cobl04
45:33
ooooh, little things. i heard this live and recall it being pretty impressive.
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LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
His jet engine guitar tone on Always Forever Now, oh my GOD.
So I'm the only one who thinks The Showman is really stupid, huh? But then it seems a lot of people also think Blow Your House Down is good, and I feel they're in a similar wheelhouse (from my admittedly old memory of Blow Your House Down): something a bit dumb and strummy, with little thought and too much early sixties rolling around.
And putting Little Things right after The Showman is another one of those baffling tracklist decisions. At least Little Things sounds better here than on the JT30 Tour.
And putting Little Things right after The Showman is another one of those baffling tracklist decisions. At least Little Things sounds better here than on the JT30 Tour.
cobl04
45:33
nah, this song is kind of shit. taking themselves too seriously again. Bono's vocals are too polished and too high in the mix. Adam is killing it and Edge's skittering guitar is not too bad either but the chorus completely betrays the mood of the song: it's clearly supposed to be a dark/sad song, and then the chorus is a little too uplifting.
if they had fully committed to this song, it would be way better. as it is it's a disappointment.
if they had fully committed to this song, it would be way better. as it is it's a disappointment.
Thanks for posting those... Confirmed a lot of what I thought about some of the songsAs you wish.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
No, you're not. The chorus is unforgivably awful and doesn't match the fairly weighty lyrical content. I dig the song outside of that, but it sounds like a decent throwaway standing awkwardly beside a giant shitpile.
cobl04
45:33
does the rest of landlady get better? this is boring as fuck so far
dan_smee
ONE love, blood, life
Fair to say Danny’s impressions are far more positive than I expected
kiwilad
Refugee
Zooropa, the song, yeah that's top shelf. He's not much of a presence anywhere else on that album.
Pop - I don't see it. There are some amazing sounds but the riffs aren't what they were on Achtung.
Zooropa, I think, was the first album he gained a production credit? I think in some ways that kinda ruined him. I wish he'd continued considering himself the guitarist first and foremost.
cobl04
45:33
yes, Dan, me too, and I'm happy about that 
answer: absolutely yes it does.
Bono really sounding great actually.
some good guitar from Edge and good work from Adam and Larry too.
this album is a trillion times better than Songs of Innocence.
answer: absolutely yes it does.
Bono really sounding great actually.
some good guitar from Edge and good work from Adam and Larry too.
this album is a trillion times better than Songs of Innocence.
cobl04
45:33
fuck, this might be the best song of the album so far. notwithstanding the first minute, this is one of the best songs of the milleni--
oh but then it just stops. how fucking heartbreaking
oh but then it just stops. how fucking heartbreaking
You don't think Edge is a presence on Numb or Lemon? That his guitar isn't part of what makes Stay a classic? That his subtle playing isn't what elevates The First Time? That the riff in Dirty Day didn't become a beast live?
I kind of get you on Pop, but geez he does exciting things in Mofo, Gone, and even Miami, and holy hell Please live - Bono's passionate delivery and Edge's guitar together are stratospheric.
cobl04
45:33
now I really hate Blackout. completely ruined how good I was feeling.
cobl04
45:33
also kiwilad I'm gonna roast the shit out of you for those opinions in about half an hour.
I'm starting to think The Blackout might be the best song on here, Lear. Yes, even with the names - though when I noticed those on second listen it did lower the song in my view a bit. It actually got me excited about SOE, which partly explains why everything since has felt like a letdown for me despite the fact I had no expectatons whatsoever a couple of months ago.
PS the fuck cobbs
PS the fuck cobbs
Actually, no, Blackout isn't the best song. Love Is Bigger is. Fuck you if you say it sounds like Coldplay or whatever, I just don't care. It's good enough that it even overcomes its awful title and some bad lyrics. For whatever reason - the composition, the singing, who knows - it actually makes me FEEL something, like how very few songs post-Pop do.
cobl04
45:33
i thought the first song was called love is bigger lol
this intro is fucking laughable so it will want to pick up from here
this intro is fucking laughable so it will want to pick up from here
cobl04
45:33
Oh no
kiwilad
Refugee
Most of your examples are great (Numb's guitar is from the Achtung sessions isn't it?), Jesus man, of course they are.
But honestly, you don't think 1991 Edge would have done better in each of those songs?
I mean, the guy finished Achtung with his finest guitar work ever, with Love is Blindness. Then spent a few years as a glorified keyboardist/programmer, before using Pop as a vehicle to promote as many guitar effects as possible.
I'm not saying he wasn't good, just not at the levels he was in 91. And he's never gotten back to that peak.
cobl04
45:33
I've fallen completely in love with it now
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Edge is a guitar god on that album, largely through his choice of tones.
1. He picks the ultimate robotic guitar sound for Numb
2.
The shimmering backdrop for this entire song...that's Edge, playing the most delightfully psychedelic guitar part of his career.
3. He picks the spot on perfect melancholy guitar tone for Stay. It sounds fucking mournful and drained of life.
4.
That squirming, hideously ugly sound in the break before the first verse (and throughout) is Edge, crafting the ideal backdrop for the track.
5.
2:07-2:40, enough said.
6. Not on the album per se, but DIRTY DAY LIVE OH MAN
cobl04
45:33
oh my god this song
13 is fucking appalling, one of U2's worst closers ever, I don't know why it's getting plaudits here. "Are you tough enough to be kind", which shitty live speech is that from? Jesus, Bono, stop recycling your speeches into lyrics. On the other hand, since they've written American Soul there's now no excuse for him to spend five minutes talking before One when he can express the same tripe in musical form.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Seriously Love Is Bigger is one of the only songs on the album that makes me feel anything.
And I laughed until I cried when I saw that song title for the first time. Why couldn't they have called it literally any other combination of words?
And I laughed until I cried when I saw that song title for the first time. Why couldn't they have called it literally any other combination of words?
kiwilad
Refugee
i'll be asleep - multitask and do it now, angry wee man
cobl04
45:33
who the fuck could possible like this 13 tripe? what a fucking shithouse song. it's worse than Song for Someone. what a fucking anodyne, tepid ending to an occasionally quite bloody good album.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
But that's not true at all. He's playing guitar on those songs, not keyboards. That's what's so remarkable and creative about his playing from 1993-1995.
And why the playing on SOE is so incredibly depressing to me now. The guy was a wizard doing alchemy with his guitar for about 15 years. Now he sounds like an Edge fan covering 00s tracks on YouTube.
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Is there much point splitting the Achtung/Zooropa sessions, really? It's basically a continuous era. But no, I don't think 1990 Edge would have written what he did in 1992-93. Lemon in particular, I can't even imagine that being realised to the same level of perfection in 1990. It would perhaps be closer to a frivolous playful song than one of the most profound soundscapes the band have made, I don't know. And Numb to me seems to have clearly come from ZooTV and from wanting to take further the shit he had done on Zoo Station, The Fly, etc.
But I suppose we're talking at cross-purposes. You're suggesting his guitar-playing peaked in 1991, while I took the idea of progressing more to mean that he continued to challenge himself creatively and push beyond what he thought were his limits. And that definitely continues past Achtung through to Pop. But rarely does he seem to be pushing himself since then. Quite often he's falling back on old tricks, on overly straightforward shit, or thinking that he needs to emulate Led Zep to write a perfect rock riff.
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