This is the best U2 album since......
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last unicorn
Blue Crack Addict
Isn't it just unbelievably CRAZY how pointless and often bland the many discussions in the many threads we had turned out to be in the last months and how suddenly that changed? Now you don't know where to look first in the forum because there are so many new threads, so many people, so much discussion going on. Makes your head spin 
dan_smee
ONE love, blood, life
Too early to say whether it is the best since anything - but I can say I am more excited on first listen than I was with NLOTH, HTDAAB and ATYCLB. What I can say is I think it is the most CONSISTENT album since Achtung Baby. The song I ranked last after 5 or 6 spins I like very very much.
I've been inactive on this forum for about 5yrs since NLOTH came out. I enjoyed parts of that album but it felt overall a little bit disappointing, the 360 tour was great though.
Over the past few years I've lurked the forums every now and then to read up on the new album rumours, hoping that U2 would do a complete departure from their last 3 albums. When they released Invisible, I immediately fell in love with it and felt that this was the first small taste of what's to come.
Upon listening to the new album a couple of times, I would have to say that they haven't sounded more fresh and relevant in years. No disrespect to the last 3 albums, but in comparison to this, you can really feel a fresh U2 in this - which is such a huge very welcomed departure in my view from everything in the last 14yrs.
It's hard for me to say whether it's better than any particular album, but to me this sounds like a mix of Boy, War, and Pop, with a nice modern feel to it.
Loving it so far! Thanks U2!
Over the past few years I've lurked the forums every now and then to read up on the new album rumours, hoping that U2 would do a complete departure from their last 3 albums. When they released Invisible, I immediately fell in love with it and felt that this was the first small taste of what's to come.
Upon listening to the new album a couple of times, I would have to say that they haven't sounded more fresh and relevant in years. No disrespect to the last 3 albums, but in comparison to this, you can really feel a fresh U2 in this - which is such a huge very welcomed departure in my view from everything in the last 14yrs.
It's hard for me to say whether it's better than any particular album, but to me this sounds like a mix of Boy, War, and Pop, with a nice modern feel to it.
Loving it so far! Thanks U2!
waynetravis
Blue Crack Supplier
Pop.
For me this album seems daring. Its far from sugar coated
For me this album seems daring. Its far from sugar coated
dan_smee
ONE love, blood, life
Well Bono said they wanted to make something up there with their very best work. The have set a high bar, and nothing will ever replace or compare with their best for various reasons. What I think they have done is hit the loftiest heights they could possibly expect at this stage of their careers and lives.
And Bono says that for every album.
Hasn't exactly been working out for him for a long long time.
U2FAN4LIFE
The Fly
I have a love/hate relationship with NLOTH, the middle 3 are cringe worthy for me and I wonder what could have been if they had been replaced. Having said that, there were 3 or 4 tunes that immediately made an impression on me and are favorites to this day.
SOI has several positives relative to any of the last three albums:
-it feels like an album, there is a cohesion here that I did not expect given the gestation period and number of producers/engineers involved.
-the way they dropped it should not be a factor BUT this cannot be ignored, the "promise" of SOE is a big part of this as well.
-DM influence is a very positive one
-Adam is just great here
SOI negatives:
-It may come with time but I don't hear a slow burning masterpiece like MOS
-I also don't hear an immediately great track like Vertigo or Fez/Being Born, both of which were immediate hits for me
All in all, it feels like a very good first album of a double album (which it likely is). However, in the context that it would be their only release from between 2010 and 2018 for example its a good/mediocre effort to me after the first 2 listens.
Mind you, I'm holding out hope that it grows on me as Zooropa did, DD & TFT in particular took a long while to really resonate with me and those two stellar songs changed my perspective.
SOI has several positives relative to any of the last three albums:
-it feels like an album, there is a cohesion here that I did not expect given the gestation period and number of producers/engineers involved.
-the way they dropped it should not be a factor BUT this cannot be ignored, the "promise" of SOE is a big part of this as well.
-DM influence is a very positive one
-Adam is just great here
SOI negatives:
-It may come with time but I don't hear a slow burning masterpiece like MOS
-I also don't hear an immediately great track like Vertigo or Fez/Being Born, both of which were immediate hits for me
All in all, it feels like a very good first album of a double album (which it likely is). However, in the context that it would be their only release from between 2010 and 2018 for example its a good/mediocre effort to me after the first 2 listens.
Mind you, I'm holding out hope that it grows on me as Zooropa did, DD & TFT in particular took a long while to really resonate with me and those two stellar songs changed my perspective.TheEnd
The Fly
For me it's the best since Pop. Easily.
last unicorn
Blue Crack Addict
Stop being such a downer, really. I think we've got it by now: Bono sucks and the album isn't great because of him.
Good grief there are people being way less positive than me. I already appear to be this forum's biggest promoter of Cedarwood Road.
But yes, Bono is the dead weight of the album.
I think the album will suffer without a hard-hitting single. There is no song to drive it on radio. They haven't had a "hit" since Vertigo and maybe they don't have it in them anymore. But at least it's consistent top to bottom and best of all....it's interesting. I'll take that at this stage of their careers.
Gonna Run 2 U
New Yorker
Does anyone really listen to the radio anymore? They don't play rock music anyway. They just need to make a kick ass video for youtube for either Iris or California and they will be fine.
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birdman
Acrobat
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2010
- Messages
- 444
75% sure, that this will not be a world tour like 360.
I guess I mean a vehicle for mass appeal and wide promotion. Maybe radio is still good for that. But you could be right.
ChargedVT
Refugee
Paul McGuinness was apparently just interviewed and said the world tour starts next summer. Well, we kinda knew this but still, good to hear...
fullautoreverse
War Child
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2003
- Messages
- 580
Since Pop, hands down.. love it, not one bad song.
birdman
Acrobat
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2010
- Messages
- 444
Since How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
since Songs of Ascent
Salome
you are what you is
Personally, when No Line came out it felt like an album that they wrote for me.
Songs of Innocence sounds like an album they wrote for themselves.
Don't know whether that makes one better than the other.
Songs of Innocence sounds like an album they wrote for themselves.
Don't know whether that makes one better than the other.
Afliktor
The Fly
my thoughts exactly
it's definitely not as immediate as their last three albums - nothing completely blew me away on first listen. but the more I listen the more I fall in love
for that reason I don't think anyone should be allowed to professionally review the album until they've listened to it at least 10 times, lol. this is one that takes some time to sink in.
powerhour24
ONE love, blood, life
Ouch. This hurts. Especially the bit about Zooropa, because it was a change it can never be held in as high a regard? Achtung Baby was a huge frickin' change. TUF before it as well, even JT. Barring the post-punk trilogy earlier U2 changed what "sounded like U2" just as much.
womanfish
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
My first instinct was to say POP. I'm a big fan and defender of POP. But this verges on even better, at least more consistent. aaaaarrggghhh. So it may be the best since AB, but it is about even with POP for me right now.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Comments like these sometimes make me want to quit the internet.
I'm trying to refrain, until the newness wears off to make a real review, but initial gut says since Zooropa. I have some minor issues, but honestly AB is the only album that I don't have issues with...
It's going to be a challenging album to do live. Bono may have to play more guitar, there are moments when he really has control of his falsetto which he has issue live when he gets winded, the whole band will have to do some backing vocals/along with backing tracks, and Troubles... one of the stand outs, are they going to bring her out on tour?
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powerhour24
ONE love, blood, life
Suffer in what way? They just put it in the collections of 500 million people, radio singles are irrelevant here.
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