If the new U2 album really sounds like their earliest albums

[U2girl]

Won't the critics and reviewers have a field day saying U2 is out of ideas?

 

[djerdap]

Absolutely not. To me, Vertigo did sound like old U2(11 O'Clock Tick Tock especially at the beginning), but it had some Achtung elements and also new sounds, like a 21st century reborn U2. So, I sincerely doubt it.

 

[zoopop]

From what I heard (over those damn guys talking) was a band playing with alot of passion. Its music to get exciting about. This is something bands going into their 3rd decade don't do. I think the critics will applaud U2's effort for this. I'm so pumped for the album.

 

[partygirl2u]

In the grand scheme of things,,, who gives a flying rats ass what the critics have to say?


I don't think U2 made the album to please critics, they made it to please themselves AND us!

let the cirtics babble on,,,,,,,,

 

[nurse chrissi]

I have a feeling that this new album will be a critic love fest - u2 returning to roots type of thing/still masters of their domain - musically

 

[bedouin fire]

I think will not sound like their earliest albuns. In fact it can't, there's a 20 years gap in between.
However i think (and i hope) that they will recover some of the elements from the initial albuns: the rawnees and energy of boy + the militancy of war. And like lanois said, all of this with the depth of achtung. If they are able to achieve something like that, the album will be really fresh and will make a huge difference between all the crap mainstream acts that we have nowadays, and the critics will recognize it.

 

[djerdap]

In the grand scheme of things,,, who gives a flying rats ass what the critics have to say?


I don't think U2 made the album to please critics, they made it to please themselves AND us!

let the cirtics babble on,,,,,,,,

Amen.

 

[RABIDLAMB]

I believe the critics will have to give this new album a wide berth. There is no one fit to judge a band approaching their third decade of progressive material. It is unprecedented for any act to be still producing quality new material this far into their careers. Any other act of the same longevity would be on their 5th greatest hits tour by now. I truly believe that if U2's new album approaches the quality of "Actung Baby" then they deserve to stand alongside "The Beatles" as the best there's ever been.

 

[elevation]

Won't the critics and reviewers have a field day saying U2 is out of ideas?

I don't know what THEY would say (don't really care, either), but I know what I would say as a fan. That it would be their second album that sounded old (Yeah, ATYCLB would be the first one). I don?t like the idea of: This song sounds like "X-U2 song meets Y U2 song" or whatever. I love it when songs on the SAME album like on AB/JT/UF/ Zooropa/Pop have the same vibe but not on different albums. But hey, that's just me. And let?s see: We have still heard two crappy versions samples of songs.... I could be wrong (And I hope I am...)

 

[RockNRollDawgie]

What, to me, is very very exciting is that we now have two very crappy sounding snippets of new U2 songs.
Even in their crappiness, the new songs that great!
Can you imagine what the professional sounding versions are gonna sound like????
This album is going to ROCK!!!!!!
< very excited >

 

[Zoorock Girl!]

Sometimes I wonder if people are more interested in how many copies U2 sells, and how they are publically perceived.

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

Didn't Robert Hilburn, from the LA Times, say that what he heard of the new album sounded fresh? He was surprised how fresh it sounded from a band with so many miles behind it. I think a lot of music critics will feel this way if the album is following the path of the Vertigo clip we've heard.

 

[U2girl]

partygirl2U, ZoorockGirl: I'm thinking about it because some critics/reviewers and some fans had exactly the same problem with ATYCLB: that it wasn't anything new-experimental. (as we all know it does have some new teritorries musically)

I think the band do consider critics: they gave them the bad rap after Rattle and Hum and they skipped US on Lovetown tour.
They got a (somewhat) bad rap with Pop/Popmart and they got back to straightforward songwriting with ATYCLB and a striped down tour with Elevation.

 

[mikal]

I think the band do consider critics: they gave them the bad rap after Rattle and Hum and they skipped US on Lovetown tour.
They got a (somewhat) bad rap with Pop/Popmart and they got back to straightforward songwriting with ATYCLB and a striped down tour with Elevation.

i really think those two points you just brought up are 100% coincidence. i really doubt that U2 ditched America on the Lovetown Tour because of what a few people wrote in a magazine. same thing with ATYCLB. U2 said they wanted to go back to the basics.

U2 doesn't change themselves to please the critics. they do what they want to do.

 

[partygirl2u]

U2girl you shouldn't worry yourself with what the critics might say or not say. If the band get a bad wrap, they get a bad wrap by the press. Will it stop YOU from buying the album or going to see the band on tour?

If they happen to get shit in the press <which I highly doubt> and the cd sells less than desireable amounts, it means one thing the casual or luke warm fair weather fans won't be much competition when we the LOYAL and faithfull fans show up to catch a couple of shows!!!

I don't think the band has ever skipped touring due to some bad press. Thats life,,,,,,you take the good with the band and let it roll. Popmart is a prime example. The band were balsted for not being ready and under-reheased for that tour and they kept going. The one thing that the bad press and poor ticket sales did was make the band rethink their next project which was ATYCLB and the Elevation Tour.

So ,,,,in the grand scheme of things,,,,,,,well you know the rest of what I was going to say .

 

[elevation]

partygirl(as we all know it does have some new teritorries musically)

Sorry I?m just curious... Where and how does ATYCLB break new ground? On which tracks?

I have to ask especially when you say: "As we all know..". I don'?t

 

[U2girl]

Soul on Stuck in a moment and In a little while, pop on Wild honey and ambiental sound on Grace. Hip hop influenced beat/bass interplay on Elevation.

I also think the verses Edge melody in Beautiful day and "see the world in green and blue" is the 3rd decade U2, as it isn't reminiscent of neither 80's or 90's U2.

 

[Salome]

I don't worry about critics, because I can just stop reading their reviews
alas I am addicted to this forum so in the end will get very annoyed if the album gets needlessly thrashed over here

there seem to be many bitter people over here because ATYCLB lacks innovation though personally I agree with u2girl that there was (just not what some were looking for)

I think if this album indeed somewhat resembles a rock album these people will somehow love it though
so all might be ok in the end

 

[elevation]

Soul on Stuck in a moment and In a little while, pop on Wild honey and ambiental sound on Grace. Hip hop influenced beat/bass interplay on Elevation.

I also think the verses Edge melody in Beautiful day and "see the world in green and blue" is the 3rd decade U2, as it isn't reminiscent of neither 80's or 90's U2.

Well - surprise - I don't agree with your interpretations I mean 1/3 of all U2 songs are "soul songs" and - well - depending on how you define it, half of them are "pop" songs.... As for the ambient sound on Grace... Then all slow songs are ambient ... But what I really don't get is the "hip/hop" influenced beat on Elevation But nevermind - it?s a matter of taste.... I?m just hoping there?s room for innovation on the new record - hopefully lots and lots of innovation - to me that has always been U2?s "trademark" and I hope they'll live up to that . Now: Back to topic

 

[TheFirstBigW]

Soul on Stuck in a moment and In a little while, pop on Wild honey and ambiental sound on Grace. Hip hop influenced beat/bass interplay on Elevation.

I also think the verses Edge melody in Beautiful day and "see the world in green and blue" is the 3rd decade U2, as it isn't reminiscent of neither 80's or 90's U2.

I couldn't agree more with all of your observations, especially on Beautiful Day, which is not only 3rd decade U2 but is also downright musically evolutionary IMO.

With every album (including ATYCLB, even though it was supposedly a return to basics), U2 continues to push the envelope into musical territory that no one has ever gone before while everyone else watches and learns.

 

[desire25]

"With every album (including ATYCLB, even though it was supposedly a return to basics), U2 continues to push the envelope into musical territory that no one has ever gone before while everyone else watches and learns."

- which makes u2 as one of the most exciting bands in rock history ! they keep rock and roll alive despite the surge of trashy cutesie, skin-flicky pops, we're hearing and seeing. u2 is pure rock , pure music, pure art. u2 rocks!

 

[babyman]

i don't know why, but i have the feeling that this album will be on a lower level as i thought before, i heard something of vertigo and i asked myself how could it be that they needed 2 years to do a song which sounds like their first ones?? and then all the other comments about songs who sound like the ones of ATYCLB. i was really waiting for something totally different. i'm just a bit perplexed, maybe it's gonna be a great album, but i'm not so impatient anymore...and then, only 11 tracks after 4 fat years of their last release??? i was waiting for 13-14 songs, is it possible that they weren't able to do more than 11 tracks?....oh, just wait, i hope not to be disappointed

 

[Tizer]

4years...2 years of writing..blah..They haven't spent 4 years writing the next album, or even 2. They write the songs when the songs come..and then put out an album. Love to know in the end how many actual man hours were spent putting together this album. You can put out 4 albums in as many years when you're young and have no other life than the band, but nowadays..i'm sorry but we're gonna get a bunch of songs as and when U2 feels like it. 11 songs..13, 14 whatever.

 

[mobonofo]

I think reviewers will take the slant that U2 are now the masters. They have found their vibe and no longer feel the need or need to explore different styles like they have in the past.

It's weird U2 have never really followed a successful LP with another one that continues to build on what they accomplished and I think they will with this one...

 

[Roland of Gilead]

It's weird U2 have never really followed a successful LP with another one that continues to build on what they accomplished and I think they will with this one...

I kind of feel they did when the put the Unforgettable Fire out and followed it with the Joshua Tree. Where their first three albums set the stage for widescreen anthmic (spelling?) rock and roll, the Unforgettable Fire added a new dimension to their sound and it was carried over into the Joshua Tree. The sound of ambience, the sound of landscapes that only a master like Brian Eno could of added. The songs actually started to take you to a specific place. Maybe its just me, but I really see this strong link between the Unforgettable Fire and the Joshua Tree.

On another note, I find it really funny to read comments about how this is going to be All That... pt.2. I think people are going to be in for a shock when they hear an Eno-less U2 album. This alone should tell people that this is going to be quite a different album than the last one.