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New Album Info: Reviews General / Articles / Reviews / Singles / Videos / Booklet (Page 1)(Page 2)(Page 3)(Page 4)(Page 5)(Page 6)(Page 7)(Page 8) Philadelphia City Paper - 11/9-11/16/00 By Lorne Behrman The return-to-roots record usually signals something is wrong sales-wise, and you can bet when they compared the sales of 1997’s dance floor indulgent Pop (Island) to that of U2: The Best Of 1980-1990 (1998), U2 had a big wake-up call. It’s no surprise then that the Irish quartet’s eleventh is being billed as something of an "old U2" record. The disc does feel familiar, two spins and you’re singing along, skipping songs and singling out favorite lyrics. What U2 did is craft the type of soaring and elegantly spare pop that could pull its own weight being beat out on a pawnshop acoustic in some coffeehouse. The leadoff single "Beautiful Day" is everything its title suggests, flooding, bright and invigorating. If All That You Can’t Leave Behind vibes any of U2’s past work, it’s Rattle And Hum. Shadows of traditional American music abound. On "In A Little While" U2 tap the sour sophistication of bluesy jazz; think Keith Richards flipping through the T-Bone Walker fake book. The strummy "Wild Honey" is open fields folky. Gospel sweetly haunts "Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of." But though the band seamlessly manages to stitch the U2 we love to the apple pie we understand, references to specific artists come off as too obvious. even the title to "Peace On Earth" is too Lennon, same with "New York" and Lou Reed. If the copycat syndrome signals one thing, it’s naivete, and let’s hope U2’s collective heart is young enough to discover more of the great music hidden inside it. Newbeats.com By David Chiu One of the striking things about the new U2 album is how each song reminds one of the group's previous albums. The leadoff track, for example, "Beautiful Day" can be taken from Boy (1980), "Wild Honey" sounds like an outtake from The Unforgettable Fire (1984), "Peace on Earth" is reminiscent of The Joshua Tree (1987), and of course "Elevation" is classic Achtung Baby sound. In other words, those who were put off by the electronic gimmickry (though well intentioned) of Pop (1997) will appreciate All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2's best effort to date. This record really captures the essence that makes U2 great, but it's not a look back to past glories though it may sound that way and conveyed by the album title. The moralistic and anthemic tone of their earlier sound is tempered by a sobering and wiser outlook, though the pulsating and exuberant "Beautiful Day" might prove the contrary. "In a Little While" and "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" reveals the band's soulfulness, something that missing through their fiddling with technology. However, even the electronic moments like that on "Elevation" and Walk On (showcasing Adma Clayton's steady bass work and Larry Mullen's adroit and pummeling drumming) work to perfection because the focus is shifted to the songs themselves. And those who waited for the band to rock out passionately will discover "New York" (featuring the trademark Edge guitar sound). Bono's singing still convey the sense of urgency and yearning reflected in his lyrics like on the sumptuous "Kite"; there's a certain world-weary point of view in "When I Look At the World" and "New York," as well as songs about relationships like on "In A Little While," and holding on to hope on the somber "Grace." No sense mincing words--All That You Can't Leave Behind is a great U2 album, which proves that once in a while you can go home again. Music-Critic.com By James Good I'm impressed. Really impressed. U2's new CD, All That You Can't Leave Behind, is one of the best "band" efforts in years. When I say band I don't mean Backstreet Boys or 98 Degrees boy bands. I mean bands that play real instruments and not the ones that pose like Barbie dolls. It's been a long wait for U2 to return to its music roots ( The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree ) and get the tech-pop thing that has influenced its recent CDs (Pop, Achtung Baby.) out of their system. However, U2 seems to have rediscovered it's the songwriting that matters and with this new release, the writing combined with various musical influences and arrangements, makes an effort to reassure its core fan foundation they can walk the fence and be the U2 of 10 years ago as well as the U2 of this decade. Although U2 is famous for their political-tinged song-anthems, All That You Can't Leave Behind is subdued with mini-anthems "New York," "When I Look at the World," and "Peace on Earth," that will strike individual chords. While "Elevation," and "Beautiful Day" will probably be the CD's most-played and talked about songs, my choice for best song on the album is "Grace" the final cut. I have yet to pinpoint why this song is sticking in my mind, but it is a beautiful U2 ballad. FYI: The title of the CD is mentioned on the track ''Walk On,'' : ''The only baggage you can bring/Is all that you can't leave behind.'' The cd's liner notes mentions the song is dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi, a Myanmar opposition leader who is under arrest in Burma. Is this CD radio-friendly? I don't care, I rarely listen to radio now. But does it matter? No, because the music talents of Bono and The Edge can not be compared to the bubble-gum rap of Eminem and others who are topping the charts these days. My favorite song lyrics on the CD: on the track "New York": "...Still I'm trying to figure out my mid life crisis/I hit an iceberg in my life/But you know I'll still afloat." You could say those lyrics sums up the band's recent musical adventures. Don't buy this CD expecting to hear The Joshua Tree - type songs. Expect to hear songs from a band that has matured. A band that has tried different musical experiments to expand what they could do as a band. All That You Can't Leave Behind succeeds because of their past efforts and it stands way ahead of anything on the charts today. Ironminds By Geoff Van Dyke The culture machine that is pop music has always had a few prerequisites for success, most of which are superficial. First, hooks rule. A band can write the most derivative, inane song in the world, but if it gets stuck in someone’s head, it will be golden. Second, lyrics matter, even though the notion that people (including critics) parse pop lyrics for Meaning and Insight seems somewhat absurd. And, finally, despite the conventional wisdom purveyed by Sprite, image is everything. Even bands that allegedly don’t play by the rules heed these simple requirements in order to reach a mass audience. Even a band like U2. While they tailored their sounds to the times, replacing the driving rock anthems of the ‘80s with techno-influenced tracks of the ‘90s, they kept churning out the hooks, writing lyrics that, you know, meant something, and emphasizing their image. Whether that image was one of the indignant activist or the wink-wink ironic star didn’t really matter. What did matter was that people bought U2’s radically different images, even though there seemed to be a cynical disingenuousness behind the band’s poses. The media-savvy
U2 tried hard to create those images — remember Bono
waving the white flag in that concert footage of “Sunday
Bloody U2’s new
album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, was supposed
to be a return to the band’s pre-techno era; it was
supposed to be a return to the days when The Edge’s
ringing guitar urged U2’s songs to fly while Adam
Clayton and Larry Mullen’s rhythm section kept the
songs firmly grounded. It’s a noble — and gutsy
— move for a band so focused on moving forward. But
it’s also a move that’s fraught with potential
problems, not the least of which is the fact the The bigger problem, however, might be that U2 doesn’t seem to know where it wants to go musically. After pushing further into electronic music with Zooropa and Pop, All That You Can’t Leave Behind is an unexceptional hodgepodge of straight rock and the electronic pops and buzzes that drove the band’s past three albums. The result, unfortunately, is U2 Lite. “Walk On,” which sounds like prototypical latter-model U2, is pretty but empty; The Edge’s guitar licks are derivative and predictable. “Wild Honey” is a lazy exercise in R.E.M.-like roots-pop, and “Kite” is a half-baked power ballad that fizzles at the end when Bono makes his Big Cultural Statement: The last of the rock stars / When hip hop drove the big cars / In the time when new media / Was the big idea. More midlife crisis, anyone? Listening to these songs, one doesn’t picture folks being driven to activism — or, on the other hand, affecting faux-disinterested poses. You picture khakis and merlot and gently swaying hips, and people saying, “Shit, man, that new media stuff sure is crazy.” In a recent Rolling Stone story, Sting says that with the release of his last album, he realized that he “was considered adult contemporary, or whatever.” And with All That You Can’t Leave Behind, you can’t help but think that U2 will have the same realizations pretty soon. There are glimmers of hope, though. The only truly strong track on the album is the one you’ve probably already heard — “Beautiful Day” — which shows the band at its textured, rocking best. “Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of,” aside from breaking the cardinal rule that prohibits ending song titles with prepositions, is a pop gem with an irresistible melody. And two tracks toward the end of the album are solid: The Edge pulls off an understated solo in “When I Look at the World,” and the band deftly executes the soft verse-loud chorus formula on “New York.” But, overall,
the album is a disappointment. By providing hooks galore,
U2 has met the first of the pop prerequisites. But hooks
alone do not make a great album. The band meets
prerequisites two As Bono sings on “Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of”: “I’m just trying to find a decent melody.” After albums like War, The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, that might not be enough. Knoxville
News-Sentinel - 11/13/00 By Chuck Campbell U2 isn't struggling to stay current anymore. It's struggling to stay alive. Once regarded by critics as the most important band ever (in retrospect, an overstatement), some reviewers are declaring U2's "All That You Can't Leave Behind" a triumph. Baby-boomer and older Gen X writers who can't bear to see their sacred cow sacrificed by the will of the masses will defiantly plop this release atop their year-end "best" lists. Also, there could be enough sentimental momentum for the Album of the Year award at the Grammys. If the public disagrees and the 20-year-old Irish band fades from the charts prematurely, expect snide columns about America's superficial taste in music. Just don't look for that sentiment here because, in fact, "All That You Can't Leave Behind" is alarmingly superficial. Bono, 40, rehashes old war stories and makes reference to his mid-life crisis, but ultimately he's not saying much (in a voice that's losing power). Although most fans will be relieved that U2 has forsaken the campy faux-glam approach of 1997's "Pop" and re-teamed with producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, the new release is such a sullen return to the '80s glory days that a check of the copyright date is in order. Could these songs be resurrected cuts, rejected long ago? Still, "All That You Can't Leave Behind" is a qualified success. There's a stately and weathered beauty in the tracks "When I Look at the World" and "New York." Bono is a compelling seducer on "In a Little While," hoarsely and wantonly making his move. And the plucky first single, "Beautiful Day," swirls with atmosphere, celebrating the oddly liberating feeling that uncertainty brings. That said, other tracks are flat-out boring, including an enervating "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" that's stuck in neutral, a sluggish "Kite" that never gets airborne and a would-be elegant "Grace" that brings the album to a numbing close. U2 can learn from Pearl Jam, another significant group that must bide its time during an awkward period for traditional rock bands. This past spring, Pearl Jam churned out the provocative "Binaural" despite little prospect of commercial prosperity. The album didn't sell well, but years from now it will fit snugly in the group's legacy. "All That You Can't Leave Behind" isn't likely to do the same for U2. Jerusalem Post - 11/14/00 By David Brinn What goes around comes around. After passionate, spiritual firebrands U2 spent the last decade distancing themselves from their past via devilish alter egos, electronica, and Andy Warhol-laced pop-art irony, Bono and friends have pushed the envelope further by reinventing themselves as... passionate, spiritual firebrands. Granted the fire is on a lower flame, but All That You Can't Leave Behind leaves behind the giant lemons and garish rock-star trappings, and focuses on the songs. As Bono sings in the relaxed, hummable "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get out Of," "I'm just trying to find a decent melody, a song I can sing in my own company." He not only succeeds beyond expectations with that minor ambition, but The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen go one step beyond, providing their strongest set of songs since 1987's The Joshua Tree. They sound like a band who have had the weight of the earth lifted from their shoulders, and dare I say, bubbly and even happy. "Beautiful Day" is classic shimmering U2, uplifting and inspiring, propelled by Mullen's thumping beat and Edge's trademark jackhammer guitar. But don't think that they're merely repeating past formula. Tempered by age and wisdom, the band no longer attempts to batter the listener into submission with its righteous fervor. Subtlety is the key here, with songs like the sunny "Wild Honey" and "Kite" sounding like an earnest folk-rock combo, not unlike the R.E.M. of their Out of Mind/Automatic For the People period. The band's down-to-earth buoyancy and simple clarity will instantly elicit a smile. "In A Little While" will break that smile into a grin, as the band hunkers down on a seductive Al Green groove behind one of Bono's most soulful vocals ever. The album provides one new anthem, the majestic "Walk On" that encapsulates all of U2's strengths into four sublime minutes. And the plaintive intensity of "Peace on Earth" finds Bono doing more with less, economically making his point without bluster. Longtime collaborators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois create just the right mix of electronic embellishment without smothering the organic quartet interaction. Whether it be the trashy garage rock of "Elevation" or the hymn- like album closer "Grace," All That You Can't Leave Behind is U2 stripped to its essence, keeping only the exquisiteness that can't be left behind. |
