SoE: my review

[ivanhawk]

U2 sempre più pop contro l’oscuritÃ* dei tempi
Note sparse. Con «Songs of Experience» Bono & soci perdono l’afflato rock alla ricerca della melodia perfetta. L’elezione di Donald Trump e la Brexit hanno portato a una riscrittura di parte dei testi

C’è una canzone di Bruce Springsteen che spiega bene l’atteggiamento di molti fan e critici nei confronti degli U2: in Glory Days, il Boss racconta di come alcuni personaggi vivano ancorati al passato e non riescano a parlare di altro. La gloria passata di Bono e compagni getta sempre la sua ombra lunga su qualunque novitÃ* e, spesso, si guarda più a ciò che circonda la musica, piuttosto che alle canzoni. Perciò, forse, conviene cercare di fare un passo indietro e – per quanto possibile – giudicare questo nuovo lavoro non in rapporto con il passato, ma per quello che è. Se Songs of Experience (Interscope), quattordicesimo album di Bono e compagni, pubblicato il 1 dicembre, fosse un album di un altro gruppo, probabilmente ne sentiremmo parlare come di un lavoro solido, realizzato con grande cura e mestiere. Poiché però si tratta di una delle ultime grandi rock band del pianeta, che ci aveva abituato a capolavori come The Joshua Tree o Achtung Baby, il giudizio è che non si tratta di uno dei loro lavori migliori, ma che sia comunque meglio di diversi loro album del ventunesimo secolo.

Il lancio è stato più tradizionale di quello del precedente Songs of Innocence, che aveva generato polemiche per essere stato aggiunto automaticamente alle librerie di tutti i dispositivi Apple. Come la raccolta poetica di William Blake da cui gli album traggono titolo e ispirazione, Songs of Experience vuole raccontare la maturitÃ* dei quattro dublinesi: i testi di Bono sono pensati come lettere ai suoi cari, ai suoi fan e al mondo.

Quello che colpisce è il tono pop dell’album, come una reazione all’oscuritÃ* dei tempi: siamo lontani dal rock da stadio tipico degli U2. «Non c’è nulla di più provocatorio della gioia in tempi difficili», ha dichiarato Bono a Rolling Stone.

Dopo un non meglio specificato «incontro ravvicinato con la mortalitÃ*» di Bono, l’elezione di Donald Trump e la Brexit, che hanno portato a una riscrittura di parte dei testi (e a un ritardo di un anno nell’uscita), gli U2 raccolgono 13 canzoni (17 nella versione deluxe) in cui emerge la voglia di trovare la melodia perfetta, anche a costo di sacrificare la ruviditÃ* e l’obliquitÃ* dei loro lavori migliori.

Il rock c’è in due canzoni, American Soul e The Blackout, tra le migliori dell’album e, guarda caso, quelle in cui il messaggio politico è più marcato, e in pochi altri momenti. I pezzi più deboli sono proprio quelli che hanno anticipato l’uscita: You’re the Best Thing About Me è poco più di un motivetto orecchiabile e Get Out of Your Own Way galleggia grazie a Bono, ma non brilla. Oltre alle giÃ* citate American Soul e The Blackout, la canzoni migliori sono The Little Things That Give You Away, che si era giÃ* sentita nell’ultimo Joshua Tree Tour, in cui la chitarra di The Edge la fa per una volta da padrona, Red Flag Day, in cui gli U2 suonano simili ai Police e The Showman, un piccolo gioiello che sembra uscito dagli anni ’50, forse la canzone «meno U2» della loro carriera.

https://ilmanifesto.it/u2-sempre-piu...ita-dei-tempi/

This is my review of Songs of Experience. It needs a free registration with Google or Facebook. For those not fluent in Italian, I will post a translation later.

[ivanhawk]

Translation for the English-speaking folks around here (forgive the mistakes):

There is a Bruce Springsteen song which describes the attitude of many fans and critics towards U2: in Glory Days, the Boss talks about how some people live in the past and are not able to about anything else. Bono and company’s past glory always casts its long shadow over any new work and often people tend to look at what’s around the music rather than at the songs themselves. So, maybe, it would be better to try as much as possible to take a step back and judge this new record as it is, and to in comparison with the past.
If Songs of Experience, Bono and company’s 14th record, published on December 1st, were a record by another band, we would probably read about as a solid work, made with care and craftsmanship. However, since we are talking about one of the last great rock bands on the planet, that treated us to masterpieces such as The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, the verdict is that it’s not one of their best works, even if it is better than some of their 21st century records.
The launch has been more traditional than the previous Songs of Innocence’s, which created a controversy because it was automatically pushed to the libraries of every Apple device. As William Blake’s collection which serves as an inspiration for both records, Songs of Experience deals with the maturity of the four Dubliners: Bono’s lyrics are thought as letters to his nearest and dearest, to the fans, and to the world.
The pop sound of the album is striking, just like a reaction to the darkness of the times: we are quite far from the typical U2 stadium rock anthems. “I don't think there's anything more defiant than joy in difficult times,” Bono told Rolling Stone.
After an unspecified “brush with mortality” by Bono, trump’s election and Brexit, which led to a partial rewriting of the lyrics (and a one-year delay), U2 collect 13 songs (17 in the deluxe edition) in which they want to find the perfect melody, even sacrificing the edginess and obliquity of their best works. Rock is present in a couple of songs, American Soul and The Blackout, among the best of the record, and some of the most politically charged songs, and in few other spots. The weakest songs are the ones which preceded the album: You’re the Best Thing About Me is just something a bit more than easy listening, and Get Out of Your Own Way is saved by Bono’s performance, but doesn’t shine. Other than American Soul and The Blackout, the best tracks are The Little Things That Give You Away, which was present in the recent Joshua Tree Tour, and in which The Edge’s guitar for once steals the spotlight, Red Flag Day, with U2 sounding as The Police, and The Showman, a small jewel that sound like it’s come out of the 50s, perhaps the less “U2-like” song in their whole career.

[JCU2]

Translation for the English-speaking folks around here (forgive the mistakes):

There is a Bruce Springsteen song which describes the attitude of many fans and critics towards U2: in Glory Days, the Boss talks about how some people live in the past and are not able to about anything else. Bono and company’s past glory always casts its long shadow over any new work and often people tend to look at what’s around the music rather than at the songs themselves. So, maybe, it would be better to try as much as possible to take a step back and judge this new record as it is, and to in comparison with the past.
If Songs of Experience, Bono and company’s 14th record, published on December 1st, were a record by another band, we would probably read about as a solid work, made with care and craftsmanship. However, since we are talking about one of the last great rock bands on the planet, that treated us to masterpieces such as The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, the verdict is that it’s not one of their best works, even if it is better than some of their 21st century records.
The launch has been more traditional than the previous Songs of Innocence’s, which created a controversy because it was automatically pushed to the libraries of every Apple device. As William Blake’s collection which serves as an inspiration for both records, Songs of Experience deals with the maturity of the four Dubliners: Bono’s lyrics are thought as letters to his nearest and dearest, to the fans, and to the world.
The pop sound of the album is striking, just like a reaction to the darkness of the times: we are quite far from the typical U2 stadium rock anthems. “I don't think there's anything more defiant than joy in difficult times,” Bono told Rolling Stone.
After an unspecified “brush with mortality” by Bono, trump’s election and Brexit, which led to a partial rewriting of the lyrics (and a one-year delay), U2 collect 13 songs (17 in the deluxe edition) in which they want to find the perfect melody, even sacrificing the edginess and obliquity of their best works. Rock is present in a couple of songs, American Soul and The Blackout, among the best of the record, and some of the most politically charged songs, and in few other spots. The weakest songs are the ones which preceded the album: You’re the Best Thing About Me is just something a bit more than easy listening, and Get Out of Your Own Way is saved by Bono’s performance, but doesn’t shine. Other than American Soul and The Blackout, the best tracks are The Little Things That Give You Away, which was present in the recent Joshua Tree Tour, and in which The Edge’s guitar for once steals the spotlight, Red Flag Day, with U2 sounding as The Police, and The Showman, a small jewel that sound like it’s come out of the 50s, perhaps the less “U2-like” song in their whole career.

If there is one thing the internet shows us, it’s that a lot of people think criticizing U2 is a sport. The album sales suggest a lot of people are not receiving the project with the same dismissive commentary but rather enjoying a moment of reprieve from the chaos and darkness around them.

If it were so easy to create something 100,000s of people would be willing to shell out 10 bucks for, such critics would be getting paid for the thoughts.

Ultimately.... You get what you pay for:10 bucks for some great music and escape from melancholy or criticism offered for free on the internet cause nobody would actually pay for it.

[Jacques]

Well written.

If i could change one thing in that column (?) i would swap ‘the showman’ with ‘book of your heart’, which has become my personal gem on this album. For me way above showman. But of course imho.


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[Jacques]

Double post..

[ivanhawk]

Well written.

If i could change one thing in that column (?) i would swap ‘the showman’ with ‘book of your heart’, which has become my personal gem on this album. For me way above showman. But of course imho.


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Thanks, Jacques. As soon as they deliver the CD (I reviewed it using Spotify), I reserve the right to change my ideas!

[JCU2]

Well written.

If i could change one thing in that column (?) i would swap ‘the showman’ with ‘book of your heart’, which has become my personal gem on this album. For me way above showman. But of course imho.

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Yes! The Showman... how can I forget that one? Another great, great song.