U2

Other than U2, no other band in history (at least to my own knowledge) has actually enjoyed being the “biggest band in the world.” U2 not only embraced this, but also aimed for it. The fact that they succeed is made even stranger when you remember that when U2 first formed, they were trying to sound like Joy Division and other early post-punk bands.

U2 are self-aware. Unfortunately, they often don’t realize it until they have gone too far. The Joshua Tree does a great job of using those roots rock influences, but Rattle and Hum goes too far past that, so they returned a few years later with Achtung Baby, an embrace of electronic music, and to a lesser extent at the time, irony. When they went too far with that sound with Pop, they scaled it back again.

But for me, my introduction to U2 came with “Sweetest Thing” and to a greater extent, All That You Can’t Leave Behind. Here was a new album that I thought was great and vital from pretty much the only band that had already been canonized and was still doing anything remotely worthwhile. Since I didn’t know much outside of a few of the really big hits, being able to go back and hear the old albums for the first time is something I’ll never forget. You can hear not just the development of the “U2 sound” throughout, but also the growth of Bono, Edge, Larry, and Adam. Even when the bombast may be too much, or that delay effect on the Edge’s guitar starts to grate, or when Bono starts spending most of his time in the public eye meeting with politicians, I know that if nothing else, these are four guys who believe in themselves and everything they do.

With the release of album’s like The Killers’ Sam’s Town or Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible, the point of reference to most critics has been Bruce Springsteen. But to me, these recordings have more in common with mid-period U2. It was held against these albums that they wanted to be sweeping epics, that they try and do too much. These same ideas are what has been fueling the U2 backlash that has been around since probably The Joshua Tree Tour. I don’t know about anyone else, but I want my bands to want to be the biggest and best bands in the world. When they can pull it off, like U2 has, that’s when something really special happens.

Album Pick: Achtung Baby

Track Picks: “Bad”
“Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”
“In A Little While”