All That You Can't Leave Behind

No way I’m listing to this rubbish!

Did I listen to U2 much before embarking on this project? Do I enjoy certain of their output disproportionately? Did I have to listen to this one? Would I have better things to say if the musical variety was ever more than tepid? All questions which can be succinctly answered after glances at ratings and reviews of a few albums. Even in remaster, the absolute low points of the arrangements stick out. Take the big-V Bono Voice (insufficient to carry compositions with these lyrics, believe you me), add dated synthetic instruments, and finally cap the tune with some real music. Undermines any positivity I felt toward the band, and carries on like a piece of forgettable Christmas pop. Thanks to the timing, that is how I shall treat it.

Radio friendly pop rock... but to the point where it feels bland and uninspired (which is shocking considering Brian Eno was involved with producing this album)

Hmmmm

This sucks

in the famous words of my 12 year old cousin: “it’s the guy from u2, bonzo!!!l” . shut up bonzo this album sucks go listen to parklife. best track: beautiful day

Mostrou a sequência em qual estão inseridos dois hits.

A hugely definitive album - nearly 25 years old! Some classics some less awesome. Enjoyed to memories

When I was in college, I would've been the first person to crap on this album. Having seen them in concert a few times, though, I've grown to appreciate U2. Some great songs here... first half of the album stronger than the second half. Amazing that this bad had a huge album in the 80s, a huge album in the 90s, a huge album in the 00s and probably the biggest tour of the 10s.

A really good album by a band that I am not a fan of.

This starts with Beautiful Day and then proceeds to be one of the most boring albums ever made.

POO2

Good album with a couple amazing songs. Beautiful Day and Walk On

Moins pire que je pensais honnêtement

Idk man I just like U2. Favorite track: Elevation

surprisingly gewd!

There’s a particular type of person who will listen to this version of U2 and love this album. Unfortunately, I’m not one of those people. It’s not terrible, in fact it starts quite strongly with ‘Beautiful Day’, ‘Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of’ and ‘Elevation’, but from there things start to inevitably peter out, and you’re left with an album that ends up being more forgettable than memorable.

I have a thing with U2 where sometimes I’m like “gah! U2! Ugh!” and other times where I’m bobbing my head and asking “do I like U2?”

U2 continues their trend of writing great music to listen to at the dentist office while getting your teeth drilled. As inoffensive as it is pretentious! As annoying as it is forgettable!

“I in the sky You make me feel like I can fly So high“ This from “The Greatest Band in the World”. I don’t really get the fuss - positive or negative - around U2, half decent songs and annoying personalities. All very average but over hyped and over publicised.

Er was een tijd dat Bono nog iets te melden had en U2 nog enige relevantie had. Dit album is voor mij een beetje ‘op de weg terug’. Niet slecht, maar afgezien van de fantastische opener deed het er al niet meer toe.

Nooit zo'n fan geweest van U2, maar was goed te doen.

Bij dit album was ik inmiddels al een tijdje afgehaakt. De eerdere platen varieerden van briljant tot behoorlijk goed. Hier werd het heel slapjes. Heel saai eigenlijk. En die radio-friendly tracks Elevation en Beautiful Day kan ik eigenlijk niet meer horen. Dus kort samengevat: nope.

Slecht kan ik het niet noemen, maar ze hebben hier wel een enorme duikvlucht genomen. Gelikt en nietszeggend.

Watered down mainstream music for the masses.

I really want to like it, but... it's bland. Like it's missing something, the spice, the flavour. It's not entirely awful, it's just as simple as a children's storybook. There's nothing surprising or exciting about it. Don't get me wrong, music doesn't have to be complicated and complex to be good. It can be simple yet enjoyable. This one just isn't. The experience was very tiring because every song provides the same emotional level, so I found it hard to actually get into that music. If I came across this music anywhere I'd just skip it, it's not interesting at all. No wonder that album was forgotten a long time ago. I love rock (not even sure if I can call this album "rock" at this point) it was just exhausting to get through. I've been counting every minute I have left til the end, bored and wanting to turn off the music. Facourite track (the least bad): "The Ground Beneath Her Feet", least favourite: the rest

first four songs are some of my favourite U2 songs!

I know there's a lot of U2 hate out there in the world, but I don't hate these guys. They've made some killer songs that I've loved listening to in my life. This album was massive. Those first four songs are all great. Beautiful Day was the moment for a short while in the year 2000, you can't pretend it wasn't. And today was a day that I actually really needed to hear Stuck In A Moment. Didn't realize until it started in how much I missed that song and how helpful it is. If Joshua Tree is the high watermark of their career, then this album is a stellar second coming. I like it all the way through, honestly.

meh, not even one of the better u2 albums

I generally don't care for U2. I gave Achtung Baby a 1 and I stand by that. I wasn't expecting too much going into this. I was a little surprised to NOT hate this. There are actually a couple songs on here that were not bad at all. I forgot that,while it may be a bit hokey, Beautiful Day is actually a pretty solid pop/rock tune. All in all this really wasn't too bad. I don't really plan on revisiting it, as there was some dull stuff to be found here amongst the surprisingly not bad. Also, Elevation sucks ass and is VERY annoying. That's the stuff that fuels my anti-U2 sentiment. I'd give it a 2.75 (am I turning into Pitchfork?) So I'm going to round up and give it a 3. I'm shocked, but it deserves it.

I tried

Deducted one star because there are several superior U2 albums

7/10 first U2 album I was introduced to and full of good songs

Beautiful day - big single , suitably atmospheric👍 Stuck in a moment you can't get out of- sounds like beautiful by James blunt in the chorus. Don't think it’s quite upbeat enough for the message Elevation- this is whatever, very dad music Walk on - very similar themes to previous songs Kite- this is sweet but safe👍 In a little while- Nonce song with wolf howls for some reason Wild Honey to Grace- All pretty generic and some terrible songs in this run. New York has a really jarring guitar riff that comes in sometimes that feels very uninspired The ground beneath her feet- Wait, the lyrics are by Salman Rushdie?! This was the first U2 album I’ve listened to.. hopefully its not representative of their whole oeuvre 1/5

no, no, no this is just too corny, bland and unoriginal. I was 8 when this came out so can't really remember that it was so hyped. imagine my shock when reading about all the awards and critical appraisal. it annoys me that it seems like they try really hard to appeal to the listener. i would have given it a 2 but i still enjoy "beautiful day" and the production throughout the album, which is just crystal clear. i don't really wish to relisten to this but will probably force myself though to check if i missed anything. ps new york new york new york oh fuck off. i dont really understand how did it make it on the list? maybe to represent the bland 2000 rock era? if so, than it does its job very well 2.5/5 up to 3/5

Nothing special beside some hits

I don't hate U2, and I don't hate this album -- listened to it a fair bit at the time -- but the only track that stands out now is Beautiful Day.

The first 6 songs on the album are stronger, with great help from “Beautiful day” as the opening track. By the time the album got to “Wild Honey” it all kind of bled together where the last four songs dragged on and sound indistinguishable from each other.

I liked it better than Joshua Tree, but honestly kinda just a cheezy pop rock album.

I was excited after listening to Joshua Tree but this is meh. 2/5

Same old.

meh... it's U2

Patient 0 for U2's Mid Era

nah dog

OOoHooo... I haaate u ooohOooo 2..Oooohoooo

This was the first U2 album I heard, consciously anyway, and my first concert was seeing them on this tour, so I’ll always a special fondness for it. However, it’s a fairly uneven album. It’s got some really good or even great songs (Kite is the best on the album) but it feels like they played it too safe, which is a mode they really haven’t gotten out of since this album. Solid album, but not as good as their best.

No. No.

I don't have too much to say about this one, except that this was a really solid album by U2, their last really good one. I know some people aren't fond of the back to basics approach here, but I think it's a wonderfully thoughtful and down to earth collection of songs. There's a beauty in its simplicity. Fave Songs: Beautiful Day, Elevation, Wild Honey, Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Grace

Well, it's definitely a U2 album. No question about that. But, despite that fact, I'm not sure why it's here. All we needed on the list was "Achtung Baby" and "The Joshua Tree". This album has two songs worthy of adding to the pantheon of great U2 songs ("Beautiful Day" and the unnecessarily long-titled "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of") and the rest is utterly forgettable at best and annoyingly preachy at worst. I didn't need this. Nobody did. Except for U2, I guess. Gotta fulfill those record contracts.

U2 sucks, fuck bono

Pretty good. I'm not a huge fan of U2, but I think I actually prefer this album to Joshua Tree.

U2 has been pop background radiation since I was a teen. Don’t think I ever owned an album (other than the one iTunes foisted on me that one time), my sister maybe had the LP of Joshua Tree? I don’t remember this album, other than Beautiful Day; other than that and the final track, not much stood out for me. Vocals surprisingly weak on a lot of tracks.

Decent album. Couple good hits. I'm just not a big U2 guy.

Stung by the reception of their last record in various countries (the U.S. most pointedly) and by how unfinished it was, U2 decided to hunker down and figure out how to get back to basics and in good graces. The result, All That You Can't Leave Behind, is the band operating at a measured rate that combines both the past and the present appreciately. In a reflective mood for the majority of it, the band looks down the barrel of 40 as they begin the mature phase and start to act like men. Perhaps this may be seen by some as U2's descent downward in creative risk taking but it only marks the start of something more illuminating in what would be the band's last full decade of relevance. Favorites: Beautiful Day, Stuck in a Moment That You Can't Get Out Of, Walk On, Kite, In a Little While, Peace on Earth, When I Look at the World, The Ground Beneath Her Feet.

Not a whole lot to love about this album. It starts with a popular song and probably the best on the album. Then it doesn’t really go anywhere and it’s a bunch of U2 sadness and things aren’t perfect kind of songs. Nothing really worth revisiting. 3.6/10

U2's reinvention of itself every now and then is pretty impressive just as a sober fact - not many bands can release the Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and then THIS, across three separate styles and decades, and only build in popularity. U2 managed that, and I have to give them kudos for it. I guess what I don't understand is FUCKING HOW?! This album is an hour of dreary boredom. The only way I can describe it is drawn out - it goes for ages but doesn't have any reason to. There are a few singles I recognised but most of the album was just one long amorphous blob of slow, mopey nothingness. Yet it was really popular, those singles were everywhere. I am by no means on the U2 hate bandwagon (I actually like Achtung Baby), but this album is getting a 2/5.

If rock had clipart, this would be it.

All That You Can't Leave Behind is not a bad album, but in the discography of U2 it is a sidenote. They produced several albums more deserving to be on this list. "Beautiful Day", "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Elevation" and "Walk On" are nice songs, nothing more.

Oh please God no. It opens with three of my least favourite songs ever. And if they were the singles, what aural excrement was deemed not good enough to be a single? I'm not even listening to the first three. They'll no doubt be shoved down my throat by a television producer who hates people soon enough. I made it another track and a half in before deciding the next 40 minutes of my life would be better spent working out how many nails I'd need to drive through my genitalia before I pass out from the pain. Had U2 died in a freak cheese making accident in 1991 I'm sure they'd be fondly remembered. The tragedy is that they lived on. I might be willing to amend that to about 1997 cos Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me was a tune (but not as good as Seal's Batman song). Definitely the last twitch before the life support was turned off though.

Two stars. The first three tracks were so boring. Good on them for continuing to evolve and make music together 25+ years on. But this just isn’t the sound/lyrics that bring me to U2.

U2 in their legacy band phase. You can't even like this album ironically. I mean, it's fine, but kind of dull. The only redeeming feature, is that 'Beautiful Day' was used as interstitial music for televised football games in England for about 5 years and so it stirs some excitement in me. Albeit excitement for football, not U2.

Wild Honey is a 4 maybe a 5. Rest is mediocre.

Ovaj se dosta vrtio kad sam bila mala jer je moj otac big fan. Ne znam jel vise nostalgija ili je stvarno dobar album

Classic 4.5/5

Surprisingly boring

A few catchy tunes but then a lot of just there

Not terrible- wouldn’t put it up with their best or even second tier stuff but it’s a good pop rock record

Good album. I guess it hasn't been cool to like U2 for a long time now, but I've never been cool so....

This is the worst. Generic as all hell. I really could have died without listening to this and been just fine.

Garbage

My tried and trusted 'no singles listen' for albums I'm very familiar with is dead easy as they put the singles on tracks 1-4. The 1001 randomizer threw up Achtung Baby yesterday, and just as this album's singles are not as strong as Achtung Baby.. so the album tracks aren't either. Probably their last really strong all-the-way through effort, with 4 great singles, so four stars.

Crowd pleasing arena rock. A return to a more classic U2, and purpose engineered to play in front of 30,000 people a night. Front loaded like crazy (the first four songs are the four singles), it starts to drag in the back half. It's a very U2-y album, but feels a bit shallow and superficial compared to Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby, which an inevitable side-effect of being designed to play big live.

Pretentious nonsense. ‘A mole digging in a hole, digging up my soul’ - it was my soul that that mole took!

Bland. Got bored listening to it.

It feels like their sound is tied up in a chair and forced to perform at gunpoint. I don't know what's missing in their sound. I like the guitar and production bits in some places, but overall the atmosphere tries hard and fails to connect. They're apparently trying to portray nostalgia or something, yet it comes out as emotionless. I think they should be a bit more carefree and maybe leave behind their past. I enjoyed their hard rocking "Elevation" for example. I love how they used their signature echoey sound in the electric guitar driven chorus. Some mellow tracks are pretty good too, but again, they didn't connect with me. Overall, whatever is that thing that they can't leave behind. They should probably leave.

Oddly structured album - if this came out during the vinyl era, it would have an A side of massive commercial hits and a B side of slower songs with observations about life. Later U2 is too slick, calculated, radio-friendly and preachy for me.

You'll hear the hits from this album in almost any country on the radio. U2 steps into stadium world tours and FIFA sponsorship with this album. The highs are constant pop hits. The lows are forgettable. Lyrically, it feels like Bono found God in a dew drop on a flower and is trying to explain it to an elementary school. That should mean failure. Instead, they are accessible to the world. Translatable. It shifts the core from American radio to something wider. Can't deny that means something.

Very nice

I’ve never liked U2 and this album didn’t really change that situation

U2 was already well-established by the time I really started discovering music. I knew them from various radio hits, but this was the first full album of theirs that really grabbed my attention. This is mid-late high school for me and I'm sure I'll always enjoy this one, at least the first half.

The emptiest band in rock. Hate all of it.

Pretty good

I thought I was going to hate this album and kind of remember hating it when it came out but on another listen it was bumped up to mediocre for me.

This album holds my least favorite U2 song of all time. U2 is ok, and this album is ok. This whole album is adult contemporary Top40 music that they can play in a dentists office... I find it quite amusing that the song play count falls like a rock after song 6. It's like the back half of the album doesn't even exist.

All That You Can’t Leave Behind by U2 (2000) Here’s an album with excellent musical compositions overlaid with well harnessed synth colorings and nicely crafted grooves that are sustained throughout each track. Thank God for producer Brian Eno for holding the pieces together. This is redemptive rock, with forward looking, optimistic themes, celebrating the good, the true, and the beautiful with a dogged determination, even if there is an occasional lack of synchronization between poetic and musical meter. With playful obscurity, lyrics are suited to lift the listener from the cares of a chaotic world, without being naïve or preachy. There’s hope and good feeling to be found in each track, if one is patient and open-hearted. Parenthetically, if “Peace on Earth” sounds hopeless and cynical on a first listen, remember that lyricist Bono has retained the herald of the Incarnation as an ideal that, while not attained, is nevertheless not unattainable. And please note that the song is immediately followed by the Christ-adoring “When I Look at the World”, where the suffering, frail, and sinful (yet humble) poet asks what the Incarnate One sees when He looks at the world, and we all remember that what He sees is the object of Divine Love. Quiz: Can you spot God’s phone number on the album cover? (Answer at the bottom of this review). Lead vocalist Bono’s voice is closely recorded, clean and lightly processed, with sonic honesty. On this recording, he doesn’t have the mighty vocal chops of his youth, and his falsetto ain’t what it used to be (compare Joshua Tree [1987]), but its authenticity remains strong. As usual, guitarist the Edge masters his electronic effects to elevate a second tier talent to a first tier sound. This is his consistent greatness. The penultimate track “Grace” personifies a theological datum in a slow, soulful setting. Methodist preachers might make some serious kerygmatic hay out of this song. “Grace makes beauty out of ugly things”, Bono sings. One could even say that grace builds upon nature, without getting all Scholastic over it. On the other hand, why not? And again, please note that the song “Grace” is immediately followed by the anthemic “The Ground Beneath Her Feet”. Connect these two themes and you might be excused for waxing transcendent. I needed this one today. 4/5 (Answer: J33-3=Jeremiah 33:3. Look it up. Bob Dylan had it on speed dial.)

Starts off strong but overall a pretty average album.

I have mixed feelings of All That You Can't Leave Behind as a U2 fan. On one hand, it's a great album with fantastic singles and some pleasant album cuts, plus a more crystal quality production than say Zooropa or Pop. On the other though, it ends in a snoozefest (New York and Grace) and the album's colossal success led the way to U2 playing it safe with their future output which would become increasingly mediocre and dull. Beautiful Day and Elevation are some of U2's best ever songs, Stuck In A Moment and Walk On are decent but powerfully uplifting when depressed, and the rest are mainly pleasent. It could've been improved with the bonus track The Ground Beneath Her Feet replacing Grace. These mixed feeling have made me considered if this album truly deserves a place in this list. It is the worst of the other 3 U2 albums on this list and not including it could've made room for another act that's strangely absent (Chuck Berry, Robert Johnson, any classical composer, even another album nor from the UK or USA would be fantastic). Though if reflecting on importance, this was incredibly popular around 2000 and had a impact on many in a post-9/11 world. To put it short, it's a great but frustrating album.

I saw U2 at Skydome with the roof open. To be sure there was no doubt about how rich and how famous they were, lights bordering the elevator banks on the CN Tower lit up at the exact time the chorus of Elevation started. Did I forget to mention that I was impressed? I rated Joshua Tree a 1 since it was such a let down. U2's first three albums delivered a ground breaking sound and they had so much promise which is what made Joshua Tree such a let down. By the time "All that you . . . " was released I was well beyond being let down by U2. This is another middle of the road album made by four gazillionaires that were previously ground breaking. Not a let down; it delivered what was expected.

If, as JG said, Joshua Tree marked the beginning of the end, this must be the end of end.

Lanois and Eno are favs of mine but they're totally wasted on this feeble effort from U2. This album reeks of a tired old band simply phoning it in to fulfill their contract obligations to the record company. Its funny how this band really brings out the hate in people.

While it didn't have the the raw and edgy (no pun intended) energy of U2 from the 80s, it was/is still a very powerful album.

I really like the slightly more subtle songs like Walk On and Kite. Wild Honey is great and clearly there are the other key hits that carry this album. Really impressive and they do a great job of carrying tempo and energy both up and down, and making songs that keep you engaged.

Not as great as I remembered it being, but still so many good memories.

I love 80s and 90s U2 but by 2000 i'd moved on as they became a pre-Coldplay pop anthem band. The best slickest production doesn't hide the mediocrity. Sorry chaps.

I know Bono is super pretentious and they aren't a cool band, but I think this is a great album. If that loses me points with the indie community, so be it.

Great album. One of their best. 4

Una inesperada sorpresa que després de dos discos com 'Zooropa' i 'Pop', fins i tot 'Achtung Baby' que tot i la seva magnificiència quedava molt lluny del que havien fet fins aleshores, U2 tornés a la seva manera personal d'entendre el rock com a manera d'encetar el nou mil.leni. I ho van fer donant-nos un dels seus millors discos. Singles incontestables com 'Beautiful Day' o 'Walk On', temes tan poderosos com 'Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out of' o 'Elevation'. I tota una resta del disc per anar assaborint i disfrutant en noves escoltes al llarg dels anys

The lead single is the strongest track, but the album drops from there. Somehow the band sounds like it’s forcing itself into territory it doesn’t naturally fit in. The Edge, whose sound makes U2 so unique, is blocked out by electronic and ambient production that makes this album sound closer to average 90s electronic than anything of U2’s own authentic work from the 80s. I suppose this period of confusion is why they became a band to hate on. They stopped being authentic.

While behind expectations and less rock than expected, it's still an album full of enjoyable and catchy songs

Solid U2 album, but nowhere close to Joshua Tree

Pop de estilo reconocible al grupo en sí. Demasiado blandengue. Melodías fáciles, pero algo falto de intensidad. No es un grupo que me guste especialmente.

Even if the album is full of huge successes, I think I do not really like U2...

A true jewel

There was a time when U2 were pretty good. This wasn’t one of those time

got a bit of edge to it

Great collection of songs!

The Joshua Tree was OK but otherwise I really don't understand the hype around U2. completely overhyped band for no reason at all. This album wasn't horrible, but not very good either. I was glad when it was finished. Probably more of a 2.5 than a 2. Rounded down because we've already had two U2 albums before this one and that's really more than enough for this band.

Yikes. I've always been a bit too judgmental of U2, and was pleasantly surprised when I took the time to dig into their earlier work last year. So my expectations were relatively high when going into this Beautiful Day is a great opener, if a bit cheesy, but it went downhill from there. The three-track run of Kite / In a Little While / Wild Honey were all almost unlistenable - Bono's voice was genuinely dreadful! This is my first did not finish of this project

Sounds pretty much like it could have been made at any time in the last 40 or so years, other than the production being a bit tighter than in their very early days. Stuck in a moment and walk on were two very good songs that I had (just about) forgotten existed, beautiful day and elevation are basically classic rock staples at this point, and in a little while might be my favourite of the whole record.

Christian elevator/hold music. Last song is the best one

Swag; pretty solid vibes

Meh.

Beaitiful day was nice. Then it went downhill gradually.

not cool to say so but I quite like U2

I was a big U2 fan in their early days. The Unforgettable Fire is still one of my favorite albums. But when they became mega-stars I sort of lost interest in them. That happens a lot with me - I feel like artists have "sold out" when they become really popular. Sometimes I think that's fair - the artists compromise their vision just to sell more records - but in the case of U2 I might have written them off too early. I think this album is really good. The Eno/Lanois production gives the songs a really nice vibe. 4 stars.

God this reminded me of Bono walking the streets of Dublin at Christmas singing carols. What a bad nonce. One thing I’d happily leave behind would be u2. Bono and the edge? I mean c’mon just fuck right off.

I'd rather stay imprisoned in SHACK'S bedroom than go out into a world where this exists.

how many kids that Bono has nonced do you reckon the pope has made disappear? he's a fucking whopper of a nonce.

That sweet, sweet voice. Those beautiful looping foot pedals. The sunglasses, the hat, the edge. What's not to completely loathe? A fucking disgusting waste of time and money. A horrorshow, a prison cell, a bargain bin of aborted babies.

Just fuck off. Nauseating. Worse than Benjamin Mendy.

Sums it up better than I can: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ-K74QzNzM

i can leave this album fs

I can listen to it but I don’t want to

Pop-rock de U2. Demasiadas canciones lentas, para mi gusto. Un megahit.

I can see the appeal. It's well-produced. I dislike it, very cheesy.

Sticky songs, just a purely commercial album. It´s shallowness is abundant.

Seriously, out of all the U2 albums, this is what we get? A bland, unoriginal, and uninspiring attempt to recreate former glories that should have been left to rest? Where did the baldness and experimentation of Achtung Baby and Zooropa disappear to, in this failed attempt to rewind time with an inferior Joshua Tree?

7/10

I could name several U2 albums that are well known off the top of my head. This is not one of them. It makes me think how many are going to be on this list of 1001....

Compared to the last album of U2, this one is fairly decent. Hunt a hotly available spot on the list, some very catchy melodies mixed with its fairly lame lyrics. Begrudging 4 stars

I feel like this is the album that changed most people's opinions on U2. It's such a drastic deviation from the sound they created in the 80s. The hits from this album seem a bit too manufactured to me. You could feel the emotion on albums before 1991. There just isn't any connection with this album and the listeners.

A hit parade but new U2 is not my taste

The soulless corpse of a once-great band, forced to dance for our money in a sad attempt at entertainment. Listening to this record while the sun rose felt like a disservice to dawn itself.

Ok OK. I kind of get it. But U2 still has such an emptiness to their sound that really puts them at a mediocre 3 here. Some songs I can definitely return to, and it has that millennial dread aesthetic that I like, so there you go Bono. Happy?

8/10

I haven't really been much of a fan of U2 since they broke through to the mainstream and became THE biggest deal worldwide. The band is fine, but I don't care much for Bono, much like Sting, who I feel they believe they are much bigger than their bands, though I know this is true. Despite what my opinion about Bono is, the album, All That You Can't Leave Behind is a surprisingly "back to basics" type of record. Though this album is over 20 years old, I've never listened to it from start to finish and I admit it's very listenable and solid throughout. I'll contribute that to a total band effort! Hope that doesn't hurt your ego too much Bono.

It's U2. Consistently good, but not exceptional

Glossy pop rock. At this point in their career it was purely for MTV and radio. I'd heard the first eight or nine tracks before without ever listening to this album. It's not bad. Just a lot of light radio singles. Elevation is very 2000.

I'm not much of a U2 fan but I can't deny it's quite good from a musical standpoint.

Bands should only exist for one decade.

Inte mitt favoritalbum med min kära fars favoritband. Däremot är Beautiful Day en jävla topplåt som aldrig gör mig besviken. Den bygger upp och är så otroligt mycket hype på något märkligt vis. Kanske för att den var med i en klassisk youtubevideo som var en av de första jag såg. Totalt sett ett habilt album, men endast en riktigt stark låt och resten känns som klart utfyllnad.

Ι mean, U2 is U2

Like an album full of power ballads. Overall enjoyable. No real standout tracks for me.

It’s fine, liked a few songs but it’s just not that good.

If you want to hear the sound of Western capitalism cresting, listen no further. This has everything: Bland optimism Fat complacency Self satisfaction The ability to make loadsamoney Your former rawness polished to a pleasantly marketable shine The Edge In its defence a.) those first three tracks are pretty good and b.) they had no idea re: the twin towers and subsequent slide of the West into late capitalism and all the grimness that involves. Ultimately it has some relevance as an aural-historical document, but limited relevance as an album.

A frankly silly production team. Sometimes Eno, Lillywhite and Lanois are on the same damn song. Does it add much? A few instrumental curios to the quiter ones, like the backwards strings on Kite or the underwater guitar on Grace, maybe. But I'm not sure U2 needed anything adding. Perhaps all the hot shot producers did was tell them to strip back, go simple, go pop. Not what you'd expect from "we're gonna need a bigger stadium" show-offs, but it worked. When Bono sings like an asshole (which isn't actually that often) you get the feeling it's because he cares about the material rather than the ticket sales. The best songs are still the anthems, the best anthem is still Elevation, and the best line on Elevation is still: "A mole, digging in a hole / Digging up my soul, now / Going down, excavation". Utter gibberish.

Tired. Flaccid. A ghost of their former selves. Imagine combining “Joshua Tree” and “Achtung Baby” and watering down the product.

Так себе альбом, да и вообще u2 скучная группа

I've never been a big fan of U2.

Not the biggest U2 fan, but the album does contain the hits.

It's U2, you know what you're going to get. It's competently made rock and roll.

Ganz ok. Gerade so 3 Sterne, da das Album zum Ende hin abflacht.

Objectively not too bad, but I just can't get over Bono. Probably "In a little while" my surprise song from this album

I liked the first song and after that one I felt like Bryan Adams was in the building

Some nice pop/rock, great for that evening dinner with the parents. Parents usually love U2, I've gathered 3/5 2.5/5 because of the lip smack at 1:12 in Grace. Fuck man

Never been much of a U2 fan. Like their hits and what not, but have never added them to a list I'm listening to or clicked on vid. I get their influence and that they are great song writers, it just doesn't speak to me.

I listened to this album just now. Didn't really do it for me. I've had an on-again/off-again relationship with U2 since the early-to-mid-80s. I listened to them a lot in high school, a bit into college, then drifted away from them. In the 90s, the same thing; had a few moments of listening to them, then faded out. Never really came back to them in earnest, so I guess it's been mostly "off-again." I don't dislike them, but I must admit I get bored quickly. And I know U2 fans will tar and feather me for this, but Bono's singing can sometimes annoy me. I saw them live (might have been '85) and remember loving The Edge as a guitar player. Still do. I honestly think he's a vastly underrated guitarist, probably because he doesn't really do long solos and doesn't shred, or whatever. I find him quite innovative and interesting.

geen U2 fan, maar best 'Beautiful Day' en 'Elevation' zijn best oké nummers

Единственное, что я знал о группе U2 до нынешнего момента - что примерно каждый третий человек в мире считает Боно тщеславным самодовольным мудаком в тёмных очках. И честное слово, я не видел ни одного его интервью, ни одного живого выступления или клипа, я просто несколько раз послушал этот альбом - и уже полностью согласен с тем, что это наверное самая тщеславная, самодовольная и мудацкая музыка из всего, что я слышал (хотя в этом списке и есть немало претендентов на данное место по типу Тома Петти). Боже мой, я не представляю, какой хуёвый вкус надо иметь, чтобы слушать Beautiful Day, Wild Honey или Peace on Earth. Порой лирический гений Боно достигает поистине Макскоржевских уровней, только без присущей Коржу харизмы и образа. Вот например Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of - это поразительно отвратительно антисуицидальный гимн, который посвящён вокалисту INXS, дружившему с Боно. И я абсолютно верю в эту дружбу, потому что следующая же песня - Elevation - звучит один в один как хуёвая песня INXS с кучей попросту необъяснимых поросячих визгов в начале и конце. И всё равно это лучше практически всего, что есть на альбоме, потому что в остальном это оверпафосный и оверунылый двухтысячный рок, который я попросту ненавижу. Опять же, может напомнить того же Роби Вильямса, только без запоминающихся припевов и рифов. Тут вообще нихуя нет, почему эта группа нытиков так известна-то? Вероятно потому что весь мир ненавидит музыку. 3/10 за элевейшн и закрывашку.

Поначалу начал думать, что 1001 переведёт меня из разряда скептиков U2 в хейтеры. Но не в этот раз, альбом вроде бы неплох. Наиболее одиозными моментами их творчества для меня были Боно и блеклые мелодии. Тут оба этих фактора немного нивелируются. Из положительных моментов: Beautiful Day, Walk On, Kite, In A Little While, Wild Honey, Grace, The Ground Beneath Her Feet Из не очень: All That You Can't Leave Behind, Elevation, Peace On Earth, When I Look At The World, New York Чувствуется, что Elevation, вероятно, хит, там всякие «ву-ху» и потрясающие рифмы lips–hips–eclipse, крестьяне такое любят. Но я нет. Walk On вроде бы находит у меня отклик, но, как понял – это резонанс с треком Оззи Осборна «Tonight», который на порядок выразительнее. New York – просто пошлость. Вспоминаются времена, когда среди самок было модно шликать на этот город, носить футболки I♥NY. Впрочем, занимательно, что насколько New York – скучный невыразительный город, насколько показная любовь к нему – безвкусна, настолько проходной этот трек. В Grace словно чувствуется звук Radiohead. Но что ли недостаёт глубины, может – психических расстройств Тома Йорка, из-за чего трек звучит скорее не медитативно, а скучно. Впрочем, возможно, из-за праздного голоса Боно, который к медитации не располагает. The Ground Beneath Her Feet – мощно. Не, тупо кайфанул, очень сильный трек: мелодика, подбор инструментов, композиционная прогрессия. Будь весь альбом в подобном ключе написан – я бы задумался ознакомиться-таки с дискографией. А так задумываться об этом всё же не стану. Альбом получает 3,5 звезды с округлением в 3.

U2’s return to form was an explosive one. It’s got some amazing singles that can and will stand up to any single released from their earlier albums.

Classic album, not their best but still got a lot of great songs.

There was a time for me when U2 could do no wrong. By the time this album came out, the former time had long since passed. I like this album OK, but it wasn't enough to get into regular rotation for me. It's a 3 star effort.

I remember when this album came out. I grew up on early U2 and was not happy with the direction they went in after Achtung Baby. When ATYCLB came out, it felt like a surprise return to a familiar U2 that I liked. I still prefer the earlier U2 and understand the need to experiment, but this album is one of their better ones.

Classic

U2 always reminds me of father. Really appealing songs

I already know two U2 albums (and possibly 3?) are going to get 5's from this reviewer. And I already know this is not one of them. Impossibly overrated. But there's still plenty of good (if not great) moments here. It's just not one of my go-to albums, not from U2. But those are to come...

Lots of stylistic variation. A mostly quiet, subdued album. Many of the songs fall flat for me. Perhaps Bono's most overwrought album lyrically. All in all nothing I loved, 1 song I disliked strongly. 3 🌟

3.25

I've never liked U2. I still don't like U2. I imagine this is what a Coldplay album sounds like

U2 was one of my favorite bands in HS/College until about Achtung Baby or even Zooropa. But after that... Maybe I just expect more. Lots of respect to the band and some good songs here. But overall, pretty flat. Lyrics are even a bit lame and album seems a bit over-produced. Hard for me to even give it a 3.

good production, meh lyrics

Of course it was good! 9/10 I just have no complaints such a good vibe

A modern classic. 5*

Eerste nummer en we weten al hoe laat het is Elevation bop The ground below her 🎸👌🏼 2.7/5

3 De eerste 5 nummer waren mij bekend. Ik zie ergens wel waarom het iconisch is en ik snap ook waarom mensen fan zijn. Voor de rest vind ikhet een zeer veilig album niks gedurft en dat maar het wel wat 'pop-achtig'. Na he teinde begon eht album mij te vervelen, oepsie, minpunten! 'Stuck in a moment you can't get out of', vond ik het beste nummer.

Beautiful day - start met een banger Elevation - spring hype Rustige rock, ik zou het moederrock noemen, they love it.

Just a bit dull. Even the ones I remembered, I remembered why I didn't like them at the time. Hopefully will never listen to this album again.

the vibes of this are emaculate 8.5/10

Decent

2 hits but the rest is forgettable

U2 has a couple really good albums. This is not one of them.

Not sure how this album made the list? Totally dull and boring and the douche bag singing is a prick.

This ain't it. Outside of U2's singles, I don't think I like them very much. This album is as exciting as a communion wafer.

SHIT

Nothing here for me. Dull soft rock. Think their early stuff might be better for me but remains to be seen/heard Edit: dnf, it almost depressed me with how boring I found it

This album is trash

I loathe U2, but I'll give this a try. For a little bit, at least.

Un peu ringard, bono saoule encore. « It’s a beauriful day » passe car je la connais d’avance, mais l’album est globalement ennuyeux et mou. The ground beneath her feet qui finit l’album est pas mal

A decently solid rock album. Nothing really stood out as incredible or awful. Fav song: Beautiful Day

Some good singles on there but boring as a whole

Chill

pretty chill

I fucking hate U2 😂😂😂. Not sure why, bonno seems a prick and its also not my type of music. This is the first time I've properly given the music the time of day and i was hoping that it'd help me understand why people like them, but it is actually just shite. Maybe a 2 at very best, but prob a 1.

Bono wollte nur Singels auf das Album packen. Ist das gelungen? Mir gefällt das Album, es ist echt guter Pop-Rock - dafür, dass es im Formatradio teilweise totgedudelt würde, kann das Album ja nur in Teilen was. Auf der anderen Seite, will ich eingängige Rockmusik, hole ich dann dieses Album raus... Ich bin unschlüssig.

Ein ganzes Album Bono Geschnulze pack ich einfach nicht

Das erste Mal in meinem Leben, dass ich bewusst U2 gehört hab. Fand ich gut.

Irgendwie "schön", irgendwie manchmal etwas viel.

The last decent U2 album

Everything is well put together, it’s just not very interesting.

Spool 2000s u2.

U2 sucks.

3/5 way too mellow for my taste

Ticks a lot of boxes.

“Stuck in a moment you can’t get out of” sounds familiar. I don’t know if I’ve heard this song before or if it’s similar to something else. It’s better than expected though. “Beautiful” is just corny at this point. “In a little while”, while not *funk*... definitely funkier than what I’d expect from u2. I’m def not calling this a 5 star and probably not a 4 either but this album is surprising me. I thought it’d be a lot more... Bono being Bono. “New York” is cheesy. And it’s pre 911 which makes it even cheesier. Honestly, I’m a bit confused at how bad some of these songs are. I knew u2 wasn’t my flavor but some of this just feels like... unfinished. Like a demo take. I think a 3 is fine. But honestly I hate rating albums. I just like listening.

It's U2. You've heard the singles from this album. Just trad stadium rock. Meh. BT: Beautiful Day, Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Elevation

Great start, Peters off but still a good album

Classic U2!

I like some early U2 but this was a struggle

Bono! He’s not great he’s just popular! Syphilis is popular

Lyrics aren't great, but the song writing is bloody good! A lot of good tracks even though there are a few that are very cringy listens

Not a fan of U2 and listening to this album didn’t change that.

Was having a bit of a shitty day and U2 didn't help. 4/10

An album I could've happily died before listening to.

Bono gonna Bono. The big singles has stood the test of time, but the rest of it was a massive slog. Very 1 paced and wanky lyrics. Living off the past by this point with nothing new to offer

Un clàssic, molt escoltat en adolencència

I find Bono's voice quite grating Downhill after the first song

I really enjoyed it's a beautiful day. I wish I was dancing to it at a wedding though, a bit pissed screaming it in the faces of people I love.

I don’t remember listening to this album much but I seem to know a lot of the songs. Some bangers tbf, but a lot of dross as well

The lads know how to write a banger tbf

Good album that.

U2's last Hurrah. Its alright and has some catchy songs but all the edge and heart is gone from music making it a bunch of average songs pandering to their fans. I got to the end of wild honey and looked at the names of tracks left and turned it off. Peace on Earth? no thanks Bono you insufferable prick, pay your fucking taxes. Music for people who hate music. 2/5

Nothing makes me cringe more. Sung like it's the most important music ever made, with nothing to back it up. Having said that I actually like track 2

It started out well but felt a little contrived by the end. I still enjoyed it though

Was surprised to see this album on the list - I suppose some of the 1001 will end up fairly forgettable. This album marked the point where I definitively stepped off the U2 fan train, after enduring the underwhelming "Pop." To me, this album feels more like a vehicle to fuel the stadium-filling U2 tour machine, and less a labor of artistic expression. Most of the songs lean on earnestness and overblown anthematic choruses - the kind that can keep an arena of fans on its feet. Lyrically, this album contains more than a few dud moments (see "Elevation", atrocious word in "Kite"). In the rare occasions I need a U2 fix, I'm reaching for Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, or maybe even Zooropa, which certainly contain an excess of pop anthems but are balanced with more atmosphere, more experimentation, more fun risks that made U2 exciting to me in the first place.

6

wow

.

I'm reminded of that old man in Love Actually who is trying to get the #1 Christmas hit. I just don't think it's for me.

nto as horrible as I remembered but it is a bit cringe and a big meh...

Better than I thought, also didn't ever notice the Bowie lyrics

Delightful turn-of-the-millennium pop-rock.

nice!

Nope

U2: Mein Papa hat mal eine Rechnung bekommen, weil er angeblich U2 illegal runtergeladen hat. Man kann uns vieles vorwerfen, aber das ist SICHERLICH nie passiert.

I did not care for this album. My memory of it is beige and I can barely remember anything about it a day later

All the edges feel worn away from U2 by the time this came out (pun not intended). Similar with later Coldplay, the initial originality has faded, leaving generic stadium pop rock. Some excellent tunes, of course, just... the overall package feels a little hollow.

false

Bit lame

Nope, no thank you.

Between 'Beautiful Day' and 'Elevation,' this quickly turns into a greatest hits of songs I hated as a teenager. I don't hate them anymore, but I don't like them either. Most of these songs make me cringe a little.

Very meh. 1 or 2 good songs at the start, all downhill from there.

Where to begin with this... I can start by saying I let out an involuntary sigh and "ugh" while I heard the first few keys of "Beautiful Day" which would be the only song I make it through. Only lasted about 30sec into "Stuck in a moment..." "Elevation" is embarassing and to be honest I can't remember much else. Maybe "New York" is closest to any kind of decent U2 that I can recall. This is SO disappointing as a HUGE U2 fan. I grew up on Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and more. Heck, I'll even take Discotechque or the entire Pop album over this mess. U2 seems like they bought the farm in 2000 and isn't looking back. Which is a shame, but I'll still jam to anything prior to this album, any day...

Probably #4 favorite U2 album

Meh too pop for my taste

This does have a few Dad Rock Killers™️ but it’s a bit of a snooze fest apart from that

Yer da called, says he loves it. Naw for real this album is throwing mad shade at this whole thing. Can fuck with in a little while and one or two others but it’s all v pedestrian.

"everytime I clap my hands a child in Africa dies" “Well stop fucking doing it then!!”

I generally like U2. Especially when they are working with Eno. The songs on this album are pretty hit or miss with me though. The tracks I think work best are Beautiful Day and In a Little while.

I sort of have a prejudice against U2, but I think a lot of that is cultural and Bono. Beautiful Day is a fine pop song though. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of... ok this is too much, it basically is like someone took a Christian worship song and removed all mentions of God in it, same with Walk On, Peace On Earth, Grace, oh god... The tolerable part of the album is probably The Edge's ambient-guitar-stuff but it doesn't save it. It's obviously a well put-together album but, lots of these songs are just painful. Oh man, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois produced this? My how the mighty have fallen. I understand why people like U2 though, but this sort of U2 is on a mission to do something I am not interested in when listening to music. 2.5 up to 3 since it's competent.

The Edge works hard to prop up Bono's totally uninspired writing. In A Little While is nice and Elevate is a classic but Peace on Earth is a sickening piece of music, shut up Bono.

I think what's so frustrating about this album is that it could be so much better if the arrangements were allowed to go even a little off the rails. The opening track and 'When I Look At the World' get close, but otherwise the production is so sterile it saps all the fun out and leaves mega-cheesy ballads behind. Sounds like a Keane album.

sonically so y2k that it makes me puke, lyrically and melodically childish to the point of grating. i do not like to listen to this. fav track: stuck in a moment you can't get out of

I'm really starting to like U2 and it's a real surprise to me.

u2 né eu sei tu tb

Wet. Pure wet dad music tosh.

Not good. Never good

the irish bruce springsteen

Not a 5, but not a 4 either. Idk, U2 is good but never stands out to me.

First two songs are bangers. Rest is wank

Front loaded with solid hits, but pretty weak otherwise, particularly in the middle section.

Better than expected, but still a far cry from the first four albums.

Fuck U2

shite

four overplayed singles and a buncha throwaways

U2 gets a lot of deserved shit for their high-profile misses, but I'm kind of done apologizing for loving them. This album is a banger and it's like their third or fourth best one. Best track: Beautiful Day

U2 does U2 things

Bloated and shiny. There are some interesting musical ideas here from the band, I just can't get past Bono and his weird lyricism on this. Never was a big U2 fan, so sue me. Favorite tracks: "Beautiful Day", "Walk On"

Bok gibi

A record I've listened to before. Really quite spectacular. Almost at the Joshua Tree level.

Nice album, not my favorite genre of rock (soft and sad-ish I guess). Standout Tracks: Beautiful Day, Wild Honey, New York