No Line on the Horizon–Review

To say that I’ve been anxiously waiting for five long years for the new U2 album is a gross understatement.  I was about half planning to call in sick on the day the new album came out just so I could listen to it all day.  U2 has so much material recorded that they’ve never published that they could have put out three albums in the last five years.  I guess that when you’re the world’s biggest band you can do things on your own schedule and not worry about any pushback.

“No Line on the Horizon” will officially be released this coming Tuesday, but it has been available online to U2.com subscribers since last Wednesday.  I’ve listened to it about five or six times now and purposely waited to write a review.  So, here goes…

It seems like U2 has always kept the same basic approach to their albums in groups of three.  Their first three albums (Boy, October, & War) were very raw, emotional, and seem unbalanced musically.  They were still finding their sound.  Then came the next three (Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree, Rattle & Hum.)  This is when they hit their stride and established their “sound.”  As far as popularity goes, it doesn’t get any better than the late 80’s.  Then came the 90’s when the boys from Ireland got all funky (Achtung Baby, Zooropa, & Pop.)  After all the experimentation of the 90’s, they woke up and realized that they were U2 again and returned to their “sound” (All That You Can’t Leave Behind, How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb.)  Which leaves us with the third installment of this decade–No Line on the Horizon.

Now before I get into No Line, let me say that I really like and appreciate all the different sounds that U2 has produced over the years.  I think every one of their albums can be enjoyed on its own.  Being such a hardcore fan means two things regarding new music…I have very high expectations, which also means that I have a high potential for being disappointed.

All of this being said, let’s get down to the new album.  I was fully expecting the third installment of the current incarnation of U2 and that is precisely what I got.  I won’t examine every single song here (lots of other people will do that), but I’ll give you my general impressions.

1.  This seems to be a more mellow album that Atomic Bomb.  There really are only two “fast” songs.  The rest of the songs fall into the medium category (Think “Stuck in a Moment” from All You Can’t Leave Behind.)  It’s almost as if they didn’t have the energy to put out another album full of songs like Vertigo.  The most upbeat part of the album is in the middle.

2.  There is a much more overt spiritual component that hearkens back to the days of the Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum.  The difference is that they finally seem to have found what they were looking for (pun intented).  The second song, “Magnificent” is a full fledged praise song that seems to answer the religious questions that asked earlier.  You could sing this song in church–some of the best lyrics Bono has written.

3.  It seems that U2 draws on their own previous work for influences.  Each one of the new songs could have been plucked off a previous album.  Magnificent from Pop, Get On Your Boots is Vertigo, part two.  Stand Up Comedy resembles Achtung Baby.  Unknown Caller from All That You Can’t Leave Behind.  Fez Being Born reminds me of The Unforgettable Fire.

After the first listen, I told my wife that I didn’t really like it.  I should have known better than to judge it on one listen.  Like much of their work, you really only begin to appreciate the brilliance of it by repeated encounters (Zooropa has the same effect.)  If you are a hardcore U2 fan, you should have been expecting this very album.  If you’ve just become a fan this decade, then this will probably seem a little slow and experimental (don’t give up on it, though.)  If this is your first encounter with U2, you’re probably only 13 years old or have just come out of your bomb shelter for the first time in 30 years.  No Line on the Horizon is like picking up a football game at the beginning of the 4th quarter.  There’s been a lot that’s gone on before that you’ve missed, so take a few minutes to watch the highlights.  You’ll definitely appreciate their latest effort more if you do.

2008’s Top Ten Most Played iPod Songs

Yes, I realize that I’m a quirky person.  I have a gift for remembering things that aren’t important.  In my mind, I can make a competition out of absolutely anything.  I have silly rules that I live by.  All of this is probably a sign of some yet undiscovered mental disorder.

So, when I got an iPod a couple years ago, I was thrilled to see that it kept track of how many times you play a song.  So what did I do?  Naturally, I turned it into a competition.  At the end of every year, I look to see which song has earned the title of Don Sanders’ #1 song of the year.  It kind of reminds me of being a kid and listening to Kasey Kasem’s year-end count down.  Then I reset the counts on January 1st for a new year of competition.

I am sure that the music that you listen to says a lot about you.  I have no idea what these songs say about me (other than an unhealthy obsession with U2).  Perhaps some bored psychologist will accidentally run across this blog and analyze me for free.  So without further adieu, here are my Top Ten Most Played Songs for 2008 (drum rolling…)

10.  Mysterious Ways by U2–The 2006 Most Played Song champion, Mysterious Ways makes the list for the third consecutive year.  Classic Edge guitar distortion.  Probably would have been higher if I hadn’t started

9.  Such a Nightby Elvis Presley–Remarkably, the only Elvis song on my iPod.  This is what I think of when I hear the name Elvis.

8.  1979 by Smashing Pumpkins–The first SP song I ever downloaded after hearing it on Pandora.  Not a typical SP song, which is probably why I like it.  Yes, I realize that it’s nihilist garbage, but it has a good beat and you can dance to it.

7.  Miss Sarajevo by U2–Not your typical U2 song, as it is a duet with Pavarotti.  I hate opera, but this song can nearly bring you to tears (in a good way, not because it is hurting your ears like opera.)  I became a big fan after watching Bono perform it in U23D (okay, I saw the movie three times.)

6.  One Tree Hill by U2–Last year’s champion, this very underrated song from The Joshua Tree remains in the Top Ten.  I was disappointed that the remastered JT cd didn’t imporove the quality though.  One of my all time favs.

5.  City of Blinding Lights by U2–This is one of the ringers I have set for when my wife calls.  I think this is the best track from Atomic Bomb.  Kind of Edge’s current interpretation of his own classic sound.

4.  Desert of Our Love by U2–I think this song made the list because my family likes it more than I do.  It comes from the extra disc in the Joshua Tree remastered set.  Interesting that the baseline eventually became the baseline for Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.

3.  Viva la Vidaby Coldplay–This was my first exposure to Coldplay (I thought the iPod commercial was cool.)  My daughter plays it more than I do because she’s a violin player.  Not totally sure what the song is about, though I like the reference to Jerusalem.

2.  One Headlight by The Wall flowers–Another Pandora discovery.  This is a very addictive song.  The guitar, drums, and base get stuck in your head all day long.  Opened me up to all the Wallflowers’ stuff.

and the number one most played song on Don Sanders’ iPod in 2008 is………

1.  In a Little Whileby U2–One of the most soulful songs ever.  Just a song about a guy missing his wife and daughter.  Great guitar opening riff.  Everytime it comes on, my son reminds me that it was the song that Johnny Ramon was lilstening to when he died.  When Bono heard this, he proclaimed it a gospel song.  I’ll go with that.

My Top 15 Theologically Loaded U2 Songs

Yeah.  It’s 4:00pm on Thursday.  I’ve been seriously sleep deprived since the beginning of the week (a graduate statistics class induced zombie like state.)  I’ve been up early today because I took my son out to breakfast at Allin’s Diner (taught him how to play solitaire with real cards sitting at the counter!)  I’ve been studying all (literally ALL) day on lessons for Sunday and there is absolutely no oxygen in this office.  I’m a little punchy.

So, to rejuvinate myself, I took a stroll by the fountain Pepsi machine in the lobby and cranked up the U2.  I started thinking about my favorite theologically loaded U2 songs and decided to share the list with my faithful readers.  One thing that strikes me about these songs is that they are brutally honest.  If they are hacked off at God, they say so.  If they are contrite of heart, they let it be known.  I think that so many times we’re afraid to be honest about our thought, like God will be offended.  Anyway, here they are (with album in parenthesis).  This isn’t an exhaustive list, just my favorites.  Care to share yours?

• Where the Streets Have No Name (Joshua Tree)
  I want this song played at my funeral (if Jesus doesn’t return first.) 
• Yahweh (Atomic Bomb)
  Really started to like this song when heard it on U23D.
• God, Pt. 2 (Rattle & Hum)
  Take that, John Lennon!
• Pride (Unforgettable Fire)
  MLK & Jesus in the same song.
• The Playboy Mansion (Pop)
  Very underrated song, but full of great ideas.
• One Tree Hill (Joshua Tree)
  Probably my all time favorite U2 song (at least today).
• Until the End of the World (Achtung Baby!)
  Very interesting take on Judas and Jesus.
• Grace (All that You Can’t Leave Behind)
  One word says it all.
• Walk On (All that You Can’t Leave Behind)
  What a great all around song.
• I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (Joshua Tree)
  You can never go wrong with the JT.
• If God Will Send His Angels (Pop)
  Fantastic guitar lick and thought provoking lyrics.
• Wake Up Dead Man (Pop)
  Straight from the Psalms (except for the f-bomb)
• Love Rescue Me (Rattle & Hum)
  Who would have guess that B.B. King & Bono would sound good together?
• 40 (War)
  As in Psalm 40.
• Gloria (October)
  Absolutely fantastic lyrics and good music too (for 1982).