can surely say is that both AB and POP are better than SOI by miles!
ATYCLB has never been a top ranked album for me. It has fabulous hit singles like BD, Elevation and Stuck (which I don't like), it has 1 great song -> Kite, but it also has shitty stuff in the second half of the album (WH, POE, Grace). Thus, to me SOI > ATYCLB.
For the final ranking, I will need to wait some more, it's impossible right now.

Here are the spots that won't be moved for sure:

1. AB
2. JT
3. Boy
4. Pop

The rest I don't know....

 

[birdman]

ATYCLB has never been a top ranked album for me. It has fabulous hit singles like BD, Elevation and Stuck (which I don't like), it has 1 great song -> Kite, but it also has shitty stuff in the second half of the album (WH, POE, Grace). Thus, to me SOI > ATYCLB.

I was similarly taken by SOI, in another thread I made the remark that "it has the fluidity of Boy and AB, but not the same level of ambition".

Would you agree?

PS: If it so pleases the mods;

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/3576329

 

[Tyagu_Anaykus]

I was similarly taken by SOI, in another thread I made the remark that "it has the fluidity of Boy and AB, but not the same level of ambition".

Would you agree?

I do.

 

[plp]

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.

I was going to make this exact point. I've been a fan since MTV aired the Under a Blood Red Sky concert (yes I'm old enough to remember when MTV played music). The releases of UF and JT seemed almost life changing to me at that time. I'm now 47 and there isn't a record any band could put out that would make me feel like that again. With that being said, I still think SOI is a GREAT record. I was smiling ear to ear on first listen and I am enjoying it more on subsequent listens. It's been a LONG time since I've felt this way about any bands music.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[bazza]

Is a work of art!!!!! Amazing - legends in stone forever.

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

What the fuck are 'chimney guitars'?

you know, i guess that means you "put it in your pipe and smoke it" guitars.

that or dress up as Santa Claus and play

 

[Kieran McConville]

...or they meant 'chimey' guitars?

'Shimmery' guitars?

'Chiming' guitars, that's probably it.

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

No im pretty sure they didnt mean that. I mean im sure they did...its just that im not having any of it. No. Santa claus playing the guitar, chain smoking and drinking whiskey, Billy Bob, thats the image ive got.

 

[Salome]

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.

This about sums it up for me too.
All of it.

 

[birdman]

I do.

When you think about it, SOI is a perfect album for us, as the band knew that we would be sitting here on our computers complaining that its not exactly the same album as AB, and using all their previous releases as rigid metrics. A lot of the tracks evoke those sounds, so its good in that way.

 

[birdman]

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.

There's a quality to this album, where I feel like I'm peering into the bedroom window of someone listening to a great album, on high volume. It has an up-in-the-airness to it, which I find very entertaining. Good show!

 

[Moser]

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".

Everyone is entitled to their two cents. I take this one at face value.

 

[BoyOnTheHorizon]

I was similarly taken by SOI, in another thread I made the remark that "it has the fluidity of Boy and AB, but not the same level of ambition".

Would you agree?

PS: If it so pleases the mods;

TubeChop - U2 live ZooTV Tour - 11 August 1993 Wembley Stadium London (02:47)

I would say its the other way around, it has the ambition of AB, but not the same level of fluidity. But anyway, which album has?

 

[SpiralStaircase]

I can't hear Edge's guitar at all in this. Where was Larry and Adam on this album ?Bono needs to sing not speak.