[ricola_pak]

I have never listened to any songs by U2 before until today, when I decided to grab their newest album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.

Would you U2 fans out there say that this new album captures the "sound" of U2? Is it similar and better than their previous albums?

It would be great if you could give me the names of U2's albums that you think best capture their creativity and sound. Thanks.

 

[roadtonowhere08]

Pick up "War" and "Unforgettable Fire"..... NOW

 

[Riordan]

"war" and "unforgettable fire", then maybe "the joshua tree".

 

[Todd R]

Anything Prior to Joshua Tree was good.
After that they got cocky, arrogant and the songwriting went downhill fast IMO.

I can't stand the new song on the iPod commercial.
A place called Vertigo? Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah

 

[elrod-tom]

I tend to agree with ToddR about the music...much better back in the day.

My personal favorite is The Unforgettable Fire, although I'm a very big fan of their first album, Boy. That Steve Lilywhite is quite a producer to nail it like that with U2's first album.

That said, anything from The Joshua Tree on back is an excellent starting point IMHO. Good luck...

 

[Scrith]

I'd rank them in this order: Joshua Tree, Unforgettable Fire, War. Achtung Baby is probably the best of their post-Joshua Tree albums.

 

[Zanth]

Funny how there are differing tastes. I guess it depends on the age bracket?

My "holy trinity" of U2 is Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum and Achtung Baby! Many people my age (28) agree. Also, many of the tunes you have heard on the radio will likely have come from these three albums excpet Sunday Bloody Sunday or New Years Day.

 

[eyeteeth]

My personal order
Achtung Baby
Boy
War
Unforgettable Fire

Second bests
Under a Blood Red Sky
Wide Awake in America
Zooropa
POP
Joshua Tree

I often like U2's b-sides more than their a-sides

 

[mbriant]

I recently picked up a U2 CD from e-bay entitled "U2 7 ... Rare and Remixed" which contains 7 songs (3 "B" sides and 4 remixes.) and was sold exclusively at Target Stores in the U.S. for $7.00. Since we don't have Target stores in Canada, here at least, it is sort of rare. I particularly like the drum/bass remix of Beautiful Day and the acoustic version of Stuck In A Moment.

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricola_pak I have never listened to any songs by U2 before until today, when I decided to grab their newest album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Would you U2 fans out there say that this new album captures the "sound" of U2? Is it similar and better than their previous albums? It would be great if you could give me the names of U2's albums that you think best capture their creativity and sound. Thanks.

Like any group that has been around 20+ years and made many albums thier sound has changed and gone through phases. I don't really like what I hear on newest album other than a couple tracks, but I wasn't expecting much either.

The best U2 for me is easily debut Boy and follow up October these have a freshness and vital energy that can only be hinted at in later albums, October is extremely underrated by critics and very similar in style to Boy.

Next 2-3 albums up to Joshua Tree have a few good tracks each but group now getting too intellectual, pretentiouis and often bland uninspired tracks begin to appear. Really you can get the essentail tracks from these albums on Best of 1980-90 and save some money.

Finally Auchtung Baby is worth getting, a departure in style that shows fresh thinking and actually very effective for the most part, a breath of fresh air as the band was definitely in a creative rut prior to that. Nothing worth owning has been made since then for me.

So here is shopping U2 list I would assemble:
1) U2 best of 1980-1990
2)Boy
3)October
4)Auchtung Baby

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkAngel The best U2 for me is easily debut Boy and follow up October these have a freshness and vital energy that can only be hinted at in later albums, October is extremely underrated by critics and very similar in style to Boy.

How true it is.
I gave a quick listen to War last night for the first time in quite a few years.
I skipped the songs that have been played to death ,Sunday Bloody Sunday/New Years Day and listened to ones like 'Like A Song...' and 'Drowning Man' and the difference in attitude between the young U2 and the later is just gigantic. I guess that shouldn't be a suprise given the length of time, amount of success and money they've had, but hearing the early songs shows how vast the emotional difference is between then and now.

Did you know the words and music to October were stolen/lost just before recording time when on tour in America? They quickly rewrote a different October as they had a short deadline. They recognized it wasn't as good as the original October. And the original was just found and returned.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...ic/3945519.stm

Wouldn't it be great if they now recorded the original October!
That would be cool.

 

[DLeeWebb]

I have friends that remind me everytime U2 comes out with a new album or goes on tour, that when "Boy" first came out I forced them to listen to it and insisted that, "this band is going to be big..." That was back in, I believe, 1980...trust me when I tell you that after 25 years of listening to U2 on vinyl, CD, and live that this is the order of quality as proposed by a U2 fanatic...

"Joshua Tree" / "The Unforgettable Fire" [tied for first place]
"Achtung Baby" [best live tour "Zoo TV"]
"All That You Can't Leave Behind"
"War"
"POP"
"Boy"
"Rattle and Hum"
"How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb"
"Zooropa"
"October"

"Bad" from "The Unforgettable Fire" is undoubtedly their best live song...

 

[AdamP88]

My top 3:

Achtung Baby
Joshua Tree
Unforgettable Fire

I think War is actually pretty overrated. Without Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Years Day and "40" that album would be pretty darn weak (not saying that all the other tracks are weak, but they serve as counterpoint to the stars, not stars on their own).

I also think Pop was vastly underrated and if U2 hadn't been so gung-ho on the psychadelic shopping-mart look and marketed it a little differently it would've been huge (well, it WAS huge outside the US).