The U2 juggernaut rolls on with their first single off No Line on the Horizon. This is what I've been waiting for in terms of a first single off of a new album. I have to be honest I was disappointed with 'Vertigo' which is catchy and good live but limited in terms of creativity and pushing the boundaries of rock & roll. I felt that U2 were trying to hard to get a hit single but this is a return to the U2 I fell in love with. There is something Achtung Baby about it and as I read other reviews people are on the fence about it as it sounds a bit different from 'Vertigo' or 'Beautiful Day' (which I love by the way).
Lets begin with the sound....fast paced with a good riff from The Edge. It isn't what I call an initially captivating song but it does grow on you. I think this song shows how versatile a drummer Larry is and I see comparisons with this and the Larry of 'The Fly' and 'Even Better Than the Real Thing'.
Bono's lyrics once again are mysterious but I find it comforting to not know exactly what he is talking about. I love this particular part of the song...
Hey sexy boots...I think Bono in recent years has been trying to find the middle ground in his growing political activist role with his 'day job' as the lead singer of a rock band. I admire his work outside music and his and the band's political work draws me to them even more as their music has meaning and are often about world events and certain points in time.
Get on your boots, yeah
Not right now
Bossy boots
You don’t know how beautiful
You don’t know how beautiful you are
You don’t know, and you don’t get it, do you?
You don’t know how
beautiful you are ....
This song is a return for me and I am hoping the album is as controversial as 'Get on Your Boots' is with long time fans. I think it will reinvigorate rock music as many bands I love and adore release something that is innovative to only repeat it in their future albums e.g. Coldplay 'X&Y'. U2 strive for something bigger and have always suprised with their sound. I adore Pop and Zooropa because of their non-conformist sound and many people do not get it. I admit I was sightly unhappy with their previous two albums in terms of sound as they are in many ways a pair of albums and I think Bono himself has acknowledged this in the past. But the future is looking good.
I am now officially excited about them returning to the forefront of the music scene. The band will be on various tv shows promoting the record and I think it is confirmed they will play at the Grammys. However, I do acknowledge that this will probably not be a commercial success and will not hit #1 on the singles charts. Below is the link to the song on U2's official website so you can all listen to it for free.
http://goyb.u2.com/
Loz
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