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DaveC

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yes, the flames are going to come fast and furious on this one.

but to be honest...i don't think HTDAAB is all that great. i mean, sure, when it first came out, i exclaimed that it's the best thing since AB and that it's one of my top 3 or 4 U2 albums, but that was because of the newness, the excitement.

and sure, i played my copy non-stop for weeks after i got it.

but now i think it's merely mediocre. sure, there are some good songs on there, but they seem just all randomly thrown together, the production is wicked bad on some of them, and overall i just don't find anything that really excites me anymore.

i'd put this one now, after having the novelty wear off, at slightly above the level of October, about where Zooropa is.

i just think the parts do not add up to a great sum. :shrug:

*puts on fire-retardant suit*
 
Hahaha

Don't be shy DaveC.

Actually, Hut dab still holds the #1 album position for me. There are just too many awesome songs. I'm finding new depths with COBL and OSC. Great tunes!

I don't, however, disagree with your apparent hockey leanings. Being a Red Deer native, I agree that Dion is the man and that Canada will win.
 
I've listened to it about once in full since the week it came out. I don't think any of the production is bad - in fact I think it's thier best. I still rate it in my top 5 U2 albums.

I do however think it was butchered during mastering and I want a remastered copy. But see other threads for that issue.
 
I love the album more now than I did at first, I don't think it’s their best but I think it's up there and I'm curious to see how it's going to be when the next U2 record comes out. HTDAAB has no bad songs and some of their best songs ever in my opinion but it's not as good, original or interesting as AB for example. The only thing I don't like about it is that the songs don't sound so great together. They do more now that I got used to it but it's like they made two different records and at the end got the best of out both of them and put it together in one record. That's a big problem to me when the album doesn’t flows so well. But overall I'm still listening the shit out of it! :)
 
I like it, but I don't feel compelled to listen to it very much. It's not surprising at all. Kinda like the last one.
 
I think it's too early to judge.



Today my dad and I were listening to some Elevation bootleg in the car, and Bad was playing. He told me, "See, I don't think that the new U2 songs are this good." I think that we've yet to hear them live, and, even better, on a different tour. Back on the Elevation tour, you heard Beautiful Day every night, and a lot on the radio, and people were pretty much sick of the tune. But now, like the Radio One HQ performance or the Brooklyn show, we hear it and it's like wow, thats really cool! Beatiful Day isn't even as good as Miracle Drug or COBL. I'm sure that these songs will grow on this tour and the next tour, and this album will go down as a really really good U2 album.
 
I just can't decide at this point. It's still far too early. In fact, I only think just recently I have reached the point where I can objectively rate ATYCLB.

That said, HTDAAB is about the only new U2 album I haven't felt compelled to keep on heavy rotation in my stereo. There don't seem to be enough "catchy" tunes. Maybe time will change that.

But I felt this way about Achtung Baby at the start too...
 
Opinions will be varied on this album, and if you listen to anything for long enough as much as some people are listening to it of course its going to get boring. I think this CD is a great one but listening to it over and over again takes away from its greatness just as it would any CD. I think even if people cut down to listening to it once a week they would be much more apprciative of what this album has to offer rather then constantly bombarding themselves with it.

It is in my opinion the best work U2 has put out in awhile at least since Achtung Baby as an entire piece of music but if i listened to it 4 or 5 times a day yes I would get bored of it too.
 
The songs on HTDAAB, when it comes right down to it, are far too easily accessible. Why is Achtung, Baby my favorite U2 album of all time? It took me a month before I loved it. In fact, I nearly hated it upon first listening. It grew on me, and songs that grow are far deeper and have far more lasting power than songs that are immediate. Songs that are immediate use up all of their 'bang' on the initial listen, whereas songs that grow simmer for a long, long time.

-Miggy
 
Yeah, but Miggy AB was a far depature from the normal "U2" sound. I didn't realize what a great album AB was until maybe 6 months later. So I share your sentiment for that album, but we've got two different animals here.

HTDAAB is one of those easily accessible albums where a band has put in the time and effort to make these songs sound as good as possible. Call them commercial if you please, but what I think U2 have done is honed their song writing skills and put out an album that could easily drop 6 singles without losing the U2 edge.

Maybe it's the late night beers talking but HTDAAB is moving up the best U2 album list with every listen. There's just not a bad song on this album for me.
 
Reggie Thee Dog said:
Yeah, but Miggy AB was a far depature from the normal "U2" sound. I didn't realize what a great album AB was until maybe 6 months later. So I share your sentiment for that album, but we've got two different animals here.

HTDAAB is one of those easily accessible albums where a band has put in the time and effort to make these songs sound as good as possible. Call them commercial if you please, but what I think U2 have done is honed their song writing skills and put out an album that could easily drop 6 singles without losing the U2 edge.

Maybe it's the late night beers talking but HTDAAB is moving up the best U2 album list with every listen. There's just not a bad song on this album for me.

Yes, but remember when U2 was trying for something bigger than 'let's just make as many good, melodic songs as we can!'? HTDAAB has many good songs on it but does not sound cohesive. It does not create an 'environment' like Joshua Tree, AB, Zooropa, Pop...etc. Even ATYCLB does a better job creating a coherent soundscape. That's the problem with HTDAAB - a lot of good songs but it sounds like that's all U2 was going for. They're not pushing themselves to create an album, but simply just a collection of songs. Is there anything wrong with that, when the songs are as good as they are on this album? Usually, no. But this is U2 we're talking about here. Both JT and AB are CLASSIC albums (something that will never be used when describing HTDAAB 5 years from now) because not only do they have great songs, but they're complete, self-contained, cohesive works. They're both musical journeys. They tell a story. You get an overall 'sense', a 'feeling' if you will, listening to it. I bet anyone here could write an essay on the themes running throughout AB, and all of the essays would probably have similarities. What connects Vertigo to AMAAW? You can skip through HTDAAB and think 'good song, good song, good song' but I don't think the whole album takes you anywhere. AB, for me, does. It takes me to another place. It's like reading a story, with a start and a finish. HTDAAB, though it is a great album with many good and great songs, does not do that for me.

-Miggy
 
IMO, it's no 3. How's this for asking to be flamed?

Behind JT and AB, but ahead of other U2 albums - it's been a long while since a U2 album has had a strong second half, and this is it.
Sure you could argue All because of you may not be all that, but that's about it - it immediately goes up a notch with A man and a woman and Crumbs. And another notch up with One step closer and Original of the species.
Sure, it is U2 sounding like U2 in some places - but then again, most fans IMO should not have a problem with that. Bono may have a few less stellar lyrics but overall I feel this is better than ATYCLB from him, to say nothing of the voice. He hasn't sounded this good in years. Also, Edge is back.
 
I think the lyrics on this album are as good as Bono has written in years. Secondly I think music has much more to do with melody then lyrics and thats where this album shines is in the melody. I am happy U2 are still around making albums because I dont think it will last for that much longer, but I hope they continue to have a drive to make albums because even the worst of U2 albums is better then almost all the other stuff out there.
 
Miggy D said:


Yes, but remember when U2 was trying for something bigger than 'let's just make as many good, melodic songs as we can!'? HTDAAB has many good songs on it but does not sound cohesive. It does not create an 'environment' like Joshua Tree, AB, Zooropa, Pop...etc. Even ATYCLB does a better job creating a coherent soundscape. That's the problem with HTDAAB - a lot of good songs but it sounds like that's all U2 was going for. They're not pushing themselves to create an album, but simply just a collection of songs. Is there anything wrong with that, when the songs are as good as they are on this album? Usually, no. But this is U2 we're talking about here. Both JT and AB are CLASSIC albums (something that will never be used when describing HTDAAB 5 years from now) because not only do they have great songs, but they're complete, self-contained, cohesive works. They're both musical journeys. They tell a story. You get an overall 'sense', a 'feeling' if you will, listening to it. I bet anyone here could write an essay on the themes running throughout AB, and all of the essays would probably have similarities. What connects Vertigo to AMAAW? You can skip through HTDAAB and think 'good song, good song, good song' but I don't think the whole album takes you anywhere. AB, for me, does. It takes me to another place. It's like reading a story, with a start and a finish. HTDAAB, though it is a great album with many good and great songs, does not do that for me.

-Miggy

How old are you?
 
DaveC, I've learned that I often am so excited by a new release by a band I love that it takes a while for me to truly know where that CD fits. Although I usually do know right away if I'll generally like or dislike an album, I'm getting to the point that I don't post much about a new album for at least a month after I get it. It just takes me at least that long to get a real feel for it (and 6-12 months is even better).



MrBrau1 said:
Happy as a baked clam.

Perhaps this more of an FYM discussion, but can a baked clam be happy? :wink:
 
MrBrau1 said:


How old are you?

I was in the heat of the moment, and forgot to put paragraph breaks. I'm 22.

And oh yeah, go to hell. I never understand why some people have to be such jerks. I thought I made some fairly valid points, and this guy decides to insult me. And I actually liked MrBrau. Now, not so much.

-Miggy D
 
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Hell no one in their right mind is still going to be hooked to the same thing after repeatedly listening over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.....

You'll change you mind over and over again in the future....quit the damned whinging!!
 
I think HTDAAB is a good not great album and doesnt hold a candle to JT or AB
 
Oh I think its definitely a great album, at least 3rd best, and will probably overtake JT for 2nd place in my rankings in time...I don't think the argument about over-arching themes running through a record being what makes an album great holds much water..This is because a great song is a great song, and even if an album doesn't have that fluid, thematic consistency, it can still be as good by having very strong individual songs...HTDAAB has lots.
 
it's great album.
I enjoy listening to it.
whether it's "as good" as JT or AB doesn't really matter to me.
 
Miggy D said:


I was in the heat of the moment, and forgot to put paragraph breaks. I'm 22.

And oh yeah, go to hell. I never understand why some people have to be such jerks. I thought I made some fairly valid points, and this guy decides to insult me. And I actually liked MrBrau. Now, not so much.

-Miggy D

Ah, leave MrBrau alone, sarcasm is his tool in trade. He can be quite amusing.
 
Miggy D said:


And oh yeah, go to hell. I never understand why some people have to be such jerks. I thought I made some fairly valid points, and this guy decides to insult me. And I actually liked MrBrau. Now, not so much.

-Miggy D


I say report him to the principal so he has to stay after school.
 
it's always fun to run around the house with sciccors until someone loses an eye.
 
TheBrazilianFly said:
I love the album more now than I did at first, I :)


Me too. It's really grown on me and endeared itself to me, since that day I took it for a long ride. I like all the songs except Crumbs because it sounds like it's trying to be too many different songs at once, and in many places the lyrics sound forced to the music and don't work and I think U2 are better songwriters than that. I listen to this album a lot now.
 
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