No Line On the Horizon
I just finished listening to U2's new album, No Line On the Horizon. Wow. Although I have only listened to it once, I think it might be their best album in the last 15 years. The songs are relatively complex and will likely take several listens to discern the different layers. The album covers a range of emotions, but there is an overriding sense of joy. I will try to write a more thorough review once I have had a few more listens and time to let the songs soak in. I know that I am hugely biased towards U2, but I highly recommend going out and buying it on March 3rd (US release). You won't be disappointed.
posted by Me @ 9:04 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
N=
Just listened to the album on myspace. Not too shabby I say. Best are the bass and drumming...magnificent is a good example of that.
I dig (in order):
Fez being born
Breathe
Magnificent
Cedars of Lebanon
Then the rest. I like the cadence of boots - the Dylan SHSB reference you had is true, but I still think it's stupid. I thought vertigo was stupid too and it's along the lines of vertigo.
A good album, but no Achtung. I'll still buy it.
JSG
I would have guessed those would be your favs. And you are right about the rhythm section. Clayton's bass is the bedrock of the album.
I am on a U2 news feed, so I get most articles written about U2. The album reviews have been really interesting. I think that "If I Don't Go Crazy..." is the weakest song on the album, but some critics think it is the best. There isn't a single song on the album that hasn't been either praised or derided by the critics. Typically, you don't see this much disparity about individual songs in reviews of an album.
Boots is a pretty polarizing song. I think it will be great live, but it isn't one of the best tracks on the album, IMO. But I like it.
And I still love Vertigo. I have always interpreted it as a song about the state of the US, circa GW Bush. On the surface, it is a song about a nightclub called Vertigo. But rather, vertigo is the confusion about the US invading a sovereign nation without just cause. In Ireland and many other countries, people saw the US being a beacon of hope. But W torched the global goodwill towards the US in no time. The "girl with crimson nails, Jesus round her neck, swaying to the music" is the US electorate in a trance, with blood on our hands. Bono returns to ideas of faith and humility in the song to seek solace from a world in which up is down.
I've listened to it several times now and I have to strongly disagree with "Me" - I'll Go Crazy is a SOLID song and is in the sweet 5th spot on the album a la City of Blinding Lights, Kite, Stay (Far Away, So Close), and Running to Stand Still. It's one of those songs that takes a while but has true staying power. Moment of Surrender is nice also...But Breathe and Magnificent (along with Boots) are the driving songs of the album.
It's going to take some more listening for me to decide where it ranks but, right now, it's definitely up there...If for no other reason than it's good to hear "the boys" singing new stuff on the radio again.
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