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November 2000

In trepidation I was waiting the release of this new U2 album. Reading some reviews I read that it was a return to the origins, after having left noise of Zooropa and Pop. And there were good makings: the first single, Beautiful Day was a small charge of powerful energy, back with the sounds of The Edge's guitar and the melody was clean and catchy. Good bases for a return to rock.

But after having listened to it several times, unfortunately, the disappointment reigns. It is not an awful album, it's well executed and the music is pleasantly fluent. But it's a soppy, sickly music with refrains like those of teens bands. Thinking that U2 are no more able to find themselves after masterpieces like The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum and Achtung Baby leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Since the second song you can have a rather clear idea of these U2 in a their new Boyzone, pop version. Light gospel song, catchy, with a refrain sadly sugary and ordinary. With Elevation you can have a little shake, music is more connected to Achtung Baby, the irresistible dancing rhythm is mixed with words with charming rhymes (At the corner of your lips, as the orbit of your hips). The melody is again lyric, epic and tormented in Walk on and especially in Kite, perhaps, after Beautiful Day, the best song of this album. Bono's voice is really wonderful and gives a great performance and you can feel again, finally, short guitar solos.
With a bluesy guitar arpeggio begins In A Little While, much catchy, with Bono's voice more and more acute and hoarse and almost crackling. Dreams and hope for a good work break up soon, with Wild Honey, with a nearly country rhythm, a dull melody and words full of molasses (In the days when we were swinging from the trees I was a monkey stealing honey from a swarm of bees). Horrible. An invite to sleepiness is obvious with the light oratory song Piece on Earth (but where are gone the U2 of Sunday Bloody Sunday and Please ???). It wakes up a little with When I look at the world, with more deep sounds and less soppy, but the next one, New York, leaves me absolutely indifferent, without giving me strong emotions. 

The nearly lullaby Grace, finally, sends us to bed dreaming for better albums ... I hope !!

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