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Rating:
Upon the release of every new U2 album, it is hard not to get overwhelmed by the media noise that arises among television, radio, the web, and so on.
Let's add the fact that the time lapse between this "No Line On The Horizon" and the previous (barely sufficient) "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" has been the longest in the almost thirty-year career of the Dublin group, and there you have it. The single chosen for the launch, "Get On Your Boots," is a sort of "Vertigo" part two and has not been favorably received by fans, despite much of the critics deeming it the most valid of those proposed by the band in the last nine years. In short, much at stake and eyes fixed on Bono and company.
But the album? Let’s say right away that we are probably faced with the best studio material from the band since "Pop"; within the sound fabric of the music proposed by the four Irishmen, you can perceive a tension and expressive depth that seemed irreparably compromised.
The opening with the title track, between guitars and synthesizers, a Bono in stellar vocal form (it's worth noting that old Paul is heading towards 49 years), and the unmistakable touch of Brian Eno, is as good as one could expect, and the subsequent "Magnificent" (second single) will most likely be added to the band's repertoire of classics. "Moment Of Surrender" and "Unknown Caller" form a pair characterized by groove and atmosphere (the latter being more compelling, one of the best episodes of the album). "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight," another potential smash hit, boasts an unusual (for U2) collaboration, that of Will. I. Am. from the Black Eyed Peas, who operates the controls along with the usual Steve Lillywhite and co-produces the piece with the least possible interference, making it sound like a classic U2 song. A fly in the ointment, so to speak. "Stand Up Comedy," on the other hand, is perhaps the least valid track of the album, and it refers too much to the atmospheres of the previous studio release.
A special mention is deserved by a gem like "Fez - Being Born": a perfectly crafted sound and melody wisely shaped around Bono's voice, who is, of course, no longer in his twenties. The track was recorded during the Moroccan sessions, and you can tell. "White As Snow" and the splendid closure "Cedars Of Lebanon" lower the tone to make it whispered, while in the middle, there's a "Breathe" that instead raises the volume and rhythm.
A comeback of quality, "No Line On The Horizon," which many did not expect. And the "boys" from Dublin have already announced their new studio work, "Songs Of Ascent," and the related (probable) lead single, "Every Breaking Wave." All expected by the end of this year.
From one album every five years to two in twelve months: has the artistic rebirth just begun for Bono and company?
The challenging judgment is yours...
Key tracks: "Magnificent," "Unknown Caller," "Fez - Being Born," "Cedars Of Lebanon"
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
06 Get On Your Boots (03:25)
The future needs a big kiss
Winds blows with a twist
Never seen a moon like this
Can you see it too?
Night is falling everywhere
Rockets at the fun fair
Satan loves a bomb scare
But he won’t scare you
Hey, sexy boots
Get on your boots, yeah
You free me from the dark dream
Candy floss ice cream
All our kids are screaming
But the ghosts aren’t real
Here’s where we gotta be
Love and community
Laughter is eternity
If joy is real
You don’t know how beautiful
You don’t know how beautiful you are
You don’t know, and you don’t get it, do you?
You don’t know how beautiful you are
That’s someone’s stuff they’re blowing up
We’re into growing up
Women of the future
Hold the big revelations
I got a submarine
You got gasoline
I don’t want to talk about wars between nations
Not right now
Hey sexy boots
Get on your boots, yeah
Not right now
Bossy boots
You don’t know how beautiful
You don’t know how beautiful you are
You don’t know, and you don’t get it, do you?
You don’t know how beautiful you are
Hey sexy boots
I don’t want to talk about the wars between the nations
Sexy boots, yeah
Let me in the sound
Let me in the sound
Let me in the sound, sound
Let me in the sound, sound
Meet me in the sound
Let me in the sound
Let me in the sound, now
God, I’m going down
I don’t wanna drown now
Meet me in the sound
Let me in the sound
Let me in the sound
Let me in the sound, sound
Let me in the sound, sound
Meet me in the sound
Get on your boots
Get on your boots
Get on your boots
Yeah hey hey
10 Breathe (05:00)
16th of June, nine 0-five, door bell rings
Man at the door says if I want to stay alive a bit longer
There’s a few things I need you to know.
Three coming from a long line of travelling sales people on my mother’s side
I wasn’t gonna buy just anyone’s cockatoo
So why would I invite a complete stranger into my home
Would you?
These days are better than that
These days are better than that
Every day I die again, and again I’m reborn
Every day I have to find the courage
To walk out into the street
With arms out
Got a love you can’t defeat
Neither down or out
There’s nothing you have that I need
I can breathe
Breathe now
16th of June, Chinese stocks are going up
And I’m coming down with some new Asian virus
Ju Ju man, Ju Ju man
Doc says you’re fine, or dying
Please
Nine 0-nine, St John Divine, on the line, my pulse is fine
But I’m running down the road like loose electricity
While the band in my head plays a striptease
The roar that lies on the other side of silence
The forest fire that is fear so deny it
Walk out into the street
Sing your heart out
The people we meet
Will not be drowned out
There’s nothing you have that I need
I can breathe
Breathe now
Yeah, yeah
We are people borne of sound
The songs are in our eyes
Gonna wear them like a crown
Walk out, into the sunburst street
Sing your heart out, sing my heart out
I’ve found grace inside a sound
I found grace, it’s all that I found
And I can breathe
Breathe now
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Other reviews
By il giustiziere
A well-produced album that manages to overshadow (not that it took much) U2’s previous releases.
Despite some songs smelling of old U2 and others having a Coldplay-like aura, the album deserves a passing grade.
By jude79
The unforgettable fire hasn’t extinguished... it has returned to burn majestically like it hadn’t for years.
They decided to release as the first single a track that is not only the worst of the album but that is not even worthy of being part of it... Mystery of faith!
By Lesto BANG
An album of Great Craftsmanship and licking of sounds but... seems to really copy soundscapes and attitudes, things already heard here and there.
An album neither shameful nor praiseworthy, at times even pleasant, but lacking those particular peaks of genius or energy.
By primiballi
U2's music is now classical music.
This album gives something and takes nothing away, indeed, one could afford some generosity even more.
By Jokerman
This 'No Line On The Horizon' is a great CD, a welcome return to the past that will particularly please long-time fans.
We hope this album represents a starting point for U2, who will certainly continue to produce excellent works.
