This review was chosen for Advance.net. You will be able to find it on newspaper sites including Cleveland.com.

I totally agrre with theis review. I too have been on obsessive, die-hard u2 fan for exactly 20 years now. The first time I was dissappionted with U2 was with "All That You Cant'Leave Behind." "Beautiful Day" did not do anything for me when it first came out on radio in September 2000 and it still doesn't do anything for me. "Vertigo" is not even half the sell-out the above mentioned lead single was. The latter single is the Edge's best guitar-playing since "the Fly."

Solid comments, guys. Hard to argue those valid points...I too, am a bit of an admitted fanatic - and am somehow pleased to hear of others. I cannot wait to hear the rest of the album - and see what the next tour is all about..i hope it's not a stripped down tour like the last - throw some PopMart or Zoo TV flavours into it...lets avoid getting old in any category!
Vertigo actually has some seriously heavy lyric - but I bet most of mainstream radio listeners will never know what they mean - I love that! It makes me feel priviledged to know what the man has to say - there are so many invaluable messages in their albums, certainly this one will be another thought provoking and life influencing
"script(ure)"...
feel free to email me

I agree with you guys above. All That You Can't Leave Behind was U2 playing it safe (and rather maudlin). It was the first U2 album since WAR that I didn't purchase. Vertigo isn't cutting-edge like their early 1990s work, but it does have the life and swagger of it. And that's enough for me to get excited about U2 again. If Vertigo (and the album title) are any indications, U2 might just have their balls back. Vertigo sounds like the War-era U2 recording Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. It has rock rawness, but a danceable groove. This is what I was hoping they'd sound like when they first announced they were stripping back the technology after POP. Now if only Bono
starts being a rebel again and starts taking shots at Bush Jr. like he did to Bush Sr. back in their glory Zoo TV days....

Vertigo is an awesome hard-hitting rock track full of raw energy and vitality. A great comeback track by the boys and their producer, Steve Lillywhite. The video should be a blast!

Thanks Damon - is there a link to the song anywhere?

www.u2log.com have some links to a cd rip mp3 of it.. http://u2log.com/archive/002912.shtml

great, thanks!

Thanks for the review! I'm really excited about this new single, and what it could mean for the direction of the new album.

As a die-hard fan of the band, I really liked ATYCLB, but agree that it simply didn't come close to Pop, The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree, or Achtung Baby (which, IMHO, IS perfection). It's not that they didn't "do" the style they were into as well as or better than any band today could, it's just that I didn't prefer the style. So I guess it's a personal taste thing. Still some amazing songs of course (In a Little While, New York, and Kite, especially).

I completely agree about the lyrical "return to form," if you want to call it that. Your analysis that it does a better job of meaning nothing than Elevation is spot on! Shit, I hated that song. These lyrics may not be hard-hitting or particularly meaningful, but that is kind of the point. Their own insignificance.

What may seem like a cheap-shot attempt at putting some cheesy politics in a non-political song turns out to be just the opposite:

"The night is full of holes
As bullets rip the sky
Of ink and gold
They twinkle as the
Boys Play rock'n'roll
They know that they can't dance
At least they know"

This seems to me to refer to their own futility and insignificance as a band, and the idea of just letting loose and living in this crazy world of ours:

"I can't stand the beat
Asking for the check
Girl with crimson nails
Jesus 'round her neck
Swinging to the music
Swinging to the music..."

Don't know exactly what that means, but it makes some sort of sense, and it sounds damn cool. What was it you were saying about STYLE?

Now this is a good, FUN song. By no means their best, but a brilliant teaser that you can really get into.

I've heard some questionable clips of songs called All Because of You (seems a little similar to this one), Love Peace or Else (like nothing they've ever done before...completely groovy baseline, and some awesome lyrics from what I could tell), and Miracle Drug (presumably about Africa, but very possibly a more vague, all-encompassing theme, cool tune with some nice guitar). All in all, I'm really excited for the new album! It should be among their best, and blow ATYCLB out of the water. Can't wait for the tour, as this will be my first time seeing them live, and I've heard great things about their live show.

Oh, and Damon, don't be embarrassed to be a slight fanatic, if indeed you are one! I know they're a little uncool at the moment with some of the rock snobs, but this album will hopefully dispell that! As opposed to limiting my musical tastes, U2 have actually exposed me to some wonderful bands who I'd never have listened to otherwise!

Hopefully the album will live up...

Interesting thoughts. I am in the process of downloading Vertigo as we speak (it's dial up). Anyhow, I regard myself as a huge fan of U2... but disagree with much of your thoughts. To me, U2 was in top form for Unforgettable Fire and Joshua Tree (I saw them on both those tours, the Joshua Tree one was filmed for Rattle & Hum. It was Tempe, AZ). Anyhow, I have very little fondness for much since then... until ATYCLB. To me, that disc was a true return to form.

The band had spend the last 10 years before that making electronica. You can call that innnovation, fine. I don't want innovation though, I want U2! That song 'hold me, thrill me...' makes me what to (to borrow an expression from Lewis Black) stick a pencil in my ear until it starts bleeding.

I like my U2 as four guys playing rock and roll live and in person. To me, they got away from that for a long time... and returned with 'All that you can't leave behind'. I am really excited about the next U2 release. As I explained to my wife "If the new U2 record is even half as good as All that you can't leave behind... then it will still be a 4 star record".

I want to thank you all for the legal links to 'Vertigo'. I am going to pop it onto a CD in the morning (because it is still loading with the dial up) and probably listen to it over and over on the way to work.

btw, I hate to be totally lame... but have to point out his count at the beginning is : uno, dos, tres, catorce!

for the record, this is Spanish for 1, 2, 3, 14!

No, Lono, that's an excellent point and it's been nagging me all weekend. I thought maybe I had forgotten how to count.

Bono definitely knows what he's saying. Why don't people try thinking outside the box? There are catorses other than the number...

Real de Catorse:
http://www.tayara.com/club/cator1.htm

Catorce the character:
http://www.erzo.org/~shannon/ars-magica/iberia/background/char-catorse.html

I don't know that interpreting catorce as 14 is really thinking inside the box. It's kind of a something Bono just does.. skipping numbers.. forgetting his lyric sheets, etc. If you want to get all analytical about it, perhaps it's a signal that U2 is leaping ahead of everyone else. Or (as was suggested by someone else), if you count the best ofs, and uabrs, but not 'wide awake in america' and not passengers, this is U2's 14th album. OOOOOh.

I personally don't think it means anything really.

Lono...if you ever visit one of those U2 forums you'll find an endless debate over whether the 90's stuff was good, fighting between the ATYCLB-lovers and the ATYCLB-haters, whether Pop was a masterpiece or a worthless piece of shit, etc. Different strokes for different folks, to say the least!

Yeah, the 1,2,3,14 thing bugs the crap outta me too. Although some official lyrics now list Uno as being Unos (which it sounds like), which apparently has a different meaning than Uno...? I'm so confused...I know Bono is famous for this kinda shit (early morning, April 4...), but they've got too many producers and too much money for something like that to go unnoticed, so I'm pretty sure it was intentional. Even the T-shirts they're selling have that written on them! Maybe it means something, maybe it means nothing. Maybe they were drunk and thought it'd be funny.

I think it's funny. And I'm not drunk

A bit tired perhaps.. but not when I first thought it was funny. Maybe it's just a subtle publicity stunt. I can see the headlines now.. "rock star cannot count his own money" etc

It's cool with me that U2 went WAY astray for so long. I wouldn't have appreciated them if they just kept remaking 'The Joshua Tree' over and over again.

I think rock had a brief fling with electronica, and realized that music is where it's at... not computers. I mean, even my beloved Smashing Pumpkins got a bit lost after the fired their drummer and used machines to replace him. But that is a whole nother story for a whole nother time!

Viva U2 - and this time I am going to pay the money and get MUCH better seats than I had at the last tour.

A bit more on my Catorce interpretaion...

"The early spring weather was crisp and clear when we left Saltillo. As we drove south, skirting the flanks of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the land became increasingly dryer, with agave and Joshua trees more abundant. The Joshua trees watched our progress, eerily anthropomorphic shapes, like spirit men of the desert scorning the pneumatic ease of our passage. Perhaps spirits really were watching, for we were on our way to a ghost of a town, the fabled Real de Catorce.

Real de Catorce attracts pilgrims by the hundreds of thousands between September 25 and October 12 for the festival of San Francisco"

Isn't 1,2,3,14 a refernce to their "rock" albums
1. Boy
2. October
3. War
14. How to dismantle...

that's how I read it.

Yeah, HG, but then you get to get into a big debate about whether it's really their 14th album, whether to count the EP's or the Best Of's or Passengers...crazyness.

Lono...I am a huge fan of Achtung Baby, Pop, and the first half of Zooropa (they should've left it as an EP as the second half was total and utter crap, except the oddly-named The First Time, which could maybe have been a B-side. Oh, and I love Dirty Day), so I can't agree with you there. But I think we'll all be able to get in on this latest album.

I wouldn't call it electronica though...teched-out, some of it, yeah, but no Floyd-esque ten minute heartbeats or anything. ;-)

But they SOUND young again. I don't know if it's just been layered or Pro-tooled, but Bono's voice sounds great compared to some stuff off ATYCLB.

A friend suggested that the reference is to John 1:14, 2:14, and 3:14. A theme of Christ, money, Christ representing the confusion of... well, draw your own. As we know, U2 likes to play on scriptural numbers (see "40" and the cover of ATYCLB). i don't know if this is correct, but it seemed plausible.

What I said was:

1, 2, 3...14!

It's obviously referring to John 1:14, John 2:14 and John 3:14--------->

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 2:14
In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.

John 3:14
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.

See how it shifts/wavers from focusing on Christ to focusing on money to focusing back on Christ again? That's how we are -- we're always going back-and-forth in our faith, making ourselves DIZZY. That's why it's called Vertigo. It's about our bipolar way of walking with God.

That's whatI said...but I just thought it sounded good. Thoughts? Admonishments? Edifications?

It's MORE simple.......VERTIGO 1,2,3, they skip 10 numbers, 14.... fast, very fast....VERTIGO.....but, why spanish????

spanish??... maybe they want to be nice with their latin american and spain fans... a publicity thing??, but it sounds good..

A real disappointment.. What's all that 'turn it up captain' sample at the beginning? (I just laughed in disbelief it sounds like a mistake). Bono's free association words that normally conjure up cool images hasn't really weaved it's magic this time around (Maybe Vertigo sounds better live (Elevation at Slane Castle did).
The lyric 'They know they can't dance, well at least they know!' (conjures up the image: We're self knowing sad dads you know, but we still like to party!

Vertigo's OK, in a dumb rocking kinda way. and if you're Jeremy Clarkson finding a stretch of open road to open up your ferrari, I'm sure you'd find it better than sex. But as for me, I'm that guy looking at you when you're at the traffic lights, thinking to himself 'Oh dear a groovy dad!'

All That You Can´t Leave Behind, is not a risky album, is not the third masterpiece of U2, is not as important and trascendental for worldwide music as Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby were. But in anyway ATYCLB was the best album of U2 since Achtung Baby, and probably the best rock/alternative album of the 2000 and 2001, so is enough to declare ATYCLB a big step in U2 career.

Vertigo is the best single I heard this year, not U2 single, but every song I heard in 2004 is the best of best, Vertigo has gone straight to my head in only a couples of listenings, and this didnt happen to me since I heard The Fly, so I think new album from U2 is going to be declared its real third masterpiece and probably will break sales records again.

If you combine the 'album count' theory with the 'Real de Catorce = Joshua Tree' theory, with the Bible theory..

well, aside from another bit of vertigo, you get the 14th album from U2, written in the spirit of Boy, October and War, but taken to the quality of Joshua. And the bible's always in there somewhere. :) Making the jump from War to Joshua to How To.. is a pretty comprehensible leap, theme-wise: War, in America, Dismantled.
How?
With love.

hahaha, montrose.. that's awesome!

Thanks for the review.
I agree even though ATYCLB did touch something in me - the lust for life with the awareness of the depth in life. Now I welcome U2 with their first tone in rock and roll. This is different with age and a thick red line through the history of U2 and rock music.

I cannot believe that die-hard u2 fans did not like AYCLB. It's there perogative, but it's a close third after JT and AB. In a Little While is a tremendous song, and their live versions of these soulful songs are second to none, and an evolution of their music. There is nothing boring about Elevation. So, my point is when U2 comes together to make a real album that is not rushed, you cannot go wrong. Their energy is still real, and I'm sure the new songs will soon become a part of what makes me move. Don't over-analyze, either it moves you or it does not.

Carlo...a lot of "die-hard fans" didn't like ATYCLB. It was different from JT in many ways, and some of the songs were overproduced. A song like Elevation to some seems very pop-py and just not one of U2's best singles, or even songs. The lyrics were more emotional, yes, but a lot of us missed the stirring imagery of JT and Achtung Baby.

Like you said, a matter of taste...in fact, you hit it on the head when you said Don't over-analyze; either it moves you or it doesn't. Well, for some people it didn't. (Actually for me, songs like In a Little While, Kite, New York, etc WERE really great, just there seemed to be more average songwriting on other songs than I expect from them...)

My comment is that U2 always move the groung beneath my feet... They are awesome... I´m nicaraguan and i really enjoyed the Spanish countdown... uno dos tres catorce. Hola That was damn cool. The music reminded me much the WAR album... which i really like... But with this move i would also like as many of you , i think. To see Bono against people Like Bush or Tony Blair... If the album says how to dismantel an atomic bomb. It must ba about putting the peace back into the world...

From Nicaragua... Lazaro the Nicaraguan U2 Dude

hey Lazaro! I agree it does have a little bit of War in it...but less anger, more fun.

About politics, I think it may have some global overtones but, despite the title, I don't think it will be too outrightly political. ATYCLB was unashamedly earnest and personal, and I expect this one will be as well, except maybe a little less earnest with more 90's era themes. Just an idea. All I'm saying is, there won't be anymore white flag-toting, Fuck the Revolution!-shouting Bono making rants on stage this time round. ;-)

I think there will be some politics on the album... the track-by-track previews have revealed that at least a couple songs seem to be of a political bent. I doubt the politics will be anything more than unoffending blanket statements. We can hope though, I mean U2's NRA hate-off during Bullet on the last tour was pretty ballsy (as well as pretty damn cool).

btw. I hope I didn't come across as disliking the album in my review... all the songs are sure well done and strike various chords with me.. it's just not the direction I wanted to see the boys take and made me fear for the future.

My biggest fear for U2 is loss of adventurousness and loss of subtlety. It's sure as hell hard to be subtle and successful in the world these days, but I think that's always been the case.

I have to say that I think ATYCLB is one of U2's finest albums, being true to themselves. Joshua Tree, Boy, October, Actung, Unforgetable fire are also great. I do believe that history will judge U2 to be one of the greatest rock bands of all time but I do not believe history will judge the strange departures of Zooropa and Pop especially highly. They each had moments where the impossible-to-suffocate talent of the band shone through, but the overall flavor was one that just didn't jibe with who this band is in history. Vertigo is an awesome track and I look forward to hearing much more from the new album. So far, I'm very excited about the direction and sound of U2, my favorite band.

I think like everyone else, musicians go through moods. U2 has always been true to themselves and they make music to reflect personal and global feelings and thoughts. I have always felt that all of their music has been great...and that is obviously subjective to ones musical preference. Yes,Achtung Baby and Joshua Tree are absolute gems, but to say that ATYCLB isn't "U2 at their best"??? Spare me the drama. Sure, some songs are rather "pop-py", but nonetheless they are still good. (side bar:personal favorite on that album is Walk On.) Pop,Rattle&Hum and Zooropa are other albums that don't get the credit they deserve as well. I love many songs on those particular albums. Fans and critics should just accept these albums as U2 being different; swaying from what everyone else deems the norm for them. If your overall taste in music is ecclectic, you can definitely appreciate every song and album U2 has to offer, because Im sure that U2 doesn't just make a song to fill up a space on any given album. Passengers and M.D. Hotel soundtrack are other fav's of mine because of the total exploration of music that U2 wants their fans to experience. I believe U2 merely wants fans to come along for the ride and experience the highs and lows life has to offer. I can't wait to see what is coming with How to dismantle an Atomic bomb!!! For better or worse, U2 will always be #1 in everything they do musically. Thank you.

And now here's the video; or if that goes crazy wrong, or if you want to right-click save target as - www.callumalden.tk - its in the blog under music, under Kick Ass.... Vertigo Full Length Ad. Thank's apple.

Callum Alden

thanks for the video link

just a note.. that's not the actual promo video for the song, just an extended version of the new ipod ad. It was filmed in Sept and directed by Mark Romanek.

I have been following news, comments, on the web about the new U2 album. And everybody always expect great things from these Irish ugys... I´m just some one else waiting the same things you all wait from them... HOWEVER i feel like always i have to keep neutral opinions til i heard the full version of the album. ANYWAY... I´m tired i wanna listen to VERTIGO again...

I think that the new CD is awsome, above all the song Vertigo, I really like it. U2 is the best band ever to me. Luck & kisses,
Daniela from Argentina.
P.D.: Bono rules!

u2 rocks

RE: uno, dos, tres, catorce!
Okay, here's another lame comment about this.

What are the first words of the first song of their first album? (Boy/I will follow)
Anybody?

"One, Two, Three, Four"

Hmmmmm, curioser and curioser.

AND to really push the psychotic envelope, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 14th word of I will follow is: "I will follow you".

AND to take this on an acid trip...
the only other song on Boy that this formula (1,2,3,14) works with is Shadows and tall trees.
The words are, "Back to the night".

So, the whole thing would be, "I will follow you back to the night".

I love making puzzles out of nothing.

However, I do believe he is saying something, I'm not sure what it is, but I like comment 27 from montrose.

And hey...comment 27...2x7 = 14!

Goo goo g'joob!

Haha. This stuff is fun!

Just a note.. Bono has mentioned that there is a reference to Stories for Boys (from U2-3, the first official u2 release) in the Vertigo Lyrics:

Sometimes the hero takes me
Sometimes I don't wanna know
Hello, hello, oh?

look a bit familiar? wheee

Apparently it linked on the net yesterday. Go over to interference.com, the forum is full of reviews by fans. Excited to say the least, this should be a good album!

Meant "leaked" not linked.

There is an old Three's Company episode where John Ritter is testing a mic by saying "uno, dos, tres, catorce".

Maybe Bono is a closet Three's Co. fan?

The plot thickens...

really? that's great! Clearly every self respecting u2 fan needs to have this episode in their collection

crap, sorry, too commercial for me, i just liked "original of the species" and perhaps another one or two. that's it.of course, this is just my personal opinion and I respect all of the die-hards fans critics

uno, dos, tres, catorce 1,2,3,14

Steve Lillywhite's produced 1,2,3 and 14th albums of U2.... Thats why he uses it.

Hey Tim, try this one out:

'Unos, dos, tres, catorce'
=
'about two three fourteen'
or =
'some two three fourteen'

If some = sum or Psalm,
check out the bible verses
that relate.

But that's bordering on a
schizophrenic analysis. :)

so is chritians u fuckin faggots

I'm glad that not eveyone is on an acid trip or following the white rabbit down the hole.

don't read too much into this folks. Steve Lilywhite produced their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 14th album.

that's it...just a little stealth tribute.

Comment 52 posted by bob on November 27, 2004 01:47 AM:
"so is chritians u fuckin faggots"

Hey Bob, thanks for the indepth analysis. You really helped add to the conversation. Idiot.

Hey Bob.. um.. what's a 'Chritian'?

I don't know what y'all see in U2 but I
seriously hope none of you take Bono's
lyrical abilities too seriously. I just
heard a song off this latest U2 disc on
the radio that had the lyrics: "freedom
has a scent,like a newborn baby's head"
or some such pathetic silliness.

I could only stop laughing long enough
to puke.

Well until you've smelled the top of a newborn baby's head keep your mouth shut!

I actually talked to several people with experience with newborns and they all thought the lyrics was fitting and good.

haHA

I know how to "Dismantle An Atomic Bomb"
it's fucking simple. Shove it up Bono's
ass and detonate. Voila!!!

PGX-3

Way to show you comprehension of the word 'Dismantle'.

And you know, I read the 'newborn baby's head' quote before I heard it sung, and I thought it quite lame. But then, hearing _how_ it was sung took a lot of the lameness off of it. And like Damon said, until you've held a newborn, you really won't get that line.

Hey Bob, your quoted here: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=11worst (just in case you didn't already knew)

Stupid dipshits. Go find the meaning of life inside an ass. Its cleaner

the ritter/bono theory...

http://wgnradio.com/shows/digilio_nick/audio/index.html

This album in horrible. I've heard better music from Yanni. When I listen to this album I wish that mom never told me to "turn the music down" as a child, and my hearing was gone. Forever I will wish that U2 kept making albums as good as The Joshua Tree! When are you idiotic fanboys going to realize that U2 sold out a long time ago. By the way, old rockers are not cool.

U2 BLOWS DOGS FOR QUARTERS

Forever I will wish that U2 kept making albums as good as The Joshua Tree!

Yeah, 'cause it's that easy. Um, when nobody else can manage to create an album that good, why should we expect U2 to be able to just spit them out? ;-)

Comment #64 must be from a wistful dog with only a quarter to his name. :-P

Need to be readed.

as far as i know brad pit fell in love w/ real de catorce when he and julia roberts filmed there that he bought a retreat there and when he disappears from it all he's usually there, as do most other american stars, this place does things to folks who want to get away from it all, im sure bono or u/2 know about this place too...