Year-end "Rank the U2 albums" after SOI honeymoon

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^ I agree almost 100% of what you said Jeevey, especially the way you describe ATYCLB. I was in total upheaval in my personal and business life when the album was released. The songs whether excellent or not spoke yo me. Then of course 9/11 happened and the music became a something entirely different, the album and tour was really a touchstone of my life and it will forever tied to me on a personal level.

Also my top 3 interchange almost weekly... there really isn't a bad song in the bunch.

Merry Christmas everyone. :wave:
 
Admitting you're not judging ATYCLB objectively doesn't excuse you from not judging it objectively.

Sorry, but when I see people rate this album so high I just roll my eyes and assume they have some kind of traumatic/personal reason for overinflating its quality.

The notion that it deserves a place among the band's best output is laughable.
 
ATYCLB is overrated by the general public, but at least it has some legit high points (Beautiful Day, Walk On, Kite, When I Look at the World), which automatically places it ahead of HTDAAB and SOI. Simply not being terrible only gets you so far where replay value is concerned.
 
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lazarus said:
Admitting you're not judging ATYCLB objectively doesn't excuse you from not judging it objectively.

Sorry, but when I see people rate this album so high I just roll my eyes and assume they have some kind of traumatic/personal reason for overinflating its quality.

The notion that it deserves a place among the band's best output is laughable.
Click to expand...

Ehh you know I'm usually one to somewhat go along with your line of thinking here, but I just really fucking enjoy the songs on ATYCLB. I'll admit I have some nice memories attached to it for personal reasons (nothing 9/11 tho, I first heard it in 2006), which cuts my objectivity, but on the whole I do think the songs stand up. Even the shittier songs - Wild Honey has a great chorus, In a Little While is a nice song with a great coarse vocal (opinion of the song has nosedived since it was inexplicably played 16 times per show on 360), you've defended Peace on Earth yourself, Grace is slow and sweet and actually quite nice if you just let it be what it is, and Stuck has a great melody and a lovely coda. It also helps that my copy has Ground Beneath Her Feet. And you can whinge and sook all you like, but it's on my copy, so it will always be the last song on the album for me.
 
purpleoscar said:
Being last on a U2 list doesn't mean I put it last in all music.



Did you miss War or is that #13 for you?

The list is still the same except ATYCLB and SOI are tied.
Click to expand...
Yeah I've missed it completely, sorry. I was in a hurry.

1. ATYCLB
2. Achtung Baby
3. Pop
4. The Joshua Tree
5. HTDAAB
6. Zooropa
7. Boy
8. The Unforgettable Fire
9. October
10. SOI
11. Rattle And Hum
12. War
13. NLOTH
 
lazarus said:
Admitting you're not judging ATYCLB objectively doesn't excuse you from not judging it objectively.

Sorry, but when I see people rate this album so high I just roll my eyes and assume they have some kind of traumatic/personal reason for overinflating its quality.

The notion that it deserves a place among the band's best output is laughable.
Click to expand...

Oy. That's exactly what I'm saying. I have personal experience that means can't judge it objectively, so I'm just saying I like it. Example: I'm not saying Grace is a great song, it just makes me cry sometimes. If you want to be a critic, evaluating with no personal experience shading your opinion at all, then do that. Roll away, and good luck with it. Me, I'm a fan.
 
lazarus said:
Admitting you're not judging ATYCLB objectively doesn't excuse you from not judging it objectively.

Sorry, but when I see people rate this album so high I just roll my eyes and assume they have some kind of traumatic/personal reason for overinflating its quality.

The notion that it deserves a place among the band's best output is laughable.
Click to expand...

Yep I did have personally traumatic in the span of that album culminating in losing friends and business associates in both towers and then getting to see the utter devastation that it caused on the families afterward. So, yeah, I'll continue to rate it higher than I prolly should.
 
Achtung baby
Zooropa
Joshua tree
Pop
All that you can't leave behind
Songs of innocence
Unforgettable Fire

War
Boy
No line on the horizon
Rattle and him
October
How to dismantle an atomic bomb

Very hard. There is a fine line after UF on my list. It's the line I draw between the great albums and the just good to slightly mediocre ones. I recently tried HTDAAB, and man it has not held up well for me. War and Boy are really good albums, but there's some filler in there that really drag them down. Rattle and Hum used to be my least favorite U2 era, but now I'm really growing to like it. And then poor October... It's a good album, but with many shortcomings. However, for the first time, I have found an album I rank lower than October, which was surprising to me.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
After 30 votes:

Achtung Baby
The Joshua Tree
The Unforgettable Fire
Pop
Zooropa
Songs of Innocence (tie) All That You Can't Leave Behind
Boy
War
No Line On the Horizon
Rattle and Hum
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
October
 
purpleoscar said:
After 30 votes:



Achtung Baby

The Joshua Tree

The Unforgettable Fire

Pop

Zooropa

Songs of Innocence (tie) All That You Can't Leave Behind

Boy

War

No Line On the Horizon

Rattle and Hum

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

October
Click to expand...


Where's October?


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
1. Zooropa
2. Achtung Baby
3. The Joshua Tree

4. Pop
5. Boy
6. All That You Can't Leave Behind
7. The Unforgettable Fire
8. Original Soundtracks 1
8. October
8. War

11. Rattle And Hum
11. No Line On The Horizon
11. Songs Of Innocence

14. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

--

took a while, it's making me want to listen to them chronologically as there are a few albums I haven't listened to in a long time. I actually listened to The Unforgettable Fire for the first time in ages last weekend and found myself actually disliking a few bits I hadn't before so it just slipped down whereas I used to just put it at number 4 almost out of habit.

I'm not wild about putting albums that have Heartland and Moment Of Surrender so low, but that trio near the bottom just get dragged down by issues like all the live stuff clogging up what could be an excellent studio album in Rattle And Hum's case, Get On Your Boots(!), and just some serious duds on Songs Of Innocence.

I know this means I should really put OST1 right down there thanks to Elvis Ate America but let's not worry about that.
 
Year-end "Rank the U2 albums" after SOI honeymoon

purpleoscar said:
Look at your quote!
Click to expand...


wtf. It shows up when I try quoting it, but doesn't show up when it's actually posted......
It's hidden, like at the end of Best of 1980-1990. ??

Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
1 Achtung
2 Joshua
3 Zooropa

4 Unforgettable
5 Rattle
6 War
7 POP
8 Passengers

9 No Line
10 Innocence
11 ATYCLB
12 Boy





13 October
14 Bomb
 
1. October
2. Achtung Baby
3. War
4. Joshua Tree
5. Unforgettable Fire
6. Boy
7. Zooropa
8. Pop
9. Rattle and Hum
10 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
11. Songs of Innocence
12. All That You Can Leave Behind
13. No Line on the Horizon
 
Hewson said:
1. October
2. Achtung Baby
3. War
4. Joshua Tree
5. Unforgettable Fire
6. Boy
7. Zooropa
8. Pop
9. Rattle and Hum
10 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
11. Songs of Innocence
12. All That You Can Leave Behind
13. No Line on the Horizon
Click to expand...

October was #8 on your last ranking. Do you have an updated version with Where the streets have no name, With or without you and One?
 
YBORCITY said:
Yep I did have personally traumatic in the span of that album culminating in losing friends and business associates in both towers and then getting to see the utter devastation that it caused on the families afterward. So, yeah, I'll continue to rate it higher than I prolly should.
Click to expand...

:hug:
 
cobl04 said:
Ehh you know I'm usually one to somewhat go along with your line of thinking here, but I just really fucking enjoy the songs on ATYCLB. I'll admit I have some nice memories attached to it for personal reasons (nothing 9/11 tho, I first heard it in 2006), which cuts my objectivity, but on the whole I do think the songs stand up. Even the shittier songs - Wild Honey has a great chorus, In a Little While is a nice song with a great coarse vocal (opinion of the song has nosedived since it was inexplicably played 16 times per show on 360), you've defended Peace on Earth yourself, Grace is slow and sweet and actually quite nice if you just let it be what it is, and Stuck has a great melody and a lovely coda. It also helps that my copy has Ground Beneath Her Feet. And you can whinge and sook all you like, but it's on my copy, so it will always be the last song on the album for me.
Click to expand...

You forgot WILATW there :wink: Then again, I probably also have very personal reasons to like that song, it'll always bias me. The album just gets ruined by ialw and stuck for me, and to a lesser extent Grace, which bores me to tears, and Wild Honey. It's not a horrible song, just... not very good either.

GBHF is the ending for me as well, even though U2 didn't write it, still a great song.
 
I'm really surprised that there aren't more people like me that rank SOI smack dab in the middle of the pack.
 
mikal said:
I'm really surprised that there aren't more people like me that rank SOI smack dab in the middle of the pack.
Click to expand...

I did... and for me I think it's a fair placement. While I doubt any album going forward would ever crack my top 3 of TUF, AB and TJT, it sits pretty strongly in my next grouping.

I don't wanna continue the ATYCLB discussion but someone above me mentioned WILATW and I just listened to it, what a great song that I hope would fit in the "Innocence" setlist?
 
YBORCITY said:
Yep I did have personally traumatic in the span of that album culminating in losing friends and business associates in both towers and then getting to see the utter devastation that it caused on the families afterward. So, yeah, I'll continue to rate it higher than I prolly should.
Click to expand...


You should never have to defend your opinion about your love for a particular U2 album on a U2 forum, sad that some might feel differently,

ATYCLB is a beautiful album and while I do find some weak songs on the 2nd half, I have a lot of love for this album. I also can relate to the fact that your life experiences around the release of an album (U2 or other) will impact your attachment or lack thereof to that album.


Sent from my iPad using U2 Interference
 
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