U2 has maintained its place in music by continually reinventing itself every few albums and by blazing a trail instead of following the latest trend. Yet for all its evolution, very few elements within the band itself have changed. Since 1977, U2 has had only four members: lead singer Bono, guitarist the Edge, drummer Larry Mullen Jr., and bassist Adam Clayton. In their thirty-year career they have used primarily the same three producers: Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite, and they have been on Island records since their first album, Boy, dropped in 1980. And the heart of the music is the same today as it has always been: epic anthems grounded by high-end lyrics touching on spirituality, politics, and passion.
What’s different is that U2 has been the last band standing through all of the changes in the musical climate the last few decades have brought us. Early MTV? U2’s “I Will Follow” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” were staples, but had an awful lot more staying power than Dexy’s Midnight Runners and Adam Ant. The late ‘80s hair band phase? U2 went against all the glam by wandering through the desert toward the spiritual enlightenment that was 1987’s masterpiece, The Joshua Tree. The early nineties Nirvana-led alternative music scene? U2 poked fun at its own self-serious image with the sonically adventurous, Achtung, Baby. And after a rare misstep with 1991’s overcooked, unfocused Pop, the band stripped back down to straight ahead rock for 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind, a perfect tonic for the sugary pop sounds and
Death, taxes, and U2. You can delay them, you can embrace them, you can rationalize them, but at the end of the day they will still always be there. People tend to take U2 as something of a given, and that, in itself, is a testament to their staying power. And with a career that finds the band still vital and relevant while entering its 32nd year together, U2 is an abnormality in today’s music scene. In a musical wasteland of preteen pop automatons, pre-programmed beats, and overproduced over-singing, they continue to find their own niche and raise the bar for everyone else. No Line On The Horizon, the band’s 12th studio album, released this March finds the Irish quartet in fine form as they bring their vision to yet another generation.
By Rob Brock rap/rock hybrids that were all the rage at the time. In short, they stayed true to who they are while experimenting with a wide variety of musical styles, and prospered in doing so. They kept their soaring anthems, but found a way to work blues, soul, folk, country, electronic, dance, techno, and post punk into the mix without alienating their audience. Bono himself has become something of a problem for the band, as the mere mention of him can sometimes cause a vast sea of eye rolling. He is politically omnipresent; there hasn’t been a charity, cause, or relief fund he hasn’t been associated with. He was even nominated for the Nobel Prize. And even though these are all fine uses of fame and power, his face being on every single chat show and his opinion being offered on every single issue or disaster makes some people long for the less is more Bono of the mid ‘80s. But while constantly getting on a soapbox has helped very few musical careers, U2 has remained unharmed. It’s also amazing that at this point in their career, they aren’t coasting on their laurels and doing greatest hits tours. Unlike The Rolling Stones, The Police, The Eagles, The Who, or Van Halen, U2 keeps releasing hit album after hit album, with their singles charting just as high as they ever did. By continually reinventing themselves, U2 has found a way to make their appeal cross the generation line, and while many of today’s bands try to hijack U2’s sound, (I’m looking at you, Coldplay), there is no substitute for the undiluted original.
No Line On The Horizon feels like something of a full circle for the band. While the first single from the album, “Get On Your Boots,” is reminiscent of “Vertigo,” the rest of the album is far more eclectic. With a good deal sounding somewhere between The Joshua Tree and Achtung, Baby, the band still reaches out for new ground, weaving some pop, some synths, and even some gospel into the patchwork. In short, the members of U2 are doing what they’ve always done, remaining true to who they are, and evolving with the times. Fortunately for us, there is no end in sight. RB u2.com myspace.com/u2
