U2 - All That You Cant Leave Behind (12 tracks) +Album Reviews +Used CD available for Swap

Cherubs' eyes

J. Wimmer | New York City | 10/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Oh, my AP English class has finally paid off, because now I understand why U2 has gone from "brilliant" to "more brilliant" to "more brilliant still."I'm talking about William Blake, the 18th-century poet who authored the "Songs of Innocence and Experience." Don't click away--even if you know nothing about poetry, if you know something about U2, you'll appreciate this...The theme of the "Songs" is this: We enter the world with a pure, unaffected point of view. As such, we perceive it with unadulterated clarity, but we lack the understanding to appreciate what we see.With experience comes this understanding, but at what price? We lose the clarity of perception we were born with.As understanding increases, though, we realize this. And then we become whole. Only through innocence can we become experienced. Only through experience can we appreciate innocence.Now, who's that sound like? An Irish rock group, maybe, who started out waving a white flag, proclaiming, "I Will Follow"? Who saw the world in black and white and knew exactly which side they were on?The same group saved themselves by diving headfirst into the black, as it were. With the Zoo TV experience, they immersed themselves in the sensual and the secular. In fact, they did that so thoroughly that to this day, older, more simpleminded fans resent them for it.The simpletons can rejoice, and so can us Achtung Babies who understand what U2 did and why they had to do it, and love them for it. It started on "Pop," and it's happened on "All That You Can't Leave Behind": U2 have come full circle, become whole. They are innocent again. They understand the world around them, and now they know why this is black, why that's white, and why there's so much gray.The band who created "All..." aren't afraid to wear their collective heart on their collective sleeve again. They aren't afraid to ask for "Peace on Earth." They can write the sweetest, most lovingest love song they've ever written now--"Wild Honey"--because they know now that beyond the darkness love is certainly waiting.They've made their phone calls from Hell, and they are more aware than ever that, while the dark places won't go away, the world is still a true, beautiful place. They're seeing with cherubs' eyes now--the eyes of wise children.They said they wanted to make an album about joy, and that it wouldn't be easy. They've more than risen to the challenge.Buy this album. Buy it now. Click now. It will make your problems go away, at least for a little while. It will make your soul soar. It will make you sing."

They have done it again!

Robert Knetsch | Toronto, Ontario Canada | 10/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Once again U2 have shown that they are alive and well in the rock and roll scene. Teaming up again with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois who were with U2 on their hit albums Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, U2 have shown that they are a band of the 80s, 90s and the new millenium. Beautiful Day is a brilliant poppy song that hides its deep overtones of meaning and lack of value in material things. Personally it inspires me as I consider, as the person does in the song, what it would be like to lose everything and still be able to realize that the day is wonderful, that there is still life, the earth and creation(in green and blue!) is valuable in and of itself. The biblical overtones of Noah and the ark are quirky and effective. The Edge is still a shining star in songs like When I Look at The World. His screaming guitar solo, reminiscent of Unforgettable Fire days gives me goosebumps. You can hear Eno's influence in this song. Lanois' skill at giving a great beat to the music is as inspiring as ever. Bono can still write, there is no doubt about that. From the spiritual beauty of Kite to the frolicking romp of New York he weaves stories and thoughts that are as captivating as ever. Some claim that this album is a return to their roots. Its hard to say. I think they are still trying new things but just are not in the mood for the dance loops, and electronic sounds of their previous 3 albums - which, by the way, gave them great success. This is about how they want to continue to be a band with feeling and emotion. I regret that Bono's voice just is not what it used to be in the album. The strain is detectable - and yet this strain somehow brings out a differnt kind of yearning and emotion to his voice that still makes me stand transfixed as I listen to the best rock band around."

Limited Edition

robbyk | Hanover, NH United States | 11/04/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a great new album by U2. The boys from Dublin, who spent most of the mid to late 90's working with electronica culminating in the solid "Pop", return to their roots with a simple yet effective album. The Edge's signature guitar style, Bono's touching vocals, and the steadiness of Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton have all returned. This album is reminiscent of "The Unforgettable Fire" and dare I say "The Joshua Tree", albums in which U2 focused harder on the message and emotion. Nothing can match the emotion captured on those two albums, but "All that you can't leave behind" comes close, with beautiful tracks such as "Walk On", "Kite", "Peace on Earth", and the first single "Beautiful Day". This limited edition also contains a bonus cd with one track, titled "Summer Rain". I was really surprised with the song, another solid U2 effort. And because the limited edition is the same price as the regular edition, I figure more U2 is better. I think most U2 fans will be very satisfied with this new album; and if you aren't at first, give it a couple of more listens. This cd will definitely grow on you, it grew on me."

Fan or not, you need this album in your collection

Amy Battis | Beverly, MA United States | 10/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It all sounds so cliche..."back to their roots," "they've done it again," "another masterpiece." True, sort of.Yes, this is "back to their roots" in that they've stripped away the hype and experimentation, leaving us with just four guys with their instruments and The Voice. Yes, "they've done it again" in that this is their best album since Achtung Baby and will reach the mainstream again and not tend to be ignored by those who don't understand. Yes, it "is a masterpiece," in it's own way.You see, U2's latest release is an album full of joy and a little bit of soul. The band have become more comfortable with themselves, their emotions and have finally realized that they don't need the techno to impress us anymore. From the outset, we have the joy of Beautiful Day, Elevation and Wild Honey. Beautiful Day and Elevation are guitar-driven numbers worthy of rolling down the car windows and cranking the volume to 10. Wild Honey's melody and lightness will linger in your head for days and days. It, along with Stuck in a Moment, will give you a certain Beatle-esque feeling.But U2 has a knack for cranking out the emotion, and Peace On Earth and Walk On bring it on. Walk On, particularly, will go down as this album's "One" or "With or Without You." The guitar has the same familiarity of other U2 ballads (I can hear the crowd roar in recognition when the first notes are played live!) and the lyrics are brilliantly written. Peace On Earth is Bono's tribute to the victim's of the Omagh bombing, and I've yet to hear anything that evokes so much emotion.The most interesting part of the album for me is the soul that they seem to have tapped for Stuck in a Moment and In a Little While. These just have tremendous feeling that doesn't bog you down, but gives you some hope, and perhaps some joy?After 16 years as a fan, I am relieved that this is how this album turned out, but not in the least bit surprised. A great addition to any CD collection, as I feel it's some of the best music to come out this year."

Their Whole Career on One Album

Captain Cook | Leeward to the Sandwich Islands | 11/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A 'back to basics' approach is a well known trick of the record trade: a band becomes famous, its music familiar, so it ducks and dives, twists and turns, trying to throw up a few surprises. Then, when the fans break the code and the envelope can't be pushed any further, the earlier style is reprised and sold in a combined package of nostalgia and 'old is new' novelty. This is the slash and burn agriculture practiced by the music industry. With Oasis on the wane, the Verve having broken up, and Radiohead disappointing their rock fans again, a return to their straight rock roots by U2 couldn't be better timed. In 1988, with the World at their feet, Phil Joanou's epic rockumentary Rattle & Hum attempted to carve U2's visage on the Mount Rushmore of rock'n'roll legend by trawling them through America's musical heartlands of gospel, blues, and rock. Soon after this, however,the band started to move away from their trademark sound of intense, almost messianic vocals against a soundscape of clanging guitars and epic rhythms in favor of a more produced, textured sound arrived at with the help of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. Impassioned, naive idealism was replaced with a worldly, sophisticated, clubby, media-savvy, ironic sensibility. U2's aptly titled new album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, is an attempt both to undo some of the damage done by this move as well as consolidate some of its gains. Bono has dubbed the new album's sound "titanium soul." and claimed that the new songs are "tunes rather than just ideas," implicitly criticizing U2's earlier output. "There's no storytelling or artifice," he declared on the band's official website. "It's about the pure joy of playing in a band, with or without an audience." After the jaded cynicism of the MacPhisto period when Bono projected himself as the bad end of a Faustian bargain, there is now reported to be a renewed burst of spiritual energy coursing through the group, courtesy of Bono's newfound cause campaigning for the abolition of Third World debt. This, along with the more stripped down sound, has raised expectations "Beautiful Day," the first single, makes a brave attempt to live up to these hopes as lushly layered harmonies are flailed with incendiary guitar. On "Walk On" and "Elevation" the melding of the Edge's clanging guitar and Bono's impassioned singing also signals that U2 are no longer content to communicate through the ouija boards of producers, sound engineers and the mixing console as they were in the Zooropa and Pop. years. The suspicion remains, however, that the guitar overdubs are merely being cranked up in the mix to give a rawer feel. The sound and fury of the noisier tracks are balanced with slower numbers which allow Bono to mug the microphone with some quite effective stabs at soul. "In A Little While" is a low-key, piece of pop that really grows on you. "Wild Honey" is also a great song, but howabout a remix to bring out the Edge's beautiful, crying guitar? The best song on the album is undoubtedly "Kite," a soaring, catchy, anthemic song, with Bono delivering one of his most impassioned vocals, emblazoned with some intricate guitar riffs and tugging rhythms that relentlessly drive the song on without overpowering its delicacy. The lyrics are interesting because Bono is singing from the viewpoint of someone who has just died looking back on his life and thinking about his children. To anybody who has just lost a parent the lyrics will be extremely moving. P.S. I love the jacket design - it looks like Adam has misplaced the tickets again."

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