U2's Most Overrated Album

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Which U2 album is the most overrated among fans?

  • Boy

    Votes: 2 1.0%
  • October

    Votes: 5 2.5%
  • War

    Votes: 19 9.5%
  • The Unforgettable Fire

    Votes: 14 7.0%
  • The Joshua Tree

    Votes: 21 10.4%
  • Rattle And Hum

    Votes: 9 4.5%
  • Achtung, Baby!

    Votes: 14 7.0%
  • Zooropa

    Votes: 10 5.0%
  • Pop

    Votes: 20 10.0%
  • All That You Can't Leave Behind

    Votes: 72 35.8%
  • How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

    Votes: 15 7.5%

  • Total voters
    201
djerdap said:

All That You Can't Leave Behind definitely the most overrated! So many Grammys and sales and those idiotic "U2 return to form, U2 return to rock" quotes for a weak album. Pop and HTDAAB are so much better it hurts.


ATYCLB did not win the grammy for Album of the Year, remember. Most of the grammys they received were for Beautiful Day only. So from that standpoint, I can't see how it is that overrated.
 
I say War. It's the only U2 album that I can't listen to all the way through. Believe me, I tried. I was in Europe for 2 weeks and when I was there I bought October and War. I fell in love with October, but War just didn't do it for me... sorry.
 
bonosloveslave said:


SOJ - please do not use derogatory names for other board members. You are welcome to express your opinion, negative or otherwise, but please be respectful - no personal attacks.


Well I think something should be done about the trolls that keep springing up...



U2_Guy, what you just said is also a personal attack, not to mention the large groups of people you insult (on a regular basis ie calling people who like ATYCLB "sheep")when they disgree with you..you are by far the most boring poster on here, at least ponkine's posts are so pathetically predictable I can laugh at him!
 
Last edited:
ponkine said:


you don´t have the right to call me whatever you want, you respect people here first :mad:

second, I never copy-paste anything, I always write at real time :mad:



You don't respect anyone that disagrees with you or who likes 2000-2004 U2..in fact you are one of the least respectful posters on here as of late. :)
 
Miggy D said:
For the sake of the poll, please vote for albums you think are overrated, not albums you simply don't like. That's not the point. I've never heard anyone praising R & H, so please defend your choice if you're going to say this album is 'overrated' by fans and/or the general public.

-Miggy D


Agreed. It does cop a bashing from critics, yet there are some critics who do appreciate it and they may often appreciate that over other u2 albums.

Also, look at Rattle and Hum's overrated songs.

God Part 2
When Love Comes to Town

..and although the following are really great songs, they are not really REALLY great songs (as many people will have you think)

All I want is you
Desire
 
Hi Sleep over Jack

Nooooo :( :sad: you didn´t understand me at all !!!!

I do respect every fan´s opinion here, what I don´t respect is that U2 self and commercial attitude since 2000 !!! because they aren´t respecting their past with that attitude :ohmy:

I hope you understand my feelings now. Since I love U2 I can´t stand that U2 comfortably numb !!!!:( I know they can do so much better efforts !!!! :sad:
 
Sleep Over Jack said:



Well I think something should be done about the trolls that keep springing up...



U2_Guy, what you just said is also a personal attack, not to mention the large groups of people you insult (on a regular basis ie calling people who like ATYCLB "sheep")when they disgree with you..you are by far the most boring poster on here, at least ponkine's posts are so pathetically predictable I can laugh at him!

Get real or...get lost. You should change your name to Crashing Bore.
 
Oh please..you've been repeating the same tired criticisms of U2 ever since you came here...not to mention insulting tons of the fans here too...


I think you qualify for "crashing bore" not me. :)
 
I voted for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, though I must admit that I felt a little "off" in doing so. It's just SO damn early in the game and everything, that's all.

I feel like a lot of people here are actually voting for what they consider to be U2's "worst" (or perhaps "least good" :wink:) album, rather than the most overrated one. Maybe I'm wrong, but most of the justification in the posts feels that way to me; it doesn't seem like we're talking about overratedness, but which albums aren't as good as the others. I dunno'--just a minor thing.

That said, I didn't vote for All That You Can't Leave Behind because, although I find little worth much on the album, I don't think that it's overrated among the fans over here...which is what we're voting on. I know that some people hate it, some people like it, and--yes--some people even love and worship the damn thing....but, for better or worse, I feel like that latter category is pretty small. There's nothing wrong with someone loving the album, but I think that MOST of us feel that it's a decent/good album at best. Maybe I'm just misgauging public opinion, but I just don't see it as an overrated album...

I voted for the band's latest because it seems to me that the words "classic" and "amazing" and "best" are being tossed around a LOT; this might change in time, of course. Maybe someday I'll come to agree with these opinions....maybe someday people who REALLY love the album will change their minds....who knows? As I see it right now, the album is pretty good; I think that a LOT of people are overrating it.

If everyone was saying, "Oh, yeah...it's a good album. I like it a lot," then I would be singing a different tune. I just don't get that feeling, you know? Everyone seems a lot more enthusiastic...I feel that it's a very overrated album, though my proclamation is a bit premature, I'm sure.

Fuckin' a....sorry for typing so much! I don't know why I spend so much time thinkin' about this shit...!!! :wink: Sigh...

:blahblah: :blahblah: :blahblah:
 
I choose ATYCLB. Everybody involved with that one disappointed me.

Most of all, I'm disappointed in Eno and Lanois. They usually harness U2's power and push it into an interesting, cutting edge direction that the band might otherwise have passed over. And, not only that, actually fight with the band when they felt they were making mistakes. On this one, it's like they never even showed up. I can almost hear Brian Eno making his weekly phone call to the studio from a bungalow in Bermuda, explaining to The Edge that 'the most interesting production technique is not to produce at all!' Thus, leaving U2 to overproduce the hell out of the album themselves in the same bland manner that they remade 'Please' for the single release.

Actually, I think the band's biggest mistake was conceptual. Rather than challenging themselves to come up with something really mind-blowing, they chose to take the easy route and just make a U2 record that sounds like U2. They said as much in nearly every interview about the album. Simply put, they chose laziness over creativity. Why? Because, it's easier than trying to find a sound you haven't heard or tred before. it's easy for Edge to defend the guitar on the last two albums by saying, 'It's the way I play'. To that, I say 'Bullshit. Go listen to The Fly again, Edge - you wrote that, too.'

I have no doubt that they agonized over the finished tracks, because they all sound like they've been soaked in an industrial grade cleaner to get the dirt off them (a la 'Please'). Unfortunately, the sonic dirt is one of the things I always loved about U2 (and Eno and Lanois). I loved the crazy production approaches, the forays into dance music, and the sonic accidents that they used to leave in just because it made the music more real and organic. They say 'God is in the details', but on ATYCLB, there are no details - just a bunch of uninteresting, plastic spare U2 parts, perfectly assembled into 'U2 songs' and burned onto millions of CDs.

Thankfully, there are some interesting diversions for U2 on the new album, however brief. And, the songwriting is stronger and more cohesive. But, they're still not chasing the muse they used to go after. I understand why they're more interested in commercial success now than they used to be. Sign of the times, necessity of success. But, I sorely miss the spirit of adventure of albums like The Unforgettable Fire and Achtung Baby, when U2 were willing to disappoint some fans in order to fulfill themselves musically. Someday, I hope that U2 begin to miss it, themselves.
 
I might regret this later but I voted for HTDAAB.

It's a good album, but nothing special...

...at least, not yet....

...it was probably too early in the game to have this album as an option.
 
If you shout... said:
I voted for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, though I must admit that I felt a little "off" in doing so. It's just SO damn early in the game and everything, that's all.

I feel like a lot of people here are actually voting for what they consider to be U2's "worst" (or perhaps "least good" :wink:) album, rather than the most overrated one. Maybe I'm wrong, but most of the justification in the posts feels that way to me; it doesn't seem like we're talking about overratedness, but which albums aren't as good as the others. I dunno'--just a minor thing.

That said, I didn't vote for All That You Can't Leave Behind because, although I find little worth much on the album, I don't think that it's overrated among the fans over here...which is what we're voting on. I know that some people hate it, some people like it, and--yes--some people even love and worship the damn thing....but, for better or worse, I feel like that latter category is pretty small. There's nothing wrong with someone loving the album, but I think that MOST of us feel that it's a decent/good album at best. Maybe I'm just misgauging public opinion, but I just don't see it as an overrated album...

I voted for the band's latest because it seems to me that the words "classic" and "amazing" and "best" are being tossed around a LOT; this might change in time, of course. Maybe someday I'll come to agree with these opinions....maybe someday people who REALLY love the album will change their minds....who knows? As I see it right now, the album is pretty good; I think that a LOT of people are overrating it.

If everyone was saying, "Oh, yeah...it's a good album. I like it a lot," then I would be singing a different tune. I just don't get that feeling, you know? Everyone seems a lot more enthusiastic...I feel that it's a very overrated album, though my proclamation is a bit premature, I'm sure.

Fuckin' a....sorry for typing so much! I don't know why I spend so much time thinkin' about this shit...!!! :wink: Sigh...

:blahblah: :blahblah: :blahblah:


That's what I'd call an 'idea response' to this thread. You definitely understood the point of it all. It was well thought out and you explained your decision. And yes, I feel the majority of the people voting in the poll aren't voting for the 'most overrated' but which one they personally feel is 'worst' which are two entirely different things. I mean R & H shouldn't really be getting any votes, nor should October, etc...I simply don't see any evidence anywhere that people are praising these two albums as 'U2's best' or anything....I don't see too many threads being started defending October as 'U2's creative peak', etc. Yet people have voted for it. Eh. ::shrug:: What can ya' do?

-Miggy D
 
ponkine said:
I love almost every U2 album, but I really HATE All That You Can´t Leave Behind. I think the problem is fans think is great just because U2 said they were returned to Joshua Tree days, you know, "epic sound, guitars, when 4 people plays in a small room" etc, and all that false words fans believed :(

Listen to it carefully, compositions and melodies are U2´s poorest ever, just listen to Wild Honey or Grace :down:. Also Bono´s performance is rough, weak and awful. In A Little While, Wild Honey, When I Look At The Wold ( despite this one is a great melody itself ) are clear examples of that damaged Bono´s voice. Since this album, and I still don´t know why, Bono seems to be obstinate in demostrate he still can reach higher notes, like on Kite, Wild Honey, All Because Of You, Vertigo, Yahweh, Beautiful Day, etc. The outcome always is shameful, really :sad:


4 people playing in a room is a very good description of ATYCLB.

Again, do NOT assume fans loved it because of any comments U2 may have made on that album. We can make our own choices about U2's music.

:lol: Actually, since/after Joshua Tree, this is probably their most melodic album ever. It's full of great melodies.

IALW is a great example of how Bono can use his voice to benefit a song. (it was done after a night out with the boys) Wild honey - apart from a single moment in the "what is soul? love me give me soul" (that said, it's great to see him go up like that) and WILATW are fine - except maybe the last of "can't wait any longer" lines. Consider that he likely put the raspiness on ATYCLB on purpose to give more character to the songs.

Give the man a break; I'd like to see you belting out his 80's notes for 20 years and have the voice he still has.
For a bad Bono voice, try POP. Tired and weak.

On the other hand, Stuck and Kite (one of his best studio performances) showed the return of his voice, so clear on HTDAAB. It's cleaner, richer and better than POP and ATYCLB.
Yes, he does hit the high notes again. Only this time he actually sings instead of full on screaming he did in the past.
 
Last edited:
I find it very interesting that outside Interference, fans and public alike tend to really like ATYCLB, but here, it is much hated. I guess it makes sense that so many here would vote for it as the most over-rated.

I can't believe four people have voted for October. That album is ignored, not over-rated!

(Though I am very pleased more people have voted for Achtung Baby than UF as being over-rated!)
 
I think this thread is pretty funny!

By voting an overrated album, this album soon becomes ....not overrated ...as people see it as it is, not as great.

If everyone here thinks one particular album is not that great, then it is obviously not overrated! (at least among us).

I guess it's paradoxal! :)
 
'Pop'. Shambles.

That and 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'...Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen went around harping on about amazing guitar and 'back to basics'...yet the record comes out with lacklustre guitar playing, with the only bit of guitar remotely exciting and fitting Bono's "Edge has some great stuff coming out his guitar" statement being the solo to 'All Because of You', which in itself is quite boring...never mind repetetive...!

And on top of that...Back to Basics? RUBBISH. It's drenched in synth, piano, keyboards, you name it...! U2 fans see this and refuse to believe the album they hyped up has actually turned out to be something quite different.
 
Most overrated album by Normal U2 Fans is probably ATYCLB. Most overrated album by most Interference fans is no doubt POP.
 
Seconds said:
Most overrated album by Normal U2 Fans is probably ATYCLB. Most overrated album by most Interference fans is no doubt POP.

"Normal U2 fans" = your casual music listener, who likes to play the top 40 songs but doesn't mind buying records. Some of them don't know U2 has made Zooropa or Pop cause they never heard songs from these albums on their top 40.

"Interference fans" = ppl who are actually FANS and even spend some of their time coming to a fan forum.

Take your conclusions.
 
I said Unforgettable Fire.

A few *great* songs here...Pride, Bad, Unforgettable Fire. Bad is classic. But as an album it really doesn't work for me. Wire bothers me, and the other songs just aren't memorable at all for me. While not bad, I've noticed this album gets a lot of praise, especially from hardcore fans. I know it set the stage for the atmospherics of the Joshua Tree, but that album did it SO, SO much better.

Sad to see ATYCLB so obviously the winner (or loser) here. Maybe it's overrated by the general public, but it sure ain't overrated on these fan sites. Personally not a favorite, but the first 6 songs + New York are great. I think some people like what they think they're "supposed" to like, and won't admit that Stuck in a Moment, "pop" as it may be, is still a fucking great song.
 
Back
Top Bottom