Early Song Rankings

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Too early to rank the whole album, but here is my top 5:

The Little Things
Summer of Love
Love is Bigger
The Blackout
Landlady
 
I’m not understanding the point of the deluxe songs. OL has no business on this record. It’s a blatant appeal to a recent mild success. LOH is a cool but unnecessary remix. BOYH sounds like what it is - a half cooked demo better served on a compilation down the line. And Kygo? Forget it.
 
1. Achtung Baby 10/10
2. The Joshua Tree 9.5/10
3. The Unforgettable Fire 8.5/10
4. War 8/10
5. Pop 7.5/10
6. Rattle & Hum 7/10
7. Zooropa 7/10
8. All That You Can’t Leave Behind 6.5/10
9. Boy 6/10
10. Songs Of Experience 6/10
11. October 5.5/10
12. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb 5.5/10
13. No Line On The Horizon 5/10
14. Songs Of Innocence 4/10
 
Standouts
Landlady
Lights of Home
Book of Your Heart
Red Flag Day
Little Things That Give You Away

Good
Love is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way
Summer of Love
Get Out Of Your Own Way
The Showman
Love is All We Have Left

Ok
13
You’re the Best Thing About Me
Blackout (would be higher if not for the rhymes and lame chorus, walrus)

Garbage
American Soul
 
Have been through approx 1.75 listens of the album. None of the songs completely blow me away, nor do I think any will be referred to as "iconic" U2 songs years down the road. For me, it's currently like this:

Great songs:

Love is all we have Left
Summer of Love
The Blackout
13 (There is a Light)
The Little Things...
Honorable mention to bonus tracks: Book of your heart and Strings version of Lights

Good Songs:

Lights of Home
Best Thing (it's growing on me)
American Soul (rework some of the lyrics and it becomes great)
Landlady

Indifferent (take-or-leave):

Get Out of Your Own Way
Love is Bigger

Not enjoying much:

Red Flag Day
The Showman

Lastly, as far as the two other deluxe edition bonus tracks go:

Ordinary Love was unnecessary to remix. It's a classic, to me, and should have made the SOI cut.
TBT (Kygo) - The best version of this song; breathes life into it. I'd love the Strings version of Lights followed by this on the album proper.
 
Several listens: -

1. Blackout
2. Little Things
3. Get out of your own way
4. Red Flag Day
5. Showman
6. Love is bigger
7. You're the best thing
8. Lights of home
9. Love is all you have left
10. American Soul
11. Summer of love
12. 13
13. Landlady
 
Early ranking:
Red Flag Day
Little Things
Summer of Love
Showman
Landlady
Love is All We Have Left
Blackout
Book of Your Heart
13
Best Thing
Get Out of Your Own Way
Love is Bigger
American Soul
 
I’m not understanding the point of the deluxe songs. OL has no business on this record. It’s a blatant appeal to a recent mild success. LOH is a cool but unnecessary remix. BOYH sounds like what it is - a half cooked demo better served on a compilation down the line. And Kygo? Forget it.

U2 is not against any of this, and lots of fans like the Kygo mix and even like it better than the original. Just rip what you like and make a new mix. Give people everything and let them make their own tracklists.
 
I would've loved if the album just finished at #13, anything that comes after just feels way out of place and detracts from the album itself. Of course it's a deluxe version but still, feels it ruins the great closer 13 actually is. It's so early rating anyway that I didn't even know which title belongs to which song yet.

Just glad I like this album way more already than the last one, when the only song reaching "good" was Song for Someone.

Love
13

Good
Love is All We Have Left
Lights of Home
You're the Best Thing About Me
Red Flag Day
The Little Things that Give You Away
Landlady

Ok
Get Out of Your Own Way

Don't Like at all / mehhh
Summer of Love
The Showman
The Blackout
Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way

Worst U2 Song Ever Already
American Soul

As for Albums so far:

Love
HTDAAB / UF / AB / POP / JT / ATYCLB / Zooropa
Good
NLOTH
Ok
October / War / Songs of Experience / Boy
Shit Tier
Rattle and a Hum / Songs of Innocence
 
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The Little Things That Give You Away
Love Is Bigger Than Anything Else In Its Way
The Blackout
Get Out Of Your Own Way
Red Flag Day
Lights Of Home
Love Is All That We Have Left
Landlady
Summer Of Love
13
You’re The Best Thing About Me
The Showman
American Soul
 
The Little Things That Give You Away
Love Is All We Have Left
The Blackout
Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way
Summer of Love
Lights Of Home
13
Landlady
Get Out Of Your Own Way
Red Flag Day
The Showman
American Soul
You're The Best Thing About Me

Those last 4 could really be put in any order. Not a fan of any of them. If I were to include Book of Your Heart it'd probably be only slightly above that group. Still, out of 13 songs, I consider 9 of them to be anywhere from good to great. Pretty damn good.
 
I've rethought some of my rankings.

13 (There is a Light)
The Little Things that Give You Away
Red Flag Day
Lights of Home
Summer of Love
Love is All We Have Left
Get Out of Your Own Way
The Blackout
The Showman (Little More Better)
Landlady
Book of Your Heart
You're the Best Thing about Me
American Soul
Love is Bigger than Anything in its Way
Last ranking for now. Moving Book of Your Heart above The Blackout.
 
Get out of your own way (unpopular choice, I know)
The little things that give you away
13 (there is a light)
The book of your heart
Lights of home
Summer of Love
The Blackout (great vibe, but still find the chorus a little too weak)
Love is all we have left
The showman
Love is bigger than anything in it's way
You're the best thing about me
Landlady
- small gap -
Red Flag Day
- HUGE gap-
American Soul
 
First up, from 2 full runs through.

1. TLTTGYA
2. RFG
3. LOH
4. The Blackout
5. 13
6. The Showman
7. LIBTAIIW
8. LIAWHL
9. Landlady
10. GOOYOW
11. American Soul
12. Summer of Love
13. TBT



Funny that some of the songs in your bottom half are at the top of my list (summer of love, Love is Bigger, Get out of, TBT) and yet we both have the same top song (at least at this point).

Little Things is special!
 
The Little Things That Give You Away
Love Is Bigger Than Anything Else In Its Way
The Blackout
Get Out Of Your Own Way
Red Flag Day
Lights Of Home
Love Is All That We Have Left
Landlady
Summer Of Love
13
You’re The Best Thing About Me
The Showman
American Soul



You and I have the same top 4 in order!

Little Things
Love is Bigger
Blackout
Get Out of your own way
Summer of Love
Red Flag Day
Best Thing
Land Lady
American Soul
13
Light of Home
Showman
Love is All We Have Left

The above list WILL change but those top 2 songs are staying 1-2 they just might swap.
 
Have had a chance to listen all weekend after my Friday midnight first listen. My rankings right now.

Absolutely Love:
1. The Little Things That Give You Away
2. Summer Of Love
3. Red Flag Day
4. The Blackout
5. Landlady

Great songs:
6.Lights Of Home
7. 13
8. Love Is All That We Have Left
9. Love Is Bigger Than Anything Else In Its Way

Good songs but not standouts
10. Get Out Of Your Own Way
11. The Showman
12. You’re The Best Thing About Me

Enjoyable but will skip in the future
13. American Soul

I would put Book of Your Heart in my "Great songs" too!
 
Favorite part of the album is Little Things through Blackout.

I like nearly the whole thing; really looking forward to seeing this album in concert. :heart:

Least faves are Lights of Home and most least fave is The Showman (Little More Better), purely for the aural distaste it causes. They're not terrible, I just don't care for them and wish they'd James-Bonded-up a different song for the bonus track.

One popular one to hate on, You're the Best Thing About Me, I'll always have a fondness for due to being in front of Bono when they played it in Kansas City and seeing how damn HAPPY he looked that people already knew a lot of the words. I can't argue with close-up Bono!joy.

American Soul just sounds like something from HTDAAB and while I acknowledge it's not the BEST, I relate to the message and appreciate the bittersweet nostalgia to that album/tour, as it was when I finally saw U2 for the first time.

Oh, yeah!
Landlady
The Little Things that Give You Away
The Blackout

Yeah Yeah Yeah (Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah!)
13 (There is a Light)
Red Flag Day

Yes, Please
Love is Bigger than Anything in its Way
Book of Your Heart
Love is All We Have Left
Get Out of Your Own Way
Summer of Love
You're the Best Thing about Me
American Soul

I Shall Skip Thee When No One Objects
Lights of Home
The Showman (Little More Better)
 
Get out of your own way (unpopular choice, I know)
The little things that give you away
13 (there is a light)
The book of your heart
Lights of home
Summer of Love
The Blackout (great vibe, but still find the chorus a little too weak)
Love is all we have left
The showman
Love is bigger than anything in it's way
You're the best thing about me
Landlady
- small gap -
Red Flag Day
- HUGE gap-
American Soul

I’m with you! Surprised how low most have GOOYOW.

My early rankings...
1. GOOYOW
2. Lights of Home
3. Red Flag Day
4. The Showman
5. Landlady
6. Little Things
7. Love is Bigger
8. Summer of Love
9. Love is All
10. You’re the Best Thing
11. American Soul
12. Blackout
13. 13

This album continues to grow, however. And some songs I didn’t like initially (landlady) have shot up the rankings for me. Lesson to all: keep listening!
 
TLTTGYA
L
LoH
LIBTAIIW
SoL
13
RFD
LIAWHL
TS
TB
YTBTAM
TBOYH
GOOYOW
AS

#unnecessaryacronymslol
 
An update after a couple more listens:

1. Red Flag Day
2. Summer of Love
3. Lights of Home
4. The Little Things That Give You Away
5. Get Out Of Your Own Way
6. The Showman (Little More Better)
7. You're The Best Thing About Me
8. Love Is All We Have Left
9. American Soul
10. 13 (There is A Light)
11. Love Is Bigger Than Anything In It's Way
12. The Blackout
13. Book Of Your Heart
14. Landlady

No clear standout and a lot that are very close together. This is getting harder to rank. I expect things to keep shifting.
 
You're a horrible person. If you're even a person. Maybe you're not a person. Just a horrible.
Horrible.
But I like the song! It might grow on me a lot as time goes by. I've had my least favorite song on an album become one of my favorites as time went by. It's just the least interesting to me as of my first three listens.
 
1. Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way - 9/10
2. The Little Things That Give You Away - 8/10
3. Red Flag Day - 8/10
4. Summer of Love - 7.5/10
5. 13 (There Is A Light) - 7.5/10
6. Love Is All We Have Left - 7.5/10
7. The Showman - 7/10
8. Landlady - 6.5/10
9. Lights of Home - 6.5/10
10. You're the Best Thing About Me - 6/10
11. Get Out Of Your Own Way - 5.5/10
12. The Blackout - 4/10
13. American Soul - 2/10
 
1 - The Little Things That Give You Away
2 - Red Flag Day
3 - The Blackout
4 - Love is Bigger Than Anything In It’s Way
5 - Lights of Home
6 - You’re the Best Thing About Me
7 - Summer of Love
8 - Book of Your Heart
9 - Love is All We Have Left
10 - Landlady
11 - The Showman
12 - Get Out of Your Own Way
13 - 13 (There is a Light)
14 - American Soul
 
Well.... it s a tough call. Have been listening to the album all day long. No weak track , that s 2 albums in a row. :applaud:

First day ranking: (7 listenings)

1. The little things that gave you away (most u2 ish but the only one that gives me goosebumps and makes me weird... so beautiful)
2. Red flag day (is this band really close to 60?!)
3. The Blackout (loved that song from the start)

Then it gets too difficult.... The next 4 songs are at the moment on the same scale...

4-7. Lights of home
4-7. Summer of love
4-7. The Showman
4-7. Love is bigger than anything in its way

Same thing with the next 4....

8-11. Love is all we have left
8-11. American soul (would be higher without the Volcano part. I love u2 rock songs)
8-11. Landlady
8-11. 13 (too bad song for someone exists... this is much better)
12. You re the best thing about me
13. Get out of your own way

My top 3 is clear.... my bottom 2 as well.... The rest is all very solid. Not much anything they have done before.... it is surprising, sometimes makes me even smile. Next ranking after the real stuff comes with a good sound!!!

I Will quote myself not because I am a narcissistic but because my early ranking has changed a bit... and might evolve again.

Fabulous songs:

Love is all we have left
Red flag day
Book of your heart

Great songs:

Lights of home
Summer of love
The little things that gave you away
Showman
13
The Blackout

Good songs

Landlady
Love is bigger than anything in its way

Ok songs:

Amercian soul
The best thing

Crap song:

Get out of your own way

Usually i like rock songs better. Big fan of Like a song for exemple. For this album, the slower songs are so good. Love is all we have left might be my favourite right now.... and should have been 2 minutes longer.... and Book of your heart is the best b sides since Luminous Times and should have been included in the album.

Great album. I am drugged.
 
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Changing for the 3rd time:

1 - Red Flag Day
2 - Summer Of Love
3 - Lights of Home
4 - Love is Bigger Than Anything
5 - Little Things
6 - The Showman
7 - Love is all We Have Left
8 - Get out of Your Own Way
9 - 13
10 - Blackout
11 -You are the Best Thing
12 - American Soul
13 - Landlady


I am changing mine already:

1 - Red Flag Day/Lights of Home (tie)
3 - Summer of Love
4 - Love is bigger than Anything
5 - The Showman
6 - Little Things
7 - You're the best thing
8 - Love is All We have Left
9 - The Blackout
10 - American Soul
11 - Get Out of Your Own Way
12 - Landlady
13 - 13
 
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