bryan888

I have to agree with Mr. Mephisto('s brother). I got the disk yesterday and it's not left my cd player since I first put it in. Some of the material does harken back to early U2, a plus in my book, but other songs are more reminiscent of mid-career work, while some other stuff sounds as new and fresh as a daisy.

So far, I'd have to say it's a well rounded release, covers all the typical U2 bases--breaks some new ground, also, but nothing earthshatteringly different.

I believe this is a critical point for the group; they have thus far managed to survive and stay relevent through many years and many changes in public tastes, opinions, and musical trends, where other bands got laid to waste in the wake of "the new sound", whatever it was at any given point. (i.e., punk, 80's pop, hair metal, grunge, emo, present day pop/r&b/urban trends)

This is a time they must once again establish themselves as an effective voice and force for the next decade to come. IMO, that's why there is such a huge swell of promotion behind this release - it could well determine what their place is/will be or was in the coming years. They've got alot riding on the success of this disk.

All that said, personally I think it's a VERY good collection of songs and will please U2 fans as well as appeal to a mass audience. Is it their best work ever? Too early to tell for me--the tunes still need more time to osmose into my DNA, like another two weeks of listening, but early indications are it's not their best work ever, but it is damn good and may be their best work in a long while.

The real question is, does the music buying public in general still care? Do they still wanna hear Bono's stream of consciousness lyrics and The Edge's multitap digital delay guitar fills and riffs? THAT'S the question everyone, not the least of which is the band themselves, wants an answer to.

But I gotta say this; they've survived this long & not by accident, they have a great track record, and they still seem to genuinely care about the quality of music they put out. Plus, they've done a smart thing by getting back to basics, to a familiar sounding U2, maybe in an effort to remind people who, over the years, could have forgotten what it was they liked about the band to begin with, yet all the while marketing it strongly to the "ipod generation". Good business, in my book. They're not going down without a fight, that's for sure.

My gut tells me we'll be hearing yet another new single released from this disk even as late as a year from now. So I say, go ahead and buy it. If you like U2, you wont be disappointed, plus you'll already know the lyrics to that "new" single from it that gets released next December!


ehhhh, but then again, what the hell do I know?!

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