My thoughts on 'No Line On The Horizon' circa 2013

[LemonMirrorSky]

I just wanted to share some of my personal thoughts on the last album.

1. From the get-go, it is evident that this album is much deeper than the last one. The opening trio of No Line, Magnificent and Moment of Surrender is so fantastic that it brings happy tears to my eyes when I listen to it. We haven't seen an opening so grand arguably since 1997's Pop.

2. The song 'Magnificent' really is a U2 classic, in my opinion. It encompasses and encapsulates all that we love about U2! Plus, every band member's contribution is excellent here, be it Larry's soaring intro, Adam's steady but booming baseline, Edge's classic guitar sound and last but not least, really great vocals by Bono. Why it wasn't released as a first single could be one of the greatest U2 mysteries ever!! It would've catapulted the album into the stratosphere!

3. It's a real shame that they included those middle 3 or 4 songs. They really bring down the quality... especially the awkward Stand Up Comedy and the silly Get On Your Boots (Vertigo Pt. II). Even Crazy Tonight, I actually don't mind because it has a nice melody. Atrocious title though. As for Unknown Caller, I have mixed feelings about it. Enjoy the music throughout and the guitar solo. Don't care for the lyrics.

4. I really do enjoy the subdued and subtle feel of the last few tracks (except Breathe of course). Breathe is excellent for what it is. A real ass-kicker of a song with enjoyable lyrics and some delicious guitar. Cedars is a lovely little closer though.

I think overall, this album has stayed fresh for me even after 4 years since release... which can hardly be said for the previous 2 releases, although ATYCLB did sort of do a comeback in my personal ratings a few years afterwards. Thanks for reading. I think I rambled on a bit more than I wanted to. lol.

 

[Vlaco]

Very good post. I agree with almost anything you're saying. About Cedars: I think, in fact, that's a brilliant song. Their best closer since Love Is Blindness. It has everything: great lyrics, fantastic rhythm section and Edge at his minimalistic best.

 

[djerdap]

Cedars is a good song, but better than Wake Up Dead Man? Nah. And I like The Wanderer much better too.

Unfortunately, this album hasn't aged well for me, as was the case with the two albums before it. At this point I have no desire to ever listen to it again.

 

[Vlaco]

I don't particularly like Wake Up Dead Man. It's okay, but nothing remarkable to me. You're right about The Wanderer, that's a great one too.

 

[LemonMelon]

The opening trio on NLOTH alone puts it above its two immediate predecessors. MOS is absolutely my favorite U2 song of the '00s.

And then there's Breathe which I can't post enough smilies for but I can try:

 

[cobl04]

Unfortunately, this album hasn't aged well for me, as was the case with the two albums before it. At this point I have no desire to ever listen to it again.

Pretty much how I feel. I'll probably play it when the survivor round comes around, but I probably haven't heard it in full since 2010, maybe 2011.

Magnificent sucks. The most by-numbers song they've ever done. Trite lyrics, boring "solo", average vocals, uninspiring chorus. The riff is okay but Adam's bass is about the only thing salvageable from it.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

Very good post. I agree with almost anything you're saying. About Cedars: I think, in fact, that's a brilliant song. Their best closer since Love Is Blindness. It has everything: great lyrics, fantastic rhythm section and Edge at his minimalistic best.

Thanks, Vlaco.

I'm not sure about best closer since LIB but yeah, Cedars is very nice indeed.

Cedars is a good song, but better than Wake Up Dead Man? Nah.

Agreed. Wake Up Dead Man is just so beautiful and chilling... right after the plodding Please.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

And then there's Breathe which I can't post enough smilies for but I can try:

Haha I love that smiley. Yeah, Breathe is such a joyful diversion on the second half! There are few songs in general that capture happiness so well. And I think Breathe is one of them.

Magnificent sucks. The most by-numbers song they've ever done. Trite lyrics, boring "solo", average vocals, uninspiring chorus. The riff is okay but Adam's bass is about the only thing salvageable from it.

But... but... it's U2 playing to their strengths! I know what you mean though. I see what you are saying in songs like Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own or Miracle Drug. But somehow, Magnificent continues to appeal to me... almost on the level of an all-time classic like With Or Without You.

In other words, I cannot find a single thing that I dislike about Magnificent. If you twist my arm, maybe I'd say the egocentric lyrics. But it's Bono we're talking about here. Hello! lol.

 

[cobl04]

Egocentric lyrics have never bothered me... I'm a Kanye West fan

I love both Sometimes and Miracle Drug, but always disliked Magnificent. I think Stuck is a 10/10 song; others think 1/10 is generous. To each their own.

Welcome to the forum.

Here is the Soundcloud page of my current favourite DJ, Spacey Space.

 

[djerdap]

I'm a Kanye West fan

Nobody's perfect Cobbler.

 

[cobl04]

Nobody's perfect Cobbler.

I'm also addicted to Geordie Shore.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

I love both Sometimes and Miracle Drug, but always disliked Magnificent. I think Stuck is a 10/10 song; others think 1/10 is generous. To each their own.

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the welcome. Yeah, to each their own I agree. Our own opinions sometimes change so much over the years, you have to agree to disagree with people.

It's funny when I think about it.... I hated Stuck when I first heard it. I thought it was the lame-est, cheesiest thing they could ever do! I have compared it to Michael Bolton once in a review somewhere. lol. I wouldn't be so harsh on it if you asked me now. The thing that annoyed me initially also was that it totally killed the flow after the wonderfully soaring Beautiful Day. Elevation would've made a much better track 2. But I digress. Over the years I have warmed up to Stuck... and especially the acoustic version from the 7 EP. "It's just a moment... this time will pass" - lovely line and can be applied to so many of life's situations.

 

[cobl04]

Yeah, that last verse, and that final line in particular, has always been one of my favourite moments in music by anyone ever

 

[djerdap]

Stuck is reminiscent of Michael Bolton at times. That's a good comparison.

 

[last unicorn]

I still love the album, listen to it a lot, I can still relate to most of the songs and feel very emotionally connected to them. There are some heart-wrenching moments on the album and some really deep, thought-provocing stuff. And I'm still a bit pissed that there is a song like Crazy on the album, but the live version, along with the live version of Boots, compensates for that a bit. Apart from that, the album is almost perfect for me.

But then again I can't really tell which U2 album has not aged well, because when I listen to the older albums and the mood is right, I still feel most of the music is really fresh and present for me, but maybe that's also because most of them have been remastered.

 

[Vlaco]

But then again I can't really tell which U2 album has not aged well

Four letters, one word: Bomb.

 

[The Panther]

I enjoyed your post. Here are my thoughts, in response:

1. From the get-go, it is evident that this album is much deeper than the last one.

I suppose this depends on what you mean by "deeper". I'm not sure I would say any U2 album has been less than deep lyrically (this one included). "Deep" is what they do, and when they don't try to be deep, it usually isn't good. (Not sure what "deep" would mean musically.)

The opening trio of No Line, Magnificent and Moment of Surrender is so fantastic that it brings happy tears to my eyes when I listen to it.

I previously thought "No Line" was unremarkable, but now it's won me over. I think it's a good rock song and a very good opener (though I could do without Bono's over-singing). Sometimes you need to just shut up and let the band play. I also like "Magnificent". I don't like "Moment of Surrender", and I still -- no matter how many times I try -- can't hear what people like about it. It's barely passable as a U2 track, for me. But it does pass. The main problem with it is Bono's voice and Bono's vocals. (Basically, Bono is my main problem with NLOTH.)

2. The song 'Magnificent' really is a U2 classic, in my opinion. It encompasses and encapsulates all that we love about U2!

I think it's a great tune, but maybe not quite a U2 classic. Other than the disco vibe, it's rather similar to a few other guitar-based U2 tracks. Not necessarily any weaker, but those other ones got there first, so they're the classics!

Why it wasn't released as a first single could be one of the greatest U2 mysteries ever!! It would've catapulted the album into the stratosphere!

I personally don't think so. It would have done better on the charts than "Boots", but it wouldn't have been a big hit.

3. It's a real shame that they included those middle 3 or 4 songs. They really bring down the quality... especially the awkward Stand Up Comedy and the silly Get On Your Boots (Vertigo Pt. II).

I can't stand either of those songs. I had to go on YouTube just now to hear "Stand Up Comedy", and, though it starts off all right, it quickly descends into parody. The depressing thing was finding out that they spent two years working on it.

Even Crazy Tonight, I actually don't mind because it has a nice melody. Atrocious title though.

I had to go on YouTube to hear this as well, since it turned me off so much in 2009 I had deleted the track. It's not quite as horrible as I remembered it (you're right, it does have a decent enough melody), but still a tragic fail. Really, what was Bono thinking?

As for Unknown Caller, I have mixed feelings about it. Enjoy the music throughout and the guitar solo. Don't care for the lyrics.

Agree. It's a weird mix of the sublime and the cringe-worthy. Pretty, though.

4. I really do enjoy the subdued and subtle feel of the last few tracks (except Breathe of course). Breathe is excellent for what it is. A real ass-kicker of a song with enjoyable lyrics and some delicious guitar.

"Breathe" has always been musically awkward to me, like two songs forced together into one. (What is the point of the weird drum intro, other than to make the guitar-intro yet more bombastic? This is why people hate U2.) It has a few great, typically sweeping U2-ish moments, but ultimately I think it's sunk by the cheesier lyrical moments (yes, Bono again). The swing into the chorus is great, though. I have to give it that. Damn.

Cedars is a lovely little closer though.

I think this is one of the most perfect tracks they've ever issued! It's my personal favorite since at least "Beautiful Day".


I can understand why some U2 fans got excited by No Line -- it's a bit darker, a lot artier (when it's not cheese on a stick, as in the middle part), and just as lyrically serious as the previous two blockbuster albums. "At last!", the people said, "They've made an album for U2 fans, not for the mainstream herd!" I get that, but I just think the album is a wimp-out.

It seems to me that they had a pretty strong album ready to go in mid-2008 or so, and then they held back and tinkered and tinkered to release the compromised record they did.

Some people find ATYCLB and HTDAAB too radio friendly and trying too hard to please a large audience. I understand that, but I think both are very successful at what they attempted, musically and artistically. However, with No Line, I have no idea what they were attempting. For me, it's the most awkward album since Rattle & Hum. You can almost hear the marketing meetings as you listen to it -- "Okay, we've had one long arty track, now we've got to put a snappy pop tune in the desperate hopes that it'll hit with tweens!".

I guess what I'm saying is, I wish they had stuck to their vision.

 

[trevgreg]

I just wanted to share some of my personal thoughts on the last album.

1. From the get-go, it is evident that this album is much deeper than the last one. The opening trio of No Line, Magnificent and Moment of Surrender is so fantastic that it brings happy tears to my eyes when I listen to it. We haven't seen an opening so grand arguably since 1997's Pop.

2. The song 'Magnificent' really is a U2 classic, in my opinion. It encompasses and encapsulates all that we love about U2! Plus, every band member's contribution is excellent here, be it Larry's soaring intro, Adam's steady but booming baseline, Edge's classic guitar sound and last but not least, really great vocals by Bono. Why it wasn't released as a first single could be one of the greatest U2 mysteries ever!! It would've catapulted the album into the stratosphere!

3. It's a real shame that they included those middle 3 or 4 songs. They really bring down the quality... especially the awkward Stand Up Comedy and the silly Get On Your Boots (Vertigo Pt. II). Even Crazy Tonight, I actually don't mind because it has a nice melody. Atrocious title though. As for Unknown Caller, I have mixed feelings about it. Enjoy the music throughout and the guitar solo. Don't care for the lyrics.

4. I really do enjoy the subdued and subtle feel of the last few tracks (except Breathe of course). Breathe is excellent for what it is. A real ass-kicker of a song with enjoyable lyrics and some delicious guitar. Cedars is a lovely little closer though.

I think overall, this album has stayed fresh for me even after 4 years since release... which can hardly be said for the previous 2 releases, although ATYCLB did sort of do a comeback in my personal ratings a few years afterwards. Thanks for reading. I think I rambled on a bit more than I wanted to. lol.

I do agree with a lot of this. The opening songs are definitely strong and should be considered one of the stronger intros to any of the band's albums. MOS took awhile to grow on me from the get-go, unlike other people on here. But I did admire the ambitiousness of it even on the first listen, and seeing it in a live setting certainly helped.

My problem with the "middle 3" isn't so much that they're guitar-based numbers, don't sound like the other tracks, "safe", or anything like that... it's just that they're very average songs, imo. I did enjoy Crazy Tonight and Boots live in a concert setting though.

Same thoughts on Unknown Caller. Musically it stands up, and stuff like the intro and the "oh oh oh ohh"s during the chorus are pretty. But the lyrics sort of throw me off too.

Personally, my problem with the album overall is that it never really picks up to the quality of the first 3-4 songs of the album, which is a bit frustrating for me. Aside from Breathe and maybe Fez-Being Born, I can't really get into any of the other tracks on the rest of the album. I can stand more subdued songs from time to time, but WOS and Cedars never did anything for me.

 

[mikal]

I just wanted to share some of my personal thoughts on the last album.

1. From the get-go, it is evident that this album is much deeper than the last one. The opening trio of No Line, Magnificent and Moment of Surrender is so fantastic that it brings happy tears to my eyes when I listen to it. We haven't seen an opening so grand arguably since 1997's Pop.

2. The song 'Magnificent' really is a U2 classic, in my opinion. It encompasses and encapsulates all that we love about U2! Plus, every band member's contribution is excellent here, be it Larry's soaring intro, Adam's steady but booming baseline, Edge's classic guitar sound and last but not least, really great vocals by Bono. Why it wasn't released as a first single could be one of the greatest U2 mysteries ever!! It would've catapulted the album into the stratosphere!

3. It's a real shame that they included those middle 3 or 4 songs. They really bring down the quality... especially the awkward Stand Up Comedy and the silly Get On Your Boots (Vertigo Pt. II). Even Crazy Tonight, I actually don't mind because it has a nice melody. Atrocious title though. As for Unknown Caller, I have mixed feelings about it. Enjoy the music throughout and the guitar solo. Don't care for the lyrics.

4. I really do enjoy the subdued and subtle feel of the last few tracks (except Breathe of course). Breathe is excellent for what it is. A real ass-kicker of a song with enjoyable lyrics and some delicious guitar. Cedars is a lovely little closer though.

I think overall, this album has stayed fresh for me even after 4 years since release... which can hardly be said for the previous 2 releases, although ATYCLB did sort of do a comeback in my personal ratings a few years afterwards. Thanks for reading. I think I rambled on a bit more than I wanted to. lol.

Pretty similar thoughts here as well. A couple other thoughts:

- Mercy was actually a big disappointment, and I blame it on me listening to the Beach Clip. It was really hard to tell from the Beach Clip how upbeat the song was. I was hoping it would be more of a slow burner/WOWY type. This is the main reason why I will not be listening to any leaked recordings if they happen this year.

- Fez-Being Born, MOS, and Cedars really represent the mindset the band was in at some point in the recording process, and it's really a shame that the whole album didn't follow suit. Instead, we got a very confused album. Half of it is pure brilliance while the rest of it sounds like a band panicking because they came to the realization that they didn't have a radio hit. In the end, they forced a couple of songs that flopped on the radio anyway. If they had just followed their initial instinct, they may not have had the radio hit, but they would have earned back some of the credibility they lost that decade.

 

[digitize]

I love No Line, and the middle three don't bother me.

No Line: Not my favorite, but a very decent song. I love how rich it sounds on the album, I love Larry's vocals, and I love Bono's lyrics and singing.

Magnificent: I've always been a huge fan. Musically, Edge doesn't do anything overly exciting, but the rhythm section is fantastic. I love, love, love the lyrics, and they work quite nicely with the music. Here is what Lanois says about the lyrics, and why I really like them: "And then I was involved in the lyrical process on that, because we wanted to talk about sacrifice that one makes for one's medium or one's art."

Moment of Surrender: Nearly perfect. Probably in my top five favorite U2 songs. I'm not sure what to think about "ATM machine". It bugs me. I don't know if was an intentional bit of character or an actual mistake.

Unknown Caller: Quirky, but I like it. It follows Moment of Surrender extremely well. The lyrics don't bother me in the context of the meaning of the song.

The middle three: They're Bono's trademark self-deprecation. They're not very serious, have a strong element of irony across the board, and they don't really bother me. I also love the live remix of Crazy Tonight. To me, it works better with the theme of "ignorant rock-star hedonism in the face of crisis" that spans the songs than does the album version. Overall, I like Boots the most, then Crazy Tonight, then Stand Up Comedy.

Fez-Being Born: Pretty sublime.

White As Snow: Utterly gorgeous.

Breathe: Love it. Great song about coping with self-doubt and being strong in spite of it (from what I can tell).

Cedars: Boring as a stand-alone track, fantastic as an album closer.

 

[popacrobat]

Re: Crazy tonight

I enjoy the single mix much more than the album mix, just feels less muddy and more clear. I do like the song a decent bit, and from a commercial standpoint, I would have released it as the first single, but with that Blackberry commercial mix. It's a shame we never got to hear what that mix would sound like in full, at the least, it would make the song less predictable.

I'm a fan of No Line overall. I understand why people take issue with the middle 3 songs, but i' can enjoy them on some level. I do like Boots, and think it really improved live. Could do without stand up comedy, and it should have probably been replaced by Winter (the Linear version, not the Brothers version, though I like elements of both).

Do wish they played White as Snow live on 360. Who was it, Willie Williams? that wanted U2 to do White as Snow - October - New Year's Day? Something like that.

 

[PookaMacP]

Funny, I listened to this record a couple of weeks ago for the first time in about two years and a few similar thoughts struck me:

1. The opening four tracks are all superb - certainly their best opening blast since Pop.

2. Everything about Unknown Caller is great - I find the lyrics less awkward and more a good fit for the theme, I love the chorus, and the intro is probably among the best 30-40 seconds of sound that U2 has ever produced.

3. Crazy Tonight is tolerable until the 'Baby, baby, baby' bit. Then it makes you want to break down and cry 'Why, Bono? Why?'

4. Boots and Stand Up are, well, comedic. Absolutely dire, and take the album down a hole that it scrabbles to get back out of, but never quite does.

5. Fez-Being Born is ok, but a little bit boring.

6. White As Snow is in the wrong spot on the album... I think. Can't quite put my finger on it. It's good, but it doesn't quite sit right or something.

7. Breathe is a tricky one. Great intro, great verses, but terrible chorus.

8. Cedars is excellent. As someone said above, it's got that understated Edge guitar playing and dark atmosphere that's always a winner.

9. I also agree that overall what's missing is a coherent vision. Tracks 1-4, Fez, White As Snow, and Cedars all sound like they've come from the same place. But the rest are tacked on and throw the flow of the album out of kilter.

 

[bonocomet]

Pretty similar thoughts here as well. A couple other thoughts:

- Mercy was actually a big disappointment, and I blame it on me listening to the Beach Clip. It was really hard to tell from the Beach Clip how upbeat the song was. I was hoping it would be more of a slow burner/WOWY type. This is the main reason why I will not be listening to any leaked recordings if they happen this year.

Did you mean to say Magnificent there? I'm thinking you did. But it caught my eye because I went back and listened to their re-done Mercy from WAIE yesterday since I haven't listened to it since it was released. I was hoping maybe time would have smoothed out some of my disappointment in it... but it actually was worse. Probably my biggest disappointment in something U2 has ever done. The new version starts out so promising, but just descends into horribleness. And the original was one of my favorite things they ever did! Anyway... this was a topic for another thread and another day.

 

[mikal]

Did you mean to say Magnificent there? I'm thinking you did. But it caught my eye because I went back and listened to their re-done Mercy from WAIE yesterday since I haven't listened to it since it was released. I was hoping maybe time would have smoothed out some of my disappointment in it... but it actually was worse. Probably my biggest disappointment in something U2 has ever done. The new version starts out so promising, but just descends into horribleness. And the original was one of my favorite things they ever did! Anyway... this was a topic for another thread and another day.

Whoops. Yes. Magnificent.

 

[U2DMfan]

A few months ago, I listened to it for the first time in about a year.

I still feel the same about everything, but the one thing that really, really struck me was how very very average Breathe is. Slow, uninspired. I can tell that Breathe, as a demo, or early version, had to have kicked total ass. And then by take #4,000 it lost some life. I just don't feel it. Even the harmonies feel so very contrived. Like they are reading and singing from a sheet of paper because Bono just rewrote the lyrics for the billionth time.

And the tempo...it's just slow. Plodding. Should be an explosive uptempo rocker when Bono belts out those verses. He does his best to carry that trudging dadrockin song but he couldn't save it.

Just...tap your finger to the kick and the snare. Do that for about 30 seconds and then turn the sound off. Keep your finger going. It sounds almost like a waltz, doesn't it?
That my friends, is what happens when almost-50 year old men that have never really 'rocked' out, decide that they finally want to discover their inner-Zeppelin. Whatever they are doing with Danger Mouse, I just hope he keeps them away from that sort of classic rock sound.

Also, I still think Unknown Caller was a revamped set of lyrics away from being an all time U2 classic. Magnificent is nice but repetitive and peaks far too early. NLOTH, the title track, might be the best song. MOS is obviously great. Fez-BB is more of what I love from U2, almost evocative of something from Zooropa. Boots would have been fine, and perhaps even a fan favorite had it not been such a bad choice to introduce this album. Stand Up Comedy is another lyrical debacle and dadrock snoozefest. Crazy Tonight is precisely what has been wrong with 21st century U2. White as Snow and Cedars are cool but, in my view, pretty forgettable.

In the end, clearly better than its two predecessors but below the great highs of POP.

 

[stigman]

I still love nloth I remember when it was played on fannings show and a fan rang up and said "I love it this is an album for the real fans" I tend to agree!!

 

[No spoken words]

I gave it a relisten last night and this morning and for me:

1) The Title track is probably now my favorite song on the album.

2) Breathe is not as enjoyable for me as it was originally.

3) Fez remains a track I love. It just sounds....interesting, I guess, not that interesting automatically makes it good.

4) Stand Up Comedy, which I hated from the get-go is even worse to my ears now. Good god.

As for Magnificent....you can hear what makes U2 great inside the song, but overall it seems like more of a letdown than anything else, to me.

Oh, and, agreed with Romero a couple of posts above me regarding Unknown Caller....this close to being sublime.

 

[gman]

I relly love NLOTH as an album. Fro Feb 2009 till today, i would say that it is my most listened to u2 album during that period....by quite some distance.

I really love the first 4 trcks. Unlike some.....i quite like the studio version of Crazy Tonight.....but i think it blows BIG TIME live. I cant stomach that version. For one of the most important and best rock acts of all time...to churn out pish like that is pretty remarkable.
Then we get to boots. IMHO, the POOREST song that the band has ever put their name to. its a poor attempt at re-creating a Beautiful Day/ Vertigo hit.
We then recover slightly with SUC, but only ever so slightly. To me it sounds like a Led Zepplin meets RHCP schizophrenic song.
Thankfully the album makes a full return to form with Fez/Being born, and it doesnt look back for the remainder of the album.
So all in all.....only one major blip on the album. That said, id still rather listen to GOYB than anything else about these days pretty much.
So, for me, the NLOTH album has remained superb from first listen, right up to today

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

Loved reading all your comments! Thank you!

I suppose this depends on what you mean by "deeper".

Okay, compare Vertigo and No Line. You know what I mean? There's so much more depth in No Line... both lyrically and musically!

I wish they had stuck to their vision.

Ain't that the case with U2 a lot this past decade or so?! Sigh..

Fez-Being Born, MOS, and Cedars really represent the mindset the band was in at some point in the recording process, and it's really a shame that the whole album didn't follow suit. Instead, we got a very confused album. Half of it is pure brilliance while the rest of it sounds like a band panicking because they came to the realization that they didn't have a radio hit. In the end, they forced a couple of songs that flopped on the radio anyway. If they had just followed their initial instinct, they may not have had the radio hit, but they would have earned back some of the credibility they lost that decade.

You've got a good point there. It does sound confused and as though they panicked and forced the middle 3 in.. or made them more radio friendly or something.

My top fav songs here are No Line, Magnificent, MOS, Fez, Breathe and to a slightly lesser extent WAS and Cedars.

White As Snow is good but it is a little boring, kind of like Love Rescue Me.

 

[An Cat Gav]

I just wanted to share some of my personal thoughts on the last album.

1. From the get-go, it is evident that this album is much deeper than the last one. The opening trio of No Line, Magnificent and Moment of Surrender is so fantastic that it brings happy tears to my eyes when I listen to it. We haven't seen an opening so grand arguably since 1997's Pop.

2. The song 'Magnificent' really is a U2 classic, in my opinion. It encompasses and encapsulates all that we love about U2! Plus, every band member's contribution is excellent here, be it Larry's soaring intro, Adam's steady but booming baseline, Edge's classic guitar sound and last but not least, really great vocals by Bono. Why it wasn't released as a first single could be one of the greatest U2 mysteries ever!! It would've catapulted the album into the stratosphere!

3. It's a real shame that they included those middle 3 or 4 songs. They really bring down the quality... especially the awkward Stand Up Comedy and the silly Get On Your Boots (Vertigo Pt. II). Even Crazy Tonight, I actually don't mind because it has a nice melody. Atrocious title though. As for Unknown Caller, I have mixed feelings about it. Enjoy the music throughout and the guitar solo. Don't care for the lyrics.

4. I really do enjoy the subdued and subtle feel of the last few tracks (except Breathe of course). Breathe is excellent for what it is. A real ass-kicker of a song with enjoyable lyrics and some delicious guitar. Cedars is a lovely little closer though.

I think overall, this album has stayed fresh for me even after 4 years since release... which can hardly be said for the previous 2 releases, although ATYCLB did sort of do a comeback in my personal ratings a few years afterwards. Thanks for reading. I think I rambled on a bit more than I wanted to. lol.

I agree with pretty much everything you'vee written.

If Soon, Winter and Every Breaking Wave had been included instead of SUC and Crazy tonight it would be a top 4 U2 album for me.

I quite like Boots though, the chorus and riff are fantastic, only the Let me in the sound part spoils it for me. Shouldn't have been 1st single though, something tells me they were misguided enough to think they had a song as good as The Fly on their hands.