I happen to like this album. It's not an easy listen and challenges the listener. Breathe is probably my favorite song. The 6/8 time signature and the hard rhythm of the vocals with the guitar live having its own melody. Not to mention I think it's one of The Edge's best solo. NLOTH is also a guitar tour de force on the album.
Next album it's supposed to be most diferent of U2's career. People usually say that the best album is Joshua Tree. It's fantastic. But the very best thing about U2 is that they reinvent themselves on every album or, at least, every decade. About a month ago Adam said to an interview that their "rival" were not Rolling Stones, or Bruce Springsteen but Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire, Franz Ferdinand... Can't wait for next album!!
I hadn’t even heard of this album until about a month ago but now I love every single song and I’m left wondering how on earth did I not know this album existed?
Very good song as I said once here. But now that I'm watching the video again I think the light the claw does during the song is not the right one. I mean, in 2:22 should be like the begining of Where The Streets Haven No Name. Full of lights showing the people U2 rocks!
I have no problem with the album but compared to gems like Achtung Baby it doesn't even compare. I have no issue with U2 changing their sound and each time they have they have produced a fantastic album. For example when they when they changed their sound in 1984 they came up with Unforgettable Fire which was an incredible album. When they did it again in 1991 they had Achtung Baby which is my all time favourite. When they decided to "de-digitalise" their sound back from Pop, they released All That You Can't Leave Behind in 2000. Now I don't dislike the album, some songs like "Moment of Surrender", "Unknown Caller", and "I'll Go Crazy.." are great. But the album in general is lacklustre compared to their previous efforts. My hopes are still up for 2014 though as I do like the song "Ordinary Love".
It is alright, got some great tunes (Magnificent, I'll go crazy), but fails as an album in comparison to Achtung, Unforgetable Fire, Joshua Tree, All that you can't leave behind or even atomic bomb for that matter. It lacks substance in the second half of the album. Get On Your Boots was a poor attempt at re-writing Vertigo. Stand Up Comedy was just boring and the rest of the album fails to stand out. Compare that to say Achtung, the album is easily listened to start to finish, rises and falls very well, and starts and finishes unconventionally compared to their previous efforts at the time. The other albums I have mentioned also seems to have more solid songwriting. The 360 tour was great and was very successful but not in promoting the album they were touring, by the Australian leg Unknown Caller and No Line (the song) were both scrapped from the set in favour of older songs. The revival of Zooropa stood out more. It is clear and apparent that it is one of the weaker U2 albums.
Ratón Reid Definitely not as good as ATYCLB, this is petty much the consensus among the majority of the U2 audience. Atomic bomb was okay, I'm not going to argue the toss on that though. ATYCLB though, it's basically irrefutable that it's better. No Line is very empty from the middle of the album onwards. It opens strong but finishes in a ditch. After you discard Elevation, the rest of ATYCLB is a great album. Some of U2's best songwriting is in this album. The songs have good lyrics (with the exception of Elevation) and flows very well. There are some very memorable tracks on that album. Granted though Achtung is better. There is a reason that they kept dropping songs from No Line over the course of the tour.
Macconator2010 It's a fact, Achtung Baby is a masterpiece never to be topped. But I think now it's a question of taste. I love ATYCLB, and Elevation (I agree it has stupid lyrics) is one of my favorite tunes, but I think that after In A Little While the album gets boring and dull. No Line On The Horizon to me is one of their most beatiful albums, it flows from the beginning to the end, with the exception of Get On Your Boots, which is awful. They really tried to do something different again instead playing safe and radio friendly like they did on ATYCLB and Atomic Bomb. Almost every song has beautiful lyrics and the whole album is full of atmospheric sonic layers and landscapes thanks to Eno. I think is their most daring album since Pop. There are gems on the second half like Fez/Being Born and Breathe, although I like every song. That's why I think is so great. Now, if they dropped songs from the album during the tour it means nothing to me. They never play songs from Pop, which is my favorite U2 album ever. Excuse me for my poor english. Cheers.
They had an Album and they had a Spaceship... but nothing more than that. After all these years and all the listening to the follow-up (remember, 5 years later!): No more! No more! No.. more... relevant! Sorry to say that, but this band is not the band I followed for decades.
Thanks friends for your comments, are greatest¡¡¡ I think that No Line On The Horizon is a great album, is of my favorites album, U2 have a great music for more years, regards for all¡¡¡¡
“Let’s make some Noise!…. We got old songs.. We got new songs.. We got songs we can barely play.. We got a spaceship.. But it ain’t goin nowhere, WITHOUT YOU!”
