I like the idea of three chapters, as Dana (and I think Utoo in an earlier thread too) said: first 4 songs-middle 3 song break-last 4 songs. I view the "pop trio" as a natural break (see Trip and God's country on JT after that awesome opening 5 or so songs).
NLOTH is very much listenable as a piece of work. I said before Crazy may not *fit*, but I like how it stretches all the sounds they adopt on the album; like Edge said "all the lightbulb moments" from the past. What I would have done is put Breathe on #5 slot; it's a better song and the lyrics would fit in better after the lyrics on Unknown caller.
It seems U2 was always torn between the Morocco "one take songs" and the rest that went through the usual cycles of reworking so in the end they did a "best of" mix of both worlds (Daylight and Darkess EP mention from Bono, "record of two halves" first mention from Edge). Presumably Boots-SUC-Crazy is all that got left from the "non Morocco" material.
I'm not saying there is anything to "get"So basically, they could have put any song in the #5 slot and you'd find some way to defend it. If it were something as deep as 1-4, you'd argue for the consistency. But this way you can say "the contrast is part of the journey". You can't lose. This is a load of crap to me.
I am not one of those people who gets off on bashing the albums this decade. There isn't one song on any of these last three albums that I dislike--I would rather have seen some of them as b-sides, but there isn't ANYTHING I skip over. Yet the way people bend over backwards to defend every artistic decision the band makes is really quite sad. If we can't see what they're up to, then we just don't "get it".
You say that the people who have issues with the lack of cohesion "will never enjoy this album fully". I could say the same thing about sycophants who are so blind to anything resembling a misstep; if you can never recognize something that doesn't work, you'll never understand the value of a true masterpiece.
I'm not saying there is anything to "get"
what I'm saying is that it seems a logical step to me to go from MOS/UC to Crazy tonight because otherwise it would get too much
and that people who don't like it now because of it being a break from what went on before won't ever like it
I can't say I would really care if no one except for me would like it, so I'm not particularly bothered
I like your insinuation (well, I guess you weren't merely insinuating so that might not be the right choice of words) that I would right every wrong that U2 does being the blind sheep that I am, but to be honest I don't think that's true at all
I honestly just don't get how people could experience song 5-7 as a complete sidestep from the rest of the album
personally I think that Stand up Comedy might just be a tad too much, but then again I do like the song and I guess the only other option had been a 10 track album
in the end it's just that for me personally pondering how hypothetically written songs could hypothetically improve the album if they had hypothetically been recorded doesn't sound like a formula to enjoy an album
What I would have done is put Breathe on #5 slot; it's a better song and the lyrics would fit in better after the lyrics on Unknown caller.
in the end it's just that for me personally pondering how hypothetically written songs could hypothetically improve the album if they had hypothetically been recorded doesn't sound like a formula to enjoy an album
I've thought about this before, but then where is your big barnburner epic as the penultimate track? The band always seems to have one of these (Original of the Species not being a huge rocker but still intended to be epic), and there's really nothing to take its place, unless you put Winter in there. Which I know you won't agree with, but it would be pretty perfect to open the album with the personal, soul-searching stuff, and close with three war-themed songs in White As Snow, Winter, and Cedars of Lebanon.
Well, how about a 10 album song ? I would like - I didn't try listening to it that way yet - the ending of Fez/WAS/Cedars.
I quite like that ending. I don't need the break in between WAS/Cedars. The quiet double is fine by me, but I understand it perhaps needing a break for the wider audience. Breathe is just a little too sharp for me. I think Exit/Acrobat/Dirty Day are mood keepers, despite being rockers. I don't think New York matters as much because ATYCLB is more along that collection-of-songs vibe.
Personally, I like Breathe after SUC. It brings on a bit of a storm again after the three superficial 'fun' songs. Go from that into a finished/slightly different Winter, one that still starts very U2-ey but finishes very Eno-ey, which brings you back down to the darker side of the album. Then Fez/WAS/Cedars to close it off. Not so jumpy, a more organic ride, IMO.
I quite like that ending. I don't need the break in between WAS/Cedars. The quiet double is fine by me, but I understand it perhaps needing a break for the wider audience. Breathe is just a little too sharp for me. I think Exit/Acrobat/Dirty Day are mood keepers, despite being rockers. I don't think New York matters as much because ATYCLB is more along that collection-of-songs vibe.
Personally, I like Breathe after SUC. It brings on a bit of a storm again after the three superficial 'fun' songs. Go from that into a finished/slightly different Winter, one that still starts very U2-ey but finishes very Eno-ey, which brings you back down to the darker side of the album. Then Fez/WAS/Cedars to close it off. Not so jumpy, a more organic ride, IMO.
I think tracks 5-7 are getting a bum rap as being shallow lightweight songs. These three tracks carry some very good advice for activists and social justice workers. I think of them as spiritual health for social justice work songs. Activists and social justice workers have horribly high burn out rates. The lyrics for these songs contain some very insightful tips on maintaining yourself through this type of work. Part of that advice is that you have to remember to have fun "go crazy tonight". "It's not a hill, it's a mountain" is all about recognizing that it is a very long hard fight and the progress will be slow and tedious with setbacks along the way. "We're gonna make it all the way to the light" is showing the confidence that the work will succeed. "Listen to me I'll be shouting" is Bono's commitment to keeping up the fight. But you can't be serious and carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders all the time or you end up looking like the guys on the cover of JT. You have to take time out for yourself to have fun and go crazy or you'll really go crazy trying to do this kind of work. Pretty serious for a supposedly fluffy pop song.
The journey on this album is not just an emotional journey but a spiritual one. It is a chronicle of spiritual growth. The first 4 tracks deal with personal epiphanies of faith. They are all in some way or another about moments of surrender. 5-7 are about the work that you are led to do and the final tracks are about living your faith.
Clearly you have to be an activist or social justice worker to truly appreciate this album.
I need to go rethink my life.
it is the band most spiritual album since October
it seems hard to deny this, if not impossible