A few weeks ago U2 released their 21st album "No Line On The Horizon". Like most U2 albums, the album requires several listenings to really form an opinion. I like NLOTH. It's a very accomplished album, but how do you record a follow up "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb"? HTDAAB was a stunning U2 album for the 21st century. A bold album full of melody, power, bravado, with each song better than the last one. The title of the album (How To Dismantle...) refers to Bono watching his father die (Bono's father is the atomic bomb). Bono's father passed away during the recording of the album. What is amazing is how as an artist, Bono channeled all that raw feeling and emotion into an incredible album. Making the follow-up to How To Dismantle must have been the same feeling Madonna had making the follow-up to Confessions on the Dance Floor, as an artist how do you top your seminal work?
NLOTH is a very good album, but it lacks a focus and clarity the previous U2 album. You can tell from the press that Bono's talking more and more esoterically. And while U2 doesn't seem interested in "topping" themselves, for me it does speak to a very interesting mindset. One of the highlights of the album is the 2 different cuts of the title track. I have heard that U2 will record the same song with 3 or 4 different producers and then put the track they like best on the album. It's quite an interesting way to work with producers.
When I look at emerging artists (musicians, actors, artists), there is a raw hunger there. Whether it's a hunger for fame or having their art out in popular culture, there's a hunger to breakout and breakthrough. And then as an artist, you do it, your work speaks to people and you become famous. You are heralded as the second coming of the last second coming....then what? Inevitably comes the sophomore slump. The next project after a dazzling debut is largely a pitfall for artists. The connection to the general public, the life you lived before you became famous, is gone now that you're in the bubble of fame. Some swim, some sink, and some rise to the top of their field. Madonna, The Rolling Stones, and U2 are at the top of their respective music genres. They're #1. And the mentality to get to be #1 is a very different mentality than what it takes to stay #1.
The tennis world has a perfect parallel between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Roger Federer has been the world's #1 tennis player for 4 years. With the younger, more vital Nadal (and every other tennis player) nipping at your heels. Getting to #1 is the hunger of competition. Staying #1 requires a grace, and emotional and mental maturity unlike any other. There are so few people who are #1, better than anyone else in the world in their respective areas. They must only be able to relate to eachother in that sense. I have the utmost respect, for their dilemma - how do you top yourself when you're already #1?
UPDATE: I like the 2nd version of No Line On The Horizon better than the first. I would love an entire album full of the "rejected" versions of U2 songs.
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