No Line on the Horizon (Bonus Track) [Import]

U2 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 3, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: n/a
• ASIN: B001O5W6BQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #513,300 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

No Line On The Horizon, the new studio album from U2, will be released on Tues, March 3, 2009. The band’s 12th studio album calls on the production talents of long-time collaborators Brian Eno and Danny Lanois, with additional production by Steve Lillywhite. The album will be available in 5 different packages.

This version features the album CD in a cardboard folded sleeve w/ a 36-page color booklet and fold-out poster, as well as a new film from Anton Corbijn featuring the music of U2, available as exclusive downloadable content. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Album's great, but this package is overpriced, March 3, 2009

By 

Charlie Peterson (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Line On The Horizon [Digi-pack] [Limited Edition] [CD/Poster/Film Download] (Audio CD)

It goes without saying that a new U2 album is a welcome thing; however, even at a sale price of $22.99, this package is overpriced. Considering the basic CD sells for $9.99, you're essentially purchasing a $13 foldout poster, and a few extra pages of photos in the booklet. There is access to an Anton Corbijn film available online, but I don't feel that justifies the price increase.

Others may consider this a great deal for what's included...as an early purchaser of this product, though, I'm a bit underwhelmed with its contents. Buyer beware.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a return to form...and a return of the Holy Trinity, March 5, 2009

By 

D.M. (Boston) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: No Line On The Horizon [Digi-pack] [Limited Edition] [CD/Poster/Film Download] (Audio CD)

Being a substantial fan of U2 since War, I have been able to enjoy following the band as they grew in maturity, depth, and creativity. Naturally, I was highly disappointed in the previous two releases, as the music contained in those albums was exceedingly bland and adolescent compared to...say, Achtung Baby or Pop. Ironic that their most bland material won them an award. Whatever. That's how it works.

Now, I had somewhat prepared myself to have to accept that the band I knew and loved had faded away...become another Aerosmith trying to be relevant to 17 year olds, or worse, became a living relic like Rolling Stones. But wait...I read that the new U2 release would include Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite. U2's best releases featured this Holy Trinity of creativity, so I was very much hoping for a return to form, and I got it.

This is certainly the most creative release since Pop, and is in fact reminiscent of Pop, but perhaps without the same impact as the songs from that release. If you imagine unused tracks from the Pop sessions, you'd be very close to the sound and feel of No Line on the Horizon. The music has a depth, and sense of surprise in the ebb and flow and breaks of the passages that has been lacking over the last decade. The production/engineering is, as you would expect, faultless. The performances are solid. The writing and composition is very good. Not great, but very good.

The Edge's guitar, which had recently become somewhat forgettable, is again distinctive and catchy, but is still mostly relegated to background rhythm type riffs, with the occasional anthemic solo.

Clayton's bass could be a little more prominent. He's really quite a creative player, but the tone is so bass heavy that much of the character is lost in the mix.

Mullen's drums are a little too far back in the mix as well. He's a master of the toms, but they are not featured enough.

Bono? Well, although you can hear his age in his falsetto passages, he infuses character into almost every song. I find it difficult to really say anything bad, as it would be nit picking. That's the thing with a band like U2. These guys can PERFORM. So long as the writing/composition is up to par, they'd have a hard time doing anything bad enough to be worth mention. Which brings me to composition...

Its pretty damn good. Its an adult album. Bono is still focusing on a variety of topics, so its hardly a preachy album. There are a few choruses, bridges, etc that seem a little forced or simply don't flow well. These might have been better reworked/rewritten, but they only detract on maybe three or four tracks. The track to track flow is smooth, though the last track seems to end early.

All is all, I am mighty happy with the new release, and I feel a great sense of relief that U2 are still in the game...thanks to the Holy Trinity.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One day this album will be allowed to rock..., January 27, 2010

By 

Music Hound "Mike" (St Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Line On The Horizon [Digi-pack] [Limited Edition] [CD/Poster/Film Download] (Audio CD)

No line on the Horizon has, in my opinion, some wonderful musical landscapes. I think it's a more musically exciting album than its predecessors "All that you can't leave behind" and "Bomb". As opposed to many reviewers, I think the lyrics on most of the pieces are fairly well thought out and executed. "Get on your Boots" is very week - obviously a stab at some airplay. "I'll go crazy, etc" is kind of bland, too, but the other tunes outshine these low points, and make up for them. Actually, I think this album will hold up well in the U2 catalog over time - similar to "Unforgettable Fire" with some lingering melodies that will call back to you for another listen.

My beef with this album is the recording quality. It's really marred by compression (as are SO MANY recordings being made today). I just can't turn this thing up. It might sound fine on earbuds, but if you try to crank it on a fairly decent audio setup, you're challenged with an unacceptable blending of instruments that detracts from the musical experience. It reminds me of "pink noise" (even though it isn't) resulting from the attempt to make the recording sound as loud as possible on MP3/earbud devices. I hope that one day, this album will be remastered to correct the sonic difficulties imposed on it for mass consumption. It's worth the work, and should have had that advantage from the get-go.