03: U2 - Songs of Experience
On to Day 03 of Album Month 2022: U2’s 2017 offering, Songs of Experience, the companion to their 2014 album, Songs of Innocence. I have to say… I really like the album cover.
Before I go into the review thingie, I must say this: I love U2. They are in my top 5 all time favorite bands ever, and I grew up practicing my singing to the Achtung Baby album (which is still my favorite U2 album to this day). My favorite periods of their career are the early 80s (the era of the first 3 albums where they were finding their sound) and the 90s (experimental heaven where they tried new and interesting things with their music). After Achtung Baby, Boy is my next favorite of their albums, and my favorite song in their entire catalog is “Ultra Violet (Light My Way)”.
So it pains me to say what I must about Songs of Experience.
Like Songs of Innocence, this album just doesn’t do much of anything for me. There. I said it. Although I like this one a little bit better than its companion, that’s not really saying much. Some may disagree with me, and that’s okay. I’m not saying how I feel is gospel or anything. If you like them, that’s awesome! I just can’t get into them. Sometimes we ebb and flow with our favorite bands, not clicking with everything they release, and that’s just how life goes sometimes.
To get it out of the way, the song I like the least is “The Showman (Little More Better)”. It’s not the worst thing ever, but it did the least for me out of everything on this album. It just doesn’t get even halfway for some reason. I also can’t get into “Lights of Home”, “Landlady”, or “Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way”, and “Red Flag Day” doesn’t grab me, either. They just feel so…Middle of the road to me.
As far as the song I like the best, I would say that that would probably be “Summer of Love”. It’s a nice, slow burn kind of song that doesn’t get gigantic in its sound like some U2 songs can do. It’s more subtle with a relaxed, daydream kind of vibe that’s very fitting to the lyrics. It pleases me. “The Blackout” is also a good track, featuring Adam’s bass right at the get-go, already making the song more interesting and cool (the bass just slaps, in my opinion). It has a nice distortion in the underbelly that punctures what is clearly meant to be a ‘party sing-a-long’ song, giving the song more dimension and making what might be seen as a typical catchy U2 track feel less as expected. Definitely a stand out on the album. I also want to give props for “American Soul”, which is another stand out and more of a rocking song that feels kind of like a dip out of the main house and into the garage that’s much needed and appreciated.
There is good in the album (and the good is pretty good), it’s just not a big click for me musically. Now with that being said… Even if I just don’t get into it (or the companion album) musically, I do quite enjoy it lyrically.
I know some folks don’t like ‘positive’ or seemingly ‘preachy’ lyrics, but I find that it can be helpful to hear things from the heart that speak to the heart. Songs that can empower and inspire (I mean… it’s not like Rush didn’t have any lyrics like that at all, am I right?). Sometimes it’s what you need in a moment, and it’s fantastic when music can bring that to you. I could easily just read these lyrics and quote them as if from a poetry book. Seriously. Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience are both like that for me. I admit I have been kind of out of it musically with U2 since No Line On The Horizon, but I always appreciate the lyrics and the heart that goes within each song even if it’s not my cup of tea at that time.
There is always a heart and soul in a U2 song, and for that they will always be one of my major favorites and one of the greatest bands of all time.
~*~
Listen for yourself, give it a buy, and/or pop in
to see what the U2 fam have been up to at the links below.
https://www.amazon.com/Songs-Experience-U2/dp/B076M9D5Q9
https://www.amazon.com/Songs-Experience-Deluxe-U2/dp/B076MB76N1 (Deluxe)
https://open.spotify.com/album/6S9YaGXnmRe8tWJ0e457HP (Deluxe)
https://tidal.com/browse/album/81951700
https://music.apple.com/us/album/songs-of-experience-deluxe-edition/1443205068 (Deluxe)
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