U2 -- Songs of Innocence
9/10
I was wrong. I don't know what else to say. In 2014, when U2's Songs of Innocence automatically downloaded itself to everyone on Earth's iTunes account, I thought U2 had finally completed the process of selling out. The masses were hating on the band in 2014 even harder than they were back in 1997, when the band had released the much maligned (and misunderstood) Pop.
My overwhelming feeling in 2014 was that the one band who had been, up to that point, indispensable to my life, had finally released something that was totally disposable--I mean, Songs of Innocence begins with a millennial whoop! What were they thinking?! It tried to get into the album and even found some bright spots, but by the close of the year, found that my negative emotions just weren't allowing me into Songs of Innocence. I dismissed it. I was wrong. Songs of Innocence might just be the best thing U2 have released in the 21st Century. I am entertaining thoughts that it might be better than All That You Can't Leave Behind.
The millennial whoop which kicks off opening track, "The Mirarcle (of Joey Ramone)" was indeed a barrier. However, a single thought eventually got me through that. Gorillaz' 2005 album, Demon Days, will be on the "Favorite 25 Albums" list I will release when I finally finish these reviews. You can count on it. My barrier-breaking thought was: Danger Mouse produced Demon Days. Demon Days is one of your favorite all-time albums. He also produced Songs of Innocence. Maybe there's more here.
With that thought in mind, and my bias against the album faded, I threw on Songs of Innocence.
No, "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" is not the greatest U2 album opener ever. However, it is a heartfelt track, a tribute to an epiphany a young Bono had after sneaking out to a Ramones concert, and it's got a fun, crunchy, over-peaked main guitar riff from the Edge. It's a solid song, even with that damn (extremely non-punk) whoop tossed into the song's intro and outro--and after this song, that whoop never makes another appearance.
The album immediately changes gears to the deeper, darker, more atmospheric "Every Breaking Wave," which starts at a quiet, yet driving tempo, and includes at its start, some Bono gems like "Every gambler knows/that to lose/is what you're really there for." The song eventually builds to a lovely, great big U2 chorus, with nice, sort of contemplative pauses after each one. Starting with this song, you really get that cinematic flair of a Danger Mouse-produced album. Best of all, though, these touches augment U2's core sound instead of overwhelming it. That cinematic feeling, as well as that driving tempo U2 can always kill, continues on into the next track, "California (There Is No End to Love)," which opens with miraculous vocal harmonies that are somehow both upbeat and melancholy. It's at this moment that I start to notice that Songs of Innocence has a very naked, underlying, open vein of pain, feeding a wounded, but steadfast heart beating beneath these songs. This is what ends up giving Songs of Innocence a bit of a transcendent quality. These songs were meant to detail the band members' youth, and it's really the end of innocence that feels like it's being documented, as romantic relationships are born and fretted over, music opens up new worlds, and the violence of Ireland's Troubles seems to loom around every corner.
Songs of Innocence's most emotionally powerful moment comes with track four, "Song for Someone." Here, Bono deftly performs that incredible high-wire trick of making the song sound like it's to:
God
A woman
Himself
All at once, generally, and specifically. Again, the song is tinged with both pain and hope, as Bono pleads in the chorus...ah, fuck, here are all the lyrics and a musical description:
(Verse 1 Quiet picking by the Edge + subtle keyboards)
You got a face not spoiled by beauty
I have some scars from where I've been
You've got eyes that can see right through me
You're not afraid of anything they've seen
[Pre-Chorus 1, with a beautiful harmony behind it]
I was told that I would feel
Nothing the first time
I don't know how these cuts heal
But in you I found a rhyme
[Chorus 1 and here comes the whole band doing their U2 thing]
If there is a light you can't always see
And there is a world we can't always be
If there is a dark that we shouldn't doubt
And there is a light, don't let it go out
(Bono doing the soaring vocals now)
And this is a song, a song for someone
This is a song, a song for someone
[Verse 2 the whole band is hanging around, but playing quietly so you can clearly hear Bono]
You let me in to a conversation
A conversation only we could make
You're breaking into my imagination
Whatever's in there, it's yours to take
[Pre-Chorus 2]
I was told I would feel
Nothing the first time
You were slow to heal
But this could be the night
[Chorus 2]
If there is a light you can't always see
And there is a world we can't always be
If there is a dark within and without
And there is a light, don't let it go out
And this is a song, a song for someone
This is a song, this is a song for someone
(I think this is the time for a big Edge solo, and apparently so does U2 because here it is)
[Outro with just Bono's singing, guitar, and keyboard]
And I'm a long, long way from your hill of Calvary
And I'm a long way from where I was, where I need to be
If there is a light you can't always see
And there is a world we can't always be
If there is a kiss I stole from your mouth
And there is a light, don't let it go out
I guess you could accuse this song of being too U2, but that's like accusing a pure gold bar of being too heavy. This is U2 doing what U2 does the best, and you don't have to just take my word for it because U2 themselves brought the chorus from this song back to end their NEXT album, and commissioned not just one but TWO videos for it, the second an extended version featuring a Woody Harrelson performance so powerful, if it doesn't evoke tears from you, I am scared you are the type of person who would murder me in a back alley.
U2 keep these vibes going with "Iris (Hold Me Close)," a song that's at once melancholy AND a joyful celebration of Bono's mother, who died when he was only 14. The song again begins with angelic vocal harmonies before building to a more driving, prototypical U2 song (outside of the weird electronic backings in the pre-chours, which aren't prototypical U2). It's a beautiful, haunting song, particularly when Bono ends the second chorus with the line "The universe is beautiful, but cold." They then keep the momentum going with "Volcano," another driving song, this time built on an incredibly fun, drop-D Adam Clayton bassline, and meant to invoke the anger that comes after loss.
This more angry lyrical mood continues, but the music shifts into a more aggressive shuffle with "Raised by Wolves," a great track about the violence Bono experienced in 1970's Ireland. This leads to the more sentimental, yet still edgy (!) punch of "Cedarwood Road." Bono does a great job throughout this album of adding personal details from his own adolescence, while still keeping the album universal. Yes, I think I've said that already, but this balance really stands strong in this song, where Bono's name-checking streets and even specific trees he remembers.
(Verse 1 Quiet picking by the Edge + subtle keyboards)
You got a face not spoiled by beauty
I have some scars from where I've been
You've got eyes that can see right through me
You're not afraid of anything they've seen
[Pre-Chorus 1, with a beautiful harmony behind it]
I was told that I would feel
Nothing the first time
I don't know how these cuts heal
But in you I found a rhyme
[Chorus 1 and here comes the whole band doing their U2 thing]
If there is a light you can't always see
And there is a world we can't always be
If there is a dark that we shouldn't doubt
And there is a light, don't let it go out
(Bono doing the soaring vocals now)
And this is a song, a song for someone
This is a song, a song for someone
[Verse 2 the whole band is hanging around, but playing quietly so you can clearly hear Bono]
You let me in to a conversation
A conversation only we could make
You're breaking into my imagination
Whatever's in there, it's yours to take
[Pre-Chorus 2]
I was told I would feel
Nothing the first time
You were slow to heal
But this could be the night
[Chorus 2]
If there is a light you can't always see
And there is a world we can't always be
If there is a dark within and without
And there is a light, don't let it go out
And this is a song, a song for someone
This is a song, this is a song for someone
(I think this is the time for a big Edge solo, and apparently so does U2 because here it is)
[Outro with just Bono's singing, guitar, and keyboard]
And I'm a long, long way from your hill of Calvary
And I'm a long way from where I was, where I need to be
If there is a light you can't always see
And there is a world we can't always be
If there is a kiss I stole from your mouth
And there is a light, don't let it go out
I guess you could accuse this song of being too U2, but that's like accusing a pure gold bar of being too heavy. This is U2 doing what U2 does the best, and you don't have to just take my word for it because U2 themselves brought the chorus from this song back to end their NEXT album, and commissioned not just one but TWO videos for it, the second an extended version featuring a Woody Harrelson performance so powerful, if it doesn't evoke tears from you, I am scared you are the type of person who would murder me in a back alley.
U2 keep these vibes going with "Iris (Hold Me Close)," a song that's at once melancholy AND a joyful celebration of Bono's mother, who died when he was only 14. The song again begins with angelic vocal harmonies before building to a more driving, prototypical U2 song (outside of the weird electronic backings in the pre-chours, which aren't prototypical U2). It's a beautiful, haunting song, particularly when Bono ends the second chorus with the line "The universe is beautiful, but cold." They then keep the momentum going with "Volcano," another driving song, this time built on an incredibly fun, drop-D Adam Clayton bassline, and meant to invoke the anger that comes after loss.
This more angry lyrical mood continues, but the music shifts into a more aggressive shuffle with "Raised by Wolves," a great track about the violence Bono experienced in 1970's Ireland. This leads to the more sentimental, yet still edgy (!) punch of "Cedarwood Road." Bono does a great job throughout this album of adding personal details from his own adolescence, while still keeping the album universal. Yes, I think I've said that already, but this balance really stands strong in this song, where Bono's name-checking streets and even specific trees he remembers.
Next, the band really change things up at just the right time, with track nine, "Sleep Like a Baby Tonight," a seething number about an abusive priest that comes in a quiet, bluesy package, like a dark lullaby that promises unspoken justice, and featuring one of Edge's most underrated solos--one those trademarked moments which proves, while Edge might not play 10,000 notes in 20 seconds, he can squeeze maximum emotion from the exact necessary notes.
Next up is penultimate track, and strangely forgettable ode to The Clash, "This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now." The song is upbeat, and doesn't bog down, but doesn't really do anything interesting. I often find myself spacing out until it ends. My attention immediately gets peaked when album closer, "The Troubles" begins, though. U2 don't do a ton of duets, but when Lykke Li's voice kicks off "The Troubles," it's clear this is going to be a great match. "The Troubles" is a slower song, where Bono's lyrics double-duty between what could be perceived as both Ireland's troubles and a specific relationship's struggles. Bono is good at writing lyrics. This song really lets Danger Mouse take over, which is fine considering this is the finale. The strings, ancient sounding R&B programmed beat, and Edge's wah-wah bluesy guitar barely sound like U2, but they feel perfect in the context of ending an album that's all about a youthful perspective evolving into that of an adult.
Look, this album's really great. I messed up. I think it's hard to even currently communicate the technological reason for why the world was so angry at U2 back in 2014. Barely anyone downloads music to their devices anymore. In a streaming world, miraculously, Songs of Innocence just appears as any other album in U2's catalogue. And it's a damn good one.
2014 Island/Interscope
1. The Miracle (of Joey Ramone) 4:16
Next up is penultimate track, and strangely forgettable ode to The Clash, "This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now." The song is upbeat, and doesn't bog down, but doesn't really do anything interesting. I often find myself spacing out until it ends. My attention immediately gets peaked when album closer, "The Troubles" begins, though. U2 don't do a ton of duets, but when Lykke Li's voice kicks off "The Troubles," it's clear this is going to be a great match. "The Troubles" is a slower song, where Bono's lyrics double-duty between what could be perceived as both Ireland's troubles and a specific relationship's struggles. Bono is good at writing lyrics. This song really lets Danger Mouse take over, which is fine considering this is the finale. The strings, ancient sounding R&B programmed beat, and Edge's wah-wah bluesy guitar barely sound like U2, but they feel perfect in the context of ending an album that's all about a youthful perspective evolving into that of an adult.
Look, this album's really great. I messed up. I think it's hard to even currently communicate the technological reason for why the world was so angry at U2 back in 2014. Barely anyone downloads music to their devices anymore. In a streaming world, miraculously, Songs of Innocence just appears as any other album in U2's catalogue. And it's a damn good one.
2014 Island/Interscope
1. The Miracle (of Joey Ramone) 4:16
2. Every Breaking Wave 4:13
3. California
(There Is No End to Love) 4:00
4. Song for Someone 3:47
5. Iris (Hold Me Close) 5:20
6. Volcano 3:15
7. Raised by Wolves 4:06
8. Cedarwood Road 4:26
9. Sleep Like a Baby Tonight 5:02
10. This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now 5:06
11. The Troubles 4:46
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