U2 in the 90s

mrwalkerb

invest-it-all wrote:

Well U2 are currently in the studio making the next album, I'm hoping for something different, hopefully it's not Atomic Bomb 2 (I'd still probably love it even if it was). Lets hope pleasing the mainstream audience isnt a main priority for them

but the last two records have have shown that is the only priority for them. I'm not holding my breath and I doubt I'll even bother to buy this one

U2rocks

I'm a big fan as you can no doubt tell...and I've loved all the cd's...except I would agree that October is the one that sounds the most old....and I do really really hope that they experiment a LOT more on the new cd.


http://www.myspace.com/ramon1972

Hawkshore

Achtung Baby was amazing very solid album and sounded so fresh and original!

I saw the Zoo TV tour that accompanied it the arena leg and that show still goes down as one of the top three shows I have witnessed.....It was so powerful and so engaging unlike anything I had seen up to that point. For me that was the Apex of my US experience. I have yet to watch the concert DVD from that tour partly because I don't think it could possibly live up to the actual experience. I saw U2 during the All That You Can't Behind tour but it paled in comparison to that Zoo TV show so many years earlier...seemed much more contrived.

BrinkofForever

Hawkshore wrote:

Achtung Baby was amazing very solid album and sounded so fresh and original!

The great thing about that album is it still sounds fresh and original some 15 years later. Seriously, that album was a classic in a league of it's own and in my opinion is one of the best rock albums ever produced.

Pearls&Stones

Honestly, I love How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb so much, I am often surprised to hear how much others dislike it. Other than the overly simple rhyme scheme in "All Because of You," I don't feel there is a weak moment on that record.

Do those of you that dislike the album dislike "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" and "City of Blinding Lights" as well?

Everytime I put that cd on, I listen to those songs at least twice.

soulsinging

Pearls&Stones wrote:

Honestly, I love How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb so much, I am often surprised to hear how much others dislike it. Other than the overly simple rhyme scheme in "All Because of You," I don't feel there is a weak moment on that record.

Do those of you that dislike the album dislike "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" and "City of Blinding Lights" as well?

Everytime I put that cd on, I listen to those songs at least twice.

i agree. it's vastly superior to all that you can't leave behind. id say it ranks very highly in terms of their career too. some fantastic songs on there.

mrwalkerb

Pearls&Stones wrote:

Honestly, I love How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb so much, I am often surprised to hear how much others dislike it. Other than the overly simple rhyme scheme in "All Because of You," I don't feel there is a weak moment on that record.

Do those of you that dislike the album dislike "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" and "City of Blinding Lights" as well?

Everytime I put that cd on, I listen to those songs at least twice.

really the only tracks I can say I am enthusiastic about on that record is vertigo (which is their best single since 95) and city of blinding lights is pretty good but sort of blends in with the rest of the album, by that I mean I can't really distinguish it from the rest, yaweh is boring, food from your table is mediocre like the album is just a retread of a retread. It's like Stadium Arcadium, yes it would be an amazing record if they never recorded by the way and californication, since they did it's redundant and useless.

soulsinging

mrwalkerb wrote:

really the only tracks I can say I am enthusiastic about on that record is vertigo (which is their best single since 95) and city of blinding lights is pretty good but sort of blends in with the rest of the album, by that I mean I can't really distinguish it from the rest, yaweh is boring, food from your table is mediocre like the album is just a retread of a retread. It's like Stadium Arcadium, yes it would be an amazing record if they never recorded by the way and californication, since they did it's redundant and useless.

i thought it was much more consistent than all you can't leave behind. that album had a great first 5 tracks, but became very boring in the second half. none of the last 4-5 songs on there are worth listening to at all. i don't mind yahweh, and original of the species is pretty good. the only song im not wild about is man and woman or whatever.

mrwalkerb

soulsinging wrote:

i thought it was much more consistent than all you can't leave behind. that album had a great first 5 tracks, but became very boring in the second half. none of the last 4-5 songs on there are worth listening to at all. i don't mind yahweh, and original of the species is pretty good. the only song im not wild about is man and woman or whatever.

ok fair enough but we're getting off point here, the thing is can you really compare these two records to the ones from the 90s? I mean even if you find Zoorpoa and Pop too "techno" or whatever you have to admit they were trying something and I think really succeeded.

Pearls&Stones

soulsinging wrote:

i thought it was much more consistent than all you can't leave behind. that album had a great first 5 tracks, but became very boring in the second half. none of the last 4-5 songs on there are worth listening to at all. i don't mind yahweh, and original of the species is pretty good. the only song im not wild about is man and woman or whatever.

I agree with the "All That You Can't Leave Behind" comment. Its starts off so strong, but there is nothing memorable after "In A Little While"

musicismylife78

I cant think of a single u2 cd I dislike. People act like the 90's was the dark days in terms of u2 music quality. But even when u2 went techo as they did in the 90's, they still rocked. Great band.

Anyways, I think its interesting how often they get accused of being hypocrites, as they do live large and spend tons of money on themselves and such, and are extravagent, and their shows reflect this. But in the 90's, with the popmart tour and such, they were trying to make a social critique of commercialism and capitalism and such. Yet, it is often read as them just being egotistical.

Pearls&Stones

Cheguevara6 wrote:

I cant think of a single u2 cd I dislike. People act like the 90's was the dark days in terms of u2 music quality. But even when u2 went techo as they did in the 90's, they still rocked. Great band.

I think it is funny that people say that, when songs like "Lemon," "Do You Feel Loved," "Stay," "Gone," and "Last Night on Earth" (among others) show some of the best lyrical depth they've ever had.

soulsinging

mrwalkerb wrote:

ok fair enough but we're getting off point here, the thing is can you really compare these two records to the ones from the 90s? I mean even if you find Zoorpoa and Pop too "techno" or whatever you have to admit they were trying something and I think really succeeded.

not all that you can't leave behind, no. but i do think atomic bomb ranks well. not on par with achtung baby by a long shot. but i'd place it equal to pop and zooropa. maybe a cut above zooropa and below pop. no, it's not as adventurous. but neither was the joshua tree. but it's still a great album with classic songs by one of the best bands out there.

LedZepFan

Cheguevara6 wrote:

I cant think of a single u2 cd I dislike. People act like the 90's was the dark days in terms of u2 music quality. But even when u2 went techo as they did in the 90's, they still rocked. Great band.

Anyways, I think its interesting how often they get accused of being hypocrites, as they do live large and spend tons of money on themselves and such, and are extravagent, and their shows reflect this. But in the 90's, with the popmart tour and such, they were trying to make a social critique of commercialism and capitalism and such. Yet, it is often read as them just being egotistical.

You summed up some great misunderstandings surrounding the band. Another thing-I run into so many people who 'are sick of Bono" or 'hate that guy." It's unbelievable how much shit this guy takes for trying to help people!

Anyway, I disagree with the All That You Can't Leave Behind statement. I do agree that the first half is undeniably stronger, with a handful of brilliant U2 songs. However, the second half does have "Peace on Earth" and "When I Look At the World" which I find quite good and "New York" which I think is actually an amazing song-easily one of my favorite latter day U2 songs. I actually quite like the album, more so than Bomb..but that might be a bit biased since I listened Bomb to death when it came out. Lots of good, not great, songs with a few really special ones thrown in-City of Blinding Lights still stands out.

With the Edge's dissatisfaction over the lack of experimentation I do hope they try something different this time around. They're working with Rubin, so I have a feeling it will turn into a similar "hard rock U2" album like Bomb, or maybe something we don't expect.

Either way I'm sure it will be great.

EDIT: I also forgot to mention that Zooropa and Pop are amongst my favorite U2 albums, with Zooropa often being 2nd behind Achtung Baby.