All That You Can't Leave Behind

Vild frontloaded album. Forstår godt at det blive hyldet for at være godt, men det paller af på mig. Stærk åbner er ikke nødvendigvis det samme som et godt album. Starten er en hitparade, og resten er højest 2 værd.

U2 når de er mest kedelige

Not a big fan of these guys but I respect what they did in the 80s and early 90s. Beautiful Day off this album is good. This album has a lot more tracks that I know than I was aware of. Seems very generic to me.

A decent era for U2. Beautiful Day is the best song on this album.

Solid album. Doesn't include a ton of U2 hits, but it's well-rounded and can hit the spot if I'm in the mood for it.

A solid album but the song “New York” has always irked me. It’s so bad!

sure i guess

Not a bad sound but won’t be back.

Strong beginning and then kind of fizzles out at the end. Favorite track: Beautiful Day

This brings me so many memories of being a little kid and discovering new music

I read that this album was conceived as a kind of palate cleanser after Pop and the PopMart tour. That's the era in which I first became aware of U2 and I think it permanently damaged my ability to hear them clearly... there's something off-putting about claiming to be the biggest band in the world, even if it's all with a wink. Anyway, the album strikes me as pleasant but not much more. I know the big U2 albums are yet to come and I feel like I'll dig in deeper then.

A staggering run of turn of the century defining absolute fucking belters begins the album. It might feel a shame to have lost the rebel soul of the U2 that wrote one of the all-time great protest songs, but fair play to the lads: there comes a moment when the desire to celebrate living another beautiful day is inspiration plenty to write a corker. Time flies, after all. By the time “Kite” has rolled into “In a Little While” and then on to “Wild Honey”, sympathy with Bono’s predicament (namely, having become the richest man in entertainment but still feeling that incurable desire to create) has worn thin. Here, splayed across the wet tissue paper weak underbelly of All You Can’t Leave Behind, was the Bono overload; the conjuror whose Faustian pact promised a beautiful day but instead ensnared you in a moment you couldn’t get out of. Final track “The Ground Beneath Her Feet” is actually quite good. (Funnily enough, I don’t recall us ever getting so deep into the album when it sat in the Renault Megane’s CD player through 2000-2001.) That aside, a more dramatic drop in quality across a record boasting some truly iconic tunes feels difficult to imagine. But that’s U2 for you – a band posterity (as many fans do already) might do well to judge as “greatest hits or it didn’t happen”.

I have been a huge fan of U2 right back to my first album of theirs . Boy. I particularly enjoy the journey they took on the first 9 albums, post punk, Americana and then electropop. When this album came out I saw it as a backward step, maybe trying for Joshua Tree part 2. It didn’t grab me like their other albums, although having a few memorable tracks.

saved 3/11 songs- couldnt play song 12 on spotify. I havent listend to the full songs just clips

All That You Can’t Leave Behind feels surprisingly pedestrian for a band of U2’s stature. While it seems clear they were aiming for a cleaner, more traditional sound, the result is largely safe and uninspired. Beyond “Beautiful Day,” which understandably received the bulk of the airplay, few tracks make a strong or lasting impression. The album plays it too cautiously, offering competence instead of ambition.

A return to form of sorts after a strange 90's for U2. It's safe, if not a little uninspiring, pop rock. I enjoyed the singles at least, but they were over only halfway through the album.

Favorite: Stuck in a moment you can't get out of

- beautiful day wieder entdeckt, ist ein 8/10 banger - stuck in a Moment.. 5/10

U2 is the Coldplay of U2s. Or something. This album is fine. "Beautiful Day" was my jam back in the day, but most of these tracks kinda blend together. So while I didn't mind listening to it, it didn't move the needle much for me either. 3/5

I cannot stand U2 and have gone in and listened to every U2 album on the list with an open mind and hated every minute of it. Until this album. I actually liked it. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of is a wonderful song. I also enjoyed Elevation and In A Little While. This album gets the number of stars equal to the songs I liked.

Overrated a bit imo

Bono the person turned me off, but U2 the band and this album is not bad at all!

U2 I find to be so hit or miss, and this is pretty much the most middle of the road album I think I've heard from them. Like it's hard to complain about this at all, the writing is good, and it's well performed by very clearly talented people, but there's just very little about it that I can point to specifically and say that I actually remembered or noticed that part. Just a collection of perfectly competent but mildly forgettable songs.

I didn't hate this. I thought I would.

Quality but boring

Some good songs but also some songs that are sort of just there. Painfully inoffensive at times with some of the old U2 fire present at other times. Brain Eno produced 'All That You Can't Leave Behind' and it sounds exactly like how you imagine it sounding. Yawn. If I never hear this album again- that's fine & if I do - that's fine too. If this album was a pizza, it would be pizza from Costco. Fancy a slice of Bono?

Once you listened to a few albums of U2, you kind of lose the taste for it. Achtung Baby was better.

This concludes all the U2 on this list. In retrospect, a band that's at its best when it embraces the darker aspects of their sound but consistently runs away from it as time goes on. Bono is a constantly meandering source of both inspiration and annoyance through hamfisted preachy lyrics. The edge leans heavily on the various modulation effects for his guitar sound; there is not a single guitar solo anywhere. Not a mark against him per se, there's some great sounds that sprung from him. But a different guitarist or band could have leveraged that asset better. As with this album, all ingredients were always there but somehow they never end up used the right way to make something truly impressive.

Can’t deny that this is just so solid. Not the biggest fan of their music but that is mainly because it is so overplayed.

Arena rock. On a closer listen, Beautiful Day is actually a cool song, with hints of indie to come (reminds me of Killers and Coldplay). Also maybe even the indie-adjacent emo (instrumentals could be straight from The Used or AFI!) 2 tracks in, 2 very good. Exceeding expectations! Elevation is similar to Muse? After Elevation, seems to get stuck in a rut Peace On Earth is a mawkish attempt at a Christmas song? Shame, it starts so strongly, and then peters out in a stream of ballads. Best track - Stuck in a Moment..., Elevation 3 stars

Tempted to rate this as a 3, but it has like four bangers on it. Is it as good War, JT, Acht, or even Zooropa? I don't think so. So compared to the 4s and 5s there, I guess it has to have a 3. 3.5 officially.

You know the old maxim: when trying to please everyone, you end up pleasing nobody. And clearly, with this album U2 aimed for the radio stations and the shopping malls, the kind of music that wouldn't be totally out of place in any kind of social context. But miraculously, rather than pleasing nobody, their clean and britpoppy sound ended up pleasing... everyone, but only just a little bit? I can't imagine many people enthusiastically grabbing this album to put it on, nor can I imagine many people actively going out of their way to turn any of these songs off.

U2 have produced some very beautiful and groundbreaking pieces. However, I was never a big fan of the band. I feel the same way about this album. I quite like a few of the tracks. I couldn't care less about the rest. 3/5

Pretty good time

This album is ok, but is it even in U2’s top 5?

Easily consumable, I think I prefer their earlier stuff though.

60/100. For me, Beautiful Day is the saving grace here. The rest of the album feels pretty dull and uninspired.

Found this to be very mid

not bad, i like this but i prefer U2 from 80s

Some great songs. Some great melodies. U2 can write great melodies. But the music is anaemic and lacks feeling, it feels weak and without life. The lyrics can be weak sometimes, too. If a song comes on random l’ll listen to it and enjoy it. But I won’t actively seek out this album to listen to again.

Not their best but still good. Better front half

I like u2. Earlier stuff better

3.5 Stars. There's definitely better U2 albums.

First 2 songs are really good and I saved them (already knew Beautiful Day because who doesn't). The rest of the album is fine but doesn't move me. 6/10

I definitely groaned when this was generated for me on a nice calm Sunday morning. Who wants to ruin a nice day off by blasting 'Beautiful Day' and pissing off the dogs and neighbours?! It's a shame it was so horribly overplayed and will forever be associated with the dark days of ITV winning the rights to Match of the Day from the BBC and choosing Bono to replace one of British television's most iconic theme tunes. It's objectively a great tune and opener but that kind of tarnish is hard to shake. The true nadir of All That You Can't Leave Behind then arrives in the form of the truly awful 'Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of'. (And not just for its unforgivably sloppy stranded preposition; just imagine Bono attempting to make a chorus out of 'you've got stuck in a moment, out of which you cannot get'?) Fortunately for U2, and my Sunday morning, things improve vastly from there and I'll be damned if I didn't find myself enjoying a good 80% of this album. I've always appreciated Brian Eno productions and his work helps to elevate the less single-heavy second half of this album with his complex and at times dreamy interpretations of what are otherwise a little unremarkable rockers. I do think overall it feels a bit safe and predictable. 'Elevation', 'Walk On' and 'Kite' are great for what they are, basically cookie-cutter catchy rock songs and I enjoyed the pulsing ambience in the closing run of 'New York' and 'Grace', but after applying the standard U2 tax, this will have to sit as a solid 3 rather than scraping a 4.

Full of radio hits but I don't personally really like U2 or this album.

gute hintergrundmusik

Not bad but nothing stands out really

tough to rate this one. I mean there are a few songs that are objectively iconic in terms of recognizing them, but it's still a U2 album from the tail-end of their career. It's safe, it's shallow, and pretty same-y.

This was ok. Consistent, but maybe a little too consistent as more variety would've been nice. Having said that, it's not a classic list-worthy album, but it is a solid album. Liked Songs Added: Beautiful Day

this wasn’t bad. tis not amazing, but not awful either. the singles from the album are solid radio-friendly songs, and a few of the others were filler, which is to be expected from many albums, unfortunately.

Just average

I love U2. I love them in rock mode, and I appreciate them in cheesy pop mode, like they are here. In 2014, I felt like I was the only person who thought, "Oh, cool. The new U2 album is automatically on my iTunes." U2 is earnest and big-hearted. They want to make you feel something. Even on their more forgettable songs (this album has plenty), that guitar tone is gorgeous and moving. The emotions are pure, and the production is immaculate. U2 also has enough hits to fill two greatest hits albums. This album opens with three of them. These are huge songs that took over the world when they came out. I still enjoy humming along to them in a department store, even if they're not my favorites.

A typical solid U2 album in their modern stadium rock era. "Beautiful Day" is a really nice track, and one that I annoyingly will sing to my wife when we're having a bad day to make her giggle. "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of" is also good, and I might actually consider "Elevation" to be my favorite on the record. Unfortunately with those three tracks being the first ones on the album, everything after feels a bit fleeting and not exactly packed with memorable hooks or big pop rock moments. If this song had maybe two more tracks that were on the same level of the first ones, I think I would raise the rating on this one but I feel pretty comfortable giving it a 3/5.

The front half was packed full of songs I hear in pubs and restaurants and public places all the time. There’s no denying the widespread appeal of the singles from this album, but the back half didn’t grab me and I think in retrospect, these songs ushered in an era of soulless rock pop that tarnishes this album for me. It’s good not great

3.5

A solid 3. Almost a 4. It’s a good listenable album but doesn’t do anything new. Not a landmark U2 record.

A 3+. Had not heard the album (but heard a few songs). Would not put it in same category as early U2 but better than expected. Somewhat surprised it made the list.

Going into this, I thought it was one of those albums that is just non-stop hits. There ARE a lot of hits on this album. But holy cow, side two of this becomes forgettable very quickly. The hits were huge, but I don't think this even compares to some of their earlier stuff. It's fine, but I won't be coming back to it.

Its U2 Its never bad.

A good sof Rock album, nothing to add 3/5

I have a positive Pavlovian response to “Beautiful Day” because they play it at Target Field when the Twins win. (So it’s been awhile since I’ve heard it. Har har.) The rest of it is alright to pretty good. It’s the sound you think of when you think U2, for better or for worse. A lot of space and big melodies and subtle guitar adornments. It's also a little bloated.

A nice album with great production. Easy listening. I can see why it's so popular. However, U2 is not really my cup of tea

Ah this is where U2 went back to their 80s sound after the 90s experiment. Sadly does not reach the heights I think Achtung Baby and Joshua Tree did. This seems more formulaic, and doesn't really grip me as much as the other 2 had. There are still some great songs on here though, like "Elevation". But listening to this just made me wish this generator would give me Joshua Tree already

U2’s return-to-form effort trades the irony and experimentation of the ’90s for a sleek, radio-polished sound that channels their ’80s grandeur into a new millennium package, resulting in an album that was everywhere upon release—sometimes to the point of fatigue. The hooks are undeniable and the production pristine, but the raw emotion and adventurous spark that once made U2 essential often feel smoothed over, leaving the record more comfortable than urgent. Still, moments like the gospel-tinged lift of “Stuck in a Moment…,” the soulful ease of “In a Little While,” and the urban sprawl of “New York” remind you why Bono and company remain masters of arena-sized uplift.

This album is actually good. Just not impressive enough to make me say it's something to highlight. The songs are good. What really doesn't work is the overall result. It feels repetitive at some point and becomes more boring than anything else, even if the songs aren't bad. It's just too much. This album being shorter or more inspired would have helped to make me like it more.

Quite average, apart from beautiful day, nothing really stands out.

I have to admit, I enjoyed this album more than I expected. I remember it being heavily promoted when it came out, but after the mess they made in the ’90s, I had no interest in hearing it. Even in the mid-2000s, the songs I heard from them were just as bad, if not worse, than their ’90s output. But since this was my daily album from the 1001 album generator, and I’ve committed to listening to every album from start to finish, this one took me by surprise. I wouldn’t say it was super impressive, but it’s a well-balanced album where U2 seemed genuinely focused on making a solid rock record without trying to be something they’re not.

I don't see all of the hate. My first listen and they are alright. Am I missing some context here?

Great start but tails off

Solid album I new more songs than I expected, lived up to the namesake abit in the light side for me over all good.

U2's last good album. First half is absolutely perfect. Then, it gives into sugary sweetness and cringe lyrics that show why Bono is mocked the way he is. Still, a very solid album that reminds us why U2 was one of the most powerful bands on the planet for a long time.

It’s fine. U2 still hasn’t recovered from auto-adding that one album to all of our iTunes libraries. The hate is mostly hyperbolic and melodramatic. They’re still a great band, but the reality is that their best creative period was several decades ago. Which is fine. If you like U2, you’ll enjoy this album well enough. Should this particular album be on this list? I can think of a half-dozen better U2 albums.

Ok listen.

I lost interest in U2 when they progressed from scrappy indie band to arena rock megastars in the mid-‘80s. To be fair, I haven’t listened to their catalogue - other than the singles of course - post-“Unforgettable Fire.” This album does little to change my opinion. “Beautiful Day” is a great song. I also quite like “New York,” in the way I like all paeans to my birthplace and favorite city, but it’s not in the top 10 NYC songs ever written. Otherwise, it’s more of the U2 I expect - proficient, big sound anthems that lack an urgency or reason for being for me. Ultimately, it’s bland.

A solid pop/rock album with some good singles but didn’t leave a lasting impact

Great first four tracks and then………. Just a bit meh?

I could leave a little more than half behind.

This is why everyone in my generation is like, "U2 sucks." and honestly? I'm right there with them. This is I guess could be argued as their last "good" album but it's just so blase.

This and the Joshua Tree are the two U2 albums that I remember listening to growing up. Listening to All That You Can't Leave Behind now, there are definitely some pretty solid tracks like Beautiful Day, Elevation, Walk On, and New York, but I really don't remember the rest of the album; it’s kind of just forgettable. It's not bad, just nothing really stands out to me. Honestly, I think U2 are just a solid greatest hits band for me. Great singles, but forgettable albums; just give me an album of the singles.

Some good singles but I'm.just not the biggest U2 fan

Much better then I thought it would be. I don't like the whining quality of the vocals.

being a u2 apologist is so difficult. trying to defend their post-2000 output is even more difficult. all that you can’t leave behind’s singles are pretty strong, it’s a shame that most of the album’s deeper cuts can’t hold them up.

The hits are fine, everything else is very boring. I remember when my dad bought this album because he was U2 fan, but I don't remember ever hearing him listen to it. I can understand why now.

O álbum tem bons momentos. Algumas faixas que se tornaram clássicas. Truthear Zero:Red.

Powiem to: dla mnie U2 jest kiczowate. Już pomijam pseudointelektualnego Bono, ale te wyniosłe, optymistyczne teksty do mnie nie trafiają. Ich wczesne płyty były okej, ale ta? To już ten moment, kiedy zaczęli się odklejać. Dla mnie ulubionym utworem Bono na zawsze zostanie jego solo w Do they know it’s Christmastime at aaaaallll. 6.5/10

Mixed bag. Some songs on here are good, others I found quite tedious. Of the ones I didn't know, I liked Walk on best. I think this is another 3/3.5.

Not my cup of tea, but few songs ended in my playlist. Many songs could be good for road trips.

Definitely listenable pop, but I don't get moved by it--are they too comfortable or am I just too familiar? Songs like It's A Beautiful Day are delightful, though others leave me sleeping. Arena pop has its pluses and minuses.

The Importance of Being Earnest!

I've been all over the map with this band, but I suppose the reality is I like certain albums and songs to a point, and the remainder is just something of a miss with me. So it is with this album. The opener is solid, and while not my favorite U2 song ever, it's a good start. The rest of the album is a bit too metronomic moody refrigerator magnet poetry, accented by Bono's increasingly annoying need to add a falsetto hoot to sections of music that would be better without. Perhaps it has gotten oddly personal, but I'm not really into what these guys are doing on this record.

Never gave much time for U2, they always seemed a bit pretentious to me. Listening to this, it was fine; very inoffensive, easy listening that can appeal to anyone but didn’t seem to take much risk to me. 3.25/5 kinda bland

I really don’t want to listen to this. The first few tracks had me thinking I was wrong about U2. But by the end, and rhyming trilogy at the beginning of Grace I realised that I wasn’t.

I wish Bono were a better singer. The first two tracks I love from sear familiarity, and the rest have some nice sentiments. My dad used to say that U2 only knows three chords and doesn't feel obligated to use them in every song, and I definitely understand why now.

Definitely middle-of-the-road, but I guess where I split with this album’s detractors is that I think there are worse things you can be than boring. There are good songs and good moments on this album, even if its mild sound foretold U2 becoming one of the most irrelevant bands ever. Best song: Beautiful Day

Enjoyed

Professional. Warmly produced. Reminds me of REM's Reveal. Slightly past their best but still capable of making cosy albums.

Banger parade in the beginning, and the rest is boring in comparison...

stuck in a moment was good, rest was meh

They tried too hard to make a record that nobody could possibly hate and that's why everybody hates it. Nothing really bad about it, beside the fact that it sounds insincere. Favorite song: beautiful day.

3 - decent, a little too weenie hut juniors at points

Starts strong with the 4 best songs and then thrifts, rest of the album is ok, a little forgettable, far from their best work.

Maybe the most inoffensive band of all time, which makes their assault on our iTunes libraries all the more confusing

I've never been keen on U2. That's not so say I particularly dislike them, more that I don't care for their brand of stadium rock. In fact the only U2 album I have is the one that Apple dumped in my account. I played this album twice and remained unconvinced by its merits. The album seemed a bit average to me.

Clearly, not as good as classic U2, but the singles are really good. It’s like five star singles surrounded by fluff.

Pretty decent. High 3/5

5/10 So incredibly "Meh". The songs have so little soul. What band sounds like when they know how to play and write, but have zero spark.

Wild Honey is amazing. Ez 3.5

meh

Starts well with a couple of songs I like, but the album failed to hold my attention, even on a relisten. I wouldn't object to any of the songs if they were playing somewhere, but I feel no desire to listen to the album again. Just felt quite bland. Fav song: Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of Least fav: Grace

Decent but not amazing. Started off strong with beautiful day then kind of tapered off. Specific rating - 3.4 Fav song- beautiful day Least fav- new york

Haven't listened to U2 wholly since they released that album across all iPhones, aside from the rogue well-known tracks. This was good! Not the best, but in no way bad.

I find Bono an annoying twat. That being said Beautiful Day is a great song, rest of the album is pretty meh though.

I'm from the generation that came up on War and Joshua Tree, so this album feels poppy and vapid compared to the emotion and storytelling of those earlier albums. It has some quality instrumentals and production, in my opinion let down a bit by the songwriting in places. It was funny to see U2 live recently and marvel at how many people were waiting for the tracks from this album versus Achtung Baby, Joshua Tree, War, Unforgettable Fire, which to me are all far superior.

The beginning of U2’s steep and fast decline into an embarrassing inferno. The first four songs are solid, but then we take a sharp turn into adult contemporary slop territory that reminds you just how big of a tool Bono is.

meh

2.75

Ok. Too long, but good singles.

Beautiful day is a good song, if overplayed. I still wouldn't put it on a playlist. The Edge is the redeeming factor here, even stinkers like New York have some really cool guitar bits.

3.5

Sometimes it's hard to know whether you don't like something or just heard it too many times when it was new. Having been granted about 20 years of reprieve from having to listen to this, I can say that it's not terrible and I simply got tired of hearing it everywhere all day every day. It's innovative and retrospective at the same time, by a band that had been together for almost 25 years at this point.

I like U2 - I own a couple of their albums, I've seen them live and enjoyed it - and I think Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of is one of their best songs. And yet, I'm surprised this is on the list. It was definitely a return to form after Pop, but it's not doing anything that Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby didn't do first.

Ook al zet ik nooit U2 op en luister ik liever naar hun platen uit de jaren 80, komt hier toch best voor popcultuur samen. Eén van de grootste hits van het decennium, Beautiful Day, daar kan je niet omheen. Geproduceerd door Brian Eno. Komt er dan ooit iets slechts uit? Albumcover met een foto van Anton Corbijn. En dan een plaat met songs die gemaakt zijn voor grote stadionconcerten. Oke prima U2. Mooi de band weer uit het slob getrokken met dit album. Complimenten. Maar van mij maak je geen fan. En kom op: Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of. Wat een cringe-track... 6,5/10 - 3 sterren, dan ben ik coulant. Highlights Beautiful Day Walk On

Nothing special, just consistently good radio music

Maybe 5th best u2

beautiful day- 4 stuck in a moment you cant get out of- 4 elevation- 3 walk on- 4 kite- 2 in a little while- 4 wild honey- 4 peace on earth- 4 when I look at the world- 2 or 3 new york- 3 grace- 3 do people actually like u2. do they go "oh i wanna listen to some music, im in the mood for u2" I'm not trying to be mean, I genuinely wonder what people see in them. or hear in them ig

yeah I reaaally don’t give a shit about U2 I guess they make good music but they're really not my thing - 6/10

Not big on U2, first listen, not so bad!

The first few songs of the album were strong and good but it falls off a steep cliff after that and by the time you get to the Christmas song (Peace on earth) it’s just trying too hard.

Sorry folks, I don’t hate it. I always had a soft spot for Beautiful Day. This starts off with some bangers and then falls off a cliff. The Ground Beneath Her Feet is a strong finish though. Somehow, with all the illustrious producers involved, the production choices do this on favours.

Middle of the road album by a once-great band..

Bono est un peu devenu une caricature de lui-même ; en même temps, il n'a plus rien à prouver et je respecte ça. Leur rock de cette époque me semble un peu paresseux, par contre.

this is probably the holy grail for a big fan of radio pop. thank god I'm not the target demographic. the songs are all pleasant but they also all sound the same so yk

If I was more mature then I would be able to separate my feelings about a band/artist from the actual quality of an album. But I'm not, and Bono has always come across as a self promoting dickhead. Consequently I've never really given U2 time of day..But this album is not at all bad. Bono is still a nob though.

Meh. It's pop rock. It really can't be that good. It's good pop rock, but that's like saying something is good fast food. There's only so good something destined for mediocrity can be. The highest praise I can give it, is that there's nothing bad about the album. It's great bland music. Favorite Song(s): Beautiful Day, Grace

Starts strong but soon runs out of steam.

im leaving this behind

if i didn't know better, i'd think this was a greatest hits album. say what you will about them, but U2 has a deep, impressive catalog of smash hits. this album puts me in a good mood whenever i hear it.

Good

"All That You Can't Leave Behind" seems to be the peak of U2's popularity, but sadly not their creative peak. The album sees the band complete their transformation from underground post-punk inspired grittiness to radio friendly stadium rock giants. And it's kind of good in the same way that Coldplay is good. The songs are undeniably well made and many are catchy. U2 were trying to regain their past success after a string of experimental and increasingly unsuccessful efforts. "Pop" in particular is widely seen as a failure, perhaps similar to Kiss's ridiculous attempt to make a disco album. If "All That You Can't Leave Behind" was meant to return to some simple roots and bring back a wider audience, it clearly worked. But is it that interesting? I don't know. It has a handful of great songs but I honestly found the album as a whole to be kind of forgettable. Even Brian Eno's involvement hasn't done much to expand any horizons here. But it has a handful of good songs at least.

What is it with the late 90s / early 2000s. Put all your singles as first 3 tracks and then the album fizzles rather than builds. In fairness - I expected to hate it - but wasn’t terrible

Hm, wird nicht mein Lieblings Album von U2. Geb mal ne Drei

Bin kein Fan von U2. Hat schwach angefangen, war dann zum Ende hin aber noch ganz okay. Schafft es mit letzter Kraft auf 3 Sterne

A bunch of really good songs sandwiched between a few ok songs

It's funny, all the reviews of this album talk about how it was a return to form after U2's apparently misguided (according to critics) foray into electronica in the 90s. Problem is, I really like those 90's albums - Zooropa is one of my favorites and I always enjoyed Pop. So, to me, this album is not a recovery, but almost a retreat. Problem is, most of these songs don't draw me in as much as songs on, say, Achtung Baby or The Joshua Tree (or War or, yes, Zooropa). It's not bad - I like U2 - it's just not (for me) the second coming of U2 and I would not have included it in the 1001. Favorite tracks: Beautiful Day, Stuck in a Moment..., Kite, Peace on Earth.

Itunes sounding ass music. 5/10

far from their best work

good, nothing spectacular

Not bad.

U2 gets a lot of shit, but this album was actually pretty decent. There's some ups and downs, but it's wholly inoffensive.

I get that it's trendy to hate on U2. This one is fine. I'll see how their earlier albums are. Will I listen to again: 5%

This is better than I remember. For me, U2 is a three album band: War, Joshua Tree, and Achtung. And what a remarkable three albums they all are. Around them are a bunch of uneven but often band shifting albums with the occasional remarkable song. With All That You Can’t Leave Behind, U2 technically finds their future voice that becomes more consistent but a little less interesting. Some really solid tunes but none of the edgy excitement from earlier efforts. I couldn’t tell you if all the singles off this album were from this any of the next five. Beautiful Day and Elevation are classics at this point.

Im on the edge about Bono's voice. Its kinda good but he also sounded like he lost control of his voice a couple of times. He is also raspy but im not sure if its by default or did he damage his vocal cords. Did not know U2 was a christian band. New York song was odd. 'Beautiful Day' is a beautiful song. That last song was a surprise. Really liked that one. That weird melody that plays few times is beautiful as heck. Best song in the album. Kinda cool dadrock album. I get the vibe. The guitars were awesome.

Pretty good. Quite a bit of Filler the hard hitting tracks were almost always amazing. 3/5

mixed feelings here. I listened to a lot of u2 in the 80s-90s. With this album, u2 retired the mcphisto persona (which was fascinating!) and took a totally different direction. It's like we broke up on good terms; they "walked on" and I tuned in more to radiohead, etc. Not a bad album by any means, but not the formative music that built our relationship.

...

actually not as bad as I thought. Not great though and bono's lyrics are like a six year olds english lesson in rhyming.

Although it's their latest of four albums in this collection, it's the first U2 for me so far, which is always a bit disappointing to get a band's albums out of order, but fine (and it's still from 25 years ago). And nice to see that Brian Eno (who is everywhere) and Daniel Lanois produced this album, much as they did with 3 earlier U2 albums. I was a bit surprised to realize that I'd heard all of the singles from this album many many times on the radio, as I foolishly thought that since I didn't recognize the album title I wouldn't have heard many of their songs. I particularly enjoyed "Elevation" (and didn't realize that the album version was somewhat different from the "Lara Croft" single version), "When I look at the world", and the semi-bonus track "The ground beneath her feet" (largely because of the lyrics by Salman Rushdie and then Daniel Lanois playing steel guitar, and the connection to yet another Wim Wenders movie featuring U2 music). It's funny to read that this album was considered more of a return to their musical roots, as I guess I was completely ignorant that U2 had veered in electronic dance music in the 90s, although I guess that characterization includes "Achtung Baby", which I would never have called EDM.... Either way, I'd say that few of their tracks on the album seem like throwback songs (maybe the Aung San Suu Kyi homage "Walk on", but only somewhat, and definitely "In a little while" and "Grace"). Overall, though, while it's a good album by a solid (and now clearly older) band, I'm not sure why this fourth U2 album was needed for this collection, as it's not particularly distinctive or ground-breaking.

This was fine though nothing really grabbed my attention. Bono has a good voice; music was solid, just a lot of plaintive urgency...

Dadrock, det kræver sit humør, men ok

Eh. It's not a bad record but not great either. If someone asked me what U2 albums they should know about, I wouldn't say All That You Can't Leave Behind.

Nuria: consciente de lo que significó, pero me suena todo igual.

my day was indeed a little more beautiful for having listened to this

Platan byrjar ágætlega og fyrstu 5-6 lögin eru góð eða bærileg. Svo er þetta bara drasl.

Skil ekki hvað þessi plata er að gera á þessum lista, fyrstu plötur U2 eru miklu betri. Fjögur af fimm fyrstu lögunum ágæt, restin algört drasl. Þristur þar sem mér hefur alltaf þótt vænt um Kite.

Album is just OK. I liked the early stuff by U2 and also Achtung Baby, but the other stuff just seems kind of boring

Not a big U2 fan but a couple songs on here what I recognized. So we'll call it average.

This was an alright album, nothing too exciting, only one song that was popular, and just the generic U2 sound throughout. I would say that it was a bit meh after a while but it's overall not too bad.

Couple nice songs from my youth, but overall this album fits well into the U2 mold - which is a boring and uninteresting pop rock. I'm still not a fan and every record just shows more of the same. Average at best.

Song: beautiful day I like this song because I love that it is saying it is a beautiful day and don't let it get away but I would like if the beat is a little better because its just a little weird because the words don't like match up but I love it Song: elevation I like this song because it matches up Song: New York this son is okay but not my favorite but the one I like more out of this album is elevation and a beautiful day

I like this album because the song has a good upbeat. I do not love the singer's voice, but it's alright.

Where is the picture taken for the cover? I liked "Beautiful Day" because it was fun. The music was cool and the singing was nice. "Elevation" was okay, I would like a bit more difference. "New York" was good. I liked the music. I would recommend this album.

New York is not a good song at all, it sounds like a parody. This is not one of U2s best albums but the first 4 songs are fun.

takes me back to worship leader brian who loved u2 and would sing beautiful day after service as folks walked out but then he had an affair with the other singer and they both moved away :/

In a Little While makes it at least a 3 … and Beautiful Day is on here, too … but that New York song was plain insulting—guys, that’s my home!

This is the music Lite FM really thinks we all should like. Some good melodies and even a couple classics here but the corniness makes my body cringe. I remember seeing an a cappella group cover Beautiful Day and that feels exactly right.

Listened: 10/03/2025 Album no: 33 % rating: 56% Fave song: Beautiful Day Alright so I was excited about this one. I’ve never listened to U2 properly before, but I have listened to a few individual tracks recently and thought *yeah that’s a massive tune*. They used to be a band I proper hated on when I was younger, but in my age I’ve revisited a few bands/musicians I used to hate on and changed my mind. I was fully expecting U2 to be one one of these bands, however, at about the half way point, I can assert that my hate was justified 😂 Nah, I don’t hate this. It’s not bad all things considered, and I think it’s probably the best of this kind of music. But I just fundamentally have a problem with men having a whine about something when they actually have nothing to whine about. This album gives off this energy. Yeah not for me. They do have some massive singles tho, I’ll give them that.

The beginning of U2’s elder statesmen of rock era. The maturity produces some great ones as well as a few snoozers. It’s funny how they always seem to front-load their albums with their biggest hits.

I don't ever recall consciously listening to this entire album; I have no memory of this album cover. How do I know almost every song? 3.5

Overall fine to listen to, but is carried completely by its singles. Standout songs: Stuck in a moment you can't get out of Elevation

It was ok, Deliriou5?

Gets kind of samey. It’s no Joshua Tree and U2 is still no The Killers

Hmmmm...U2 in the 2000's. They did not move so farm from their original selves to feel like this was a complete 'sell out' album, but there are bits that feel like they are just keeping up with the times. They have big themes, mental health, aging, violence, and battling evil, all these topics fall into their wheelhouse and are important topics to focus on. But something about it just doesn't have the same passion or emotional depth as their early work. Maybe the themes are too much or too varied or just trying to build it around today's lens...but it not their best. Stuck in a moment is top for me. The hits are good, the rest aren't bad, just sort of meh for U2.

No private session used for Spotify. I got out of U2 before this album came out, but most of these songs were unavoidable.This album is good, a little too poppy bland to be great, but still fun

Starts super strong and then wanes. Some 4 star songs. 3.5

nooo no more u2 i dont like u2 stop it fuck off bono slightly more enjoyable than most u2 albums but i still dont like it. thank god the last track isn't available on streaming so i could get done with this sooner

Felt this one was pretty bland. The most corporate of the “corporate” rock.

Some of U2's best work

Never found U2 that interesting

good

Was "Beautiful day" their last good song? I think so.

The embodiment of the famous phrase: "you have two choices "take it" or "leave it"". I'd be satisfied with either.

Aggressively fine

If this were the first U2 album I’d ever heard, I probably would have liked it a lot more. Some pretty solid, catchy singles here. But, fair or not, I always compare their later works to War, Boy, and Joshua Tree. And after Achtung Baby, their work seemed to lose its passion. Solid pop, meh rock.

If our project was to listen to all of U2's discography I could understand this album being on the list, but that is not our project. I found this to be just okay and Bono's voice sounded off at times. Elevation and Wild Honey brought this up to a 3.5 but I'm still rounding down. (The best track may be the extra one that I normally wouldn't have listened to but got curious because lyrics were by Salman Rushdie.)

Bono sounded really bored singing this. I agree.

It's cheesy. Middle school me was super into "Elevation" but for the most part this didn't age as well now re-listening as an adult. "Beautiful Day" is still good at the right time.

This album is totally fine, Beautiful Day, and Wild Honey are my two favorite songs but there's a decent number of snoozers on this too. I like U2 well enough generally, but this isn't essential in their catalog. Overall, it was fine, and I might revisit a few of these tracks if I'm in the mood.

It's not good but it's not aggressively bad. It's department store music for the 2000's. Comparing this to earlier U2 work that has some heart and message to it, namely War, displays an aging rock band with nothing to sing about. The singles are catchy and I could sing along after 22 years. If you go to the Wikipedia page for U2, Edge is always listed as "the Edge". I think it's adorable that he thinks he is both sharp and the only one.

Bueno

More would be more enjoyable as an instrumental album in my personal opinion - always fun listening to The Edge, but the vocals are not to my taste at all. Nothing in particular really stands out, besides Elevation.

This is an okay album. Nothing really jumped out at me. The band does not seem as great as they used to be. Bono's voice sounds a bit tired and strained at the limits of his range. The Edge's guitar work is solid and more versatile than it was earlier in his career. Bass and drums are tight. The lyrics were just okay. They didn't seem as well thought out as in previous albums.

I recently listened through all of U2's catalog and became a (lower tier) fan. That said, even though this one is a return to form, I'm lukewarm on it. The songwriting is really solid for the most part, but a bit boring--maybe too simple?

Yep, this certainly is some mid-level early 2000's stadium rock. As someone who existed in the UK when this album came out, I have the first few tracks of this burnt into my prefrontal cortex, and it turns out those were the only semi-decent tracks here...? Yeah, not going to be coming back to this any time soon. It's fine, it's palatable because it's specifically designed to be crowd-pleasing, but it elicits basically NO reaction from me.

I am not sure that I need Achtung Baby Part 2. The first one was really groundbreaking and cool, but this is kind of a return to that album. While not offensive it does not seem like required listening.

not bad, really liked a lot of the songs

first time ever listening to a u2 album the whole way through. always been lukewarm on the radio singles, and i feel the same with this album. the intro is great, no doubt about that, but nothing really left a lasting impression on me outside of that

All That You Can't Leave Behind is the tenth studio album by U2, originally released in 2000. This is a very interesting later-career effort from U2. I feel like they meshed into the 2000s indie/alt scene pretty damn seamlessly. Their sound on here reminds me a lot of Coldplay. That airy yet clean production with very heartfelt lyrics. Sure, it's not as solid as their earlier work but I quite enjoyed listening to this.

This is a nostalgia rating, because this album came out during my formative music years when I was discovering U2 beyond just the hits. Would have been a 5 back then, but over time, it's objectively very generic U2.

Same song over and over again with occasional bobbing above the line into good.

Started off with back to back bangers and stayed pretty strong throughout. This is good music but it also feels like music someone who wears a leather band on their wrist listens to. I bet they’re great in concert.

Great start, but less interesting afterwards

3+

3.4 2x good album but overplayed

A lot of people slamming this for not being as good as some of their earlier albums, but this feels more accessible to me. I'm not the biggest U2 fan, but I'm actually appreciating the craft of the songs and his voice. I much prefer this to the upbeat jangly nonsense they became famous for. 3.5 rounded down.

U2 is a bit like comfort food.

There's too much U2 on the list, don't you feel?

Like its two monumental predecessors (Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby), ATYCLB is very anthem-focused, almost to the point of losing the emotion and passion that backed a great deal of rock, punk, and post-punk in preceding decades. (Although, I will say – this sort of alt-rock is leagues ahead of nearly any post-punk on this list.) Beautiful Day is a complex, multifaceted power ballad that may be my favourite U2 album opener. The following track, Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, is catchy, guitar-heavy, and has some lyrics I can really relate to. Elevation and Walk On are similarly great. However, the album becomes much less sonically memorable after these first four hard-hitters, and I couldn't tell you a single thing about the record's latter half. Well, maybe a couple of things. Peace On Earth, New York, and Grace are three limp, powerless songs on side 2 that give zero sense of progression despite all being around 5 minutes long. The Ground Beneath Her Feet is passable as a bonus track, though like most bonus tracks, it feels more like a blandish afterthought that doesn't mesh well with the earlier music. 3/5 Key tracks: Beautiful Day, Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Elevation, Walk On

okay, I used to like U2, a long time ago, this album brings back some kind of nolstalgia. I didn't listen to this type of music (what even is this? commercial rock? I don't know) for a long time and it's not as good as I thought it was to be honest. Elevation is an attractive track though.

If there's such thing as a perfect album, this album is not it. It starts off real strong. The first few songs are incredible, but it really drops off on the bottom part of the album.

This album was better than I expected, but I can really only stand some earlier U2, at this point. Personally, Bono's voice and delivery grates on me and this album and a lot of their later stuff is just too pop in its delivery. "Beautiful Day" is basically a meme song for me, as it feels trite. The music was mostly good, and "New York" was a song I truly did enjoy. I might give it 3.5 stars, but, for me, all it is a good pop rock record, nothing truly amazing, which is also why it makes sense to me that it sold so many copies...

generic rock

Listen, I know U2 is an Irish band, but this album is the sound of pre-9/11 America. The opening tracks have such a naive “rock music can save the world feel” to them. It takes you back to a time where U2 could say, with a straight face, that they are “re-applying for the job ... of best band in the world.” To that end it is probably the perfect last gasp for Gen-X to feel relevant again. It sounds exactly like the album a couple of rich, popular musicians that fell off on their last few albums would make trying to recapture the magic of their youth. A lot of this came off as trying to hard. I listened to The Joshua Tree earlier in this project, and can admit that album slaps and deserved inclusion on the list. To me personally, some of these songs are fine when I’m in the right mood. But for some reason, this just sounded so forced as an attempt to reclaim former glory that it was kind of sad. And even sadder, it worked at the time, and U2 regained relevance, subjecting us to another decade plus of them being a part of the culture (and subjected eveeryone to getting a “free” album delivered to their iPhone that they didn’t ask for, IYKYK)

Solid album, very U2. But nothing that makes me love it.

Enjoyable but I wouldn’t listen especially. Liked Elevation and Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of.

I mean, it's U2, so there are some great songs here. But somebody needed to say no to the various versions and edits included.

Well it's alright. I didnt finish the entire album though.

Lame and bad for U2 but not bad.

listened to again guitar tone is immaculate but i still struggle to find anything interesting about this band

I always thought I didn't like U2, I am still quite convinced, but this album is actually not bad

Beautiful Day is solid. The rest was the generalized U2, that I knew before listening. Good. Nothing caught my attention

The first half of this album is exactly what people who love U2 claim they are. The 2nd half of this album is exactly what people who hate U2 claim they are.

I enjoyed “Wild Honey” but wasn’t captivated by the rest.

Smash

Starts with a great song then it becomes usual U2, nothing too interesting

Pretty underwhelming especially compared to their peak music from the 80’s and early 90’s.

U2 far from their peak. A solid album though with a few a few stand out tracks, like Stuck in a moment and Beautiful day.

I have to begrudgingly admit, this was pretty good.

Poppy, preachy, cheesy

Bra, men inte det bästa från U2

Starts out really strong, but peters out a little bit.

A lot of "hits" but still U2. I have never really understood the appeal.

OK

It was a massively popular album when I was growing up in the early 2000s. It's an overall okay album but it's not on the same level as some of their earlier works (Achtung Baby, The Joshua Tree, War, to name a few). U2 went back to their roots after their more experimental era in the mid-1990s, and the result was not bad, it's just not as innovative or interesting as other albums. The hits are good but towards the end of the album it gets a bit too bland overall.

Pleasing Sound. Obviously Pop, but not in a bad way. Would listen again.

The Good: U2 explains to us that you can't leave things behind. The Bad: If you can't leave things behind, you don't look back. The Ugly: As U2 doesn't know how to look back, they forgot how to make great RnR and just morphed their efforts into adult-contemporary blandness. Then again, I am old, thus an adult, and taking the cue from U2, I don't leave things behind, and so I will just continue removing lint from my bellybutton while enjoying the soothing sounds of grown-up U2 3*

Beautiful day and elevation were the only worthwhile 8 mins of the album, and even elevation is only because of the OHHHHOH

Beautiful Day

Ok

I think its ait, but I didnt listen to the entire thing, because my Spotify fucked up

The first few tracks are really amazing but I was less impressed with the rest of the album, even calling myself a U2 fan. I'm at a 3 I think.

It's official, Bono has lost all ability to write good lyrics

I think it’s these types of albums that u2 critics point to when they say they’re bland and kinda cringe. Beautiful day is good but even that is pretty boiler plate sounding and the whole thing makes the band feel stuck in the early 90s at the turn of the century. Some good moments near the end but nothing I’ll remember.

U2 kom a ovart

It starts great and just goes downhill for the rest. It is good chill music, but it doesn't feel revolutionary or anything that would stick out in my head.

With the benefit of hindsight, All That… was not a return to form, but rather a speed bump in U2’s precipitate descent into bombast. Case for the prosecution: 1. Walk On. Whilst a delightful song, it has aged pretty badly. I won’t be so unfair as to say that U2 had run out of icons to eulogise by then. More to the point, Aung San Sui Kyi is not a baddie in the Cartesian sense. But this was U2’s uncritical (albeit heartfelt) mode of engagement by this time; as far as the dynamic of polarisation is concerned, they chose wrong. (2) New York. As TY said in another song from that period, the glorious Music to Fly By, ‘Sept 11: all of a sudden, we’re talking about a problem that didn’t start on the tenth.’ Even at this point,New York was more in line with the dystopia of The Pogues, as far as fairytales are concerned…. (3) They left The Ground Beneath Her Feet off the original pressings. (tbf, this may have been a songwriter credit issue. But hey, I’m prosecuting a subjective argument here.) For the defence (1) Beautiful Day. Still Euphoria incarnate (insomuch as songs do not incarnate. But you know what I mean) (2) Elevation. It’s an ok album, and I suspect we got excited about it because it was head and shoulders above Pop. But it isn’t the great album it is touted as being; I don’t think it deserves to be in the glorious shade cast by Achtung Baby/Zooropa.

This was pretty good. Mostly mellow but not as strange as their output recently before this.

I like U2 but this was pretty bland all things considered. It would be better if they just played Beautiful Day 12 times. Stand-out: Beautiful Day Stand-out for "Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury": Music and Politics

I used to think I really liked U2, but I’m starting to think it’s more that I just liked the documentary “It Might Get Loud”. These days, I find U2 pretty boring. I’ll still give this album a 3 because I didn’t actively dislike it, but it was kinda lame and definitely cheesy at times. A couple good tracks, though. 3/5 Highlights: Beautiful Day Elevation

decent imo but songs sound repetitive 3/5

Ariana, what are you doing here?! While I’m glad Eno is still making music for airports, All That You Can’t Leave Behind is inoffensive yet unnecessary. I think I’m too old to hate U2; not that I foresee myself going out of my way to defend them, especially on this record, but nothing here actually pisses me off. In fact, the fact that these songs are well-produced, well-written, and all appeal to a big tent is exactly why I almost kinda like it. Like, there’s nothing I *adore*, and that’s the real issue, but there’s also nothing I loathe. It’s a clean, serviceable album that shouldn’t encourage you to change the dial, and I personally never feel the desire to change the dial while listening to it. At the very least, it’s a huge step up from their more “experimental” albums from the early ‘90s, for sure. That said, mere existence and appeal so broad that preemies and Hospice care patients alike can hear it and say, “This is fine,” doesn’t merit praise. I wish I felt *some* critical spark while listening to this, but none of these songs do enough to move the dial. I don’t hate any song, although tracks like “Beautiful Day” or “Peace on Earth” do feel very pandering in a way that almost elicits hatred, though it’s again saved by its tightness and cleanliness. But I don’t love anything, either, even the more uptempo and rock-driven tracks like “Elevation,” “When I Look At The World,” and especially “New York,” which all don’t go far enough. Ironically, though, I think I could preserve my critique and flip the songs I’m talking about, and the statement would still ring true. U2 is like air, and All That You Can’t Leave Behind is an oxygen tank. In a list of 1001 albums, it almost feels like the control in the dataset – this meaningless, empty record that isn’t good in any standout way, but also isn’t shitty in any particular way, either. The only reason to hate this is because it inspires so much apathy in the listener that it feels like it’s mocking said listener’s intellect. I don’t hate this that much. This album is there, in the ether, sure, but it shouldn’t be here, on this list. I’ll never think about it again.

I figured we’d be getting the last hidden albums we were missing in this list but it’s starting to look like we are getting the last albums of the same bands we keep hearing. Is this our third U2? Who knows or cares. They have a unique sound that is squarely stuck in the 00’s (yes even their older stuff). Beautiful Day is a classic and all the others are upbeat in their own way but I’m good on U2 just the same as I’m good with all the other groups that this list feels need this much exposure.

Another U2 album is fine by me. It's got "Beautiful Day," one of their biggest and best hits. Beyond that, nothing I recognized, but a few deep cut tracks that I did enjoy. Listening to "New York," for some reason I thought of Radiohead; not really that it sounded like Radiohead, but that I don't think U2 and Radiohead are all that different. Just a couple of UK rock bands doing their thing, obviously U2 is more anthemic and bigger than Radiohead for it, but some of the softer cuts on here aren't a far cry from what Radiohead is doing. Favorite tracks: Beautiful Day, When I Look at the World, New York, In a Little While. Album art: Four guys standing in an airport or something? I've seen this one plenty, it's not that great but it's recognizable at this point. Tim Heidecker's got that joke about U2 standing for "untalented 2" just because we don't know anyone aside from Bono and Edge. I really don't though, these other two guys could be related to me for all I know. 3.5/5

The front of this album is stronger than the back but overall this was OK.

I don't personally think that this is one of their better albums. I lean more toward the earlier, more raw music. This one just feels a bit too safe and poppy.

It's so earnest I can still taste it 20+ years later

Previously rated: War (4/5) ************************* By 2000, U2 was a pretty generic sounding rock band with generic pretentious uplifting sounding songs - the kind you'd hear during church worship services. That's what it always reminds me of. It's well done generic music though, so 3/5. Favorite track: Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of

Pretty okay

6/10

Not a big fan of this new millennium U2, not the worst, singles were decent, album overall kinda boring

Not their best stuff.

Hadn't listened to this in quite a while. Solid album...started strong and was thinking 4, but the second half isn't as strong so can only give it a 3.

Not as bad as I had anticipated, I was in the right mood for the first couple of songs and then had to do a bit of skipping here and there.. but otherwise ok

Late-stage U2: more commercial, stadium-filling stuff. Not as edgy or captivating as earlier works. However, Beautiful Day will be forever linked to ITV's ill-fated early evening 'The Premiership' highlights programme featuring Dishy Des and Andy Townsend's Tactics Truck for me, and this slice of 00s nostalgia makes me look more favourably on the whole album.

Decent album.

As someone who enjoyed the 90s dancey stuff, this return to rock was not appreciated and even though the first few songs start out strong, this is a rough listen.

Meh

Not bad, but the kind of album you don't need to pause when you leave the room for a moment.

This is the era of U2 that I grew up with, and never really liked. I’ve since become a fan of their older stuff, so I was able to go into this one a little less pessimistic. Still not really a fan of this era but “Elevation” is great.

A good but not great U2 album. Very strong opener, probably the best song on the record, but a bit uneven after that. Would like to give 3.5.

Starts off really strong but gets pretty boring as it continues. I wanted to give it a 4 but this will get a high 3 instead. Beautiful Day is excellent though.

Oma suosikki levyltä Stuck in a moment you cant get out of. Muuten ihan tasalaatuista rallattelua.

I can’t say I like U2 but I have to admit that they can write some good songs so I’m going 3*

It’s unexplainable U2 to release this album on January 1, 2000, and have the opener be “Beautiful Day.” I fear that the times are beginning to catch up to U2 on this album. They stuck to their guns, which are running out of ammo. This sound was so clean and cutting-edge on something like Joshua Tree in the late 80’s. But the Radioheads of the world have since taken the blueprint that U2 laid and expanded upon/experimented with it. So is this album bad? No. Is it unique, worth being your first U2 album listen, or a stand-out in the field of its early 2000’s contemporaries? Nope. One more unrelated note, today is July 3rd, and I know this list has kicked out holiday themed albums in the past. I’m calling a Born In The USA pull for tomorrow.

The first four tracks are all great. Everything else is average to forgettable with the notable exception of In A Little While, quite possibly U2’s most underrated song. Joey Ramone was reportedly listening to this song when he died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in April 2001. People like to shit on U2 and call their music soulless corporate rock, but if that anecdote and that song don’t move you in some small way, you probably either don’t truly care about rock music or don’t have a soul yourself.

Nije meni ovaj album loš koliko mi je gibonni

Totalmente innecesario en esta lista, pero recuerdo haberlo escuchado mucho ese año

Beautiful Day is obviously an absolute nostalgic banger for any fan of 01/04 premier league football. Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of is also half decent. Not a lot going on otherwise. Simpsons: Yes

Помню, что я считала ю ту каким то аццкимсорвиголовароком, но через год-два..мнение поменялось. Конечно, данный альб не заменит войнушку 83, но вроде и покатит.

The 2001 return to form U2. After focusing on Pop in Europe, the band does the Beautiful Day album.

Não é um dos melhores do u2

Although many of the U2 hallmarks are in evidence there are few that standout. A pretty good album overall but not going to displace their early work.

I really liked this album at the time and got quite into U2 off the back of it. Listening again 24 years on it comes across as extremely competent pop rock music which is VERY safe. Beautiful Day is an extremely commercial lead single (and a bit of a banger) and the rest of the first half of the album is of a similar vein. The second half is a bit weirder, but also not as good. Following 'Zooropa' and 'Pop', this is probably the record that U2 had to make to save their career as a stadium band. However, it is sad that to do that they had to move from their most experimental to their most unintersting. Like millions of others, it worked on me at the time, but doesn't hold up so well in retrospect. Rating: 3/5 Playlist track: Beautiful Day Date listened: 01/06/24

U2 is just so.... bland. Like Dollar Store soft rock. I have an irrational hatred of that band, and I don't really know why. I just never liked them. Maybe it's because the radio constantly played their music and it just got washed out to me, maybe it's because Bono is an insufferable douche canoe, who knows... This album had a really strong start as far as U2 goes. 5 of their hits in a row. Favourite songs: Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Elevation, Walk On, Wild Honey, Beautiful Day Least favourite songs: Peace on Earth, Grace 3/5

Another cop out safe album. 2 hits and the rest instantly forgetable.....like the fire.

the full u2 albums i've heard were part of their earlier material, so i was excited to hear their more recent sound, even if it's nearly twenty-five years old at this point. i heard a more mature sound as they welcomed a modern rock soundscape. though i enjoyed this album, the singles are the strongest, and the non-single songs fade into the background too well.

While I don't hate this album as much as others do, I can agree that it is a really tame, watered down version of U2. I think the album starts off very strong with "Beautiful Day" and "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of". From there, things seem to fade into a generic territory a little bit more, more so than I would expect from U2. There is a bit of an ambient quality to this album, which made a lot more sense when I noticed that it was produced by Brian Eno. It's not an unpleasant album, but it also doesn't stand out or come across as trailblazing as their earlier stuff. And yet, I would say this album still succeeded in cementing U2 as a top rock act in the new millennium after having faded a bit into the background as the 90s progressed. An okay effort, but ultimately U2's other albums on this project are stronger representations of both their band and the project overall.

Leuk album, maar niet speciaal genoeg voor deze lijst

I was ready to trash this as a terrible end of career mistake when U2 had run out of songs but it starts out with three great singles and it is fairly consistent on songs. It's nowhere near the heights of their career, but most bands would be pretty happy to have put this out. I'm not saying it's great, it's just not a turkey.

What a great bunch of opening songs and then limps to the finish.