Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Get on Your Boots-Review

So, U2 has a new single out. This is something that I have been looking forward to around that time the Vertigo tour ended. Anyone, who knows me knows I am a fan.

I divide U2's songs into two categories. Fun and meaningful. I prefer the meaningful. The music is always good. U2 is at their best when the lyrics are on par with the music. I happen to love the Zooropa and Pop albums for this reason. My least favorite songs are the ones that just aim for fun. Think Wild Honey.

The odd thing about U2's music is that there are many songs that I hear once or twice and think the band was just having fun. However, after hearing the songs multiple times and living with them I begin to recognize there is actually a lot of depth to the song. This was the case with Vertigo.

Get on Your Boots begins with a guitar riff that feels lifted straight from Vertigo. In fact the beginning of the song sounds like Vertigo on speed. The song then takes a couple of twists. Sometimes it sounds like The White Stripes (I recently heard that Edge had been playing with Jack), others it seems to have the flavor of a 60's go go song. The more I listen to this song the more I enjoy it musically.

On the other hand, I am not sure that Bono can keep up with the speed of the music lyrically. his writing seems to come together better with a slower pace. It seems that the song is made up of a string of disconnected thoughts; the beginning of good ideas that were never developed or leftover from other songs and then just strung together.

If this is just to be a fun song, then it is what it is. I can live with that and will look forward to the rest of the album. On the other hand, every first single from an album since Achtung Baby has proven to be better than I at first thought; The Fly, Dischoteque, Beautiful Day (OK, that is a classic) and Vertigo. Hearing these songsin the context of the rest of the album or, more importanly live, gives them a new life. It is very possible Get on Your Boots will follow in those footsteps. With Eno, Lanois and U2 working together, expectations are high.

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