I guess even U2 finally got it too - NO LINE ON THE HORIZON is their weakest album in many years. They have 6 months to bring in some new music to change the tone of the 360 degree tour which starts up again six months from now. (which is much more successful than the album. They also feel since the ROSE BOWL, CALIFORNIA show is coming out on DVD very soon they want the second part of their tour to have a different sound and set list. They are yet unsure it they will be finishing up the un - finished SONGS OF ACCENT album that was scraped during the NO LINES ON THE HORIZON sessions or if they will try to put together an entirely new, fresh album. Says Bono, I would like to put the album out quickly, but we're only going to do it if it's great" No worries, LINE ON THE HORIZON came out and it's far from great, maybe the "6 months only" pressure will help.....

I actually find No Line on the horizon to be their best in years

I, for one, think No Line On The Horizon is a good album. Great? I dunno. It hasn't been out long enough/listened to enough to discern that. I like it more than some other U2 albums. Regardless of how 'good' or 'great' an album is these days, it almost means nothing it seems. People will shell out the big bucks to go see a 2 hour show but won't toss out $15 or how ever many dollars for a record? Something that lasts a lifetime ie longer than a 2 hour show. They could have released The Joshua Tree right now and it wouldn't sell for shit. Sales will suck for just about everybody from what the media enjoys saying. U2 were quite proud of NLOTH so I'll take what they say with a grain of salt, if that is indeed what they have said/are saying. The leftovers from the sessions will supposedly be Songs Of Ascent and are basically finished.

One could argue, why would The Rolling Stones bother recording a new album if it's not going to be 'great'? I don't think they care other than Mick being able to say they're 'not like The Beach Boys, we do new albums', which is seemingly more and more untrue with the greatest hits review the Stones have become along with ignoring the new album as far as the album named tour is concerned.

U2 seem to think it means a lot to top themselves each time with a new album. Whatever that means. Which is a good work ethic but...Pop is not exactly great or better than Zooropa now is it. So they're still striving. Good for them. More power to 'em.

I heard the new album is a bunch of left overs from no line

It is.

I like lots of U2 material - mostly from the early few albums. Each of their last 4-5 CDs has 1-2 songs that I really like - that's about it. However I support U2, Aerosmith, Rush and the few real rock bands that are still out there wowing the crowds and putting out new music. I'm worried that in a few more years, even that will all come to a crashing halt when they disappear for good. There doesn't seem to be lots of new rock 'n' roll out there that makes much of a difference now.

I hope this isn't a repeat like Pop being the follow-up to Acthung Baby. Please, no more disco Bono.

I also really like No Line. When it comes to the Songs Of Ascent - it is a pure speculation, there are many interviews mentioning it and many hints, but it is like with every U2 album - a lot of talk and the result comes later than everybody expects. Generally speaking - Bonno is always very enthusiastic and says they have it nearly finnished. But that usually means they have a couple of demos and there is another year of work on it :-) In the latest interview The Edge mentions that they are nowhere near an actual release: "Songs of Ascent remains an idea more than an actual album at this point, a subject of debate within the band. No release plans yet." He is much more realistic I think. You can read about it here: [www.atu2.com] We will see.
Anyway, as I said, I really like No Line, I am looking forward to the new release and I am looking forward to the tour to re-start.

imo they have to do something to stop the downward spiral that started with "How to dismantle a successful rock band" and is now in full throttle with "No hits on the horizon"...

I think No Line is a very good album.

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frankotero
I hope this isn't a repeat like Pop being the follow-up to Acthung Baby. Please, no more disco Bono.

I think you mean zooropa. There was Achtung baby, then Zooropa and Pop was years later.

Now I'm not the greatest U2 fan in the world, own a few of their albums and have seen them play live, which was fantastic. But for me that last album was a load of crappola. SO boring and monotonous, with for me no stand out foot stompers. I've had more fun counting leaves on trees.

I felt that it favoured poorly in comparison to Bigger Bang, which showed more diversity, better tempo and quite simply, rocked a whole lot better.

But, it's a free world, so whatever rocks your boat.

You're right, bluesinc. Pop and Zooropa are the 2 albums I don't like, aside from 2 or 3 songs. The one with Johnny Cash was cool.

I think Zooropa was very good! Numb, Lemon, Stay, Zooropa, The Wanderer... I like most of the songs on it. Pop however was terrible. Hopelessly over the top although there are three or four good songs on it.

As far as I know Pop (as we know it) was not exactly the album the band wanted to make. With the tour dates being fixed and the beginning of the tour approaching, the album had to be finished in a hurry and the band later stated that they were not satisfied with the result (and neither am I).

So, if they are planning to record a new album, I doubt that it will be helpful that they only have six months from now on to work on it.

(by the way, I thought No Line was better than Atomic Bomb four years ago. Like skipstone I think it's good, but certainly not "great").

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frankotero
I hope this isn't a repeat like Pop being the follow-up to Acthung Baby. Please, no more disco Bono.

Zooropa was the follow-up to Achtung Baby. I always like that album.

I thought and still do think that Zooropa is a brilliant album and a very fitting and fantastic follow up to Achtung Baby. Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me was written for Achtung and recorded for Zooropa but it makes sense why it wasn't included on the album. And some songs on Pop were leftovers from Achtung/Zooropa as well.

Ha ha. That's funny to read what Edge said about Songs Of Ascent and meanwhile Bono has been saying/hinting/etc that it's basically done!

No Line on the Horizon is easily their best album since Achtung Baby. On the 360 tour they performed 6-7 songs from it each night and they were great! Certainly not "stream to the beer stand" time.

My personal Achtung Baby - NLOTH album ratings (scale of 0-4):

4.0 - Achtung Baby
2.5 - Zooropa
3.5 - Pop
2.5 - All that You Can't Leave Behind
3.0 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
3.5 - No Line On the Horizon

- Zooropa, Pop & NLOTH are definitely polarizing albums, people (even diehard U2 fans) either love them or hate them. My main beef with Zooropa is that it is a collection of radically different songs and doesn't flow like a regular album. They did it as a one-off kinda experiment so it was never meant to be a proper new U2 album. It was originally just going to be an EP. There are 4-5 great songs on it though.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-11-13 18:08 by Rochdale3.

I think No Line On The Horizon is a pretty good album and I've listened to it several times.
I'm definitely looking forward to a new cd and more concerts with U2.

That's the beauty of Zooropa - it's not a "regular album". Just think if they had finished If You Wear That Velvet Dress and Wake Up Dead Man for Zooropa...

I didn'l like NLOTH until I heard it live (well the six or seven songs they played live)