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Album Reviews
When producer Adam Epstein asked me if I liked the show
“Amadeus,” my reaction (now oft-quoted) was simple: What’s
not to like?
That’s exactly how I feel about “All That You Can’t Leave
Behind,” the newest release by U2, and, as most critics have
agreed, their best effort since “Achtung Baby.” They’ve
pulled back from the futuristic stance of “Pop” and “Zooropa,”
but have not reverted all the way to their “Unforgettable
Fire” and earlier 2-chord punk-pop roots. What we have as a
result are eleven finely crafted ballads and rockers that
don’t sound like they came out of the Lanois/Eno factory
(even though they did.)
We open with “Beautiful Day,” which has already blasted its
way into the collective unconsciousness as a classic. Is it
in car commercials yet? I was worried for a minute when I
first heard it, ‘cause the echo-y keyboards and tin-can
strings make it sound a little bit Moby. But once those
guitars come in about forty-five seconds in, and Bono comes
out from behind his low drone and really rips out the
chorus, I knew we were in business. This is good time side
one track one rock, as only tried and true veterans know how
to produce it.
“Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of,” has the tenor of
“Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around The World,” but with a
remarkable twist: soul. A lot of soul. Blues-y, gospel-y
soul. Remember when U2 had to subcontract that part out for
the live version of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking
For?” Well, they found what they’re looking for.
I’m also quite taken with “New York,” a sober track that
opens with break-beat drumming and ominous synthesizer
tones. “Summers get hot, well into the hundreds, you can’t
walk around the block without a change of clothing in New
York.” I guess this is U2’s loner version of the Stones’
“Shattered.”
“In A Little While,” is a roots-y rocker masquerading as hip
with some DJ scratching and funked-up drumming. “Elevation”
rocks out the most “Zooropa” here, with disembodied voices
bandying about, as well as The Edge’s trademark
ding-ding-ding guitar style. “When I Look At The World,”
too, has that sort of stadium anthem potential that U2 is
always able to downplay so much better than the other
leading brand. These are all bombastic rock hits, but,
somehow, it doesn’t seem idiotic when they do it.
I wonder how this music would be greeted by the press and
the record-buying public if it weren’t by such a well-known
commodity as U2. U2 can bomb, as “Pop” showed, so it’s not
like everything they do is lapped up. That leads me to
believe that somewhere out there people are testing for
quality. However, there records being made by artists like
Josh Rouse, Craig Ross,
Hub
and others that sound an awful lot like what’s on “All That
You Can’t Leave Behind.” And we all know how many records
those guys are selling.
Ack, but why grouse! If U2 wanted to, they could pump out
shit like Phil Collins or Elton John and few people would be
the wiser. Hats off to U2 for tweaking their style, eyeing
toward perfection, and, heck, for being one of the cooler
mainstay rock acts of this or any other time.
~Jordan Hoffman
"I'm just trying to find a decent melody," Bono sings on
the track "Stuck In A Moment And Can’t Get Out Of" from
the new U2 album All That You Can’t Leave Behind. Bono
and the rest of the band have stumbled across quite a few
decent melodies during their 20+ year career and the
contents of this new record are no exception. All That
You Can’t Leave Behind is full of techno sounds, as well
as guitarist The Edge’s layered guitar tracks, but the
vocal melodies are the album's strength.
U2 has found a way to make music that would sound
perfectly at home in 1985, but does not seem dated or
passe. There is a bit more wisdom and confidence in
Bono’s voice than on U2’s first releases Boy, October and
War, but it remains very much unchanged. Sure, a vocal
filter or effect surfaces occasionally, but on most
tracks, the vocal is very present and focused in the
center of the stereo image. This aids in bringing the
listener’s attention to the vocal’s melody.
Like most pop albums, there are a few throwaway cuts that
aren’t of the same caliber as the rest of the recording.
Track Six, "In A Little While," has a guitar intro that
sounds a little too much like Hanson’s MMM Bop, and
features Bono’s least inspired vocal performance. The
track "In New York" is the only other low point, with
Bono singing a cheesy ode to the Big Apple over
tripped-out guitar noodling and a techno drum beat. The
song then kicks up a notch for the big chorus "New York,
New York." Yup, those are the only words in the chorus.
The production work on All That You Can’t Leave Behind is
very solid. One of the best and most subtle production
tricks is used on the track "Peace on Earth," where a
quickly strummed double-tracked acoustic guitar part is
electronically compressed and set back very quietly in
the mix. It almost sounds like a percussion instrument
and it is very difficult to actually discern which chords
the guitarist is playing. This technique is used on a few
other tracks with electric guitars to create a synth-type
sound. This of course makes performing these songs
virtually impossible to play note-for-note in a live
setting, but U2 fans know that they are going to get a
different experience than the recording when seeing the
band live.
Clocking in at only 49 minutes, this 11-track CD is a bit
on the short side, but it features nine solid songs that
have staying power. There are enough unique sounds and
studio tricks to keep it interesting, and enough vocal
hooks to keep you singing along. There is not one
defining sound on this record, but rather a combination
of the different sounds that U2 have experimented with
over the past 20 years, which amazingly work here. All
That You Can’t Leave Behind is their best album since
1991’s Achtung Baby and if you are a fan of modern rock,
this is a CD that is worth picking up.
~
Bryan Dailey
U2(Homepage)
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