Magnificent Indeed

No Line On The Horizon
U2

At one time in my life I had a problem with music CD’s, specifically I bought them to excess. But being mature enough to recognize this, I stopped buying them with one exception – anything that came out from U2. When that happens, I always buy it on release day, as early as possible. Five years ago when they released their last album – How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb – I showed up at the store so early I helped the clerk unpack her shipment boxes to get to it. This time around our community has a 24 hour Super Wal-Mart so I figured I would stop by before work at 6:30am and pick it up. Even though they were open, and the record had been technically released over 6 hours early, there were no employees in the department and it wasn’t out on display yet. So I went to work disappointed. About 9am I took a break from work and drove over to Target and got it for 10 dollars.
So how is the music – Simply Awesome!! While no one song jumps out as “this is a hit”, say like Elevation, Beautiful Day, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, etc., the entire album is listenable. More than that, the songs seem to grow on you with each successive run through, with music being very subtle and pervasive. This is what I love about U2 albums – you can listen to the whole thing. It’s not just a couple of catchy tunes and a whole bunch of filler crap that most bands seem to put out. Every song has merit; every song has its hook. After 30 years of making music, they still know how it’s done and this record is solid throughout.
The song that has initially hooked me is track 3 Moment of Surrender. The others that are scoring well for me are Magnificent, Unknown Caller, I’ll go crazy if I don’t go crazy tonight, Stand Up Comedy, White As Snow, and Breathe. The most experimental song of the lot is FEZ-Being Born, and even that once it gets going is pretty good. I like track 1 No Line on the Horizon and the first single Get on Your Boots (which ironically seems out of place on the album). More of a poem set to a simple rhythm is the closing song Cedars of Lebanon, it is a great finisher. I am really looking forward to how they play these songs live, because for the most
part I am betting they will highlight unique aspects of the songs rather than a straightforward playing, especially if they are going to be doing bigger venues (this album would play well in a smoky 50 seat club).
But the biggest news is the fact a second album of the more experimental stuff is supposed to be released later this year, including some alleged tracks with a reggae flavor.