Subscriber JCF 121 Posted December 3, 2017 Subscriber Share Posted December 3, 2017 Esperago,, I really enjoyed reading your review! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Subscriber adrnik 47 Posted December 3, 2017 Subscriber Share Posted December 3, 2017 12 hours ago, Tobybezeke said: I am 49 years old and have followed U2 since the Boy album. SOE is by far the weakest album they have ever made. No mysterious athmosphere (eg song Unforgettable Fire, With or Without You, Heartland), no magical Edge guitar (eg song In God's Country, The Fly, ...), no vulnerable Bono singing (eg song Bad, Tomorrow, Walk to the Water,..). U2 used to have something magical and mysterious. The magic has gone. I cried when I heared the first 3 songs of The Joshua Tree album, I couln't sleep for days before a new album came out, but since the last magical album, Achtung Baby, it all went downhill. With this ugly creature as the latest result. Some people suggest to bring Lanois and Eno back, but even they have evolved and are not the same persons anymore as in the 80ties. U2 will never be able to make albums like The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby again. Just like Simple Minds will never repeat New Gold Dream, Depeche Mode will never repeat Violator / Songs of Faith and Devotion and The Cure will never repeat Disintegration, .. Some media suggested this looked like a goodbye album... I really hope it is! A little harsh as I think SOE is better than SOI. POP is in my least favourite U2 album. I’d agree with your other observations but would suggest the magic remains in their live shows but has gone absent on their records! ps the last DM album is rather good btw! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Subscriber unforgettableu2 49 Posted December 3, 2017 Subscriber Share Posted December 3, 2017 (edited) 4 hours ago, mickeemac said: I am 51 yrs old / young and this album is not the stuff of Boy or the Raw tunes I grew up with But as many people who know me as an U2 fan and collector this is an BELTER OF A ALBUM it cuts me up, with the Powerful Lyrics as an Irish man that was not in touch with his emotional side for an long time I CAN FEEL, SEE,AND TOUCH What they are putting across to us.WOW this album is so alive and relevant to the whole world of today I have four children from 28yrs to 7yrs and an beautiful partner who think Iam mental and crazy about U2 this album is all about been able to talk feel and express What is going on inside of ONE self this is what is missing in life today Hi....I am 46 years old.....(almost 35 years a fan).....and I've listened to the album about 3 times..... My intuitive/gut evaluation of SOE is what you were attempting to convey...... I feel like you do... Mickee, but I disagree on one point that this album is even MORE raw than boy....very similar to october in intention/feel. SOE is composed of emotional, unfiltered expression.....much like writing in your own personal dairy/journal. Speaking to the self.....sorting out years of repressed pain or unresolved thoughts entangled & repeating inside the head. we've all been there......we've all felt/feel the compression of internal thoughts overwhelming....thinking who will understand Me? Really understand the inner working of my mind? Not 'projected', manufactured, guarded, isolated thoughts......protected by a alter image/stage....but, true RAW emotion. Music not crafted to sound extraordinary....catchy or trendy.....Music and thoughts/lyrics that are unpolished. I think this album reflects the transition of the aging process.....both good and bad aspects...... the learning curve of experience....is you just don't care about how it looks anymore.... The filter and mask can be ripped off.....being a liberating experience....yet, leaving your inner heart exposed/vulnerable. The irony is the older we become....the more inhibited we may get due to bad past experiences. Experience also can also make us wiser and know how to anticipate the worst through our errors/mistakes and observations of others. Innocence makes us free...due to not "knowing'' the consequences of our actions....innocence makes us risk takers without knowing through experience....the world is a new canvas.... experience colors our canvas with gray areas of wisdom.....painting over areas of shame, guilt, fear, doubt and repression..... I think Bono/u2 expresses both of these concepts and is reflected in the composition of SOE(and SO!).... Edited December 3, 2017 by unforgettableu2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Subscriber russpm 38 Posted December 3, 2017 Subscriber Share Posted December 3, 2017 I stupidly pre-ordered the CD and deluxe box set, neither have turned up meaning I still haven't listened to the album yet. I'm pretty damned p*ssed off ............WTF??? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Subscriber unforgettableu2 49 Posted December 3, 2017 Subscriber Share Posted December 3, 2017 1 hour ago, russpm said: I stupidly pre-ordered the CD and deluxe box set, neither have turned up meaning I still haven't listened to the album yet. I'm pretty damned p*ssed off ............WTF??? I couldn't wait.....signed up for amazon unlimited to hear it.....:) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Subscriber kbhatt 0 Posted December 3, 2017 Subscriber Share Posted December 3, 2017 Little Things That Give You Away - Is it just me that likes the live version better than the album version? Album version - background music seems distracting. Thought that the live version was more powerful with Edge's guitar starting later in the song. Hope they release the live version soon! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Subscriber x3driver 12 Posted December 3, 2017 Subscriber Share Posted December 3, 2017 (edited) I agree. The live version seems to build better with only the piano and no background guitar. It reminds me of Bad that way. Excellent studio version but is an even better song live. Edited December 3, 2017 by x3driver Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Subscriber berrigan2101 3 Posted December 3, 2017 Subscriber Share Posted December 3, 2017 i haven't heard the new album yet (waiting on the postman) but i have listened to the new singles and i think you have a point. i have been a long time u2 fan, close to 20 years, and while i don't think i will ever give up on them i think in the last 6-7 years there has been what i would call a sheen to their records, even the band themselves, which i think you're referring to when you use the term boyband. i think the band have made a mistake in thinking that being relevant, which they have mentioned before, means having a big hit and unfortunately with mainstream music getting more perfectly processed and dumbed down the only way to have a big hit is to play the game. given the producers that they have been using recently i think it is evident that they are searching for that modern day radio hit and i don't think it's worked in their favour. i think their intentions are authentic but they start to overcook things and it just becomes too refined. they are still clearly relevant, any tour they do will show that there are tens of thousands of fans around the world but musically i think they need to just start looking inward rather than outward. all their great work has come when they ignored what was trendy at the time; 1980 punk/post punk - pissed off youth, screw authority, i'm angry/depressed - u2 sings about innocence of youth, personal and spiritual growth, unforgettable fire then went one further with a complete upheaval in their sound. the joshua tree couldn't have sounded more different to the synthesiser pop dominating the time, achtung baby flipped everything again and sounded nothing like anything in 1991 and i still think pop is a hugely under appreciated record which i think has been their biggest risk in their career. i still think they have great music in them and it can still happen but i think they are too aware of what people think of them and are now playing it safe in attempt to please them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Subscriber newsman 5 Posted December 4, 2017 Subscriber Share Posted December 4, 2017 This is the first U2 album that I dislike the more I listen to it. A few gems, but mostly cringe. Best song: Red Flag Day. The album as a whole: Meh. C+ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Subscriber newsman 5 Posted December 4, 2017 Subscriber Share Posted December 4, 2017 18 hours ago, Tobybezeke said: I am 49 years old and have followed U2 since the Boy album. SOE is by far the weakest album they have ever made. No mysterious athmosphere (eg song Unforgettable Fire, With or Without You, Heartland), no magical Edge guitar (eg song In God's Country, The Fly, ...), no vulnerable Bono singing (eg song Bad, Tomorrow, Walk to the Water,..). U2 used to have something magical and mysterious. The magic has gone. I cried when I heared the first 3 songs of The Joshua Tree album, I couln't sleep for days before a new album came out, but since the last magical album, Achtung Baby, it all went downhill. With this ugly creature as the latest result. Some people suggest to bring Lanois and Eno back, but even they have evolved and are not the same persons anymore as in the 80ties. U2 will never be able to make albums like The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby again. Just like Simple Minds will never repeat New Gold Dream, Depeche Mode will never repeat Violator / Songs of Faith and Devotion and The Cure will never repeat Disintegration, .. Some media suggested this looked like a goodbye album... I really hope it is! This. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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