All That You Can't Leave Behind

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb The album that carries U2 into its 25th year--and likely the mixed blessings of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame--is one of its most frank and focused since the days of October and War. But its gestation was anything but simple, in part salvaged from '03 sessions the band deemed su...	Achtung Baby "I'm ready / Ready for what's next," Bono announces at the outset of Achtung Baby, the album that proved the so-called "band of the '80s" was capable of blazing into the '90s by replacing its flag-waving arena-rock stance with screaming synths, clubby rhythms, and industrial skro...	The Joshua Tree Having nearly exhausted their capacity for pop-song politics on War and The Unforgettable Fire, U2 turned toward themes of personal identity and complex relationships on The Joshua Tree. Not that the group was willing to come down off the barricades entirely: "Mothers of the Disa...	Pop Get one thing straight: Techno is merely the fairy dust sprinkled atop another massive, brilliantly conceived slab of dense, drug-like rock & roll from the only band this side of the Smashing Pumpkins who could pull off such a feat. Mainstream audiences are desperate for somethin...	The Unforgettable Fire An appreciable leap forward in almost every fashion from the group's first trio of albums, The Unforgettable Fire is its first with the production team of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. And while they take a strong hand in wrestling U2's music out of the mainstream and into a more ...
War The final album of U2's early period, before the group broadened its sonic palette and lyrical vision, War is a brilliantly conflicted album, sounding martial and majestic while its very purpose is to tear down false idols propped up by politics. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "40" t...	Zooropa Following the band's Zoo TV tour, which took aim at consumerism and media overload, U2 brought those themes and the complex, futuristic sound of its preceding album, Achtung Baby, to their somewhat illogical conclusion on Zooropa, the group's most chaotic, cutting-edge work. The ...	Rattle and Hum The ill will that initially greeted Rattle and Hum--the follow-up to the band's massively successful Joshua Tree album--was due in large part to the bloated and self-important feature film that accompanied it, which showed the band as being simultaneously naive and pretentious as...	October Long a favorite of U2's original core following, October not only avoids the sophomore slump, but adds an edgy, emotional resonance to the buoyant self-confidence they showed on their debut, Boy. Though producer Steve Lillywhite deserves mention for helping effectively frame the ...	Boy There's little in U2's 1980 debut to suggest that this was a band bent on world domination. Indeed, there's a charming, if naive, coming-of-age urgency in songs such as "I Will Follow," "Stories for Boys" and "Out of Control" that may startle listeners more familiar with U2's lat...

Welcome back, boys!
ALL RIGHT! Those last 2 releases (ZOOROPA and POP) were really testing my patience. This one has its shortcomings (like the drum machine on "Beautiful Day," the opening track. GRRR!), but this is U2 I grew up with back in the 80's. It grows on you too. The first time I listened to it I kept listening for a "Pride" or "One" absolutely stellar single. "Stuck in a Moment" is very good, but not up there with "Sunday Bloody Sunday." And that's fine; the rest of the songs fill in the picture for you. Let us all welcome The Edge as a co-lyricist on a couple of the numbers too! TURN IT UP!

Awesome
I love U2 and this album is a MUST have in the U@ collection. It has excellent sound quality and everything you could expect from U2

I LOVE THIS CD!!
My favorite U2 cd's-The Unforgettable Fire,All That You Cant Leave Behind,The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby,Pop and Zooropa.

Soul Music
This is the first U2 album I ever listened to, and I would have to say that it is still my favorite. I've heard a lot of people whine about how "it's not a rock album." Well, I don't think it's supposed to be a "rock" album in the way most people think; in other words, it's not Achtung Baby. I've always thought of All That You Can't Leave Behind as a chilled-out album. To me, it's a soothing, thought-provoking album with beautiful songwriting that's not meant to be a head-bangin' rock CD (with "Elevation" being the exception). If you are up to speed on your U2ology, then you would know the circumstances and mindset under which the band wrote this album and might appreciate it more (if you don't already). I highly recommend it to all the intuitive, deep thinkers out there, but not to the head-bangers.

Leave some of this behind
Even if I prefer the experimental-minded predecessor way more, one cannot accuse ATYCLB of continuing to alienate past fans. Instead this plays as a welcome return for those craving the more accessible, radio-friendly incarnation of our morphing rock stars. The disc is consistent, with some of their tightest more straightforward songwriting making it's case on most of the first side, though the inevitable musical mushiness does tarnish a less invigorating second half.