MERGED-->Press Reviews of HTDAAB HERE

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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
11 months and 3 weeks = December 21
10 months and 3 weeks = November 21

(read it as 11 months completed and 3 weeks in the 12th month)

It's also like, the day of your 21st birthday you are entering your 22nd year of life.
 
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Dont get what you are saying but thats ok it must not be on my level.

None the less its a good review dont agree with it on some points because it has very little Achtung Baby influence outside of 1 or 2 tracks.
 
Reggie Thee Dog said:
Echoes AB? Hmmm, I hear Boy and UF and even JT, but very little AB. :eyebrow:

Yeah, I found that part a bit awkward as well. Overall, it's a nicely written piece.
 
Dismantling U2's "Bomb"
By Adam R. Holz
U2 is arguably the world's biggest band. And the group's 11th studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, is an all-out celebration of the sound and ideas that have propelled the Irish foursome to such an iconic status.

In the '90s, U2 veered away from the guitar-driven melodies and faith-informed songs that won legions of fans during the previous decade. But with 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind, Bono & Co. returned to their Unfortgettable Fire/Joshua Tree roots.

Atomic Bomb is cut from that same musical cloth, and it's saturated with faith, passion and struggle. It doesn't sugarcoat pain, but it doesn't dwell there, either. Instead, 11 soaring, personal songs invite listeners to be honest about their lives and to offer them to God.

By Bono's own admission, this album was shaped by the loss of his father, Bob Hewson, with whom he had a close but contentious relationship. The singer has said that the atomic bomb in the album's title was none other than his father, and that the only way to diffuse it was with love.

Faith, Beauty and Mystery
Bono, Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton seem increasingly comfortable with a musical identity that allows them to focus on the power of faith and love. The disc's final cut, "Yahweh," is a veritable modern-day psalm, a plea for God to take the normal stuff of life—our shoes, our shirts, our hands, our lips and our hearts—and transform them so that we might be a city "shining on a hill."

Bono told The New York Times, "There's cathedrals and the alleyway in our music. I think the alleyway is usually on the way to the cathedral, where you can hear your own footsteps, and you're slightly nervous and looking over your shoulder and wondering if there's someone following you. And then you get there, and you realize there was somebody following you: It's God."

Many times Bono's references to God are quite subtle, though. Rock critic Ann Powers calls them "broad and welcoming," explaining that they can "express ardor equally well for Christ, wives, supermodels, children or Bishop Desmond Tutu."

She's right, but Bono always seems inclined to include just enough context to equip the studious with the tools needed to unravel his meanings. "Vertigo," for example, contains the lyric, "All of this can be yours" that, when analyzed through the filter of its surroundings, seems to allude to Satan's temptation of Christ in the desert. "Teaching me how to kneel" appears to be Bono's response ... to God.

Sonic Boom
It's when Bono melds these transcendent meditations with vivid reflections on the beauty of life that U2 truly breaks the sound barrier. Similes such as, "Freedom has a scent like the top of a newborn baby's head" ("Miracle Drug") connect with us at the gut level—as human beings trying to make sense of life. And they function as genuine art always does: helping us to see the world with greater clarity.

Aiding that process, U2 embraces mystery and paradox instead of trying to reduce life's problems to mere manageability. Bono rightly distrusts how far romance alone can carry a relationship even as he embraces it wholeheartedly ("Miracle Drug"). He's at home singing about hardship in the context of moving forward ("One Step Closer"). And he knows that uncomfortable distance sometimes shows up in our closest relationships with others and with God ("A Man and a Woman").

"Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," a soulful tribute to Bono's father about the importance of lifting one another's burdens, stands in sharp contrast to the angst of many bands today that dwell in isolation as a way of life. Instead of pushing us deeper into our funk, it lifts us out of our self-absorption and reminds us of our desperate need for love and camaraderie.

Wisdom From the Road Ahead
During the last three decades, U2 has grown from a small Irish "local" into an enormous global influence. Thankfully, Bono wields that influence with a powerful combination of strength and compassion. His voice conveys the wisdom of a man who is simultaneously brother and father—brother, because he walks beside us; father, because he sings as someone looking back over the years he's already traveled on the road still ahead of us. He teaches us what he's learned, and his lessons are well worth our time.

What are those lessons? Nothing less than the truth that every life matters, that our pain and disappointment (whatever they may be) don't have to cripple us. U2 understands what many voices in our culture seem to have forgotten: Beauty is precious, and hope—not despair—always has the final word.
 
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
By Jude Adam

Can you name a recording artist who has inspired Christian music’s top acts as much as Bono and his band U2? Good luck. Think about the Irish group’s faith-infused songs—performed by everyone from Michael W. Smith on his Worship DVD to MercyMe on its latest tour. Guitarist The Edge’s trademark sound has been consistently present in the music of The Choir, Sixpence None the Richer and newcomers like MuteMath and Starfield. Bono’s distinctive vocal style is one that few can invoke as well as dc talk’s Kevin Max or Delirious’ Martin Smith. And then, perhaps most importantly, there’s the band’s overtly biblical response to the poor, sick and persecuted—just ask Jars of Clay, Switchfoot or Third Day which artist has most influenced the way they use their public platform as a call to action.

It should come as no surprise then that, in addition to these artists, many a Christian music fan anticipated the late November release of U2’s 13th studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Bono has referred to both himself and his now-deceased father as the “bomb(s)” named in the title. In a recent interview with British Rock magazine Q he said, “A bomb went off when my old man died and I had no idea how to deal with it. If I’m honest I [ran] away from it for 2 years... but eventually you have to turn and face yourself.”

Fittingly, Bono has described Atomic Bomb as “a journey from fear into faith.” Starting with the lyric “I was born a child of Grace,” “All Because of You” could be a modern version of Psalm 139, talking about God’s presence in Bono’s life and of wholeness found above. In “Yahweh” he asks God to take his shoes, shirt, hands and mouth to be purified and to “Take this soul, stranded in some skin and bones/Take this soul and make it sing.” It also asks the ever-present, now-but-not-yet questions (“Why the dark before the dawn? ”), while recognizing the hope of the future (“The sun is coming up on the ocean/ Your love is like a drop in the ocean.”)

Musically, as well as lyrically, this record is “classic” U2. While similar in feel to 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind, here there are many more echoes of U2’s roots, from rough- edged rock to the use of simplicity and space. And, of course, being U2, there are certainly surprises to spice up the mix. “Love And Peace Or Else” has a dirty, driving bass reminiscent of something Moby or The Neptunes might cook up from the ingredients of “Bullet the Blue Sky,” and the final track “Fast Cars” (featured on the UK release and in America on the “box set” edition CD) starts like something more from a Mexican-flavored version of the Beastie Boys than four guys from the south side of Dublin.

If U2’s career is like a journey of faith, the band’s early albums contained the enthusiasm and certainty of a new convert; Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop were the questioning and rebellious teenage years and with All That You Can’t Leave Behind and (even more so) How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2 is showcasing both its musical and spiritual maturity.

Provided by CCM Magazine
 
Adam R Holz review from "Plugged In" magazine (part of the Focus on the Family organization).

Jude Adam review from "Contemporary Christian Music Magazine".
 
What Hi Fi Sound and Vision February 2005

htdaab_whathifi_review.jpg


:up:

Alan
 
justinlacy said:

Aiding that process, U2 embraces mystery and paradox instead of trying to reduce life's problems to mere manageability. Bono rightly distrusts how far romance alone can carry a relationship even as he embraces it wholeheartedly ("Miracle Drug"). He's at home singing about hardship in the context of moving forward ("One Step Closer"). And he knows that uncomfortable distance sometimes shows up in our closest relationships with others and with God ("A Man and a Woman").

"Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," a soulful tribute to Bono's father about the importance of lifting one another's burdens, stands in sharp contrast to the angst of many bands today that dwell in isolation as a way of life. Instead of pushing us deeper into our funk, it lifts us out of our self-absorption and reminds us of our desperate need for love and camaraderie.

Thanks for posting these. I had read the CCM Mag review before but not the one from Plugged In.

People that don't like the lyrics of HTDAAB should read these 2 paragraphs very carefully. The first sentence says a heck of alot. Someone (I think in this thread) said they didn't want to hear songs written by Bono-The Family Man. But you are being cheated out of the value of these lyrics if you just see them as describing the dull and boring aspects of everyday life. Relationships (not just romantic ones) are organic, exotic, and creative. 'Dwelling in isolation' is something that alot of music caters to, because when you listen to it, you're so self absorbed. I can honestly say that when listening to U2, I'm inspired to do more and care for people in ways I've neglected in the past. They help me to step outside of myself. Getting back to the review, I like how he points to a great line in AMAAW, "But you're gone and so is God". Distance b/w a man and wife, or b/w a person and his/her Creator are normal occurrences. The solution Bono gives us is awesome "When the soul wants, the soul waits". Your relationship with your significant other & God will be renewed and strengthened, you just have to keep your heart right in the mean time. Don't go off with some other person, don't lose your faith in God's plan.

Remember folks, when Solomon was granted one thing he asked God for Wisdom. Boy, that's a concept you don't hear alot about on the radio, MTV, etc. If your eyes are ever opened to the wisdom in HTDAAB, you'll never see it as corny/flaky or whatever again.
 
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