How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb - My review
Well you know it had to come at some point :)
U2 proves once again that they are the greatest band in the world. Although, I’d have to say that after all the hype and excitement, I was initially disappointed. This happens every time I get excited about something though :) After several listens, the album has grown on me (that or I “get it” now).
Here’s a real quick cursory song-by-song: Vertigo - Great pop radio song. U2 purists probably hate it, U2 fanatics (like me) love it. Some say it is some of The Edge’s rocking-est guitar parts ever.
Miracle Drug - Catchy, can’t wait to hear it live, but unfortunately one I will probably skip over in the future for…
Sometimes You Can’t Make it On Your Own - quite possibly their greatest song ever. Powerful, moving, in the vein of Bad, All I Want is You, and Stuck in a Moment.
Love and Peace of Else - U2’s attempt at a sort of “protest” song maybe? Heartfelt and demanding. Pretty rockin, though I think it is mediocre compared to….
City of Blinding Lights - My second favorite song on the album. An arena rocking anthem. Much like “streets”.
All Because of You - Sweet intro, fun rock song. Again, can’t wait to hear it live. It might make a bit more sense there…
A Man and a Woman - Not sure about this song…
Crumbs from your table - “The only song we ever wrote while drinking” -bono.
One Step Closer - An unasuming, and surprisingly good, peaceful, emotional song. “Across the road from hope… One step closer to knowing…”
Original of the Species - Hmm… I dont’ quite get this one either. I ‘ll get back to you on it.
Yahweh - Interesting ending to the album. A prayer of sorts… “Take this city if it be your will. What no man can own, no man can take. Take this heart, and make it break.”
You can also purchase the Deluxe version with companion DVD, “U2 and 3 songs” (this is the one I have) that has sort of a “making of” documentary of “Sometimes you can’t make it on your own”, “Crumbs from your table”, and “Vertigo”, as well as studio performances of “sometimes”, “vertigo”, “crumbs”, and an acoustic version of “sometimes”. All in all, a fun 30ish minutes of DVD, though whether that is worth an extra $7 I leave up to you.
I was mulling around the mall last night and went in to Sam Goody (this is where I depress myself by observing my favorite bands and albums represented by nothing in the racks but a card with the band name on it sandwiched between other cards of bands I’ve never heard of that came AFTER my bands, which themselves lie among dozens of actual CDs–of Celine Dion, Eminem, Jo Jo, etc.). The new U2 albums were displayed in a big cardboard POS display on sale for about $12. So I picked one up because I figured we’d probably cover four of their songs eventually. I really like Vertigo but I’m undecided on the rest of it. I saw them on SNL, too; they’re far more interesting to me live.