" ~~~ U2 ~~~ "

MusicRadar.com
February 19, 2009

By Rob Laing

U2 are 33 years old now, and have spent more than half of that time
as the biggest band in the world.

But you'd have to look back as far as 1991's reinvention on Achtung
Baby for their last truly classic album.

So the return of that record's production dream team of Brian Eno and
Daniel Lanois (they also have co-writing credits on over half the
songs here) with globe-spanning sessions in Africa leave for heavy
expectation and intrigue, even by Bono-sized standards.

Bono himself hasn't helped matters by declaring that if this
album "isn't our best, we're irrelevant." That may come back to bite
him but after two albums reclaiming their signature stadium-friendly
sound from the young pretenders snapping at their heels.

So, is No Line on the Horizon the crowning pay-off we've been waiting
for?

Here's MusicRadar's thoughts on hearing the album.

1. No Line on the Horizon

If this is going to be an experimental affair, there's little sign of
it here on this very direct rock song. Some of you may already have
heard a leaked version of this title track, but the album take is
slower to build into the groove. It's a promising enough start, a
rocker reminiscent of '90s U2 (1997's Pop needed more songs of this
calibre, that's for sure) with Bono sounding surprisingly youthful in
his higher register with some trademark "Oohs."

The Edge keeps it simple with a memorable lead guitar line on the
chorus, while Adam Clayton lays down a heavy groove. The Eno/Lanois
touch is already in evidence with subtle ambience that works with the
song rather than sounding conspicuous.

2. Magnificent

We were waiting for this track -- rumour says it is indeed
magnificent. After some brief Eno ambience (many of the tracks kick
in this way) it arrives in style. Yes, it's that trademark Edge
crystal chiming delay and it still sounds thrilling after all these
years.

As soon as Edge's riff kicks in it's obvious this is going to be an
anthem for stadiums. Bono is in his element on the chorus
singing, "Only love can leave such a mark." There's a majestic,
driving feel to this song that gives it a sublime flow with Eno and
Lanois' sonic trickery swirling around the band.

The Edge's solo is less-is-more, so no surprises there, but fans will
notice the build into the chorus seems to be lifted from "Pride (In
the Name of Love)." Even on first listen this is an addictive U2
song. "New Year's Day" meets "Zooropa"? Perhaps...

3. Moment of Surrender

Every U2 album has its epic ballad. Clocking in at 7:20 the vision
for "Moment of Surrender" is clearly on the scale of "One" and "Still
Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Yet it falls short of even
a "Kite" or "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own." It's a tale of
spiritual awakening at an ATM machine (this is Bono after all), and
takes time to build into a bass-driven mantra with added organ before
moving into a chorus with a distinct gospel feel. But despite an
impressive vocal performance from Bono it never takes off because
melodically it's just not that special.

Nevertheless, Edge fans will enjoy his brief but dramatic Gilmour-
esque slide solo. He's clearly still very much a player of taste,
despite not showing any sides of breaking out of his stylistic box.

4. Unknown Caller

The Eno/Lanois touch again pays dividends here on this mid-paced
song, adding textures that are very natural amongst the sound four-
piece band's sound. It starts with birdsong and a burst of African
instrumentation but a simple and effective delayed riff from Edge and
some "Oohs" from Bono bring us back to the familiar. Nevertheless the
chanting Apple OX-savvy chorus with Edge on backup ("Force quit and
move to trash") is jarring to give a futuristic feel and Eno's synth
break lifts the drama up another notch to lead into a surprisingly
long solo from the Edge that closes the song in true guitar hero
style.

5. I'll Go Crazy, If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight

It's time to smell the glove. Although even Spinal Tap would probably
reject this song title. No Eno or Lanois on writing or production
credits here, the band are left to their own devices with old friend
Steve Lillywhite manning the desk. The sound is more of a live
dynamic as a result and this is an optimistic pop rocker sure to go
down well in the stadiums. It's upbeat, everyman U2 but with enough
dynamics to engage -- despite Bono weighing in with some intensive
lyrical sloganeering:

"Every beauty needs to go out with an idiot" -- plus -- "The right to
be ridiculous is something I hold dear" -- AND -- "There's a part of
me in the chaos that's quiet." He really should consider putting some
of these on bumper stickers.

6. Get On Your Boots

No hope on the horizon for this one. The single seems to be dividing
opinion and it's easily the weakest song on the album. Bono's stream
of consciousness is more substandard than "Subterranean Homesick
Blues," sounding a little too close to grandpa at the discotheque.

It just doesn't suit U2 but tellingly, the song it most recalls --
especially on the bridge -- is "Fast Cars." That was a superior song
but one only deemed worthy as a bonus track on 2004's How to
Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.

7. Stand-Up Comedy

Another fun-loving rocker like the one before but this is
distinctly '70s-inspired. The Edge has said his meeting with Jimmy
Page for the It Might Get Loud film sparked his work on this song.
The Zeppelin-flavoured riff is a highlight, but a forgettable chorus
doesn't raise the song as a whole to the same standard.

A reportedly epic gestation period in the studios before completion
doesn't show -- it sounds almost too throwaway for all its funk and
bluster, especially compared with the songs that follow.

8. Fez - Being Born

This is an interesting one -- with Eno's paws all over it.
Unsurprisingly for its title the influence of recording in Morocco
(in an old Riad hotel) and very much apparent in the ambience of the
first part before an abrupt end to break into "Being Born"'s powerful
Clayton-heavy groove.

This is the sound of a freewheeling U2, seemingly spurred on by the
ever-experimental Eno. Indeed, the former Roxy Music man sounds like
he's very much in the band on this. The melodies are unpredictable
and the melding with electronics is almost the fruition of what they
might have been aiming for in the Zooropa era. "A speeding head / a
speeding heart" sings Bono, while guitars chime and fuzz and effects
surge the music forwards.

Why don't they let go like this more often?

9. White As Snow

This may just be the standout song on the whole album -- but it's a
very different U2 to what you might expect. "White As Snow"'s musical
arrangement is based loosely on an ancient hymn; "O Come, O Come,
Emmanuel." The hymn has been covered by Enya and Belle And Sebastian
amongst others, but Bono's lyrical inspiration is from the
perspective of a soldier's mind in his dying moments.

The lyrics are far more ambiguous than that may imply ("As boys we
would go hunting in the woods / To sleep the night shooting out the
stars / Now the wolves are every passing stranger..") while his vocal
performance is the kind of confessional, stripped-down Bono we rarely
hear.

Edge's odd-tempo and picked electric and acoustic guitars add to the
powerful mood-led by the vocal with a cinematic build before coming
back down. It really shows how much this veteran band can still
surprise and impress in equal measure.

10. Breathe

Eno claims this is "the most U2" song the band have ever recorded. He
should know. Larry Mullen Jr. gets a drum intro before the Edge jumps
in with satisfying overdrive crunch. Bono's stream of consciousness
vocal approach work much better here than on "Get On Your Boots"
but "Breathe"'s chorus is big and unashamedly aimed at an enormodome
crowd.

"Everyday I have to find the courage to walk out into the street with
arms out / got a love you can't defeat."

U2's everyman-rock is the stick the critics often use to beat them
with but although many other bands try, few can inject this kind of
spirit and passion into stadium rock.

11. Cedars of Lebanon

Like "Love Is Blindness" -- the closing track on Achtung Baby -- U2
choose to close proceedings with a slice of darkness. This time it's
almost a "film noire" atmosphere created with arpeggiated guitars and
an incessant, but fitting drum part. It's subtly discordant and finds
Bono in the third person again, now from the perspective of a jaded
war reporter in, of course, Lebanon:

"Spent the night trying to meet a deadline / squeezing complicated
lives into a simple headline." We know how he feels but there's
something refreshingly atypical and poignant about the sound of the
band here compared to the more commercial songs they're best known
for.

OUR VERDICT?

Go easy on yourself, Bono. It would have been a very tall order for
this to be U2's greatest album but it frequently showcases a band who
are very far from becoming irrelevant.

A number of No Line On The Horizon songs make for a deeper, darker
listen than 2004's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb while the album's
two weakest moments are arguably the most throwaway and pop-driven --
"Get On Your Boots" and "Stand-Up Comedy."

What's most interesting is how well the partnership with Eno and
Lanois sounds here on their songs. The strongest songs are those
where the influence is tangible, when before the band's experiments
with electronic sounds on Pop and Zooropa Eno were sometimes forced
and awkward.

The most intriguing moments here are where the Eno and Lanois team
seem to be leading the band into new areas with their input as both
musicians and producers, while U2's signature elements sound
revitalised by added new soundscapes that fit into the sound to
create state of the art pop.

Ultimately, No Line on the Horizon is an impressive combination of
the traditional and the future.

© Future Publishing Limited, 2009.