Comments on: U2′s “No Line On The Horizon”… thoughts?

By: Alisa

Alisa — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:18:41 +0000

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.

By: Danny Stephens

Danny Stephens — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 02:22:42 +0000

LIking it so far, bro.

By: Jack Mooring

Jack Mooring — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:44:08 +0000

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.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:48:41 +0000

Oh. Let me know when you want our thoughts on the new Kelly album.:)

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:40:47 +0000

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…:)

By: Chad Jarnagin

Chad Jarnagin — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 01:29:13 +0000

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!

By: Daniel Myers

Daniel Myers — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:45:58 +0000

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