They could have beat the odds again, even after the subpar reception of No Line.
And they blew it.
But they're not accepting their place because they believe they still have the songs, which they did with SOI and SOE. They just haven't promoted the right ones, and promoted that first album horrendously in general.
Yeah, they've done an almost inconceivably bad job promoting all of their post-Bomb albums.
Picking Boots as lead-off single for NLOTH
The guyliner and the 2009 grammy performance which probably sunk the album for a lot of people before it was even released
Not having the nerve to release MOS or the title track as singles
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The false start of releasing Invisible in February on Superbowl Sunday and then not capitalizing on it, not releasing the album until September
The whole Apple release
Making the slow version of EBW the single instead of the album version, and doing right after SFS was a single, two slow ballads in a row. I love the slow version of EBW, but they either needed to make the album version the single or not release SFS as as single. Doing both in a row hurt.
Not releasing California as a single when it was begging for it. Same for Volcano.
Not only not releasing Crystal Ballroom as a single, but leaving it off the album
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Making Get Out and American Soul the heavily promoted singles, while Summer Of Love and Love Is Bigger, both better songs, are the last singles and barely promoted. I didn't even know until recently that Summer Of Love and Love Is Bigger(and Lights Of Home) were singles at all. That should tell you something.
Not only not releasing (a perhaps edited version of) Little Things as a single, but not playing it at all on the tour, when it might be the best song on the album, and certainly the most reminiscent of classic U2.