SOE Holdouts until 12/1- The End is Near

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I could not resist anymore. I have only been listening to the already released tracks but still I feel like a weak chopper. By the way, there is a very small difference in quality between i-tunes versions and high quality leak.
 
Not caving.

Reading reactions here are definitely running the risk of overhype, though. Going to be a tough wait, but hopefully worth it.
 
Not sure what there is to "cave" about. Caving would have been listening to the low quality Facebook recording. Listening to the new leak is essentially going to sound the same as what you'll hear in a few days when you buy the CD. Nothing to feel bad about.

Frenchie44 said:
I could not resist anymore. I have only been listening to the already released tracks but still I feel like a weak chopper. By the way, there is a very small difference in quality between i-tunes versions and high quality leak.
Click to expand...

You can tell the difference between a 192kbps file and a 256kbps one? Most likely any difference you're hearing with the singles is b/c the iTunes ones are "Mastered for iTunes" and this is probably a straight up CD rip. If anything the leak will sound more like what you'll hear on the CD. Though there will certainly be people on here saying how much "clearer" the CD sounds when they finally get it.
 
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DomCobb said:
Not caving.

Reading reactions here are definitely running the risk of overhype, though. Going to be a tough wait, but hopefully worth it.
Click to expand...

You have a really good album coming and it won't be long now. If you want to avoid being tempted then get off Interference and find some music you have that you haven't listened to in a long time. Grab an old classic and listen to it like it's brand new.
 
I'll wait too. Skimmed a u2start thread and the reaction seems very positive so...

We got Blackout. TBT. TLTTGYA. GOOYOW. AS. What's a few more days ?
 
Waiting to listen to the album now is like: “The steak is done, hot off the grill and ready to be eaten...but I’ll hold off on eating it until Friday when I was supposed to eat the steak in the first place.”

Bad analogy but I tried... admire the patience of those waiting. Life too short and all that ...
 
Holding out still! Reading everyone’s comments is sure interesting though and is helping build the anticipation even more if possible.
 
As Nick66 said above - if you've already ordered the album then you're not caving. If anything reading all the reactions on the other thread may affect your first listening experience.
 
I have it coming 3x from ticket purchases, plus I ordered the vinyl. I grabbed the 192k CD rip. I never would have bothered with a FB steam of the record.
 
So I couldn’t resist and thought I’d share my thoughts for those holding out in order to help set expectations after 2 full listens.

I would say this album will be a grower and ultimately a top U2 album only behind JT, AB, and ATYCLB. After reading lots of reviews my expectations were through the roof, and my first listen let me down just a little bit. Something to keep in mind, in my opinion there are no With Or Without You’s, Bad, etc all on this album.

Now as a collection of songs this is a start to finish listen and plays very very well. Deep and emotional would be great words to describe it. It’s as if U2 has accepted there place in the music industry at this stage of their careers....they aren’t going to be top 10 and may never write another truly epic song again. (C’mon not many songs will ever be like WOWOY, One, or say 1979 by the Smashing Pumpkins, etc etc. U2 is lucky to have so many!)

With that out of the way here’s a down and dirty (Don’t even remeber the names yet!)

Track 1: Interesting...more of an intro than a song. Cool use of Auto-tune more for a melody than vocal effect. Sets a theme of tranquility/ peaceful lovey kinda vibe.

Track 2: Upbeat, reminds me of late Beatles towards the end, love the “Free Yourself, Be Yourself” ending. Not an Epic song by any means but cool flow to get things going.

Track 3: Enjoyed this as a single and haven’t fully processed its place on the album and made that separation quite yet, so its hard to fully comment. As a new dad I often think of my little boy on this one being the best thing about me...cheesy I know!

Track 4: I really liked this song as the best of the early previews, catchy, again not epic but a good tune and flows well with the rest of the tracks...including the fade into the next one

Track 5: Not a huge fan, too political for me. Appreciate the rocking effort and the Volcano reprise, and intro from the last song. (I’m also the guy that doesn’t like Bullet the Blue Sky all that much.)

Track 6: Probably my least favorite, doesn’t really do much for me, in my opinion this one is a bit of an album filler.

Track 7: Everyone seems to love this...definitely an early U2 vibe and a grower. Maybe I was expecting Edge to rip through some killer solos or something and felt something missing, but the second listen it did grow on me.

Track 8: One of my favs, but really for the melody and fun vibe. Not a ton of changes or complexities, but a great happy tune! I feel like this mixes up the album and leads to a very strong ending.

Track 9: An album highlight for sure but I am having a hard time separating from some of the live versions which I didn’t really dig. This song screams to go big and maybe for some people it does that. It’s 10x better than the live versions and a great, powerful U2 song nonetheless and I do love it, but did feel a slight let down...maybe it’s because of the live versions i’ve seen that didn’t fully capture the power of this one and thats still stuck in my head?

Track 10: Quite possibly my favorite...really really love the melody and this one has a fresh feel...although there are reminiscents of Promenade on guitar, along with how the song just sorta builds and ends without getting too big....this one slightly disappointed me as I thought it could have gone much bigger, but it’s still great and on my second listen knowing it wasn’t gonna go bigger I enjoyed it even more!

Track 11: Definite rocker and i can feel this in the context of the album a lot better than the other early released songs. The vibe & lyrics flow great with an overall message of a band that is getting older and still trying to give it there best.

Track 12: Probably the biggest song on the album, a little cheesy but following the theme of love, peace, etc it’s quite uplifting! Again do not expect that epic anthem and you will love it!

Track 13: I was slightly disappointed but after the second listen its a great ending to the story of SoI/SoE. The beginning melody is a lot like that Paul Simon Mother & Child song Bono would snippet i think on the last tour. Than it turns into a deeper & darker Song for Someone, bringing a humble ending to the album.

To sum it up, these are a great collection of songs. The hype had me expecting huge things...bombastic guitar solos and breakdowns and changes that are so powerful that they move you to tears like U2 has done in the past. Instead what I found is when put together, you have a sincere story line with some deep tracks, that will ultimately move you in their own way.

As a long term fan, it’s like a passage of accepting U2 is getting older, a bit like my dad, who I have seen many shows together with. Yet there are still some good years left and this album is a great statement.

My pops is waiting to listen to it with me for the first time tomorrow night as we were away for Thanksgiving with the wifes family. I’m expecting it to be a great bonding experience, and looking forward to it very much. I have 2 young children of my own now and this album speaks directly to me, as a lot of U2 albums have throughout my life!

I hope everyone enjoys, and I hope I am able to help with some of that slight disappointment I experienced on first listen looking for some epic anthems!

P.S. Here are some of the “epic anthems” I’d reference that I haven’t been able to find on my first 2 listens of SoE: Bad, With or Without You, Sometimes You Can’t Make it on Your Own, All I Want is You, Miss Sarejevo, One, Please, Moment of Surrender, etc. etc.

-Waz
 
wasilefsky said:
So I couldn’t resist and thought I’d share my thoughts for those holding out in order to help set expectations after 2 full listens.

I would say this album will be a grower and ultimately a top U2 album only behind JT, AB, and ATYCLB. After reading lots of reviews my expectations were through the roof, and my first listen let me down just a little bit. Something to keep in mind, in my opinion there are no With Or Without You’s, Bad, etc all on this album.

Now as a collection of songs this is a start to finish listen and plays very very well. Deep and emotional would be great words to describe it. It’s as if U2 has accepted there place in the music industry at this stage of their careers....they aren’t going to be top 10 and may never write another truly epic song again. (C’mon not many songs will ever be like WOWOY, One, or say 1979 by the Smashing Pumpkins, etc etc. U2 is lucky to have so many!)

With that out of the way here’s a down and dirty (Don’t even remeber the names yet!)

Track 1: Interesting...more of an intro than a song. Cool use of Auto-tune more for a melody than vocal effect. Sets a theme of tranquility/ peaceful lovey kinda vibe.

Track 2: Upbeat, reminds me of late Beatles towards the end, love the “Free Yourself, Be Yourself” ending. Not an Epic song by any means but cool flow to get things going.

Track 3: Enjoyed this as a single and haven’t fully processed its place on the album and made that separation quite yet, so its hard to fully comment. As a new dad I often think of my little boy on this one being the best thing about me...cheesy I know!

Track 4: I really liked this song as the best of the early previews, catchy, again not epic but a good tune and flows well with the rest of the tracks...including the fade into the next one

Track 5: Not a huge fan, too political for me. Appreciate the rocking effort and the Volcano reprise, and intro from the last song. (I’m also the guy that doesn’t like Bullet the Blue Sky all that much.)

Track 6: Probably my least favorite, doesn’t really do much for me, in my opinion this one is a bit of an album filler.

Track 7: Everyone seems to love this...definitely an early U2 vibe and a grower. Maybe I was expecting Edge to rip through some killer solos or something and felt something missing, but the second listen it did grow on me.

Track 8: One of my favs, but really for the melody and fun vibe. Not a ton of changes or complexities, but a great happy tune! I feel like this mixes up the album and leads to a very strong ending.

Track 9: An album highlight for sure but I am having a hard time separating from some of the live versions which I didn’t really dig. This song screams to go big and maybe for some people it does that. It’s 10x better than the live versions and a great, powerful U2 song nonetheless and I do love it, but did feel a slight let down...maybe it’s because of the live versions i’ve seen that didn’t fully capture the power of this one and thats still stuck in my head?

Track 10: Quite possibly my favorite...really really love the melody and this one has a fresh feel...although there are reminiscents of Promenade on guitar, along with how the song just sorta builds and ends without getting too big....this one slightly disappointed me as I thought it could have gone much bigger, but it’s still great and on my second listen knowing it wasn’t gonna go bigger I enjoyed it even more!

Track 11: Definite rocker and i can feel this in the context of the album a lot better than the other early released songs. The vibe & lyrics flow great with an overall message of a band that is getting older and still trying to give it there best.

Track 12: Probably the biggest song on the album, a little cheesy but following the theme of love, peace, etc it’s quite uplifting! Again do not expect that epic anthem and you will love it!

Track 13: I was slightly disappointed but after the second listen its a great ending to the story of SoI/SoE. The beginning melody is a lot like that Paul Simon Mother & Child song Bono would snippet i think on the last tour. Than it turns into a deeper & darker Song for Someone, bringing a humble ending to the album.

To sum it up, these are a great collection of songs. The hype had me expecting huge things...bombastic guitar solos and breakdowns and changes that are so powerful that they move you to tears like U2 has done in the past. Instead what I found is when put together, you have a sincere story line with some deep tracks, that will ultimately move you in their own way.

As a long term fan, it’s like a passage of accepting U2 is getting older, a bit like my dad, who I have seen many shows together with. Yet there are still some good years left and this album is a great statement.

My pops is waiting to listen to it with me for the first time tomorrow night as we were away for Thanksgiving with the wifes family. I’m expecting it to be a great bonding experience, and looking forward to it very much. I have 2 young children of my own now and this album speaks directly to me, as a lot of U2 albums have throughout my life!

I hope everyone enjoys, and I hope I am able to help with some of that slight disappointment I experienced on first listen looking for some epic anthems!

P.S. Here are some of the “epic anthems” I’d reference that I haven’t been able to find on my first 2 listens of SoE: Bad, With or Without You, Sometimes You Can’t Make it on Your Own, All I Want is You, Miss Sarejevo, One, Please, Moment of Surrender, etc. etc.

-Waz
Click to expand...

Nice breakdown. I would say 'Little Things' definitely exceeds 'Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own' and maybe even 'Moment of Surrender'. What did you think of 'Book of Your Heart' by the way? That song is rather epic, I'd say.
 
wasilefsky said:
P.S. Here are some of the “epic anthems” I’d reference that I haven’t been able to find on my first 2 listens of SoE: Bad, With or Without You, Sometimes You Can’t Make it on Your Own, All I Want is You, Miss Sarejevo, One, Please, Moment of Surrender, etc. etc.

-Waz
Click to expand...

I wouldn't describe SYCMIOYO, Miss Sarajevo, Please or Moment of Surrender as 'epic anthems'.
 
jameskinsella said:
I wouldn't describe SYCMIOYO, Miss Sarajevo, Please or Moment of Surrender as 'epic anthems'.
Click to expand...
I would concur. "Epic U2" - (the type of Bono sort of singing from a mountain top or a field or a castle or a desert) - ended around 1988 after 'All I Want is You'. Epic U2 also seemed to coincide with Bono's long hair, strangely enough. As funny as it sounds, that spiritual pilgrim look was a part of U2's epicness. Bono's (I would argue authentic) image at the time was a reflection of that.
 
I’m not caving! Honestly I just don’t want my first time to be through my phone or laptop. I want to hear it on my turntable.
 
I'm flying back to England on Thursday to see my family for a few days and the CD will (i assume) arrive at their house on Friday morning?? So I'm going to try and wait but since a CD rip's out there, I might cave on Thursday before my flight just so I actually pay attention to my family over the weekend. :lol:

Reading all the comments about the album has me very excited though! Glad it's gone down so well here.
 
It feels, to me, like opening your Christmas presents early. I think it ruins the fun a bit of hearing it for the first time if you don't actually have the CD in your hands. Plus I like to do a proper run up of the whole catalog before I listen to the new installment.

I didn't really get the chance for either of these with SOI, so it'll be nice to do it the other way this time.
 
heh i was planning on waiting til Friday, but now have to be out all day and will miss the postman, so would have had to wait til Saturday (at least - depending on which postal service is delivering from U2.com - some parcel companies don't deliver here on Saturdays so might have had to wait til Monday)... didn't touch the facebook leak, but, yeah, jumped on the CD leak :D
 
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mama cass said:
heh i was planning on waiting til Friday, but now have to be out all day and will miss the postman, so would have had to wait til Saturday (at least - depending on which postal service is delivering from U2.com - some parcel companies don't deliver here on Saturdays so might have had to wait til Monday)... didn't touch the facebook leak, but, yeah, jumped on the CD leak :D
Click to expand...



No, you gave in!!!!

Well, what did you think?
 
CosmoKramer said:
No, you gave in!!!!

Well, what did you think?
Click to expand...

i absolutely love it Cosmo - there is so much there, so many details and layers to discover, so many sounds and moods - it takes you on a journey, thru every feeling and emotion - you can tell they have worked so hard to make something incredible and they have! it's perfect :heart:
 
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