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Over the past decade or so, U2 have reinvented themselves several times, producing a string of albums that, individually, have been paragons of consistency. But the dizzying How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, unlike its more uniform predecessor, All That You Can't Leave Behind, recaptures the band's flair for surprises. At first blush, the disc seems peppered with the sort of soaring mid-tempo anthems that were the U2's bread-and-butter back in the '80s -- "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own," with Bono's falsetto set against the Edge's gingerly picked guitar figure, is a trip in the wayback machine, for sure. Similarly, the slowly building "City of Blinding Lights" -- one of the most straightforward love songs Bono's penned in ages -- seems like a tip of the hat to colleagues the Cure and New Order, but that's not the disc's predominant flavor. On "Love and Peace or Else," for instance, the band lay down a minimal, electronics-enhanced backing dominated by Larry Mullen's primal tom-tom, a vibe that soon gives way to a sort of postmodern walking blues. The initial single, "Vertigo," ratchets up the energy, lurching along with a compelling blend of garage-band bluster and arena-filling authority. Again, though, that's not the whole story. "All Because of You" reconciles Brit-pop jangle and neo-psychedelic fillips, topping off the mixture with Bono's self-aware musings ("I love the sound of my own voice / I didn't give anyone else a choice"). And, since no U2 album would be complete without a shout-out to the Man Upstairs, the band ends the disc with "Yahweh," a plea for salvation that's matched in lyrical intensity by its beseeching melody. It may not be rocket science, but How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, more than any of the band's efforts in years, pushes the right buttons to get listeners involved -- mind, body, and soul.
Condition:NEW. Brand New Factory Sealed
TRACK LISTINGS
Disc 1
1 Vertigo 3:14
2 Miracle Drug 3:59
3 Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own 5:08
4 Love and Peace or Else 4:50
5 City of Blinding Lights 5:47
6 All Because of You 3:39
7 A Man and a Woman 4:30
8 Crumbs from Your Table 5:03
9 One Step Closer 3:51
10 Original of the Species 4:41
11 Yahweh 4:21
Disc 2
1 U2 and 3 Songs Documentary / Multimedia Track
2 Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own [Multimedia Studio Performance
3 Crumbs from Your Table Multimedia Track
4 Vertigo Temple Bar Mix / Multimedia Track
5 Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own DVD / Mix
6 Vertigo Multimedia Track
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