by Fiona Thompson

Created on: October 25, 2009

The Curious Case of the Brilliant Bad Album

The right to appear ridiculous is one that I hold dear, so wails Bono on U2's latest album No Line on the Horizon. Indeed, and one he would appear to exploit to the full at any given opportunity. Bono, or rather Paul Hewson as I prefer to call him as I feel his alter ego is absurd for a man of his years, is someone I find quite perplexing and really rather irritating. But what I find irritating is that while his pomposity can bore me senseless, at other times I find him quite inspiring and I have never been able to resist a listen to what new material U2 produce. In spite of having moved on musically I still consider U2 one of my favourite bands so after a two year wait I was looking forward to hearing the latest album.

Unlike, say, Achtung Baby, No Line on the Horizon requires a good few listens to make a decent appraisal. It doesn't have the immediacy of Achtung Baby, mainly because this is a truly eclectic album. On this occasion eclectic isn't a positive. The good tracks are so outstanding that the other tracks are merely fillers and there are a couple of tracks that probably should never have made the cut.

U2 now find themselves in the comfortable position of knowing they'll sell shed-loads of any thing they put out which could mean one of two things; they could go to town and experiment or they could stick to familiar ground. Somehow you get the impression with U2 that Bono would stick his neck out while the other three will carry on as normal. Fans of the Edge will be pleased to know that he has stuck tenaciously to his recognisable chugga-chug style and there are numerous flashbacks to The Unforgettable Fire.

No, you get the feeling that anything a little different on this album has come from Bono; the trouble is anything new seems to be more U2's stab at a pastiche of younger, cool bands. Get on Your Boots screams Queens of the Stone Age, a band who do this track more justice. Still, it's one of the more memorable tracks on the album and it shows U2 still know how to groove. Lyrically it stands out because it's a welcome departure from the grave messages that Bono usually peddles, this time he just wants to wax lyrical about some chick in, you've guessed it, sexy boots. Fair play to the man, after all he's been half on one of rock music's most enduring marriages so you can hardly blame him for having a little scout about.

Another track that shines is Stand Up Comedy which has a classic U2 riff and top quality

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