I'm talking about William Blake, the 18th-century poet who authored the "Songs of Innocence and Experience." Don't click away--even if you know nothing about poetry, if you know something about U2, you'll appreciate this...

The theme of the "Songs" is this: We enter the world with a pure, unaffected point of view. As such, we perceive it with unadulterated clarity, but we lack the understanding to appreciate what we see.

With experience comes this understanding, but at what price? We lose the clarity of perception we were born with.

As understanding increases, though, we realize this. And then we become whole. Only through innocence can we become experienced. Only through experience can we appreciate innocence.

Now, who's that sound like? An Irish rock group, maybe, who started out waving a white flag, proclaiming, "I Will Follow"? Who saw the world in black and white and knew exactly which side they were on?

The same group saved themselves by diving headfirst into the black, as it were. With the Zoo TV experience, they immersed themselves in the sensual and the secular. In fact, they did that so thoroughly that to this day, older, more simpleminded fans resent them for it.

The simpletons can rejoice, and so can us Achtung Babies who understand what U2 did and why they had to do it, and love them for it. It started on "Pop," and it's happened on "All That You Can't Leave Behind": U2 have come full circle, become whole. They are innocent again. They understand the world around them, and now they know why this is black, why that's white, and why there's so much gray.

The band who created "All..." aren't afraid to wear their collective heart on their collective sleeve again. They aren't afraid to ask for "Peace on Earth." They can write the sweetest, most lovingest love song they've ever written now--"Wild Honey"--because they know now that beyond the darkness love is certainly waiting.

They've made their phone calls from Hell, and they are more aware than ever that, while the dark places won't go away, the world is still a true, beautiful place. They're seeing with cherubs' eyes now--the eyes of wise children.

They said they wanted to make an album about joy, and that it wouldn't be easy. They've more than risen to the challenge.

Buy this album. Buy it now. Click now. It will make your problems go away, at least for a little while. It will make your soul soar. It will make you sing.


They have done it again!   October 19, 2000
Robert Knetsch (Toronto, Ontario Canada)
114 out of 122 found this review helpful

Once again U2 have shown that they are alive and well in the rock and roll scene. Teaming up again with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois who were with U2 on their hit albums Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, U2 have shown that they are a band of the 80s, 90s and the new millenium.

Beautiful Day is a brilliant poppy song that hides its deep overtones of meaning and lack of value in material things. Personally it inspires me as I consider, as the person does in the song, what it would be like to lose everything and still be able to realize that the day is wonderful, that there is still life, the earth and creation(in green and blue!) is valuable in and of itself. The biblical overtones of Noah and the ark are quirky and effective.

The Edge is still a shining star in songs like When I Look at The World. His screaming guitar solo, reminiscent of Unforgettable Fire days gives me goosebumps. You can hear Eno's influence in this song. Lanois' skill at giving a great beat to the music is as inspiring as ever.

Bono can still write, there is no doubt about that. From the spiritual beauty of Kite to the frolicking romp of New York he weaves stories and thoughts that are as captivating as ever.

Some claim that this album is a return to their roots. Its hard to say. I think they are still trying new things but just are not in the mood for the dance loops, and electronic sounds of their previous 3 albums - which, by the way, gave them great success. This is about how they want to continue to be a band with feeling and emotion.

I regret that Bono's voice just is not what it used to be in the album. The strain is detectable - and yet this strain somehow brings out a differnt kind of yearning and emotion to his voice that still makes me stand transfixed as I listen to the best rock band around.


An excellent addition to a great body of work   November 7, 2000
Paul M. Gunther (Los Angeles, CA USA)
55 out of 65 found this review helpful

There are U2 listeners under the mistaken impression that U2 is The Joshua Tree, and that everything after that was untrue to their image. Then there are those that realize that The Joshua Tree was just one of the many images the band has employed throughout their career, and was never meant to be permanent. They have continually evolved their sound through the years. To listeners of Boy and October, the U2 of The Joshua Tree was commercial and a divergence from their true self. To listeners of The Joshua Tree, the U2 of Pop was commercial and divergent from their true self. Then there are those that realize that the songs are always the same: it's how the band plays them that changes.

How does U2 play those songs on All That You Can't Leave Behind? Very well.

"Beautiful Day": When you lose everything, you can still stop, look around, and realize, Yeah, I'm broke and destitute, but isn't it beautiful out today? The first single, though that honor likely should have gone to "Elevation", which will likely find greater chart success.

"Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of": A Motown-flavored ballad. A song about suicide; or, rather, suicide prevention. About realizing that wherever you are at right now, you won't be there forever. Every moment ends. This feeling you're feeling now won't always be there. Also a likely single, because the lyrics are dichotomous enough that it sounds like a straightforward love song. Should find the same audience that doesn't realize that "Every Breath You Take" is about stalking.

"Elevation": A sort of "Even Better Than the Real Thing," in that "Take me higher" could have been lifted from that song and dropped in here without missing a beat. Following the pattern set by the previous two songs on the album, it's about finding inspiration and learning to leap up out of the blues. A great rocker, with some of the dance rhythms the band experimented with on Pop held over for subtle use here. Would make a great show opener. Favorite lyric: "At the corner of your lips / As the orbit of your hips / Eclipse / You elevate my soul"

"Kite": Probably my favorite song on the album. Flying away, floating on a leisurely breeze like a kite in the wind, is the metaphor. Just go with the wind. You can't control it, so just learn to enjoy it.

"In a Little While": An unusual little number for the band, with a great guitar lick by Edge kicking off a sweet song about missing someone; about being able to stop and enjoy missing someone.

"Wild Honey": U2 idealizes The White Album, the album that gave us "Honey Pie" and "Wild Honey Pie". Now, U2 gives us the completely unrelated "Wild Honey". One of the few straightforward songs on the album. After Jimmy Buffet wrote a song about the misadventure he shared with Bono in Jamaica, it seems only fitting that the boys write something with Jimmy's flavor.

"Peace on Earth": Another straightforward song. With a title like this, it's hard to mistake what it's about, but it does contain some of the most meaningful lyrics Bono's ever written. A reminder to those who make the mistake that U2 left behind their care for the world with Zooropa and Pop. It's always been there; they just stopped beating people over the head about it.

"New York": After doing Miami last time and New York this time, I guess the only thing left is Los Angeles. Denver, maybe? Poughkeepsie?

Though more mellow than most of their albums, there is a lot here to listen to. One of the best albums the band has produced in their career, and certainly one of the best albums of the year.


A Classic U2 Album   October 19, 2000
Mark Freedman (Planet Earth)
45 out of 54 found this review helpful

ATYCLB is an instant U2 classic. There is not a weak track on the album. It is perhaps their most melodic and consistent work, introducing several tracks that will forever rank up there with the likes of With Or With You, One, and Pride. Walk on and Kite are two favorites, and absolute U2 classics.

Since the entire album was leaked all over the Web over a week ago, hundreds of U2 fans have already heard most or all of the album, and the general consensus has been extremely passionate and positive, which is far above and beyond when their prior album, Pop, was released in 1997.

ATYCLB has the potential to be a huge hit, with most tracks being candidates for singles and radio play.

While it incorporates every style of U2's career, from Boy to Pop, it's also nothing like anything they've ever released.

It's truly a breath of fresh air.


U2's newest effort is not a masterpiece   October 20, 2000
matt smart (Arizona)
38 out of 90 found this review helpful

In a recent Rolling Stone review, James Hunter calls U2's 10th studio album, "All That You Can't Leave Behind," its third masterpiece. I must admit, that it is nice to see U2 leave behind its techno-pop musings that lead to such subpar efforts as "Zooropa" and "Popmart," but I do not think that the new album is their 3rd masterpiece, or a masterpiece at all for that matter. What made a U2 masterpiece, like "Achtung Baby," were not only timeless ballads like "One" and rock phenoms like "Even Better Than the Real Thing," but that the album could be played through. When I played "Achtung" for the first time, I found myself listening in awe. Never once, did I think to skip through a track. The album not only yielded a slew of hits, but it had treasures that were never subjected to the top 40 broken record. Those who owned the disc, not only enjoyed the radio hits, but were treated to beautifully crafted songs like "Love is Blindness" and "Acrobat." In the case of U2's recent effort, I found myself wanting to fast forward more than once. On the good side, the album is highlighted with the familiar sounding "Beautiful Day,"the wonderfully melodic "In a Little While," and the instrospective "New York." "New York" may not only be the best track on the album, but perhaps the best lyrically. The song begins with the soft beat of a drum machine, soft lyrics by Bono, the slight hint of The Edge's echoing guitar, and eventually erupts into into a heavy, guitar laden refrain of "New York..New York!" This song is truly the heartbeat of the album and one of its few masterful moments. As for the rest of the album, I found it to be plagued with whiny, overproduced numbers like "Peace on Earth" and "Grace." On "Elevation," a heavier track, Bono sounds like some rare bird that is screaching its mating call. Is this an attempt by Bono to overcompensate for his faltering voice that once powered songs like "Pride?" Unfortunately, I think most will agree that not only is Bono slowly losing that fire in his voice, but that U2's newest album lacks the fire of their previous pinnacles, "The Joshua Tree" and "Achtung Baby." Perhaps the Irish rockers have "left behind" their previous mediocre efforts, but they have only returned with a pale imitation of their previous masterpieces.