 "WHAT? AN AVERAGE RATING BELOW 4 STARS? NO WAY!" | 2008-09-17 |
| - Reviewed By dimitriuscerti |
This is a great album, and I am no avid U2 fan, as this album and Achtung Baby were the first U2 albums I bought.
Most of the songs on this album move and change in their progression, so this is no collection of rhymes on repeat, but a well-thought-out, provacative work of some complexity.
It has a few rockers (Vertigo, Love and Peace, All Because of You), some beauty (Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own, City of Blinding Lights, A Man and A Woman), and a couple mid-tempo wonders (Crumbs From Your Table and Original of the Species (and this one with an ending reminiscent of the best of the Rolling Stones).
Great album, don't miss it! 5 stars! Ok, it's not perfect (it's not easy finding perfect albums), but really all the songs, except for the ok Yahweh, are very good. I had to add the fifth star to make up for the below-four-star average I noticed here. Still it doesn't get much better than this. |
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| "I Don't Understand All The Poor Reviews" | 2008-07-22 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3BLQVJLPWURC5 |
| I am having a hard time understanding all of these one-star reviews. This is a solid album from a great band, and is by no means the kind of "muzak" that other reviewers have referred to it as. I don't understand why having a distinctive sound and choosing to write songs that show it somehow amounts to a tired rehashing of old ideas. I thought that part of being a good band was developing a distinctive sound. It's not their fault that countless other bands have borrowed chiming guitars and soaring vocals. This isn't a five star album, more like 4, but I rated it to try to offset the countless, and to my mind inexplicable, one star reviews. The most disappointing thing about this album is that so many people on this page have written it off, most often with no real reason whatsoever. Not the Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby, but definitely worth a listen and far superior to most of what is out there today. |
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| "A 'must have' album for casual to hard-core U2 fans" | 2008-07-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: APGL77TPNZU6M |
If you love early U2 AND later U2 you'll LOVE this album for the mix of both found in the music on this disc. I liked this album even better than ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND.
I also recommend the Collector's Edition of this album. Yes, I have both! |
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 "With a Hammer!!!" | 2008-06-10 |
| - Reviewed By uiole |
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. |
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| "U2 - Good But Not Great" | 2008-06-07 |
| - Reviewed By stevesly |
| U2'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. |
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| "Best album of 2004" | 2008-05-26 |
| - Reviewed By es_yoda |
| U2 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! |
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| "Great Music" | 2008-05-03 |
| - Reviewed By User: A35CUDEI8Z4F13 |
| I'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. |
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 "This my all means is only mediocre for U2" | 2008-03-16 |
| - Reviewed By cervoneri |
| 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. |
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| "Looses flavor." | 2008-03-07 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2X49S916C6EM5 |
| You know what? I really liked this album at first, through electrolysis, but even the hits loose their flavor after a few listens, a rudimentary synopsis of a general scope of the symbols' meanings. Which means they have exceeded the speed of light 100-fold. It was a nice try, but this is, so to speak, no "Pop Mart" not even a "Rattle & Hum." |
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| "U2 Keeps Getting Better!" | 2008-02-02 |
| - Reviewed By zoezoe_1 |
I don't know the reason for all U2 hate reviews. Take those reviews for what they are, as such negativity usually reflects a limitation on the part of the reviewers. And yes, in some cases, jealousy; it is easier to criticize others than to do something concrete and meaningful with your own life.
This release is phenomenal, with music that transports you and lyrics that are full of meaning and emotion. The band is very cohesive and the music is tight. Bono is as full of energy as ever and his voice has matured with age and has a pathos at times that is haunting. Gone is the over-produced hype of Zoo and PopMart (although I appreciated both for what they represented and said about our culture) and instead we have songs that are complex and full and speak to our hearts. Try to truly listen to the words of "Miracle Drug" and "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own" and you can't help but feel deeply touched by them. Add incredible music that drill that deep bass and singing electric guitar and tribal drums into your belly and it is a transcendent experience. And of course, they just truly rock out at times as in "Love and Peace or Else", reminiscent of Bullet the Blue Sky, and "All Because of You". Finally, Yahwee is a prayer with the power to change the world - if we work for it. What an amazing c.d. To my hear the only somewhat weak song is "Man and a Woman" - but that just speaks to personal preference. I don't think there is a bad cut here. Keep up the good fight, U2; and let's help them by working in our own communities and to find peace and love in our own hearts. |
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