Your LEAST fave u2 album

[65980]

I'll go with 'Pop.' The thing with Pop is, it could have been one of their best (based on the mostly excellent songs), but something about it just isn't right. Maybe it's the mixing, the rush-job of mastering it, the confused-identity of the album, or something else. Even if you take the best of all available mixes and make your own playlist of the Pop songs to suit your own tastes, something still isn't right with it. It's like the band was undergoing some mid-life crisis at the time and couldn't figure out what it was trying to do, despite all the good songs and potential.

But really, there's very little flab on the bones of U2's recorded output. They're not very prolific and they're craftsmen. Almost everything is good to excellent.

 

[MsPurrl]

Pop--no question

 

[Popmartijn]

War

No need to . You're not alone in this.

 

[phillyfan26]

I tried saving Pop:

http://forum.interference.com/t184965.html

 

[LemonMelon]

UF is my least favorite, while October is their worst.

 

[Earl-Of-IMDb]

none for me, I like all the albums

 

[Tyagu_Anaykus]

The Unforgettable Fire

 

[luna_lovegood]

October

 

[vaz02]

October, terrible album.

 

[thelaj]

Rattle and Hum

Don't enjoy the live renditions mixed in (even if some of them are great) and the studio songs are weak.

As I mentioned in another thread,
God Part II
All I Want is You
Desire
Angel of Harlem
... are the only tracks I ever listen to.

 

[FitzChivalry]

They do have a couple clunkers in their catalogue, but my least favorite is:

Pop.

Which was reconfirmed for me a couple weeks ago when I tried to listen to it from start to finish and I just couldn't do it. Some good songs mixed in with a bunch of messy, uninspired mediocrity.

So, yeah, Pop. Definitely my least favorite, though there are a few songs on there that I do really like.

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

Im surprised no one has mentioned Boy...all that i find overly enjoyable on that album is "Into The Heart"..especially the live red rocks version ..i think october blows it out of the water (energy wise)...

War is definitely one of the best U2 albums.

I wish they released all of the Rattle and Hum movie concert songs with the best of the newly recorded ones instead of what they gave

In my opinion, the worst albums are definitely their latest. All that you cant leave behind was just generic crap (though Kite saved the album from complete failure)..and HTDAAB just plain sucked minus COBL and Yahweh.

Non U2 listeners cringe when Unos,dos,tres,catorce comes on in the bar and they ask me "how do you listen to this crap" stupid bono "hello, hello" then i tell them to listen to their old stuff and they say no way...That song fucked them for newer fans.


Now that i think about it, the fans deserve a new Achtung Baby.

 

[Popmartijn]

Im surprised no one has mentioned Boy.

Maybe because it's a great album and one of the best debut albums ever!

 

[popacrobat]

October or Rattle and Hum.

 

[vaz02]

Non U2 listeners cringe when Unos,dos,tres,catorce comes on in the bar and they ask me "how do you listen to this crap" stupid bono "hello, hello" then i tell them to listen to their old stuff and they say no way...That song fucked them for newer fans.

Most non u2 listeners can get over the ironic spanish and enjoy a surprisingly good radio song.

I'd disagree about the newer fan's, if you had been to any of the vertigo shows ( its a question, im not saying you hadnt) a lot of the audience were young fans, i spoke to a few and they came in on the vertigo wave.

 

[phillyfan26]

Im surprised no one has mentioned Boy...all that i find overly enjoyable on that album is "Into The Heart"..especially the live red rocks version ..i think october blows it out of the water (energy wise)...

Probably because it's highly regarded around here. I've not heard many people state a dislike for Boy.

 

[gherman]

ZOOROPA ZOOROPA ZOOROPA ZOOROPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The most boring album EVER MADE!!!

 

[vaz02]

ZOOROPA ZOOROPA ZOOROPA ZOOROPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The most boring album EVER MADE!!!

Zooropa boring ?

Shoot this man .

Maybe it just needs to grow on you, i must say it took me sometime to like Zooropa.

 

[CTU2fan]

ZOOROPA ZOOROPA ZOOROPA ZOOROPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The most boring album EVER MADE!!!

Quoted for truth. Lock the thread.

 

[hillers]

October. I like Gloria, Rejoice, Tomorrow, and October though.

ATYCLB is my second least favorite. It's probably their most generic and boring album. As for HTDAAB...I'm starting to like it again. I think I actually prefer it to Zooropa.

I don't really HATE any of the albums, I listen to them all fairly regularly.

 

[Popmartijn]

ZOOROPA ZOOROPA ZOOROPA ZOOROPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The most boring album EVER MADE!!!

I guess you never listened to some Radiohead then (Kid A and beyond).

 

[digitize]

I guess you never listened to some Radiohead then (Kid A and beyond).

Heh.

One think that I've felt is weird is how much well-regarded ATYCLB is in the media. Didn't Rolling Call it U2's "third masterpiece", next to Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby? I can name about U2 albums that seperate ATYCLB from JT and AB.

My analysis of the album, song by song:
Beautiful Day: Wonderful. Amazing.
Stuck in a Moment: Good Song. Better Live.
Elevation: Only halfway-decent live.
Walk On: Wonderful. Amazing.
Kite: Wonderful. Amazing. Should have been a single, replacing Elevation or Stuck in a Moment.
In a Little While: Pretty good, but somewhat forgettable.
Wild Honey: Fine, completely forgettable.
Peace on Earth: Fine, completely forgettable.
When I Look At The World: Fine, completely forgettable.
New York: I actually like this song - it's great live. But still somewhat forgettable.
Grace: Completely and utterly forgettable.

So, in other words, this album should be called "All That You Leave Behind After Forgetting About It Five Minutes After Hearing It."

It's not a bad album, per se. The three songs that are really good are really, really amazing... some of the best that U2 have ever made.

But the rest... meh. U2 has made many other better albums.

Just my $0.02.

 

[luna_lovegood]

Non U2 listeners cringe when Unos,dos,tres,catorce comes on in the bar and they ask me "how do you listen to this crap" stupid bono "hello, hello" then i tell them to listen to their old stuff and they say no way...That song fucked them for newer fans.

I actually completely disagree. While HTDAAB pales in comaparison to some of their older classics, Vertigo was the song that really hooked me in. It was a fantastic radio song, and stood out from the crap that gets pumped out by the popular culture of the 2000s. I know a lot of younger fans, myself included got into U2 because of HTDAAB and Vertigo. There were heaps of young fans at the Vertigo shows.

 

[Zoots]

Zooropa boring ?

Shoot this man .

 

[shaun vox]

zooropa has two best u2 songs ever "Lemon" and "stay"
the second half of the album is not so great but the first half makes up for it.
i listen to zooropa quite often.
(the song zooropa is amazing too)

im one of those fans that likes the bands earlier stuff(Achtung Baby best album) so you can guess what my LEAST fave u2 album is.

 

[LemonMelon]

ZOOROPA ZOOROPA ZOOROPA ZOOROPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The most boring album EVER MADE!!!

Do you have good taste in anything? Music clearly isn't your thing.

 

[digitize]

the second half of the album is not so great but the first half makes up for it.

I disagree. For me, the whole album is absolutely amazing. Some of U2's best material is on it.

 

[Cooper_Pariah]

I'm going to go with the Unforgettable Fire. Pride was really good, and Bad is one of my all time faves. UF and ASOH were alright. The rest of the songs were a bit interesting, (except that damn Elvis Presley song...) but in the end forgettable (ironically enough.) It just doesn't stack up to all the rest of U2's work.

 

[65980]

?

All that you cant leave behind was just generic crap (though Kite saved the album from complete failure)

I don't really comprehend this opinion. To each his own, but if you ask me "Kite" is by far the most generic-sounding song on that album. I enjoy the slide on it, and of course Bono's big note (at "I'm a MAAAAAAAAN..."), but the song as a whole could have been sung my Whitney Houston.

"I know that this is not goodbye" is pretty cheesy and generic compared to the brilliant lyrics of, say, 'Beautiful Day' or 'When I Look at the World.'

 

[luna_lovegood]

I'm going to go with the Unforgettable Fire. Pride was really good, and Bad is one of my all time faves. UF and ASOH were alright. The rest of the songs were a bit interesting, (except that damn Elvis Presley song...) but in the end forgettable (ironically enough.) It just doesn't stack up to all the rest of U2's work.

but ..... but .... its so beautiful! UF, Bad, Pride, Promenade, MLK, ASOH, even Elvis Presley And America are all so atmospheric and breathtaking! I think this is one of their most important albums. Without it, Joshua Tree would never have been made. They opened the flood gates on UF.