U2′s “No Line On The Horizon”… thoughts?
March 11th, 2009
Well, it released a week ago today. So, what do YOU think?
18 Responses to “U2′s “No Line On The Horizon”… thoughts?”
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I really like it. A lot of variety and the guitar playing by the Edge reminds me of some of their earlier releases. Get on Your Boots is a very catchy song and I am glad I purchased it and added it to my IPOD.
Some have said “No LIne” is ‘underwhelming’ on a first listen. I would have to disagree… and I just may have to agree with the hype in that this just may be their best disc to date. First of all, the songs have incredible lyrics… check out ‘The Magnificent’ or ‘White as Snow’ or ‘Breathe’. Perhaps it’s simply my own spiritual bent that gives these tunes such resonance. There is the usual U2/Bono empassioned delivery, but somehow there’s more here than meets the ear.
There is the sonic exploration here reminiscent of ‘The Unforgettable Fire”, the playfulness and adventurous nature of “Achtung Baby”, combined with the classic anthem approach of ‘Joshua Tree’.
But overall there is an underlying joy… pure and simple! The song lyric of ‘Breathe’ says it best that ‘I’ve found grace and it’s all that I’ve found/ I can breathe…’
Keep breathing, boys!!!
GV
who’s U2?
OK first of all someone slap Garrett for me. ;-) I have to agree with George on this one.
I first got “Get on Your Boots” and was wow’d by the guitars, but had this “hmmmm are we going to get Achtung Boy an older version of Achtung Baby here?” Then after getting the entire album (yes I was an early downloader) and heard the album from start to stop I was in this daze of sonic and lyrical bliss. The more I listen, the more I pick up in the music. There must me a million layers in those songs… good night!
“Magnificent” is going to be a HUGE live, if the Dave Letterman performances were any idea. This could be the next “Streets” followed by “Breathe” another amazingly written song. No doubt in my mind this will be a top album.
The real question will be, can the second album this year “Sounds of Ascent” that comes out this Nov/Dec live up to “NLOTH”?
U2 is garbage. Terrible drumming, No groove..but then again, you know what I think. haha.
I really want to like this album, but it just feels like it needed more time. The melodies are not memorable and the songs feel as if they are being pulled in many different directions.
If you compare this album to How to Disable an Atomic Bomb, you really can see how forgettable this album is in comparison. I respect that U2 is trying something different, but different doesn’t always mean the music is going in the right direction.
Several of the songs are over 5-6 minutes, and that could be part of the problem. U2 is a pop rock band, and when you make songs over 4 minutes, unless it is an amazing song, you just seem to lose people.
This coming from a big U2 fan.
I don’t get it!
I’m wondering how many times I have to listen to it until i start to like it?!
Doesn’t have the same quality or drive as how to dismantle an atomic bomb! It’s lacking something.
I’ve never been a big U2 fan. No doubt they’ve written some amazing songs.
But compare Vertigo to Get on Your Boots, and the latter is really lacking.
interesting opinions here… keep it coming!
meh
But that’s how I always feel about U2. I’ve never drunk the kook-aid.
No doubting the talent (exponentially greater than mine), but their sounds just doesn’t do anything for me.
Some of it is brilliant and some of it is rubbish. You can’t fault a band/person for writing mediocre songs, but at some point the producer should step in and just say no, that doesn’t belong on the album. =) All in all, it’s a good listen. I’m sure I’ll spend some time spinning it.
I like the songs, I dig that it sounds like their 90′s material yet simpler in production. My only real beef, and I told you this Sunda, is with the guitar work. As a guitarist, I have always felt the Edge’s true merit as a player was in his creativity – he was the first big exception to the owning too much gear rule. Not only does he know how to use his gear, but he takes gear commercially available to every guitarist on the planet and pushes envelopes no one else pushes with it. On this record, I feel like lost some creative steam – don’t get me wrong, there are great moments (I echo the Get On Your Boots comments), but as a whole, I feel like U2 went out to Hillsong and grabbed someone from the worship band to come in and pretend to be the Edge.
Overall, I’ve enjoyed and appreciated the album, especially as mood/background music to listen to around the house or at the gym. However, I agree with those that have expressed disappointment that this is certainly not the bands best work ever and is not likely to become a “classic” album. Melodically there isn’t much that has hooked me and the lyrics are usually too abstract for me to really get drawn in. For me, this means I’m not likely to make it a top pick or frequently listen to it intently, but the overall vibe is still nice enough to make it worth having around for the occasional road-trip soundtrack.
Also relevant, Don Miller wrote a very interesting post about the pressures of creating a U2 album, I think reading it might change the way you judge this album. You can read it here: http://tinyurl.com/aoov63
i really liked Don’s article! makes a lot of sense.
“NLOTH” isn’t the kind of album that one can put on as background music. if you listen to it on headphones or in your car’s decent system, you can appreciate the recording more. Sonically, i believe that it is probably one of their better ones. that isn’t saying much being that they are not know for sonically great projects.
i agree with some of your comments about there being a few REALLY good songs. there are only a couple that i can do without… which happen on 90% of any albums i hear.
thanks for all the convo guys! i don’t guess the ladies want to engage on this topic. haha
keep it coming!
I’ll represent for the girls…:) I like Get on Your Boots..particularly the repeat of “Let me in the sound…” I also like Stand Up Comedy…”Stand up for your love”…like that. I am a lyrics person…and well Whit will tell you that I like anything I can air drum to in the car…:)
Oh. Let me know when you want our thoughts on the new Kelly album.:)
I love it. Favorite tracks: Magnificent, Get on Your Boots, Unknown Caller, No Line on the Horizon…
The guitar tones are amazing. The weren’t afraid of SPACE! Brian Eno worked his magic in the synth world. Some of the pads are very nice indeed. And they wrote most of the songs in Morrocco! I mean, come on… that’s pretty dang cool.
LIking it so far, bro.
Ok I’ll be another female voice.
I’m a major U2 fan & have to say, the first time I listened to this album, was surprised and really not impressed. I found the diverse styles of music to detract rather than enhance the appeal of the album as a whole.(Do people still say “album?”) I felt like it kept pulling me in different directions & kept thinking of different bands that the songs reminded me of (usually not a great sign!). One song took me back to the 80′s punk music days a la Skinny Puppy, another reminded me of an acoustic Neil Young concert, and all in all, I just wasn’t sold.
However, it remained in my car stereo & as time progressed it did grow on me. Here’s my rundown on their playlist:
NLOTH – was kind of blah to me & I pictured it being the 1st song on a movie soundtrack while the credits are still showing,
Magnificent – well, I love “Magnificent” because it is so quintessentially U2
Moment of Surrender – nothing special,
Unknown Caller – takes me back to the early 90′s when I attended a Vineyard church & all the worship music sounded like this – not bad, but a strange choice for a U2 song in 2009,
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight – another movie soundtrack in the making
Get on Your Boots – fun, but not really stand-out
Stand Up Comedy – channeling Lenny Kravitz with a good 80′s groove
FEZ – Being Born – First minute or so sounds like you’ve been transported to a Cirque du Soleil show – identical kind of sound!
White As Snow – much like a Neil Young acoustic concert
Breathe – classic Bob Dylan all the way
Cedars of Lebanon – Leonard Cohen-kind-of -style
I, too, kept waiting to hear The Edge really rock out on his guitar, and although he technically did “rock out,” he didn’t rock my world as he does in their live shows which really show his incredible talent. After my initial disappointment with the album, I got over it & now really quite enjoy it. It is definitely an unusual mix of styles & not their typical album, but it’s pretty hard to top some of their earlier stuff, and it’s great to just hear some new tunes from them. And being a true fan, they pretty much can do no wrong in my books.