Songs Of Experience

I have been a U2 fan since 1980, when I bought U2 Boy on cassette at the tender age of 10. I was a hardcore new wave U2 fan up until The Joshua Tree, which turned me off initially, due its massive success, which at the time seemed like a "sellout". I did eventually appreciate it, but never fully embraced it. I was totally turned off by Rattle and Hum, thought I lost them for good until the stunning turnaround of Achtung. Wow, what an incredible transformation! I am still in awe of the transformation and that album. Zooropa through Pop was absolutely fantastic. To me, ATYCLB was the beginning of a "packaged U2 sound", where they seemed to finally have come to a type of “U2 sound” and they really haven’t changed that much since. Having said that, this album, IMO, is the best of their post Pop albums by quite a stretch. The songs hang together much better and are MUCH stronger across the board than any other post Pop album. The album also avoids most of the more cheesy production values that have tended to plague some of their post 2000 output - they always seem to thread a cheesy keyboard line/tinkling type thing or something into too many songs - this album avoids that for most part (except for Love is Bigger), helping create a more authentic sound. I’m OK with the Love theme, this album pulls it off by starting off with an Eno-esque ode to Love and committing to the ideal throughout - i prefer the purity of it, if that is where they are at in their lives as artists, than try to pretend they are the dark mystery horse of Achtung or something - it’s not like U2 need to try to “go dark” like Taylor Swift or something as part of a “pose” of some sort, they are just a wee bit beyond that type of pretense and deservedly so. Making sincere music about humanity and connection seems about as radical as anything these days. I definitely don’t need Pitchfork trying to tell me how uncool U2 is, I can smell their hipster tripe a mile away. I can say for certain that Red Flag Day is my favorite song from U2 since maybe the War album, certainly since Achtung Baby. That song is worth the price of admission alone. Real chills from that one, it embodies the best of how U2 can make you feel. There are a couple missteps that hold it back from potentially being a full on stone cold classic. American Soul has an excellent verse structure but I’m having a hard time fully embracing the chorus, “you and I are rock n’ roll”, — just feels a little, yes again, cheesy....also doesn’t really fit the verse. I am also not totally digging Love is Bigger - slightly forgettable and has that instrumentation part that sounds like Muzak or something. Other than that, it’s the most enjoyable and consistent album from U2 in the Post Pop era and may very well may rank in their top 5 when it’s all said and done, which I hope isn’t for a long time to come!

This is the most fresh U2 Album in many years. I didn't know they could step it up even more, but they did. This band knows how to sound new in every album, even in every song. Each song on this album is very strong, there's no weakness in this album. There's no song that can be passed over. We'll never get a new Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby - those were incredible albums, but products of who U2 were at in those times. This is the next great U2 album. It won't sound like your other favorite U2 albums, but it's new, and it's GREAT. Bono sounds fantastic. Larry, Adam, and Edge are on top of their game. The production value on this album is better than anything else you've heard. Musically each song takes you in a new direction, lyrically it's brilliant, and overall I want more! I am a huge U2 fan. There isn't much they've done that I haven't liked. That said, this album certainly exceeded my expectations! If you like U2, rock music, any music at all... buy this album! This is not another Songs of Innocence, despite being the companion album. I really loved SoI, but I understand why other people didn't care for it. I can't understand why you wouldn't like this album. Bono, Edge, Larry, Adam, if you're reading his review, then hear me out: Never stop making music! Please! No band can change the world, but you have changed my world! You've given me the joy in my world and helped me through the lows and sorrows in my world. I can't imagine my life without you. Thank you so much for all the music, inspiration, love, and the best experiences of my life!

I'll admit, my first listen was a bit questionable. Now, I can't stop playing it. It's definitely another sonic departure for U2, but that's to be expected. However, throughout the songs there are signature U2 sounds hiding in plain sight. Listen to Edge's slide guitar solo in Lights of Home and it will take you right back to the older, more familiar U2 of your youth. Red Flag Day is another one that while being totally fresh and new, has the power to take you back to the early days with a classic bassline, agresisvely plucked by Adam. Maybe the most subtle nod is the shaker part on the chorus of the same song - it's straight outta New Years Day. The Blackout starts with a great mix of Achtung Baby guitar meets War-era bass. Speaking of bass, Adam does a stunning job through the whole album. He's always had a distinct sound, but it seems to be nudged up in the mix just a little and it is glorious. Thematically, if you've read any interviews with Bono or the Edge in the past year you probably know that the political climate in America shaped how this album progressed. The great thing about it is that the predominant message that comes through is love - whether for your fellow humans in general or for someone specific. Any old band can make a knee-jerk "protest" record as a reaction to what they perceive as a negative political situation - but what U2 comes up with is not reaction, but response. And how should one respond to tension, fear, unrest? With love, patience, peace - all things that fly in the face of what's wrong in the world. Yes, U2 has changed but there are still plenty of things about this that are undeniably U2.

Disco muy digno de U2. Aunque me gustó mucho más el anterior (Songs of Innocence, 2014) valoro el mérito de sacar un disco como este después de tantos años de carrera. Quizá hubiese preferido un disco más arriesgado y no tan acomodado que roza el autoplágio. Pero tampoco nos vamos a poner exquisitos estando como está el patio. No lo pondría entre sus mejores discos, pero tampoco entre los peores. Más cerca del pop rock maduro pero comercial del All that you Cant Leave Behind que de la creatividad y la búsqueda de la innovación de Achtung Baby o Zooropa. Tiene buena ideas y muy buenas canciones pero creo que fallan cuando intentan buscar el próximo hit para la radio, una nueva Vértigo o Beautiful Day y en la radio de hoy en día no hay sitio para eso. Espero que para el próximo disco inteten hacer buena música y punto. No tienen nada q demostrar y buscar el éxito y ser relevantes en la musica mainstream de hoy creo que no es el camino. Sobre la edición, muy contento con el doble vinilo azul y la lámina con las letras de las canciones.

U2 es sinónimo de calidad y profesionalismo. Esta producción tiene una maravillosa Delux Edition, la cual vale mucho la pena. El costo impresionante!!!

2014's Songs of Innocence was for me a very strong album particularly because it harked back somewhat to - especially during its second half - U2's earlier rock sound and even some of the sonic experimentation of their 1990s records. Admittedly, its free download to all users iTunes accounts is infamous now and a pompous misstep by the band but although it was certainly a mistake it at least introduced U2 to a new generation of music lovers. This new album Songs of Experience is a companion album to that 2014 record and fortunately the briefest time between U2 records since the early 90s with it similarly being recorded during successful tour dates like 1993's Zooropa. I must admit after hearing the first two singles I did approach this album with a bit of a sense of trepidation as it was clear it was going to be more of a pop record than Songs of Innocence was, and I had been one of the fans that was alienated by U2's 2000s output that had shared this style. But after a couple of listens I started to feel although there is more of an emphasis on pop than rock this time it does not matter too much because the actual songs are much stronger than most of the ones during that lost U2 decade for me. Although they are poppy, the melodies are much catchier and more memorable. Additionally, what makes Songs of Experience also superior to the noughties' records is the fact that there are a number of modern production touches which make the sound much more interesting and even some of the old, vintage U2 sound is returned to on occasions albeit in this generally poppier form. In terms of the record's production, you cannot help but feel that newcomers to the team like Andy Barlow, Jolyon Thomas and Brent Kutzle are responsible for widening U2's sonic palette a bit again while Ryan Tedder continues his role from Songs of Innocence and although he is primarily a pop producer you sense that he has an ability to get great tunes out of the band. I was concerned when I heard that old hands were returning like Steve Lillywhite and Jacknife Lee but unlike their stale production on 2004's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, they contribute a more anthemic, captivating and intriguing sound this time. Most of these songs concern Bono's recent brush with mortality and are consequently more personal about himself and his family - these tend to be the quieter, more ballad-like poppier tracks and there are plenty of them. Opener Love is All We Have Left is very electronic and serene but has a pretty melody and a contemporary treatment of Bono's vocals with the lyrics concerning his younger self and current, older person talking to each other. It is a strong first track while the first couple of singles - You're the Best Thing About Me and Get Out of Your Own Way - sound so much more powerful when you hear them from good record playing equipment compared to the internet. They grow on you and are decent songs with the former being like a poppier Even Better Than the Real Thing and the latter having some of the radio-friendly style of the Joshua Tree about it. As they are the biggest sounding and most commercial songs on the record they definitely deserved to be the first single releases from Songs of Experience. The high-quality Summer of Love is mainly acoustic with a shimmering synth and backing vocal climax from Lady Gaga. The self-deprecating of Bono in the role of the rock star, The Showman, is a catchy tune with a bit of rock about it amongst its obvious pop sound. Landlady - again about Bono's wife Ali like the first single - took about three listens to get into my consciousness but when it did it becomes like a poppy version of U2's Unforgettable Fire-era songs and very pleasant and dream-like. Meanwhile, the mesmerising Love is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way features yet more iconic lyrics and is quite anthemic. Although the closer 13 (There Is a Light) is like one other song a re-write of a Songs of Innocence track (namely Song for Someone), it is actually superior and more moving and after all as this album is a companion piece it does not matter that there are these couple of links between the two records. However, the absolute greatest of these quieter tracks has to be The Little Things That Give You Away and Lights of Home. The former is again very much in a pop style but there are some new production tricks used to keep it an interesting listen. I know it has been compared to Coldplay's Up and Up and while it is like that song a bit structurally really it is a great in its own right with some gorgeous atmospheres during the first half and an excellent guitar line by The Edge during the second half that gives it a bit of a rock balance too. The lyrics - like on all the other tracks throughout the album - are well written, thoughtful and emotional from Bono and the latter song contains the finest lines on the album including "I shouldn't be here cause I should be dead" and "Oh Jesus if I'm still your friend." Lights of Home for me differs from the other more poppy, ballad songs as it is more of a classic U2 rock anthem that could have been on many of their peak albums from the eighties and nineties and has a vintage Edge guitar solo to boot. Although its main blues riff is based on a bass line from a Haim song - who feature as backing vocalists - it is simply vintage U2 and could be the top track. In fact, while most of Songs of Experience is composed of quieter, more introspective pop songs there are still a few occasions where the band rock out and these are nearly all the more political tracks (Summer of Love excepted). Clearly these songs are motivated by the rise of the contemporary right wing like Brexit/Trump and so they are going to be louder to convey perhaps the bands' anger. But anyway, despite the fact that you are going to expect more ballads from them due to them being a bit older, it is really refreshing to have some rock anthems on this record to balance it out slightly. Although American Soul is the other song that is a connection back to Songs of Innocence and a blatant re-write of Volcano in parts, it is simply a great, fun rock song with some superb, heavy riffing from the Edge and booming vocals from Bono. Red Flag Day is similarly about refugees and is one of the very best songs with it in fact resurrecting the sound of the first three, very earliest U2 albums - particularly War - with their first producer Steve Lillywhite contributing to this revived sound. The Blackout on the other hand is clearly political and it is between this and Lights of Home for the title of finest track. I must admit when I heard it when released in its live form a few months ago I was disappointed as it sounded too much to me like a 2004 song. However, this is one of the not too often times when a U2 song actually sounds superior on record as opposed to live, as this studio version both rocks out with some imperious guitar riffing from The Edge but also has some delightful electronic flourishes at times. They complement the rock sound and provide it with an Achtung Baby-style electro-rock feel that the live version lacked. Like the songs on Depeche Mode's Spirit, it is a masterwork inspired by the current political state of the world. Overall, Songs of Experience is very much as mind-blowing as any of their 20th century output and is the pop record that the noughties albums could have been if they had better songs throughout. There are no weak links and all the tracks are up there with their best material with The Edge pulling off his trademark scintillating guitar work yet again. I understand too that sales of Songs of Experience have been generally lower but saying that all that matters is if I like it ultimately and I really do. Anyway, it has still gone to number one in America and top three or five in most of the other charts around the world and that is quite good really for a band in their late career while album sales have fallen generally somewhat for a lot of their contemporaries. Although Songs of Innocence was in its second half more in the vein of their classic rock sound, Songs of Experience is a superior companion piece with more consistently excellent tracks and realises the full potential of their pop side that their 00s albums failed to reach.

Parfais

Kann man ein U2 Album aus dem Jahr 2017 mit den Meisterwerken der 80er und 90er Jahre vergleichen? Was erwarte ich von einem neuen U2 Album im 41. Jahr des Bestehens dieser Band? Als langjähriger Fan sind meine Erwartungen an ein neues U2 Album zugegebenermaßen jedes Mal riesig. Als ich Songs of Experience zum ersten Mal gehört habe war ich ehrlich gesagt zunächst ein bisschen enttäuscht. Zu seicht, zu eingängig, zu poppig war mein erster Eindruck. Doch die vorab ausgekoppelten Songs „You‘re the Best Thing About Me“ und „Get Out of Your Own Way“ täuschen über die Qualität der meisten anderen Songs auf diesem Album im Weg. Ich habe Songs of Experience noch eine beziehungsweise mehrere Chancen gegeben, mich darauf eingelassen und es nicht mit The Joshua Tree oder Achtung Baby verglichen. Und siehe da, mit jedem Mal hören gefällt es mir besser. Die tollen Melodien und tiefgründigen Botschaften in den Texten bohren sich immer mehr in meine Gehörgänge und mitten in mein Herz. Der tolle, melancholische und sehr ungewöhnliche Opener „Love Is All We Have Left“ klingt zunächst gar nicht nach U2 und bildet mit dem gefühlvollen „13 (There Is a Light)“ einen wundervollen Rahmen für Songs, die Geschichten über Wut, Hoffnung und vor allem ganz viel Liebe erzählen. Vordergründig mögen die Texte manch einem seicht erscheinen. Beschäftigt man sich aber erst einmal damit, sind „Summer of Love“, „Red Flag Day“, „The Little Things That Give You Away“ und „Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way“ echte Perlen. Auch der Bonustrack „Book of You Heart“ ist mit seinen sphärischen Klängen und Bonos ruhigem tiefen Gesang ein Highlight. Überhaupt Bono – in meinen Ohren klingt er auf diesem Album so gut wie schon sehr, sehr lange nicht mehr. Natürlich machen U2 im Jahr 2017 nicht mehr die gleiche Musik wie 1987 oder 1991 und das ist auch gut so! Schließlich würden Ihnen dann alle vorwerfen, sie würden sich ständig selbst kopieren und nicht mehr weiterentwickeln. Ich kann Songs of Experience allen empfehlen, die in Bezug auf U2 nicht total voreingenommen sind und sich auf dieses Album einlassen. An den Meisterwerken gemessen würde ich hier nur vier von fünf Sternen geben, als einzelnes Album betrachtet – vor allem aufgrund der musikalischen Qualität und der tollen Weise, auf die dieses Album produziert wurde – vergebe ich fünf Sterne.