I bought everything through R&H. Bought AB -- wasn't impressed and ditched it soon after. Haven't been impressed enough with what I've heard from them since to buy newer releases. I've heard most of the songs off the most recent one, but can't quite shake my feeling that I can listen to similar (but better to me) songs by listening to the early albums.
I usually know on just a couple of listens whether or not I'm going to like an album enough to buy it. Recently their albums haven't done it for me. Maybe this one will. If it does, good. If it doesn't, that's ok too.
(I don't mind that others like the albums I don't though.
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No offense, but using the word "recently" is a bit of a stretch. You basically haven't like U2 since R&H. To me, that's unfortunate because JT and R&H are hardly the best of U2's career. If U2 had truly disbanded after R&H, I would have said they ended on a down note.
Furthermore, it seems you have excluded nearly two decades of U2's music, everything from their cover of "Night & Day" (1990) to the most recent cover of "Father Christmas". In that time, there are 6 albums (including the Passengers) and numerous, numerous side projects. I once did a tally of all the things U2 did between 1993's "Zooropa" and 1997's "Pop" and was stunned at the amount of side projects by the band. That's an enormous amount of material to have "disliked".
This ties into my "do's" and "dont's" for the album and tour.
Do: Do try for more than just 11 tracks on the album. Yes, quality over quantity, but every U2 album has clunkers, so why not throw in a few more tracks? What U2 reject may be a fan favorite. Brian Eno has shown that he cannot predict hits worth squat and often his "favorite" is not a favorite amongst fans. So throw in a few more songs.
Do: Do faster paced, but not cliche, songs. "Pride" and "Desire" and "Vertigo" leap to mind as great fast paced songs. Try to avoid some rather simple and obvious catchy fast songs, like "Even Better Than...", "In God's Country", "Beautiful Day", and "Discotheque". Yes, some of those songs are very enjoyable, but don't exactly scream of great song writing.
Do: Do keep passion. Bono's vocals are what attracted me to U2. They have kept me interested. Soaring notes are great, but passion is brilliant.
Do: Do keep U2.com informed and the tour organized well. U2.com seems much improved lately - keep them going strong. And have tickets organized well.
Do: Do explore release patterns more. It seems U2 are exploring numerous release formats - special edition CD releases, digital releases, etc. Great! Now, keep it going. Try offering fans something a little extra - like a free b-side when downloading the new hit single.
Do: Do release NEW b-side material. Covers and live songs are great, but if U2 have 40-100 songs floating around from all those recent sessions, why not use some of them as b-sides? With JT, R&H and AB, we had tons of new b-sides, as well as remixes, covers and live songs. With the past few albums, we've had precious few new b-side material. Let's see some of those b-sides come to life. They are the little gems that make purchasing an a single worthwhile.
Don't: Don't preach so much that it runs from song to song. Preaching is fine - it's part of who U2 and Bono are. However, no extremes. Connecting "Miss Sarajevo" and "One" and even "Streets" to charity as part of the concert is a bit much.
Don't: Don't wear ultra-odd clothing that doesn't fit. Bono - learn to dress. Dang, I want to throw the man on "What Not to Wear". There's the rock star look and then there's just whatever the crap he's wearing. See Edge and Larry in recent photos - much better.
Don't: Don't do a slow song just to do a slow song. Slow songs can be powerful - WOWY is a lyrically simple song, but brilliantly and powerfully performed. "One" is Bono at his lyrical best and had remained a classic as a result. But slow songs that try too hard, like "Stay", "Miracle Drug", "Sometimes..." are a bit too much.
Don't: Don't forget the passion. This connects into "passion" above. Unless U2 can keep the passion in songs like "Pride" and WoWY, I'd rather not see them performed. Try to return to that vigor heard when the songs were new. If not possible, replace them with other classics that have been dormant for a while. By that, I don't mean obscure songs, but some tracks that just haven't been heard or heard much lately ("Gloria", "Unforgettable Fire", "A Sort of Homecoming", "One Tree Hill", "Dirty Day", "Kite").
Don't: Don't do a lottery system. Yes, the heart and oval were great. Trouble is, with the lottery, I never ever got into the oval. With the heart, at least, I could wait all day and get into the heart. In contrast, with the lottery, I'd wait all day and get stuck outside the oval, with people pushing and shoving. I know U2 doesn't want the same people in front all the time, but ya know what - who cares? If these people want to follow U2 from town to town, let them. If there are some other die-hards that want to be by the stage for certain shows, they'll know what to do to be in front. So if there is another small shape by the stage, please get rid of the lottery!
Don't: Don't bombard us with 500 remixes or live songs. This ties into the b-side item above. I enjoy remixes - don't get me wrong. And some live tracks are great too. But I always am disappointed if the only b-sides on a single are live songs or remixes. Why not throw in that NEW b-side song, along with some live or remix material. Now that becomes a single worth purchasing. If you want people to buy CD singles, make them enticing - and that includes iTunes and other release patterns too.
O.K., I'm done.
