Shuttlecock XIX - send $40 now for your opportunity to not get a presale code

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I just watched the video and the person filming kept covering the mic on the phone with their hand or something. It sounded good but then every few seconds the volume would drop.

Larry needs to dial back that energy though.

Must have been Amp

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

First listen, I liked it a lot. Was hit pretty hard by the opening track as it genuinely felt like something I'd never heard from the band before. I was caught in the atmosphere of it. The computerized backing vocals, the piano chords. And then Bono's auto tune! Haha. Wow. I'm into this one.

Other standouts for me were: Lights of Home (the sisters HAIM!)
Summer of Love (great ear-catching guitar riff from Edge)
Red Flag Day (I hear the Rihanna influence here big time on the chorus)
The Little Things (the entire closing section of the song is thrilling)
Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way (I connect with the uplifting theme of this one. Definitely one of my favorites.)

There are a couple tracks that seemed a bit stupid on first listen. American Soul and The Showman.

Overall I'm happy. More on this situation as it develops.

 

[DaveC]

that’s basically the COBL guitar but without the riff.

definitely sounds like a less structured version of the COBL riff. someone in here said it sounded like he was playing wire at double speed poorly. that's a grievous insult to wire and sounds nothing like it. i do kinda like that part though. i listened closely to joshua tree today to rate it for the survey and the very first few seconds of still haven't found reminded me somewhat of that verse part tbh.

 

[david]

The opening and closing tracks are interesting bookends to the songs in between.

 

[iron yuppie]

Friggin' Bono. No matter how much of a cornball he becomes - and he is a huge cornball at this point - you can't help but root for him.

 

[iron yuppie]

Drunk rankings!

1. War (A)
2. Unforgettable Fire (A)
3. Achtung Baby (A)
4. Pop (A-)
5. Boy (A-)
6. Joshua Tree (B+)
7. Zooropa (B+)
8. October (B+)
9. Rattle & Hum (B)
10. All That You Can't... (B)
11. Songs of Innocence (B)
12. Songs of Experience (B)
13. Bomb (C)
14. No Line (who cares)

 

[the tourist]

Sober rankings:

1. The Joshua Tree (A)
2. The Unforgettable Fire (A)
3. Boy (A)
4. Achtung Baby (A)
5. War (A-)
6. Zooropa (B+)
7. Songs Of Innocence (B+)
[Songs Of Experience (B+)]
8. October (B)
9. Pop (B-)
10. Rattle & Hum (B-)*
11. No Line On The Horizon (C+)
12. All That You Can’t Leave Behind (C+)
13. How The Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (C-)

*Rattle & Hum would be above Zooropa if it were 10-11 studio tracks on one disc and 10-11 live tracks in a second disc.

 

[Kieran McConville]

The Joshua Tree A+
Achtung Baby A+
Zooropa A+
The Unforgettable Fire A
Rattle & Hum B
War B+
Boy B+
October B-
Pop B
Passengers A/A-
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb D-
All That You Can't Leave Behind B-
No Line On The Horizon B-
Songs Of Innocence C

 

[david]

I just gave this album a headphone listen in bed, in the dark. I let myself just take the album in without any distraction. There’s so much going on with the production. It’s just phenomenal.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

After listen #1, Red Flag Day still perches up top on my list.

 

[patternshirt170]

Growing up in really, really early 80s Scotland, you had a core of bands cut from a similar cloth you liked and listened to and spent your very little money on; Simple Minds, Big Country and yes - of course - U2. For most of us that was (almost) the "order" and you could also add The Waterboys as well or The Alarm and a few other similar acts at the time (The Silencers, The Blue Nile) who had a similar style or were from the same management stable or just had a musical and personal bond and a kinship. "Great times in commotion...."

I saw it mentioned a lot on the gone but not f*rgott*n @u2 forums "we're here because we LOVE U2!" No , I was "there" (well I read it!) and also here because I like the music and like to read the opinions, I profess no love for any band, certainly no blind loyalty during any pereceived fallow times, so when the band misfires for me, I'll call it but will try and find some light, some diamond in rough. But, millennial U2 has misfired a lot alas and while the 2000 and 2004 albums (oh for some short album titles guys?) sounded pretty great at the time, I felt they wore out that short term welcome quickly and I rarely listen to either record as complete experiences anymore and with No Line on The Horizon I had to make a hybrid playlist to not sit through the inane Boots and Comedy, albeit I have no such animosity towards Crazee 2nite or the "Move To Trash!" song. No Line does have some great moments that I return to a lot, Moment Of Surrender, Fez/Born, White As Snow, Cedars, the title song as well as Winter and Soon from the same period. Likewise, with Innocence, again it falls flat with most of the opening salvo, the clunker that is Miracle, the Tedder neutered version of Breaking Wave and well... most of what would have been 'Side One' in days of yore, however the amazing run between Wolves through to Troubles? this is as good as any of the pre 2000s records. Great in fact. The Apple gimmick was a kind of hamfisted attempt to channel what NIN had done miles better with The Slip and Ghosts four years prior and also tapped into the Radiohead idea as well. The finger touching moment though... eugh...

Now to Songs of Experience. Ach. Buggerations. Too many songs to begin with including the deluxey thing. In the past, U2 generally seemed to know 10-11 was usually 'it' aka - Enough. The remixes of songs from 2013 and 2016 are really unwelcome but you can easily move them aside as extras. Unlike SOI, for me there is no such "Side Two run", on Experience, there is just frustrating mediocrity in places and some really bad wordplay almost running as a vein throughout with only the rather wonderful studio version of Little Things as an instant 'oh yes!' moment - ie. what Sleep and MOS were on the previous two records. The opener is a kinda odd sorta TUF moment in it's brevity and musical backing, like that album opening with 4th July, MLK or Promenade instead of Homecoming, but the songs post Lights Of Home, which I also rather like and pre Little Things are either just really poor (the instan grat "singles" run) or I can find no real "wow hit the replay now" reasons (Landlady, Showman, Summer), aside from Red Flag Day. That one's slightly old skool in it's vibe, even the title and the Edge (?) backing vox hark back to simpler times and it is a decent song on first listen which always harbours some good, but my god, nothing leaps out like Little Things. Onwards - Love Is Bigger? yeah the derided whoahs really irk a bit frankly, think I need a few more rounds with it same with the Book of Your Heart bonus. However I do find13 less offensive than it's sugary "source material" from 2014, it has some cool atmospherics and I assume 13 is a Tedder free moment? you know, what with atmospherics and cool being used to describe it, well I could be wrong better check the pdf later for the dreaded credits.

The instant grat "singles" to date have been amongst the most disappointing music U2's released in my years listening to them, I mean I'd lived with the bones of Best Thing for a year as a recognisable non beach clip song and I didn't think it was much good in 2016, therefore felt it impossible for them to be able to transform it into a coherent verse n' chorus song as opposed to the sort of Frankenstein's monster it is with said verse and chorus at such odds, only it's last 30secs does some greatness come forth. 'Own Way is an Invisible, B-Day hybrid, sorry it is, I mean it's not offensive but I just find it a lazy offering given what the band can STILL do clearly when it suits them. And... American Soul.. just no, tis the SUC of this record by a mile and nae pun on the acronym of course as per usual The Blackout? yes, okay, I find some of the lyrics a tad eyerolling, but the vibe (rhythm section especially) channels Hella Good by No Doubt which is no bad thing.

Again.... Simple Minds & U2 (and later on R.E.M. too) were my core day one purchase go-to acts for most of the last 30+ years of my life and while the former and latter (imo) never delivered a new album that needed serious playlist surgery from the start during their millennial eras, (the Minds got that out of their system between 1991 and 1998) U2 have yet to deliver a simple 10 song set that I can enjoy all the way through, something as wonderful as Elbow's Little Fictions or Weller's Kind Revolution (both this year, both 10 song records) or and as far as longstanding acts releasing new music in the last few years the last few records by artists ie. Bowie's final quartet of releases, Embryonic and The Terror by The Flaming Lips and the aforementioned post 2004 albums by Paul Weller and lastly the recent NIN/Reznor/Ross releases.

Bono? ach, come on man, just gie us an album, one with no sequence that make you tear the album flow up from the second listen, shoehorn alternate mixes or demo versions into place or remove songs completely, casting them kicking and screaming into that dark empty and frightening zero play category in your iTunes, the 2-3 star song Mordor. Opinion aside and that's all it is, I won't rain on the parades of those who like the album and I do remain invested in this band through the - subjective - rough patches and like many slightly let down by this record, I'll post on and read the site but am really frustrated and saddened at this (I hope temporary, but I fear it's not) phase of U2... For me, the record is just a very average album from a very good to great band who have been in my world since (yes) that October of 1981. A band great much of that time, these 36 years, but this record just isn't one of those 'times' by a long shot... but ach, it also shows still that they can be great, but why is it in such frustrating brief moments....

5/10 alas = yes perhaps a good/great EP.

(edit) 2017 Rankings I guess....

01. The Unforgettable Fire
02. Achtung Baby
03. Boy
04. The Joshua Tree
05. War
06. Zooropa
07. October
08. Pop
09. Rattle & Hum
10. Passengers (I know, I know...)
11. No Line On The Horizon
12. All That You Can’t Leave Behind
13. Songs Of Innocence
14. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
15. Songs Of Experience

 

[Hewson]

Gave it my first listen on the way home from work today. A few things stood out, but mostly I came away with a feeling of indifference to it.

But I’m gonna give it a few more spins to see how/if it fleshes itself out.

Songs of Indifference!

Kind of describes my feeling as well. Gave it a second listen on the ride home, not much change, had it a little louder than at the office a couple songs sounded a bit better, but still far too adult contemporary-esque on the whole for my taste.
But there are some songs that should be good live, and I stand by my assertion that Book of Your Heart should be on the album proper. Edge actually can be heard in the song (though he's not breaking new ground) and Bono's vocal delivery is perhaps the most passionate of all the new songs.
Put that in at track 12 and end it (just dump Love is Bigger and 13 into the trash bin) , and its a much better album even with the poppy stuff in there.

 

[BoMac]

From a review in The Atlantic:

The RefuJesus line clearly shows the band is okay with being laughed at. So does, say, Bono lovingly referring to his wife as a “landlady” who “takes me up in the air.” U2 has, for more than 30 years, been pop’s savviest provider of can-do uplift, but Songs of Experience reaches a new level: reckless cheer.

and

The Irish originals meanwhile put at the front of their songs the happy lessons that usually come at the end of sitcom episodes. Just read the titles: “Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way,” “You’re the Best Thing About Me,” “Get Out of Your Own Way.”

 

[iron yuppie]

The placement of the Blackout in the running order is baffling. More generally it doesn't fit the vibe of the album at all IMO. Should have been a standalone single or something.

 

[corianderstem]

Had brunch with a local U2 pal. Was fun to talk about the album in person.

 

[Axver]

The placement of the Blackout in the running order is baffling. More generally it doesn't fit the vibe of the album at all IMO. Should have been a standalone single or something.

It definitely sticks out. After American Soul might be the appropriate placement. But then U2 have rarely been terribly good at tracklisting.

And patternshirt I enjoyed your thoughts.

 

[kiwilad]

But then U2 have rarely been terribly good at tracklisting.

True. Though Achtung I wouldn't alter. Nor Boy.
Unforgettable Fire could've benefitted from something sprightly down the bottom, like Exit did for Joshua Tree. But that's a pretty well ordered album.

 

[Axver]

True. Though Achtung I wouldn't alter. Nor Boy.
Unforgettable Fire could've benefitted from something sprightly down the bottom, like Exit did for Joshua Tree. But that's a pretty well ordered album.

Achtung is rather easy to alter and improve, if you ask me. Even if my opinion on that album isn't given credibility around here.

The one improvement Boy can have is adding 11OTT, but the studio version's shortcomings make it a difficult fit. I also usually relocate The Ocean.

Using some b-sides you can make UF far and away the best Thing the band have ever done.

 

[dan_smee]

Achtung is rather easy to alter and improve, if you ask me. Even if my opinion on that album isn't given credibility around here.

The one improvement Boy can have is adding 11OTT, but the studio version's shortcomings make it a difficult fit. I also usually relocate The Ocean.

Using some b-sides you can make UF far and away the best Thing the band have ever done.

Agree re TUF - and that is also why it is no longer my favourite album of theirs. it feels tight and focussed, but also like it's missing some of those incredible leftovers.

Boy is great, I just wish there was an album of other early days songs recorded in the quality Boy is recorded in:

The Fool
Street Mission
The Magic Carpet
The Dream is Over
False Prophet
11 O'Clock
Speed of Life
Saturday Night
Boy-Girl
Pete the Chop
Alone in the Light
Tonight

 

[U2DMfan]

First listen, I liked it a lot. Was hit pretty hard by the opening track as it genuinely felt like something I'd never heard from the band before. I was caught in the atmosphere of it. The computerized backing vocals, the piano chords. And then Bono's auto tune! Haha. Wow. I'm into this one.

Other standouts for me were: Lights of Home (the sisters HAIM!)

Not auto-tune. It's a vocoder.

P.S.
Danielle Haim...so hot.

 

[namkcuR]

Hey guys, I just discovered something appalling. Passengers is not on Spotify. I shouldn't be surprised, I guess.

 

[BoMac]

Give me an album in the vein of Love is All We Have Left and I’ll be a very, very happy fan.

 

[bono_man2002]

It is in Australia. It’s part of the live nation deal, so they will never have to tour here until it’s removed from Spotify.

 

[Diemen]

Someone up thread mentioned the transition from Love Is All We Have Left to Lights of Home being a bit jarring, and someone else mentioned that the string version of lights works much better for that transition. I swapped the two today and completely concur. The album cut may be punchier, but the strings version works so much better in terms of transition from the opening track into the rest of the album.

 

[namkcuR]

Someone up thread mentioned the transition from Love Is All We Have Left to Lights of Home being a bit jarring, and someone else mentioned that the string version of lights works much better for that transition. I swapped the two today and completely concur. The album cut may be punchier, but the strings version works so much better in terms of transition from the opening track into the rest of the album.

That was me(who said the strings version works better). It's pretty much the only version of Lights I've been listening to. Glad you tried it!

P.S. If anyone's on the U.S. East Coast, the band will be live on SNL in about 15 minutes(again in about 45 minutes, probably).

 

[namkcuR]

They're playing American Soul for the first slot. Totally thought it would be Best Thing or Get Out.

 

[mikal]

They're playing American Soul for the first slot. Totally thought it would be Best Thing or Get Out.

Me too. Not a huge fan of the song but the live version is fun so far. How awesome would it be if they bring out Love Is Bigger for the 2nd slot.

 

[namkcuR]

Me too. Not a huge fan of the song but the live version is fun so far. How awesome would it be if they bring out Love Is Bigger for the 2nd slot.

I kind of hope beyond hope they're brave enough to do Little Things in the second slot.

 

[Joey788]

Thoughts on the record soon, but I just saw the SNL performance of “American Soul.” That was pretty terrible. Bono uses a megaphone half the time and over-emphasizes the “refujesus” line even more than he does on the record.

 

[Axver]

Thoughts on the record soon, but I just saw the SNL performance of “American Soul.” That was pretty terrible. Bono uses a megaphone half the time and over-emphasizes the “refujesus” line even more than he does on the record.

I very much want this not to be true. Bloody hell Bono. It's like going out of their way to make people think U2 are a joke.