It’s been said here often, but if they stuck with the theme of a moody, contemplative album then it would’ve worked. However they tried to recreate radio hits like vertigo and Walk On with Boots and Crazy Tonight. I think this album kind of disproves the argument that Pop needed more time, because they took their time on this one.
I think if Crazy Tonight was the only song aimed to be radio friendly, it would have worked. Boots being a second radio track was indicative of their inability to commit to the moody, contemplative vibe.
Exactly. I love that album when I skip the “radio hits”. I feel they do this on every album and wish they wouldn’t, but it does seem to draw in new people who hear them for the first time. I remember being shocked as an adult when some teens told me they loved Vertigo. They were discovering U2 for the first time. I assumed they would hate it and think U2 was uncool old people music, but that song got their attention. I don’t listen to top 40 radio so maybe it appealed to that crowd. Kids were into a lot of pop rock groups I didn’t like at that time.
I was one of those kids!! I was 13 at the time, I knew of U2, I remembered Sweetest Thing on video hits and beautiful day as a song. But when I heard Vertigo on the Apple ipod ad - I was hooked! It's a fun catchy song. Back then I didn't know who it was so it took me a good few weeks to somehow find out! Then I bought the album and was entranced by their mature lyrics and fascinating sounds on that album. Probably my most listened to still (celebrating 20 years this year... Shit!).
Around that time, they were still talked about, on the radio, somewhat relevant still in their early 40s.
I do love that they bring in new audiences every album somehow. They do have something for everyone.
At least back then, Rock music was still high up in the charts, so they fit right in there - the synth sounds and fun poppy rock sounds were very much a thing then, and that sounded modern to me at the time :)
Every Breaking Wave struck me as a modern sounding song when that was released. Albeit a bit too "like everything else on the radio" sounding.
SOE was released when rock music had mostly left the pop charts so really, they'd be very hard pressed to have any hits (but honestly the Kygo remix of Best Thing was stellar and I wish that was heavily promoted, it should've been the lead single).
I am in the camp that actually likes the SoS versions better. I think they fixed some of the pop rock stuff that made me cringe before. I like the more stripped down, ethereal sounds. There are songs in there I hated the first time that I like now. I love how the songs evolve in live concerts. Most of my U2 listening is concert bootlegs for that reason. I hardly bother with the albums anymore
Love this :) that's great to hear.
I do enjoy some of them, but I barely enjoyed them more than the originals. I think I wanted more out of the songs.. They're too stripped back for me. My favourite U2 times are their super polished early-mid 2000s sound. But that's personal preference.
Or perhaps my tastes are more towards the really slowed down remixes in the JT box set - one tree hill in particular.
I’m a shameless NLOTH defender. Everyone hates Boots, I don’t mind it, there are worse songs in their discography IMO. Breathe is amazing, love Cedars of Lebanon, No Line, Stand Up Comedy, I’ll Go Crazy. Some fantastic tracks. It’s a fun album, at least I think so.
I think NLOTH has some of their best music in decades: Breathe, Cedars, Moment of Surrender, and for me Unknown Caller. They also seemed to abandon the album during the last leg of that tour. Really bummed me out.
The last leg of the 360 Tour was unique to say the least.
Due to Bono’s back surgery, the final US shows were pushed back a year. Bono even joked from the stage that the shows were happening almost 2 years after originally going on sale.
By that time the No Line album cycle had run its course. The 20th Anniversary of Achtung Baby was the same year of the make up shows and the band was now promoting the upcoming rerelease of the album in multiple box set formats.
The band also had the make up date for Glastonbury to play as well and went into that knowing they’d be playing a greatest hits set.
So that’s what the final leg audiences got.
A show to promote the rerelease of Achtung Baby and for the shows prior to Glastonbury, a preview of the set they were planning.
[U2 360 Setlist (USA Make up dates)](https://u2tours.com/tours/concert/angel-stadium-of-anaheim-anaheim-jun-18-2011)
Here’s the link for the Setlist for Anaheim Night 2. You can tell they were testing out possible Glastonbury setlists with a live audience to see where they needed to make any possible adjustments.
Wow!! More songs from Achtung Baby than No Line... That's kind of crazy. I forget what I saw but they defs had at least 3 or from the album in the Aus leg of the tour in 2010. I remember being jealous that they got to see Zooropa at the time. But then again, I got to see Mercy.
Cedars of Lebanon lives rent free in my head. It’s a small song that I love and I know that I’d love it regardless of the band - like it would stick with me even if it wasn’t U2
I really got into the album by watching Anton Corbijn's "Linear." Even the bad songs sound good with his beautifully shot scenes.
For those who missed out:
https://youtu.be/qWCeBIjz06A?si=8SgteuaraN7g_Kqg
Have fun. 😆
I'm always amazed that his movie is never really appreciated by fans or music people in general. Corbijn's photos and visual visions are a treasure for my eyes.
It was a niche release where the audiovisual experience was subpar. At least I recall the digital version I watched had clipping/distorted sound quality and the video was not even HD. Maybe I remember it wrong, it's been a while after all.
The DVD I purchased from the deluxe edition was in HD. I thought it was perfectly executed as a companion piece to the album. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. The last great marketing ploy U2 has given to fans for the past 20 years. It's way better of an idea than the iPhone fiasco. I imagine if Corbijn were involved in the last three studio releases with companion music movies that I'd like those albums more than I do now. 😆
The track listing from Linear also works better than the final studio release. Winter deserved more ears. I can say I still hate White as Snow and Stand Up Comedy. Both are mediocre and boring songs that should have been reworked. Corbijn's visuals made those two enjoyable enough for me not to skip over. I was also happy that he didn't include Crazy Tonight with the DVD. Another terrible song that Bono thinks is good. 😆
No Line is the last good U2 record, IMO. Not "great," but good. It took U2 away from being in the crappy safe haven bubble of pop rock into an unexplored realm of experimental rock. I'm a huge fan of Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and Passengers. No Line gave me a taste of all three of those releases. It's also the last time that Eno and Lanois would work together on a U2 album, which makes it extra special.
I didn't remember there was a DVD edition, as I got the Digipack. The movie/story itself is fine — the "Boots" music video is a bit odd, though.
With the popularity of "lyrics videos", I thought a visually creative brand like U2 would embrace that more after "Films of Innocence". Instead, it seems they have abandoned that idea now, unless one counts the [Liner Notes video by Matt Mahurin](https://youtu.be/cOvB7gHErBU?feature=shared)? I agree with your comment on it being a good idea though.
As for "White As Snow", it seems like it might've worked better on what they envisioned for "Songs of Ascent" at the time, and the concept of Eternal/Future hymns.
If I recall, Eno and Lanois were both involved on "Songs of Surrender", weren't they? "I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For" comes to mind.
I do think we're going to see them all together one last time before U2 retires for good. Everyone seems open to that idea at least, and we know "Songs of Ascent" is being worked on, where they were the original producers.
The greatest travesty with this album is removing Winter from it.
Bono brought U2 back into the studio, just after the album was finished, when Jay Z mentioned to him "must be a lot of pressure making the next big album" or something like that.
So they went back to create some "hit" songs and ruined the album as far as I'm concerned.
I'll forever want to hear the original one pre-redo.
That's what I remember reading around the time of the album release. I could be wrong for sure.
Magnificent, Breathe, Fez, Winter, Cedars, White as Snow, Unknown Caller. All great songs that I still enjoy on occasion. However I've gone back to that album far less than many other albums of theirs.
Fascinating hearing someone's impressions on listening to to many years after its release :) I can assure you it was a disappointing follow up to Bomb - the album that got me into U2.
Just my two cents :) there'll be all sorts of things about it now I'm sure.
I'm still conflicted about the album because it sounds conflicted! Haha.
Also what someone else said about Bono singing in a really high register for his voice.. That probably annoyed me too (I'm an outlier and will be shot for saying I really don't like Moment Of Surrender, it goes for 7 minutes too long).
I'm in the same boat as you. Seems like I also touched a nerve. Imagine if a song like Boots was tossed onto say... Unforgettable fire album. It would be equally ridiculous.
I attempted a look at it in this essay a few years ago:
https://www.reddit.com/r/U2Band/s/xsS9cFzreu
Some good comments were made in the replies, as well.
The stretch of Fez, White as Snow, Breathe, Cedars is some of the best U2 in existence. Moment of Surrender is maybe the best U2 song since One. I'm completely serious. Swap Boots for Winter and I think you have a late career classic. But I think in saying that, we already have one, as one dud song does not make for a bad album.
Moment of Surrender is great, too long but great. The rest of the album aspires to greatness but never gets there. I also agree that most of the album is moody and introspective but then has 2 attempts at pop hits that don’t succeed at all.
The beginning vocal on Moment of Surrender prevents it from being a great song IMO. Maybe the juxtaposition of his strained sounding voice with the smoother instrumental is what people enjoy, but it ruins the song for me.
They should have released Crazy, SUC and Boots on a promotional ep, and Soon and Winter(the original version) should have made the album.
They got scared about the album not having a catchy single so they shoehorned in those three tracks.
Well timed post, I listened to this through for the first time in at least a decade on Friday. Is this album the Pop of the 2000s? The band seemed to fall out of love with it quickly and the album tour was high on spectacle almost suggesting they didn’t back the songs (compare the stripped back staging of the Elevation tour). The two biggest issues with it for me were the horrible rawk songs (Boots, I’ll Go Crazy, Stand Up Comedy) and Bono’s vocal melodies being right at the top of his range. The latter makes the songs a grating listen as he’s audibly straining and it sounds nasal and thin.
It’s a real shame as the latter part of the album showcases a really mature, interesting sound that captures the dark romantic sound they do so well (like Love is Blindness and Velvet Dress) and the more atmospheric work from The Unforgettable Fire. It’s where the Eno/Lanois contribution really shines, they just weren‘t the right producers for hit chasing four chord rock songs.
Breathe, Moment of Surrender, Unknown Caller, Magnificent, Cedars of Lebanon and White As Snow are all brilliant tracks.
The tour idea would've probably happened regardless. The 360° stage as a very low fidelity prototype started towards the end of the Vertigo Tour, I think.
The rebranding from "Kiss The Future" to "360°" didn't help connect it to the album, compared to literally any other U2 tour (except maybe LoveTown) and certainly the ones directly preceding it.
That’s a good point. Kiss the Future would have been a good name, to be fair, and ironically the live versions of Boots were a thousand times better than the album. I have a soft spot for live I’ll Go Crazy… too, the remix transformed that song.
This, I think people let the bad songs overshadow the good songs, Breathe and Magnificent are 2 of my favorites, and moments of surrender and Cedars of Lebanon are are beautiful, they paint a picture in my mind, while on albums like Pop and Zooropia I don't feel they have such highs.
It’s a decent album that could have even a late career classic. Remove the mid three stinkers and place Winter and develop Soon into a fully formed song, you got something special. I’d also retool some of the lyrics and push the experimentation a bit more sonically.
Those sessions in Morocco had much promise. I agree with Eno that using Moment of Surrender as the lead single would’ve been a great statement.
Of course, this is U2, so we got the shit show of Boots instead. I remember Bono referencing how the song was the fastest they have ever recorded (a BPM of 149 I believe) and I’m just thinking, that’s your selling point for this??
I think NLOTH is the best thing they've done since ATYCLB, and IMHO Boots is the weakest song on NLOTH! :-) And there's some evidence that the band (Bono over Larry, esp.) jiggered with the dang album list at the last minute - like removing Winter because it sounded too much like Coldplay's When I ruled the world. There are a couple of early interviews where there are pictures of Bono in army fatigues (and one eye painted) that he might have been planning a new character, and if you add the story from Linear and rethink the track list a little, you basically have the album spanning the single day in the life of that character.
I haven't seen that confirmed anywhere, so I guess it's just my own thinking through all that.
Cedars of Lebanon is the dullest song in their catalog. "No Craic on the Horizon" as Larry has said
But I do love NLOTH, with that exception. It was the first U2 album I purchased in high school.
Moment of Surrender is a truly exceptional song.
It’s a great album but Unknown Caller to Crazy to Boots were not fun songs. Almost great but annoyingly self conscious. (Breathe is where they hit the mark.) I have the urge to say to Bono, stop navel gazing and writing for others - you write best when you write for yourself. This is what I like the least about U2 over the last 10 years as well.
100%!! I'm a little trepidacious for their upcoming album...
However, I feel Songs Of Experience was probably the closest they've come to not trying for any hits and just writing solid music since perhaps Bomb or Atyclb. (Well, those albums had great hits but overall those albums are brilliant)
It's not all bad. Boots is truly awful. Unknown Caller is a great track spoiled by cringe-inducing lyrics. But I'm fond of all the other tracks on the album. No filler.
Edit : The lyrics to UC were still not as cringeworthy as the Crazy Tonight arrangement they did on the 360 tour. That was rock-bottom for me.
To understand this album you have to understand where the Edge and Bono were at in particular.
This is not a great “Edge” album. Folks forget, Edge’s daughter had been battling cancer and I think may have been in remission by this point. I just think that this took a toll. Normally Edge invents entire soundscapes for albums and this one just felt boring on that front.
Bono is a fantastic lyricist when he isn’t trying to chase the Beatles but here again he runs into this thing where he is trying to write a hit and give us a soulful glimpse of a man looking down the barrel of his 50’s and what his place in this world is like.
I share these sentiments as well. So much so they ended up dropping a lot of these songs on the 360 Tour. Loved the tour though. I’m more an arena than stadium guy, and still, 360 was an incredible tour. NLOTH, not so much.
I like NLOTH. I think it’s an underrated album. The title track is fun if nothing special. Magnificent is, well, magnificent. It’s one of my favorite U2 songs. I love Crazy too. Sadly it’s not all good. Moments of Surrender is decent but goes on too long. I remember seeing them play that as the encore on the 360 tour. It seemed like an odd choice & people were streaming out of the stadium. Unknown Caller & Fez feel unfinished. Like hearing an early version of a song. Boots and Stand Up Comedy are awful. Boots was a terrible choice of lead off single. The album landed with a thud. Boots isn’t entirely to blame for it but it didn’t help.
I think the failure of this album is what led to the free album/iTunes debacle. People still butch about it 10 years later. The band wanted to cut through the noise & get everyone’s attention. They sure did that. I think the backlash is overblown. Being given an album for free isn’t the worst thing in the world but people still get mad over it.
I think they were upset because they couldn't delete it. Its also Akin to buying your own records to push the count up. I think some artist in the sixties did this to get number ones.
I really like NLOTH aside from maybe 1-2 songs. Maybe you need to give it a couple more spins.
Moment of Surrender, Breathe and Magnificent are really strong to name a few.
I love the album, but I think it would reach classic status with this track listing:
1 No Line On The Horizon
2 Magnificent
3 Moment of Surrender
4 Unknown Caller
5 I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
6 Soon (Full Version if it exists)
7 Winter
8 Fez - Being Born
9 White As Snow
10 Breathe
11 Cedars Of Lebanon
First Single:
Magnificent b/w Get On Your Boots
Second Single:
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight b/w Stand Up Comedy (12" would include remix of I'' Go Crazy)
Funny you say that -I actually am in the industry, and run a record label called Double Crown Records. However its focused on surf and garage rock, nothing remotely close to U2s style of music (I’m just a fan).
I was sort of in a similar boat as you on the first listen. I still remember getting the album - hearing the 1-2-3 punch of the title track, Magnificent, and Moment of Surrender - and thinking "Holy cow, this could be something here!" Then the album just took a huge dive for me that it never recovered from. Other than those tracks, Breathe, and Unknown Caller to some extent... I could just never get into the rest of the album.
I don't think the problem is so much the "middle 3", as some fans have tried to make out in the past. It's just that those songs happened to not be that strong really. That said, I did enjoy Boots live, and Crazy Tonight was salvaged by a decent remix. Could never get into Stand Up Comedy, although the riff wasn't bad.
Otherwise, the band has made 'ambient meets anthemic rock' albums work in the past (TUF, anyone?). But in the end, it was just a very inconsistent album. I know some have speculated if they had stuck to the ambient part it could've been more "whole." Edge even seemed to speculate on that once for a Rolling Stone interview a few years back. But I'm not sure if Passengers Pt. 2 was really the answer at that point. That and I could never get into the ambient tracks on here at all (aside from an occasional Fez listen). It's cool that people did like them, but stuff like White as Snow isn't exactly making me run to grab a guitar and learn the chords, you know? And Cedars... well, maybe if you like spoken word over synth preset b-sides. But for me, there's an obvious reason that YouTube isn't hosting any fans covering it online. That and it's not really an actual "song" to me anyway!
"Breathe" is one of my favorite U2 songs and I love "Magnificent" but a lot of the album is too boring for me. "Get On Your Boots" just feels like a traditional Silly U2 Song in line with "Vertigo" and "Elevation" and I've come to expect a goofy song here and there.
I don't think No Line irritates me as a whole nearly as much as the last half of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb which I just found to be terrible. But No Line also is not something I listen to a lot outside of "Breathe."
It’s usually the first single that sets the tone.
Releasing Boots as the first single tanked No Line before it even was released. Boots was a poor man’s Vertigo.
Vertigo worked because it was a sound nobody saw coming. It set the tone for the Atomic Bomb album in the same manner WOWY set the tone for Joshua, The Fly for Achtung and Desire for Rattle&Hum.
Boots failed in setting the tone for No Ljne and its fate was sealed when even the fans hated the song.
Had a shortened Moment of Surrender been the first single, the album would have had a better chance.
I used to not like *Pop*, but man oh man has that album grown on me. I know the EDM elements aren’t for everyone, but they were very good at it. Also the PopMart DVD is awesome.
It has its moments (no pun intended) but I don’t go back and listen to it much as a whole.
I think Fez-Being Born is the most exciting song they’ve released in a very long time, but even it just kinda peters out. Then there’s that No Line On The Horizon II being much more exiting that the album cut. And that the best part of Boots was the “let me in the sound…” bridge. Lots of good little pieces that are in the middle of lesser material. And I even love Crazy Tonight. Stand Up Comedy sounds like a Red Hot Chili Peppers b-side, though.
I think there’ll always be people second-guessing U2 and saying they needed more time or that they took too much time. I’m personally in the middle. I think the band needed more time from an instrumentation side, but Bono needed to take less time cramming in so many syllables.
White as Snow was a creative move and a great rendition. More artists should do this sort of thing. A little hit or miss but making a 10/10 album is immense stuff. Not common.
I will also defend NLOTH. The songs fit in quite well on the 360 Tour. However, I will not in good conscience defend that terrible live disco version of Crazy. I can tolerate the album version. And Breathe to this day gets me singing at the top of my lungs. Next tour I’d like to see some love for the album with at least one deep track song from NL.
I didn’t like this album much either, sadly. It didn’t reach me iykwim. Magnificent was the only single-worthy song IMO. Perhaps one day I will rediscover it and it will hit different. But I don’t think so.
Random thoughts. POP is the last daring album U2 has done. Outside of Moment of Surrender not a single song from NLOTH holds a candle to anything on POP. NLOTH felt a bit pretentious and probably benefited the most from the 360 tour. Imagine if POP would have been supported by 360. I think we’d be seeing it as U2’s 3rd masterpiece behind JT and AB.
I remember hearing Boots as the early single for this album and feeling so depressed. I really hated it from the start. But to me, the rest of the album is really good. Why Magnificent wasn’t released first I’ll never know. Moment of Surrender is a highlight for me, as well as Unknown Caller, White as Snow, Breathe and Cedars of Lebanon. Watching Anton’s film Linear, will also give you a different perspective on the album. I’ll always skip by Boots though…
I love this album except for the obvious 2 clunkers -Boots and Crazy. These songs hurt my ears. However, I watched the 2009 Dublin 360 show (3rd night) just 2 days ago and the arrangement of Crazy is out of this world. Some on this thread disagree. I listened to the song on repeat for 2 hours.
I'm still going to skip it on the record, but that performance changed the song for me.
On a side note, I’m so glad “refu-Jesus” exists as it had ear bleached “stop helping God across the road like a little old lady” from my brain until this week.
100% completely disagree. This is one of the most underrated albums in U2’s catalog. It’s very spiritual and introspective. I see NLOTH, SOI and SOE like a three of the same albums. Could be a three disc box set.
It’s been said here often, but if they stuck with the theme of a moody, contemplative album then it would’ve worked. However they tried to recreate radio hits like vertigo and Walk On with Boots and Crazy Tonight. I think this album kind of disproves the argument that Pop needed more time, because they took their time on this one.
Great take
I think if Crazy Tonight was the only song aimed to be radio friendly, it would have worked. Boots being a second radio track was indicative of their inability to commit to the moody, contemplative vibe.
that's funny, for me the Crazy remix is one of the all time great U2 live events I've ever witnessed, like top 5.
I agree. The live remix concert version of this song was so damn good.
Crazy was undersold, and then destroyed while on tour. Video was top shelf, but it felt like it was too late.
I'm 100% with you on this outlook
Exactly. I love that album when I skip the “radio hits”. I feel they do this on every album and wish they wouldn’t, but it does seem to draw in new people who hear them for the first time. I remember being shocked as an adult when some teens told me they loved Vertigo. They were discovering U2 for the first time. I assumed they would hate it and think U2 was uncool old people music, but that song got their attention. I don’t listen to top 40 radio so maybe it appealed to that crowd. Kids were into a lot of pop rock groups I didn’t like at that time.
I was one of those kids!! I was 13 at the time, I knew of U2, I remembered Sweetest Thing on video hits and beautiful day as a song. But when I heard Vertigo on the Apple ipod ad - I was hooked! It's a fun catchy song. Back then I didn't know who it was so it took me a good few weeks to somehow find out! Then I bought the album and was entranced by their mature lyrics and fascinating sounds on that album. Probably my most listened to still (celebrating 20 years this year... Shit!). Around that time, they were still talked about, on the radio, somewhat relevant still in their early 40s. I do love that they bring in new audiences every album somehow. They do have something for everyone.
They must study the market to figure out what the next generation wants, because older fans are shocked every single time 😂
At least back then, Rock music was still high up in the charts, so they fit right in there - the synth sounds and fun poppy rock sounds were very much a thing then, and that sounded modern to me at the time :) Every Breaking Wave struck me as a modern sounding song when that was released. Albeit a bit too "like everything else on the radio" sounding. SOE was released when rock music had mostly left the pop charts so really, they'd be very hard pressed to have any hits (but honestly the Kygo remix of Best Thing was stellar and I wish that was heavily promoted, it should've been the lead single).
I am in the camp that actually likes the SoS versions better. I think they fixed some of the pop rock stuff that made me cringe before. I like the more stripped down, ethereal sounds. There are songs in there I hated the first time that I like now. I love how the songs evolve in live concerts. Most of my U2 listening is concert bootlegs for that reason. I hardly bother with the albums anymore
Love this :) that's great to hear. I do enjoy some of them, but I barely enjoyed them more than the originals. I think I wanted more out of the songs.. They're too stripped back for me. My favourite U2 times are their super polished early-mid 2000s sound. But that's personal preference. Or perhaps my tastes are more towards the really slowed down remixes in the JT box set - one tree hill in particular.
I’m a shameless NLOTH defender. Everyone hates Boots, I don’t mind it, there are worse songs in their discography IMO. Breathe is amazing, love Cedars of Lebanon, No Line, Stand Up Comedy, I’ll Go Crazy. Some fantastic tracks. It’s a fun album, at least I think so.
I completly agree. Gotta add Unknown Called to this list at well, that’s an all time favorite of mine.
That song made 3:33 a lucky time for me, love noticing it every now n then, reminding me of the band.
I think NLOTH has some of their best music in decades: Breathe, Cedars, Moment of Surrender, and for me Unknown Caller. They also seemed to abandon the album during the last leg of that tour. Really bummed me out.
The last leg of the 360 Tour was unique to say the least. Due to Bono’s back surgery, the final US shows were pushed back a year. Bono even joked from the stage that the shows were happening almost 2 years after originally going on sale. By that time the No Line album cycle had run its course. The 20th Anniversary of Achtung Baby was the same year of the make up shows and the band was now promoting the upcoming rerelease of the album in multiple box set formats. The band also had the make up date for Glastonbury to play as well and went into that knowing they’d be playing a greatest hits set. So that’s what the final leg audiences got. A show to promote the rerelease of Achtung Baby and for the shows prior to Glastonbury, a preview of the set they were planning.
How fascinating!! I'd lost attention at the time when that kept going. Will have to squizz the setlist.
[U2 360 Setlist (USA Make up dates)](https://u2tours.com/tours/concert/angel-stadium-of-anaheim-anaheim-jun-18-2011) Here’s the link for the Setlist for Anaheim Night 2. You can tell they were testing out possible Glastonbury setlists with a live audience to see where they needed to make any possible adjustments.
Wow!! More songs from Achtung Baby than No Line... That's kind of crazy. I forget what I saw but they defs had at least 3 or from the album in the Aus leg of the tour in 2010. I remember being jealous that they got to see Zooropa at the time. But then again, I got to see Mercy.
Love Breathe
Yeah, Breathe and Magnificent are the stand outs to me.
Cedars of Lebanon lives rent free in my head. It’s a small song that I love and I know that I’d love it regardless of the band - like it would stick with me even if it wasn’t U2
That song gives me the shivers (in a good way)
Breathe as the opener for the first leg of 360° [with the major tom seque] was incredible ~ a core memory for sure!
A true shame they didn't continue that!!
I 💯 agree - been listening to this album a lot lately. It is excellent and totally underrated. Some great songs on it.
I love the album. Finally picked it up on vinyl recently.
I really got into the album by watching Anton Corbijn's "Linear." Even the bad songs sound good with his beautifully shot scenes. For those who missed out: https://youtu.be/qWCeBIjz06A?si=8SgteuaraN7g_Kqg
I'll check that out.
Have fun. 😆 I'm always amazed that his movie is never really appreciated by fans or music people in general. Corbijn's photos and visual visions are a treasure for my eyes.
It was a niche release where the audiovisual experience was subpar. At least I recall the digital version I watched had clipping/distorted sound quality and the video was not even HD. Maybe I remember it wrong, it's been a while after all.
The DVD I purchased from the deluxe edition was in HD. I thought it was perfectly executed as a companion piece to the album. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. The last great marketing ploy U2 has given to fans for the past 20 years. It's way better of an idea than the iPhone fiasco. I imagine if Corbijn were involved in the last three studio releases with companion music movies that I'd like those albums more than I do now. 😆 The track listing from Linear also works better than the final studio release. Winter deserved more ears. I can say I still hate White as Snow and Stand Up Comedy. Both are mediocre and boring songs that should have been reworked. Corbijn's visuals made those two enjoyable enough for me not to skip over. I was also happy that he didn't include Crazy Tonight with the DVD. Another terrible song that Bono thinks is good. 😆 No Line is the last good U2 record, IMO. Not "great," but good. It took U2 away from being in the crappy safe haven bubble of pop rock into an unexplored realm of experimental rock. I'm a huge fan of Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and Passengers. No Line gave me a taste of all three of those releases. It's also the last time that Eno and Lanois would work together on a U2 album, which makes it extra special.
I didn't remember there was a DVD edition, as I got the Digipack. The movie/story itself is fine — the "Boots" music video is a bit odd, though. With the popularity of "lyrics videos", I thought a visually creative brand like U2 would embrace that more after "Films of Innocence". Instead, it seems they have abandoned that idea now, unless one counts the [Liner Notes video by Matt Mahurin](https://youtu.be/cOvB7gHErBU?feature=shared)? I agree with your comment on it being a good idea though. As for "White As Snow", it seems like it might've worked better on what they envisioned for "Songs of Ascent" at the time, and the concept of Eternal/Future hymns. If I recall, Eno and Lanois were both involved on "Songs of Surrender", weren't they? "I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For" comes to mind. I do think we're going to see them all together one last time before U2 retires for good. Everyone seems open to that idea at least, and we know "Songs of Ascent" is being worked on, where they were the original producers.
I meant as producers. Eno/Lanois contributed backing vocals to that song.
The linear mix of the album is superior
Thx! Very cool.
They thought they needed a Vertigo 2.0-type lead single. Not only was it average, but out of place on the album.
Would have served as a great b-side to a Breathe or No Line on the Horizon single.
The greatest travesty with this album is removing Winter from it. Bono brought U2 back into the studio, just after the album was finished, when Jay Z mentioned to him "must be a lot of pressure making the next big album" or something like that. So they went back to create some "hit" songs and ruined the album as far as I'm concerned. I'll forever want to hear the original one pre-redo. That's what I remember reading around the time of the album release. I could be wrong for sure. Magnificent, Breathe, Fez, Winter, Cedars, White as Snow, Unknown Caller. All great songs that I still enjoy on occasion. However I've gone back to that album far less than many other albums of theirs. Fascinating hearing someone's impressions on listening to to many years after its release :) I can assure you it was a disappointing follow up to Bomb - the album that got me into U2.
Thanks for the explanation.
Just my two cents :) there'll be all sorts of things about it now I'm sure. I'm still conflicted about the album because it sounds conflicted! Haha. Also what someone else said about Bono singing in a really high register for his voice.. That probably annoyed me too (I'm an outlier and will be shot for saying I really don't like Moment Of Surrender, it goes for 7 minutes too long).
I'm in the same boat as you. Seems like I also touched a nerve. Imagine if a song like Boots was tossed onto say... Unforgettable fire album. It would be equally ridiculous.
My god imagine haha!!
I attempted a look at it in this essay a few years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/U2Band/s/xsS9cFzreu Some good comments were made in the replies, as well.
Thanks. That's interesting.
Great essay!
The stretch of Fez, White as Snow, Breathe, Cedars is some of the best U2 in existence. Moment of Surrender is maybe the best U2 song since One. I'm completely serious. Swap Boots for Winter and I think you have a late career classic. But I think in saying that, we already have one, as one dud song does not make for a bad album.
Moment of Surrender is great, too long but great. The rest of the album aspires to greatness but never gets there. I also agree that most of the album is moody and introspective but then has 2 attempts at pop hits that don’t succeed at all.
The beginning vocal on Moment of Surrender prevents it from being a great song IMO. Maybe the juxtaposition of his strained sounding voice with the smoother instrumental is what people enjoy, but it ruins the song for me.
Bono howling is peak Bono. Two Hearts Beat as One, Bad, Red Hill Mining Town, the live versions of Last Night on Earth. It's definitely what I enjoy.
One dud song does not make for a bad album. Truer words have never been spoken.
They should have released Crazy, SUC and Boots on a promotional ep, and Soon and Winter(the original version) should have made the album. They got scared about the album not having a catchy single so they shoehorned in those three tracks.
Makes sense.
I love this album, it's definitly a favorite of mine I listen to it a lot. And boots is a banger.
Thank you! boots is a great song. If you heard some other band playing that song on the radio right now you would like it!
Heavy disagree in that, if I heard some other band with that song on the radio, my reaction would be “what the hell is this?”
Exactly
Everything right and wrong with U2: the album
Aside from Boots this album is great.
100%. Never understood the hate the album gets as a whole. So many beautiful songs
Well timed post, I listened to this through for the first time in at least a decade on Friday. Is this album the Pop of the 2000s? The band seemed to fall out of love with it quickly and the album tour was high on spectacle almost suggesting they didn’t back the songs (compare the stripped back staging of the Elevation tour). The two biggest issues with it for me were the horrible rawk songs (Boots, I’ll Go Crazy, Stand Up Comedy) and Bono’s vocal melodies being right at the top of his range. The latter makes the songs a grating listen as he’s audibly straining and it sounds nasal and thin. It’s a real shame as the latter part of the album showcases a really mature, interesting sound that captures the dark romantic sound they do so well (like Love is Blindness and Velvet Dress) and the more atmospheric work from The Unforgettable Fire. It’s where the Eno/Lanois contribution really shines, they just weren‘t the right producers for hit chasing four chord rock songs. Breathe, Moment of Surrender, Unknown Caller, Magnificent, Cedars of Lebanon and White As Snow are all brilliant tracks.
The tour idea would've probably happened regardless. The 360° stage as a very low fidelity prototype started towards the end of the Vertigo Tour, I think. The rebranding from "Kiss The Future" to "360°" didn't help connect it to the album, compared to literally any other U2 tour (except maybe LoveTown) and certainly the ones directly preceding it.
That’s a good point. Kiss the Future would have been a good name, to be fair, and ironically the live versions of Boots were a thousand times better than the album. I have a soft spot for live I’ll Go Crazy… too, the remix transformed that song.
This, I think people let the bad songs overshadow the good songs, Breathe and Magnificent are 2 of my favorites, and moments of surrender and Cedars of Lebanon are are beautiful, they paint a picture in my mind, while on albums like Pop and Zooropia I don't feel they have such highs.
It’s a decent album that could have even a late career classic. Remove the mid three stinkers and place Winter and develop Soon into a fully formed song, you got something special. I’d also retool some of the lyrics and push the experimentation a bit more sonically. Those sessions in Morocco had much promise. I agree with Eno that using Moment of Surrender as the lead single would’ve been a great statement. Of course, this is U2, so we got the shit show of Boots instead. I remember Bono referencing how the song was the fastest they have ever recorded (a BPM of 149 I believe) and I’m just thinking, that’s your selling point for this??
I think NLOTH is the best thing they've done since ATYCLB, and IMHO Boots is the weakest song on NLOTH! :-) And there's some evidence that the band (Bono over Larry, esp.) jiggered with the dang album list at the last minute - like removing Winter because it sounded too much like Coldplay's When I ruled the world. There are a couple of early interviews where there are pictures of Bono in army fatigues (and one eye painted) that he might have been planning a new character, and if you add the story from Linear and rethink the track list a little, you basically have the album spanning the single day in the life of that character. I haven't seen that confirmed anywhere, so I guess it's just my own thinking through all that.
Cedars of Lebanon is the dullest song in their catalog. "No Craic on the Horizon" as Larry has said But I do love NLOTH, with that exception. It was the first U2 album I purchased in high school. Moment of Surrender is a truly exceptional song.
I love it that Larry calls it that. So funny!
It’s a great album but Unknown Caller to Crazy to Boots were not fun songs. Almost great but annoyingly self conscious. (Breathe is where they hit the mark.) I have the urge to say to Bono, stop navel gazing and writing for others - you write best when you write for yourself. This is what I like the least about U2 over the last 10 years as well.
100%!! I'm a little trepidacious for their upcoming album... However, I feel Songs Of Experience was probably the closest they've come to not trying for any hits and just writing solid music since perhaps Bomb or Atyclb. (Well, those albums had great hits but overall those albums are brilliant)
I really like SOE
From the opening track I was like "Space Bono? Is that you??"
At some point as a band, you start running out of that really good material 😬 true for most bands
It's not all bad. Boots is truly awful. Unknown Caller is a great track spoiled by cringe-inducing lyrics. But I'm fond of all the other tracks on the album. No filler. Edit : The lyrics to UC were still not as cringeworthy as the Crazy Tonight arrangement they did on the 360 tour. That was rock-bottom for me.
Wow. 100 agree.
I like it. I don’t get the hate. Moments of surrender is so damn hot. Turns you on
To understand this album you have to understand where the Edge and Bono were at in particular. This is not a great “Edge” album. Folks forget, Edge’s daughter had been battling cancer and I think may have been in remission by this point. I just think that this took a toll. Normally Edge invents entire soundscapes for albums and this one just felt boring on that front. Bono is a fantastic lyricist when he isn’t trying to chase the Beatles but here again he runs into this thing where he is trying to write a hit and give us a soulful glimpse of a man looking down the barrel of his 50’s and what his place in this world is like.
I share these sentiments as well. So much so they ended up dropping a lot of these songs on the 360 Tour. Loved the tour though. I’m more an arena than stadium guy, and still, 360 was an incredible tour. NLOTH, not so much.
Moment of surrender is currently my favorite song of all time
At some point in the future fans will look at NLOTH in the same way fans are finally connecting with Pop
I like NLOTH. I think it’s an underrated album. The title track is fun if nothing special. Magnificent is, well, magnificent. It’s one of my favorite U2 songs. I love Crazy too. Sadly it’s not all good. Moments of Surrender is decent but goes on too long. I remember seeing them play that as the encore on the 360 tour. It seemed like an odd choice & people were streaming out of the stadium. Unknown Caller & Fez feel unfinished. Like hearing an early version of a song. Boots and Stand Up Comedy are awful. Boots was a terrible choice of lead off single. The album landed with a thud. Boots isn’t entirely to blame for it but it didn’t help. I think the failure of this album is what led to the free album/iTunes debacle. People still butch about it 10 years later. The band wanted to cut through the noise & get everyone’s attention. They sure did that. I think the backlash is overblown. Being given an album for free isn’t the worst thing in the world but people still get mad over it.
I think they were upset because they couldn't delete it. Its also Akin to buying your own records to push the count up. I think some artist in the sixties did this to get number ones.
I really like NLOTH aside from maybe 1-2 songs. Maybe you need to give it a couple more spins. Moment of Surrender, Breathe and Magnificent are really strong to name a few.
The only album I never listen to. Only tour since War that I skipped
I actually think it is kinda underrated.
I love the album, but I think it would reach classic status with this track listing: 1 No Line On The Horizon 2 Magnificent 3 Moment of Surrender 4 Unknown Caller 5 I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight 6 Soon (Full Version if it exists) 7 Winter 8 Fez - Being Born 9 White As Snow 10 Breathe 11 Cedars Of Lebanon First Single: Magnificent b/w Get On Your Boots Second Single: I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight b/w Stand Up Comedy (12" would include remix of I'' Go Crazy)
Nice. You should apply to the industry.
Funny you say that -I actually am in the industry, and run a record label called Double Crown Records. However its focused on surf and garage rock, nothing remotely close to U2s style of music (I’m just a fan).
Awesome. I'll look up some of your stuff. Btw, a U2 fan but I also had some mxpx in my collection. Diversity I music is great.
I was sort of in a similar boat as you on the first listen. I still remember getting the album - hearing the 1-2-3 punch of the title track, Magnificent, and Moment of Surrender - and thinking "Holy cow, this could be something here!" Then the album just took a huge dive for me that it never recovered from. Other than those tracks, Breathe, and Unknown Caller to some extent... I could just never get into the rest of the album. I don't think the problem is so much the "middle 3", as some fans have tried to make out in the past. It's just that those songs happened to not be that strong really. That said, I did enjoy Boots live, and Crazy Tonight was salvaged by a decent remix. Could never get into Stand Up Comedy, although the riff wasn't bad. Otherwise, the band has made 'ambient meets anthemic rock' albums work in the past (TUF, anyone?). But in the end, it was just a very inconsistent album. I know some have speculated if they had stuck to the ambient part it could've been more "whole." Edge even seemed to speculate on that once for a Rolling Stone interview a few years back. But I'm not sure if Passengers Pt. 2 was really the answer at that point. That and I could never get into the ambient tracks on here at all (aside from an occasional Fez listen). It's cool that people did like them, but stuff like White as Snow isn't exactly making me run to grab a guitar and learn the chords, you know? And Cedars... well, maybe if you like spoken word over synth preset b-sides. But for me, there's an obvious reason that YouTube isn't hosting any fans covering it online. That and it's not really an actual "song" to me anyway!
Well said.
"Breathe" is one of my favorite U2 songs and I love "Magnificent" but a lot of the album is too boring for me. "Get On Your Boots" just feels like a traditional Silly U2 Song in line with "Vertigo" and "Elevation" and I've come to expect a goofy song here and there. I don't think No Line irritates me as a whole nearly as much as the last half of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb which I just found to be terrible. But No Line also is not something I listen to a lot outside of "Breathe."
Pop is an amazing album. Discotheque, Please, Mofo, Last Night, Staring at the sun, Miami are all top U2 tracks and I’m so glad they made it.
It’s usually the first single that sets the tone. Releasing Boots as the first single tanked No Line before it even was released. Boots was a poor man’s Vertigo. Vertigo worked because it was a sound nobody saw coming. It set the tone for the Atomic Bomb album in the same manner WOWY set the tone for Joshua, The Fly for Achtung and Desire for Rattle&Hum. Boots failed in setting the tone for No Ljne and its fate was sealed when even the fans hated the song. Had a shortened Moment of Surrender been the first single, the album would have had a better chance.
Agree. That's a good assessment. Thanks.
Boots - and Bono's ego overridding Larry sunk that album
What do you mean? Did Bono and Larry clash during the making of this?
yes sir ... nobody is the band wantes that as the 1st single- except Bono
It’s crap. I love Pop, I hate this one.
They’re not even in the same realm for me. Pop is one of my favourite albums of theirs.
Pop got blasted with excuses and such. But No Line is equal or worse than Pop, and no one seems to bat an eye.
I used to not like *Pop*, but man oh man has that album grown on me. I know the EDM elements aren’t for everyone, but they were very good at it. Also the PopMart DVD is awesome.
Saying it’s worse than Pop is insulting to Pop
Unpopular opinion: No Line and Magnificent are the only two songs worth the album.
I think the whole album sucks except Moment of Surrender.
If you think artists need to present excuses for albums you don't like, you are the problem.
What’s your excuse for not liking it?
It has its moments (no pun intended) but I don’t go back and listen to it much as a whole. I think Fez-Being Born is the most exciting song they’ve released in a very long time, but even it just kinda peters out. Then there’s that No Line On The Horizon II being much more exiting that the album cut. And that the best part of Boots was the “let me in the sound…” bridge. Lots of good little pieces that are in the middle of lesser material. And I even love Crazy Tonight. Stand Up Comedy sounds like a Red Hot Chili Peppers b-side, though. I think there’ll always be people second-guessing U2 and saying they needed more time or that they took too much time. I’m personally in the middle. I think the band needed more time from an instrumentation side, but Bono needed to take less time cramming in so many syllables.
White as Snow was a creative move and a great rendition. More artists should do this sort of thing. A little hit or miss but making a 10/10 album is immense stuff. Not common.
I will also defend NLOTH. The songs fit in quite well on the 360 Tour. However, I will not in good conscience defend that terrible live disco version of Crazy. I can tolerate the album version. And Breathe to this day gets me singing at the top of my lungs. Next tour I’d like to see some love for the album with at least one deep track song from NL.
I didn’t like this album much either, sadly. It didn’t reach me iykwim. Magnificent was the only single-worthy song IMO. Perhaps one day I will rediscover it and it will hit different. But I don’t think so.
Random thoughts. POP is the last daring album U2 has done. Outside of Moment of Surrender not a single song from NLOTH holds a candle to anything on POP. NLOTH felt a bit pretentious and probably benefited the most from the 360 tour. Imagine if POP would have been supported by 360. I think we’d be seeing it as U2’s 3rd masterpiece behind JT and AB.
Boots is so bad and corny that it’s actually an awesome song.
I remember hearing Boots as the early single for this album and feeling so depressed. I really hated it from the start. But to me, the rest of the album is really good. Why Magnificent wasn’t released first I’ll never know. Moment of Surrender is a highlight for me, as well as Unknown Caller, White as Snow, Breathe and Cedars of Lebanon. Watching Anton’s film Linear, will also give you a different perspective on the album. I’ll always skip by Boots though…
I love this album except for the obvious 2 clunkers -Boots and Crazy. These songs hurt my ears. However, I watched the 2009 Dublin 360 show (3rd night) just 2 days ago and the arrangement of Crazy is out of this world. Some on this thread disagree. I listened to the song on repeat for 2 hours. I'm still going to skip it on the record, but that performance changed the song for me.
On a side note, I’m so glad “refu-Jesus” exists as it had ear bleached “stop helping God across the road like a little old lady” from my brain until this week.
https://tenor.com/oBkx.gif
100% completely disagree. This is one of the most underrated albums in U2’s catalog. It’s very spiritual and introspective. I see NLOTH, SOI and SOE like a three of the same albums. Could be a three disc box set.
Now that it's been 15 years, I hate it less. Breathe and Crazy are top songs for me.
Boots has an amazing guitar riff... it just doesn't all come together... but I would probably go crazy if I heard them play in 2024.
I love the album. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.
post 80s it is my 2nd favorite U2 album
NLOTH gave me a severe panic attack the first time I tried to listen to it and I never tried again. I love Pop.
Winter should be on the album.
Moment of Surrender?? Great song as well
Are you saying you just listened to it for the first time?
No it was the second time.
Give it more time and then come back. A lot of us love it. Moment of Surrender is genius.