U2, 'No Line on the Horizon' (Interscope)
With a boost from his rejuvenated mates, Bono rediscovers his calling.
By Charles Aaron 03.03.09 8:19 AM
"I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” reads like a bumper sticker on an SUV in a Wal-Mart parking lot -- a meek yelp of rebellion from a mortgage-stressed husband who dreams of creeping out for Nascar Bud Shootout night at Hooters. But on the song of that title from U2’s 12th studio album, Bono belts out the line with liberating glee -- like a giddy favela kid swinging onto an arm of Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue. And we’re right there swinging along too, because when surging vox and chiming guitar and frisky beat congregate in the proper spirit, and when the foursome don’t sound like geezers defensively proclaiming their conceptual or aesthetic vigor, U2 still inspire flashes of elation, awe, and yes, hope like no other rock band.
And for most of us, that’s enough -- they created a sound, they shrewdly expanded and reinvented it, and they never became ghoulish, price-gouging buffoons like the Stones. But unlike 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind (the follow-up to 1997’s electronica-tweaked misfire Pop), No Line on the Horizon isn’t content to reaffirm U2’s iconic sonic virtues. With coproducers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois explicitly included in the songwriting, it’s an effort to tinker and rough up and refine anew their music’s essence -- with nobly sketchy results.
The title-track opener masses the Edge’s guitar and synth tracks into a dense whir and swirl amid gurning polyrhythms, giving Bono’s whoa-ohs a gritty context (as if he’s fronting a reanimated Killing Joke). “Magnificent” could’ve been a standard U2 secular hymn, but it’s constructed like a Sasha & Digweed trance anthem, with peak-hour drum programming and electronic swoosh. “Moment of Surrender,” a celebrity-at-the-crossroads soul ballad, is given an ambient gospel sweep that’s both haunted and joyful. More clumsily, “Stand Up Comedy” and “Get on Your Boots” adopt a self-conscious Zoo TV swagger that only exposes Bono’s dodgier wordplay.
And ultimately, No Line hinges on your appetite for, or patience with, the Nobel Peace Prize nominee’s lyrical approach. “I’m sick of Bono and I am him,” the singer admitted of his persona recently. So he abridges his first-person pronouncements, taking the point of view of a war correspondent on the moody diary “Cedars of Lebanon,” and of a suicidal man who thinks his phone is texting him instructions via computer commands (“Force quit and move to trash!”) on “Unknown Caller.” He imagines himself as invisible in “Moment of Surrender” and is a mostly phonetic presence during “Fez—Being Born.” It’s odd that the world’s most voluble one-named activist, who holds forth at will on, say, Larry King Live, seems unsure of how to express himself in a musical context. Maybe, like most rational adults, he’s lost some faith in pop or rock to transform the planet, but if you’re gonna be the leader of U2, you oughta embrace the pulpit.
So it's finally startling when the confident rumble of “Breathe” emerges. Bono sounds wired, paranoid, and defiantly sympathetic, ranting about an “Asian virus,” “juju man,” and “St. John the Divine.” Then, suddenly, his ambivalent anxiety recedes. And by simply being a rock star who’s singing his heart out, he depicts our ability to reenter the grind every day without cynicism as a near-heroic act. The edge’s concise, ascending solo sears the point home.
Sick of Bono? Maybe. Sick of U2? Not yet.
Ugh, don't you dare publicly declare Pop as a misfire when Spin gave it a 9 out of 10 when it was released. Pop is a brilliant piece of work and the electronica tag is such a cliche. Zooropa had a stronger electronic aesthetic and yet you mention nothing of it and now you guys want to treat Pop like some bastard stepchild. Don't even front.
Pop was a misfire? Discotheque and Staring at the Sun? :P
Spin lost all its credibility on U2 when its writer Jim Greer fabricated a story about the Zoo TV tour. Greer was **** Kim Deal of the Pixies, who were opening for U2 at the time. Deal was upset with U2, even though Frank Black felt she was being an irrational smackhead, and the ****-whipped Greer literally made up dates and events in an effort to bash U2. It was completely over the top, yet Spin went with it as its cover story (still wanted to sell mags with Bono on the cover, I guess).
Now, Spin has a writer who hates Bono reviewing U2's latest album. Spin is the New York Post of rock journalism.
This is a bad record, and I wish someone had the balls to let the band know that. I'd give my right arm for a Pop right about now. That "I'm sick of Bono" line is about six years old, I imagine the fact checkers were pulling their hair out over it's description as "recently." Although Bono does tend to repeat himself. "I'm sick of Bono - and I am Bono." (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1470087/20030221/u2.jhtml)
I believe Charles Aaron will feel foolish in 10 years time for not giving this album at least 4 stars. Yeah, I'm sure we will all remember March 2009 as the month that great Dan Deacon album came out. What a grand time it was!
i liked it. it's actually better than i expected. it reminded me of my two favorite u2 albums: achtung baby and zooropa. the only thing i'm still not to happy about is bono's singing style. he insists on high tones. i know he can get there, but i don't like the sound of it... i don't like it when, because of the lead singer, you can't hear the music... i think u2 sounds much better when he sings in low tones (like achtung baby and zooropa).
Pop is an incredible album; and what does surprise me is just how hurtful this album was to U2's confidence. I've heard that in many concerts U2 won't sing even a single track from it. I love every u2 album--Achtung! being my fav. Pop is somewhere near because it is not ever boring. I hope u2 experiments with those sounds again. Love the new album too.
I haven't even heard it yet. I'm still fully engaged with "Medium, Rare and Re-mastered". There is some incredible stuff in that package, but you have to pay U2 fifty bucks and become a site member to get it (oh, I'm sure there are other ways, but as a fan...I'm not interested in stealing U2's music).
Seriously, listening to MRR, I time-traveled back to when I first heard joshua tree on some of those tracks, and back to the first time I heard Achtung on others.
If you are a fan, you need to get "Medium, Rare and Re-mastered". Some of their best semi-published material.
One exception: although I've tried 4 times, I still haven't been able to get all the way through the "Party Girl" cut. Bono's voice was parched, it sounded like he was going thru puberty and decided to record anyway. It's painful to hear. But I get the joke. Putting it in had to be a fun punch to the lead man. Every voice has a bad day.
I was really glad to read comments that stand up for Pop. I agree that it's a brilliant piece of work! I'm really glad that I got to see them on the Pop tour. I saw them last night and was hoping to hear Discotheque or Staring at the Sun.
yes Bono insists in high tones, why? Hes transformed his wonderful voice into a high nasal voice...why? >Because he has recuperated his voice now that he doesnt smoke or what?
He wants to challenge himself or what?
Bono: your high tones at your age doesnt sound good... believe it!
It sounds forced!!
Why are you even singing ultraviolet live higher than the original tone?
why?
You have got to be kidding. Listen to it the whole way through. When his voice cracks on the line "I have a heart that's been aye sad" is what gives it so much feeling. It is the best line of the whole song, and it wouldn't be so if his voice had not had the emotion that it did.
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