sexta-feira, 30 de janeiro de 2009

No Line On The Horizon - reviews


//UM: Já decorreram as primeiras "escutas oficiais" ao novo álbum dos U2, No Line On The Horizon, em Dublin, perto dos estúdios onde foi gravado. Já foram publicadas diversas críticas e descrições do disco, mais ou menos detalhadas por diversas publicações e sites. Este artigo visa compilar as principais reviews às canções que compõem o álbum - a principal razão pela qual os textos estão integralmente em inglês.


//DOIS: NO LINE ON THE HORIZON: TRACK BY TRACK SUMMARY

1. "No Line On The Horizon"

• - Q-source: «further unfinished»; «two versions were extant: the first is another The Unforgettable Fire-esque slow burner that builds to a euphoric coda, the second a punky Pixies/Buzzcocks homage that proceeds at a breathless pace», «Bono very excited about the second version»
• - Q-magazine: «began life as a slow paced Eno-esque ambient treatment, before being dramatically reworked in the Olympic Sessions into an abrasive punk-rock tune akin to "Vertigo", with its "No! Line!" chorus chant»
• - RS-source: «"The title track's relentless groove began as a group improvisation. It's very raw and very to the point (...) It's like rock & roll 2009"
, says the Edge.»
• - RS-article: «churning, tribal groove and a deadpan chorus; after-dark song"; "one of those tunes, where, Bono says, "we allow our interest in electronic music, in Can, Neu! and Kraftwerk, to come out".»
• - Independent: «the opening title track kicks off with a crunchy, distorted guitar riff from the Edge»
• - tour.de: «booming guitar riff», «slamming bass», «Bono's voice cries, hurts, and only slowly gets more melodic»; «the catchy chorus is a surprise, carried vocally by The Edge»; «in the middle the song is slower", "classic U2 song structures, before it gains more speed again»; «at the end guitar parts that remind of "Lady With The Spinning Head"»; «a dense atmospheric song»; «U2's music in a changed world of sounds»
• - Brunocam: «Characteristic of the U2 song, the epic sense in growing, guitars sometimes quiet, sometimes strident, with Bono singing "I know a girl who's like the sea / I watch her everyday changing for me / Oh yeah." Originally had a very environmental
treatment [provavelmente a versão incluída como faixa-bónus e b-side de "Get On Your Boots"], through the production of Brian Eno, but in the end it became an abrasive rock song.»
• - Sunday Mail: «This opens with a loud sonic drone before Bono sings: "I knew a girl who's like the sea/I watch her changing every day for me". Then Larry's drums kick in and the song lifts off. It could be their best live stadium opener since "Zoo Station".»
• - Perfectly Cromulent: «U2 have been listening to Kings of Leon. Dirty big "The Fly"-like riff tears out of speakers, masses of percussion upfront in the mix. First of several Boy-esque choruses, "Oh-oh-oh-oooooh"! This song is incredibly loud. Phwoar, good start.»


2. "Magnificent"

• - Q-source: «classic U2-isms»; «echoes The Unforgettable Fire's opening track "A Sort Of Homecoming" in its atmospheric sweep»
• - Q-magazine: «slow building anthem with the ambience of The Unforgettable Fire and laced with the wide eyed wonder of U2's earlier albums. Edge here is at his most dynamic. Features the line: "Only love can reset your mind"»
• - RS-source: «"Only love can leave such a mark", Bono roars on what sounds like an instant U2 anthem. Will.i.am has already done what Bono calls "the most extraordinary" remix of the tune»
• - RS-article: «familiarly chiming U2 anthem»
• - Independent: «dancey electro flourishes introduce an atmospheric track with moody leanings»
• - u2tour.de: «begins with loud drums, there are loops and riffs, chasing each other, before Edge's classical guitar sound sets in»; «Bono starts singing his part with the title of the song»; «a very melodical song, perhaps one of the best on the whole album»; «but also one that would have fit on previous U2 albums»; «also new layers of sound and would perhaps still feel fine on Achtung Baby»; «a strong coda finishes the song, which we already know as "Beachclip No. 4".»
• - Brunocam: «One of the songs that promises immediate membership. "Only love can reset your mind" Bono sings, among the environments that lead to the U2 album The Unforgettable Fire, in combination with the most direct route rock of recent albums. There are electronic effects, orchestral arrangements that evoke the period The Joshua Tree and a balance of typical song of love - "I was born to sing for you / I did not have a choice but to lift you up / And sing whatever song you wanted me to / I give you my voice back"
• - Sunday Mail: «A future single choice which more than lives up to its bold title. The Edge's driving guitar gives the song a "New Year's Day"-style mood. Bono is in great form when he sings: "I was born to sing for you/I didn't have a choice but to lift you up". He's dead right because, just two numbers in, the album already has a classic feel.»
• - Perfectly Cromulent: «U2 have been listening to the Killers. Oh wait, only a bit. Stomps along at maybe U2’s quickest ever clip, a neat 4/4 disco rock beat. This is the guitar album they have been banging on about for a decade. Huge riff. Some Real Thingish slide guitar choruses. Is this one of Bono’s God songs? Could definitely be about a woman (very good at that trope now, Bono.) "Only love can leave such a scar". This is incredibly aptly titled, clever U2. Stadium ready "You and I will make a fire!". This will be a single.»


3. "Moment Of Surrender"

• - Q-source: «particular excitement was reserved for»; «a strident seven-minute epic recorded in a single take»; «sounds like a great U2 moment in the spirit of "One"»
• - Q-magazine: «gorgeously melodic 7 minute song that already has the air of the U2 classic about it, with lyrics about dark stars and existential crises: "I did not notice the passers-by / And they did not notice me". Recorded in one take. This album's "One"»
• - RS-source: «this seven-minute-long track is one of the album's most ambitious, merging a The Joshua Tree-style gospel feel with a hypnotically loping bass line and a syncopated beat»
• -RS-article: «astonishing seven-minute»; «was played just one time — the band improvised the version on the album from thin air»
- Billboard: «more experimental fare»; «an electro-leaning track with an Eastern-inspired scale in the chorus, making it one of the weirder U2 tracks in decades.»
• - Independent: «this particular moment of surrender sees a slowing down of the tempo and some delicate, bluesy guitar playing from the Edge»
• - u2tour.de: «among the slowest on the CD»; «dripping beats with an obvious influence from the Fez sessions open the track»; «strings and keyboards take over, before Bono's voice surprisingly shaky begins». «Parts of the song almost remind of the Passengers' experiments»; «(...)until Bono and Edge come to melodical chorus with Falsetto voice support»; «a gloomy mood»; «a much-layered sound carpet»; «Edge has a very expressive, but slow guitar solo in this song»
• - Brunocam: «Promises to be a classic in many concerts in the line of what happens with ballads like "One". Melodic song of seven minutes, starts slow, with lyrics about dark stars and with Bono's voice a little hoarse evoking existential crises - "I myself tied with wire / To let the horses free / Playing with the fire until the fire played with me". The pace and syncope, the blues guitar of The Edge line of low and delicate environment, creating a hypnotic effect general.»
• Sunday Mail: «Bono reckons this is one of the best songs U2 have written - and with their back catalogue, that's saying something. It opens with a guitar sound reminiscent of "Where The Streets Have No Name" and features a great Edge solo. In one of his most personal lyrics, Bono says: "I've been in every black hole / At the altar of the dark star / My body's now a begging bowl / That's begging to get back". A stunning song Springsteen or Dylan would be proud of.»
• Perfectly Cromulent: «A downtempo, Eno-heavy gospel thing, a soul ballad built on a heavy bass figure and prominent, processed drums. Ok, so everything is on fire ("We’ll set ourselves on fire"). Right, U2 own this "Ohoh oh ooh OOHHHH" thing, I got it. "I’ve been down every dark road", I love it when Bono gets existential, this is my favourite Bono mode. Then he’s on his knees in a revery in the street, "I did not notice them, they did not notice me" perhaps the only time Bono has vocalised a desire for anonymity. "ATM machine". Well, we all call them that.»


4. "Unknown Caller"
• - Q-source: «stately»; «was recorded in Fez and opens with the sounds of birdsong taped by Eno during a Moroccan dawn»
• - Q-magazine: «opens with the sound of birdsong recorded live in Fez. A middle eastern flavoured percussion loop drives this tale about a man at the end of his rope, whose phone bizarrely begins texting him random instructions: "Reboot yourself", "Password, enter here", "You're free to go"
Dallas Schoo describes the song as "one of Edge's major solos in his life - you wont hear better than that on any other song»
• - RS-source: «this midtempo track could have fit on All That You Can’t Leave Behind. "The idea is that the narrator is in an altered state, and his phone starts talking to him", says The Edge»
• - Independent: «more intricate guitar fretwork that builds into a mid-tempo rocker featuring an organ and one of the album's lushest productions»
• - u2tour.de: «Bird, electrical noise and keyboards guide "Unknown Caller" on». «The song has exciting breaks in the sound structure, somewhere it always comes back to the classic U2 sound, before it comes consistently interrupted»; «almost the entire track sung in two voices». «In the chorus sings Bono "Restart and reboot yourself" and brings one of the key points, the lyrics may be the concept of the album: "I was lost between the midnight and the dawning"». «Edge with another strong guitar solo and Bono singing "Escape yourself and gravity."». «This song is known as "Beachclip No. 1"»
• - Brunocam: «It is one of the songs where Bono is in a fictional role, someone in an altered state that is faced with a phone that speech. On the sound could belong to All That You Can’t Leave Behind, the half-time pace, silky, with light body and The Edge to leave its mark in an intricate guitar break.»
• Sunday Mail: «An epic with double-tracked vocals, wailing Edge guitar and pounding Adam bass. It's a musical feast with so much going on it's initially tough to take it all in. In the chant-style chorus Bono sings: "Hear me / Cease to speak / That I may speak / Shush now". If nothing else, that's got to be another first for U2 - a pop song with "Shush" in the lyric.»
• Perfectly Cromulent: «Birds? A Morroccan drone. Guitar figure sounds a lot like… "Walk On"? Is this about someone getting mugged? Some kind of tech nightmare, "You know your password, key it in". Something about making it out alive. "3:33 in the morning and the numbers dropped off the clockface" (Here I have double underlined, love this. I am glad Bono uses concrete imagery). Urgent sounding church organ, a horn section (whoa). First-ever instance of double tracked lead vocals. Double the Bono! "Escape yourself and gravity"[Será a hora 3:33 uma referência ao versículo J33-3, presente na capa de 'All That You Can't Leave Behind'?]

5. "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"

• - Q-source: «straight up pop»; «the track Will.I.Am was taking a pass at»
• - Q-magazine: «upbeat pop track with distinct echoes of 60's era Phil Spector, particularly the moment when its chorus disappears into a wash of reverb. Centres around the line: "I'll go crazy If I dont go crazy tonight"»
• - RS-source: «It's kind of like this album's "Beautiful Day" — it has that kind of joy to it» Bono says. «With the refrain "I know I'll go crazy / If I don't go crazy tonight", it's the band's most unabashed pop tune since "Sweetest Thing".»
• - Billboard: «classic U2 rocker»
• - Independent: «chiming guitar intro, a rousing Bono falsetto and the lyric, "Every generation has a chance to change the world"
• - u2tour.de: «one of the shorter songs of the album. The sound is taken from Larry's drums, Edge comes with catchy guitar parts»; «quiet song sections before Larry comes back powerfully forward». «In the central part of it sometimes reminds a little of the atmosphere in "Sometimes You Can t make it on your own", while the end of the song sounds a lot like "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)"-sounds»; «The text of the song is political, Bono sings: "There`s a part of me that wants to riot" and later "Every generation gets a chance to change the world"». «Would also be a possible second or third single»
• - Brunocam: «As the title suggests, is one of the most daytime, and markedly festival pop along the lines of classics like "Beautiful Day", with some echoes, reverberations, refrain effective ("I'll go crazy if i do not go crazy tonight"), guitars and falsetto loose from Bono to proclaim "Every generation gets a chance to change the world"
• Sunday Mail: «Thumping drums, pulsing bass and piano get this potential single off the launch pad. Musically, it has all the trademarks of a U2 classic with another soaring Bono vocal and great "Woo-oo" hook on the chorus.»
• Perfectly Cromulent: «Awesome in spite of immensely stupid title. Bono hits crazy high notes in chorus. Is this song addressed to anyone in particular? A party girl who longs for a quiet life, but we want her to perform, part of us wants her to go crazy! She’s a rainbow! Leave her alone. A Beatlesque guitar figure, building a very sweet, pop melody and into a rousing "Baby, baby, baby" chorus. Will absolutely kill live, "I think I’ll go crazy if I don’t go crazy tonight!" Stomping again. Good good.»


6. "Get On Your Boots"

• - Q-source: «among other instantly striking tracks»; «a heaving electro-rocker that may mark the destination point the band had been seeking on Pop»
• - Q-magazine: «formerly titled "Sexy Boots", this demented electro grunge employs a proto-rock’n'roll riff, but propelled into the future, with a hip-hop twist in the middle. Features Bono in flirtacious, self depreciating mode: "I dont wanna talk about wars between nations"
• - RS-source: «the likely first single, this blazing, fuzzed-out rocker picks up where "Vertigo" left of». «"It started just with me playing and Larry drumming", the Edge recalls - "And we took it from there"»
• - RS-article: «with a furry monster of a fuzz-guitar riff»; «power chords that, per Bono, echo the Damned's "New Rose"»; «verses that share a rhythm with "Subterranean Homesick Blues"; and a chorus that mixes whimsy and ardor: "Get on your boots / Sexy boots / You don't know how beautiful you are"». «"150 beats per minute, three minutes, the fastest song we've ever played", Bono says, playing the tune at deafening volume in an airy studio lounge after dinner. "We're not really ready for adult-contemporary just yet".»
• - Alan Cross in his "twitter"-blog I: «expected to be heard on the radio within ten days, maybe sooner»; «a lot of electronic sounds»; «Larry plays some kind of electronic drums too»; «Bono rhymes "submarine" with "gasoline"»; «the original title was "Sexy Boots", then it was "Get Your Boots On", now it's "Get On Your Boots”.»
• - Alan Cross in his "twitter"-blog II: «some new sounds, that could only come from an Eno/Lanois production»; «left me with a feeling similar to what I experienced when I heard "The Fly" for the first time»; «not a back-to-basics guitar/bass/drums track like "Vertigo" or even "Beautiful Day"; there’s some definite sonic evolution going on here»; «it does rock (no ballad)»; «Bono manages to rhyme "submarine" with "gasoline"»; «there’s a portion of the melody that somehow reminds me of the cadence of the verses in Elvis Costello’s "Pump It Up", but as I write this, I’m not completely sure»; «part of the song reminded me of… something else»; «Did I like it? I didn’t hate it — but I need to hear it more before I really make up my mind about what I think about… anything to do with the song»; «filled with far more subtleties and complexities that anyone can hear with one listen»
• - skott100: «opens with a drum fill, not unlike "Young Folks" by Peter, Bjorn & John»; «signature riff is muscular and catchy in the "Vertigo" vein, with a rapid fire vocal pattern»; «Alan Cross compared the verses to "Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello, and I can't say I disagree with that. It's evocative but I wouldn't call it a rip-off»; «chorus goes all middle-eastern with Bono singing "You don't know how beautiful you are"»; «half-tempo breakdown/bridge with a processed drum loop... like John Bonham playing on a Massive Attack song before the song lurches back into the main riff for another verse and chorus»; «feels like a dense 7 minute epic crammed into about 3 and a half minutes»; «most striking are the drums»; «never heard so many layers of rhythm on a U2 song»; «a lot of very processed drums (I thought of Kasabian at one point and N*E*R*D* at another) and loops going on, coming in and out of the mix»; «at points it goes back to traditional sounding drums for emphasis»; «extremely tasteful, but complex enough to make my head spin»; «this is not U2 by the numbers»; «not a "return to form" or "back to basics"»; «this is, what the kids like to call, some OTHER shit»; «the 21st Century version of U2»; «hey aren't looking back to their own catalog for inspiration anymore, if this song is any indication»
• - Dave Fanning: «the "Vertigo" of the album - although a completely different kind of song»; «it’s very U2»; «a big song with lots of layers but not overproduced»; «great track»
• - Daniel Lanois: «a hell of a groove»; «some of the sounds were provided by The Edge himself. The main guitar parts»; «some nice bits of processing in there, there is a a little sound that sort of scoots by, like a high speed sound effect, that’s one that was born through the process of studio manipulation, and it’s one that stuck»; «a nice interesting mixture of technology and hand-played drums»; «there is a separate track that features kind of a bass drum loop that we did of Larry, and it runs along side of the main kit and is featured in certain sections of it»; «the marriage of hand-played and the electro combination»
• - u2tour.de: «fits perfectly in the album's flow»; «awakens new life while providing a little musical recreation»; «not quite as dense and complex in structure as the previous tracks»
• Brunocam: «It is the single in advance, the subject most virulent of the whole disc and one of the most powerful and fastest-ever of the quartet, mixed strident guitar rock & roll, and a synthetic elements that Bono shouted: "Get on your boots / Sexy boots / You do not know how beautiful you are"
• Perfectly Cromulent: «Here’s the Elvis Costello song. This is so damn catchy. The tried and tested U2 trick of a lead single not really indicative of the rest of the album. Still love that glam rock riff.»


7. "Stand Up Comedy"

• - Q-source: «swaggering»; «wherein U2 get in touch with their, hitherto unheard, funky selves - albeit propelled by some coruscating Edge guitar work, a signature feature of a number of the tracks»; «home to the knowing Bono lyric, "Stand up to rock stars / Napoleon is in high heels / Be careful of small men with big ideas"
• - Q-magazine: «rousing groove-based rocker with shades of Led Zep and Cream. Edge mentions that they're trying to keep "Stand Up" in a rough state and not overproduce it by putting it through Pro-Tools which cleans up imperfections»
• - RS-source: «another hard rock tune, powered by an unexpectedly slinky groove and a riff that lands between the Beatles' "Come Together" and Led Zep's "Heartbreaker". Edge recently hung out with Jimmy Page and Jack White for the upcoming documentary It Might Get Loud, and their penchant for blues-based rock rubbed off: "I was just fascinated with seeing how Jimmy played those riffs so simply, and with Jack as well", he says»
• - RS-article: «the words, which he keeps revising, have an almost hip-hop-like cadence: "Stand up, 'cause you can't sit down (...) Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady (...) Come on, you people, stand up for your love"; «"We haven't quite gotten this right, and I'm the problem", Bono says of the tune, which is called "Stand Up Comedy" — at least for the moment. "Tomorrow it will have new lyrics".»; «the groove is slinkier than anything U2 have done in years.»
• - Dave Fanning: "the nearest thing they’ve ever done to Led Zeppelin"
• - Independent: «grungy pop with strident drumming from Larry Mullen»
• - u2tour.de: «A song that shows the influence of the sessions of The Edge, together with guitarist Jack White and Jimi Page for the film It Might Get Loud had. "Stand Up Comedy" seems like straight from the 70s and could also fit on the soundtrack to Across The Universe. A very rock, a catchy number, has all, a single needs. Here is finally The Edge on fire.»
• - Brunocam: «Another rocker, noisy and powerful. Bono pulls the voice, but it's the guitar that dominates. The fact that The Edge has participated in a documentary with Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) seems to have left marks, so the guitar evokes the Zeppelin of other times. To the original title - "Stand up", alluding to the humanist movement The Stand Up and Take Action Against Poverty - was added "comedy" and listening to the song it is perceived why, what seems to be a moment of self-irony of Bono: "On a voyage of discovery stand up to rock stars, Napoleon is in high heels / Josephine, be careful of small men with big ideas".»
• Sunday Mail: «This proves the group are huge Led Zeppelin fans because Edge's guitar riff has a real Jimmy Page feel. In terms of being musically adventurous, it's not for the faint-hearted and definitely up there with "Exit" from The Joshua Tree in 1987.»
• Perfectly Cromulent: «Dreading this, the worst of the superbad titles. Then, huge Led Zepplin riff, into Stone Roses groove. Most Achtung Baby-like track, big celebratory rock song, amazingly good. We’re at a peace rally, "Stand up for your love". A big crunchy bass line and McCartney-infused melodies. "Stand up to rock stars". A pattern emerges: the worse the title, the better the song.»


8. "Fez -- Being Born"

• - Billboard: «more experimental fare»
• - Independent: «on first listen, easily the album's most adventurous and challenging track with ambient synthy hooks»
• - u2tour.de: «The first minute, only electronic set pieces to hear»; «a phone ringing, a sample from "Get On Your Boots" - until then, the actual song starts». «Edge's guitar classic, keyboards set, before Bono's voice only restless, then to fast beats, melodically intervenes»; «partial U2 sound here unconsumed and crude as the early 80s on their first singles»; «in the middle part sound synthetic and almost reminiscent of Depeche Mode»; «But the guitar is the direction, Bono with few vocals»
• - Brunocam: «The African experience - recorded in Fez, Morocco - is the subject, one of the best and most adventurous. "Six o'clock on the autoroute / Burning rubber, burning chrome / Boy of Cadiz and ferry home / Atlantic sea cut glass / African Sun at last" Bono launches, through a compact sound architecture. It is perhaps the one that best summarizes the album, combining the spirit of direct rock and recent rib adventurous 90s.»

• Perfectly Cromulent:
«Sounds like a crowded marketplace, phones are ringing. Recycles "(...)Boots'" "let me in the sound", underwater. Eno all over. Flat out, exceedingly weird. Blips and noise, Passengers return. Ok, new song. A militaristic shuffle propels uptempo rock. No discernible hook but instead weaves a sound, layers of keyboard and chiming notes. Many voiced chorus. Eno totally out there.»

• - If it is identical with the working title track "Tripoli", we do know more: -
• - Q-magazine: «Bono talks about a song called "Tripoli", which is a guy on a motorcycle, a Moraccan french cop, who’s going AWOL. He drives though France and Spain down to this village outside of Cadiz where you can actually see the fires of Africa burning»
• - RS-source: «this strikingly experimental song lurches between disparate styles, including near-operatic choral music, Zooropa-style electronics, and churning arena rock»
• RS-article: «ambitious possible album opener, which violently lurches between different sections»; «after-dark song»; «one of those tunes, where, Bono says, "we allow our interest in electronic music, in Can, Neu! and Kraftwerk, to come out".»


9. "White As Snow"

• - identical with the working title track "Winter" (white snow = winter), so we do know more about it.
• - Q-source: «featuring a fine Bono lyric about a soldier in an unspecified war zone, surrounded by a deceptively simple rhythm track and an evocative string arrangement courtesy of Eno»
• - Q-magazine: «6 minute ballad. Echoes of Simon & Garfunkel in this poignant, acoustic string laden ballad about a soldier in the snow of Afghanistan. Will appear in the new film Brothers starring Tobey Maguire about the emotional fallout of the war. Edge on backing vocals with Bono for "Winter".»
• RS-article: «lovely discarded ballad»
• - Independent: «a stark, stripped back and striking tune with imploring vocals»
• - u2tour.de: «This quiet and short track leads almost the end of the album»; «starts with an atmospheric electronic noise, through which the sound of a soulful acoustic guitar sets»; «it is expected formally supporting the voice of Johnny Cash, but Bono is using his voice here similarly intense». «The song is about forgiveness and how your own brother can become a stranger to you». «Musically reminiscent in parts of "Springhill Mining Disaster"»
• Brunocam: «Atmospheric acoustic ballad, about a soldier lost in snow in Afghanistan. "Where I came from there were no hills at all / The land was flat, straight highway and the wider / My brother and i would drive for hours" recalls Bono, travel by the mind of a soldier lost in their memories, in an epic track.»
• Perfectly Cromulent: «Piano playing a lullaby. Spare, Johnny Cash guitar. This is what "The Wanderer" might have been like had he recorded it. Intro sounds like the Necks. Bono does Nick Cave. A murder ballad: "My brother and I would drive for hours" / "The water was icy, the road refuses strangers"/ "They were hunting in the woods". Hypnotically slow narration. I can see this rapidly becoming one of my favourite ever U2 songs. Like nothing they’ve ever done. Please make a bare-bones country album one day.»


10. "Breathe"

• - Q-source: «particular excitement was reserved for»; «still a work in progress»; «Eno suggests, this is potentially both the best song the band had written and that he had worked on»
• - Q-magazine: «Arabic cello gives way to joyful chorus. Brian Eno says this is U2's best ever song. It's 8pm and Eno, Bono and Will.i.am are on Olympic Studio 1 writing a cello part for a song called "Breathe" that U2 - a touch ambitiously - are only beginning to record in ths final fortnight, never mind mix – the singer belts out a rollicking vocal featuring door-to-door salesman, a cockatoo and a chorus that begins "Step out into the street, sing your heart out"
• - RS-article: «tweaks on his computer what he [The Edge] estimates to be the 80th incarnation»
• - Independent: «starts off with a trip-hop beat and cello playing before transforming into an all-out rocker»
• - u2tour.de: «booming drums open this song»; «Bono on the fast»; «only the chorus is like a U2 classic»; «a dense and intense sound experience, which recalls carefully "Until The End Of The World"»; «the song is known "Beachclip No. 2".»
• - Brunocam: «Eastern slow start with allusions to the level of the arrangements, but then there is a growing continuum of intensity, what is the favorite song of producer Brian Eno. It is indicative of a more complex disc - each song integrates various dynamics - that his two predecessors.»
• Perfectly Cromulent: «Wacky time signature (16/9?) band and Bono come crashing in, Bono is trying to out Dylan with free-form rapid fire choruses. Time straightens out into massively catchy 3/4 chorus ("Walk out, into the street/ Sing your heart, see my heart out"). Huge guitar line, Achtung Baby x Joshua Tree. Strings and piano join, Bono reaching his upper register in an unabashedly uplifting chorus up there with U2’s best melodies. I wish this would go forever. I can see Bono belting this with his face up to the sky and that beatific grin, as 60,000 people join in. Crazy if this isn’t a single.»

11. "Cedars Of Lebanon"

• - Q-magazine: «Daniel Lanois instigated closer that finds Bono imagining himself as a weary, lovelorn war correspondent squeezing complicated lives into a simple headline». «Ends with the possibly telling line "Choose your enemies carefully cos they will define you"
• - RS-source: «"On this album, you can feel what is going on in the world at the window, scratching at the windowpane", says Bono, who sings this atmospheric ballad from the point of view of a war correspondent»
• - Independent: «a reflective parting glass for album number 12, finishing on the line, "Choose your enemies carefully because they will define you"
• - u2tour.de: «gloomy keyboards, backed by minimalist lead guitar playing the last song on the album»; «Bono speaks more than he sings and acts very dominant on this track. Drip-end beats and a strong bass line reminding of "If You Were That Velvet Dress". Bono sings from the perspective of a war reporter in Lebanon and the recurring line "Return the call to home" sounds like a distant, electronic noise»
• - Brunocam: «Bono wears the role of a war correspondent for atmospheric evocation not far from songs like "With or without you". The tone is confessional, the reflective verses end: "Choose your enemies carefully 'cos they will define you / Make them interesting 'cos in some ways they will mind you / They're not there in the beginning but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friend"
• - Sunday Mail: «Bono almost speaks his vocal over a more hymnal, hypnotic backing which leads to a beautiful, almost choral, hook. Some atmospheric Edge guitar creeps in and builds the mood. This song is so good you don't want it to end. A fitting finale to a classic U2 album.»

• - Perfectly Cromulent: «Bono is in deep-talking sexy mode, like "If You Wear That Velvet Dress". Bluesy keys and guitar build a very sombre mood, this album is ending on a heavy, downbeat note as the best U2 albums always have (even heavier than "Wake Up Dead Man"/"Love is Blindness" which are equally a little like being hit in the head with a shovel.) A war correspondent recalls a litany of shit and his now disjointed senses, but "The shitty world sometimes produces a rose" bringing small note of stubborn optimism. Bono neatly slays the entire profession of journalism: "The best of us are masters of compression". Yikes. Definitively proves crap title equals killer track rule.»


//TRÊS: Uma das coisas que reparei em todas as reviews é a ocorrência em diversas vezes da ideia de “call/calling” (bem como de telefones em “Fez – Being Born” ou de cantos de pássaros como vocativo), havendo até uma canção intitulada “Unknown Caller”. Significado disso?
Saberemos daqui a menos de um mês.

A duração do álbum é de cerca de 57 minutos e algumas versões especiais fecham com uma segunda versão (mais atmosférica e mais lenta) da faixa-título de abertura, "No Line On The Horizon".


//QUATRO: [An analytical summary of NLOTH from the journalist's view, with the tunes in a casual running-order: A) First the Q-source from November visiting the Olympic Studios and a private session with Bono ...
B) The Q-magazine snippets, that might capture nearly the same period than the first source and might have the same roots as contribution for Q's special ...
C) The RS-review of the tracks from early December (with the wrong date, 22nd January, but claiming to be part of the 7th January issue!!!)
D) The current RS-article (07-Jan-2009), that was obviosuly written on the same occasion as the RS-review. This article confirms our impression here in the forum, that the time, Q and RS visited U2, the work was far from finished. One consequence: At least in parts the known album tracks are 'only' working titles; to create a tracklist for NLOTH out of this, is pure speculation. “We're at the point where half the album is done, and half the album is in a state where anything can happen — and probably will” – says the Edge and thus, this is all we know here on the board regarding the different tunes...
E) The detailed (and officially by the mangement allowed?) Alan Cross statements and impressions on the new single "Get On Your Boots", who's yet to be the first known to us journalist, who obviously has listened to the track (Twitter / alancross).
F) The 2nd detailed review of the single by skott100 (I got on "Boots" this morning! (Single review))
G) Including the official tracklist, confirmed by u2.com and new descriptions by billboard.com
H) Dave Fanning's reviews
I) Daniel Lanois in an interview with Alan Cross
J) "Independent article", that refers to the album's playback in Dublin on St. Stephen's Greeen (29-Jan-09)
K) The review on "www.u2tour.de" (in rough translation from German in English), that unfortunately doesn't tell us much more about the album's themes & lyrics, but at least about the sounds. The reviewer wants to confirm: "Fez" is NOT "Tripoli"! – which might be true or not. I don't believe the source on u2tour.de, instead I do think "Fez" is identical with "Tripoli" (the 'Cadiz', 'landscape', 'journey'-theme is so striking and it would be strange, if U2 had written two 'experimental' tunes with the same topic. So I left the descriptions for "Tripoli" in ...)
L) A reviewer's translation from Brunocam, that gives us more insight in the lyrics
M) Sunday Mail and Perfectly Cromulent.]

9 comentários:

poor guy fashion victim disse...

BRAVO!!!!

Anónimo disse...

Oias, reparei que tinhas colocado esta colecção de reviews no site da Blitz, e já vi por lá muitos post's teus. Só para te avisar que esse brunocam , é o meu nickname no forum do interference, e escusavas de colocar a review em ingles, pk ela está disponível no site do publico no suplemento do ipsilon na nossa língua lollll. Foi a partir de lá que traduzi.É fácil ter-te escapado pois é muita informação neste momento. Um abraço, de uma grande fa da banda tb.
Bruno

Zunkruft disse...

Oi Bruno! De facto tenho visto muito um 'brunocam' no 'Where The Album Has A Name'.

Eu já tinha lido o artigo da Ipsilon, mas não fazia ideia de que o 'Brunocam' era português (há poucos por lá).
Se reparares bem, este artigo aqui no blog é apenas a compilação de diversas reviews das mais importantes publicações/páginas online (que foi originalmente publicada num dos Sticky Topics no topo da página do Interference), já que, muitas delas oferecem pontos de vista distintos umas das outras relativamente às canções.
Vou optar por não publicar, por enquanto, a tradução, para que o artigo fique coerente e (quase) integralmente em inglês.

É sempre óptimo ter por aqui a comentar outros fãs, principalmente se presentes no Interference! ;)

Hugz...

Anónimo disse...

Sim eu já tinha reparado que no fórum do interference também tinha lá uma compilação. Eu só te disse, porque podia ter-te escapado. De facto há poucos fãs portugueses no fórum, mas o que importa é que sejamos bons. Já agora, visto que tu pareces sempre muito bem informado, há alguma novidade em relação a um concerto em Portugal. Começo a ficar preocupado, tantos rumores de datas para a Europa, e de Portugal nada. Acho que vamos ter de começar a enviar uns mails à Ritmos & Blues a pressionar :)
Cumprimentos,
Bruno

Zunkruft disse...

Bem, se for para voltar a repetir a merda de organização de há 4 anos e para voltar a desviar 45% dos ingressos para patrocinadores, CEO's, amiguinhos e amiguinhos-dos-amiguinhos, forget it. Se for para isso, prefiro comprar bilhete para um dos shows no estrangeiro e aproveitar para lá passar uns dias... lol

Mas de facto, surgem rumores sobre datas em diversas cidades (até na Europa de Leste) e no nosso Portugalete... zero.

Eu já fui membro bastante activo, tanto do Interference, tanto do Blitz.
No Interference ainda "posto", mas já não há paciência para os fãs americanos que julgam que o mundo gira em torno deles (e que continuam a achar que 60% da digressão para eles está ok) e para alguns nomes (alguns já bem antigos) que me fazem lembrar os meninos traquinas e sem piada da turma da 3ª classe.
No Blitz... nem preciso de dizer porque é que nem vale a pena lá comentar já... lol

Cumpz! ;)

Anónimo disse...

É bem verdade, a organização foi uma porcaria ha 4 anos, tanto bilhete desviado e depois tive de andar 3 dias numa bomba para comprar bilhete. Na era da Internet isto é tipico de país do terceiro mundo. Tenho esperança que mesmo assim consigam arranjar para virem cá, caso contrário vou tentar barcelona, que parece que vao tocar lá 2 noites :) . O pessoal de forums irrita mesmo, qq coisa e já estão a discutir, mas apesar de tudo ainda há malta porreira por lá.

Zunkruft disse...

Barcelona não é má ideia. Mas tendo em conta que a tournée arranca lá...
Eu continuo algo relutante relativamente ao facto de a digressão arrancar na Europa. É sabido que os primeiros concertos de uma digressão dos U2 são sempre os piores, e como a banda não gosta muito de ensaiar, os primeiros concertos são os verdadeiros ensaios.

Anónimo disse...

Bem verdade, basta ver a actuação deles ontem. Até gostei da energia e tal mas o Bono parecia que estava a abafar.

Zunkruft disse...

A impressão que me deu foi que o "Bono parecer que estava abafado" foi exclusiva culpa da equipa de som e de quem fez a mixagem das pistas de som para esta performance.

Mas gostei, Bono a todo o gás, bem diferente.