The album that carries U2 into its 25th year--and likely the mixed blessings of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame--is one of its most frank and focused since the days of
October and
War. But its gestation was anything but simple, in part salvaged from '03 sessions the band deemed subpar. Enter Steve Lillywhite, the band's original producer and sometime collaborator in the decades since, who helped retool the track "Native Son" (originally an antigun screed) into the aggressive iPod anthem "Vertigo" and leaves his distinctive stamp on the muscular "All Because of You." Perhaps weary of ceaseless, fashion-driven reinvention in the wake of monumental success, U2 seem only too happy here to re-embrace their original sonic trademarks in service of more daring, pop-melodic hooks than they've collected in one place in decades. The Eno/Lanois produced "Love and Peace or Else" may shimmer with the duo's electro-production conceits, but it's Edge's lugubrious, postmodern John Lee Hooker guitar swagger that drives it. Elsewhere, Bono's trademark dramaturgy is spotlighted on "City of Blinding Lights," the unabashed romance of "A Man and a Woman," and the confessional "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own." It may come wrapped in a conundrum--is it nostalgic retrenchment or a sum of the band's endless musical catharsis?--It's also the album where, Fly and MacPhisto be damned, U2 boldly claims its arena titan mantle with apologies to no one.
--Jerry McCulleyRecommended U2 Discography
War | 
The Joshua Tree | 
Achtung Baby |
All That You Can't Leave Behind | 
The Best of 1990-2000 | 
The Best of 1980-1990 |
Amazon.com
That's how Thor does it... I guess they've got another plan. Probably. Anyway, it involves Yahweh, some Jewish deity you may have heard of.. ;) Of course, the details of which bomb, where, and who precisely is mostly left off, which makes it not really live up to the hype. But still, we've got Vertigo, which except for a criminally irritating beginning is a quite good song. None of the other songs hit that mark, but they're still excellent rock songs.
I'm not one of those W fans who's gonna scream about how they sold out after the 80s... I actually hate that phase of their career. Unfortunately, the 90s are over, and now we're left with the band sort of looking around quizzically. So, nobody cares much about disco/tech anymore, let's make a rock record! It mostly succeeds in those areas, but there aren't a large number of dizzying heights, at least, not in the same way on earlier records. Of my favorite W (say it out loud) records, it goes Zooropa, Achtung, Pop and then this. But, maybe that'll change.
June 10, 2008U2's most recent disc is another high quality release. The album starts out with one of their all time great singles in my opinion, "Vertigo" and is for the most part strong albeit a bit pedestrian the rest of the way. My reaction to this album is fairly typical of most U2 releases. I always like them, but they never blow me away like they do for a lot of people. This album hits me about the same. I like it, but don't love it. The material here is fairly straightforward with the band not taking any major risks like they did on many of their late 80's and 90's albums. This can be seen as a great return to form by some or a blatant attempt to pander to the masses by others. I guess I fall somewhere in the middle. "Bomb" is one of the rare albums in my collection where I think the singles are actually the best songs on the album. Along with the aforementioned "Vertigo" Bono's lament about his fathers death "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" is a heart wrenching killer of a song and another of the albums top cuts. Overall I give "Bomb" about a 3.5 star rating. Above average, but not great. The band has certainly done better, but this one has enough to like about it to make it worth a listen.
June 7, 2008U2 is one of the best bands I think. They have a unique sound to them that is very likeable. This is the first U2 album I listened to and I have to say that it's a great album from beginning to finish. The highlight is clearly the hit "Vertigo." My favorite songs are "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" and "Love And Peace Or Else." Why does this album have such a bad rating? It's one of 2004's best albums in my opinion. If you're new to U2 or an old fan check this album out. It's worth it!
May 26, 2008I've always been a fan of U2 but recently my renewed commitment to my faith has awakened me to the meaning of the words of many of these songs. I suppose a lot of people don't see Bono as a man of religous faith. To these folks I say read your Bible and listen to U2 again.
May 3, 2008 |  | This my all means is only mediocre for U2 |  |
Ok, now to be honest, I have not listened to the entirety of U2's very early music. I have listened to their big hits like "New Years Day" and "I Will Follow." I have listened to the entire The Unforgettable Fire which is where U2 started to go experimental. That furthered with The Joshua Tree (which is one of my favorite U2 albums). Then came the legendary Achtung Baby. This is where Bono himself described as "four men chopping down the Joshua Tree" and what came was some of their best work. This was the heyday of their career. This was followed by the Zoo TV tour which is was a great piece of artistic work. It had an amazing set, awesome lighting, and great costumes putting it on par with shows like The Wall. Zooropa was born out of the Zoo TV tour in which U2 went even more experimental. Their lyrics from songs like "Dirty Day" and "Lemon" sounded organic and were very original. Fans seemed to accept this new sound U2 had come up with. They really delved into the experimental with their Passengers: Original Soundtracks album which was made with the great Brian Eno. What an amazing album, really one hell of an experience. They choose to ignore this effort but it is an album of artistic achievement. Most people don't even know about it because U2 was afraid of hurting their popularity so they released under the fake name "Passengers." Then came Pop, this was a great album with dance sounds while still keeping that base U2 sound. The lyrics especially songs like "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" sounded very much from the heart. It mocked pop culture and sounded good doing it but people didn't get it. Instead of listening to the lyrics, they heard dance music instead and decided it was not U2. It was mocking pop culture not embracing it. It gets worse, with the amazing Popmart tour, there were some technical difficulties. In one show the giant lemon that the band was supposed to come out of did not open. This scared U2 and on top of the fact critics didn't like it, the band decided to sell themselves out. All That You Can't Leave Behind followed, a good album but nothing compared to Pop. They decided to go back to their very conservative sound. Honestly, it sounds more like adult contemporary music than anything else. Don't get me wrong, it's good stuff but nothing compared to their experimental days. That wasn't enough. How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb was released. This is where U2 started pulling lyrics out of the air. They don't sound organic, they don't sound from the heart. They sound like they were trying to please crowds. The Elevation and Vertigo tours were very much stripped down. Bono describes Pop as too ambitious and that they were "reapplying for the job [of] best band in the world." No, it's called you were afraid of going bankrupt and went for what makes you the most money. The songs are good for a semi-U2 fan but a huge disappointment to the true fans. With Pop, they were just getting started. The could have made even more experimental albums but instead gave into critics. This is a great shame. To be honest, before I had listened to Zooropa, Passengers, and Pop I accepted ATYCLB and HTDATB as good albums. It wasn't until I listened to Zooropa and Pop that I truly understood their message. They were on a role and they were real emotions that came from those albums. I just hope that Bono has realized he has greatly disappointed fans like me and decides to return to their old sound or at least a derivation of it. I love U2 but it greatly saddens me that they have sold out to critics.
March 16, 2008More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(1367 reviews)
