No Line On The Horizon Worship Thread

[MarsGirl~Descends to Hell for a bottle of milk]

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   There goes Mod Joe stage left!

I won't leave. I adore this album. I agree MG-emotional and daring, really. I always said it is their most spiritual one since October. The boys of October became men in this one.  This album is one that you have to work for to truly reap its benefits. Though I loved it from the beginning, it grows more spectacular as things are revealed to me with each listen. There are a few fun songs in the mix that I do like very much but the others are so amazing! They go deep inside their souls and reveal things just the way they did as boys in October. It is far more personal than recent albums. It goes within them the way October did. That is why I love these two albums and do see a connection between them. Moment of Surrender, Unknown Caller, Breathe , Cedars of Lebanon, White As Snow, Breathe and Magnificent just take my breath away.

I love this album. It may disappear the way October seems to have , but never for me. I adore both these albums. I will never change my mind. To me , Achtung Baby is over rated and these two albums are under rated. That is what makes U2 so great. There is something for all kinds of fans with each of their albums.

Oh and I think we need to start showing some more love for the spectacular Unforgettable Fire - a daring album to make after War!  

YES. My second favorite album!!! I love TUF!!! I made an appreciation thread for it... it's buried somewhere in here... Maybe I should bump it.

[scarletzooropa]

I've been a fan since 1984, have seen them 9 times including 3- 360 shows, which were amazing. Overall, I find the 00's work the least satisfying. ( 90's work is the best) But having said all that, i think that No Line on the Horizon is their best work. It is a classic album with a beginning, middle and end. It is a classic U2 album in that it has the optimistic beginning (nloth,magnificent), then it kind of takes a somber turn(mos,uc). Then we have this lighthearted break in the middle(crazy tonight, goyb, suc), before we dive into more heavy subjects. Now, in no way am I suggesting that the 3 headed monster in the middle (crazy, goyb, suc) are some of u2's best in their canon, they are not. But they are perfect in this album just because that break is needed in an otherwise heavy album. If you look at U2's great albums like Achtung Baby, Joshua Tree they kind of follow that same pattern which to me indicates that they really put in a lot of thought on the kind of journey they want the listener to have. Even their live shows follow that pattern which explains why their set lists are static. But that is an entirely different subject.

The only gripe that I have with nloth is the fact that it is only 11 songs long. Supposedly, 50-60 songs were written I think they could have added at least 2 songs. I think Winter (linear version) would've been a great addition, and I also would've like to have heard the band version of Every Breaking Wave.

Aside from that I still love nloth, 2 years later. It really does take me on a journey that is up and down, which is how life really is. Is not the transformation that achtung baby was, but it does push the band to places the band has never been sonically.   

<-----

   There goes Mod Joe stage left!

I won't leave. I adore this album. I agree MG-emotional and daring, really. I always said it is their most spiritual one since October. The boys of October became men in this one.  This album is one that you have to work for to truly reap its benefits. Though I loved it from the beginning, it grows more spectacular as things are revealed to me with each listen. There are a few fun songs in the mix that I do like very much but the others are so amazing! They go deep inside their souls and reveal things just the way they did as boys in October. It is far more personal than recent albums. It goes within them the way October did. That is why I love these two albums and do see a connection between them. Moment of Surrender, Unknown Caller, Breathe , Cedars of Lebanon, White As Snow, Breathe and Magnificent just take my breath away.

I love this album. It may disappear the way October seems to have , but never for me. I adore both these albums. I will never change my mind. To me , Achtung Baby is over rated and these two albums are under rated. That is what makes U2 so great. There is something for all kinds of fans with each of their albums.

Oh and I think we need to start showing some more love for the spectacular Unforgettable Fire - a daring album to make after War!  

YES. My second favorite album!!! I love TUF!!! I made an appreciation thread for it... it's buried somewhere in here... Maybe I should bump it.

[Droo]

Everyone attacks the Middle Three, but virtually EVERY U2 album has had the lighter, more frivolous song or two on them.

Boy: An Cat Dubh
War: The Refugee
The Joshua Tree: Trip Through Your Wires
Rattle & Ham: Desire
Achtung Baby: Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World
Zooropa: Babyface, Some Days Are Better Than Others
Pop: Miami, The Playboy Mansion
ATYCLB: Elevation, In A Little While, Wild Honey, New York
HTDAAB: Vertigo, A Man And A Woman, All Because Of You

Only October and The Unforgettable Fire have no songs in this vein that I can identify.

[pfctsqr]

Everyone attacks the Middle Three, but virtually EVERY U2 album has had the lighter, more frivolous song or two on them.

Boy: An Cat Dubh
War: The Refugee
The Joshua Tree: Trip Through Your Wires
Rattle & Ham: Desire
Achtung Baby: Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World
Zooropa: Babyface, Some Days Are Better Than Others
Pop: Miami, The Playboy Mansion
ATYCLB: Elevation, In A Little While, Wild Honey, New York
HTDAAB: Vertigo, A Man And A Woman, All Because Of You



Only October and The Unforgettable Fire have no songs in this vein that I can identify.

Yes....BUT....if the "lighter" songs are actually good, then it doesnt matter.

[Droo]

Well, then again we run up against a difference of OPINION. Some (many) people like the Middle Three on NLOTH. You do not. Neither one of us is "right".

[EnduringChill]

I love NLOTH. It was the first U2 album I got (well, after Joshua Tree, but that was synced to my iPod from my dad's CD so it wasn't really mine). Really, it was the first U2 album I wanted for myself. It didn't succeed my expectations at first, but I appreciate it today.

The first time I heard anything from the album, it was on U2.com. I was listening to 20-second snippets of the songs. Each one sounded interesting, evocative, something I wanted to hear more of. I looked at the cover of the album and looked outside- it was a bleak, gray morning, exactly like the album cover... white sky melding into the gray sea... Everything on it captures the mood of a rainy day. I play it almost every time it rains. It really, really sets the atmosphere.

No listening experience has been better than the one I had on vacation this summer, though. In Delaware, we stopped by the ocean to see a lighthouse. Clouds were already covering the sky, and the water was churning against the cliffs, dark gray in color. I started playing NLOTH on my iPod, and everything just fit. The lyrics- "I know a girl who's like the sea." The setting, the songs... it all lined up. I could have sat there listening to it for as long as it took. It started raining on us when Magnificent began, and went on with Moment of Surrender as we rwalked back to the car, soaked.When we left, Unknown Caller was playing as the sun started peeking out of the clouds, making the raindrops on the windshield glisten. It was such a beautiful moment. I insist, play NLOTH when it rains and you'll find something to appreciate.

(Sorry about being poetic, but I just had to share that experience.)

[jabw10]

awesome, EC!  (and never apologize for being poetic )

*makes a note to listen next rainy day*

[Bundang Dave]

I find No Line to be a very mature, polytonal album . . . a few of those tones don't do it for me (Magnificent, Crazy Tonight), but to me it's a 2nd-tier U2 album, right along with TUF and JT. Easily their best since Pop.

[MarsGirl~Descends to Hell for a bottle of milk]

That's awesome, EC. Thanks for the feedback! I listen to October on rainy days... But maybe I should try NLOTH. I'll tell you that NLOTH hit for me as epic this past spring as I was anticipating my U2 shows this summer. I went for a walk (for exercise) on a coolish evening and I had the album playing on my iPod throughout my walk. It just hit me how beautifully the whole album just flows together... all the songs are in the right order and they just sound so great when played that way from start to finish. Some songs got me pumped (Magnificent, Crazy Tonight, Breathe) and I walked faster while lip-syncing. Then some songs just brought tears to my eyes (MOS, White As Snow). I was walking across a park listening to White As Snow and it was getting dark... It fit the mood...

[EnduringChill]

I'm guessing NLOTH is a very mood-setting album.

[MarsGirl~Descends to Hell for a bottle of milk]

I'm guessing NLOTH is a very mood-setting album.

I agree. Like TUF and October.

[DGordon1]

I love NLOTH. It was the first U2 album I got (well, after Joshua Tree, but that was synced to my iPod from my dad's CD so it wasn't really mine). Really, it was the first U2 album I wanted for myself. It didn't succeed my expectations at first, but I appreciate it today.

The first time I heard anything from the album, it was on U2.com. I was listening to 20-second snippets of the songs. Each one sounded interesting, evocative, something I wanted to hear more of. I looked at the cover of the album and looked outside- it was a bleak, gray morning, exactly like the album cover... white sky melding into the gray sea... Everything on it captures the mood of a rainy day. I play it almost every time it rains. It really, really sets the atmosphere.

No listening experience has been better than the one I had on vacation this summer, though. In Delaware, we stopped by the ocean to see a lighthouse. Clouds were already covering the sky, and the water was churning against the cliffs, dark gray in color. I started playing NLOTH on my iPod, and everything just fit. The lyrics- "I know a girl who's like the sea." The setting, the songs... it all lined up. I could have sat there listening to it for as long as it took. It started raining on us when Magnificent began, and went on with Moment of Surrender as we rwalked back to the car, soaked.When we left, Unknown Caller was playing as the sun started peeking out of the clouds, making the raindrops on the windshield glisten. It was such a beautiful moment. I insist, play NLOTH when it rains and you'll find something to appreciate.

(Sorry about being poetic, but I just had to share that experience.)

Awesome! I've had many a good road trip with NLOTH playing. I think it's probably their most diverse album, and it really does take you on a journey. I don't think it quite comes together the way it could have done, but I find all the songs to be very engaging and inspiring.

[Droo]

I also find it very inspiring. The yearning on so many of the tracks is striking.

[jabw10]

rained this morning... listened to the whole thing... EC's right! 

[Chip]

I'm guessing NLOTH is a very mood-setting album.

I agree. Like TUF and October.

Yep. It's good for reflection and meditation.