Ranking U2 albums after 1 year SOI

[Oregoropa]

I love Zooropa. But I agree First Time is a moody track that isn't very engaging. The Wanderer does nothing for me. Some Days, Daddy, and Babyface are fun. Dirty Day is cool but not epic. As a whole the album is a great experimental ride.

It was a tough call but I put SOI above it. It's more of a complete album than its 2000 predecessors. It will age well. The live performances of iris and sfs have bumped up their stock.

If SLABT was on the back half of Zooropa we would be lauding it today as genius. It almost has a zoo-esque vibe.


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[superchuk5]

1. Achtung Baby
2. The Joshua Tree
3. All That You Can't Leave Behind
4. The Unforgettable Fire
5. Songs of Innocence
6. War
7. Zooropa
8. Boy
9. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
10. No Line on the Horizon
11. Pop
12. Rattle and Hum
13. October
14. Original Soundtracks 1

 

[superchuk5]

That Pop is so divisive is one of the most heartbreaking things as a U2 fan for me. Every time I think about it, hear it, talk about it, whatever, I'm shattered that it is considered this flawed, "unfinished" mess. I think that's criminal. It isn't perfect (fuck there's probably like three albums ever that are perfect) but it was the last time that U2 were a band that was fucking cool and creative and great and sexy and challenging. And I say that as a gigantic, unabashed, passionate fan of ATYCLB.

I take your point about it being their last big artistic risk, but I still see it as one that's execution didn't fully work. It's very fascinating album, but perhaps their most flawed besides Rattle and Hum (excellent singles, but the album on a whole is a huge bloated mess). To me, the core problems are overproduction and the general "half baked" feel of many songs. The big case-in-point to me is comparing the studio vs. live versions of Staring at the Sun. The album version sounds like MOR alt rock whose melody gets buried in the production, but the acoustic version on the Please single is beautiful.

While ATYCLB is certainly "safer," I think it's songs are better and I think it's conceptual thread of uplift is quite powerful.

 

[Salome]

thats some fucked up shit salome


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This.

I used to think Zooropa was their best album, but it has gone down my rankings quite a bit. Daddy's gonna pay, First time time, Some days, Dirty Day are all good but not great IMO.
I love No Line.
I think Achtung is a great album, but don't get the universal love.
POP is just a mess. The experimental tracks are mostly great, but then the other half is some of the most mediocre stuff the band has ever done.
Songs of Innocence is very good and I'm always surprised how good it is when I listen to it but apart from Iris there's nothing there I go out of my way to listen to.

Does that explain my insanity sufficiently?

 

[LemonMelon]

The First Time's lyrics and vocal set it above anything on SOI. It could be a capella and it would be one of my favorites on any newer U2 record.

 

[dan_smee]

My ONLY issue with TFT is that it is exactly the same chord progression as AIWIY.


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[LemonMelon]

And AIWIY doesn't stray far from Bad.

I've always wanted them to do a medley of those three songs. IIRC they've mixed a couple of them, but not all three.

 

[cobl04]

The First Time isn't among my favourites on Zooropa, but it's still a really nice, lovely track. The vocals are great, the music is just kinda there, but it's nice, and I think the imagery in the lyrics help elevate it a bit too. It's U2 vs U2 now; back then they were happy to put a track like that on the back half of a mid-tour album; now they'd overproduce the shit out of it, Bono would oversing it and they'd try to make it a huge single, knowing that it sounds quite a bit like a previous song of theirs (see EBW).

First of all, why are you bringing me in this?

Secondly, why do you keep saying that? Are you confusing me with someone?


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I'm just being deliberately belligerent, you should recognise that of all people

I like your analogy. Pop will always be a polarizing album among U2 fans. That's something you're just gonna have to accept. I've always been into dance music be it freestyle, house, techno, etc. I always dug U2's remixes of songs long before Pop was released. So, when U2 released Pop, I was loving the direction they were going in with the album. A number of 80's era U2 fans weren't exactly enamored with it. They dug Achtung Baby and even Zooropa, but Pop went too far for them. We all know the story. They just ran out of time because Paul had already booked the tour and they had to get ready for that too. Considering the circumstances and the rusty start to the tour, things turned out pretty well in the end. The album sold decently (although, not up to U2 or their fans' lofty standards ) and by the middle of the tour, the band were performing on all cylinders. Sure, there were some kinks along the way, but there aren't too many tours that go smoothly.

But see I think this line of thinking is bullshit too. People who dismiss Pop because it leans towards dance music are showing a complete and total ignorance of any music that doesn't bear the name U2. Mofo is pretty much the only song on the album that could be described as a "dance" track (and what a fucking dance track it is too ). I get so frustrated when people dismiss the album offhand as being "dance" or "electronic" or "experimental" when it really, really isn't. I can't understand how AB or Zooropa or loved, but Pop isn't. It's not a big left turn from either of those albums.

Pop was the first U2 album that I counted down the days until it was released. I wanted to love it but I just didn't connect.

As far as "unfinished", yes the band made comments and I don't always agree with them but in this case I did.

Here are two pain points for me:

IGWSHA- when I heard it I liked it but didn't love it. My first impression was it was too quiet and you couldn't really hear Bono in the bridge at the very end. Then they release the single and fixed that....I wish the single was on the album

Please- the album cut was very meh for me. Yes the lyrics were very good but the melody wasn't grabbing me. Then the strings single was released and it was awesome...again, wish it were on the album. I also think they released an edited single that sounded "sharper" than the album cut that I liked

For the record, they did the same thing with ABOY in that the single was a better cut than the album....IMO


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I don't like the single version of Please. It gives the song a gravitas that it really doesn't need. The album version is so dark and moody and when you add the strings it gives it this incongruous lightness.

If SLABT was on the back half of Zooropa we would be lauding it today as genius. It almost has a zoo-esque vibe.


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it reminds me of Numb. I think it's the second best track from SoI. I like it quite a lot.

I take your point about it being their last big artistic risk, but I still see it as one that's execution didn't fully work. It's very fascinating album, but perhaps their most flawed besides Rattle and Hum (excellent singles, but the album on a whole is a huge bloated mess). To me, the core problems are overproduction and the general "half baked" feel of many songs. The big case-in-point to me is comparing the studio vs. live versions of Staring at the Sun. The album version sounds like MOR alt rock whose melody gets buried in the production, but the acoustic version on the Please single is beautiful.

While ATYCLB is certainly "safer," I think it's songs are better and I think it's conceptual thread of uplift is quite powerful.

Where is the overproduction? (And how can you complain about "overproduction" on Pop when their last three albums have almost had the life produced out of them?) I don't find any of the tracks "half-baked" either.

I'm not going to argue about ATYCLB, I love that album very much, as my rankings show.

 

[LemonMelon]

The overproduction on Pop actually adds up to something. It's stuffed to the gills with bells, whistles and overdubs and instead of turning into a slick, grey expanse like ATYCLB or SOI, Pop is actually fun to listen to. Anyone listen to that one lately with some good headphones? You can hear every penny at work. Mofo is insane.

ATYCLB, HTDAAB and SOI are comparatively dull. Shined to a fine polish but nothing stands out instrumentally (SLABT is a notable exception). ATYCLB should be much warmer and more organic than it is. You should be able to hear the creak of strings, studio asides, anything to make it feel like a band performing together. As it so happens, you can on Pop (IYWTVD, WUDM, intro of IGWSHA) and a whole lot more.

 

[BVS]

I'm just being deliberately belligerent, you should recognise that of all people

No, I've never been so hard up to personally attack someone that I bring them into a conversation they were not even remotely connected to or repeatedly used an opinion that's not theirs.


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[gvox]

People who dismiss Pop because it leans towards dance music are showing a complete and total ignorance of any music that doesn't bear the name U2. Mofo is pretty much the only song on the album that could be described as a "dance" track (and what a fucking dance track it is too ). I get so frustrated when people dismiss the album offhand as being "dance" or "electronic" or "experimental" when it really, really isn't.

Um, I would hate to point out the irony in your first sentence there. You may be mixing up "what I consider to be danceable" with "generally and fairly obviously influenced by music that played in dance clubs circa 1989-1997", and they aren't one and the same necessarily. I mean, you personally have only in recent years even come into an understanding of that era of music..and at best it's been in a historical sense. Those of us who actually were around in the clubs back then recognize the influences all over Pop, beyond just Mofo. Plenty of them.

 

[CosmoKramer]

Um, I would hate to point out the irony in your first sentence there. You may be mixing up "what I consider to be danceable" with "generally and fairly obviously influenced by music that played in dance clubs circa 1989-1997", and they aren't one and the same necessarily. I mean, you personally have only in recent years even come into an understanding of that era of music..and at best it's been in a historical sense. Those of us who actually were around in the clubs back then recognize the influences all over Pop, beyond just Mofo. Plenty of them.

Well said(old man).


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[cobl04]

Um, I would hate to point out the irony in your first sentence there. You may be mixing up "what I consider to be danceable" with "generally and fairly obviously influenced by music that played in dance clubs circa 1989-1997", and they aren't one and the same necessarily. I mean, you personally have only in recent years even come into an understanding of that era of music..and at best it's been in a historical sense. Those of us who actually were around in the clubs back then recognize the influences all over Pop, beyond just Mofo. Plenty of them.

I'm not stupid man. No need for for the condescension. I know it was absolutely influenced by a whole heap of dance music that was around at the time. What I'm saying (and we're probably on the same side) is that people dismiss Pop offhand saying things like it's their "dance" or "electronic" album when in reality that's a massive oversimplification. I can hear the influences on other tracks as well, but Mofo is the only one that fits their narrow definition when they dismiss the album offhand. There's a lot going on. Agree with LM and actually it's my favourite headphones U2 album because pretty much every time I pick up on a little noise or effect I hadn't heard before.

 

[BVS]

I'm not stupid man. No need for for the condescension. I know it was absolutely influenced by a whole heap of dance music that was around at the time. What I'm saying (and we're probably on the same side) is that people dismiss Pop offhand saying things like it's their "dance" or "electronic" album when in reality that's a massive oversimplification. I can hear the influences on other tracks as well, but Mofo is the only one that fits their narrow definition when they dismiss the album offhand. There's a lot going on. Agree with LM and actually it's my favourite headphones U2 album because pretty much every time I pick up on a little noise or effect I hadn't heard before.

Well I think there's more than Mofo; Miami, Disco, and DYFL are obvious standouts as being a product of the times.

I agree with you though, the dismissal based on that makes no sense.

It does have its issues though, it would rank higher for me if it were more consistent and had better lyrics in certain areas.


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[gvox]

I'm not stupid man. No need for for the condescension. I know it was absolutely influenced by a whole heap of dance music that was around at the time. What I'm saying (and we're probably on the same side) is that people dismiss Pop offhand saying things like it's their "dance" or "electronic" album when in reality that's a massive oversimplification. I can hear the influences on other tracks as well, but Mofo is the only one that fits their narrow definition when they dismiss the album offhand. There's a lot going on. Agree with LM and actually it's my favourite headphones U2 album because pretty much every time I pick up on a little noise or effect I hadn't heard before.

Wasn't trying to be condescending or imply that you were stupid, although I may have failed in that regard. I get what you are saying better now. Sorry if I misread.


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[cobl04]

All good man!!


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[elevated_u2_fan]

It does have its issues though, it would rank higher for me if it were more consistent and had better lyrics in certain areas.

I'm curious as to what lyrics you are referring to, I've always considered it one of Bono's better albums lyrically...

I guess the insect in the ear line in STATS isn't a high point but what else can you give as examples?

This is mostly my curiosity at this point.

 

[Mack_Again]

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wait you don't send your stuff from your ass crack anymore, Gabe?

 

[BVS]

I'm curious as to what lyrics you are referring to, I've always considered it one of Bono's better albums lyrically...



I guess the insect in the ear line in STATS isn't a high point but what else can you give as examples?



This is mostly my curiosity at this point.

The first half of PM has bothered me since the first listen.

Miami

SATS - referee won't blow his whistle, etc.

Mofo - the lemonade line has always perplexed me.

WUDM - has some of his best and worst next to each other in the same song.




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[gvox]

wait you don't send your stuff from your ass crack anymore, Gabe?

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[CosmoKramer]

The first half of PM has bothered me since the first listen.

Miami

SATS - referee won't blow his whistle, etc.

Mofo - the lemonade line has always perplexed me.

WUDM - has some of his best and worst next to each other in the same song.




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IGWSHA- "blonde/blind" and of course the "stuff of of country songs"

SATS- "Stuck together with Gods glue, it's gonna get stickier too"

WUDM- "Your Father
He made the world in seven
He's in charge of Heaven"

The thee songs mention above are filled with examples.

I don't mind Pop, I just find it odd when people state it is one of U2s best lyrical albums(usually in the context of shitting on millennial U2).


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[LemonMelon]

It is though. And I certainly would take frank, interesting lyricism with a couple of clunkers instead of the overwrought, straightforward autobiography he's been giving us lately. As is the case with most everything about SOI, there aren't many egregious moments lyrically, but truly great ones are in short supply.

As an aside, I've never found "the stuff of country songs" to be a terrible or nonsensical line. Country music storytelling is often criticized for falling back on depressing, melodramatic narratives. If anything, the problem is that the line distills such challenging circumstances down to an offhand joke.

 

[bobsaget77]

It is though. And I certainly would take frank, interesting lyricism with a couple of clunkers instead of the overwrought, straightforward autobiography he's been giving us lately. As is the case with most everything about SOI, there aren't many egregious moments lyrically, but truly great ones are in short supply.

As an aside, I've never found "the stuff of country songs" to be a terrible or nonsensical line. Country music storytelling is often criticized for falling back on depressing, melodramatic narratives. If anything, the problem is that the line distills such challenging circumstances down to an offhand joke.

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[BarefootDancer]

It is though. And I certainly would take frank, interesting lyricism with a couple of clunkers instead of the overwrought, straightforward autobiography he's been giving us lately. As is the case with most everything about SOI, there aren't many egregious moments lyrically, but truly great ones are in short supply.

Thanks for the plea for more introspection over plain storytelling LM. Totally agree. Enough subjects I can think of he can muse about at age 55.

And... can we also ask for a different album title? Songs of Innocence, I can live with, but an album titled Songs of Experience definitely proves they're not understanding what's needed to be relevant nowadays.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Mofo - the lemonade line has always perplexed me.

I love that line, it has a playfulness to it that appeals to me.

WUDM- "Your Father
He made the world in seven
He's in charge of Heaven"

Its a clever rhyme about God, what's not to like?

 

[BVS]

And... can we also ask for a different album title? Songs of Innocence, I can live with, but an album titled Songs of Experience definitely proves they're not understanding what's needed to be relevant nowadays.

Album titles don't mean a thing, do you really think Joshua Tree sounded like a relevant title back then? And I remember people cringing when they heard the title Achtung Baby.

Plus I like the idea of U2 sticking to a theme.


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[MrPryck2U]

Album titles don't mean a thing, do you really think Joshua Tree sounded like a relevant title back then? And I remember people cringing when they heard the title Achtung Baby.

Plus I like the idea of U2 sticking to a theme.

Well, if the music is good enough, then, yes, an album title doesn't really matter. It's nice to have a theme/concept, though, as opposed to just a collection of songs. But, if the collection of songs are great then who cares?

 

[BarefootDancer]

I love those titles actually.

But come on, Songs of Experience???

 

[bobsaget77]

I love those titles actually.

But come on, Songs of Experience???

It would be more ridiculous if they didn't release an album called "Songs Of Experience" considering the connection to William Blake.


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[BarefootDancer]

It would be more ridiculous if they didn't release an album called "Songs Of Experience" considering the connection to William Blake.

Explain! Why is that important?