This whole concept that SOI went wrong, is dead, there are autopsies, medical examiners' investigations as to manner of death, police investigators looking at suspects and motive, etc is getting very, very old.
We can all find fault with certain songs and marketing strategies on all of U2's albums and we're their biggest fans in this world. I happen to think War, JT and AB are pretty damn close to perfect, but if I think long enough, I can come up with a list of things I'd change about each album, era, etc.
That is quite different than what we see in this thread. Regardless of your personal opinions, we're looking at an album that is short of 6 months old and has been played very, very little live. Who knows what will become of it or how it will ultimately be viewed?
Others have brought up the I-Tunes results. Regardless of whether you believe the "U2 beats T-Swift" narrative, does everyone remember the bump up in sales for the back catalog when SOI was released?? Obviously people liked something they heard and were reminded how great U2 were. What the general public has seen so far from SOI (and also going back to OL and Invisible), they seem to like. So now compare this to the public's first real exposure to NLOTH- the Grammy performance of GOYB. It was widely criticized as being a terrible song and an embarrassment for the band. I think it did them more harm than it gets credit for.
Whether or not you like SOI, U2 wrote a genuine, heartfelt, intimate album that tells poignant personal stories yet at the same time can be applied to many situations.
They probably anticipated the lower sales given the Apple release, but didn't anticipate the lack of hits to this point. Just because SOI has yet to meet all of U2's goals doesn't mean it's a failure or that something "went wrong." A lot of it is circumstances and the target audience of the music industry in general and radio in particular these days. If U2 had released this record in 2000 instead of ATYCLB, there's a pretty good chance California or EBW reach BD status in the public eye.
The reasons for this shift are another discussion entirely. We all agree, however, that it's occurring. In my opinion, it explains more of the lack of relevance for U2 than people here are willing to admit. Sure, U2 could've definitely promoted some of these songs better- get something sent right to the radio after Miracle with the explicit intent of trying out for the next big U2 anthem. Iris, EBW, California, Volcano, SFS, even Reach could've done it in the right circumstances.
We all have our opinions, and it's fine to dislike this album, be lukewarm to it or criticize what we see as missteps regarding the whole process. It's a different thing entirely to pronounce as fact that SOI is "dead" and U2 need to do serious soul searching and rethinking before even considering moving forward.
Seriously?!? DaveC was right!!! Arrghhh!! 
