It's a special album to me. It's not their best album, it's not my favourite album. But it's the album I feel closer with.
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb came out in a very hard period of my life and I still see this album as one of the healers or painkillers of that time, specially because of some songs that I felt related with, such as "One Step Closer" or "Sometimes". I felt then that, for a very long time, Bono wrote some of his most honest lyrics (even though some lines are pretty bad), some lyrics I could see my self in.
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, as any of the past 3 albums is nowhere near perfect, as the other two is full of mistakes, faults in the creative direction and on some choices made.
I'm not sure that the Chris Thomas'
bomb would've been better, as some suggested back then. When I listen to the 5 Thomas songs that leaked or were released, there are also tones of problems with it... But in the exact opposite direction. They're clearly underproduced, too underproduced (to have raw feel is another thing)... Unlike the final versions which have loads of production, mixing and masterization over it. We have good examples of it in "City Of Blinding Lights" guitar treatment or on "Sometimes" when entering into the bridge - specially comparing to the alternate version which has the opposite problem. I wish that during the recording and creative process, U2 and the team had got to a middle term.
Then, there's the choice of the songs. I have no love at all for "A Man And A Woman", it has no effect on me. Someone here once wrote that like "this an innofensive the song for housewifes to listen to when they're washing the dishes". That how I feel about it. Plus, sonically I could never relate it with the rest of the collection. Another song is "Crumbs", which also doesn't do anything for me: trying to recreate "Electrical Storm" with a boring mood and bad and unimaginative political metaphores, I'd relegate it to b-side material.
I'm one of the few that likes "Yahweh", specially the final version, it's a joyful song, printed with U2-ADN sound, but with "happier" lyrics than many other 2000's songs. I also liked it closing the album, I understood the band's intention.
Another thing that bothered many fans was "All Because Of You" production, which reasons I understand. But it was one of my instant-favourite tracks when I listened to the album for the first time, maybe that's I will always have a positive memory/feeling about this song. And - guilty pleasure - I love that ear-piercing guitar in the first seconds ahahah
"Miracle Drug" is a different case. It's one of the most conservative tracks in my opinion (it feels too FM-radio-american-adult-contemporary-rock to me), but, forgetting the "scent like the top of a baby's head" line, I really like the lyrics, specially the heartfeeling and the meaning behind these lyrics.
"Vertigo" and "Sometimes", I've already wrote about it.
I wish that U2 had kept the lyrics of "Vertigo", but in the "Native Son" instrumental or something like that, or make a fusion of the two versions. For instance, after the second chorus, they could've kept the "check mated" section, followed by the "Native Son"'s "freeeeee" instrumental section, and only then the "all of this can be yours" section (and then "Vertigo" on as we know it). I've also wouldn't mind the intro more similar to "Native Son", but with the stick's countdown.
In "Sometimes" case I'd love if U2 had kept the alternate version intro, the guitar work until the first chorus (which I love, it's very mid-90's) and the first chorus only with the title in the lyrics the way he sings it in the alternate version (then, after, the telephone/mirror lines could join). But, most of all, I wish they had toned down the production. When Bono starts the "siiiiiiiiing" part, the guitars/keyboards/bass feel like it's a huge mess not in unison. But still is, anyway, one of 2000's best songs.
I listened to this album a lot, specially during the tour, but then it ended, I didn't listen much to it until 2009 or so. Only then, with some time distance, I started to realize better some of the album's faults, specially in the tracklist choices, fluence, cohesion.
And I started to test alternate tracklists (the same way I did with ATYCLB and, later, with NLOTH) until I got to my perfect tracklist, which I think I have already posted here in the forum. I just kept it to these essential 10:
1. Love And Peace Or Else
2. Vertigo
3. Miracle Drug
4. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
5. One Step Closer
6. Fast Cars
7. All Because Of You
8. City Of Blinding Lights
9. Original Of The Species *
10. Yahweh
*I use the single version, which is richer and improved the album version
I'm also still not very convinced about the title. I like the idea of dismanteling an atomic bomb, and the atomic bomb being a metaphor for the heart (I think that metaphor is genious), but I feel the title is too "big", I mean, too pretensious for the album itself.
I also do not like the cover (I've made a few alternative ones) and I'm also not a fan of the creative ideas for the photoshoot for this album... And it's a shame because they were made in Portugal and they (the photographer and the team) could've profit or use those places so much better...