Many of us watch with amazement the fragments of amazing performances appearing on social media U2 from the Sphere concert arena. The large multimedia sphere is as if a place created for the famous rock group. Finally this Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton They have been setting concert trends for years, setting the bar higher and higher for themselves, ever since their famous tour “ZOO TV Tour” from the early 1990s. They are undoubtedly unrivaled masters in this field, often covering up recording shortcomings with spectacular performances.
Let’s be honest, the group’s music has lost its luster in recent years and I write this as a devoted fan of the band, trying to look at U2’s achievements objectively. A frequent review of the group’s latest albums is to shrug your shoulders and mutter “okay”. In their over forty-year career, the Irish group has already had moments of, let’s call it, commercial downtime, although “Rattle And Hum” or the not very warmly received experiments on the album “Pop”. It was then, in 1997, that the sales of the ninth release in the group’s discography stopped at five million copies, which was a shock for everyone at the time. Yes, of course, there are many teams in the world that can dream of such a result, but for the stadium giant it was a failure.
However, U2 has this incredible gift of rising after failure like a mythical phoenix. That’s what happened with the album “Achtung Baby”which turned out to be a timeless classic, and this is what happened almost a decade later thanks to an album full of hits “All That You Can’t Leave Behind”which marked the group’s return to cooperation with producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. The famous duo, strengthened Steve‘em Lillywhite was supposed to be behind the success of the book released 15 years ago “No Line On The Horizon”. In interviews announcing the album’s arrival, Bono exulted in predicting the arrival of an album filled not with hits, but with “anthems of the future” that were to ensure the group’s immortality in the coming years.
The U2 leader’s well-being could have resulted from many things, but the most important seems to be the free time the musicians spent during the recording sessions in Fez, Morocco. Recalling that period, the group’s members said in many interviews that the original joy of creating and playing together had returned to them. The Edge claimed that he felt a similar energy while working as he felt at the beginning of his career. Lanois and Eno not only supervised the production process, but also joined U2 as full co-authors of the recordings. The atmosphere in the inner garden of the Riad El Yacout hotel, turned into a studio, was excellent and conducive to many experiments and artistic explorations.
Initially, the group collaborated on new material with the no less legendary band Rick Rubin. However, they did not fully like the eccentric producer’s way of working, who required U2 members to show up in the studio with a ready idea for a song and work on it. The group’s style was completely different, as The Edge recalled, the band’s recordings were always created during sessions and were the result of playing together and inventing the form of composition. As a result, only two songs were the result of this collaboration, recorded together with GreenDay the band’s hit Skids “The Saints Are Coming” and “Window in the Skies”, which were included in the compilation of the Irish hits “U218 Singles”.
The time spent in Fes was a very fruitful period. The musicians experimented, played with form and subjected themselves to local influences, but some of the material was rejected. As Brian Eno recalled, they had to choose from a sea of ideas those that were suitable for songs and focus on their form. Some of the work was later continued in other studios, and the group was accompanied by Steve Lillywhite, already known for his cooperation with U2.
“No Line On The Horizon” debuted at number one in thirty countries, but its sales were lower than expected. Five million copies are well below expectations. The confusion surrounding the release of the release, which resulted in a false start of sales in Australia and the leak of the material on the Internet thanks to an eavesdropping fan, did not help matters. Similarly to the choice of the first single promoting the album. “Get On Your Boots” it didn’t bring any benefit to the team and turned out to be a bit of a dud. On the one hand, in a retro atmosphere, and on the other hand, evoking a futuristic sound straight from “Pop”, the song caused listeners to be more surprised than delighted. As a result, for the first time in years, the recording promoting the new U2 album did not reach the top of the charts around the world, with the exception of Ireland, of course. The release of a beautiful and captivating composition “Magnificent”which many fans believed should have been the first single from “No Line On The Horizon”, did not help the album’s commercial success.
In hindsight, it is clear that some critics see this album as the end of a successful period in U2’s career, which lasted over two decades, and was also the end of the band’s extremely successful collaboration with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who developed such a distinctive sound of the Irish group over the years. years. The album received mixed reactions from journalists. On the one hand, the group was praised for its sonic explorations and the original structure of many songs, on the other hand, the new songs were accused of being banal and downright mediocre.
As usual, the group’s situation was saved by a concert tour. The “U2 360° Tour” was a spectacular event that took place in stadiums all over the world for the next two years, including in Chorzów in August 2009. A four-legged spaceship then landed at the Silesian Stadium. A gigantic structure filled with screens covered the circular stage and allowed fans to get closer to the band like never before. Over 100 performances on five continents showed the extraordinary power of U2’s music and turned out to be a revolutionary undertaking that defined the direction of great concert events for years to come.
The members of U2 seem to have come to terms with the poor reception of their latest album. The songs from “No Line On The Horizon”, apart from the singles and “Moment of Surrender”, which usually closes the shows, were rarely featured during the concerts of the mentioned tour. Over the years, the twelfth album followed a path similar to “Pop”. Maybe both albums did not initially achieve the success on the charts that the musicians themselves dreamed of, but over time their shine began to resonate with greater and greater power. Especially since when we listen to “No Line On The Horizon” after 15 years we can discover the most coherent and well-thought-out album of the famous group. The songs may not exude the hit lightness known from previous releases, but their hidden power shows the band in full creative strength. Bono and his colleagues play with form, experiment more with sound, and at the same time manage to delight listeners with their delicacy. The singer’s voice sounds perfect. Bono can probably sing every little detail.
The title track that opens the album already pulsates with a haunting rhythm that clashes with The Edge’s riffs and sounds like a real hit that could easily conquer the radio waves. Beginning with a guitar part as delicate as a sea breeze “Unknown Caller” is driven by choral chants and commands: “Restart and re-boot yourself / You’re free to go”, it has still not lost its relevance, in an increasingly zero-one reality, full of smartphones, tablets and screens surrounding us. He is also a fan “Stand Up Comedy”in which a strong riff collides with a pulsating rhythm and sounds perfect, as if taken from the repertoire Red Hot Chili Peppers anthem of love.
“FEZ – Being Boring” is one of the most mesmerizing and addictive songs on the album. Filled with sounds from Morocco, a rough guitar that contrasts with the powerful keyboards and the characteristic rhythm of the Clayton Mullen duo. A moving confession of a dying soldier “White As Snow” delights with its delicacy and the suggestive singing of Bono, which, without unnecessary bravado, draws us into the musical story and fights for our attention in combination with the almost recited “Cedars of Lebanon”. Opener “Breathe” the rhythm of the drums may evoke associations with “Trip Through Your Wires”but later, instead of the characteristic harmonica melody, it hits with Edge’s strong guitar riff.
Maybe “No Line On The Horizon”, contrary to Bono’s announcements, is not a collection of immortal, hit anthems, but it is certainly a solid collection of compositions that have withstood the passage of time. Looking at the later phonographic achievements of the Irish group, it appears to be one of the most stable moments in their discography. Without any great hits, it is an example of an album that benefits from reading the whole thing. Individual songs blend together, bringing sonic satisfaction that fits perfectly with the ascetic cover of Lake Constance by Hiroshi Sugimoto. “No Line On The Horizon” is a somewhat forgotten and underrated album by U2, which is worth remembering on the occasion of its fifteenth birthday.