nsign's Full Review: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb by U2
They're back to save the world. And a grim place it has become, too. Illegal wars rage in the Middle East, a Bible-thumping cowboy is once again the leader of the western world, famine and disease sweep through Africa like an Old Testament plague, and Robbie Williams continues to release records. My God, why hast thou forsaken us? Where art thou great rock band to stand against the rising of the tide? Whither the ball-breaking anthems of old and simple strength of a well-placed power chord? Why, hallelujah, for here cometh U2 and Saint Bono with mighty shades, mighty guitars and mighty haircuts. Could it be we are saved?
U2's new album arrives in this 21st century wasteland with the expectation of a miracle-performing prophet. Coming on the heels of 2001's all-conquering All That You Can't Leave Behind, many have been wondering in which direction U2 will turn in these troubled days. They've never been ones to do things the easy way or to get stuck in a predictable groove, but over the last 20 years or so they have alternated between albums everyone in the world loves, and albums whose appeal is more "selective". The Joshua Tree's planet-straddling romanticism would make way for the roots-rock pick and mix of Rattle And Hum, still a good record, but the ill-advised movie's let's-all-hang-out-with-the-black-folks vibe invited critical sniggers, as did album tracks like God Part II ( writing a sequel to a Lennon song? No, Bono, lad. You just don't ).
Fearing a creative block, they crafted the stonking Achtung Baby, simply one of the best records of its era, which in turn gave birth to the beguiling ambience of Zooropa and the techno dalliances of Pop ( half brilliant, half crap ). Very few bands have so totally re-invented themselves on record and on stage the way U2 did in the nineties, and I doubt many ever will. With All That You Can't Leave Behind, it seemed U2 had stepped backwards, dug out a copy of The Joshua Tree, and said to themselves, "Hey, this is really good. Let's make one like this again". It could have backfired, but instead they gave us a brilliant distillation of the whole U2 thang in one cracking package. So what do U2 sound like in 2004?
The answer is they sound alot like U2 in about 1984. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb is one of their most raw, brash and in your face albums, relatively free from any experimentation, but it's also less immediately appealing than most of their previous works. At first listen, its clattering soundscapes and rough-edged back to basics songwriting sounds lifted from the punk years, and its unpolished aura is initially off-putting.
But after careful analysis scientists have confirmed that most of this album does "sound like U2", and it is a crafty record - After a few listens it starts to worm its way into your affections, its melodies become more clearly defined, and you'll inadvertently find yourself humming to some tune that's suddenly popped up in your head. And sometimes they're the best kind of albums, after all.
The blistering Vertigo makes a late bid for the title of single of the year, and it's the best track here, U2 at their punkish and economic best. A short, sharp and rude blast of a song clocking in at around 3 minutes, it appears, raises its middle finger and departs as quickly as it arrived, immediately making you reach for the back button to hear it again ( and I somehow keep hearing echoes of The Supremes' You Keep Me Hanging On ). But anyone buying the album on the strength of Vertigo alone may be disappointed as it is not particularly representative of the rest of this music. Miracle Drug sounds like an outtake from War, with some typically vague lyrics from Bono about how "love and logic keep us clear", and an instantly familiar guitar motif ( This is very much The Edge's album, his diamond bright guitar dominating throughout with its trademark flash-flicker ). It's a damned good song though.
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own may be their finest ballad since One, written as a tribute to Bono's father and sung at his funeral. It has some great chord changes and is fantastically emotional without being mawkish or sentimental, with the lyric of "It's you when I look into the mirror" being a tingling high point. It builds into an anthemic rush and it doesn't take too much imagination to picture this being a future concert Zippo-waver. Love And Peace Or Else finds Bono striking a political note, possibly directed towards the Middle East, with lyrics addressed to the "daughters of Zion and sons of Abraham" over a rough blues rumble, reminiscent of Johnny Cash. It's also the one track on here which isnt't too far removed from the sound of Achtung Baby, and despite the title it's not preachy or self-righteous.
Bono's voice has obviously sustained some damage in the last twenty years, and there a few occasions when he strains for the notes and sounds knackered, most notably on the ill thought-out chorus of All Because Of You, where he wanders painfully out of key. Despite bearing a passing resemblance to The Who's Substitute, and a superb jagged guitar ripple on the intro, it isn't really much cop, although Bono does acknowledge his penchant for bullish outspokenness with "I like the sound of my own voice, I didn't give anyone a choice". Much better is City Of Blinding Lights, opening with a delicate piano figure and featuring a classic Bono chorus of "Whooaah!!" It's reminiscent of Where The Streets Have No Name, and all the better for it.
Between A Man And A Woman finds the quality dipping again, with an unexciting melody and some pretty lame lyrics which sound like they could have come from an Enrique Iglesias album, as in, "I could never understand the mysterious distance between a man and a woman", and a solemn "Where is the love?" You can do better than that, Bono. There is a nice moody mellow tune in One Step Closer, also inspired by Bono's father, which has some warm pedal steel and lyrics which manage to be both personal and universal.
The album winds up with the intriguingly constructed Original Of The Species, featuring some distinctly Beatle-esque production, and the atmospheric Crumbs From Your Table, both of which earn top marks. It unfortunately ends on a sour note with Yahweh ( the Hebrew word for God, I'm told ), which despite a rousing opening, finds Bono repeating some nebulous peace n' love n' god waffle over a poor melody and quickly becomes dull. Can't have everything, I suppose.
I struggled to decide whether to give this three or four stars, as there are some average tracks here, but at the same time, it's well worth getting the album for the best bits alone, so it gets four. It is a U2 record, after all, and generally it's a peach. Although some of these melodies aren't as immediate or coherently constructed as you might expect, and there are maybe more down-tempo tracks than necessary, it's got big guitars, bristles with aggressive energy and has those epic flourishes that only U2 can manage, and I suspect it'll be a "grower". Right now, I wouldn't say it's a classic U2 album, but it has classic moments, and ultimately time will tell where this record stands in U2's illustrious firmament.
Track Listing:
1. Vertigo
2. Miracle Drug
3. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
4. Love And Peace Or Else
5. City Of Blinding Lights
6. All Because Of You
7. A Man And A Woman
8. Crumbs From Your Table
9. One Step Closer
10. Original Of The Species
11. Yahweh
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Getting ready to go out
U2 s tenth album, HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB finds the Irish rock icons stripping their sound down to the bare essentials, and offering a more ra...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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