England V Slovenia - bring it on!!!! Come on Slovenia World Cup 2010
England V Slovenia - bring it on!!!! Come on Slovenia World Cup 2010
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“The right to appear ridiculous is one that I hold dear”, so wails Bono on U2’s latest album “No Line on the Horizon”. Indeed, and one he would appear to exploit to the full at any given opportunity. Bono, or rather Paul Hewson as I prefer to call him as I feel his alter ego is absurd for a man of his years, is someone I find quite perplexing and really rather irritating. But what I find irritating is that while his pomposity can bore me senseless, at other times I find him quite inspiring and I have never been able to resist a listen to what new material U2 produce. In spite of having “moved on” musically I still consider U2 one of my favourite bands so after a two year wait I was looking forward to hearing the latest album.
Unlike, say, “Achtung Baby”, “No Line on the Horizon” requires a good few listens to make a decent appraisal. It doesn’t have the immediacy of “Achtung Baby”, mainly because this is a truly eclectic album. On this occasion eclectic isn’t a positive. The good tracks are so outstanding that the other tracks are merely fillers and there are a couple of tracks that probably should never have made the cut.
U2
now find themselves in the comfortable position of knowing they’ll sell shed-loads of any thing they put out which could mean one of two things; they could go to town and experiment or they could stick to familiar ground. Somehow you get the impression with U2 that Bono would stick his neck out while the other three will carry on as normal. Fans of the Edge will be pleased to know that he has stuck tenaciously to his recognisable chugga-chug style and there are numerous flashbacks to “The Unforgettable Fire.”
No, you get the feeling that anything a little different on this album has come from Bono; the trouble is “anything new” seems to be more U2’s stab at a pastiche of younger, cool bands. “Get on Your Boots” screams Queens of the Stone Age, a band who do this track more justice. Still, it’s one of the more memorable tracks on the album and it shows U2 still know how to groove. Lyrically it stands out because it’s a welcome departure from the grave messages that Bono usually peddles, this time he just wants to wax lyrical about some chick in, you’ve guessed it, sexy boots. Fair play to the man, after all he’s been half on one of rock music’s most enduring marriages so you can hardly blame him for having a little scout about.
Another track that shines is “Stand Up Comedy” which has a classic U2 riff and top quality Bono wailing but it only stands out musically, stop to listen to the lyrics and one of the biggest flaws of this album presents itself. With lines like "stand up to rock stars / Napoleon is in high heels / Josephine be careful of small men with big ideas", Bono shows he doesn’t know where to draw the line; not content with a one or two really memorable sound-bites he layers them one on top of the other which is where U2s trademark pomposity must surely derive from. As a result of this piling on of pithy sound-bites, the words come across more as slogans than song lyrics and you always have the impression that Bono is trying to make some monumentally important point.
“I’ll go crazy if I don’t go crazy tonight” is my favourite track on the album which I find difficult to explain because it’s perhaps the most middle of the road of the eleven tracks assembled here. It has the usual U2 pompous lyrics, a really screamer of a chorus that will have stadia electrified this summer and a fantastic guitar solo and is to all intents and purposes classic U2.
Prior to the album’s release a lot was made of the band’s visit to Morocco where they started laying down ideas for the album. There were hints at African influences which sadly don’t materialise and the track most likely to offer such connections sounds merely like something taken straight from “The Unforgettable Fire” in spite of allusions to “African sun” and other cliches.
“Magnificent” starts off brilliantly with promises of the White Stripe’s Seven Nation Army but too quickly moves into Daniel Lanois keyboard awfulness of the most elevated order of naff. The now familiar partnership of U2 with Lanois and Brian Eno is evident but I would hope two such talented producers might be able to steer U2 away from the safety zone they too often go back to and have the courage of their convictions. When U2 try something new it more often than not works and I am sure many bands would envy them the position of being able to really experiment.
I find “No line on the Horizon” a really frustrating album because it does have lots of flaws. However, stick all the tracks together and the overall result is fifty odd minutes of brilliance. Damn you Bono, every time I try to do you down you have an infuriating habit of disarming me!
Thanks for reading – I feel it only fair to mention I shall be putting your 0.whatever pence towards going to see U2 in Zagreb later in the summer!
1. No Line On The Horizon 2. Magnificent 3. Moment of Surrender 4. Unknown Caller 5. I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight 6. Get On Your Boots 7. Stand Up Comedy 8. Fez – Being Born 9. White As Snow 10. Breathe 11. Cedars Of Lebanon
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Agree with you, album of the year, but bonos lyrics weren't bad and his singing was great.
Went to see them live at Hampden and they were AWESOME!!!
HarryKgh 22.06.2009 23:51
I have to agree with you this album really does need a good few listens before you really start to like it. "Get on Your Boots" is my personnal favourite track on the album.
JohnCheese 26.05.2009 23:40
I can sign the first paragraph... like your review
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