U2 – How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004): I prefer the U2 that drops bombs
Today marks the beginning of the second leg of U2′s 360° Tour and the tour’s first shows in America. In honor of such an occasion, let’s examine U2′s biggest hiccup and an effort from a band who will be opening for several shows of this leg, Muse.
- HTDAAB: Not even the cover art inspires hope.
Rating: 2 1/2 stars (out of five)
Having successfully entered their third decade together with 2000’s acclaimed All That You Can’t Leave Behind, U2 may have been forgiven for thinking they didn’t have any challenges left. Having already changed up their sound enough times to stay relevant and popular for over 20 years, they’d silenced the Pop naysayers and once more inserted themselves into the national consciousness.
Such contentment, indeed, may be responsible for the limpness of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Despite arriving after what was to date the longest layoff of the band’s career, Bomb represents the most uninspired, superficial, and, quite frankly, boring record they’ve ever made. They’ve lost both the interesting sound of their past and the songs themselves (ATYCLB at least had the latter). The unfair reaction to Pop has apparently compelled U2 to distance themselves from their experimental 90s as much as possible, but in the process they’ve forgotten what made them great. AllMusic Guide hit the nail on the head in saying, “They’ve overcorrected for their perceived sins, scaling back their sound so far that they have shed the murky sense of mystery that gave The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree an otherworldly allure.”
The sound on Bomb, thus, invokes generic, meat-and-potatoes rock that has never, ever been U2’s specialty. Producer Steve Lillywhite was behind the boards for the taut and fierce War, but now that they don’t write songs with the passion of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” or “Like a Song…” the straight-ahead production doesn’t serve them well. The songs need the post-punk influences evident on Boy, the wintry atmospherics of The Unforgettable Fire, the wide-open desert feel of The Joshua Tree, or the danceable but dark stylings of Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and Pop. They don’t do meat-and-potatoes well, at least not anymore. The Edge isn’t captivating enough, nor is Bono, who’s voice has never sounded worse and yet is placed too far forward in the mix.
Meanwhile, the rhythm section is relegated to the distant back, as Lillywhite and the band have apparently forgotten that most of U2’s best songs feature memorable contributions from bassist Adam Clayton and/or drummer Larry Mullen Jr. At the end of the first verse of “Miracle Drug,” you can feel the rhythm section trying to kick in, but they’re buried too deeply in the mix that you can hardly hear them over Bono’s cries.
Yet, as ATYCLB proved, sonic innovation is not a pre-requisite for a successful album, but this collection of tracks is without question the weakest U2 has ever put forth. The songs lack heart and energy, relying on recycled sounds and those repetitive bridge solos. “A Man and a Woman” informs us—in case anyone was still straddling that fence—that U2 should never attempt an R&B crossover. Everyone sloughs his way through the turgid “Love and Peace”; and “One Step Closer” and “Yahweh” have neither the lyrics nor the melody to justify their instrumental minimalism.
Our esteemed frontman, for his part, does little to quell concern (at least in myself) that his ever-increasing amounts of public activism have degraded the band’s music. The band has acknowledged that Bono’s studio time has decreased over the past few years; and although they claim that his absence isn’t a problem, he—not the Edge or anyone else—is the band’s heart and soul. Without him in top form, little else matters.
None of this is to say that Bomb is unlistenable. Indeed, the feeling provoked by a casual listen easily supersedes the lingering, unpleasant aftertaste. “City of Blinding Lights” is so far and away the standout that it feels as though it belongs on different album, a gorgeous, elegiac song the likes of which they’ve never written before. “Miracle,” about a paraplegic former high school classmate of the band who was able to write poems with the help of drugs, features similarly pretty chiming guitars and an ecstatic-sounding bridge. Yet, besides “City,” all the pleasures here are moderate—“Vertigo” may get your toe tapping, but its best environment remains that fantastic 30-second iPod commercial; “Crumbs From Your Table” pleasantly meanders; and “Original of the Species” has the album’s prettiest melody but suffers from its words.
Indeed, though I would take stronger melodies for a start, Bono’s lyrics unquestionably dampen the album, as he spits out lines that make you want to tear your hair out. The subtlety and genuine emotion from earlier in his career have been completely wiped away. Nonsense lyrics are fine on “Vertigo,” but by the time you’ve heard “Freedom has a scent / Like the top of a newborn baby’s head,” or “Some things you shouldn’t get too good at / Like smiling, crying, or celebrity,” or found Bono trying to rhyme choice and tortoise, romance and distance, you’ll want out. (What, exactly, would be wrong with being too good at smiling?) 13 years ago, he wrote on “So Cruel,” “I gave you everything you wanted / It wasn’t what you wanted.” Now, he writes “I’ll give you everything you want / Except the thing that you want.” The first is poignant; the second, faux profound and merely contradictory.
The most surprising misfire, however, is “Sometimes You Can’t Make it On Your Own,” the ballad written in memorial of Bono’s late father that took up the most studio time and garnered the most hype. For Bono, and some fans, it was the heart of the album, but it’s remarkably uninviting. Their love songs now all sound too calculated and safe, lacking the quality lyrics and/or musical elements necessary to ensnare the listener. It’s hard to say whether U2 will ever find that part of themselves again. One can only hope they haven’t completely lost the desire to be different—an ambition that took them to the top in the first place.
September 27th, 2010 at 10:18 am
harmful list, partner, I read a lot of your stuff and this is actually the first thing i’ve previously really really disagreed together with. A lot of the songs you overlooked are cross generational as well as iconic. the #10 and #7 shouldnt seem on here span.