Look, I and many others are not saying that The Bomb or The Suitcase (ATYCLB) are crap albums (although I know some are saying that). They are pop albums. Straight out pop albums made for a pop audience, carrying a pop weight. That doesn't make them crap, just different. U2's strength was always that they made killer songs that had an amazing weight and depth to them, but always kept their pop sensibilities so that they were easy to take on at a surface level if that's all you wanted from them. Catchy hooks, sing along chorus', memorable riffs, lyrics that have an easily digestible theme on the surface, even if only via the chorus. Even little things like Bono's trick of adding a part to many songs that easily turns to a great interactive call & response live is a part of that. That's U2 at their best, in that middle ground. Songs and albums that ARE catchy and memorable for the average FM listener, but are also in their own way innovative, challenging, creative. Anyone else notice that U2's two undisputed heavyweight champion albums are their most middle ground albums? At one end of the extreme you have Passengers. At the other extreme you have The Bomb. In the centre you have Achtung Baby and The Joshua Tree and everything else is somewhere in between on that scale.
Look at Achtung Baby. In 1991, a year in rock that up until that point was dominated by the then very stale sounds of Gun'n'Roses type hair rock, a billion new U2 fans jump on board with the sounds of songs like The Fly, Mysterious Ways, Even Better than the Real Thing, and One cutting through their FM stations RIGHT alongside such memorable pop crap as MC Hammer and C&C Music Factory and the pop-rock of bands like Bon Jovi. That album was a straight out commercial and chart hit. But in a way only U2 really can, that album also has every right in the world to hold it's head up high alongside the truly great musical releases that year. Albums like Nirvanas 'Nevermind', Massive Attacks 'Blue Lines', Primal Screams 'Screamadelica'. Albums that really mean something to a lot of people, and have the amazing ability to sound as great and fresh and inspiring now as they did the day of their release. Not just an album that kicked Bon Jovi's arse on the charts, but it was ALSO that. I was too young to be musically 'aware' in 1987, but I assume The Joshua Tree was similar, it certainly is regarded as one of the better albums ever made by anyone by most people, so I guess that answers that.
I happen to truly love the Passengers album, because it falls far closer in line then The Bomb with my musical tastes and what it is I actually look for in good music in the first place, but it most definitely is at one end of an extreme for U2. It's the least commercially viable thing they've ever done - by a long shot. It stands no chance of crossing over between both musical worlds. There's nothing in One Minute Warning for the average Joe FM radio listener to enjoy in the car on the way home from work. Now, imagine if post Zooropa, U2 released Passengers under their own name, as in U2's formal 9th studio album was titled "U2. Passengers". They would have completely shot their ability to reach the common ear. Now imagine if they then did that again, their 10th formal studio album was essentially "U2, Passengers 2". Like I said, I adore Passengers with all my heart, but what would have been best for U2 was what they did with that album, it's off too far in one extreme. I think they could have gotten away with releasing it under their own name if it was pitched the right way, and piggy backed another major album closely, but if they had taken that concept and sound and theme and did it for two major "NEW U2 ALBUM!!!" studio releases, it would have been a big, big mistake.
At the other end of the scale is the other extreme. Complete safety. Pop music. Albums of singles. Albums that stick to the sounds that sound very much like what U2 are expected to sound like and don't really dare stray away from that. Just as Passengers was at one extreme, The Bomb and The Suitcase are at the other. As Passengers was very risky, The Bomb is very safe. As Passengers was very adventurous, The Suitcase is very restricted. As Passengers was made without a care in the world for commercial success, The Bomb is made entirely with commercial success in mind. That DOES NOT make The Bomb or The Suitcase bad. This has pretty much been my point all along. I adore the extremity of Passengers because the more depth and the more 'interesting' and innovative the music and ideas the more it has me, regardless of artist or style. The Bomb and The Suitcase are the least enjoyable of U2's albums for me because of that safety. It's not what I'm listening for, regardless of quality. I want it to be interesting and challenging, something that all other U2 albums are to me, but that's just personal. However, The Bomb and The Suitcase are at, in U2 terms, the other extremity to Passengers, and I believe that just as if U2 had released two Passengers albums in a row under their name they would have lost all their commercial appeal and alienated a huge % of their audience, these last two albums have done or will do the same, although the opposite. They've got all the commercial appeal in the world, but do you seriously believe either will be written up in the U2 or musical history books in the way that an Achtung or Zooropa or War or Joshua Tree will be? I don't. Do you think they can forever hold their head up proudly alongside the best true music released in their respective years? I don't.
So, my argument is that U2 need to steer out of the extremity and back towards their magic middle ground. It's that middle ground that made them the unique band that they are. If they'd always released the extremity of Passengers they would never have sold and would never have been heard of. If they'd always released the extremity of The Bomb they would have sold a ton, but like all pop albums and all pop groups, it would have been fleeting and they would have, if still around, a very different image and reputation and recognition. Commercial respect and power, but no real relevance and no definitive and unique stamp on music at all.
What made U2 become U2 is that ability to be both. To release albums like Zooropa & The Unforgettable Fire that have a creative, innovative approach to music, with a real and true soul and depth, but dress it up in all the most successful and memorable pop sensibilities for the masses. Take one away from the other and they are simply not U2. That's one of the reasons why Passengers was put under the name Passengers, not U2. It was a step too far away from what was U2. It's the reason why that journey ended there and hasn't been repeated. These two albums are different because of their mammoth commercial success. I do think the band, given the choice, will take biggest over best. And that's where the challenge is for them. I imagine that in the current environment within the band, a Zooropa or Unforgettable Fire will be trashed and turned into a safe Bomb. The challenge to them is to realise that straight smack in the middle is the best for them, and that's a damn tough thing to do. It takes a lot of blind faith in themselves, and not second guessing their instincts. The challenge for them is to be the biggest AND the best, ie, to keep all parties happy, but most importantly to reposition U2 back where they were. Those that love U2 for their great, tight, sing along songs for the everyman. Those that love U2 for their ability to write the most amazing songs from the soul, that do challenge and embrace you as a fan and take you for a ride, emotionally, musically & sonically. Those within the band that want to stay true to their natural musical development and urges, and those within the band that want to stay true to the mammoth U2 brand name and all that it is worth commercially. An album whose songs will be played alongside Gwen Steffani and Rob Thomas on the average shitty commercial FM station and will gain all the MTV/Top 40 recognition in the world, but songs that will also be played alongside Interpol and Wilco on the more alternative stations and gain all the true musical respect in the world. At the moment they are getting all of one, but none of the other.
So.... at this stage, they need an Achtung Baby or Joshua Tree. The challenge there for the band is to have the balls to aim for that, but be prepared to not quite get there. To get a Zooropa instead of an Achtung, to get an Unforgettable Fire instead of a Joshua Tree. I don't know if they have that in them....
Does that make sense? That's the best way I think I can explain it (and, believe it or not, the shortest).