U2 - Songs Of Experience (December 1, 2017) Album • Page 5

I think they have always had dueling aspirations between making the best music they can and making music that is incredibly popular. On No Line, it's pretty clear that they were largely focusing on the former, what with the globetrotting recording sessions and the songs they came up for the first four and last four songs of the album (plus the ones you mentioned). I also think "Every Breaking Wave" dates back, in some form, to around that time too. But then at some point, they definitely had the "We need to write another 'Vertigo'!" And that's how we got "Boots."

 

No Line is frustrating. About half of it is my favorite thing they’ve done since the ‘90’s, but it’s a confused, half-formed record. Those singles are dreadful.

 

I don't really mind "Boots" actually. It's not my favorite thing in the world, but the 360 tour made me appreciate it more. "Crazy" is maybe the worst song they've ever put on a record, though.

 

Some of those pop singles like Vertigo & Boots didn't make sense to me until I saw them live. That said, those are still generally my least favorite songs from U2. They really are a band with hidden gems and deep cuts on their albums/rarities, you just have to listen to find them.

 

Speaking of deep cuts, do they ever play "Kite"? That's a top 10 U2 song for me, and I don't think they've touched it in a decade.

 

It's crazy. They have too many songs like that, they could never play them all live with all the singles and hits they've also had over the years. I would love to hear "Walk On" or "In a Little While" or "A Man and a Woman" or "Electrical Storm" or "Two Hearts Beat as One."

Shit.

 

They played "Walk On" on the 360 tour, and I swear it loved up to all the classics. Another one of my favorites.

"Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" is my number 2 U2 song and I don't think they've touched that since the Elevation tour either.

 

Yeah I saw that in 05, Vertigo tour. That's a really great song, it's got one of Bono's most confessional lyrics too, I think.

 

It's just such a perfect encapsulation of a complex father/son relationship. I think it's one of his best vocal performances, too.

 

I never understood how “Vertigo” got so big as a kid. I LOVED the ATYCLB singles and thought it was a huge disappointment.

I still think it’s a dumb song.

 

Thought of another deep cut - "Ground Beneath Her Feet."

 

I enjoy "Vertigo," but it's definitely kind of a dumb song. It really rode the wave of that iPod commercial, though.

I got How to Dismantle on vinyl recently. I like that album more than most people, I think.

 

Crazy to think that album came out nearly uno dos tres catorce years ago.

 

If we were to only get one tune from ATYCLB, I’d pick Stuck In a Moment in a second.

 

If we could only have one tune from ATYCLB it would definitely have to be Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of & Walk On & Kite.

 

I think I've always loved the idea of the album and all the stuff that went along with it surrounding Bono and his father's relationship and his passing and all of that more than I actually like the collection of songs that make up the album itself. I also enjoy Vertigo a lot but can readily admit it's a pretty silly or dumb song. I just truly feel like a couple of the really great b-sides like Smile and Mercy would have made it the kind of album they talked so much about it being, the type of album that can go toe-to-toe with some of their past masterpieces.

 

I like all the songs on that record, but I'd probably only put two of them ("Sometimes" and "City of Blinding Lights") in their absolute upper echelon. I'm extremely fond of the closing trio, too. I think Bono was maybe a little self-conscious with writing about his dad and his kids and shied away from making the album really about family. Which is a shame, because I think it would have been a stronger record. I think he did with Songs of Experience what he wanted to do with Atomic Bomb.

 

The first U2 song I ever knew front to back was “Elevation” because it was on the soundtrack to Tomb Raider starring Angelina Jolie.

 

Standout songs keep changing on this. Obviously “The Little Things...” is the classic on here, but that middle trio of “Summer of Love” > “Red Flag Day” > “Showman” has a swagger I did not think they could pull off in 2017.

 

I first heard "City of Blinding Lights" in the Entourage episode where Johnny Drama wants to go see U2 for his birthday but can't get tickets. So there's one benefit of having seen that show.

 

Craig, have you ever written anything longer about this album? I would love to read a longer review or analysis of this album by you. I know it came out 13 years ago but sometimes I see write-ups or retrospectives on older albums on here. I don't know if that's out of line to ask. This is an album I continually keep going back to to try to appreciate more but find myself left feeling cold aside from a handful of solid tracks where it seems to me like it begs to be taken as a whole work of art.

 

I don't think I have. I've thought about doing it a few different times for a few different columns, but have chosen other records instead. I want to write about that and All That You Can't Leave Behind at some point. They're kind of linked for me, because I got into both around the same time.

 

Walk On might be my favorite U2 song. If not for sure a top 3.

 

Maybe my third favorite.

 

In a year when I'm getting so many exceptionally strong new releases, I didn't think U2 would be filling out my top three alongside A Deeper Understanding and Sleep Well Beast, but here we are.