MERGED-->Fan Reviews of HTDAAB Here

[AtomicBono]

Re: We've just listened to HTDAAB, let's all take a deep breath...

I don't know about everyone else ... but this has turned into one of the best days ever. Instead of riding our adrenalin and looking for fast cars or typing away furiously in the album review threads... let's all just sit back, and type how you're feeling right now after listening to htdaab. not individual song reviews or album reviews ... simply how it's making you feel on the whole.

for me, after listening to the album over and over again a few times, i feel like i just found out i won the lottery. i feel like screaming at the top of my lungs. i feel like dragging all the kids listening to bad music by their ears and showing them what rock and roll is. i feel like driving from chicago to new york and back just for the hell of it so i can listen to htdaab on repeat. i feel like going to bono, larry, edge, and adam's houses and just shake their hand and thank them. as you can see...i can't really decipher what i'm feeling...just extreme pleasure, happiness, inspiration, and hope.

thank you.

That's so perfect. That sums it up perfectly... I've never felt so joyous listening to an album for the first time in my entire life. And then for the second, and third, and fourth... it's like all my problems just dissolved into nothing but four guys playin' rock n' roll better than anyone else ever could.

HelloAngel, you can quote me on anything.

It's a tough music market these days. Sure, there's a lot of crap out, but there's some great new fresh bands - Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Coldplay, and Interpol, to name a few. The fact is, some guys in their mid-40s shouldn't be able to compete. Maybe it's time for U2 to hand the torch of "greatest band in the world" to one of those fresh youngsters. It would make sense, to end with the commercially successful All That You Can't Leave Behind, hailed by many critics as their third masterpiece. U2 could have pulled it off, ended gracefully and on top, forever legends in music.

Instead, they went and created How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. And thank God they did.

All That You Can't Leave Behind is a fantastic album, but How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb blows it out of the water. This is U2's true third masterpiece...a solid album from start to finish. There is no weak track on Atomic Bomb. This is U2 doing what U2 do best.

The album kicks off with Vertigo, a catchy first single reminiscent of the early days of the band. U2 has as much energy as all of the new bands and then some. Adult contemporary? Soft rock? No, this is all-guns-blazin' rock, this is Adam's thumping bass, Larry's pounding drums, Edge's distorted guitar, and Bono's rapping vocals. Vertigo will reach to the younger generation and pull them into the brilliance of "Bomb." (8/10)

Next up is Miracle Drug, which has an ambient, slow beginning with pretty guitar and vocals... and then the whole band kicks in and it's four mintues of heaven. This is what U2 is about. The best part of this song is the bridge - "oooooh yeahs" in the background, tribal drums, beautiful slide guitar...Bono softly sings "God I need your help tonight" and the band explodes...Edge proves that he is truly a guitar god....Miracle Drug is perfect U2. (10/10)

Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own starts slow and simple and builds up U2 ballad style, ala With or Without You. However, it's Bono's vocal performance that really carries this song... heartwrenching lyrics delivered with passion, complete with a falsetto chorus. When the song really kicks in at around three minutes, "Bomb" has reached heaven again. The Edge lets himself play the way he wants and it works perfectly to lift Bono's vocals. A classic U2 ballad. (10/10)

After the beautiful "Sometimes..." comes the industrial growl of a heavy distorted guitar and almost-cheesy synths. It's a perfect opening for Love and Peace or Else, a song that gives Black Rebel Motorcycle Club a run for their money. This is unlike anything U2 has done before - bluesy raw rock with a brilliant riff from Mr. The Edge. This is a song to rock out to and to sing along to. The bridge is a brief interruption of rock before Edge's mighty solo, which is at first muddled and barely discernable, but it creeps up and attacks you as it becomes fully plugged in and ends the song. (9/10)

City of Blinding Lights is the next track and another U2 classic, with guitar akin to Where the Streets Have No Name. The intro includes piano and builds up over a minute or so until the verse begins, and then it's an easy ride from there - again, very similar to Streets. The singalong chrous of "ALL - YOU - LOOK - SO - BEAU - TI - FUL - tonight..." will be amazing live. (9.5/10)

From the first to last second, All Because of You is pure rock 'n roll. The intro is very Acthung Baby, which is sure to bring a smile to the faces of U2 fans worldwide. Bono delivers some of his best lyrics perfectly with a low harmony part, but it's The Edge that makes this song perfect with one of his best solos to date. The bridge and end are by far the best part of the song - the descending bass, Larry pounding with all he's got, Bono's scream, and Edge soloing away. Is this rock 'n roll? Why yes, I think it is. (10/10)

After All Because of You comes A Man and a Woman, one of the most underrated songs on the album. Adam's bassline is what truly brings this song to life; it will go down as one of his most memorable. Bono's vocals on this song are exceptional, including some falsetto at the end. A Man and a Woman is so catchy it hurts... it's hard to see how people could not like this song. It's unmistakenly U2 but also has a very different feel to it. (9/10)

Crumbs From Your Table is also an underrated song and surprisingly rocking. "Crumbs" is very U2, for lack of a better description. It is reminiscent of Walk On but without the ballad feel. The band is in top form, with Larry and Edge as the stand-outs. This could be the new Until the End of the World... it has that rockin' sort of "after-song." (8.5/10)

One Step Closer is the only truly mellow moment on the album, and works well as a bridge between Crumbs From Your Table. It's the most understated song on "Bomb" but great nonetheless. It has that ambient feel and could have worked well on either The Unforgettable Fire or Passengers (it sounds somewhat like Miss Sarejevo.) One Step Closer is a personal Bono performance, though the drums do build up quite nicely. (7/10)

Piano and addicting drums start off Original of the Species, which a true gem. The style is very Lennon-esque, from the acoustic guitars to the drums to the piano... but Bono and Edge make it very U2 at the same time. Original of the Species threatens to end about three minutes into it, but thankfully doesn't and instead continues to a climactic ending. "Bomb" has hit heaven for the third time. (10/10)

Yahweh is the best U2 closer with the exception of perhaps Love is Blindness. It's certainly the most upbeat, and that's a good thing. It ends the album perfectly, but it could have been stuck in the middle and worked just fine, as it's plenty catchy in itself. The chorus is simple - "Yahweh, Yahweh, always pain before a child is born." The bridge, as with every other bridge on "Bomb," is beautiful. Yahweh never lets up. (8/10)

U2 has done it again. Four Irish guys in their mid-40s just proved yet again why nothing else on the market now can even touch them. I'm sure Chris Martin won't mind though - he'll surely be listening to How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb as much as anyone. And why not? It's easily the best album of 2004 and one of U2's greatest. U2 is far from over.

I give How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb a 9.5/10.

 

[Matthew_Page2000]

This album is giving JT and AB a run for their money.

I think that's the best I can say about it.

Incredibly addicting! Totally U2.

Best closer they have ever had!

I agree in general. The only thing that bothers me is everyone calling Yahweh U2's best closing song ever.
Doesn't anyone remember All I Want is You??

 

[-Macphisto-UK]

Ok I have listened to this album for 20 of the last 28 hours. I even fell asleep to this album last night.

I remember Bono saying that when they made One it was like a gift from God. Something that no man deserves to be able to create.

Well this whole album is like that.

Original of the species is the greatest song I have heard since One.

I am not going to do a single by single review but I can let you know that no track scores lower than an 8, in other words they are all quality.

Is it premature to be calling this their greatest ever album. Of course it is. Hell in five years time I may hate it. I might not listen to it all.

But I don't honestly know what will happen in 5 years time, I do know this. I have never loved an album so much on first listen.

I haven't even heard a greatest hits album with this many great tracks.

And without doubt nothing from the last ten years by any artist is better than what I have heard from this album.

Thats what I do know, and I do want to call it my favourite U2 album because right now it is. Will Achtung, claw it's way back over the next few months. Very possibly but it has got a job on it's hand.

(You can quote me on any of the above)

 

[neokem]

Admit it people most of us weren't as hyped as it was before ATYCLB. And that -at least- screwed me. I didn't see it coming. It is million times more than I had expected. My feelings might be different from you guys, for I was expecting another commercial like ATYCLB. Ohh I was sooo wrong.

You know what. It inspired me. I felt the adrenaline from music after so much time. It made me remember this one early November in 1991, I got my cassette Actung Baby, (and cursing my country for two week late release). All wet under the rain for I couldn't bare to pause the walkman, walked all way to hope instead of takin the bus. This was the same excitement.

It is from the line of those old albums that you do not select tracks. You just listen it all the way. The details are so elegant that I recomend headphones, for it is some quality time with U2 again.

Tonite I will not sleep for my chilhood heros did it once again-at least- for me. I am greatful for them. May god of every son of Abraham bless them.

 

[SkeeK]

First impressions.. not really a cohesive review:

This is good. It took a second listen, with headphones in the dark for it to really click, but this is one powerful mother.

The best way to describe the album in general, I think, is triumphant. In "Original of the Species" (what business does a song this brilliant, happy, and immediate have being second last?) during the last chorus, Bono goes a bit off of the melody, and yells "yeah." It's an impromptu, beautiful sort of moment we usually only get to hear in live renditions. The happiness and energy is leaping out of the song and becoming something more than just the lyrics, vocals, and instrumentation... and it's a theme throughout the album. Where 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind had similarly joyful, well-crafted songs, on U2's new album they speak more for themselves: by being a little less structured and polished, the spirit shines through ("I’m not broke but you can see the cracks/You can make me perfect again"-All Because of You).

There are a number of different producers all contributing to the album, but nonetheless it maintains a consistent tone. To me it sounds like something new for U2, but since past comparisons are what everyone likes to hear... the blues of rattle and hum, combined with the soar of 'Gone', the grunge of 'Do You Feel Loved' and the layers of Achtung Baby. But the earnestness of the early 80s that they tried (a little less successfully) to recapture on ATYCLB makes a strong showing here again. Every song sounds like it belongs within the spirit and framework of the album whether it's the summery bass and melody of "A Man and A Woman", or the industrial Blues of "Love and Peace or Else", the heartache of second single "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own"

You're going to hear a lot of people saying "this is U2 sounding like U2" or "doing what they do best," and there's some truth to that, but it's also something they've not really done before. But it still feels fresh and is not simply a re-tread of past ideas. The overwhelming theme of the album (which I briefly touched on above) is what makes it intriguing: the songs are often joyful, triumphant... even the wistful pained songs have some type of bombast or anthemic ringing that makes them far more cathartic than depressing. And likewise even the happy songs often have lyrics that point to being confused, lost, or saddened. It might seem like a simple mishmashing of ideas and directionless, unthought-out songwriting, (this guy can't decide whether he's happy or depressed!) but that's not what it is at all. It's a picture of a man or woman facing the world, and all its troubles and tribulations, and deciding to take it in stride and stand up tall. To beg and plea, but with an underlying optimism that yes, everything *might* just work out right, and the knowledge everything might also blow up in our faces. It represents the thin line between the darkness and light that stands higher than either, because we can't grow without both of them pushing at us. That tension runs through the whole album. This is often reflected in the lyrics, such as "A heart that hurts is a heart that beats" (you're going to see this one quoted in almost every review, appropriately). And that's where the triumph fits in: in revelling in the glory of the human soul.

And maybe it's true that U2's other albums have the same sorts of feelings running through them, but here it's more direct. It smacks you in the face and makes you pay attention. There's guitars coursing through it in all directions, there's loudness, and there's also not a weak moment on the whole album.

Favourite song so far: Original of the Species

 

[Matthew_Page2000]

Feel free to quote me:

Vertigo- Hard to get enthusiastic about this one right now. I loved it a week ago. This is what u2 were trying to do with Elevation. A quick nod to their past (stories for boys) and their inspirations: the Clash and the Ramones. Tremendous live song and it will only get better. I'll give it a 9/10 It would get a 10/10 if not for the two songs to follow.

Miracle Drug- One of the greatest U2 songs ever. If U2 had released this song in 1984 or 1987 it would be a consenus all time great. The Edge verse leading into Bono's chorus is otherworldly. Might NOT be the best on the album. ohmy: 10/10.

Sometimes: At first I wasn't sure. The intro sounded a little awkward. "People are comparing this to One", I thought?
And then BAM. Absolutely heart wrenching. The "Can you hear me sing? You're the reason I sing" verse is probably the most moving bit of popular music I've ever heard. "You're the reason the opera is in me...please don't leave me alone..." The whole song really. Unbelievable. Best song on the album. Maybe.
10/10

Love and Peace Or Else- Industrial Intro. Clap along Blues song. Heavy metal guitars. All in one song. The brilliant thing about this song is that Bono actually writes a song about peace in the Middle East without sounding like a wanker. Unbelievable.
This is going to kill live. 9.5/10

City of Blinding Lights- When I first heard the live clip of this song I assumed it would be the standout track on the new album. Incredibly, it is only one of many. Early comparisons to Streets are apt. Will be unbelievable live. 9.5/10

All Because of You- It's already a cliche but this DOES sound like U2 doing the Who. With a some Achtung Baby guitar thown in for good measure. One of Edge's best solo's ever. Bono roaring like a madman. A great live song already. On a normal album this would be the highlight. Not here. 9/10

Man and a Woman- U2 go Motown. A rather startling change of pace on the album. Still a bit of a head scratcher for me so far. Sounds great though. Sounds like a grower. I'd be more enthusiastic if the rest of the album wasn't so unbelievable.
8/10

Crumbs from Your Table- Didn't like it much at first but it has really grown on me. Wait till some of the Americans (I am one myself) figure out what this song is about. They'll scream bloody murder. It's a rather pointed (almost nasty) riposte to the contempt and indifference we sometimes feel for the rest of the world.
8.5

One Step Closer- The weakest track on the album. Or at least that is what I though at first. I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe it's meant to be comforting but it's also eerie and uncomfortable.
It's gotten stuck in my head and I can't get it out. Get back to me in a few weeks and I'll let you know what I think. 8/10.

Original of the Species- My God. Another masterpiece. It's U2 doing the Beatles and doing it damn well. I feel like I might have said this before but on any other album this song would be the standout. Here it is one of many. I love the "everywhere you go you shout it/you don't have to be shy about it" chorus. Rather complicated song structure. There's a lot going on here.
HOW ON EARTH DID THIS NOT MAKE ATYCLB?????
10/10

Yahweh- One of U2's very best album closers. U2 have avoided the dreaded side two slump. Very upbeat, almost rocking conclusion to the album. 8.5/10

In summation: Holy shit Batman.

Right now I'm giving the album 9.5/10 and ranking it right behind AB and JT. We'll see if that holds up.

 

[AtomicBono]

You're going to hear a lot of people saying "this is U2 sounding like U2" or "doing what they do best," and there's some truth to that, but it's also something they've not really done before. But it still feels fresh and is not simply a re-tread of past ideas. The overwhelming theme of the album (which I briefly touched on above) is what makes it intriguing: the songs are often joyful, triumphant... even the wistful pained songs have some type of bombast or anthemic ringing that makes them far more cathartic than depressing. And likewise even the happy songs often have lyrics that point to being confused, lost, or saddened. It might seem like a simple mishmashing of ideas and directionless, unthought-out songwriting, (this guy can't decide whether he's happy or depressed!) but that's not what it is at all. It's a picture of a man or woman facing the world, and all its troubles and tribulations, and deciding to take it in stride and stand up tall. To beg and plea, but with an underlying optimism that yes, everything *might* just work out right, and the knowledge everything might also blow up in our faces. It represents the thin line between the darkness and light that stands higher than either, because we can't grow without both of them pushing at us. That tension runs through the whole album. This is often reflected in the lyrics, such as "A heart that hurts is a heart that beats" (you're going to see this one quoted in almost every review, appropriately). And that's where the triumph fits in: in revelling in the glory of the human soul.

That's so true. You're a genius.

 

[SkeeK]

That's so true. You're a genius.

Well I don't know about that, but thank you kindly!

Oh, I forgot to mention I'm down with being quoted.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

I refuse to officially reveal my thoughts on the Bomb just yet... in case I pull a phaser.

you can quote that.

 

[jay canseco]

Phaser has achieved ONE NAME status
I'd like to thank the two previous reviewers for capturing the feelings generated by this album. Fantastic.

 

[MrBrau1]

Holy shit Batman.

You nailed it in under 4 words.

But I don't think Americans are the only target of Crumbs. Most of Europe could be in there as well.

 

[caylan]

I've been sitting here going on my 20th listen this weekend trying to be a fool & peg this U2 Album in one genre or another.

While I think it would be a mistake to try to compare this CD to all of their work.
It's only human.

That said, the one underlying theme of this CD is that while the emotional themes ARE omnipresent as in every U2 album prior. Here it is delivered in a very a clear & precise manner.

The imagery that have covered the canvasses past are shown here in all of its rawness.

More so than in any another album, Bomb shows four craftsmen at their individual best.

Together, this CD is what mature ppl with extraordinary experiences can convey to us melodically.

ps. can the closer of this album be anymore appropriate. I thought Walk On was a fantastic concert closer. & Yahweh has that same optimism.

Thus that sums this U2 album perfectly.

 

[rjhbonovox]

Original of the Species is a GREAT song!

 

[saltwaterkiss26]

Coherent review next week. For now:

Though, COBL is my favorite so far. (My family's really sick of me walking around the house going 'OH - YOU - LOOK - SO - BEAUTIFUL TONIGHT' at the top of my lungs.) SYOCMOYO is up there too. sad: ) But then, I've only listened a few times. Waiting for ABOY to grow a little more. Man and a Woman, , MD, , CFYT, ... etc.

 

[killerklown24]

I have to say that this album is a definate grower...on a whole on first listen I was not too impressed. But as I am listening to it as I am typing this my opinion is definately changing...(I came hear to read opinions to see what I was missing).

This is the sound of a mature U2 trying not to lose touch with their punk/ post-punk roots. Many of the songs are growers because they are not clearly distinguishable from the genres that they are trying to blend together to create their own...U2 is definately trying new things here but also trying to keep their roots which it leading to some strange and interesting sounds...(and thank god for that)

MD, LAPOE, CFYT, STYCMIOYO are definate standouts with COBL and ABOY coming close behind...

Also, OSC is epic in its simplicity...just think of Bono singing this chorus to you at the gates of heaven

 

[Hawk269]

... the blues of rattle and hum, combined with the soar of 'Gone', the grunge of 'Do You Feel Loved' and the layers of Achtung Baby. But the earnestness of the early 80s that they tried (a little less successfully) to recapture on ATYCLB makes a strong showing here again. Every song sounds like it belongs within the spirit and framework of the album whether it's the summery bass and melody of "A Man and A Woman", or the industrial Blues of "Love and Peace or Else", the heartache of second single "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own"

You're going to hear a lot of people saying "this is U2 sounding like U2" or "doing what they do best," and there's some truth to that, but it's also something they've not really done before. But it still feels fresh and is not simply a re-tread of past ideas. The overwhelming theme of the album (which I briefly touched on above) is what makes it intriguing: the songs are often joyful, triumphant... even the wistful pained songs have some type of bombast or anthemic ringing that makes them far more cathartic than depressing. And likewise even the happy songs often have lyrics that point to being confused, lost, or saddened. It might seem like a simple mishmashing of ideas and directionless, unthought-out songwriting, (this guy can't decide whether he's happy or depressed!) but that's not what it is at all. It's a picture of a man or woman facing the world, and all its troubles and tribulations, and deciding to take it in stride and stand up tall. To beg and plea, but with an underlying optimism that yes, everything *might* just work out right, and the knowledge everything might also blow up in our faces. It represents the thin line between the darkness and light that stands higher than either, because we can't grow without both of them pushing at us. That tension runs through the whole album.

Skeek - that was an excellent, well-thought out review. I really enjoyed reading it. Thanks!

AJ

 

[HelloAngel]

Skeek,

If you'd like to write a full review for the site, let me know (or email me, whatevs!)

 

[nicholsfornixon]

I realize now, after about fifteen more listens to the album, that I was not prepared to write the review that I wrote earlier in this thread.

This album is so much bigger than I originally thought. Initially I wasn't too excited about "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own," "A Man and a Woman," and "Original of the Species." The fact is, there is not one weak song on this album. Some are outright masterpieces, while other songs would be masterpieces but for the misfortune of being recorded for this monster of an album.

I see now what Bono meant when he said that U2 has gotten the closest it's ever been to recording the music they always heard in their heads. After listening to this album, I think I have a much better understanding of what U2 had intended to do with albums like Pop, Zooropa, and All That You Can't Leave Behind. These albums, beauties that they are, just do not seem fully realized in comparison to How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. (But let's get one thing straight here, folks. No matter how much All That You Can't Leave Behind may pale in comparison to Bomb, it is still a fantastic album. How to Distmantle an Atomic Bomb is not U2's true third masterpiece--it's their fourth.)

I still can't say how I think this album ranks with The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. One thing I can say is that Achtung Baby never affected me emotionally the way this album has. This entire album feels redemptive. Even the songs that, taken alone, don't seem to offer much in the way of higher spiritual understanding do offer something like that when taken in the context of the entire album. I don't think Bono has ever written a song that lacked some kind of higher meaning and he hasn't started to here. In Vertigo, Bono sings "Your love is teaching me how to kneel." Amidst the fury of Edge's frenetic guitar Bono's lyrics are easy to miss. "You heard me in my tune when I just heard confusion." At a closer glance, All Because of You almost makes me wonder if Bono has finally found what he was looking for.

And I must agree with what others have been saying about Yahweh. This is U2's best closer. Period. Yes, All I Want Is You was pretty damn good, but the album that it closed wasn't. Yahweh is so good because it brings every masterpiece on this album together so perfectly. Yahweh provides the perfect answer to the pain, the suffering, the longing, and the joy that fills every song on this album. "Mothers of the Disappeared" felt like the rain that had been promised in "Where the Streets Have No Name." "All I Want is You," is great in that it almost makes me forget how much of a train-wreck the previous sixteen songs were (with a few exceptions). "Love is Blindness" closes Achtung Baby on contemplative note that complements that album's themes of dark introspection. It could be said that "Love is Blindness" ends Achtung Baby with a whimper, an understated, uncertain song. "Yahweh" is an exclamation point. This is what the songs on All That You Can't Leave Behind were supposed to be.

But as good as songs like "Yahweh" and "A Man and a Woman" are, this album is destined to be remembered for its huge, epic stadium rock anthems. "Miracle Drug," "City of Blinding Lights," "Love and Peace or Else," and "All Because of You" have no rivals in U2's catalogue. They've never done rock this big before. (Even some of the biggest, most anthemic tracks on Achtung Baby never sounded quite as triumphant as these).

I've been listening to this album non-stop for the last two days. I will be listening to this album non-stop for many, many more days to come. This could be the third time that U2 has produced the best album of the decade. In the 80s it was The Joshua Tree. In the 90s it was Achtung Baby. This decade belongs to Atomic Bomb.

Oh, feel free to quote me if I've said anything quote-worthy.

 

[Stryker395]

There is only one thing I have to say about this album.

I have never felt the feeling I'm feeling now as I listen to it. It's one I can't describe. Sure, everyone including me gets excited about new albums. However, no other album when listening to it for the first time; has ever taken me to another world and lifted me off my feet like this. So much going on and so much to absorb. It's like being surrounded by everything you've ever wanted in life.


That may sound a bit corny...but do I really care? No, not really.

 

[SkeeK]

Skeek,

If you'd like to write a full review for the site, let me know (or email me, whatevs!)

I could probably bring myself to! i sent you an email..

 

[Stryker395]

There is only one thing I have to say about this album.

I have never felt the feeling I'm feeling now as I listen to it. It's one I can't describe. Sure, everyone including me gets excited about new albums. However, no other album when listening to it for the first time; has ever taken me to another world and lifted me off my feet like this. So much going on and so much to absorb. It's like being surrounded by everything you've ever wanted in life.


That may sound a bit corny...but do I really care? No, not really.

Oh yeah...feel free to quote me. I just can't take these headphones off my head. I don't want to leave this album even for a few minutes as of right now.

 

[dbinteract]

How To Dismantle The Bomb

Wow, So this is what I get when I go away for a weekend and do not check out what is happening here at interference!

Well like everyone else I have now listened to HTDAAB, and I think I get it. I understand why they consider this album their best. For the first time I can see a union between the simplicity of the melody, and the simplicity in the message. I am not going to try and find comparisions to older recordings, of couse they are there to some extent because it has their fingerprints on it.

With this record they have dismantled many bombs, on many levels, be it from the predictable dealing with the loss of a father, to the more deliberate dismantling of their own music and message. It is all here. In every song you can hear loss, question, and most importantly hope. Just listen to those guitars chime, the vocals flying high, and the melodies...the melodies are the key to the message.

Sometimes You Cant Make It On Your Own should haunt everyo one of use when we face the mortality of their own loved ones. City of Blinding Lights I think is about their fans, specifically their live audiance. "I miss you when your not around" and "you see the beauty in me... where did the beauty in me go?" And Yaweh... we all know of Bono's faith but it is so perfect that he asks the big questions, and then offers his heart to be broken... its complete humility and submission. I love it, and I cant wait to hear this stuff live.

I completely disagree with the earlier german fansite review..because I too am a musician, and if you cant find the melodies here... then you just werent listening.

There is so much melody, emotion, and again I say hope, in every song. And as fans isn't that what we always look for in a U2 record?

I love this record, I do think its their best to date, which makes me sad because they always said when they did their best work they would stop... so now I am waiting for Edge to say, as he has so many times in the past, "I still think we are capable of saying it better."

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Second Review:

After listen number six, I can say that it has all grown on me. I don't think there's a bad song on the album now. It doesn't gel too well together though outside of the first few tracks and One Step Closer-Original of the Species. There's lots of great melodies here...."City of Blinding Lights" is really beautiful....."All Because of You" is a nice record that will undoubtedly become a hit. "A Man and A Woman" is different and could definitely be an airplay magnet for Adult Contemporary stations.....all in all, it's a strong effort with a few flaws...right now, I give it an 8/10......I like it better than both Rattle and Hum (8/10) and Pop (6/10)...

 

[vivaSA]

I love new U2!

The first time I heard it I was not sure what to think about it, but now that I've been listening to it for a while I really, really like it.
This is totally new U2 sound.
They did it again.
They REINVENTED themselves once again.

Way to go guys!

Btw, I have just pre-ordered the "Deluxe edition of HTDAAB"

 

[Dima]

this is a great record and i'd dare to say that this is U2's REAL 3rd MASTERPIECE...i love it as well!

 

[starsgoblue]

This is not me being overly excited about the album....it really is a MASTERPIECE. I loved ATYCLB, but the feeling with this album is soo much different...I can't eat, I can't sleep, all I want to do is spend time listening to it--I must be in love!

 

[vivaSA]

This is not me being overly excited about the album....it really is a MASTERPIECE. I loved ATYCLB, but the feeling with this album is soo much different...I can't eat, I can't sleep, all I want to do is spend time listening to it--I must be in love!

 

[shing]

Frankly, I'm disappointed. Vertigo had shown some promise for the new album.
Peace or Else isn't too bad. Haven't heard miracle drug yet. But the rest of the album sounds like a Phil Collins disney soundtrack. And yes I've been a huge fan since I started listening to rock music in 87.

 

[SeattleVertigo]

I’ve been soaking in the album for much of the past 2 days, and I think it’s their best so far. I wasn’t sure if I’d be ready to say that so soon, but it feels right. As a huge fan since War, I’ve experienced the thrill of a new U2 record many times, and I like almost all of their stuff. But I’ve never been this blown away by one of their records.

I love the album’s diversity of tunes, and I think all of them are high-quality songs. I’m really grateful to have this awesome music in my life. I just can’t wait to see the concert, and to watch the concert DVD!

Song-by-song remarks:

Vertigo: 10. It will definitely make my list of favorite U2 tunes. So catchy, so infectious, so full of joy and wonder.

Miracle Drug: 10. Raw, powerful emotion. Can you imagine how great it will be live? The only thing I don’t like is the abrupt ending.

Sometimes: 9. It took a few listens, but now I’m definitely getting it. Beautiful, haunting tune.

Love and Peace Or Else: 9. Really a fun song.

City of Blinding Lights: 10. From the first time I heard it from the live performance a couple weeks ago, I was blown away by the beauty of this song. Definitely one of my favorites of all time.

All Because of You: 8. I really like the Edge’s guitar work here, but I don’t like it as much as the others – yet.

Man and a Woman: 8. Pretty good tune, unexpected for U2, but it hasn’t grown on me like the others yet.

Crumbs From Your Table: 9. May become a 10 for me. I like it more and more on repeated listens.

One Step Closer: 9. I like this one a lot. Mellow, beautiful tune.

Original of the Species: 10. Breathtaking song. Love the Beatles’ influence. “Everywhere you go you shout it / You don’t have to be shy about it” is one of my favorite parts of the album. “I kneel ‘cos I want you some more / I want you some more, I want you some more…” is not far behind.

Yahweh: 9. Love this tune, could become a 10. It’s a great closer, but I’m not ready to say it’s as good as Love Is Blindness or 40.

 

[Mark Freedman]

Let me put it this way...JT WAS my favorite album of all time.