I've seen them live twice - once in 2001, again in 2005 - and there isn't a U2 album I don't own. So, understandably, waiting as long as U2 fans have for their latest, No Line On The Horizon, in this digital age, I found myself all too often checking bit torrent sites hoping that finally this damn thing would leak.
Last night, around 11:30 p.m., it happened - Universal Australia, U2's label for down-under distribution, put it on their site 10 days before its intended release. Whoops. Of course, leave it to the huge online community of U2 fans to comb the net and stumble upon an Australian music site.
An album's greatness isn't determined upon first listen. It takes repeated listens, and for the real classics, years before we can legitimately give an album such a weighty label. U2 has had two so far - The Joshua Tree and, my personal favorite, 1991's Achtung Baby.
No Line On The Horizon is the third.
That won't be the first time you hear such a bold statement - in fact, I stole it from a few rock critics who've already wrote early reviews for it. But this album is an encapsulation of the entire U2 sonic arsenal. It is both beautiful and rugged, acoustic and electronic, soaring yet subdued, immediate yet layered . . . I could go on listing adjectives, but in a word, this is one dense album that will take its rightful place as the third masterpiece for the band.
The most obvious classic on the album is "Magnificent", the second track where the name sums it up perfectly. It is quintessential U2, with chiming guitar licks from the Edge, a soaring Bono vocal, and the same pulsing rhythm section found on old classics like "New Year's Day" and "With or Without You". "Only love can leave such a mark, and only love can heal such a scar," Bono sings.
"Moment of Surrender" is the longest studio track ever by U2, clocking in at over 7 minutes. It is a bold song in its subtlety - the band sounds so comfortable in a smoky, jazz-lounge groove, that is truly unlike anything they've recorded before.
"Unknown Caller" features some achingly beautiful guitar work by The Edge. I find that most rock critic types, no matter their thoughts of Bono, admire what Edge has done for the instrument of guitar.
"I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" is perhaps the best pop song U2 has ever recorded, seamlessly integrating some shamelessly joyful lyrics with a rollicking groove that is at once instantly recognizable, yet afforded a unique touch from Larry Mullen's stimulant-infused drums and Adam Clayton's all-the-way-up-in-the-mix, but-damn-if-it-doesn't-sound-good bass guitar.
"Get On Your Boots", the single, sounds even better in the context of the album, followed by "Stand Up Comedy", the smirking hard rock track of the album that infuses a Zeppelin riff with some serious Sly Stone funk credentials in the verses..Ah hell, I'm basically listing every song. They're all great, all very unique from the one before it. Yet, at the end of the album, it feels that all 11 tracks have a cohesive quality about them. The one-two knockout blow to finish the album, the rollicking rocker "Breathe" and the meditative, gravelly-vocalized "Cedars of Lebanon", are the best proof of how disparate styles and genres were melted together to make pure bliss.
Here's what I recommend. DOWNLOAD NOW . . . . and buy later :-) In all seriousness, go to a site like thepiratebay.org, search for No Line On The Horizon, download and enjoy. March 3, go to Best Buy and get a hard copy. It will be awhile before U2 lights up the stadiums in America, but word is the band will have a couple nights at Soldier Field, their first outdoor gigs in Chicago since 1997's PopMart Tour.
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