ATYCLB Appreciation Thread/ATYCLB >>> HTDAAB

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namkcuR

ONE love, blood, life
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I have an admission to make. Some of you may recognize me as being one to regularly express negative opinions about new millenium U2. I, like many others, am guilty of having lumped ATYCLB and HTDAAB together. I shouldn't have. I've been listening to ATYCLB a lot the past few days, and I have developed a newfound appreciation for it, and I have realized that. I think, if the band needed to find their footing, so-to-speak, after the 90s, there was a few ways they could have gone about doing it, and while I still don't think ATYCLB was the best of those ways, I do think it is horribly underrated here at Interference and I do think it's head and shoulders above HTDAAB. I've always heard this sort of unspoken rule about the rock music business - and any of you that might actually be in or around that business, feel free to tell me if there's any validity or truth to this - that you sort of get one 'going back to roots, finding your sound again' type record per career. I think for U2, that was ATYCLB. And I think they tried to break that unspoken rule and make a second 'roots' record with HTDAAB, and I think that is why you hear so much more 'sellout' complaints and questioning of U2's motives this time around than during ATYCLB(at least I percieve it to be more this time around). Anyway, ATYCLB is a good record and doesn't imo deserve the constant almost factual references to HTDAAB being better than it.

Beautiful Day > Vertigo
BD is good, catchy pop-rock song. Vertigo is catchy and all, but it doesn't have near the staying power of BD. It sounds like a band desperately trying to keep the 15-20 crowd's attention.

Stuck In A Moment > Miracle Drug
The last minute or so of MD is great, but a great guitar solo and a repeat of the chorus does not a great song make. The album version of Stuck has some - shall we say, over-the-top - production. But underneath that production is possibly the best pure pop song U2 have ever written(mind you they haven't written all that many pure pop songs). It is catchy, the lyrics are very good for the most part(in tribute to the late Michael Hutchence), and Edge's falsetto is icing on the cake. If you focus on the great song beneath the production, you can get past the horrendus bells and whistles(figuratively speaking). If not, listen to the stunning acoustic version.

Elevation > Sometimes
Now, I know you all will give me the hardest time about this one. Maybe I'm just burnt out on Sometimes right now after hearing it so many times....maybe I think Elevation is underrated here. I don't know, but whatever the case, at this point in time, Elevation excites me more. This could change in the future, I suppose. But I'm not going to try to explain my reasoning here any further because I have a suspicion that no explanation will be good enough to justify this one in the eyes of most of you :wink:

Walk On = Love And Peace Or Else
I love both songs. Walk On is much more melodic and anthem-y, but it's a beautiful song...especially the 'home' verse, which imo doesn't get enough praise. That verse is one of the best sheer melodies I can think of in U2's catalog. LAPOE is a great rocker and one of two ore three songs on HTDAAB that I find memorable. If they had made a whole record of songs like this, it would've been something. Oh, and Edge has stunning guitar solos on both songs.

Kite > COBL
COBL is quickly becoming the most overrated song in U2's entire catalog. It's a good song. It's nice, it's catchy, it's quite a good opener on the tour, but it is nothing we haven't heard before from U2. Kite seems more unique to me, and I think its chorus is much better - whereas COBL's chorus is built for an arena of 20,000 to sing along, Kite's chorus can fit that bill but at the same time can fit the bill of a guy singing to himself in a room alone. If U2's aim with ATYCLB was to make the sound of four guys in a room, Kite, to me, is one of the best examples of that. Additionally, the guitarwork in this song is mouth-watering. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but the guitar riffs in Kite have always reminded me of melting chocolate.

In A Little While > All Because Of You
IAWL is maligned by some here and I don't know why. I still think it could have been a big single. It's damn catchy. But it's catchy in a way that leaves you feeling like it wasn't trying to be, like it just couldn't help being catchy. ABOY, on the other hand, seems like it exists only to be catchy. Bono's double-layered vocals usually work, but not so much here. The chorus is pretty underwhelming. But then Edge comes in gives us a kickass solo that single-handedly salvages the song. ABOY is the kind of song you love the first ten times you hear it, and then grow bored of it. IALW is the kind of song you listen to ten years after its release and wonder 'why wasn't this song more popular?!' Also, I would be remiss if I didn't point out the poetry of IALW's lyrics. I personally think the whole man in a rocket ship verse is a metaphor for Bono's take on his/U2's career.

Wild Honey = A Man And A Woman
Two songs that are not much loved here. But they should be. AMAAW is one of the few songs on HTDAAB that I think is memorable. Gorgeous. As for Wild Honey, yeah, Bono's voice cracks all over the place on this song. Get over it. It is a good, catchy pop song. Accept both of these songs with open arms please. Stop hating on them. It hurts their feelings. :wink:

Peace On Earth > Crumbs From Your Table
Up until a few weeks ago, POE was my least favorite U2 song. I was being too hard on it. It's actually quite good. Let the record show my position on that song is officially reversed. It takes a while to get going but once it does it's pretty beautiful, and it really hits home with the world events of today. Crumbs...in it's rawest state is a quite a good song, though the lyrics could be a little more subtle. The problem is the production. This might be my least favorite production of any U2 song. It is SO overcooked. Listen to the HQ version, and there are some really nice and catchy guitar hooks/riffs during the chorus. On the album version, they seem to be diluded, sort of relogated to the background. Melted. Overcooked. The outo is really good though. This may change to a = sometime, but for now it's a >.

When I Look At The World > One Step Closer
WILATW is a great song. Lyrics that make you think, a catchy melody, and a positively other-worldly guitar solo later in the song. Underrated here. One Step Closer...is nice, nothing wrong with it. There's just not enough there. They got the atmospherics they wanted in that song but, imo, they forgot to put a song in the atmosphere. 'The First Time' is, imo, a much better example of putting a song inside an atmosphere. Anyway, nothing wrong with OSC for what it is, but it can't compete with WILATW.

New York > OOTS
I debated over this. OOTS could be really beautiful, but I think it needs to be stripped down a bit. I don't agree with the Hey Jude comparisons. Beatles, sure. Hey Jude, no. If the album version was more like the live version, I might have to give it the edge over NY, but as it is...New York rocks. Dark, brooding, sort of reminiscent of something off of 'War'. Also, the guitar riff is one of my favorite U2 guitar riffs this decade. This song keeps growing on me(even though my brother is ademant about hating it).

Grace>>>>>>>>Yahweh
I don't understand what the big deal is about Yahweh. It is boring. I also don't understand why so many people think Grace is crap. Is it because it doesn't have a real chorus? I think Grace is beautiful. It is atmospheric. It is melancholy while simultaniously providing hope. I LOVE the lyric, 'grace finds beauty in everything' and 'grace makes beauty out of ugly things'. I feel like lines like that provide a more real, down-to-earth kind of hope than Yahweh does. I think Bono has always been very good about not making his religious lyrics so religious that some people are turned off by them. Yahweh is one of the few exceptions I think. Lyrically, it's just a little too 'god is good god is great' for me. Musically, I think it's just bland. I'm sorry, I know a lot of you love it, but I think Yahweh is just bland. Live, they made some changes that I think benefited it greatly, musically. But other than that, bland. Grace is not all that musically interesting in any kind of obvious way either, but it does have some good, albiet very subtle, melodies and harmonies. They're not very obvious, but they are there. That, along with superior lyrics, make me think Grace is much better than Yahweh.

So, I think ATYCLB was a very good record, for what it was supposed to be. Like I said, you get one 'roots' record, and U2 has tried, imo, to make a second one. And to me, it feels like it's striving to accomplish the same goals as ATYCLB, but it's trying, and having to try, much harder to achieve those goals. Trying to make a second record like this was a big risk, iImo, because U2 have always thrived on doing the unexpected. Nobody expected ATYCLB to be what it was. Everybody expected HTDAAB to be what it was. I think a third record in this vein will be a HUGE risk.

I cannot emphasize enough, though, that this is NOT meant to be an HTDAAB-bashing thread. Yes, I much prefer ATYCLB to HTDAAB and I have said as much. And yes, I don't care that much for HTDAAB right now, but that might change in the future. There was a time just six months ago when I wasn't into ATYCLB. But the point of this thread was to compare and contrast these two records, and to show the differences, and to explain thouroughly why I think one is superior to the other, and to explore why these two records can be so similar yet so different too.

And also, to appreciate ATYCLB :wink:
 
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i have mixed feelings about this. i love both albums equally, probably HTDAAB a little more, just because it's fresh. but ATYCLB really did it for me. i, just like you went back and listened to it all week, only to rediscover how great it is.

i am way above linking these two albums together. anyone who does is just not paying enough attention. those who do had simply made their minds up before they actually listened to the music. ATYCLB and HTDAAB, musically, are far apart from each other. if you wanted to compare HTDAAB to any other U2 album, it would compare mostly to The Unforgettable Fire, except this album obviously benefits from advanced technology.

the reason why people link the ATYCLB and HTDAAB together is because of U2's image during this decade. U2 already went through their experimental phase, and how great it was. the 90's U2 is by far my favorite U2. but i also love U2 this decade. they're having fun, writing great songs. what's the problem with that? if anything, i think that if U2 were to release another Zooropa, it would be quite pretentious because they're not in that state of their career anymore. U2 are just being themselves. that's all i ask of them, and they've delivered. i don't want them to be something they're not for my own selfish reasons, because U2 is best when they do what they want to do.
 
I agree with you whole-heartedly! [the first and third posts]

ATYCLB is an amazing album in my opinion! I remember when it came out and I was just amazed, each and every song is absolutley superb. I listened to 'The Bomb' a couple of hours ago while pulling an all nighter and I'm still less than stupified!

Not only can I just not listen to it for various reasons (personal, I could go into that in Zoo Confessionals, all about memories etc :eyebrow:) I also can't listen to the album willingly unless I've listened everything else to death. Some tracks are great, but when I first heard the album I didn't get the same feeling I usually get when something I've been waiting ages for!

I, personally, find it hard to believe a whole bunch of fans who obviously agree with me on the awesomeness of albums like The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and....October [go to hell]...all seem to jump up and down saying 'Bomb' is U2's best album in years, and for some reason all suddenly poo-poo an album they were all probably beating the salami over!

Where did the love go for tracks like 'Kite', 'In a Little While' and 'Stuck in a Moment'?? Now HTDAAB is around everyone suddenly seems to disown these tracks! :ohmy: It's a shame...

Ps. If there was any justice everyone would join me in jumping up and down and saying how amazing 'When I Look at the World' is! :wave:
 
HTDAAB is my 3rd album and ATYCLB is my 8th.

ATYCLB has the two best 00's songs: Walk on and Kite, has a great anthem that got me into U2 (Beautiful Day) and a great rocker (New York). WILATW and In a Little While are also cool. But it has Stuck in a moment for God's sake, I HATE THAT SONG. Elevation is also crappy and Wild Honey and Grace are both cool but I almost ignore them.

HTDAAB is much more solid, I only dislike one song: All Because of You. And maybe Vertigo, too much "hit single".

Of course this is IMO.

Beautiful Day >>>>>>> Vertigo
Stuck in a moment <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Miracle Drug
Elevation <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Sometimes
Walk on > LAPOE
Kite = City of blinding lights
In a Little While >>>>>>>>> All Because of You
Wild Honey < A man and a woman
Peace on Earth < Crumbs
WILATW = One Step Closer
New York >> Original
Grace <<<<<<<<<<Yahweh
 
mikal said:

the reason why people link the ATYCLB and HTDAAB together is because of U2's image during this decade. U2 already went through their experimental phase, and how great it was. the 90's U2 is by far my favorite U2. but i also love U2 this decade. they're having fun, writing great songs. what's the problem with that? if anything, i think that if U2 were to release another Zooropa, it would be quite pretentious because they're not in that state of their career anymore. U2 are just being themselves. that's all i ask of them, and they've delivered. i don't want them to be something they're not for my own selfish reasons, because U2 is best when they do what they want to do.

Brilliant!
 
Surprise! I'm going to say something nice for a change about this album...

Maybe I'm in a "fresh after seeing U2 live" moment... or maybe I'm just getting old or something... but here are my thoughts at this:

First of all I have to tell you what happened... it's realy simple story, I've put all U2 albums and singles (those that I have) and some "rare" tracks on shuffle (maybe it's strange to you, but I've never done it before) and listened to it... the first song of course was "I Will Follow", then "Happynes Is A Warm Gun", then "Wild Honey", then "Out of Control"... "Acrobat"...
You know, in some sick (I guess) way, it all makes sense... old and new, faster and slower songs, remixes and alt. (single) versions realy flow well together, all have this realy unique "it's U2" feel (well I had to skip "Stuck In A Moment" but other than that all songs just gave me:drool: )

This is a thread about ATYCLB, so... what I want to say is, I still think ATYCLB is U2's worst ALBUM with the worst sound, flow of the songs and finaly the production work of all U2 albums, (wich is really sad looking at the previous Eno/Lanois work)...
I have nothing against the melodies (for example: I really like "Stuck" acoustic version, but just the first 5 seconds of the album version is enough for me to want to stop the song),
I have nothing against the lyrics (I just don't care about them in general, I'm math, physics, engineer person, not poetry-lover for sure)
...and, like I said, while I still think it's their worst, it's not as bad as I thought, especialy when the songs are shuffled somewhere between other U2 songs...
...and I promise not to call it "shit" anymore...

Well, that's all "appreciation" you'll get out of me here.

..oh yeah, HTDAAB IS BETTER:madspit:
Here's my always changing list of albums from favorite to the one I like the least:
1. AB
2. Boy
3. HTDAAB
4. War
5. JT
6. POP
7. Zooropa
8. October
9. UF
10. Passengers
11. R&H
12. ATYCLB
 
i think it's not the right choice to put the songs against each other, maybe the right "battles" are:
my opinion:
vertigo-bd vertigo
miracle drug-walk on md
sometimes-kite sometimes
crumbs-stuck stuck
a man-in a little while a man
original-when i look original
one step-grace grace
all because-wild honey all because
city-new york new york
yahweh-peace peace
love & peace-elevation elevation

chose now.
 
It's all very subjective, isn't it? Whatever floats your boat, really. For eg, for every person from the other thread (re: Achtung being experimental) who loved Pop and were disappointed that U2 didn't continue to make songs in that vein or even more progressive, there are many others who are overjoyed to see U2 release 'safer' albums like ATYCLB and HTAAB. The same reasoning can be applied to split opinions between even those two albums, because they're clearly not crap and each have their merits depending on your tastes. One person will enjoy a certain type of soaring melody better, or identify with the lyrics of a certain song more strongly, or get chills from a certain vocal, or in blahblahblah's case (just guessing from your post) simply have songs that evoke certain memories. Goes without saying really, so not much point debating is there?

Um. Sorry I'll get back in my box now. :p

I really enjoy both of them, btw. :)
 
No way.
The Bomb is superior to ATYCLB in every aspect.

Elevaton > Sometimes?
Very funny...
 
How anyone can say ATYCLB is better than HTDAAB is beyond me, but that is my opinion of course. It has got U2's worst and most boring song bar none on the album with "Grace", i mean musically its boring and lyrically it is awful. It has their poppiest song and deliberately catchy song ever with "In A Little While", it is not original and when i first heard it i had to double check to make sure it was a U2 song. "Wild Honey" is just a nice little song, nothing special, and then we have "Elevation" which i suppose is a god song for 10 year olds, but i mean "A mole digging in a hole" what the heck is that about? Of course there are some tremendous songs on the album, Beautiful Day, Stuck In A Moment (Yes, i am one of the few that like it) Walk On, Kite and The Ground beneath Her Feet (It is on my version so i include it in my summary). As for the Bomb, i just do not understand the criticism it is getting, Vertigo is a great opener, Miracle Drug and SYCMIOYO are both very moving in different ways, Love and Peace was THE best song when i went to see U2 live, City of Blinding Lights is a good song even if it is not very original, and Original of The Species is a modern day classic, The best song U2 have done this millenium without doubt in my mind.
Here is my Ratings for each song out of 5

ATYCLB
Beautiful Day - 5
Stuck - 4
Elevation - 3
Walk On - 5
Kite - 4
In a Little While - 3
Wild Honey - 3
Peace On Earth - 3.5
When i Look At The World - 2.5
New York - 3
Grace - 2
The Ground Beneath Her Feet - 5
Total = 43/60

HTDAAB
Vertigo - 4
Miracle Drug - 4
SYCMIOYO - 4.5
Love and Peace - 5
City Of Blinding Lights - 4
All Because Of You - 3.5
AMAAW - 3
Crumbs - 3.5
One Step Closer - 3
Original Of The Species - 5
Yahweh - 4
Fast Cars - 4.5
Total = 48/60

In Summary, both albums are good if you look at the scores, but The Bomb may not have as many 5's as ATYCLB but it is a much more consistent album and therefore, a much better album.
 
bathiu said:
(for example: I really like "Stuck" acoustic version, but just the first 5 seconds of the album version is enough for me to want to stop the song),

That's exactly how I feel about it :huh:

Good exercise to do mickeza

ATYCLB

Beautiful Day 4,5
Stuck 0,5
Elevation 2,5
Walk On 5
Kite 5
In a Little While 3,5
Wild Honey 3
Peace on Earth 3,5
When I look at the world 4
New York 4,5
Grace 3
The Ground Beneath her Feet 4,5

Total = 43,5/60

HTDAAB

Vertigo 3,5
Miracle Drug 4
Sometimes 4,5
Love and Peace 4,5
City of Blinding Lights 5
All Because of You 2,5
A man and a woman 3,5
Crumbs 4
One Step Closer 4
Original 3,5
Yahweh 4,5
Fast Cars 3,5

Total = 47/60
 
Very insightful breakdown namkcuR. I agree: pound for pound, HTDAAB just cannot stand up to its predecessor. ATYCLB is chock full of hooks and melodies, whilst Bomb is mostly forgettable.

My post-millenial Top 5:

Kite
Beautiful Day
Walk On
Original Of The Species
When I Look At The World
 
All that you can't leave behind is a great album, i have loved it since it came out, and its always been one of my fave u2 albums. Right now, i only rank JT and AB ahead of it.

That said, 'Bomb' is also brilliant, just marginally behind ATYCLB.
 
Well, I think is wrong to compare both albums by the number of the tracklisting (BD with Vertigo / Elevation with Sometimes), because they're not equivalent...
I prefer by far HTDAAB, it became my favourite album, but I love ATYCLB too, and I've been listening it too much these last days.
But here's my rating of both albums...


ATYCLB
Beautiful day - 4
Stuck in a moment you can't get out of - 4.5
Elevation - 3 (but the Tomb Raider mix - 4)
Walk on - 4
Kite - 4
In a little while - 3.5
Wild honey - 3.5
Peace on Earth - 3.5
When I lookt at the world - 3.5
New York - 3.5
Grace - 4
(The ground beneath her feet - 4.5)

HTDAAB
Vertigo - 4
Miracle drug - 3.5
Sometimes you can't make it on your own - 4.5
Love and peace or else - 4
City of blinding lights - 5
All because of you - 5
A man and a woman - 3
Crumbs from your table - 3.5
One step closer - 3
Original of the species - 4.5
Yahweh - 5
Fast cars - 4.5
 
ATYCLB
Beautiful day - 5
Stuck in a moment you can't get out of - 2 (the acoustic version's good, though)
Elevation - 3
Walk on - 5
Kite - 3.5 (the Dixie Chicks guitar in the beginning kills it for me)
In a little while - 3
Wild honey - 3.5
Peace on Earth - 2.5
When I lookt at the world - 3
New York - 3.5
Grace - 2
The Ground Beneath Her Feet - 4.5

HTDAAB
Vertigo - 4.5
Miracle drug - 4.5
Sometimes you can't make it on your own - 5
Love and peace or else - 4 (Didn't like it at first, but the live version is :drool:)
City of blinding lights - 5
All because of you - 4
A man and a woman - 3
Crumbs from your table - 3.5
One step closer - 3
Original of the species - 4.5
Yahweh - 4
Fast cars - 4.5

ATYCLB - 40.5/60
HTDAAB - 49.5/60

HTDAAB wins. Definately.
 
ATYCLB

Beautiful Day 4,5
Stuck 4,5
Elevation 4,5
Walk On 4,5
Kite 4,5
In a Little While 4
Wild Honey 3,5
Peace on Earth 4,5
When I look at the world 4
New York 4,5
Grace 3,5
The Ground Beneath her Feet 4,5

Total = 51/60

HTDAAB

Vertigo 4,5
Miracle Drug 4
Sometimes 4,5
Love and Peace 4,5
City of Blinding Lights 5
All Because of You 3,5
A man and a woman 3
Crumbs 4
One Step Closer 3,5
Original 4
Yahweh 4,5
Fast Cars 5

Total = 50/60

Close but ATYCLB just gets it for me

vertigo-bd=Beautiful Day
miracle drug-walk on=Walk On
sometimes-kite=Sometimes
crumbs-stuck= stuck
a man-in a little while=In a little while
original-when i look at the world=Orginal
one step-grace-One step closer
all because-wild honey= all because of you
city-new york=City
yahweh-peace- Peace on earth
love & peace-elevation= elevation
The ground beneath her feet-Fast cars= Fast Cars
 
How many of you either didn't bother reading my original post at all *cough*thoseofyouwhogaveonelineanswers*cough* or only focused on the song-by-song descriptions I gave while sort of ignoring everything I wrote before and after it, about the 'roots' record theory, and the painstaking measures I went to to make clear that this is not an HTDAAB-bashing thread?

I wanted to generate DISCUSSION based on my post, not just a bunch of song-by-song ratings.
 
Yay!! ATYCLB is so far superior to the Bomb its not even funny. The top 4 of ATYCLB beat the best of Bomb and bomb has two of the worst songs they have ever recorded, in my humble opinion :wink: ATYCLB has great flow, Bomb has no flow, ATYCLB is delicate, Bomb is forced.

1. UF/ Joshua Tree/ Achtung Baby
4. Pop
5. ATYCLB
6. Boy
7. Zooropa
8. War
9. Rattle and Hum
10. October
11. HTDAAB
 
IMO ATYCLB would have been better with a better second half. (I think it's the "pop" album while Bomb is going back to the roots)
 
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Joshua87 said:
Yay!! ATYCLB is so far superior to the Bomb its not even funny. The top 4 of ATYCLB beat the best of Bomb and bomb has two of the worst songs they have ever recorded, in my humble opinion :wink: ATYCLB has great flow, Bomb has no flow, ATYCLB is delicate, Bomb is forced.

1. UF/ Joshua Tree/ Achtung Baby
4. Pop
5. ATYCLB
6. Boy
7. Zooropa
8. War
9. Rattle and Hum
10. October
11. HTDAAB
are you just gonna go through every single thread expressing the same opinion? we have guessed that you dont like bomb, but theres really no need to go on about it
 
bathiu said:
Surprise! I'm going to say something nice for a change about this album...

Maybe I'm in a "fresh after seeing U2 live" moment... or maybe I'm just getting old or something... but here are my thoughts at this:

First of all I have to tell you what happened... it's realy simple story, I've put all U2 albums and singles (those that I have) and some "rare" tracks on shuffle (maybe it's strange to you, but I've never done it before) and listened to it... the first song of course was "I Will Follow", then "Happynes Is A Warm Gun", then "Wild Honey", then "Out of Control"... "Acrobat"...
You know, in some sick (I guess) way, it all makes sense... old and new, faster and slower songs, remixes and alt. (single) versions realy flow well together, all have this realy unique "it's U2" feel (well I had to skip "Stuck In A Moment" but other than that all songs just gave me:drool: )

This is a thread about ATYCLB, so... what I want to say is, I still think ATYCLB is U2's worst ALBUM with the worst sound, flow of the songs and finaly the production work of all U2 albums, (wich is really sad looking at the previous Eno/Lanois work)...
I have nothing against the melodies (for example: I really like "Stuck" acoustic version, but just the first 5 seconds of the album version is enough for me to want to stop the song),
I have nothing against the lyrics (I just don't care about them in general, I'm math, physics, engineer person, not poetry-lover for sure)
...and, like I said, while I still think it's their worst, it's not as bad as I thought, especialy when the songs are shuffled somewhere between other U2 songs...
...and I promise not to call it "shit" anymore...

Well, that's all "appreciation" you'll get out of me here.

..oh yeah, HTDAAB IS BETTER:madspit:
Here's my always changing list of albums from favorite to the one I like the least:
1. AB
2. Boy
3. HTDAAB
4. War
5. JT
6. POP
7. Zooropa
8. October
9. UF
10. Passengers
11. R&H
12. ATYCLB
I know that my post is not "one line" or just song by song rating, but I'd like to add something to that.

I think it is HTDAAB that is "back to the roots", not ATYCLB.
And not only to the early albums, it's back to the roots of every kind of U2, there's Boy, there's Zooropa, there's AB and POP, there's JT and R&H and even UF... seriously, it's not only just back to the roots, it's exploring those roots step by step.
I think that ATYCLB (even if I'm alone with this, I don't care) is going even further than POP with all those beeeps, sweeeeshs and loops in the backround of the songs.
How do you want to compare BD with this techno intro to anything on JT or any other album... ATYCLB sounds like nothing they've done in the past so how is it "back to the roots"?


Also this song rating is simply wrong and unfair...
That's how it should go IMHO:
Vertigo - Elevation -> Vertigo
Miracle Drug - BD - > MD
Sometimes - Kite -> Sometimes
Crumbs - Walk On -> Crumbs
AMAAW - WH -> AMAAW
OSC - Grace - > OSC
Yahweh - WILATW - > Yahweh
CityOBL - New York -> COBL
OOTS - IALW - > OOTS
...here's a problem, two rock songs against Stuck and POE.
ABOY and LAPOE win then.
 
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I am surprised by how tone deaf some people on this board are. ATYCLB is a great album. Beuatiful Day is one of the band's top ten songs, and anyone who criticises Stuck for being a sell-out needs a good beating. Stuck may be retro, but to release a Stax-style R & B number as a SINGLE in 2001 is risky business indeed. Just look at the charts if you want proof. Elevation is catchy as hell, Kite is one of the band's most moving songs, and Walk On is so transcendent that it sounds as though it was written by God himself. In a Little While has soul, and it grooves like a motherfucker. Even songs like When I Look At The World are just as good as the better tunes on Atomic Bomb. Sure, Peace oN Earth sounds like a children's record, but ATYCLB put U2 back on course after the aimless (though admittedly fun) detour that was Pop. As for Atomic Bomb, it is very good, but it's high points still don't match the best parts on ATYCLB.

Song Ratings per album

Beautiful day 5
Stuck 5
Elevation 4
Walk On 5
Kite 5
In A Little While 5
Wild Honey 3
Peace On Earth 1.5
When I Look At The World 4
New York 2.5
Grace 3.5
Ground Beneath Her Feet 4

Total ATYCLB 47.5 /60


Vertigo 4
Miracle Drug 5
Sometimes You Can't 5
LAPOE 3.5
City Of Blinding Lights 3.5
All Because Of You 3.5
Man and A Woman 3
Crumbs From Your Table 3
One Step Closer 2.5
Original Of The Species 4
yahewh 4.5
fast Cars 1.5

Total HTDAAB 42.5/60

ATYCLB kicks ass
 
bathiu said:
Also this song rating is simply wrong and unfair...

...here's a problem, two rock songs against Stuck and POE.

i agree. just because two songs happen to be Track 2 on their respective albums doesn't make them comparable.

i prefer the Bomb to ATYCLB but only barely. I like the Bomb better as an album, but i think some songs on ATYCLB outshine those on the Bomb. but for some reason, i tend to skip around when listening to ATYCLB (whereas i usually listen through the whole album for the Bomb).
 
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