Again, most of the reviews are pretty accurate:
"No Line" is a raucous, exciting start to the proceedings—much better than the alternate version—and the only disappointment is that it's wild enough that you think maybe you're getting another Zooropa. You're not. That's not a bad thing, but I would love another Zooropa.
"Magnificent" is like Joshua Tree 2.0: a big, beautiful, classic Edge riff that makes you think of horses racing across a western plain, but with a few dancey touches. If it's not the biggest single off the album, I'll be surprised.
"Moment" doesn't ever feel like it's a seven-and-a-half-minute song. I'm not sure how, because it's not complicated at all, but it never gets boring.
"Unknown Caller" is the weirdest song on the album, and the lyrical offenses ("Force quit! Move to trash!") stand out so much that it's a little hard to like it at first. The music is too interesting to ignore, though—like a proggy take on a classic U2 sound—so you get over it. I'm reminded of that Bono quote about Michael Jackson from (I think) the Bill Flanagan book: how Jackson's voice is the most beautiful sound in the world if you just ignore the words he's singing. And other than those glaring bits, the rest of the lyrics are quiet poignant.
"Crazy Tonight" is a sleeper. It's very poppy, but doesn't catch you right away like, say, "Vertigo" or "Beautiful Day" did. I find myself singing it in my head, though. Edge's guitar sounds so clear.
"Boots" you've heard.
"Stand Up" I discussed above. I don't have much more to say. I suspect it'll be one of those songs that gets a lot of live play on this tour and that in my dreams they would replace with, like, "Last Night on Earth." It's just Bono at his preachiest on the album—it evokes the same reaction I had to "Peace on Earth" and "Love and Peace or Else." The music is pretty good, though, still.
"Fez - Being Born" is just fun; the second half sounds like "The Unforgettable Fire" on acid. They couldn't really perform it live, but it won't surprise me if a recording of the "Lemme in the sound" callback at the start opens the show or the encore.
"White as Snow" is simply gorgeous. Like an old folk song, almost.
When I first heard "Breathe," I felt about it a little like I felt about "Stand Up." It grows quickly, though, and it's one of my favorites on the album now. It takes the preachiness of "Stand Up" and turns it around into this awesome statement of joyful resolve. They had better play it live.
And "Cedars" reminds me of "Wake Up Dead Man," because of the tempo and because it ends so suddenly, on a somber note—and I guess because some of Bono's lyrics approach "Wake Up"'s quality, not in content, but in precision. It doesn't seem like one they'll break out for the tour.
Also: Adam is in prime form throughout. No big bass lines, but lots of nice, low-key stuff. Larry, too. For the first time in a long time (for me), the album feels like it's as much about the music, or more, as it is about Bono.
It's a weird album. I'm not sure it's the masterpiece we were all waiting for. I am sure it's a marked artistic progression and that it'll keep us busy for a long time.
.
