Passengers
Original Soundtracks 1

I am about to review a post-'77 album (unbelievable, many will say, but there it is...) and moreover it involves one of the most vilified bands of the moment, U2.

The album in question is interesting because U2 decide not to be U2: in 1995 they enter the studio expanding the group with Brian Eno and Howie B., and experiment with ambient and electronic sounds, moving quite far from their artistic standards which, after Zooropa, would fall into the category of depressing. The idea of making an album with a faint concept substrate is also interesting, presenting it as a collection of soundtracks for actually imaginary movies; everything is very surreal and ironic, starting with the title, as there will never be an "Original Soundtracks Vol. 2". The films described in the liner notes therefore do not exist, and behind the names of characters and directors are actually, anagrammed, the musicians themselves: only a few pieces will later have a real cinematic outlet. This six-member supergroup decides to hide behind the name Passenger, also referring to the passage of numerous guests, illustrious or not, among whom stands out tenor Pavarotti.

It starts with an excellent instrumental piece, "United Colors Of Plutonium", opened by an obsessive ticking of drumsticks and sinister synth inserts aided by robotic electronic percussion overlaid by violent sax bursts, played by David Herbert, and screams of guitar soaked in effects. An atmosphere à la "Blade Runner", nocturnal and neon-lit, chaotic and synthetic but very poignant, with also a repetitive and fast keyboard riff marking its sinister advance. It’s followed by the excellent "Slug", which begins with a delicate distorted synth and guitar insert supported by a "globular" echoing drum machine pattern reinforced by electronic percussion. Bono's sung text is somewhat reminiscent of "Numb", but here the atmosphere is much less oppressive, more sci-fi, not industrial but rather alien and "organic", although the conclusion is entrusted to dark percussion with a dirtier and underground sound.

"Your Blue Room" is also very beautiful, a more classic piece, very relaxed and light, as if wrapped in a silk drape; there is very little electric and distorted, the drums work with brushes and the guitar chisels harmoniously gently, the sound is typically U2 but effective because it is bare yet sumptuous, creating a very sensual, almost erotic atmosphere: it’s no coincidence that the song is used by Michelangelo Antonioni in the film "Beyond the Clouds", in the episode where Caterina Caselli welcomes her lover in a room with blue walls. It ends with a very slow solo and a vocal recitative that seals another noteworthy piece. Powerful and evocative is also the instrumental "Always Forever Now", used by Michael Mann in "Heat", which highlights the pulsing percussion, also electronic, and the intriguing hums of The Edge's electric guitar. It's a syncopated and well-polished piece with a nocturnal and urban ambiance, perhaps a bit spoiled by Bono's vocal inserts repeating the title but becoming banal; the final part is beautiful where the rhythm speeds up, the guitar draws long notes, and the keyboards envelop everything with a swelling string sound before suddenly plunging into a gloomy murmur.

The short "A Different Kind Of Blue" is a minimal piece totally in the hands of Brian Eno, who sings a surreal poem with a filtered voice over very light keyboard inserts, in perfect ambient style; it serves as an introduction to "Beach Sequence", another visionary and soft instrumental, characterized by sparse percussion and guitar arpeggios, gentle bass, and a simple piano theme repeated with few variations to the end. In the background are faint splashes of water and invisible whispers of keyboards, everything is very simple and effective, and indeed this piece also features in Antonioni's film, precisely in the sequence shot by Wim Wenders (assistant director) on a beach.

It was said at the beginning that the album is interesting because U2 choose to experiment and "not be U2". When this noble intent is set aside, the most irritating and pointless song on the album emerges, "Miss Sarajevo", paradoxically considered by many to be a masterpiece but is actually a sycophantic charity stew typical of Bono and his billionaire friends from the "happy world club". Here they talk about the war in Bosnia, and they do so with boring lyrics over a flat and banal music that spoils the special atmosphere previously created. Pavarotti, a great artist with questionable (and perhaps even not so clean) financial choices, sings in Italian the last verse of this circus of good feelings made to please the masses, with Bono's swollen ego now satisfied and convinced to have taken a step further toward deification.

From this point on, the album appears somewhat compromised: "Ito Okashi" is a short vignette artfully constructed around the voice of Japanese singer Holi with an airy base of programmed keyboards, but it is inevitably forgettable. Much better is "One Minute Warning", used in a cult anime like "Ghost In The Shell", supported by a good rhythm adorned with sampled and heavily distorted vocal inserts, giving the impression of a vertiginous escape through technological corridors of a mad artificial intelligence; beautiful also the choral ending with Brian Eno leading and a guitar that adds a sense of grim hope. Pitiful instead are the following "Corpse", badly sung by The Edge, with a rather boring industrial rhythmic base, and "Elvis Ate America", a sort of blues with Bono and Howie B. on a crooked and overloaded programmed base: poor vocal performance by all, a frankly very unpleasant track. "Plot 180" unwinds menacingly between distorted percussion, a mechanical menacing bass, and spectral keyboard inserts; it doesn’t have great features, but it effectively conveys an oppressive atmosphere, once again reminiscent of an urban and futuristic "Blade Runner" world. It’s followed by "Theme From The Swan", an extremely relaxed composition with long cello notes and the sound of falling rain, without rhythmic section or melody; the album could even end here, but we’re jolted by the attack of "Theme From Let's Go Native", yet another very rhythmic instrumental, without great developments and rather repetitive, offering nothing more than a pleasant listen, though the rhythmic section works fairly well.

Personally, I find the album to be a curious and even courageous work; it is commendable that U2 decided to put aside their classic way of working for a moment and engage in a series of mostly successful experiments. The first part is absolutely well done, and the first six pieces stand out without a doubt, but it annoys the inclusion of a song like "Miss Sarajevo", also released as a single with the precise intention to storm the charts. Aside from this and other rather embarrassing subsequent tracks, the work is quite enjoyable, charming in its cinematic pretensions, very well-crafted, and excellently played. Alas, the good vein will be exhausted immediately, because "Pop" and its heirs will mark the slow agony of old men somewhat moldy; the visionary and experimental U2 are born and die here.