Songs Of Experience

Doesn't rock as hard as earlier but is still good collection of songs

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I have been a U2 fan since 1980, when I bought U2 Boy on cassette at the tender age of 10. I was a hardcore new wave U2 fan up until The Joshua Tree, which turned me off initially, due its massive success, which at the time seemed like a "sellout". I did eventually appreciate it, but never fully embraced it. I was totally turned off by Rattle and Hum, thought I lost them for good until the stunning turnaround of Achtung. Wow, what an incredible transformation! I am still in awe of the transformation and that album. Zooropa through Pop was absolutely fantastic. To me, ATYCLB was the beginning of a "packaged U2 sound", where they seemed to finally have come to a type of “U2 sound” and they really haven’t changed that much since.Having said that, this album, IMO, is the best of their post Pop albums by quite a stretch. The songs hang together much better and are MUCH stronger across the board than any other post Pop album. The album also avoids most of the more cheesy production values that have tended to plague some of their post 2000 output - they always seem to thread a cheesy keyboard line/tinkling type thing or something into too many songs - this album avoids that for most part (except for Love is Bigger), helping create a more authentic sound. I’m OK with the Love theme, this album pulls it off by starting off with an Eno-esque ode to Love and committing to the ideal throughout - i prefer the purity of it, if that is where they are at in their lives as artists, than try to pretend they are the dark mystery horse of Achtung or something - it’s not like U2 need to try to “go dark” like Taylor Swift or something as part of a “pose” of some sort, they are just a wee bit beyond that type of pretense and deservedly so. Making sincere music about humanity and connection seems about as radical as anything these days. I definitely don’t need Pitchfork trying to tell me how uncool U2 is, I can smell their hipster tripe a mile away.I can say for certain that Red Flag Day is my favorite song from U2 since maybe the War album, certainly since Achtung Baby. That song is worth the price of admission alone. Real chills from that one, it embodies the best of how U2 can make you feel.There are a couple missteps that hold it back from potentially being a full on stone cold classic. American Soul has an excellent verse structure but I’m having a hard time fully embracing the chorus, “you and I are rock n’ roll”, — just feels a little, yes again, cheesy....also doesn’t really fit the verse. I am also not totally digging Love is Bigger - slightly forgettable and has that instrumentation part that sounds like Muzak or something.Other than that, it’s the most enjoyable and consistent album from U2 in the Post Pop era and may very well may rank in their top 5 when it’s all said and done, which I hope isn’t for a long time to come!

I've been a U2 fan for basically my entire life. The Joshua Tree was probably the first album that I recognized as truly great and meaningful, beyond just songs I liked listening to. The transition to Achtung Baby was jarring, and incredible, and powerful, and that album, like the Joshua Tree, remains a landmark in popular music. In an era of great albums, it stands out for so many reasons (the songwriting, the production, the videos, the tour). For me, U2 could do no wrong until the missteps of Pop and The Million-Dollar Hotel. Conventional wisdom says they reverted to classicist rock and roll with All That You Can't Leave Behind and settled in with their stadium-ready sound. I mostly agree with that. The implication, though, is that they are no longer a vital creative force, and that is just plain not true. U2 is able to play an album from 1987 in concert 30 years later because it's a phenomenal album, but they are not a nostalgia act. Lost in the controversy of placing their last album into everyone's iTunes (a violation of people's privacy, but I think a well-meaning one) is the fact that it was their best work in a while. Songs of Innocence was an excellent album, and now we have its other half, Songs of Experience.It's not perfect, but I think it's another strong album in many ways. My only real problem with it is the autotune in the opening song. Autotune is such a blight on modern music, a trend that is well past its expiration date and wasn't very appealing to begin with. Bono's voice, though less powerful than it once was, is still a distinctive and beautiful instrument, and there's no need to digitize it into that generic sound. The Edge manipulates guitar effects to achieve his unique audio textures. Autotuning Bono's voice removes the uniqueness, so the album has a shaky start for me.Quickly, the album gains traction, though. There's a lot of crunching guitar, soaring vocals, grooving bass, and rockin' drums. The lyrics are generally strong, with Bono singing about issues both personal and political. Some lyrics and melodies pair up with Songs of Innocence, creating a link between the two albums beyond just the titles and general concepts.What comes across most to me is the care the band took in making this album. They still want to write hits and win new fans. They still want to be relevant. I don't expect them to make albums with the same impact of their 80s and 90s masterpieces. I still get goosebumps listing to "All I Want Is You," and songs like "Electric Co." and "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kille Me" (among so many others) still leap from the speakers. I don't ask U2 to come up with another "Where the Streets Have No Name" or to expand their sound like they did with "Numb." So what do I expect from them, and what do I appreciate so much at this point in their career and in my fandom? The thematic unity of the music, and the construction of a meaningful song cycle. That is what they've achieved with this pair of albums. I would describe most of the individual songs as good or very good, but the whole is more than the sum of its parts. The overall sound and the effect of hearing it all together is quite moving, and I think it's a good place for U2 to be right now.

I'll admit, my first listen was a bit questionable. Now, I can't stop playing it. It's definitely another sonic departure for U2, but that's to be expected. However, throughout the songs there are signature U2 sounds hiding in plain sight. Listen to Edge's slide guitar solo in Lights of Home and it will take you right back to the older, more familiar U2 of your youth. Red Flag Day is another one that while being totally fresh and new, has the power to take you back to the early days with a classic bassline, agresisvely plucked by Adam. Maybe the most subtle nod is the shaker part on the chorus of the same song - it's straight outta New Years Day. The Blackout starts with a great mix of Achtung Baby guitar meets War-era bass. Speaking of bass, Adam does a stunning job through the whole album. He's always had a distinct sound, but it seems to be nudged up in the mix just a little and it is glorious.Thematically, if you've read any interviews with Bono or the Edge in the past year you probably know that the political climate in America shaped how this album progressed. The great thing about it is that the predominant message that comes through is love - whether for your fellow humans in general or for someone specific. Any old band can make a knee-jerk "protest" record as a reaction to what they perceive as a negative political situation - but what U2 comes up with is not reaction, but response. And how should one respond to tension, fear, unrest? With love, patience, peace - all things that fly in the face of what's wrong in the world.Yes, U2 has changed but there are still plenty of things about this that are undeniably U2.