Day 0907 - All That You Can’t Leave Behind

U2 “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” (2000)

It’d be easy enough to write this one up as “Famous rock band finally stop faffing about with pop/dance music and gets back to rocking” but that would sell short the band's growth.

As outlined in my write-up for “Achtung Baby” (day 702) the band had moved away from their more ‘meat n potatoes’ melodic-rock sound and experimented with dance, funk, and alt-rock, culminating in their album “Pop” where they fully embraced the dance and pop scene.  That album was not a favourite among fans and the band felt that it was rushed and not their best work.   I personally think it’s one of their better ones, but there we go.  One person’s trash…. and all that.

So the band decided to get back to their roots of “band playing together in a room”.  They reunited with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois who had helmed their biggest 1980s albums.

The sound is fairly straightforward, with guitarist the Edge mostly sticking to clean tones with less sonic experimentation than he’d previously indulged in.  That’s not to say the album is a straight reversion to their “Joshua Tree” sound though.  They seem to have retained some of their more European melodic ideas.  Single “Elevation” sounds like it could be the younger cousin of “Mysterious Ways” from the Achtung Baby album with its effect-laden guitar, dance elements and slightly sexual lyrics.  There are still some dance beats to be had elsewhere too.

I was interested to see what the album as a whole would be like as the first 3-4 songs are its singles (Beautiful Day, Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out of, Elevation and Walk On), so I wondered if they’d front-loaded the album in the hopes that side A would sell side B.   That kind of is the case too.  

There are some other good songs besides the singles, “In a little while” is a nice simple pop song, and “Grace” lives up to its name. But, much of the second half of the album is a bit forgettable, or self-important (“Peace on Earth”).

Day 0855 - Time Out of Mind

Bob Dylan "Time Out of Mind" (1997)

Dylan had been some 6-7 years without any original material, existing instead on cover songs and revisiting his past glories.   He reunited with producer Daniel Lanois, regular producer for U2, and Peter Gabriel, and who had also produced Dylan's own "Oh Mercy" album.

By all accounts the sessions seem to have been cluttered with two drummers and  a multitude of other musicians on the sessions.... I'm sure Phil Spector would have approved.

Dylan later expressed mixed feelings about the recording, and one critic described it as Lanois' CV... well if that's the case, I'd hire him.   I really enjoyed the album.

I'm typically 50/50 on Bob Dylan as I don't focus much on lyrics and that's obviously known to be his main strength.  I'm more interested in what he's doing musically and how the words fit around that sound-wise.   From opener "Love Sick" this is a murky blues album, one of those ones that sounds like it'd make a great soundtrack for driving (maybe through a desert night).  The dense sound eases up temporarily for piano ballad "Make you feel my love" then back onto the highway for the last couple of tracks, including the epic 16+ minute closing track "Highlands".

Dylan's nasal voice had settled into a weary, gravelly drawl which suits this music nicely.

Day 0609 - The Joshua Tree

U2 "The Joshua Tree" (1987) - got it

Love or hate them, this really is U2 at the height of their powers.  They still had their earnestness and honesty, but hadn't become insufferably preachy.  They had mastered their instruments and embraced studio technology without being overly reliant on it.  With one Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois-produced album (the Unforgettable Fire) under their belt, they had found their groove with the producers and were able to trust them and take risks with their sound.

I'd obviously heard a lot of this music (even before I'd bought the album), but I was still pleasantly surprised what a strong overall 'package' the album is.  You have the awesome pop trio of "where the streets have no name" "Still haven't found what I'm looking for" and "With or without you" followed on by the atmospheric rock of "Bullet the blue sky".  The quality doesn't dip on the second side with "Red Hill mining town" and the NZ-inspired "One Tree Hill".

As someone who isn't a rabid U2 fan, but appreciates parts of their oeuvre, I would still point to this as their pinnacle.   Passion meeting studio-savvy without getting too far up their own arses in either of those aspects.

Day 0503 - the Rise and Fall

Madness "the Rise and Fall" (1982)

 
By this stage Madness had released 3 albums, a greatest hits collection, and (most importantly) had made the first of their two appearances on 'the Young Ones'.  Their fourth album is suitably sonically interesting.  Still working within their ska framework, but pushing that sound to its very limits with songs that alternatively bounce, cajole, swing, wallow, and reminisce.

'The Rise and Fall' was designed to be a concept album of sorts, looking at aspects of the band's childhood and upbringing, but that concept fell slightly by the wayside with tracks about New Delhi, and Margaret Thatcher ('Blue skinned beast') being included.  The latter of these two would signal a slightly more political bent in Madness' future albums.

At the moment I have a greatest hits album by Madness, but listening to this one has convinced me that I should probably explore their discography a bit more!

Day 0491 - Mask

Bauhaus "Mask" (1981)

 
I don't know if I'm maybe not in the mood, but this one seems just 'okay'.  On the face of it it seems like something that I'd be into; a gothy post-punk offering that mixes skittish whiteboy funk, electronic elements, gothic backing vocals and a number of other elements.  I enjoyed all of it and really wanted to LOVE it, but it just wasn't happening.

This was viewed as being Bauhaus' more poppy accessible album.  They released 2 more albums before going their separate ways with all the members pursuing separate music projects (testament to the combined creativity contained within the band).   They reunited and released an album in the 00s.