Review: No Line on the Horizon
U2’s new album No Line on the Horizon (CD
I’ve listened to it a few times and am under the impression that this is an evolutionary album for them (much like Pop (CD
Here are my opinions of it song by song:
No Line On The Horizon – The sounds of the verses remind me a bit of Achtung Baby and the chorus is a bit like Boy. An interesting mix of sounds that works well. Though not a great song this track is a good opener.
Magnificent – A song about the strength and eternity of love. Interesting change of sound. Not anything special but it may stay in your head for a while.
Moment Of Surrender – Long (7:24) track. Not sure what’s going on here. Is the moment of surrender the moment he realizes that the relationship he’s in is not love? Or is he realizing that while not perfect he must surrender himself to it? Or perhaps surrendering to an uncertain future? A bit too long to stay so somber for my taste. Some different style guitar here that sounds more like David Gilmour than Edge.
Unknown Caller – Another long track (6:03). Interesting sound but obviously an experiment of sorts. Some nice vocals here with harmonies tha hearken back to some of the early albums.
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight – Life is a hard climb but sometimes you just need to relax and let go before taking the next step. We all need some decompression time. Nice Edge work here.
Get On Your Boots – A grooving beat for the first single. A nice rocker to commercialize the album and a statement about the current military world politic but that’s about it.
Stand Up Comedy – I heard producer Steve Lillywhite talk about this track on the radio this morning. He said it evolved from another song the group was working on called “For You Love”. A nice rocker with possible single prospects.
FEZ-Being Born – Another experimental track with an extended opening that includes a call back to Get On Your Boots before it gets into gear. Has a nice sound to it but there’s not much there.
White As Snow – Experimenting again? Horn section appears in this track. Some nice harmonies. Seems to be saying beware of strangers for people are never what they appear to be. Nice, different but not special.
Breathe – It’s a bad world we live in but we need to push forward. Find strength from within. Another nice song, this time with some strings, but not anything special.
Cedars Of Lebanon – A slow song to close out the album. The last lines seem like they were written as a message for former president George W. Bush.
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