Now this is more like it. It only took U2 sixteen years to get it right. As their 12th studio album, No Line On The Horizon <\/i>completely leaves their last three efforts in the dust. Sure, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb <\/i>won the Grammy for Album Of The Year, but we all know Green Day really should have won for American Idiot<\/i>. I must be one of the most patient and forgiving U2 fans around, because when I encouraged my fellow DV staff members to write reviews for Horizon<\/i>, there weren\u2019t many who took me up on it. <\/p>\n
At least I can find some consolation in all the other magazines that have given this album perfect marks. Bono and company are clearly giving it their all this time out, looking age dead in the eye and kicking it squarely in the teeth. There is a pervasive \u201cf-off\u201d spirit all over this record. From blistering rockers like \u201cGet On Your Boots\u201d and \u201cStand Up Comedy\u201d to the defiant rally-cries of \u201cUnknown Caller\u201d and \u201cBreathe,\u201d there are more exciting and upbeat tracks to be found on this one than on any other U2 release. Ace producers Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite are back for yet another go-round with the band, and even they seem to have found a few new tricks up their collective sleeves. I\u2019ve always admired how fully U2 devote themselves to crafting the best songs and capturing a distinct vibe for each album. Their newfound creative spark is the most evident on the songs that don\u2019t necessarily sound like anything they\u2019ve ever attempted before — especially \u201cNo Line On The Horizon,\u201d \u201cMagnificent\u201d and \u201cFez \u2013 Being Born.\u201d Slower songs like \u201cWhite As Snow\u201d and \u201cCedars Of Lebanon\u201d are a bit awkward and don\u2019t really gel cohesively with the other material, but that is a minor quibble when you consider the strength and power of the album as a whole. For his part, Bono pushes his vocal as far as it can possibly go on the gospel-tinged \u201cMoment Of Surrender\u201d and the urban-flavored \u201cBreathe,\u201d (which leaves him completely breathless<\/i> and spent by song\u2019s end). It\u2019s no wonder it took U2 five years to record these eleven complex tracks. The hard work shows and it pays off handsomely. These are not easy songs to sing, let alone to play live. Returning to open-air stadiums is a smart idea, though, because this is one album that demands to be heard outdoors, echoing far-off in the distance. This material is so dynamic and so unique; I just might have to catch their concert when it comes around. It would be my very first U2 show, though I do wish I could have seen Zoo TV and PopMart in person. Oh well, I guess it\u2019s never too late to see what all the fuss is about when it comes to their reputation as being the best live act in the world. If other upcoming albums are as good as this one, then 2009 should prove to be a banner year indeed. For the time being, U2, the throne is yours and yours alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":29779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5708],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-41387","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-u2","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=41387"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=41387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}