MERGED-->All That You Can't Leave Behind IS U2's Third Masterpiece. + ATYCLB: 2000

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Joshua Tree has always been far too weak after In God's Country for my tastes--I find ATYCLB stronger in the second half than JT.

Are you kidding? :ohmy: 2 of the 4 remaining songs on TJT include One Tree Hill and Exit. :ohmy: :ohmy:
 
roy said:


Are you kidding? :ohmy: 2 of the 4 remaining songs on TJT include One Tree Hill and Exit. :ohmy: :ohmy:

Yup I know that, and sorry I'm not kidding :p

I find Trip Through Your Wires aweful, One Tree Hill O.K. at best, Exit on the album is terrible, production completely ruined it, and Mother of the Disappeared ok, but boring. The last 4 songs are IMO by no means better than Peace On Earth, When I Look At The World, New York and Grace.

I think OTH and Exit are redeemed live--Exit is one of my all-time favorite live songs, and OTH is also excellent live. Exit was butchered beyond any other U2 song I can think of though on the album version-- even worse than the album versions of some Pop songs (Please, IGWSHA). The rattle and hum version though gives me chills every time I hear it.
 
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ImOuttaControl said:


Yup I know that, and sorry I'm not kidding :p

I find Trip Through Your Wires aweful, One Tree Hill O.K. at best, Exit on the album is terrible, production completely ruined it, and Mother of the Disappeared ok, but boring.

I think OTH and Exit are redeemed live--Exit is one of my all-time favorite live songs, and OTH is also excellent live. Exit was butchered beyond any other U2 song I can think of though on the album(even worse than the album versions of some Pop songs (Please, IGWSHA).

So you agree they are both great songs then. :confused:
 
ImOuttaControl said:


A great live song does not mean the album version was great, which is why I don't see JT as a masterpiece.

Em, that's an interestings point... I'm not sure I agree though. The songs 'belong' to Joshua Tree regardless..
 
roy said:


Em, that's an interestings point... I'm not sure I agree though. The songs 'belong' to Joshua Tree regardless..

Yeah it's up to opinion I guess. My point is that they are great songs, but they didn't come across as great on an album, so the album isn't as good as it could have been. There was the potential though, and I know most fans disagree with my whole opinion that the Joshua Tree isn't a masterpiece.

I'll put it this way; POP is one of my favorite albums and could be considered a masterpiece if you took the songs as they were meant to be--the way they were released as singles(the way they were for the most part played live). Then you'd have a great version of IGWSHA, an improved LNOE, an infinitely better Please, and if you took the live versions of Miami and IYWTVD, you'd have nearly a perfect album...problem is that a lot of the songs were butchered on the album. It doesn't make them not great songs, it just makes the album not as great as it could have been.
 
ImOuttaControl said:


Yeah it's up to opinion I guess. My point is that they are great songs, but they didn't come across as great on an album, so the album isn't as good as it could have been. There was the potential though, and I know most fans disagree with my whole opinion that the Joshua Tree isn't a masterpiece.

I'll put it this way; POP is one of my favorite albums and could be considered a masterpiece if you took the songs as they were meant to be--the way they were released as singles(the way they were for the most part played live). Then you'd have a great version of IGWSHA, an improved LNOE, an infinitely better Please, and if you took the live versions of Miami and IYWTVD, you'd have nearly a perfect album...problem is that a lot of the songs were butchered on the album. It doesn't make them not great songs, it just makes the album not as great as it could have been.

Just outta interest, why in your opinion was One Tree Hill so much better live than on the album? From the live versions I've heard I actually prefer the album version.
 
bathiu said:


Britney is loved by millions, Eminem is loved by millions... :rolleyes:

:banghead: :mad: NONONONONONO !!!(holds temper)

As I have said many many times in other threads, there is HUGE difference between stuff like that which sells as FAD much the way POKEMON or TICKLE ME ELMO do among kids who 'have to have it' and REAL SOLID music of an established band. All pop fads like boy bands will always sell millions- for a couple years, then fade away. My Burger King had trouble GIVING away the last of their Backstreet Boys CDS! I'm talking about REAL music by a REAL band. Don't compare apples and dead fish here. Compare ATYCLB to other U2 ablums, or other albums of bands of similar history and quality.

And do I realy have to say where and what kind of people, simple words of truth changed into "bashing by a vocal handful of people" type of propaganda?

Because I have never seen or heard this album criticized by ANYONE ANYWHERE other than a small handful of people here on this forum (and their alters).
 
djerdap said:
No U2 album has so many mediocre or even weak songs in it. Without any innovation, just tired pop songs like Peace on Earth, Grace, Wild Honey, the embarassing Elevation, In a Little While, When I Look at the World.
ATYCLB was a great live album. Beautiful Day, Walk On and Kite really went somewhere live. They are great songs and absolutely the high spot of their 2000 songwriting. Other than that, this album for me was very disappointing.

My thoughts exactly. Hell, even Zooropa with its weak B-side is more interesting than ATYCLB.
 
Thank you all for your responces and comments. I did put a lot of heart into this post and I think I hit a few nerves here too, which is a good thing time to time. It would take too much for me to respond to all of those posts in one message, but I would like to say that (to whoever it was on the first page that said it) I personally don't care if U2 is the "biggest band in the world". I think you missunderstood my comment. What I meant was that it really had a possitive impact of their career, and probably motivated them a lot more to tour and record etc...

Secondly, as Jick pointed out, it was Rolling Stone Magazine that called ATYCLB U2's Third masterpiece, and that was what I was referenceing in my thread title. I didn't just fabricate that list on the spot. I happen to agree with it though, as I explained why in my original post.

Finally, I'd like to comment on what Kitten said last about album sales. She is totally accurate. There is a huge difference in a FAD selling millions of albums (Britney) and a true artist selling millions of albums. The difference is that when the true artist sells millions of album, it acctually has to do with the music, not the trend.

Thanks,
Lance.
 
U2Kitten said:



Because I have never seen or heard this album criticized by ANYONE ANYWHERE other than a small handful of people here on this forum (and their alters).

I did.
 
I'm a late arrival to this thread, but I have to comment.

ATYCLB IS U2's third masterpiece. (period)

It is their strongest album since The Joshua Tree and is a better album than HTDAAB (though I love the bomb as well)

Beautiful Day was U2's best single since the Rattle & Hum days, and their best song since Achtung Baby.

Elevation 2001 was their best tour since ZOO TV

As an album, ATYCLB is seamless. It is strong from start to finish, and even the weaker tracks (thinking of Grace & New York here) have a meaningful place in the overall context of the album. Whereas Achtung Baby! (one of my all time favorites) is much more of a period piece. By that I mean, AB is a product of the musical influences of the early 90's, and those influences can be heard and felt throughout the album. In that context, it is a great album, but it does feel dated more than a decade later. ATYCLB is timeless. Ten years from now it will still stand apart from the music of that era as much as it stood apart 4 years ago.

Also, when comparing Bomb to ATYCLB, nothing on the bomb stands shoulder to shoulder with Walk On and Beautiful Day. These songs were instant classics and will become as much a part of U2 as Streets or One. Nothing on Bomb will reach that plateu.

Lastly, nothing compares to The Joshua Tree for me. That album is so unique that it defies definition, much less comparison. That an album like that could be made once seems to defy explanation. To expect U2 to ever top that seems to put them in the position of thinking the only way they can overcome those expectations is to branch off in a totally different direction and change the rules of the game (see Achtung Baby!)
 
Spread the love people !!!!,, Some like ATYCLB, and some hate it.. I am in between, and would probarly never recommend a first time listener to that album. But we are different, and thats cool.
 
yimou said:
Spread the love people !!!!,, Some like ATYCLB, and some hate it.. I am in between, and would probarly never recommend a first time listener to that album. But we are different, and thats cool.

Isn't that the best thing about U2?
 
ATYCLB and the year 2000:

Please step back with me in my rotating lemon disco ball to a time long, long ago... the year 2000.

It was a different world musically, arguably the most dry and vapid era in the history of popular music. Let's remember the players: N'Sync and The Backstreet Boys grappled for the title of most popular group in the world. Read that sentence again. The radio dial was a veritable train wreck...featuring schlop from Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore, 98 Degrees, LFO and the like. Fred Durst and Jonathan Davis were considered geniuses. Nirvana was dead. Oasis' commercial appeal was too. Radiohead was making music not even their mother's could love. Same goes for Pearl Jam, letting opportunistic clones like Creed took their place on rock radio. The hurt was endless.

And then came U2.

The band was in the most vulnerable position of its career when ATYCLB surfaced on Halloween of that year. Out of the greater public eye for the better part of seven years, it was understandable to question whether they'd ever achieve their past glory again. But then came those glorious first seconds of Beautiful Day -- the perfect song at the perfect time -- modern and classic all at once. The band hit the ground running and followed that single with the most accessible album of their career.

Beautiful Day. Stuck In A Moment. Elevation. Walk On. Kite. In A Little While. This was POP. Pop music made by the masters of the craft.

So when you dismiss Rolling Stone calling ATYCLB a "masterpiece", try to remember the drivel that the writer was most likely forced to review in the years leading to U2's release. The album was a breath of fresh air....in a time where music had become more stale than ever.

Come to think of it, "masterpiece" may be an understatement.
 
I back Lance on this. I believe it was a great album in a unique time in history. Besides, People will be bashing bomb 2 years down the road, or even less. The songs on bomb and the energy on it are great, but I think Leave Behind has a lot more heart to it, they are very similar, it will come down to the last album of this trilogy, i do hope it is released on 2006.
 
Re: ATYCLB and the year 2000:

Mac Phisto said:
Radiohead was making music not even their mother's could love.


Seems like you are going along well until this ignorant statement surfaced. Kid A and ATYCLB were both nominated for album of the year, but both lost. Not that Grammy's always determine greatness (they don't), but a lot of people loved Kid A. Kind of makes me disregard the rest of what was said. Also, how can "masterpiece" be an understatement?
 
I think I said all this in the "parent" thread about a half hour ago, so I agree with everything I said then.

Okay, this spin-off thing is confusing to me!
 
The thing is this should have been posted in my original thread. I think the mods should Merge them or close this one or something. :shrug:
 
Re: Re: ATYCLB and the year 2000:

bsp77 said:

Seems like you are going along well until this ignorant statement surfaced.


"Ignorant" is a strong word kidd-o...so let's take it easy there. If you'd like to lead me to the gas chamber for saying that The Bends and OK Computer were better than Kid A, I have a feeling I'd have a lot of company. Kid A was the beginning of the end for Radiohead in my opinion, as evidenced by the continued meandering of Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief.
 
Sorry Lance for this inexcusable error. Close this thread mods, and while you're at it, alert the authroities.

It was an innocent mistake. I apologize for not reading your thread first. Now proceed to get over it.
 
I'm sorry, but I don't think that you "failed to notice" a thread that's just a few lines down that is practically EXACTLY the same as this one in terms of subject and content. Although I do disagree with the said Radioheaad statement.
 
HelloAngel said:
A merging we will go! A merging we will go! High ho the dario a merging we will go!

Sorry, I originally had a stupid responce here, but thanks for doing something about it anyways. :wink:
 
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All respect to the new thread that was merged here, though. But they are very similar, so thought it was a reasonable thing to do. I hope that's ok. :)
 
Re: Re: Re: ATYCLB and the year 2000:

Mac Phisto said:



"Ignorant" is a strong word kidd-o...so let's take it easy there. If you'd like to lead me to the gas chamber for saying that The Bends and OK Computer were better than Kid A, I have a feeling I'd have a lot of company. Kid A was the beginning of the end for Radiohead in my opinion, as evidenced by the continued meandering of Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief.

I like The Bends and OK Computer a little better, but just a little. You can express your opinion just don't make blanket statements. If you assume that Kid A is a much maligned album when it is not, then that is ignorance. Ignorance does not mean stupidity, just lack of knowledge.

And, my name is not Beatrix, so don't call me Kiddo. :wink:
 
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I think ROlling Stone is crap, but I do think ATYCLB is a masterpiece. The fourth masterpiece after JT, AB and Pop. Bomb is the fifth.
 
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