Up to Scratch in Every Way... Another classic in waiting

NB...Ok, so This is now my fourth update of this review, having given it yet another week to settle.

I gave a review of this a few weeks ago on Amazon in a haze of excitement about how this album was (at least) as good as Achtung Baby (U2's masterpiece in my opinion). After having swayed back and forth in my opinions, the album has finally sunk in. So is it any good? Does it live up to the hype? Is it a new U2 classic? As a fan but not an obsessive, I'd have to say absolutely it does, in so many more ways than I had originally expected.

Firstly I want to state that I read an interview on Rollingstone where Adam Clayton perfectly captured what the course of one's listening experience feels like when a U2 album is released. He explained that (to him) each song that U2 work on lasts so well because to get to the stage that it is actually recorded, they have played it (living and breathing each beat and note) and listened and changed it 50 million times... and so, when we come to hear them as fans, those songs have that lastability whereby after each listen we hear more intricacies of the song and they continue to grow as our istening experience grows and progresses. I agree...

Firstly you get the initial impression of professionalism, between the first chords and the last: we know that U2 are simply the most well-oiled, professional band in the world today (ever also). Then you get the period of doubt when you know you're not yet used to the song structure or melodies, and you want to wait until you are before you feel you can stand fully by the quality standards of the record.
Following this is a further doubt as you hear mixed reviews from fans... many of those bad reviews being from disgruntled fans expecting Joshua Tree mark 2 it must be said. Then, as days go by that doubt is slowly counterbalanced by the emerging feeling, passion and quality that is exuded by the music this band produces. And finally, weeks go by and you find that this new U2 album is almost permanently stuck on the car stereo, in the house stereo and even on your iPod play list. The truth is that after four weeks, it surprised me immensely that even when I stick on other cds (my constant new compilations etc.) I keep switching over after a few songs to hear more from this amazing album. I underestimated U2: something I never thought I would say.

Song by song (as with any album), there will be some stronger than others, so it's worthwhile going through the album and explaining...

Album opener, "Vertigo" is very good for what it is... lively, uplifting rock... perfect to hear on the radio, but not always a song you particularly listen to for pleasure. It is a great U2 rocker without question, but it doesn't have the depth of some of the subsequent songs. Having said that, for an adrenaline-pumping new-age rock anthem... who could ever do it better?

Following this up is "Miracle Drug" is a very strong song, and one of the major growers, with enough variation to really hold the attention after those first few "break-in" listens.

Thirdly comes Bono's poignant epitaph to his father... "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" is an astonishing song on so many levels. Firstly there's the meaning of the song: when you hear Bono sing it, you know it was a song he had to sing. For all the doubters, there is one section of this I point to... The middle 8 when Bono sings "Can you hear me when I sing... You're the reason why the opera is in me..." you simply couldn't doubt the passion, the emotion.

Of the rest of the album, "Crumbs From Your Table" and "A Man and A Woman" are other standouts (although "Crumbs..." blatantly recreates the chorus riff of "Walk On"). "Crumbs" has Bono in typically mystic form, singing "You speak of signs and wonders, I need something other..." as if he doesn't believe in God... I don't believe, and as such, I take a great deal from this song, but if you read Bono's explanation for the song he clarifies that the lyrics are in relation to the church's old view of ignorance towards AIDs and its victims. A "round-about way of saying it, but potent and passionate nonetheless.

"Love and Peace..." is another good grower; one of the songs I had a lot of doubt over for a few weeks, but one that has grown into view and represents an integral section of the album...

Clayton's bass shocked me somewhat on this album, as it is a great deal more prominent than on any of their previous efforts (It may just be that I've mostly been listening on my car stereo however, so correct me if I am wrong!). To me it fully rivals the guitar as a focal point on many songs, and it is never less than impressive, focussed and driven.
The Edge's guitar is, ofcourse, the major instrument on the album (possible exception being the vocals) and even given his historically insurmountable creative output, his work has never been better. The swirling effects that he creates are exceptionally textured and are always artistically applicated.

The best song on the album for me is "Original Of The Species", perhaps the biggest grower on the album and a definite contender for song of the year. Give this a few good listens and when it seeps in you will find yourself stunned by this song on so many levels. U2 always had a cunning knack for writing songs you thought were always in existence and this album is filled with a number of these tracks... not in a "they've ripped off someone else" kind of way, just in the way that they are simply THAT good at writing and structuring songs.

Larry's drums are very solid as always, although one criticism I would have is that his snare drum is very weak in volume on a number of tracks. This is, I am sure, a conscious decision the band made when mixing down, but it has been a persistent problem for U2's production values in previous albums also (for example, listen to "Streets Have No Name" on the JTree and then listen to how they play it live... the drums are much more prominent and driven, and as such, give the song added drive and resonance).

Production-wise, with the exception of the small criticism above, the various producers on board here have done an amazing job of re-creating the sound that U2 produce in the live arena. I felt ATYCLB suffered badly from a compressed sound which took away some of the life of the songs, but thankfully the consistency of this album is complemented by the wonderfully live feel of the songs.

There are fans who are keen to attack the band because they are pompous or arrogant... to them I ask: would you not have a swagger about you if you had the influence and success of U2?? If you knew that millions of people around the world would invariably wet themselves given the chance to meet you would you not feel a little confident? I'm quite sure I would. Even worse are those who criticise Bono as an overblown charicature... I can't possibly imagine how anyone does this given Bono's history: He is perhaps the single most compassionate rock star on the face of the planet... who else brings politicians and schoolchildren together in Belfast for a concert for peace(back in 98) or pleads with the international community for aid for the 3rd world? You people are damn idiots if you think that the world would be better without Bono in the public eye. I say good on Bono and U2 for being where they are. I say congratulations. If there's a band on this earth with as much talent and professionalism as U2 I have yet to see them. That they created a couple of truly classic albums over a decade ago doesn't detract from the fact that this is a supremely rich album. To me, it may well prove itself to be their latest classic given time... In the last 3-4 weeks it has grown on me to an amazng degree, as each song has filled out and stapled itself (as most U2 songs do) to my inner soundtrack.

As an album it is worth 4 1/2 stars due to its' flow and continuity (I would only give a perfect album 5 stars... i.e. just about none), and although I have commented in past incarnations of this review that the album is patchy, I feel it is actually one of their most coherent works, at the very least...

At the end of the day, it's worth a good listen from any self-respecting rock fan, and it's more than a worthy album by anyone's standards... I think the reason it's been criticised by other fans is that it's been a good while coming and it doesn't give them what they expected. To my ears, it has the song structure style (i.e. short and concise) of ATYCLB and the sound of both The Joshua Tree (note the 80-s styled guitar lines on some tracks such as "City Of Blinding Lights") and Achtung Baby (many of the lyrical and vocal intonations). It might not live up to either in terms of sheer classic quality, but in many ways it's as strong an album as The Joshua Tree (minus that album's stunning opening trio of songs).

Give it a chance as a fan: sometimes we are overly critical when things don't measure up to EXACTLY what we are expecting... and how unfair is that to the artist? They create music that sounds good to them and hope that (in U2's terms of scale) the world will love it. It really is unfair, so listen with open ears... if anyone else released this album it would be widely acclaimed by critics and fans alike as an absolute masterpiece. Sadly, U2's standards dictate an impossibly high standard with which to live up to, and this is why they get criticised so unfairly.
All in all a superb offering from U2, with a number of instantly memorable modern classics and a few great songs to fill out the album.

After another week of listening I have come to the firm conclusion that this album, as I initially stated in my original review on Amazon, is the single most consistent U2 album. It may not have the freshness of Achtung Baby, but then again, I'm not sure I've heard another album in my lifetime that does. To me, this album represents (as U2 hoped it would) a return to their earlier days in terms of scope and passion and yet it is underpinned by a quality of songwriting only found in their middle era works. I honestly feel that this is a true U2 masterpiece and I am so glad they took their time in presenting us with this... It keeps blowing me away.