Friday 6 February 2009, by Corinne/Dead
Tags:
* Nouvel album
* No Line On The Horizon
* review
This week, I had the privilege to hear the new U2 album. I got to listen to the full album once, and to the designated singles a second time.
If I had to describe this album in one word, I would say it’s dense. There is a lot going on and it’s definitely the kind of record one has to hear at least a dozen times to fully understand, if not more.
Generally, I liked what I heard very much. There are some great, classic U2 songs (Magnificent, Breathe, Unknown Caller). And there are songs that break new sonic territory for U2 (Being Born, White As Snow), although less electronic than I expected. Many songs, especially during intros, have heavy electronic elements, but there is no Lemon or Mofo on the record. However, the odd cello, trumpet, organ or french horn is thrown in! The overall feeling is much more atmospheric than the last couple of records, with some songs - or at least some passages - heavily leaning towards The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby style-wise, with some hints towards the early albums, although none of the new songs sounds like they could actually fit on one of U2’s past records. To give you an idea, some old songs that came to mind while I heard the new record were Lady With The Spinning Head, So Cruel, Pride, Beautiful Day, In A Little While, Bass Trap, Love And Peace Or Else, Bullet The Blue Sky, Ultra Violet and Acrobat. And Passengers! There are some very dark passages on this album, some interesting and unusual chord sequences, and possibly more minor chords than on any other U2 album. "Delicate" is another word that pops up a few times in my notes, meaning an overall feeling of some songs reminiscent of, say, Velvet Dress. There are many layers in the production, especially in the beats, which are frequently mid-tempo and syncopated. The rhythm section has some great moments, with some very smooth and dynamic bass playing (Moment Of Surrender!). The Edge is definitely on fire on this one - there are so many signature Edge guitar parts, too much to take on one listen, and right now I can’t reasonably remember a single one. Bono’s voice sounds very good, the best since Pop. He plays with it a lot - sometimes maybe too much? No fade outs if I remember correctly. Overall, this is probably one of U2’s more interesting albums, very ambitious, and its great strength will probably be that it works as a whole, unlike the last two efforts. The quality of the songs remains on an equally high level throughout the album, the real gems possibly even in the second half.
Here some random, track-by-track bits taken from my notes. The further into the album, the fewer notes i took - probably a good sign as I really go lost in the music...
1. No Line On The Horizon The title track starts with a low synth intro, which then turns into a wall of sound with shouting vocals. In contrast, the chorus is very atmospheric. There are some high processed guitar sounds going on towards the end, reminiscent of Beautiful Day just before the middle part. There were apperently two versions of this song recorded, a heavy distorted one, and a more atmospheric version. It’s difficult to say which one this is, as it kind of fits both descriptions (maybe it’s a mix?).
2. Magnificent After a short eletronic intro, is U2 in full stadium rock mode. Pretty uptempo. Stomping beat and fast snare drumming, similar to Where The Streets Have No Name. This will be the 3rd single.
3. Moment Of Surrender This song has Brian Eno written all over it, from the intro to the chorus (think A Different Kind Of Blue, but a little more melodic). Some fine bass playing by Adam. Rhythm is similar to "So Cruel" and builds up massively over the whole song (7 minutes?).
4. Unknown Caller The most Lanois-esque song. This song was recorded in Fez (it’s the one with everyone singing together in Lanois’ documentary). A lot of tom-tom drumming. Overall feeling reminds me of The Joshua Tree. The middle 8 goes off somewhere else, with an organ (hello Arcade Fire?) and french horns, leading to a nice guitar solo.
5. I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight Classic U2. Mid tempo. This will be the 2nd single
6. Get On Your Boots This song fits perfectly here. The most uptempo track.
7. Stand Up Comedy Very 70s rock, kind of an extension of Bullet The Blue Sky (verse of Popmart version!) and Love And Peace Or Else. Uptempo.
8. Fez / Being Born Two separate songs. Fez is a short, experimental, mostly electronic instrumental Eno tune. Being Born is more uptempo, but has the slowest singing ever by Bono. Can’t remember much more, but I absolutely loved this experimental track.
9. White As Snow Short piano intro, but the rest of the song is based on an acoustic guitar. A very delicate downtempo tune.
10. Breathe This is a 3/4 or 6/8 rhythm, similar to Acrobat. A big stadium rocker. Some very fast singing by Bono, not as fast as The End Of The World As We Know It by R.E.M., but going there (is this to make up for Being Born?). Mid/uptempo. Big guitar solo.
11. Cedars Of Lebanon Midtempo, very delicate and atmospheric arrangement. Bono in narrating mode (voice similar to One Step Closer). Ends quite abruptly.
For those who have heard the 2008 beach clips, #1 is Unknown Caller, #2 is Breathe, #3 is GOYB, #4 is Magnificent, and #5 is Crazy Tonight, although a quite different version. None of the 2006 beach clips are included on the new album.
...my older brother showed me that magazine a few years back....just to prove a point about how flaky reviews/reviewers can be....wish I had it now so I could scan it...no doubt Jan Wenner(RS publisher) buried any available links to that article.
