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  1. Its so strange because i used to LOVE this album. It was my first u2 album before I knew anything about them. I just bonded with all the songs. now flash forward 5 + years later and Im like meh about it. I only really like Sometimes, Miracle, COBL, One Step and Vertigo. and 2 of those are only because I know Ill be seeing them live every time I see them from now on. One Step Closer, Crumbs aren't as bad as you all think. Give it another spin. that's what Imma do soon ahaha
  2. I don't like it so much and it is in my lower part of their albums. Now I just listen to Love And Peace Or Else (best song from the album) and occasionally Vertigo and ABOY. For me it is the worst album from 2000-2010 era.
  3. Originally posted by Genaro92U2:Its so strange because i used to LOVE this album. It was my first u2 album before I knew anything about them. I just bonded with all the songs. now flash forward 5 + years later and Im like meh about it. I only really like Sometimes, Miracle, COBL, One Step and Vertigo. and 2 of those are only because I know Ill be seeing them live every time I see them from now on. One Step Closer, Crumbs aren't as bad as you all think. Give it another spin. that's what Imma do soon ahaha


    I like One Step Closer, too. Nice, understated song. The end could have used a little work as the lyrics (the chorus) gets a bit repetitive.
  4. Personally HTDAAB is my least favourite U2 album of all time. I feel that the whole vibe of the record is too mainstream for the time in the band's career in which it was released. I feared that U2 were losing their edginess, especially after a similarly mainstream, but much, much better (IMHO) album in ATYCLB.

    I was exstatic with NLOTH because I felt the band were starting to again push some boundries in their songwriting and recording.

    U2 hit a creative freedom high with Zooropa (I know Gerard will back me up on that!), and they almost lost their way with Passengers and Pop. They played 'safe' with ATYCLB and created some excellent songs and an excellent album. However, I think they went too safe with HTDAAB and therefore, despite having some good tracks, the album didn't quite settle with me personally.

    One thing I love about the band (I know there's another thread on that topic) is that they seem to go through peaks and troughs over their career and therefore create some wonderful as well as some excellent material. I feel their peaks were War, JT, Zooropa, and now NLOTH, with there troughs being October, R&H, Pop and HTDAAB. This is not to say that I don't like those albums, Pop is actually my 4th favourite, but U2 always push an idea to the limit and these albums were the breaking point before a recovery.

    Hope all that makes sense, even if you don't agreee!!!
  5. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb is on the same level as the other albums that decade.

    1. Vertigo - 10/10
    2. Miracle Drug - 10/10
    3. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own - 10/10
    4. Love And Peace Or Else - 5/10
    5. City Of Blinding Lights - 10/10
    6. All Because Of You - 4/10
    7. A Man And A Woman - 1/10
    8. Crumbs From Your Table - 10/10
    9. One Step Closer - 4/10
    10. Original Of The Species - 10/10
    11. Yahweh - 2/10

    EDIT: Total Score - 7/10
  6. One Step Closer is, in my opinion, terrible. It's an 'album-filler'. I'd much rather listen to A Man And A Woman 20 times than listen to One Step Closer once.

    But HTDAAB is a fine album, not in my top 5 though. First 6 songs really do it for me, then it starts going downhill pretty quickly, Original of the Species brings it a little uphill, but Yahweh just puts it down again.
  7. I agree with Kieran's first statement. One Step Closer is just unbereable, I struggle to listen to it every time my random player brings it up. The rest of the album is just ok. COBL and OOTS are great songs, Miracle Drug could have been a gem although it stopped at the "Very good" rating, and Yahweh, LAPoE, ABOY, CFYT and AMAAW are good fillers.

    Definitely a fine album, but not worth of carrying U2 along its cover. (which is awful by the way)
  8. Originally posted by LikeASong:I agree with Kieran's first statement. One Step Closer is just unbereable, I struggle to listen to it every time my random player brings it up. The rest of the album is just ok. COBL and OOTS are great songs, Miracle Drug could have been a gem although it stopped at the "Very good" rating, and Yahweh, LAPoE, ABOY, CFYT and AMAAW are good fillers.

    Definitely a fine album, but not worth of carrying U2 along its cover. (which is awful by the way)


    Yep, thank you. Also very good words to explain the album.

    I remember my friends going "Kieran, have you heard How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb by U2!?" and I was like "Obviously, I'm a massive U2 fan." All of them are saying it's excellent, but it was clearly because of Vertigo. EVERYONE loved Vertigo when it came out, so it made them automatically think that HTDAAB was a great album. I was always saying to my friends, "Yeah, it's a good album, but U2 have created much better albums than that. JT, AB, TUF...". HTDAAB (or Vertigo) is the only reason why my friends like U2.

    There is quite alot of things I don't like about that era, and two of them would be the shit songs of HTDAAB and some of the crappy performances that they gave during Vertigo Tour. Mercy and Flower Child are two songs that I'd rather have had on HTDAAB, instead of One Step Closer and Crumbs for Your Table (or maybe A Man And A Woman)
  9. Mercy would have been a great addition/substitution for the album, but Flower Child??? It's super-duper-extra cheesy and it wouldn't have got the album any better. Well.......maybe instead of One Step Closer I agree. I would rather have 4:30 minutes of silence than 4:30 of One Step Closer
  10. Originally posted by LikeASong:Mercy would have been a great addition/substitution for the album, but Flower Child??? It's super-duper-extra cheesy and it wouldn't have got the album any better. Well.......maybe instead of One Step Closer I agree. I would rather have 4:30 minutes of silence than 4:30 of One Step Closer


    Yes, I'd definitely rather have Flower Child than One Step Closer. One Step Closer is just such a crap song. It would be better if they had just left it off the album completely. I think they realised it was a terrible song because they never played it live at all.
  11. Originally posted by bobplaysthedrums:How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb is on the same level as the other albums that decade.

    1. Vertigo - 10/10
    2. Miracle Drug - 10/10
    3. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own - 10/10
    4. Love And Peace Or Else - 5/10
    5. City Of Blinding Lights - 10/10
    6. All Because Of You - 4/10
    7. A Man And A Woman - 1/10
    8. Crumbs From Your Table - 10/10
    9. One Step Closer - 4/10
    10. Original Of The Species - 10/10
    11. Yahweh - 2/10


    1. Vertigo - 8/10
    2. Miracle Drug - 4/10
    3. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own - 3/10
    4. Love And Peace Or Else - 10/10
    5. City Of Blinding Lights - 5/10
    6. All Because Of You - 7/10
    7. A Man And A Woman - 4/10
    8. Crumbs From Your Table - 3/10
    9. One Step Closer - 2/10
    10. Original Of The Species - 3/10
    11. Yahweh - 4/10
    +
    Fast Cars 7/10

    for me
  12. I'd take off every track except Man And A Woman, One Step Closer, Original Of The Species, Miracle Drug, Crumbs From Your Table and Yahweh.

    That's a better result than ATYCLB where I only like two tracks.