Rate: No Line on the Horizon Album

[Globo14]

This is a perfect example that bands/artists message boards isn't a good indicator of the average fans taste.

Who ever said they were?

 

[Blue Room]

I think it is a good album but not great. The song NLOTH is as good as any song they have done, love it (should have NEVER dropped it from the setlist). White As Snow and Cedars are snoozers to me. I'm not enamored with Magnificent to be honest either. That song is U2 by numbers to me. Its just OK. Stand Up Comedy isn't awful, but its not great either. I think it gets a little too much flack though. I think it would have been a great live song, they should have tried it. Boots, is Vertigo part II to me. I like Vertigo but I did not need a part II (I will say it is much better live in person than the album). Breathe is a good song, just should not have opened the tour for 2 legs, it did not work effectively as an opener, but is a good album song. Moment of Surrender is also a good album song, but I did not care for the live version as much. I think the Linear version of Winter should have made the album also.

ATYCLB and HTDAAB were better albums to me. HTDAAB was not as cohesive as it probably should have been though. Probably due to the multiple producers. But there are some great songs (plural) on both of those albums. There is only one GREAT song on NLOTH to me and its NLOTH.

 

[BVS]

This is a perfect example that bands/artists message boards isn't a good indicator of the average fans taste.

This just in: the Pope IS Catholic.
And, gravity still exists.

 

[trevgreg]

I think it is a good album but not great. The song NLOTH is as good as any song they have done, love it (should have NEVER dropped it from the setlist). White As Snow and Cedars are snoozers to me. I'm not enamored with Magnificent to be honest either. That song is U2 by numbers to me. Its just OK. Stand Up Comedy isn't awful, but its not great either. I think it gets a little too much flack though. I think it would have been a great live song, they should have tried it. Boots, is Vertigo part II to me. I like Vertigo but I did not need a part II (I will say it is much better live in person than the album). Breathe is a good song, just should not have opened the tour for 2 legs, it did not work effectively as an opener, but is a good album song. Moment of Surrender is also a good album song, but I did not care for the live version as much. I think the Linear version of Winter should have made the album also.

ATYCLB and HTDAAB were better albums to me. HTDAAB was not as cohesive as it probably should have been though. Probably due to the multiple producers. But there are some great songs (plural) on both of those albums. There is only one GREAT song on NLOTH to me and its NLOTH.

Plenty of good points there, though I rather liked Magnificent and didn't think MOS was that bad live. For me, the prior two albums just are more cohesive as a whole. For me, the really good moments on NLOTH do rival the best songs on those albums (if they don't excel over them), but I can't get over the weak second half of the album - aside from Breathe and Fez maybe. I don't think it's a coincidence that the band never tried out the five songs live that didn't get played on the 360 tour.

 

[Moser]

754 votes and 18,000 some views. Not bad, Interference.

Average rating after 1,434 days of voting is:

7.87

Which means the average opinion of NLOTH is that it's Great but not quite Extraordinary.

This is not supposed to be an estimate of the average fan's opinion, but rather just an inference of a fan forum's opinion from a representative sample.

 

[digitize]

The secret to getting lots of survivor votes is to keep each poll open for 1,434 days, I guess.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

The secret to getting lots of survivor votes is to keep each poll open for 1,434 days, I guess.

I gave the album a 7 here.

 

[Niceman]

A majority of voters gave it an 8 or 9.

 

[Globo14]

The eternal thread!

 

[OpenG180]

It's a strong 7.

 

[Moser]

I'm satisfied with leaving it open for 4 years. At first I was going to close this after six months, but I changed my mind because I wanted fans to give their opinions on it and rate when they were ready, whether that was during 2009 or 2013.

I'm also glad people cannot change their rating either, so that this thread can be a sort of record of feelings toward NLOTH. Ratings may be rather over-inflated at first, but over time they may actually be under-inflated as album loses its freshness and people start yearning for the new. It may actually average out in the end.

It's all relatively unscientific, but concerning a person's opinions that gradually evolves and changes over time, I'd rather just have this snapshot.

 

[Nick66]

I agree that this one falls at around a 7...just sort of feels right for this record. It's just a hard one to rate b/c to me it's U2's most uneven album.

 

[bonocomet]

Masterpiece and Extraordinary are exactly tied right now. Neat.

I gave it an 8 four years ago. Wow 4 years! that just kind of freaked me out.

Pretty sure I still stand by this today.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

I gave it a 7 then and I stand by that rating, love the first 4 and the last 4. Its the middle three that brings it down imo.

 

[Galeongirl]

I gave it a 10 and I still love it to pieces. Only the last track gets skipped(to be honest, I replaced it with NLOTH2), but the rest? Love it. Probably tied for my 2nd favourite U2 record with Pop.

 

[Axver]

I definitely would not rate it as high as 8 now. Probably 6.

 

[wolbersu2]

One of their best albums, along with achtung baby, war and the unforgettable fire!

 

[Bobvancleef]

I give it a solid 6:Good. I liked some of the artwork but the running order isn't quite right and the Boots+Stand up combo wreak havoc on otherwise decent album.

If something like this had been the album;

Fez - Being Born
Magnificent
Moment of Surrender
Breathe
Crazy Tonight
Soon (Kingdom)
No Line On the Horizon
Unknown Caller
White As Snow
Winter
Cedars of Lebanon

That, I think is a great album.

 

[dazzledbylight]

STILL a 9 for moi

I don't think there IS a best U2 album hmm: yet/)
because I believe there's enough BIG difference in style
to give a pantheon of Masterpieces

my 3: JT, AB & NLOTH

I'm thinking now suddenly- maybe a poster that I just caught above rating AB, UF and War as their MPs:
that NLOTH has a merge of some JT, some AB AND UF

dtilll makes it different enough

 

[lisag71]

I never thought I'd dislike a U2 album so much but I had to give a 3. I've been a fan since 1985 and this is the worst one in my opinion.

 

[SecretFly]

I'd rather listen to Dolly Parton.

 

[digitize]

Nice thread resurrection.

I gave it a 9 in 2009. I'd probably give it an 8 now.

 

[allbecauseofme]

Nice thread resurrection.

I gave it a 9 in 2009. I'd probably give it an 8 now.

Agree!!

 

[rennowba]

When it came out i would of given it a 8-9

But now I only find myself listening to nloth,mos,boots(live) and breathe.

7 for me now

 

[Galeongirl]

I gave it a 10, probably a 9 now. Though that's with me including NLOTH2 on it. The only song I just cannot get into is Cedars, I still love the rest. Yes, including the middle three. Though the album version of Boots is cringeworthy, I still don't get the hate. Love Crazy and SUC.

 

[Globo14]

I'd say a 6.5 at this point. there's only a few songs I still listen to from it, but they're all really good.

Sent from my SGH-I337 using U2 Interference mobile app

 

[david]

I give it a 7. Sounds great on vinyl. I enjoy it more than Bomb. It does feel like two different albums thrown together.

Sent from my AT300 using U2 Interference mobile app

 

[pepokiss]

is there a way to know what I voted ?

 

[Hollow Island]

67.5 percent of Interference think this album is extraordinary at worst? Were most of these votes cast within minutes of first hearing the album?

Today I give it a 6 as an album because it doesn't work, but a 7.5 in terms of songwriting (8.5 brought down by the middle three), and an 8 for the production and mixing.

 

[Hollow Island]

Someone should make a "Rate NLOTH Five Years On" poll. I'd love to see how opinions have changed.