No Line on the Horizon: A Review

Everyone who knows me well will agree when I say that I am a huge U2 fan. I can list off every album they have ever made over their nearly 30 year music career, and if you play me any of their songs, I can tell you what the name is (and the album, of course). I even shelled out hundreds of dollars for great seats when they visited Salt Lake City on their Vertigo tour in 2005. Seeing U2 play live ranks as one of the top 5 best days of my life...so far. I know Bono's and the Edge's real names, birthdates, names of children, etc. Obsessed much? Yeah. I wonder if there's a U2 12-step program? Any ways, I digress...my intention is not to brag about my U2 knowledge but to review their latest album No Line on the Horizon. It's been out for a couple of weeks and I've had some time now to drink in their latest work and analyze it a little.

First off, I like the title. It's not quite as big a mouthful as their All That You Can't Leave Behind and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb albums were. It conjures an image of a placid ocean where the color of the sky and sea merge and you can't tell where one begins and the other ends, much like their album cover depicts. However, I have to admit I'm fairly disappointed with the album content. It has some decent songs, don't get me wrong, and I'm sure they'll walk away at next years Grammys with a few awards in hand like they do every time they release an album, but I just don't feel that this album is at the same caliber as their previous albums. The songs are reasonably enjoyable to listen to, but it's failed to grab my attention. Bono's usually poetic lyrics were weak in this album, and the melodies tend to fade into the background. The song "Get on Your Boots" has a rather catchy tune, but I have no idea what the heck it's even about. It's more like spouted pop dribble, in my opinion. I will admit that their albums have always had heavy political undertones (they grew up in a tumultuous country, can you blame them?), and they tried to veer away from that in this album...and it doesn't really work for them. This album reminds me a lot of some of their earlier albums like The Unforgettable Fire (which I have nicknamed "The Forgettable Fire" because it's the most forgettable of all their albums), Boy, October, and Pop. All three of those albums have a couple of classics on them like "I Will Follow", "October", "Pride (In the Name of Love)", "Bad", "Discotheque" and "Gone" but the rest of the songs are not worth buying the whole albums for (unless of course you're a huge fan and must have them all...like me). Just go out and buy The Best of 1980-1990 and The Best of 1990-2000. It has all of those songs plus other classics on it. I will recommend buying their older albums War, Joshua Tree, and Achtung Baby, though. They are U2 essentials! Even Zooropa, as weird as it was, was fairly enjoyable. I also recommend How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Nearly every song on that album is fantastic! Especially the song, "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" which is about Bono's relationship with his father who passed away in 2002. I think it's a very touching tribute to a man who obviously inspired him, even if their relationship was rather strained at times. Needless to say, their latest album, when compared to their past work, just doesn't quite cut it. I can forgive them, though, considering they've put out some amazing work, and I'm sure they'll continue to do so. No one can be expected to be #1 all of the time. I can't imagine the pressure to crank out material all of the time, and considering they've been doing it for 3 decades, they're bound to hit the creative wall every now and then. Maybe they've hit their musical peak and it's all downhill from here. Who knows. I would recommend checking out their new album any ways, if only to form your own opinion. Maybe you'll think it's their best ever! Maybe I'm just too critical.

I've heard that they're releasing a second album later this year which will kind of be like their B-sides, their album leftovers, if you will. Maybe it will be more interesting, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. Hopefully in another 5 years they'll get their act together and produce another fantastic album. I'll be looking for it around 2015. Until then, I still have their old (but fantastic) stuff to listen to...and that's good enough for me.