All That You Can’t Leave Behind

Mole
Hole.
Soul.

What in the nursery rhyme, infant lullaby bullshit were those lyrics?!

Is Bono the World's Oldest Toddler?

Worst album.

I no longer fear the next Coldplay cut.

Another boring and forgettable U2 album.

1.5/5.0: Bad

somehow this album manages to be worse that achtung baby. at least that one had some interesting musical ideas even if they didnt really develop. they played this incredibly safe and the album suffers for it.

Pretty decent.
High 3/5

I was working at Blockbuster Video when this album came out, the promo was on a constant loop. There's only so much of Beautiful Day a soul can take! 1.5

Beautiful day, eine gute Band vielleicht etwas unter dem Höhepunkt ihrer Kreativität, trotzdem gut.

Classic U2-sound. I like it.

Beautiful Day was so ubiquitous on radio, tv, ads, public space when this came out I almost have a nostalgic fondness for it just from sheer pavlovian force of repetition. The rest of doesn't benefit from this. Lots of great guitar sounds, but they're all wasted on an album composed almost entirely of insipid therapy platitudes, self help affirmations and car commercial anthems. The formula of minor chord -> major chord plus lots of delay and a big sound is the cheap spirituality of megachurch worship music, creating an ultimately empty sense of oneness and catharsis. In the 80s U2 used to be able to pull this off, bits it's so hollow here. It's so blandly uplifting it's not just grating, but insulting - it's music to cheer up people who are so simple they can actually be cheered up by saying, 'hey cheer up mate'. Oh ok!

I like U2 - I own a couple of their albums, I've seen them live and enjoyed it - and I think Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of is one of their best songs. And yet, I'm surprised this is on the list. It was definitely a return to form after Pop, but it's not doing anything that Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby didn't do first.

It was a good album. It sold well. It had one big hit single. There are a lot better U2 albums. Why include this one?

Maybe 5th best u2

If I was more mature then I would be able to separate my feelings about a band/artist from the actual quality of an album.

But I'm not, and Bono has always come across as a self promoting dickhead.

Consequently I've never really given U2 time of day..But this album is not at all bad. Bono is still a nob though.

I have never engaged with U2 and am dipping in mid-discography with no context. I have to ask: why do U2 sound like Take That on this album? This is quintessential 90s cheesy boy band fare. Easy listening. Adult contemporary. Whatever euphemism you want to use. Stuck in a Moment is especially toe clenching… At odds with the reputation they’re supposed to have - no? The more palletable moments veer into “cool” era Robbie Williams, but without the hit power.

Bono emphatically singing the chorus lyrics “a mole, digging in a hole, digging on my soul now, going down, excavation, ionide in the sky, you make me feel like I could fly so high, elevation.” Had me with my jaw so wide you could see through to my stomach.

Bin kein Fan von U2. Hat schwach angefangen, war dann zum Ende hin aber noch ganz okay. Schafft es mit letzter Kraft auf 3 Sterne

Dear 1 Star Voters.

Seriously? I mean I can see that maybe you like this album less then others. But "mUh jOsHua tReE iS beTTur! 1 stAR" lol get a grip.

Theres a hook from a german rapper that describes that perfectly:

They've changed.
Who allowed that?
It was MY band,
that ruined my day.

It's funny, all the reviews of this album talk about how it was a return to form after U2's apparently misguided (according to critics) foray into electronica in the 90s. Problem is, I really like those 90's albums - Zooropa is one of my favorites and I always enjoyed Pop. So, to me, this album is not a recovery, but almost a retreat. Problem is, most of these songs don't draw me in as much as songs on, say, Achtung Baby or The Joshua Tree (or War or, yes, Zooropa). It's not bad - I like U2 - it's just not (for me) the second coming of U2 and I would not have included it in the 1001. Favorite tracks: Beautiful Day, Stuck in a Moment..., Kite, Peace on Earth.

Cut-and-paste rock-inflected pop music manufactured for the purpose of selling as many units as possible. Pure commercialism.

mixed feelings here. I listened to a lot of u2 in the 80s-90s. With this album, u2 retired the mcphisto persona (which was fascinating!) and took a totally different direction. It's like we broke up on good terms; they "walked on" and I tuned in more to radiohead, etc.

Not a bad album by any means, but not the formative music that built our relationship.

What a middling effort by a band that otherwise has some pretty good material. I don't really care for the hit singles on this album and the deepcuts are even less interesting. Bono's voice is still pleasant to listen to and there's some nice moments that remind you of the good band they once were back in the 80's, but overall it's an unremarkable album.

Not as good as their more adventurous stuff, but has some great songs