SOE 35 - it’s finally here, let the debate on how good/bad it is begin!

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Every Breaking Wave deserved the atmospheric touch this album has. Having the SOI dumbed-down, popped-out version as the final one is a shame.
 
I don't dislike the album version, but yeah - I could see a different version of it fitting here.
 
Song I’m loving more as I keep listening: Red Flag Day. If anybody has ever listened to a band called Bad Suns, this song reminds me of them in the best possible way. That post-chorus jam is so good.

Song I’m loving less as I kee listening: Love Is Bigger. Just too corny and over the top for me. Maybe it will grow, but it sounds like cheap Christian rock or something.
 
Add Book of Your Heart to the official SOE track list and you make an already amazing album a little more better.

And what a beauty 13 is! Discovering new gems every time I listen.
 
RoKKeR said:
Song I’m loving more as I keep listening: Red Flag Day. If anybody has ever listened to a band called Bad Suns, this song reminds me of them in the best possible way. That post-chorus jam is so good.

Song I’m loving less as I kee listening: Love Is Bigger. Just too corny and over the top for me. Maybe it will grow, but it sounds like cheap Christian rock or something.
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I can't say I've ever listened to any Christian rock, but I'd be surprised if any Christian rock song sounded anything like Love is Bigger.
 
corianderstem said:
I don't dislike the album version, but yeah - I could see a different version of it fitting here.
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The album version of what could've been a near classic is a travesty in my view. I had no issues with the live version by sheer virtue of comparison.
 
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Haywa1979 said:
I can't say I've ever listened to any Christian rock, but I'd be surprised if any Christian rock song sounded anything like Love is Bigger.
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I guess I haven’t much either, haha, but something about the piano and melody gives off that vibe for some reason.
 
I like Love Is Bigger a lot but can’t help to think of Frozen “let it go” or Katy Perry “Roar” when I hear it. Don’t know why.
 
I know the world is done,
But you don't have to be.
I've got a question
For the child in you before it leaves:
Are you tough enough to be kind?
Do you know your heart has its own mind?
Darkness gathers around the light
Hold on,
Hold on.


Ughhhhhhhh :heart::heart::heart:
 
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Jesus Christ, I never thought I`d loved this album, I just put on some headphones and went through the whole thing!
 
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TinKnight said:
I know the world is done,
But you don't have to be.
I've got a question
For the child in you before it leaves:
Are you tough enough to be kind?
Do you know your heart has its own mind?
Darkness gathers around the light
Hold on,
hold on.


Ughhhhhhhh :heart::heart::heart:
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Yeah...having kids who are still little (but growing up fast), this really hits home for me.
 
TinKnight said:
I know the world is done,
But you don't have to be.
I've got a question
For the child in you before it leaves:
Are you tough enough to be kind?
Do you know your heart has its own mind?
Darkness gathers around the light
Hold on,
Hold on.


Ughhhhhhhh :heart::heart::heart:
Click to expand...

Yep. Bono on point with his lyrics this album. Such a punch in the gut in the best kind of way.
 
I think what makes this album so relevant (God, that word) to me is it is the U2 album that hasn't been done before. I mean, there are elements stylistically that tie back to other albums, and it's not a crazy departure. But the songs are concise, the "landscape of words" idea tossed for more literal lyrics (present in both Songs of...albums), a universal presentation of the song meanings tossed for a style that sees Bono talking directly to someone, and the music has a Best of Edge sense, with some chime, some slide, but mostly a blend of all of his styles to serve the song without overdoing it or underdoing it, as with recent albums. And though Adam Clayton has long been the unsung hero of the U2 song, he has never been the focus quite like this.


So it is a U2 album...clearly. But it is the U2 album they had not yet released. They are a band known for complete stylistic change, but there were elements that remained unchanged. One of the thousands of reasons for not playing Acrobat that has been kicked around is it is "too personal" (I have to think the timing and a lack of interest from the band in learning a song for a hardcore set only are more likely, but...). This album is all personal. It's an album they haven't delivered before.
 
Listen #4 now on my commute home.

On Love Is All... , is the distorted background vocal singing "there is a light?" If so, cool tie-in to bridge SOI and then also close the album with 13.
 
The John Tree said:
I owe this band an apology.

I was a naysayer. I'd heard the singles and, while I like Best Thing and GOOYOW and Blackout, I wasn't blown away. I figured that this album was going to be a safe pop record of uninspiring U2-by-numbers songs. I thought the gas was out of the tank.

I was so wrong.

They've finally done it. They've managed to meld that spiritual uplift and joy they've been producing with 90s-era experimentation and atmospherics. This album sounds *fresh*. It sounds *inspired*. It's emotional. It's incredible.

The funny thing is, even the songs I was lukewarm on sound better in the context of the album. The Best Thing, GOOYOW, and American Soul were a bit "light" for my tastes but they're so necessary in their spots because this album is heavy. It's sonically dense, but it's also emotionally weighty. This is an album from a man who's realized that he's in the 4th quarter of his life and he's taking stock. It sounds like dying - and I mean that in the best way possible. It's joyous, it's sad, it's so many things in between. An incredible album and, in my opinion, a late-period classic.

"Love Is All We Have Left" sets the tone perfectly. The string samples, the sped up vocal sample before the chorus, the vocal effects, it all sounds new. It's a quiet hymn, and Bono clearly singing to his younger self in the first half, and to his current self in the second verse. The vocal melody is haunting. Achtung Baby was dark because it mined themes of sex, love, and infidelity. This album, appropriately, is dark in a different way - mortality and time are the themes here and this song is the perfect introduction to that.

"Lights of Home" is actually one of my favorites. I was surprised that it got lukewarm reviews in the early listening session writeups. This one, again, is just a heavy tune. It almost sounds like something Noel Gallagher would write, but with that U2 otherness that makes it special. The chorus is gorgeous and bittersweet.

After that one-two punch, "YTBTAM", "GOOYOW", and American Soul are a welcome break. I'll also note that the mix on the album versions are slightly different and, in my opinion, better - the songs have more lift.

"Summer of Love" is a beautiful tune and the best thing about it is that I can see the song. I can see the dry, bombed out landscape and I can almost feel the heat and taste the dust when I hear it. The band really committed to the atmospherics for this album, and it's all the better for it. Edge does some beautiful work on this song - it's incredibly tasteful and, most importantly, doesn't overstay its welcome.

Speaking of not overstaying its welcome, I could listen to "Red Flag Day" for 8 hours straight. This song sounds simultaneously new and old. The song, again, sounds joyous but somehow sad at the same time. And goddamn, that chorus is incredible. The entire band brings it, Adam obviously being the star on this one. This chorus is the best on the album and, in my opinion, one of the best Bono's ever written. He sounds incredible on this entire album, but especially on this tune. The "no, no, no" section sounds like it came straight out of the 80s. And that is a great thing.

What else to say about The Showman? It's fun as shit and I love it. I could see The Killers taking on this one, and Bono delivers a superb vocal - "there's a level of shadow that you just can't fake" is delivered with so much playfulness and personality that it took me by surprise. I love this song. It drew Beach Boys comparisons, but for me that chorus is Beatles Twist and Shout-worthy. Also, "I lie for a living, I love to let on, but you make it true when you sing along" is a perfect example of a lyric that I cringed at when I read it on paper, but fits perfectly in the context of the song.

I listened to this album at 2:30 in the morning while driving through Baltimore. "The Little Things That Give You Away" came on and I experienced something that only a few U2 songs had done for me before: I actually teared up while listening to it. This new version, in my opinion, is the best version. It's incredible. The atmospherics, the steady build, everything is perfect for me.

I'm surprised to hear that Landlady got lukewarm early reviews as well. To me, it's one of the highlights of the album. It's also the first song I went back to listen to for a second time once the album was done. Maybe I'm a sap - some of the reviews found this song to be overly saccharine. Not to me - I think this is one of the most beautiful songs Bono's ever written and - again this word - the atmospherics are pitch perfect. This song hit me like a ton of bricks. Bono's falsetto leading into the epic ending is sublime.

I'm pleased to see that the callbacks to the SoI for the most part make sense. (I'm still not seeing the correlation between the Volcano lyric and American Soul, but whatever). Iris dealt with Bono's mother's death - and he resurrects her advice to "free yourself" in a song about dealing with his own mortality in Lights of Home. Similarly, Every Breaking Wave gets a few callbacks - one in Red Flag Day and another in Landlady - which seem to be songs about Ali. I know that this was billed as an album filled with letters to Bono's loved ones but really, to me, most of the album stands as a long love letter to Ali. And I think that's beautiful, because it ties the albums together for me as well.

3 years ago, I was in a relationship with someone I loved very much. Her name, coincidentally, was Ali. We broke up in September of 2014 and I was devastated. It was the hardest time of my life. We remained close through that autumn, but it was just too hard. Losing that relationship broke me - I haven't been the same since. Songs of Innocence was released the week after we broke up and songs like Every Breaking Wave and Song For Someone really helped me through that time. To this day, I love Song For Someone because it makes me think of (my) Ali and it takes me right back to that point in time. "If there is a light, don't let it go out" was like my motto to Ali - don't let this slip away.

That breakup sent me down a path of self examination and, for the first time, I've tried to deal with the clinical depression I've had for my entire life. To put it mildly, it's been a tough, *tough* 3 years. And it's been a tough 31 years. There have been times this week that I'd had a hard time getting out of bed. "Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way" sounds like getting up. It sounds silly, but hearing Bono sing "when you think you're done, you've just begun" is comforting to me. I know that's odd for an adult man to say, but it's true. It's the second time this album made me tear up. It's a "hold on" anthem that I needed.

Which of course leads me to "13 (There Is A Light)." "Song For Someone" started as my song for Ali. "13" bookends not only Songs of Innocence, but for me, it kind of caps off the last 3 years of my life. I guess in the last 3 years, I've just felt so sad and empty and alone and hopeless. And so to hear Bono sing "this is a song for someone...someone like me." I guess I'm someone like him too. When he asks a question "to the child in of you, before it leaves" I just broke down crying (that's a hat trick for this album). It's perfect. I don't mean to get to emotional on a fucking U2 message board, but this album brought it out in me.

Tl;dr: Beautiful album, boys. All I could have hoped for.
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What a brilliant fucking post. Takes cojones to open yourself like that to share. Thanks for doing so!

It gets better.
 
I still wish there was a more subtle mix of Best Thing (not counting the acoustic), as I feel like it's the one song on the record that is a bit jarring to the ear. The song absolutely fits on the album, it's more the mix that has me meh.

Get Out, while not my favorite as it's a bit U2 by the numbers, aside from the vocal delivery in the verse, fits in well with the sound they went for.

American Soul, let's face it, we're always going to have a song where Bono is a bit cheesy. I think the band wouldn't have put a song like this on any 80s/90s album as they really were very serious in their work (not to say they aren't now, but they were a serious band back then). It's U2 doing the White Stripes, and I think it'll translate better live. It's a nice distraction from what is one of the heaviest second sides of any U2 album. It ranks up there with Pop in that it wears on you, though Pop made me physically drained by the end of Wake Up, this one I just feel a little sad.

Blackout, again fits the sound of the album, but this was THE song to allow Edge in the front. The bass line is filthy, but I can't imagine having Edge in the front of the mix would have taken much away??

Anyway, those are the songs that were released to us beforehand, and I wonder if it was on purpose? To hide the fact that this album is very heavy, and not at all like the previous efforts. I feel like they finally created their Beatles album with the melodies, the songwriting, and mood of an album.

Here's hoping we don't have to wait 5-7 years for the next effort, and that they fully commit to another theme for the album. The best U2 songs for me are the ones that have melancholy, aching, and some sadness. Go darker please!
 
Just to go off on a bit of a tangent - can anyone guess what happened with the other rumoured songs (song titles):

Civilisation (I think this may have become The Blackout),
Tightrope,
Morning after Innocence (LIAWHL?),
Mount Zion,
Instrument Flying,
Where the Shadows Fall,
others?
 
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