U2 - No Line On The Horizon
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Free Music Notes for No Line On The Horizon
Free Music Review: Moment of Magnificence
Hit: 5 Stars
To put it simply - an excellent U2 album.
It does take time to grow on you, so be careful reviewing this album too quickly. I've listened to it about ten times now, and my liking for each song keeps increasing.
It certainly is much harder to apprieciate than their previous 2 albums, but long time U2 fans shouldn't have too much of a problem after a few listens.
The album generally feels like something in between Achtung Baby and The Unforgettable Fire. Definitely does not sound very similar to anything they've done before as a studio album, which is the beauty of U2. They somehow create albums that have the distinct U2 sound (higlighted by The Edge's eternal guitar and Bono's unique hyper-passionate voice).
Highlights for me include the first 3 tracks, especially "Magnificent" and "Moment Of Surrender". "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" sounds like a ridiculous title, but somehow the music works out and is one of the stronger songs on this epic album.
The album almost takes a 'time out' with "Get On Your Boots". This song doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the songs, but somehow (and I don't know how U2 does it), as an album, it comes across very well.
"FEZ-Being Born" has really grown on me, and there's something strangely special about it. "White As Snow" is a pleasant surprise near the end of the album with the haunting melody based on the classic tune "O Come O Come Emmanuel".
4.5 stars for me, rounded up to 5 for good measure!
U2 fans, buy this album NOW!
Free Music Review: U2 the Rock n Roll Cougars
Hit: 5 Stars
I graduated from highs school 20 years ago and with my reunion coming up I have been getting nostalgic for some of the music I listened to growing up. You guessed it U2 was always in my tape deck as a teenager and I still recall seeing them live what a great show. As you learn in life the pretty girl in high school does not always stay hot and time is not always a good thing, which is how I feel about U2. No matter how much I want U2 to be the great band I loved 20 years ago they have grown old, matured and aged like everyone else.
Early U2 which everyone seems to love, has not stood the test of time. They are time fighters and instead of giving us great rock n roll filled with passion and a sense of rawness they have given us an overproduced pop cd. With that being said this is the best U2 album since Achtung Baby and even if does not compare to "classic U2" it still is better than most of the stuff being released. No Line On the Horizon shows that U2 has forgotten more than most bands could ever hope to know.
There are some songs that will eventually be considered greatest hits such as Magnificent and Moment of Surrender. As I have learned we all get older it is how we age that is what is important, and from what I can see of No Line On the Horizon U2 has settled into middle age quite nicely, I can only hope that I have aged as gracefully. U2 is still good enough to seduce the younger crowd thus they are the Rock N Roll Cougars of our time.
Free Music Review: It took me a few listens, and a live show, but this is epic rock and roll
Hit: 5 Stars
At first listen to NLOTH I was very turned off. I found the music trite, save the first opener, and very monotone and depressing. I didn't recommend it to anyone, in fact I went around to alot of positive reviews and gave my two cents about the album that never touched me in any way solid, like the amazing 'The Unforgettable Fire'.
After several listens and the live show in Boston last week, I must say its one of the best albums I have heard in some time, in fact I would say its really the best album of the past three of four years. Its epic in nature, touching, grossly singable, demonstrively loud and calmly worded. Nuances that touched the night sky in Boston, with the closure 'Moment of Surrender,' perhaps can only be appreciated live. Truly poetry; magical, intrinsic and words flowing through us like electricity. 'Unknown' caller is somber, poignant and flowing. The highlight of the album is undoubtedly 'If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight.'
I have been to a hell of a lot of concerts, but the U2 360 tour is pretty intense, with two seperate stages, called the claw, at 40 million a piece, and Bono's voice becoming more crisp and mature as the decades roll by, it only seems like they are climbing the rungs, and the view from the top all these years only get better. If this album is any indication of what's too come, maybe that graduation song wont hold true today, 'U2 Will Not Grow Old'
To Adam, Bono, Larry and The Edge, keep rocking the spot man.
Free Music Review: Give it a Chance!
Hit: 5 Stars
At the time of writing, there are 466 reviews. 11% give only 1 star (you can't give zero stars) & another 11% give only 2 stars. In fact, over a third of reviewers were in the 1-3 star area. This seems to be quite a divisive offering from U2, with only 41% giving 5 stars.
I can usually tell from the first listening whether I will play a CD frequently. I thought this one was ho hum on the first listen, although I did really like Moment of Surrender. That track made me go back to the CD, and that's when I started to get drawn in.
I have played the entire CD 2-3 times/day for the past 3 weeks. I think it is a very strong CD, but it doesn't reveal itself easily. I used to get each Roxy Music album as it came out. Those albums had the same quality of getting stronger with each listen. The difference is that the Roxys always sounded good on the first listen. U2 seem not to have realised that in this instant-gratification world, people need to be drawn in on the first listen, otherwise they not give it a second try.
My favorite U2 CD is Achtung Baby. But as strong as much of it is, I usually skip a few tracks. With the new CD, I have not felt the need to skip a track.
Incidentally, playing Achtung Baby after the new CD, I found that I had to raise the volume, but even so, I felt distanced from the recording. There is something very fresh & immediate about the sound of the new CD. Makes me wish for a remixed Achtung Baby.
Free Music Review: One of Their Best.......
Hit: 5 Stars
I just saw U2 on their 360 tour at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and the show, like their latest album, just blew me away. Fans who were expecting a litany of their greatest hit's got 7 songs from the current album and that was very good news to those of us who have actually purchased the CD and, more importantly, actually listened to it more than once. You see, No line is the kind of album that takes some time to sink in and gets better with each repeated listen. The songs, the production, the themes that run through the music, are all on a par with U2's other great album's, Achtung Baby, The Unforgettable Fire, and the Joshua tree.
The difference here is that, unlike those other album's, No Line actually holds up all the way through, it doesn't run out of steam during the last few songs.
In fact, one of U2's very best songs, Breathe, is near the end of the CD. There were some people at the Rose Bowl who hadn't bothered to become familiar with the new album, and those folks were probably scratching their heads at the first three songs the band played because they were all off the new CD. For those of us who have embraced the new tunes, we were treated to one of the best shows we had ever seen. The new songs were by far the most passionate performances of the night and the new material translated well to the concert stage. Thank you U2 for continuing to challenge your audience and to deliver music that is amazing and constantly pushing the envelope.