If y'all are like me, and you think that 11 more days is just too unbearably long to wait for the next U2 album (and, even though I've been waiting since 2004, 11 more days does seem unbearable), some blessed soul down under accidentally put the album up for legal download way too early. That's been corrected, of course, but once something is out there, anyone can get it. So, seek and ye shall find.
And ye shall not be disappointed, in my completely biased and enamoured-with-Bono'd opinion. But it's not just me, Rolling Stone gave it 5 stars and said it's the best since Achtung Baby, and Neil McCormack also said it was among their best. Although, he did go to school with them, so he may also be biased.
Here are my first impressions, along with some lyric snippets:
1. No Line On The Horizon ("you can hear the universe in her sea shells") - this reminds me of Miracle Drug from their last album, a pretty song that underwhelmed me on the album, but that was transformed when heard live.
2. Magnificent ("I was born to sing for you/I didn’t have a choice but to lift you up") - This song more than the others, just sounds like U2. You could have played the first 5 seconds and I would known it was them.
3. Moment of Surrender ("I was speeding off the subway/Through the stations of the cross") - One of the longer songs on the album. I love when they have long musical intros, they haven't really done that since Joshua Tree. This also has a gospel-type feel to it that they haven't really had since that era either.
4. Unknown Caller ("restart and reboot yourself/you're free to go") - This one is odd, with the lyrics being almost chanted over a really pretty, uplifting melody. I suspect that this is a song Douglas Coupland would appreciate, it would be right at home on a JPod soundtrack.
5. I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight ("every beauty needs to go out with an idiot") - all the reviews I've read say that this will be a really popular song, because of it's sing-alongableness. I agree that it's sing-alongable, but I think Stand Up Comedy will be more popular. However, apples and oranges and all that. They both rock.
6. Get On Your Boots ("candy floss ice cream") - catchy and funky, and a great driving song as I discovered the first time I heard it on the radio.
7. Stand Up Comedy ("Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady" also "be careful of small men with big ideas") - Kickass! I liked this from the first second. Funky and groovy and impossible not to dance along with. It would make a great concert opener.
8. Fez – Being Born ("African sun at last") - Easily the most unusual U2 opening ever, with different music clips and sound effects. So far, though, my least favourite. I'll have to give it some more listens.
9. White As Snow ("As boys we would go hunting in the woods/to sleep the night shooting out the stars") - Not your typical U2, it verges on a folk song, and I can't wait to hear an acoustic version.
10. Breathe ("coming from a long line of travelling salespeople on my mother's side I wasn't going to buy just anyone's cockatoo") - The opening has a great drum beat. I really like this one. Some of the verses are very Elvis Costello, but the rest is very much U2 ("I found grace inside a sound /I found grace, it's all that I found"). This may be my favourite on the album actually.
11. Cedars Of Lebanon ("Choose your enemies carefully cause they will define you") - I like these types of songs, when Bono writes longer lyrics (say, unlike Boots), and there's more of a story there.
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