U2: Songs of Experience
U2 has a problem that every other rock band in the world could only hope for: They're always going to be huge. No two ways about it. They were so original and so good for so long that they're destined to fill stadiums for the rest of their days, no matter what they release. And therein lies the problem: After aspiring, applying, and re-applying to be the biggest band in the world so many times, can they still write anything relevant? Or even worthwhile?
As of three years ago, it was not looking good. 2014's Songs of Innocence was the most misguided, over-produced record of U2's career. There was actually a batch of good songs there- check out some of the alternate acoustic versions if you don't believe me- but the band did itself a colossal disservice with a collection of producers (Danger Mouse being the worst offender) who knob-twiddled those songs into overblown pap. And ironically, force-projecting those songs into hundreds of millions of iPhones didn't win them many new fans.
U2 has gone back to a more traditional releasing strategy with Songs of Experience, a companion of sorts to the 2014 release. You'll actually have to pay for this one. And color me pleasantly surprised, it's actually worth the money. The songs of Experience are a good deal more satisfying and fully realized than the ones on Innocence. Neither disc is a radical, Achtung Baby-level reinvention of the band's sound. The guys are pushing 60; it's safe to say they've found their comfort zone and they're sticking to it. But whereas Innocence was too slick for its own good, Experience is not afraid to have fun or get loose.
As a first single, You're The Best Thing About Me is far from the best thing on the album, but it shows how charming Bono can be when he keeps it light and playful. The Showman (Little More Better) dials up the playfulness even higher, and it works. Don't let the overlong greeting-card song titles deter you: Get Out Of Your Own Way, The Little Things That Give You Away, and Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way are probably the three songs in which you'll immediately recognize the classic U2 sound- and they'll genuinely effective. Hell, these three songs alone are easily worth the purchase.
It's been 14 long years since the band had a true-blue crossover hit. (Yes, Vertigo was all the way back in 2004.) Of course, radio is basically dead now, and U2's iconic status is safely enshrined with or without any more bonafide chart-toppers. But somehow, amazingly, they have some real gems left in their arsenal. A-
