Rank The Albums...

[Hoodlem]

...from "most experimental" to "least experimental"

This has nothing to do with how much you like them or not. Only rank them on how "experimental" they are. Studio albums only. R&H and Passengers included.

This should be interesting because "experimental" can mean a lot of different things to different people.

Here's mine:

1. Passengers - OS1
2. Zooropa
3. POP
4. The Unforgettable Fire
5. Achtung Baby
6. Rattle and Hum
7. The Joshua Tree
8. October
9. HTDAAB
10. ATYCLB
11. Boy
12. War
    [/list=1]

 

[longingforBono]

I agree with most of yours, although I think I would switch October with Rattle and Hum in your order, and vice versa.

 

[bathiu]

1. Passengers
2. Achtung Baby
3. Joshua Tree
4. Pop
5. Zooropa
6. War
7. HTDAAB
8. Unforgettable Fire
9. R&H
10. October
11. Boy

 

[Hoodlem]

bathiu,

you forgot ATYCLB. or have you erased that one from your memory?

 

[Axver]

I'm ranking "experimentation" on U2 trying something new and also a bit of pushing the boundaries.

1. Passengers
2. Zooropa
3. The Unforgettable Fire
4. Achtung Baby
5. Pop
6. Rattle And Hum
7. The Joshua Tree
8. War
9. October
10. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
11. All That You Can't Leave Behind
12. Boy

 

[shart1780]

I think passengers is fantastic and all, but wow!! I'm really suprised it was no. 1 on all three of your lists!!! Anyways...

Achtung Baby
ATYCLB
Zooropa
POP
HTDAAB
Passengers
The Unforgettable Fire
The Joshua Tree
Rattle and Hum
War
October
Boy


I love ATYCLB and Zooropa almost equally, it was hard for me to choose. I picked ATYCLB though because it got me into U2 and has two of my favorite U2 songs on it.

 

[cobl04]

Hmm...this is a tough one but I'll give it a shot.

1. Achtung Baby
2. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
3. All That You Can't Leave Behind
4. The Joshua Tree
5. War
6. Boy

Boy is going to come either first or last on every list because there are no albums prior to it. I am ranking these based on experimentation of that album compared to those previous.

 

[jonnytakeawalk]

Hmm...this is a tough one but I'll give it a shot.

1. Achtung Baby
2. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
3. All That You Can't Leave Behind
4. The Joshua Tree
5. War
6. Boy

Boy is going to come either first or last on every list because there are no albums prior to it. I am ranking these based on experimentation of that album compared to those previous.

There's no way Joshua tree is less experimental than ATYCLB or bomb. I'm sorry but that's ridiculous

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I'm ranking "experimentation" on U2 trying something new and also a bit of pushing the boundaries.

1. Passengers
2. Zooropa
3. The Unforgettable Fire
4. Achtung Baby
5. Pop
6. Rattle And Hum
7. The Joshua Tree
8. War
9. October
10. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
11. All That You Can't Leave Behind
12. Boy

I agree with this down to number 9. From there...

10. Boy
11. All That You Can't Leave Behind
12. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I love ATYCLB and Zooropa almost equally, it was hard for me to choose. I picked ATYCLB though because it got me into U2 and has two of my favorite U2 songs on it.

Umm, not sure if you read the premise of this thread correctly. It's ranking U2 albums by how experimental you think they are, not just your favourites...

 

[cobl04]

There's no way Joshua tree is less experimental than ATYCLB or bomb. I'm sorry but that's ridiculous

That's just my opinion. I can't really say because I don't have TUF. And if you check back, I wasn't the only one who said ATYCLB and HTDAAB were more experimental. I just don't believe that the 00 era is U2-by-the-numbers.

 

[U2girl]

Zooropa
Achtung Baby
UF
ATYCLB
Pop
JT
Rattle and Hum
Bomb
War
October
Boy

 

[babyman]

1 Zooropa-Pop (both definitely the most experimental albums, electronic, dance tecno influences)
2 Rattle and Hum (The very first time when u2 went Blues)
3 Unforgettable Fire (The first album with a new sound (actually their sound) after the first 3´s.)
4 The Joshua Tree (U2 discovering american rock-soul)
5 Achtung Baby (The first, and maybe the only one real rock album)
6 All that you can´t leave behind (There´s nothing experimantal, U2 just brought back their old style with a new face)
7 Boy-October-War (This trilogy belongs to their roots, it´s where they were maybe experimenting themselves)
8 How to dismantle an atomic bomb (There I can´t see any experiment at all, it´s more an album were they´re more conscious about themselves, about their abilities.)



Passengers don´t belongs actually to U2, this was an experiment with all the ingredients, but for a 90% is not U2 music. I find it hard to compare with the other albums, is a thing of its own.............by the way.......still waiting for the ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK VOLUME 2...............

 

[typhoon]

Really, after the nineties albums, it gets hard to distinguish since most of their albums just refined their sound, brought in some more influences, and so forth.

1. Original Soundtracks No. 1--Half of the album is nearly unlistenable and therefore must be experimental.
2. Original Soundtracks No. 1--Honestly now.
3. Zooropa--Experimented with a lot of unusual sounds and styles for them.
4. Pop--There's just such an incredible amount of diversity. Every song has a bunch of different sounds.
5. Achtung Baby--It sounds pretty tame today, but it was a pretty big step for them at the time.
6. The Unforgettable Fire--Well, only one song has a big obvious memorable chorus, which is unimaginable for a U2 album these days.
7. War--Uh, there's some electric violin. A few of the songs are also nearly unlistenable and therefore must be experimental.
8. The Joshua Tree--Edge works in some infinite guitar. "Streets" has a fancy intro. The rootsy American influences manifest themselves.
9. Rattle and Hum--They explore the blues and gospel influences more deeply.
10. October--"Tomorrow" has neat pipes...
11. Boy--They gave themselves some wiggle room with slightly unconventional songs like "The Ocean." Most of it sticks to the same formula, though.

I can't think of anything the last two albums did that the band hadn't already done, although they do the same old stuff really, really well.

(Edit: Actually, "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" and "Fast Cars" are unique for them, but they aren't on the standard American editions, so fuck them.)

I think too many people conflate "good" and "experimental" when there's a lot of experimental stuff that sucks and a lot of good stuff that doesn't break any new ground. It's no insult to say something isn't very experimental, so nobody flame me for saying the last two albums weren't very experimental.

 

[Axver]

I agree with this down to number 9. From there...

10. Boy
11. All That You Can't Leave Behind
12. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

Truth be told, I very nearly did such a ranking. In fact, I want to rank ATYCLB and HTDAAB together because I think they're pretty much the same as far as experimentation goes.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Truth be told, I very nearly did such a ranking. In fact, I want to rank ATYCLB and HTDAAB together because I think they're pretty much the same as far as experimentation goes.

Yeah, in one sense. I don't think either of them really cover any new ground musically in one sense, but I think a goal that shines through on half of the tracks on ATYCLB is nailing that pop single, and it's that which is the experiment in there, and that's what differentiates it from HTDAAB, which is where they just refine that. I know someone is going to jump in here and say that they've always written pop songs, and they most certainly have, and they most certainly have always wanted their songs to be big singles, but I do think it's an overriding goal on the last two albums - it's a different thing. That's the experiment of the 00's, and that's why ATYCLB edges ahead there.

 

[Axver]

That's just my opinion. I can't really say because I don't have TUF. And if you check back, I wasn't the only one who said ATYCLB and HTDAAB were more experimental. I just don't believe that the 00 era is U2-by-the-numbers.

Well then, your opinion is ridiculous. Sorry, but there's no way known you can say ATYCLB is more experimental than JT. Now, I know you don't have UF, but you do have War and the Best Of 1980-1990. Ignore Pride, it's the only UF song with a real chorus; compare the style of War to the totally different style of Bad and The Unforgettable Fire and consider U2 switched to this style so quickly that the new album was out less than a year after the War Tour ended! U2 took a huge gamble experimenting with a new style and produced two classics unlike anything they'd made.

So what's my point in focusing on UF when discussing JT vs ATYCLB? JT is the extension and expansion upon the style of UF. U2 took the atmospheric style and made it epic. In essence, in UF and JT, they developed and perfected ways to express a certain style totally different to that of their first two albums - and that I consider experimentation, in the sense of a band experimenting with something they haven't done before (as opposed to experimenting to do something no-one's done before).

ATYCLB, on the other hand, doesn't treat nearly as much new ground, if any at all. U2 returned to a more distinctly U2 sound while retaining some of what they'd learnt in the nineties. That is not experimenting, no way in hell. And it certainly doesn't top JT for experimentation!

 

[Axver]

Yeah, in one sense. I don't think either of them really cover any new ground musically in one sense, but I think a goal that shines through on half of the tracks on ATYCLB is nailing that pop single, and it's that which is the experiment in there, and that's what differentiates it from HTDAAB, which is where they just refine that. I know someone is going to jump in here and say that they've always written pop songs, and they most certainly have, and they most certainly have always wanted their songs to be big singles, but I do think it's an overriding goal on the last two albums - it's a different thing. That's the experiment of the 00's, and that's why ATYCLB edges ahead there.

Not only do I see your point, but I agree with you totally. However, with HTDAAB, I think we need to consider three songs. The first is LAPOE, for its intro, pushing the pop style of ATYCLB into some totally new ground - you have the catchy "we need some release, release, release" bit encased in sounds more out of the nineties, with the mean as hell intro and the solo at the end. The second is Yahweh, the first time U2 has dared to close a disc with an upbeat and joyful song (not much of a point really, but I feel it's important in U2's general history as a 'new thing'). The third is Fast Cars, which isn't exactly typical U2. On the other hand, ATYCLB has TGHBF, which I don't think walks any new territory for U2 besides using someone else's lyrics.

So for the reasons you gave for ATYCLB and those I just gave for HTDAAB, I find them relatively equal. To me, neither stands out as noticeably more experimental as the other.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

i agree with typhoon's ranking. no sense in posting it twice.

 

[cobl04]

Well then, your opinion is ridiculous. Sorry, but there's no way known you can say ATYCLB is more experimental than JT. Now, I know you don't have UF, but you do have War and the Best Of 1980-1990. Ignore Pride, it's the only UF song with a real chorus; compare the style of War to the totally different style of Bad and The Unforgettable Fire and consider U2 switched to this style so quickly that the new album was out less than a year after the War Tour ended! U2 took a huge gamble experimenting with a new style and produced two classics unlike anything they'd made.

So what's my point in focusing on UF when discussing JT vs ATYCLB? JT is the extension and expansion upon the style of UF. U2 took the atmospheric style and made it epic. In essence, in UF and JT, they developed and perfected ways to express a certain style totally different to that of their first two albums - and that I consider experimentation, in the sense of a band experimenting with something they haven't done before (as opposed to experimenting to do something no-one's done before).

ATYCLB, on the other hand, doesn't treat nearly as much new ground, if any at all. U2 returned to a more distinctly U2 sound while retaining some of what they'd learnt in the nineties. That is not experimenting, no way in hell. And it certainly doesn't top JT for experimentation!

Fair enough. I don't think I should have ranked them really. I think I took 'experimentation' as 'a different sound from the album previous' which isn't really right.

I have decided, that from now until I get my last U2 album, that I am not going to argue that this era is better than that, etc, etc, etc because I cannot make a judgement.

 

[jacobus]

1. Passengers
2. Zooropa
3. The Unforgettable Fire
4. Pop
5. Achtung Baby
6. Rattle And Hum
7. The Joshua Tree
8. War
9. Boy
10. October
11. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
12. All That You Can't Leave Behind

 

[ZeroDude]

1.Boy (Adam creates crazy bass)
2.October (Larry invents crazy drums)
3.Achtung Baby
4.The Unforgettable Fire
5.Zooropa
6.The Joshua Tree
7.Pop
8.War
9.HTDAAB
10.Passengers
11.R and H
12.ATYCLB

 

[Earnie Shavers]

consider U2 switched to this style so quickly that the new album was out less than a year after the War Tour ended!

And Zooropa took but a few months and Passengers was the same. Shoot down to the bottom end of our two lists and you have the least experimental, but most drawn out and indecisive recording sessions. It's not a rule of course, but it's interesting nonetheless.

 

[00Kevin]

1.The Joshua Tree
2.Achtung Baby
3.The Unforgettable Fire
4.Pop
5.How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
6.War
7.Zooropa
8.All That You Can't Leave Behind
9.Rattle and Hum
10.Boy
11.October

 

[bathiu]

bathiu,

you forgot ATYCLB. or have you erased that one from your memory?

...well, you asked for "from most experimental to LEAST experimental"... and not for "from most experimental to totaly not experimental, boring piece of shit"...
That might be the reason why ATYCLB is not on my list...

 

[zoopop]

1. Achtung Baby
2. Unforgettable Fire
3. Pop
4. HTDAAB
5. Joshua Tree
6. Zooropa
7. War
8. Boy
9. ATYCLB
10. October
11. Rattle N Hum

 

[AtomicBono]

And Zooropa took but a few months and Passengers was the same. Shoot down to the bottom end of our two lists and you have the least experimental, but most drawn out and indecisive recording sessions. It's not a rule of course, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Very true. Also remember that Pop was considered "unfinished."

I think the less time U2 spends on an album, the better. Come on U2, new album in a week!

 

[U2girl]

Well for me, it's the other way around - I think U2 albums that take longer to make are (most of the time, Zooropa-Pop being the exception) better.

 

[the tourist]

Passengers
Zooropa
The Unforgettable Fire
October
Rattle & Hum
Achtung Baby
War
Boy
How To Dismatle An Atomic Bomb
The Joshua Tree
Pop
All That You Can't Leave Behind

(incidentally I think Pop is one of U2's most commercial albums, but I think that the choice for a first single hurt that -- if Last Night On Earth had been the first single, I think the album, as a whole, would have been received better)

 

[c4veritas]

Original Soundtracks 1
Zooropa
Achtung Baby
Unforgettable Fire
Pop
Joshua Tree
Rattle and Hum
October
ATYCLB
War
HTDAAB
Boy