ATYCLB is an awesome record

[U2_Guy]

I won't elaborate much but i gotta say I've been "discovering" ATYCLB lately... And now i can see it's beauty.
I was always diminishing U2000's qualities and used to think Pop was their last genius record.
But i'm a far U2 guy and i felt the need to write here that ATYCLB is a great record too.
In a little While, Kite, New York!!!, Walk On, Stuck, Wild Honey (yes, i like Wild Honey very much specially when Bono goes off on that "what is souuuuuuuuul" part), When i look at the world!!!, Beautiful Day... I'm still not crazy about Peace on Earth and Grace but at least now i can enjoy them.

Great record. And i don't see it like a "back to basics" record. It's got some stuff that U2 has never done. And i can hear lots of weird "noises" and synths (they aren't obvious though).


ATYCLB is a far superior record than HTDAAB... much much better.

Well, that's all folks. Never thought i'd make a post like this...

 

[U2_Guy]

Maybe this belongs to Everything You Know is Wrong...

 

[Jeffo17]

Yes ATYCLB is my first U2 album i bought... I Discovered the Rest of U2 and Love it to bits... but Yes it is a Top Album... dont know why people would dislike it.

 

[2861U2]

Their third masterpiece, IMO. It's such an optimistic album. Truly one of the greats of the decade so far.

 

[Lancemc]

woah woah woah! What's this?? U2_Guy praising 00's U2??? Have I died in my sleep? Am I in a coma?



But seriously, it is amazing. And welcome to the light.


Oh yeah, and just for the record, I do agree with you about HTDAAB.

 

[gherman]

I personally like HTDAAB better. I think it is stronger from front to back, but ATYCLB has some stronger individual tracks. BD, WO, Kite, Elevation This is why there is so much representation of this album on U218.

To me since Achtung Baby U2's albums have been like fine wine. When I go back to listen to then they just seem to get better. I appreciate them more.

 

[Zoots]

It's a record I've grown to appreciate over the past few years for it's strengths like the melody of In A Little While, the enormously uplifting nature of Beautiful Day on a sunny morning, the beautiful ringing guitar of Walk On, the soaring tumbling tempo of New York, the heartfelt lyrics of Peace On Earth, the guitar solo of When I Look At The World, the slide guitar of Kite, the harmonies of Stuck In A Moment, the instrumentation of Elevation, the pretty Van Morrison-esque guitar of Wild Honey and the gorgeous atmospherics of Grace.

Wouldn't say I hated it at first cos 'hate' is too strong a word but the album disappointed me immensely on first listen. 90s U2 was still fresh in my mind and this was a total 180 they'd done. All I could see were (what I considered) weaknesses like the cheesy lyrics of In A Little While, the very un-U2 (at the time) adult contemporary singing style in Stuck In A Moment, the silly lyrics of Elevation, the "you know it aches and your heart it breaks" line of Walk On, the lazy rhyming in the ending verses of Kite, the oddly pop-ish (again very un-U2 at the time) Wild Honey and the very bland rhyming in Grace. But I've learned to look past most of those things and appreciate the album for the afore-mentioned strengths.

 

[innocent_eyes]

ATYCLB is definaltey a greay album.

It's very subtle in its brilliance, but once it hits you, then you undrstand! Love New York, great song, even better live, not to mention Kite, In a little While, and the 4 singles are great! I also, kinda like WIld Honey, kinda Beatlesyish!

Peace on earth is good when the drums pick up! Grace is different, an ambient journey through melody, even the bass is playing an interesting counter-melody!

Definately a more brilliant album than people think, just more subtle than U2's 90s work, but that makes sense, since they weren't trying to write another 90s album!

 

[Zoots]

It's very subtle in its brilliance, but once it hits you, then you understand!

That's a good way to put it.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

I think All That... has done what it was supposed to do. Age extremely well like a fine wine. The beauty in a song like the non-single Kite (Bono's first real attempt in dealing with his father's mortality) is proving to show lyrics and a guitar sound that will stand the test of time better than what the single Sometimes You Can't... offered (addressing the same theme). This is just one example between the albums and the most recent leg of the V tour shows this. Kite has been used brilliantly as a concert closer. This is something I just can't see Sometimes... in a position to be used on future tours.

 

[phillyfan26]

I have yet to "understand" it. I found BD, WO, and Kite to be the only note-worthy songs on the record.

The Elevation Tour wasn't very good either.

 

[coolian2]

I like ATYCLB and HTDAAB (take me to the gallows now)

I love the Vertigo tour - imo one of their best, i dislike the Elevation tour - one of their least interesting

ATYCLB is tied with Achtung Baby as my favourite albums. There isn't a weak link (except for Grace)

Kite

 

[Roland of Gilead]

The Elevation Tour wasn't very good either.

Yes, but notice the All That... songs that have been played on the V tour are even better than they were last time. Elevation and Kite especially.

 

[coolian2]

Yes, but notice the All That... songs that have been played on the V tour are even better than they were last time. Elevation and Kite especially.

Acoustic Walk On is far superior to full band Walk On.

Vertigo SIAM (acoustic cut into full band and full band) is superior to Elevation SIAM too.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Acoustic Walk On is far superior to full band Walk On.

I don't know. I love them both versions very much. But you make a good point. Acoustic Walk On and the semi-acoustic Stuck show a powerful and emotionally charged song in a very stripped down approached.

Only Yahweh has shown to be like this.

 

[J_NP]

The Fact that ATYCLB is awesome , which is , and also was my very 1st u2 cd , doesn't make it Bomb bad , why all Bloody ATYCLB praises recently have turned into Bomb Bashing ?

Jesus , why these people over interference have this paranoic urging disease of turning both Albums into enemies ???

 

[2861U2]

Wow, I'm shocked to see people say that the Elevation Tour wasn't that good. I think it JUST edges out ZooTV for their best tour!

 

[gherman]

Wow, I'm shocked to see people say that the Elevation Tour wasn't that good. I think it JUST edges out ZooTV for their best tour!

I'm glad you like the Elevation Tour but for me nothing comes close to ZooTV

 

[Alisaura]

I, too, was very disappointed when I got ATYCLB. I'd become a U2 fan after the PopMart tour, although I started with loving the R&H film. Zooropa took me a long time to get my head around, and after that Pop was easy.

But I never 'got' ATYCLB, and I still haven't. It just hasn't grabbed me on a gut level like the other albums did, one after the other. I thought maybe it was me - I'm younger than the band, I don't have children, I've never been in a long-term relationship, I just can't get into the headspace they were in.
There are songs I like on the album, sure. Elevation (despite the silly lyrics) and Ground Beneath Her Feet (yes, I know this doesn't really count cos it was only on the Australian version - but I fell in love with that song when I sampled the Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack in a record shop, and stood there with headphones on and chills running over me for 4 minutes) are great songs. I can appreciate the album on an intellectual level, but the music didn't grab me. For me, the music has to grab me first.

That being said, I'm always prepared to give ATYCLB another chance. I dust it off every 6 months to a year or so and give it another listen. I figure the fault lies with me, not the album. (Although I have to wonder if the extra-long time spent making it has something to do with it... but then they took a while producing HTDAAB too.)

Maybe now that I've seen some of the songs played live, I should give it another try...

 

[Roland of Gilead]

The Fact that ATYCLB is awesome , which is , and also was my very 1st u2 cd , doesn't make it Bomb bad , why all Bloody ATYCLB praises recently have turned into Bomb Bashing ?

Jesus , why these people over interference have this paranoic urging disease of turning both Albums into enemies ???

Its only natural to talk about a band's work in terms of their previous and existing songs/albums. I have not stated that I hate the Bomb.

Don't you wanna swim with me/ Don't you wanna feel my bones on your bones/ Its only natural

 

[J_NP]

Wow, I'm shocked to see people say that the Elevation Tour wasn't that good. I think it JUST edges out ZooTV for their best tour!

Well Elevation will be one of the last tours to be most easily forgotten in the future , reasons why ?

- IMO in the end was a way to made the US love U2 again , after all the whole world had liked Popmart , except the Yankees people , So it's natural U2 wanted to embrace it like that .....
- The Tour was just too damn short , not even a year long , and only visiting Europe and US + Canada

There are more , but these one I think are the main

 

[alanah]

ATYCLB is a great album, one of my favorite U2 albums and oh no disappointment. All the songs on ATYCLB are amazing to me. U2 is so big on it, I love that album and yeah, I like HTDAAB a lot as well. I'm quite happy, that's all.

 

[rjhbonovox]

In a Little While is a great song. But there are too many weaker tracks on the album to call it great. Stuck, Wild Honey, Peace, Grace and I'm not that impressed with Beautiful Day much either. As I say IALW is a standout track on this album as its done too perfection. Along with Kite and When I look at the world probably the best songs on the album.

 

[RademR]

It's strange...I love HTDAAB and many have people said about it, it's a good collection of songs. When it first came out I said it was better than ATYCLB.

But now I disagree. I think ATYCLB edges it out and it will stand the test of time a lot better. I believe there are weaker tracks on ATYCLB, some that actually annoy me like POE, but it's strong songs are incredible.

Plus it has KITE, one of their best songs ever. I think "Beautiful Day" is one of the best pop-rock songs I've ever heard.

 

[MrPryck2U]

I got the chance to see Elevation 5 times. I would easily say it was like Christmas every night I saw them. I stood up all the time and sang every song. I loved every moment of it. Elevation definitely made up for PopMart. I saw Zoo TV once and loved it as well. I like Elevation more because they played a little bit of everything, but also a number of "new" songs from ATYCLB. Walk On is my favorite U2 song and I always had that to look forward to at the end of the show. Saving my favorite song for last.


So, to it break down:
I loved Zoo TV, but I only saw it once.
I loved Elevation and got the chance to see them 5 times. Loved every show.
I also loved PopMart, but when I saw them, Bono was having trouble with a lot of the higher notes. He also wore some really goffy outfits. LOL! But, goofy is cool.
I liked Vertigo too, but the ticket situation and Bono fucking up a lot of the songs only made the evening ok, not great. It's always great to see the band just take the stage though.

 

[bram]

I believe that, unless you went to many shows of each tour, it is very difficult to accurately compare the Elevation and Vertigo tours. Now, there is obviously some objective criteria to reference and consider when picking a favorite, but I think that the quality and intangibles of a given show or two will outweigh almost anything. Basically, did you get really swept up in the Elevation show(s) you attended more or the Vertigo show(s)--what was the emotional impact, regardless of more objective and specific details (setlist, Bono's voice, crowd, etc)? These tours were so similar compared to other U2 tours that I think it really comes down to the individual show(s) you went to. That said, I think Elevation is superior for no other reason than that it was more original for U2 at the time. Walking out with the lights on, the "uncoolness" and unashamedness of the whole album ...there was a certain transparency to the ATYCLB/Elevation period that was completely new and fresh (at least in relation to the previous decade). Vertigo seemed to just take the successes of the Elevation tour (the "heart", indoor tour, somewhat stripped down) and mix them in with (very) little of Zoo TVs theatrics and "darkness" and give us something rather less original. This analysis, of course, does not take into account the music at all. That angle is obviously the deal-breaker for many people, depending on whether or not they prefer Bomb to ATYCLB (with some other obvious setlisting differences which will mean different amounts to different people). I think on paper, the Vertigo tour looks much better than Elevation (and I also believe that this idea extends to their 2 respective albums), but in reality (for me) the greater impact came from Elevation and continues to come from ATYCLB. As many have said, the album has aged like a fine wine, and the "uncool", spontaneous, and transparent element of the tour ultimately led to more satisfying concert-going experiences for me.

 

[Chizip]

That said, I think Elevation is superior for no other reason than that it was more original for U2 at the time. Walking out with the lights on, the "uncoolness" and unashamedness of the whole album ...there was a certain transparency to the ATYCLB/Elevation period that was completely new and fresh (at least in relation to the previous decade). Vertigo seemed to just take the successes of the Elevation tour (the "heart", indoor tour, somewhat stripped down) and mix them in with (very) little of Zoo TVs theatrics and "darkness" and give us something rather less original.

Exactly, the Vertigo Tour never really had it's own identity. It was just kind of a mix of previous ideas, with nothing really new and fresh, and that took away from it a bit.

 

[U2Man]

still, atyclb is an awesome record.

 

[Chizip]

still, atyclb is an awesome record.

it's a decent record, has some great moments, has some less than great moments, and a lot of cheese.

 

[LemonMelon]

it's a decent record, has some great moments, has some less than great moments, and a lot of cheese.

Sums it up perfectly.