madcougar

I won't completely disagree with you, but there have been many albums over the years that I loved (FREAKIN' LOVED) first time out - Actung Baby being one of them. Ironically (with regard to your statement), I enjoyed Zooropa enough when it came out, but it now ranks pretty low with me.

I like this new album enough, but it does continue to grow on me with each listen.

shaggy

Don't misunderstand. I loved Achtung Baby and almost all U2 records first time through, I'm just saying it takes awhile to see if they hold up and where they fit in the overall rank.

cungar

A couple pretty harsh reviews from Pitchfork (expected)

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/articl...on-the-horizon

and allmusic:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...0:kbfyxzwkldke


U2 have an almost impossibly high standard to live up to. Maybe as high as the Beatles in their prime. This album would be a career defining masterpiece for most bands. For them it's considered a failure.

madcougar

I gotcha cat. It only makes sense - test of time kind of thing. For me it's a thing where USUALLY time will determine if an album is as good as I think it is. There have been rare exceptions where I've listened to an album first time out and said "masterpiece!" and thought the same thing 10 or 20 years after the fact as was the case with Actung Baby.

Gulp! I'm so old that I can actually say "20 years after the fact," and not sound like a complete dumbass! I wonder what my 13 year-old daughter will think of the Jonahs Bros. in 20 years. Ha!

Mr. Salty

Just a reminder: U2 begins their five-night run tonight as guests on "Late Show With David Letterman."

Supermallet

Perhaps, had The Beatles been together for 30 years, people wouldn't be so kind to their latest releases, either. Although the latest Rolling Stones album got some decent reviews, so who knows.

Edit: Wow, that allmusic review was way too harsh, especially given that they gave Atomic Bomb a half star more, which is ridiculous.

Setzer

Yeah, the reviewer is out of his mind. This album completely blows away Atomic Bomb. Not even gonna bother reading anymore reviews, I already have my opinion of the album.

C-Mart

I could barely follow what that allmusic reviewer was even saying. I'm pretty sure he used a thesaurus quite a bit when writing that review. I think this guy just doesn't like U2... or he really likes U2, but being a reviewer he is overcompensating when he tries to not show any bias.

Anyway, I've been listening to this off-and-on since it leaked, and I like it today more than the first time I listened to it. I can't wait till tomorrow when I can go get the actual CD! Good thing its the only thing coming out this week that I want to get!

shaggy

You can download it right now on Amazon for $3.99!

http://u2.thefanpage.net

madcougar

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001S6HZTE?ie=UTF8&tag=jclworldwide-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001S6HZTE

Damn... first time ever (EVER!) that I pre-order something on iTunes too... what a great deal. It's still live.

Drexl

That's cool, but I'm still getting the CD for $8.99 (also Amazon).

cungar

Remember this is the same guy (Stephen Thomas Erlewine) who gave Paris Hilton's debut album 4 1/2 stars http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...0:axfixq8dldje. Consider the source. Bono could record himself belching and I'd rather listen to it than an album by that little spoiled tart.

C-Mart

Well, I ended up with the digi-pak for $22.99 at Target. I checked out the site with the film, and it is a "companion" film to the album. I haven't watched it yet since I'm at work... maybe at lunch. I like the packaging on the digi pak, it has a nice booklet attached and a fold out poster that is cool (also attached to the package). The plastic sleeve has the "=" sign with the "horizon" printed on the cardboard of the pak.

Edit: Oh, and my stupid DVR didn't record Letterman last night! is the episode online?

shaggy

I bought the box set and I'm just about to open it. U2 album releases are like a holiday for me!

For those of you, who are big U2 fans and aren't buying any of the deluxe versions, what is the reason. Would you not pay $37 or $65 for any album, or is a lack of value within the sets?

cdollaz

For me, it is lack of value. I'm not gonna pay premium for books, documentaries, posters, fancy packaging, or any of that kind of shit which I will look at once, if that.

shaggy

I'm the opposite, I love all that stuff. Would you pay $30 - $40 if it included a live DVD or a bunch of demos or b-sides? I'm always interested in what bands can do to make people want to buy stuff. I like the NIN model of giving away the album and selling various deluxe versions. I think U2 was on the right track here but just didn't give enough extra for the price.

atlantamoi

For a poster and expanded artwork? Never. For a DVD? Maybe a little more, but if I recall I didn't pay extra for one of Air's CDs that included a live concert DVD.

For me to pay $40 for any extra stuff it would have to be something like a reissue of the Beatles "Revolver" where John Lennon comes back from the dead and slaps me across across the face when I open the booklet.

cdollaz

Depends on the content. I thought the live DVD on the Joshua Tree deluxe was of marginal quality, so it would have to be better than that. Also, the bonus discs with the recent U2 re-releases have been of average to poor quality, material-wise. Add to that the fact that U2's bonus packages are priced much higher than the norm, and it isn' of good value to me. $35 list price on the reissues? Give me a break. They should do it the right way, like Costello, Pavement, and others have done.

mdc3000

I don't think the special editions are a good value - in Canada it's $20 more for the digipak which includes a downloadable film - seriously, if the film was on DVD it might be more worth it... also, Canada got the shaft and only the standard version came out today - all special editions are delayed until March 17... I'm holding off until I hear from you guys if the deluxe are worth the extra coin or not...

shaggy

I agree the remasters are too high, I think the improvement in sound quality was stunning and the b-sides were good not great, and I loved the packaging but still over priced.

I disagree about the Joshua Tree deluxe, I would buy all their albums in that format and price. The packaging and book are really nice and I think the DVD is excellent. It contained an almost complete concert, a rare documentary, and of course the Red Hill Mining Town video. Overall, a great package in my opinion.

The No Line on the Horizon boxset is beautiful inside and out and its very high quality.

I like that you get the film on DVD instead of the download. I just started going through the hardcover book and it has substance. A lot of great pictures and far more text than I expected.

The box also includes the digipack CD, and its one of the nicest I've seen.

Overall, I'm thrilled with it but it is overpriced. Only collectors or die-hard fans are going to buy this.

shaggy

The pricing in Canada is a joke. I live in Canada, but right on the border so I went over to the U.S this morning to buy the box set. I agree $20 more for a downloadable film and packaging is too much despite how nice it is. It's the nicest digipak I think I've seen and I own a lot of them.

Overall, I think U2 was smart to release the different versions, and they are all really well done but they got the pricing wrong.

If the CD was 9.99, the digipak was $16.99, the magazine 24.99, and the boxset $39.99. I think the sales would be way better.

Setzer

This is the reason I'm not going with the Deluxe version as well. The book and poster for $45 more wasn't worth it to me.

Chrisedge

I sprang for the deluxe even thought I thought I wasn't going to. Heard the film is SO SO, but as a U2 fan, I figured what the heck. I will say, the reissues are great, and if you buy them first week they are priced fine. I HATE that U2 can't stick to a consistant package though. HTDAAB Deluxe, JT Super Deluxe, Boy/Oct/War Reissues, and now NLOTH Deluxe are ALL different. They should stick to one design. (I prefer the JTSD or the other Reissues)

kms_md

given the reviews i have read, i was not planning on buying this. however, for 3.99, i figured what the heck.

shaggy

Exactly why the downloads should always be $3.99.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, the album is stellar.