This is the album that should have been out in 97, it fits perfectly between Achtung baby\Zooropa and ATYCLB.
Yeah. I think that you nailed it. It's pretty hard hitting like U2 was back in the early 90s, but also a bit more experimental like they were by the end of the 90s. At the same time, there's no way that this album could have come out back then. It's got this dark, introspective maturity that they didn't yet have (in full) 17 years ago. The funny thing here is that, just like the 2000s U2 tried to erase the 90s, it would seem that the 2010s U2 is trying to erase the 2000s one. It seems, almost to be a return to rough rockin' 90s form, which is a bit odd for guys now in their mid-50s.
david said:
They're kind of Benjamin Buttoning this part of their career. Given the production and effort put forth by the band for the last 4 albums you'd think Songs of Innocence should have came out in 2000, Bomb and NLOTH are fine, but All That You Can't Leave Behind sounds more like a swan song album by a band calling it a day.
Because it might well have been. Remember that whole thing about them "re-applying for the job" back in 2001? I don't think that it was a joke or even a catchphrase. I think that, given the (relative) commercial flopping of POP, they thought that their time might have been up.
With the landscape of music changing, they wondered if they still had a place in it. "The last of the rock stars, when hip hop drove the big cars" kinda says it all. They weren't all about that hip-hop/rock fusion of nu-metal or the angsty emo whining of the indie performers. They were four guys, no gimmicks, and just good writing. True rock wasn't dead by any stretch of the imagination, but ATYCLB was a kick to the nuts that rock needed in 2001.
Mr. Happy said:
I'm quite disappointed to say this is my opinion too. I think it's very bland and forgettable
I'm of the opposite opinion. The songs aren't as immediately catchy in that jingle sort of way, but there's a definite radio friendly quality to it. It's like U2 said, "You want more guitars? BAM! Here are your f***ing guitars." In a sense, it's a very competitive album with an edge, no pun intended. I think that its consistency alone will make it much more memorable in the long run.
I will say this though. For much of the 2000s, U2 spent its time trying to be everything to everybody. They tried so hard to please everybody that I don't think that they pleased anybody, at least not totally. They produced a lot of great music on the last 3 albums, but only ATYCLB was in any way consistent.
U2 seems to have returned to form in at least one significant way. They're polarizing their audience again. Instead of trying to please everybody, they're back to playing to a specific audience. It's like how there was always a crowd who couldn't be fans of 80s U2 because they were hardcore 90s U2 fans - or vice versa. 2014 U2 has its own sound and voice too. I
guarantee you that there will eventually be fans of the 2010s U2 that might loath one of the other sonically different U2 eras.
You're lukewarm to SoI. That's fine. I suppose they can't please everybody. To me, that's a really great thing. I got a little tired of the U2 that was practically on the campaign trail. They so desperately wanted to "re-apply" for the job. Fine. They got it. Now they can stop kissing babies and get back to playing to one end of the aisle, so to speak. Trying to please everybody, they almost ended up losing a unique voice. This new one might not speak to everybody, but that might not be such a bad thing either.
