This should have been the album after Pop

[icebergy]

I think that this fits in much better after Pop than after HTDAAB It has many of the sounds from Pop but the atmosphere of the early ones and should have been the band reclaiming their top spot after the Pop "failure"

 

[last unicorn]

I deeply, truly believe that all of U2's albums had to be made and they had to be made in the right order. NLOTH is a work of a band with a lot of life experience. It makes total sense to me that it is the album they released now. ATYCLB and HTDAAB were right at their time. I think all of them have their rightful place in U2's evolution as a band.

 

[Zoots]

I think that this fits in much better after Pop than after HTDAAB It has many of the sounds from Pop but the atmosphere of the early ones and should have been the band reclaiming their top spot after the Pop "failure"

I think this is an interesting point you raise. I'm listening to Pop right now after ages and songs like ...Velvet Dress, Please and Wake Up Dead Man really feel like they would sound great right next to Cedars, White As Snow, Fez and MOS. Now, Peace On Earth would also probably fit well on this.. set of songs but the rest of ATYCLB (and all of Bomb) sounds like a diversion to me.

I don't know if I want to go so far as to say that NLOTH should have been the natural progression after Pop, because after all you have your Crazy Tonights, Boots and SUCs which would probably fit better on Bomb. But I was still startled at how much Velvet Dress reminded me of the mood on Cedars.

 

[Niceman]

I think that 2000-2008 was an era in U2's history. It's over now. NLOTH was the start of the next one.

 

[digitize]

I deeply, truly believe that all of U2's albums had to be made and they had to be made in the right order. NLOTH is a work of a band with a lot of life experience. It makes total sense to me that it is the album they released now. ATYCLB and HTDAAB were right at their time. I think all of them have their rightful place in U2's evolution as a band.

I agree with this, in general, although I would have been happier if the transition from Pop to NLOTH had been only one album, and that album would have been a thematic and musical combination of ATYCLB, some non-album songs (especially ES and TGBHF), and maybe COBL. Then SOA could have rounded out the 2000s album trio.

 

[mikal]

i think the real question here is:

would NLOTH have happened if it weren't for ATYCLB, HTDAAB, and the failed Rubin experiment?

 

[digitize]

i think the real question here is:

would NLOTH have happened if it weren't for ATYCLB, HTDAAB, and the failed Rubin experiment?

I'm just thanking God that the failed Rubin experiment did indeed fail. I really would not want to hear a Rubin experiment that 2006-era U2 thought didn't fail.

 

[mikal]

yeah, after i heard "All My Life", i was was very concerned.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I think the Rubin stuff would have been somewhere between ATYCLB and HTDAAB. A more consistent sound and slick production that would make it more ATYCLB than HTDAAB, (while still REALLY! FUCKING! LOUD!), but with that HTDAAB super bombastic, trying really, really way too hard to please (hook-crazy, stadium anthem crazy etc) stuff turned up maybe even further. Loud, dumbed down, super commercial.

NLOTH is definitely a hybrid album, which is why it feels like it would fit at the start of the 00s as well. It mixes the 00s bash-you-over-the-head approach, and their previous more subtle approach. It’s not really about sound or experimentation, more a return of little things like attention to detail, the lyrics, music aimed at a mood instead of a moment etc. I guess we all just keep our fingers crossed and hope the evolution is heading towards that dream ‘alternate reality’ post-Pop album that we’ve had hints of over the years since.

 

[yenlard]

all my life had potential. i could hear that chorus filling up stadiums and arenas. it had a great edge solo. dont know much about the lyrics because they were hard to hear clearly. certainly you could make a case for it being better than boots.

 

[joerags]

I deeply, truly believe that all of U2's albums had to be made and they had to be made in the right order. NLOTH is a work of a band with a lot of life experience. It makes total sense to me that it is the album they released now. ATYCLB and HTDAAB were right at their time. I think all of them have their rightful place in U2's evolution as a band.

 

[mikal]

all my life had potential. i could hear that chorus filling up stadiums and arenas. it had a great edge solo. dont know much about the lyrics because they were hard to hear clearly. certainly you could make a case for it being better than boots.

maybe if you wanted a Bon Jovi album.

 

[65980]

Well, I take issue with a few points that have been made here:

-- I disagree that NLOTH is anything like Pop, or in any way a logical progression from it. First of all, Pop is clearly inspired by dance music, whereas NLOTH just as clearly isn't (okay maybe "Magnificent" at a stretch). Also Pop, is dark lyrically, whereas NLOTH is another "Let's all believe things will get better" kind of lyrical approach.

-- There are a lot of us (including me) who think that ALYCLB and HTDAAB are both better than either of Pop or NLOTH. I might argue that Pop's songs are as good as either of those records, but the execution of the record is the worst. Which brings to the next point...

-- Pop is clearly a more song-based album, whereas NLOTH is more an 'ideas' album. So, again, I don't much of a thread between them.

-- Given U2's apparent need to be larger than the Pope and The World Bank in global influence, it is frankly impossible to imagine them (well, Larry anyway) to agreeing to put out an ideas-album like NLOTH after a mild disappointment that made them temporarily less relevant, like Pop.

-- I'm also not yet convinced that NLOTH is the start of a "new era" for the group. Right now, I view it as an extension of where they've already been this decade. The lyrical approach is much the same as before, the production team is the same, and songs like 'Stand Up Comedy' and 'Get On Your Boots' are hardly groundbreaking. Anyway, it's too soon to judge this yet. We'd have to wait and see where they go next...

 

[mikal]

-- There are a lot of us (including me) who think that ALYCLB and HTDAAB are both better than either of Pop or NLOTH.

lol, where?

 

[BVS]

whereas NLOTH is another "Let's all believe things will get better" kind of lyrical approach.

I think anyone who has listened to MOS, Cedars, or White as Snow would have to disagree.

-- There are a lot of us (including me) who think that ALYCLB and HTDAAB are both better than either of Pop or NLOTH.

I think you meant to say a handful...

-- Pop is clearly a more song-based album, whereas NLOTH is more an 'ideas' album. So, again, I don't much of a thread between them.

How can you say this? And say it with such authority? It doesn't make any sense...

 

[LemonMelon]

Rather than blatantly regressing by attempting to go back to their roots (eg: their 5th album), U2 should have forged on and focused on the direction present throughout the Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack. It would have been a smooth transition from the final three songs on Pop, and, if followed by NLOTH, tracks like MOS and Cedars would seem a sizable progression.

But Pop--->NLOTH? No.

 

[U2girl]

-- I'm also not yet convinced that NLOTH is the start of a "new era" for the group. Right now, I view it as an extension of where they've already been this decade. The lyrical approach is much the same as before, the production team is the same, and songs like 'Stand Up Comedy' and 'Get On Your Boots' are hardly groundbreaking. Anyway, it's too soon to judge this yet. We'd have to wait and see where they go next...

Agreed.
Outside of MOS and maybe White as snow, there is nothing really that new for the band on NLOTH (with the exception of Bono's characters on the album and his Michael Stipe/Bob Dylan delivery on Breathe) and the album is not even close to the obvious new chapters in their career like UF/AB/ATYCLB. It's more like a conclustion of the current era, only mixed with different sounds.

 

[65980]

God, I love your always positive, inspiring posts...

I think anyone who has listened to MOS, Cedars, or White as Snow would have to disagree.

Okay. That leaves 8 of the 11 songs that apparently agree.

I think you meant to say a handful...

No, I meant to say "a frickin' lot"!!! It's false to think that more fans and/or critics like NLOTH more than ATYCLB and HTDAAB. The new album has been reviewed lower, has sold less, and has produced fewer hits than its two predecessors. I realize it's the greatest thing since flavored condoms on this forum, but in the real world, it's not...

 

[BVS]

Oi

 

[nielsgov]

But almost all the fans think it's a better album than HTDAAB and ATYCLB and fans are the most important, right?

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

not when you're trying to prove a point

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i like turtles

 

[BVS]

No you don't.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

ah, but what was the critical response to turtles?

 

[nielsgov]

They're a bit too slow.

 

[ozeeko]

Agreed.
Outside of MOS and maybe White as snow, there is nothing really that new for the band on NLOTH (with the exception of Bono's characters on the album and his Michael Stipe/Bob Dylan delivery on Breathe) and the album is not even close to the obvious new chapters in their career like UF/AB/ATYCLB. It's more like a conclustion of the current era, only mixed with different sounds.

That's pretty much i how feel about this album within the context of a "trilogy" or "chapter in a career". It's more like the ending of something rather than a beginning.

I don't think Bono really dives that far inside any of his character's heads. MOS is a chilling moment, but more because of the music and Bono's vocal delivery, not because of the lyrics, even if they do shine on occasion (ex. "tied myself with wire to let the horses run free"). I think WAS and COL are Bono's best lyrical moments, they're also the mellowest moments musically on the album. These are two songs that sound like possible beginnings of something. A more subdued and quiet and lyrically intense direction that we hopefully see more of on SOA. Do we really need another goofy glam rocker like Boots or Vertigo or SUC? Another cookie cutter stadium ready optimistic anthem like Crazy Tonight or Walk On or City Of Blinding Lights or Breathe? Do we need to hear the token Walk On chiming guitar lines again? (i'm talking Electrical Storm and Crumbs and UC here).

Another thing about Breathe...Bono just can't pull off the whole stream of conscious lyric thing...and i think i know why. HE'S TOO GOOD A SINGER! Dylan and Stipe, these guys have unspectacular voices, but it works for their music. When Bono tries for this type of approach, on Breathe, and also Get on Your Boots verses, the Vertigo verses...it just doesn't work. But it does work in a setting where he's reciting poetry, like Walk To The Water and Cedars Of Lebanon.

 

[BVS]

ah, but what was the critical response to turtles?

An intellectual tortoise
Racing with your bullet train

 

[Salome]

even though I quite disliked Bomb at first I have come around appreciating it for being the most "mature" rock album I know
No line has the same maturity but it adds the other aspects of why I love U2; great melodies, intelligence and lots of heart

 

[mikal]

No, I meant to say "a frickin' lot"!!! It's false to think that more fans and/or critics like NLOTH more than ATYCLB and HTDAAB. The new album has been reviewed lower, has sold less, and has produced fewer hits than its two predecessors. I realize it's the greatest thing since flavored condoms on this forum, but in the real world, it's not...

i don't know if you were around these forums or really paying attention when HTDAAB came out, but it got slammed not only here, but in the public eye. yes, it may have won a Grammy (which was still a make up for them not winning for AB and ATYCLB), and had a hit, but it doesn't change the fact that HTDAAB is widely considered U2's weakest album since Rattle & Hum.

 

[U2girl]

NLOTH was more divisive than the previous two albums among the critics - and I dare say U2 fans too - but those two had about the same reviews with majority being positive, with only a tad more sharpness for Bomb, having read anywhere between 30-40 reviews for ATYCLB and Bomb. (and certainly less anti-Bono press back then compared to NLOTH reviews) I really did not get the impression that How to.. is U2's black hole, not then and not now. Rattle and Hum, sure. Pop, maybe a bit undeserved, but they did it to themselves by having a weak tour start. I still think Pop's story would be different with a stronger Popmart start in the US.

Though it's true the years have been kinder to people's opinion on ATYCLB compared to Bomb. I wonder what we'll be saying about NLOTH in 4/5 years.