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All That You Can't Leave Behind U2 Island Records, 2000
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Reviewed by Lucas Aykroyd
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Idealism tempered by maturity gives life to U2's new album, their finest in 10 years. The Irish rock band became infatuated with electronica and ironic spectacle on Zooropa (1993) and Pop (1997). But All That You Can't Leave Behind is grounded in solid, traditional songwriting and melodic structure. In a way, the album is one long, deep breath for Bono, U2's bombastic and iconoclastic vocalist. Not only is he singing better, but he also appreciates that the world has more shades of gray than he can squeeze into a four-minute radio hit. The bridge of "Beautiful Day," the soaring first single, finds him striving to see beauty in China, tuna fleets and oil fields as well as the natural world. And in the end, he admits: "After the flood all the colors came out." It's an interesting reversal of his stance in 1987's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," where he envisioned a monolithic salvation: "I believe in the Kingdom Come/Then all the colors will bleed into one." "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of" may not be the best ballad the group has ever written, as producer Daniel Lanois claims. But its faintly 1970s synthesizers create a warm ambiance and its promotion of self-sufficiency echoes "Beautiful Day" in the line: "You can never get enough of what you really don't need now." There's a paradox when a band like U2 puts out a new record: they've been in business for 20 years and have achieved a critical and commercial stature that few will ever rival. But they still have a hunger to communicate and tour the world and top their previous efforts, which seems at odds with the "We must cultivate our garden" vibe of the album. Two songs near the halfway mark might be tributes to Paul McCartney and John Lennon, respectively. U2 have always admired the Fab Four, so this would be natural. "Wild Honey" has that back-to-nature late McCartney Beatles feel. "Peace On Earth" essentially states, as Lennon might if he were still alive, "Thirty years since 'Imagine' and we still can't get it together?" It's a less militant sequel to "Sunday Bloody Sunday." "New York" marks a purging of the headspace U2 occupied until recently. Low-key, almost Leonard Cohen-esque vocals contrast with the chiming, anthemic fury of The Edge's guitar and the still-vibrant rhythm section of bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen. The heat, the ethnic chaos and the seamy nightlife of the Big Apple come through clearly in this underrated track. (Oh, Adam, those late nights with Naomi Campbell: what were you thinking?) Clear production from Lanois and Brian Eno makes the album a near-religious experience for fans of U2's 1980s output. Hey, they've been praying for this for a long time. The final song, "Grace," presents a vision of an amorphous Madonna figure, which perhaps reflects the idealism and mixed messages ingrained by Bono's upbringing in a home that was both Catholic and Protestant. All That You Can't Leave Behind, indeed. Or, like "The Sweetest Thing," it could be a tribute to his wife, Ali Hewson. That interpretation would fit with the band's trend toward simplicity. This album rewards multiple listenings. Watch for it to earn U2 a trip to the Grammys, much like Sting's success this year. The old white rock guys are back. | December 2000
Lucas Aykroyd covers the rock beat for Wall of Sound, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and other leading music publications. He is the author of 1984: The Ultimate Van Halen Trivia Book. |
There's a paradox when a band like U2 puts out a new record: they've been in business for 20 years and have achieved a critical and commercial stature that few will ever rival. But they still have a hunger to communicate and tour the world and top their previous efforts, which seems at odds with the "We must cultivate our garden" vibe of the album. |
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