No Line On The Horizon

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No Line On The Horizon
Topic Started: Mar 1 2009, 06:45 AM (147 Views)
Walrus	Mar 1 2009, 06:45 AM Post #1
better by design Posts: 778 Group: Senior Member Member #32 Joined: July 14, 2005	I know most of the reviews have been pretty positive, but I'm just not getting it...it's obviously got that ethereal Eno/Lanois magic, but the songs just aren't there. I say this as the biggest fanboy you'll ever meet...U2 has made a handful of tremendous albums, but they're still a singles band. There's always those couple of songs on every U2 record that stand out, that kick you in the ass from first listen, that you can't wait to get back to. Maybe the more subtle songs win you over more in the end, but "Elevation," "City Of Blinding Lights," "Discotheque," "Electrical Storm"....people may be split on their last couple records but they still knew how to write a great, catchy song. But this album...I'm just not hearing anything. A few good ideas like "Magnificent" with a lot of potential that is never realized. "Get On Your Boots" is a terrible single, but it's the only song I hear on the album that could even be considered for such a position. I don't dislike the album as much as I did when I first heard it, but after a dozen or so listens, it's just not sticking with me at all. I can get sucked into the Eno production with my headphones on, but in the end, it's all about the songs, and they're just not there. Anyone else been listening?
	-Steve C. My Music // Journal // MySpace // This Strange Engine - My Music Blog


Ade	Mar 1 2009, 02:16 PM Post #2
Beth-prophet Posts: 9,151 Group: Senior Member Member #1 Joined: June 20, 2005	I heard Breathe being done live on the weekend (on the radio, mind) It was awesome. The rest of the album is a bit "meh". The production on it is at the usual standard though. Every U2 album since the year dot has had a really standout rocky track ... I will follow through to vertigo, and there isn't one that is as strong on this one. Good call on Electrical Storm. I love the William Orbit mix of that track. What is really starting to piss me off, and it isn't just U2, is how much the BBC are promoting it. Considering they are not supposed to promote anyone, and are supposed to be neutral, the album was on the flagship news programme a couple of days ago, being heavily promoted. They do it all the time for things in the media, which are going to be popular, but not necessarily important or seminal. It's really doing my tits in. Anyway, good album in the grand scheme of things, average album in the histroy of U2 Edited by Ade, Mar 1 2009, 02:16 PM.
	I expect a revolution before I count to ten. "In the box asking what does your job entail, you put 'I put a rein on people who spunk money up the wall.'"


TJ	Mar 1 2009, 07:18 PM Post #3
Beth-anorak Posts: 2,636 Group: Senior Member Member #8 Joined: June 22, 2005	I didn't realize it was out, so I will have to find some tracks to listen to. I did notice in today's Best Buy weekly ad that they are selling five different packagings of the CD, ranging from a basic CD at $9.99 up to a box set, including a movie DVD at $64.99, with various combinations of booklet/magazine/whatever in between. Which leads me to think that if it turns out to be a critical and/or commercial failure as an album, this will be seen as "jump the shark" milestone for the band.
	"What's his tits..."


Ade	Mar 1 2009, 09:14 PM Post #4
Beth-prophet Posts: 9,151 Group: Senior Member Member #1 Joined: June 20, 2005	It, ahem, isn't out until tomorrow. You could legally listen to it on Spotify though, which I have been having fun with. Ade
	I expect a revolution before I count to ten. "In the box asking what does your job entail, you put 'I put a rein on people who spunk money up the wall.'"


TJ	Mar 1 2009, 09:23 PM Post #5
Beth-anorak Posts: 2,636 Group: Senior Member Member #8 Joined: June 22, 2005	Not in the U.S. we can't, apparently!
	"What's his tits..."


Walrus	Mar 1 2009, 10:09 PM Post #6
better by design Posts: 778 Group: Senior Member Member #32 Joined: July 14, 2005	"Release dates" are soooo last decade.
	-Steve C. My Music // Journal // MySpace // This Strange Engine - My Music Blog


rc.cope	Mar 1 2009, 10:37 PM Post #7
Forum HIstorian Posts: 3,799 Group: Senior Member Member #2 Joined: June 20, 2005	Hey Walrus and TJ...you might want to check, but I think I heard that U2 is supposed to be on David Letterman all this week.
	I'd rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy.


TJ	Oct 26 2009, 11:47 PM Post #8
Beth-anorak Posts: 2,636 Group: Senior Member Member #8 Joined: June 22, 2005	So did anyone catch the YouTube/Rose Bowl extravaganza Sunday Night (or early Monday for some of you)? I picked it up about half way through (having lost the "mental note" I'd made to myself earlier last week) then watched the first half in replay. Given the gargantuan number of people who were watching online, the feed was flawless the whole time (really, the only difference from TV was the somewhat lower resolution of my PC vs a TV). But picking up on the reviews up thread from earlier in the year, the songs from the new album don't reach out and grab me. But still, it looked like a great show. Edited by TJ, Oct 26 2009, 11:48 PM.
	"What's his tits..."


Walrus	Oct 27 2009, 03:15 PM Post #9
better by design Posts: 778 Group: Senior Member Member #32 Joined: July 14, 2005	Ha. Of course I watched it. It wasn't that different from when I actually saw the tour in-person. Looks really, really cool, has some great songs, but never emotionally lifted off the ground the way U2 shows used to. Fun to watch though, certainly no one's ever done anything like that before.
	-Steve C. My Music // Journal // MySpace // This Strange Engine - My Music Blog


TJ	Oct 27 2009, 08:44 PM Post #10
Beth-anorak Posts: 2,636 Group: Senior Member Member #8 Joined: June 22, 2005	One bit of good news I learned by clicking on one of the links the other night: There is a remastered "Unforgettable Fire" coming out (today I think). That album was one of the first CDs I ever bought, back in 1985, and I have to say it was the worst sounding CD, at least for anything approaching a major act and label (and it seemed to be a combination of mixing, mastering, and CD production, i.e. it wasn't a quality control issue at the CD plant). It's the only CD (other than one obviously damaged and skipping/popping) that I ever wanted to return and get my money back, but alas I never got around to it and still have the CD. I don't know if they ever produced a better sounding edition until the new one. Also, the extras look interesting, and the a reasonably good deal with the extra discs. Edited by TJ, Oct 27 2009, 08:46 PM.
	"What's his tits..."


Walrus	Oct 28 2009, 03:27 PM Post #11
better by design Posts: 778 Group: Senior Member Member #32 Joined: July 14, 2005	the new version of TUF sounds a lot better, but the vinyl version got pushed back to next week. Boo.
	-Steve C. My Music // Journal // MySpace // This Strange Engine - My Music Blog


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