U2 - No Line on the Horizon (Limited Box Set including CD, Film, Hardcover Book, Poster)
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Free Music Notes for No Line on the Horizon (Limited Box Set including CD, Film, Hardcover Book, Poster)
Free Music Review: U2 can do better!
Hit: 3 Stars
Don't believe the hype! "No Line on the Horizon" is a competent yet misshapen little album. IT IS NOT THEIR BEST ALBUM SINCE ACHTUNG BABY! In fact, NLOTH pales in comparison to that masterpiece of art rock.
There are three or four songs in this collection that are noteworthy, the best being "Breathe."
I'm still trying to figure out why "Get On Your Boots" was put on the ALBUM let alone made a single.
The guys have made better albums and as much as I don't like this one, I'm looking for to the next great U2 venture.
Free Music Review: Lacking in appeal?
Hit: 3 Stars
I listened to the CD twice and in between, I watched the DVD with the videos to the songs. It seemed to me I can't even remember a song after each listen.
Are they on a slump?
Free Music Review: Deeply Disappointing
Hit: 2 Stars
I understand the passion that U2 fans like myself have for every new release from this band. I was instantly captivated by U2 when a friend played me Under A Blood Red Sky back in 1984, and I have framed Joshua Tree, Unforgettable Fire and Achtung Baby promo posters in my home, so I think my long-time U2 dedication is pretty well-established.
However, after listening to this album many, many times, I do have to say it's deeply underwhelming, and one of the band's weakest releases. In fact, NLOTH is musically weaker overall than Pop. (Heresy, I know.) Despite Pop's messy overproduction, that album still had eight instantly engaging songs on it. NLOTH has about five, perhaps six. The rest of the album is musically unmemorable, with meandering songs desperately searching for a melody, coupled with lyrics that feel unfocused, pretentious, or both.
The first problem with NLOTH is the song sequencing. With rare exceptions, U2 has kicked off each album with the first single, which is usually an upbeat rocker. Then, the second track is an album-oriented mid-tempo track, followed by another rocker or epic single. (This was very much the case for the past two records.) I have to assume that U2 wanted to shake up the formula this time, which is admirable, but kicking off NLOTH with the relatively weak title track is a poor introduction to this record. NLOTH sounds much more cohesive and is a far better listening experience if one listens to tracks 6-11 as Side One, then 1-5 as Side Two. Otherwise, it feels like the album only really gets started halfway in.
Even re-sequenced, NLOTH suffers from lyrics that are too self-referential to Bono and the band at this point in time or because Bono attempts to sing from the perspective of another character (as in "White As Snow" for example). Look, MacPhisto was a fun goof way back when, but Bono is much more effective when singing from personal experience, as his lyrics have universal appeal. Everyone can relate to the exhuberance of a "Beautiful Day" or the feelings of desperation expressed in "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own." But that is a limited experience here.
U2 always gets high marks for effort, but outside of the impressive packaging, the execution is sorely lacking with this release. All That You Can't Leave Behind is a much better example of late-period U2.
Best tracks: "Get On Your Boots," "Magnificent," "Stand Up Comedy," "Unknown Caller," "Breathe."
Free Music Review: Review Of Deluxe Box Set Content
Hit: 2 Stars
This review is for the deluxe box set. Since the cd is the same the question is whether you want to pay anywhere from 65 to 95 dollars for the extras. You get 2 posters - 1 a large reproduction of the album cover that to me has gotten boring pretty quickly. The other side of that poster and the other smaller poster show the band standing around looking serious and important as they are prone to do. There is a large sharp-looking high-quality white hardcover book with some nice pictures and an interview with the band. I've read it through once and enjoyed it, and will probably read it once or twice again before my death hopefully many years from now. I guess I bought this set primarily for the dvd by Anton Corbijn, a film that is played over the new U2 songs. Mostly it shows a man riding his motorcycle and walking. The only U2 content is the band playing Magnificent on a staticky cafe television, really too distracting to watch. I want to say that watching this dvd was as exciting as watching paint dry but I think that would be insulting to paint. I don't think I will ever watch it again, even if I live a long long time. All of these things are packed in a big mother of a box (12" x 9" x 2"). I absolutely love the NLOTH cd, but with this box set and with U2 bigger is not always better. Like with their new stadium tour called U2 360 - the band will play from a stage "in the round" so more fans can see the band (and their backsides) than would normally fit in a 60,000 person stadium. As far as the De-luxe edition it currently takes up a large space on my bookshelf, always reminding me that I could have bought the regular cd for $10. UPDATE ONE YEAR LATER 3/20/10: Another thing that bugs me about these "De-Luxe, Limited Edition, Collectors Items" is that they never are. One year later you could pick up a new copy here on amazon for $25, a third of the original price. Any collectors item or high priced deluxe edition mass produced for a major artist will NEVER go up in value.Free Music Review: Good album, but not a good edition
Hit: 2 Stars
I love this album a lot, one of their most solid efforts yet. It's probably one of their best- on par with their previous IMO.
However, the same can't be said about this box set.
Never mind Cedars of Lebanon, what happened to all the trees wasted making this edition?
First off, the CD and DVD is included which is nice. And then the poster. It has an expanded version of the album cover which is really boring to look at. I could have gotten the same offering at a print shop in Southgate Mall. And then the flipside is an equally boring photo of the band standing around looking monotonous.
The DVD is a waste of time. What "film"? I probably won't watch it again. Just the songs on the album set to a man riding his motorbike and walking. It's painful to watch, and the "f--k the police" thing was unintentional comedy gold. We only briefly see U2 during Magnificent. And the video quality is garbage. Even my copy of The Chinese Connection looks better.
The harcover book is nothing special. Just a bunch of U2 photos and an interview with the band. nothing particularily interesting.
But lastly, THE BOX. I can't fit the box onto any shelf without taking up tonnes of space. They could have fit all things into the hardcover book like Judas Priest did with Nostradamus (trust me, the poster isn't that big). But no they didn't.
Also, I would like to go out on a limb and comment on how big U2's egos have gotten. They've gone from great band to Money-making machine. $95 for this edition? Thanks for robbing me of my money! I got the Limited Edition of HTDAAB for WAY less!!.
Overall, just get the regular edition. You're missing nothing with this terrible money-waster of an edition.