All That You Can't Leave Behind - U2

U2's first album released in this decade is a doozy - All That You Can't Leave Behind is an antidote to the claims from critics that they've lost the zest that made them so popular in the 1980s in particular. This is a great album with a wealth of catchy songs and shows us a rejuvenated band that are back on top. It's a far more robust production than their previous albums, and has obviously benefitted from the fruits of their success - this is an immaculate album that's far away from their sketchier (production-wise) earlier albums such as Achtung Baby, brilliant though it is. The album opens with Beautiful Day, which became a huge hit when it was released, ...  Read the complete review

What does a band do when they've conqured the world twice over? With their brand of heartfelt rock underpinned by a spirituality and conscience that - in recent years - has also embraced irony and self-deprication, U2 enter the 21st Century with their first new release since 1997's coolly-received Pop. The new album is aptly titled All That You Can't Leave Behind, as it neatly encapsulates both the musical content of the record, and also the band's current predicament. For U2's past has caught up with them, the basic four-piece approach of their early years revisited if not exactly recaptured. No longer spotty adolescents with raw ability ...  Read the complete review

In a return to their roots, this album is particularly reminiscent of the old U2 style in terms of content, not a million miles away from the sound of the epic 'Joshua Tree' and with enough good ideas and mellow ambience to get the heart racing. True, given that this is firmly within the 'old style' of the band, some of the songs might sound a little familiar. But have no doubt in your mind whatsoever, this is a very solid effort, and a welcome return to what we're used to. Far less experimental then some of their more recent efforts, including the perculiar 'Pop' and back quite a bit further, the truely inspired ...  Read the complete review

The guys at Designer believe music is like a fine wine, it matures with time, and as such we couldn't review the new U2 album after just one listen like lesser magazines. So here we are better late than never. To be honest I've never been a huge fan of U2, although I've always had a certain amount of respect for Bono. He's one of the last few shining examples of how to do the rock star thang properly and as such its always going to be a mixture of sex, drugs, rock & roll with a healthy dose of religion and "charideeeee" work. It could be said that as U2's have become more commercially successful it has been to the detriment of ...  Read the complete review

It really is a "Beautiful Day" for U2 fans now that the band has absolved itself of its spotty ‘90s output with their latest release All That You Can’t Leave Behind. Let's be brutally honest: 1997's Pop was, with few exceptions, rubbish. Its poor sales showed that U2 could try their fans’ patience with arty pretensions – especially after getting hoodwinked by '93's sorely uneven Zooropa. Nine years ago this fall the band gave us their brilliant Achtung Baby, and U2 – Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton, the Edge, and Bono – exceed that feat here by giving us one of the most consistently exhilarating records ...  Read the complete review