Songs of Innocence - Album Discussion Pt.3

[CosmoKramer]

... which works because I Still Haven't Found is a song people actually know.



SFS would go over about as well as Unknown Caller did on 360, even with a bouncing ball to help with the lyrics.

Unknown Caller was a disaster live. There was no sing along crowd pleasing chorus. It is such an awkward song.

SFS, like it or not, has a very good song along chorus and I suspect it is going to go over very well live.




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[scrumpyjsk]

I'm so glad I enjoy Song for Someone. It might not be the band's most interesting song, but it is quaint and I like it. Hearing it live won't be a chore.


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[Nick66]

... which works because I Still Haven't Found is a song people actually know.

SFS would go over about as well as Unknown Caller did on 360, even with a bouncing ball to help with the lyrics.

I hear ya, U2 hasn't really released a song that people can sing along to in over 10 years. But really...how hard is the SFS chorus? I'm serious, I bet they're going to turn it into the "pull out your cellphones" moment. I think most of the audience will pick up "This is a soooongoooong, sooonnoooong for someone" pretty quick. Well, those who aren't already in the toilet anyway.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

I hear ya, U2 hasn't really released a song that people can sing along to in over 10 years. But really...how hard is the SFS chorus? I'm serious, I bet they're going to turn it into the "pull out your cellphones" moment. I think most of the audience will pick up "This is a soooongoooong, sooonnoooong for someone" pretty quick. Well, those who aren't already in the toilet anyway.

Invisible has that "catch phrase" perfect for audience participation.

 

[pepokiss]

California's one of the best songs on the album. I'd give Song For Someone the boot for Invisible.

If Invisible were on the album, there would be enough on the album that I loved to probably even put the album higher in my rankings.

You're perfect

 

[Galeongirl]

If the album had TCB and Invisible on it, it would certainly rise in my album rating as well.

 

[Zoomerang96]

i think... this could go down as my least favourite u2 album of all time.

the troubles is nice, but i don't really listen to it anymore. sleep like a baby tonight is also pretty good.

but that can never wash away the shit stains that are volcano, the miracle, california, and this is where you can find me now.

 

[Zoomerang96]

add me to the list of people who thought invisible should be on the album... great song.

 

[prbiker15]

California's one of the best songs on the album. I'd give Song For Someone the boot for Invisible.

If Invisible were on the album, there would be enough on the album that I loved to probably even put the album higher in my rankings.

Definitely.

 

[prbiker15]

Bono told the guy who wrote the NYT piece on the tour that he regrets how "glossy" Songs of Innocence sounds, and that it should have sounded rougher.

Podcast with Jon Pareles, the guy who wrote a NYTimes piece on the IETour: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/08/popcast-u2-prepares-to-go-on-tour/

 

[Nick66]

Bono told the guy who wrote the NYT piece on the tour that he regrets how "glossy" Songs of Innocence sounds, and that it should have sounded rougher.

Wow. That's beginning early, the tour hasn't even started yet. Usually they don't start slamming the last album until the new one comes out.

An album that took, what, between 3-5 years to record with multiple producers sounds glossy and overproduced? Nah.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

add me to the list of people who thought invisible should be on the album... great song.

agreed.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

i think... this could go down as my least favourite u2 album of all time.

the troubles is nice, but i don't really listen to it anymore. sleep like a baby tonight is also pretty good.

but that can never wash away the shit stains that are volcano, the miracle, california, and this is where you can find me now.

You think SOI is worse than No Line On The Horizon?

 

[LemonMelon]

Wow. That's beginning early, the tour hasn't even started yet. Usually they don't start slamming the last album until the new one comes out.

An album that took, what, between 3-5 years to record with multiple producers sounds glossy and overproduced? Nah.

Does Bono listen to the albums before they come out or what? It doesn't take a great deal of analysis or multiple listens to come to the conclusion that the album is overproduced. The first four tracks could give you diabetes.

 

[corianderstem]

You're perfect

 

[ozeeko]

While I feel SOI is a more consistent album than NLOTH (in a world where Volcano doesn't exist), I don't feel the pull that the latter album has. Something makes me want to rediscover NLOTH, even though I know it's a shitshow in the end. I feel like I already absorbed SOI and don't need to listen to it again, even though I prefer it. Strange, really.

 

[Hollow Island]

i feel the exact same way (except regarding Volcano - i love it). I listened to NLOTH more than SOI but never enjoyed it half as much.

 

[thavidesco]

Bono told the guy who wrote the NYT piece on the tour that he regrets how "glossy" Songs of Innocence sounds, and that it should have sounded rougher.

It should have sounded more like a club record like Ballroom. That would be something!

 

[dazzledbylight]

Since my computer has been on the blink - previous to SOI, it took me a few months to hear all the songs a number of times.

I think NLOTH is a masterpiece, , I now rate this album as excellent, where a few months back - very good.

Th is album proved to me that in general after decades I lean more towards the music/singing than lyrics themselves. I love great lyrics - don't get me wrong- when the 2 are excellent together - super wow! But great music & singing will override lyrics.
Much of NLOTH got me right away and stayed there re the music etc side.

The songs I rate highly on SOI have stayed there- MOJR, S4S, Iris,TIWYCRMN and extra LH. CB is a vit below these.

Overtime I've added CR & RBW as top songs because in this cae and a few others the Lyrics have meshed well with the music etc that it's raised my opinion of them.

I like California and Volcano a fair amount now where I didn't at first. Sleep is a good song- it's just such a terrible subject. There is nothing I dislike on it now, where on most of their other albums there are 1 or 2 songs I'm pretty meh about.

I'm definitely excited to hear the songs live!

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Having seen most of the material live, I can safely say that barely any of it is much better in my estimation. I enjoyed the bulk of it during the shows to be honest, but only Iris and the sparse rendition of Every Breaking Wave really elevated and improved those songs for me.

Everything else was as expected...as predictable and lifeless as the rest of the album.

Would have loved to hear "California" and seen how it translated into a massive arena as that's the only pick from the album that I unabashedly love. I'll also point out that "Invisible" clearly wipes the floor with the rest of their new material. I sang along to every single line even though I had never loved the song before and it by far made the most out of the light screen.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Bono told the guy who wrote the NYT piece on the tour that he regrets how "glossy" Songs of Innocence sounds, and that it should have sounded rougher.

That was my biggest complaint with the record from day one. The sound of it is clearly them trying to emulate the shitty rock/pop bands (like OneRepublic) that get play on Triple-A radio (case in point, producer Ryan Tedder). Hearing "Iris" live (and how amazing it is) perfectly illustrated just how flat and sterile the album's production happens to be. Hell, my girlfriend flat out said, unprompted, the same thing herself about how she feels their recent albums are ruined by overproduction.

No coincidence either that four of the five most interesting songs on the record for me (California, Reach, Sleep, Troubles) all don't have Mr. Tedder's name attached to them.

For what it's worth, Bono is pretty on-the-mark with his assessment of the albums. He's said ATYCLB is "more than the sum of its parts" and HTDAAB "was less" which probably everybody would agree with. He likes NLOTH still (perhaps their most consistent record of this century, regardless of quality) but can admit that it lacks the "big hit"...

And now he's right on the money regarding the stifling production of this one.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

I hear ya, U2 hasn't really released a song that people can sing along to in over 10 years.

Which makes it not real surprising that "Vertigo" and "City of Blinding Lights" are in the setlist basically every night. And the crowd response is pretty strong for both.

 

[trojanchick99]

SOI has connected with me more than any U2 album since ATYCLB. After seeing most of it performed live, it's easily a top 5 U2 album for me. It's the rare album where I don't actually want to skip a song.

The Troubles live was exquisite. Cedarwood Road and Raised by Wolves were also fantastic live. RBW was especially fierce on Wednesday. I think those songs benefitted the most from the way the set list was crafted, and the way the screens were used.

 

[Airseven]

While I feel SOI is a more consistent album than NLOTH (in a world where Volcano doesn't exist), I don't feel the pull that the latter album has. Something makes me want to rediscover NLOTH, even though I know it's a shitshow in the end. I feel like I already absorbed SOI and don't need to listen to it again, even though I prefer it. Strange, really.

Not surprising. They're the same type of album. Contrived and generally uninspired. They'll tug at you in different ways at different moments, but never satisfying.

 

[vertigo1]

One of the things I like about SOI is that it sounds as if all the ideas they were going for got completed.

NLOTH has lots of good ideas which sound as if they never got finished. For example, NLOTH (the song) has that sound in the right speaker which sounds like what u hear when radio stations don't come in clear. It's annoying and makes the songs sound cluttered. It also has two different drum patterns, one in each speaker and the "The songs in your head are now on my mind" part just doesn't make for a good middle part. Crazy Tonight is U2 on auto-pilot, how many time have we heard that riff...lol. Boots goes off in 15 different directions and I like it but it sounds as if U2 was unsure when they chose the final album version. SUC sounds like a random jam, a good rock song which sounds like they pieced it together from 20 different versions. MOS should've been edited and mixed better, it drags on too much. Breathe sounds too much like five other U2 songs put together and it's too wordy, too many lyrics.

SOI is the most finished sounding album U2 has ever made. POP is their least, Velvet Dress is a masterpiece in the making yet sounds like a very rough demo. The "Love's a bully pushing and shoving" part of DYFL is a horrible final mix and the single mixes of LNOE and Please are 1000 times better than the album version. SOI has no missing pieces.

The other reason I like SOI is because of songs 2 to 5. Many people say they're too bland and boring for U2 but I think that was the point. U2 wanted to make songs which would be easy and accessible and immediately catchy to a wide audience. Tracks 2-5 are U2's catchiest and most pop friendly songs ever.

Heck even One Step Closer and Miracle Drug from HTDAAB sound as if they could use a few more revisions. The drums kick in way too late in OSC and there are all these random noises in the early part of the song. And MD sounds too much like a garage band unfinished jam than the number two track on an album.

No song on SOI begs for a revision. Tracks 2 to 5 prove U2 can write massive sing-alongs pop songs. Two of the many reasons I thing SOI is their best album since Achtung Baby.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

. And MD sounds too much like a garage band unfinished jam than the number two track on an album.

 

[chocky]

My iTunes play count for every track on SOI is over 300. And that excludes plays in my car (every time I drive) and the vinyl.

I never skip songs and generally play the album in full including Crystal Ballroom & Invisible.

Not since Achtung Baby have I had an album remain on high rotation 9 months after release.

I always find ranking U2 albums difficult because they all mean different things to me. But SOI feels like it will stay relevant much longer than ATYCLB, HTDAAB & NLOTH did.


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[Moser]

My iTunes play count for every track on SOI is over 300. And that excludes plays in my car (every time I drive) and the vinyl.

I never skip songs and generally play the album in full including Crystal Ballroom & Invisible.

Not since Achtung Baby have I had an album remain on high rotation 9 months after release.

I always find ranking U2 albums difficult because they all mean different things to me. But SOI feels like it will stay relevant much longer than ATYCLB, HTDAAB & NLOTH did.


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Damn SOI is still in my car's CD player.

 

[CosmoKramer]

So 10 months out reality is setting in.

The fact is that over time, this album has held up very well with me and is STILL great.

I'm looking forward to hearing the songs live next month at MSG!


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[Diane L]

For several years my favorite album of this Millennium was Recovery by Eminem. Yes, that surprised me too. I can listen to the entire album without skipping any tracks, and I find it very entertaining. It fits the same place in my life as Achtung Baby has done...a record that I can listen to over and over and never, ever get tired of it. My favorite U2 LP during this time frame was HTDAAB...I find AYCLB to be a dreary downer in spots and while I liked NLOTH very much when it first came out, I have barely listened to it since.

Step aside, Marshall. SOI is now my favorite album since 2000. I listen to it constantly. It is an album for grownups, not kids who want to listen to the junk that passes as pop these days. I agree that tracks 2-5 are just about perfection, and I am currently obsessed with The Crystal Ballroom. It's up there with Achtung Baby and The Joshua Tree, in my estimation, and I know I will be loving it for years to come.